Google's augmented reality glasses !

The augmented-reality glasses, which Google co-founder Sergey Brin was spotted wearing created a huge buzz Wednesday when Google released a video showing, from the wearer's perspective, how they could be used.

The small screen on the glasses flashes information right on cue, allowing the wearer to set up meetings with friends, get directions in the city, find a book in a store, and even videoconference with a friend. The device itself has a small screen above the right eye on wrap-around glasses which have no lenses.

For the most part, the augmented-reality glasses do what a person could do with a smartphone, such as look up information and socialize. But the demo also shows glimpses of an artificial-intelligence (AI) system working behind the scenes. It's the AI system that could make mobile devices, including wearable computers, far more powerful and take on more complex tasks, according to an expert.

"The new thing that Google was showing was the interaction model using new hardware, rather than truly showing the potential of such a device," said Lars Hard, the chief technology officer of AI software company Expertmaker. "AI can actually enhance and improve different decision situations."

Siachen Avalanche buries 100 soldiers

An avalanche hit Pakistani army base on a Himalayan glacier along the Indian border on Saturday, 5:45am, burying around 100 soldiers. Helicopters, sniffer dogs and troops were deployed to the remote Siachen Glacier to rescue those trapped, according to a military statement.


There is no report of anybody surviving the mishap.


Siachen is located on the northern end of disputed Kashmir region which is claimed by both India and Pakistan.The war began in 1948. Armies of both countries remain entrenched on Siachen border despite the cease-fire, costing the poverty-stricken countries many millions of dollars each year.

Drink to heart

Top 10 Beverages That Lower Your Risk of a Heart Attack

1. Water
Water is the ideal beverage, with zero calories, and 100% hydration! Aim to have 6-8 cups each day. If plain water isn’t your thing, why not liven it up a little with a few slices of lemon, lime, or cucumber? Or, if you go for flavored water, be sure to check the nutritional label, as they can be very high in sugar, or artificial sweeteners.

2. Milk
Low-fat milk or soymilk are also healthy beverage alternatives, and considering most of us don’t get enough calcium, a glass of milk each day can be particularly useful. If you opt for soymilk, look out for the calcium enriched version. Sterol-fortified milks are available, which can be useful if you’re trying to lower cholesterol levels.

3. Whole Fruit Juice
When choosing fruit juice, select those that are 100% whole, with no added sugar. A small glass (4 ounces) makes up one serving, which is the recommended daily amount. You can also purchase a sterol-fortified version, which will help to lower high cholesterol levels, and reduce inflammation – a process which plays and important role in the development of heart disease.

4. Tea
Tea is suggested to reduce the risk of stroke, some cancers and heart disease. A review carried out in 2001 of 10 follow-up studies, found that the risk of heart attack was reduced by 11% when 3 cups of tea per day were consumed (237ml).

5. Sports Drinks
Sports drinks are lower in calories than fruit juice or soda. However, they don’t have the same nutritional goodness as fruit juice, or milk, and water is still the fluid of choice if your physical activity lasts less than 60 minutes.

6. Coffee
Coffee has been credited as being “heart healthy,” but if it’s laden with cream and sugar, it will play havoc with your diet! Creamy coffee drinks can range anywhere from 300 to a whopping 500 calories, depending on your choice. However, there are lower calorie options available, for example plain black coffees, skinny lattes, or for something completely different, herbal teas.


7. Alcohol
Alcohol is often an underestimated calorie source. The Consumer Federation of American have produced a handy Alcohol Facts chart, which provides details of the calorie content of alcoholic drinks on the market.
You should also take into consideration what mixer you use, as they can almost double the calorie content of your drink.

8. Soft Drinks
Researchers actually think that soda drinkers are more likely to have a lower intake of important nutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, magnesium, and calcium. It’s best to steer clear of soft drinks as much as possible – with 10 teaspoons of sugar per can; it’s pretty clear how unhealthy they are.

9. Diet Soda
If you’re trying to lose weight obviously diet drinks are a good choice, however I’d recommend consuming in moderation (once each week), as artificial sweeteners are best avoided, if at all possible.

10. Pickles
Pickles are low calorie, which is great, but they are loaded with sodium. One medium pickle (about 5 inches long) can have around 570 mg of sodium. That's over 1/3 of your sodium limit (2300 mg) for the day!

Never too old to clown around

FLOYD "Creeky" Creekmore is one of the quieter acts in the circus, his clown shoes shuffling as he works the crowd, igniting giggles from kids.

At 95, the former Montana rancher recently dubbed the "oldest performing clown in the world" has fewer magic tricks up his oversized sleeves than he once did. He gave up juggling several years ago after a stroke and has long since parked the home-made bicycle he once incorporated into his acts. 

But when the Shrine Circus comes through Billings, Montana, where he lives with wife Betty, 96, Creeky the Clown returns to life.

Others have laid claim to the title of world's oldest clown, including an 81-year-old member of the Moscow Circus, Oleg "The Sun Clown" Popov, and Andy "Bumbo" Beