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Saturday, October 20, 2007
Dell Inc. announced on Tuesday that it will partner up with the Microsoft-Nortel Innovative communications alliance (ICA) team to sell Unified Communications and VoIP products.
The announcement on Tuesday the 16th of October 2007 includes Dell selling VoIP, data and wireless networking products from Nortel and the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and other unified communications products.
The partnership with both manufacturers should allow Dell to provide a pre-integrated solution.
In March 2007, competitors IBM and Cisco announced they would join in the competition for developing unified communications applications and the development of open technologies around the unified communications and collaboration (UC2) client platform an application programming interfaces (APIs) offered by IBM as a subset of Lotus Sametime.
“We want to make it simple for our customers to deploy unified communications so their end users can get access to all their messages in one place – whether its e-mail, phone or mobile device. This will pave the way for more business-ready productivity tools,” said vice president of solutions, Dell Product Group, Rick Becker.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Apple Inc. today has introduced the much-anticipated iPhone at the Macworld Conference in San Francisco.
The iPhone is claimed to be “a revolutionary mobile phone” as stated on the Apple website. The device appears to be running a mobile version of the Apple operating system Mac OSX. It is approximately the same size as a 5th generation iPod, it has a 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen display that is used to access all features of the phone including number dial, as well as making phone calls. The iPhone plays music, movies, displays pictures and is able to connect to a wireless network.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the device by walking onto the stage and taking the iPhone out of his jeans pocket. During his 2 hour speech he stated that “Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone, We are going to make history today”.
Today Apple also released their Media Center device – Apple TV. It will directly compete with Microsoft’s Media Center operating system. Apple has taken a different approach to the media center market; rather than storing content (such as movies, music and photos) on the device, Apple TV connects to a computer (Mac and Windows) over a wirless network connection and plays all content stored on that computer. This makes it substantially easier for users to organize their media content.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Toyota has been accused by a U.S. House of Representatives committee with misleading the public and investigators over its recent recalls.
The accusations, in a statement from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, claim that Toyota both relied on a flawed study in its assessment of the issue of sticking accelerator pedals at the heart of the recalls, and then made misleading statements about its response. According to the authors of the letter, Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak, Toyota dismissed, rather than investigated, the idea that the cars’ computers were at fault. In a statement, James Lentz, the president of Toyota’s American division, claimed that hardware issues were to blame, and that dealers were repairing the faulty part. Toyota also released a study commissioned from the research firm Exponent that said electronic systems were not to blame.
According to the House committee, however, the study involved only six vehicles, none of which had problems with their electrical systems, and was insufficient to produce an accurate result. “Our preliminary assessment is that Toyota resisted the possibility that electronic defects could cause safety concerns, relied on a flawed engineering report and made misleading public statements concerning the adequacy of recent recalls to address the risk of sudden unintended acceleration.”
The company is under a criminal investigation, and has received two subpoenas for documents from two House committees relating to the recalls, although whether they are directly related to the letter is unclear. The documents are related to accelerator issues in several models, as well as brake problems with the Prius hybrid car, and were served earlier in in February by a federal grand jury and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Toyota has released upwards of 75,000 pages of documents under the requests.
In a separate, though related, development, it has emerged that Toyota last year negotiated a limited recall for two models, the Toyota Camry and Lexus ES, that were affected by the accelerator recalls, saving the company an estimated $100 million. A confidential internal presentation in July 2009 made the claim, and a month later, a Lexus ES, one of the models under the limited recall crashed in California, killing four people. The claims apparently referenced a September, 2007 recall of floor mats that could trap gas pedals, the same problem that triggered a full recall of numerous Toyota cars to fix the same problem. In the same presentation, the company claimed to have avoided recalls of another model related to rust, as well as delaying new federal safety regulations.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Plastic surgeon to the stars Dr. Frank Ryan has died in a car accident at age 50. It is reported that the Jeep Ryan was driving crashed over the side of the Pacific Coast Highway and landed on rocks. Lifeguards were first on the scene and unsuccessfully tried to rescue Ryan. It is thought that no other vehicle was involved in the incident.
Dr. Ryan, a celebrity in his own right, performed plastic surgery on several stars including Janice Dickinson, Gene Simmons, Shauna Sand and Adrianne Curry. He appeared on several television shows and became one of the first people to perform plastic surgery on television in 1995.
A representative for Janice Dickinson released a statement about the death of Ryan. She said “Janice is deeply, deeply anguished! She is stunned and wants the world to know what a genius Dr. Ryan was.”
Ryan was traveling with his pet dog at the time of the crash; the dog was found seriously injured in the ocean and was transported to a local veterinarian. Dr. Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene.
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byAlma Abell
Housing affordability involves how much money a person can borrow towards a home. People should also take into account the initial costs associated with buying Homes For Sale, as well as ongoing costs associated with home ownership. Using an online calculator can help people determine their options.
A person’s income, credit history, down payment amount, and his or her employment and residence history are all factors that influence the amount of money they can borrow. Depending on the case, the amount a person can borrow may be greater than the amount he or she can pay – so it’s worth asking for money cautiously. Some of the costs associated with buying a house arise before a person begins to regularly pay their mortgage. These are:
* Mortgage application fees* Down payment* Closing costs
Application fees include service charges, which % of the total purchase price. There are also approval, guarantee, and credit report charges. These fees sometimes can be part of the closing costs. The down payment is an initial deposit to be paid if the seller accepts an offer, to reaffirm a person’s intention to buy the property. If, in addition to yours, there are several offers made on the home, a security deposit (also known as “good faith deposit”) can influence the decision of the seller on your behalf.
A person can get better mortgage rates if they make a high down payment, according to the BBB. Down payments can vary between 0% and 20% or more of the total cost of Home For Sale. The ideal range is between 15% and 20%. Mortgage advance payments can also help reduce future payments and interest. Final closing costs generally range between 2% and 4% of the total loan amount. Sometimes closing costs can be transferred to the mortgage loan. Closing costs may include:
* Mortgage application fees* Attorney’s fees* Inspections and appraisals* Search and title insurance policies* Escrow
Do not be intimidated by closing costs. They are paid immediately and many can be calculated by the lender in advance. There are several factors that determine whether or not to buy a house in a certain area, for example; proximity to your work, schools and hospitals, if there are public spaces for recreation, shops, transport routes, etc. Lancia Homes can help people determine which areas are best for them. You can also visit them on Facebook for more information.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Odense Squash Club (OSC) won the Danish team club championship in squash. During the weekend of April 26 and 27, the final four of the Danish championship were played at OSC home stadium, Squash Center Danmark, due to OSC winning the league system this season. OSC beat Herlev/Hjorten Squash (Herlev) 6-1 in the final.
OSC was the favourite to take the gold this weekend, as they had already won league play with a comfortable lead over København Squash Klub (KSK), and therefore had home court and could pick their opponent in the first semi-final. OSC chose to play Åbyhøj Squash Klub (ÅSK) in the first semi final, and beat them with ease 6-1, only loosing the women’s second to Ditte Nielsen (ÅSK).
During the other semi, the favoured professionals from KSK, ran in to serious problems, as injured star player Alex Stait was not able to play for KSK giving the young Herlev team a chance in this semi. After 5 matches and down by two matches, Mikkel Kragholm (Herlev) and Thomas Pilak (Herlev) became double match winners when they each beat their opponents by 3-0 and 3-1, winning the match 4-3 for Herlev.
The final was, however, dominated by OSC, and Herlev wasn’t ever in the match. Only Danish individual champion Morten Sørensen was able to win for Herlev. Herlev lost the rest of the matches. OSC’s players proved to be to strong for last years bronze winners from Herlev. OSC won the Danish championship 6-1 in the final at Squash Center Danmark in Odense.
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Thursday, April 3, 2008
A 39-nation coalition in Africa passed a declaration on Tuesday to ban cluster bombs in a nearly unanimous vote. The gathering in Lukasa, Zambia was the first meeting of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) in Africa.
“Africa is ready for Dublin,” summarised Zambian delegate Robert Mtonga, referring to the upcoming May 19-30 meeting in Ireland to discuss a global ban on the weapons. “Too often Africa’s voice is pushed to the margins in international decision-making. But in banning cluster bombs worldwide, a common African voice will speak volumes and win the day”.
| Too often Africa’s voice is pushed to the margins in international decision-making. But in banning cluster bombs worldwide, a common African voice will speak volumes and win the day. | ||
Mtonga was critical of South Africa, the lone voice against Monday’s decision and the continent’s largest producer and stockpiler of cluster bombs, and called on the country to destroy its munitions and join the coalition to outlaw their use. Egypt, the only other African nation to produce the controversial weapons, voiced support for the ban.
“Strong political will” was credited with the resolution, by CMC co-ordinator Thomas Nash in recognising the drive “to stop the proliferation of this outdated weapon”.
In a released statement the CMC said that 19 African countries, including South Africa, have endorsed the Wellington Declaration. The Wellington Declaration is the basis for the upcoming negotiations at the Dublin Diplomatic Conference in Ireland in May.
While countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom have tabled the idea of a “transition period” during which time cluster bombs would remain a legitimate weapon of war, the African delegation was resolutely against the idea, calling for an immediate ban.
Cluster munitions are dropped from aircraft, opening in mid-air and releasing a large number of smaller explosives over a wide area. Writer Theodora Williams stated that their use usually results in “…the death and maiming of thousands of innocent civilians”.
There are currently 13 African nations that possess cluster bombs although Uganda has recently announced they are destroying their stockpiles. The weapons have been used in eight African conflicts in the past 35 years. In addition to Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria and the Sudan, other nations known to have used the weapons are the former Yugoslavia, Eritrea, France, Israel, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the United States, China, Russia, and Israel have resisted any ban on cluster bombs, arguing that they can be used in self-defense. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the United States has lobbied allies to create loopholes in the upcoming Oslo treaty, to allow for the use of cluster bombs. Reuters reported that a U.S. official had stated that cluster bombs should not be banned if they are used responsibly in state conflicts.
In October 2007, Uganda became the first African country to state it would destroy its cluster bomb stockpiles. Uganda has announced a pan-African meeting to take place after the Dublin meeting, which would seek to garner support for the signing of a treaty in Oslo set to take place in December 2008. The weapons have been used in eight African conflicts in the past 35 years.
The CMC is an international network composed of over 250 civil society organizations in 60 countries, with the stated aim of protecting civilians from cluster munitions. Members of the CMC have been working to complete an international treaty to ban cluster munitions by 2008.
At the February CMC committee meeting in New Zealand, only 82 of the 122 nations present endorsed a draft ban on the production, usage or storage of cluster bombs.
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byadmin
Asphalt paving provides companies with superior driveways and roadways. They provide amazing parking lot designs that last for many years. These opportunities help the companies increase the safety of their property and reduce accidents. The following are FAQs about Industrial Paving Services for your company.
How Long Do Asphalt Driveways and Private Roadways Last?
These applications last up to fifteen years. However, detrimental weather conditions and disasters can cause damage. Since the product is guaranteed for fifteen years, a warrant provides assistance with repairs and replacements.
What Materials are Used to Create Asphalt?
Asphalt consists of sand, gravel, and stone. The materials are mixed with asphalt cement to bind them together. It is an oil-based binding agent that prevents it from breaking or cracking.
What are the Primary Benefits of These Materials?
The primary benefits of the material are that it provides a smoother surface, reduces noise, and doesn’t generate the same level of noise pollution as concrete. The color of the material allows for heightened visibility of lines on the road. The product lasts longer than most applications, and it is recyclable.
Do Weather Conditions Affect the Installation of Asphalt Driveways?
Yes, the surface of the road, driveway, or parking lot cannot be wet or frozen. The installation team must review the surface to ensure it is prepared for this application. They must check weather conditions and ensure that cool winds won’t become a problem. Cooler temperatures and winds cause the asphalt to cool too quickly. If this happens, the application becomes uneven and presents unwanted issues.
What Strategies are Needed to Protect the Asphalt?
The property owner must apply a seal coat onto the asphalt, and it should be reapplied every two years. They need to repatch any areas where any cracks appear. They must also follow all maintenance strategies required by the manufacturer to maximize the surface’s life.
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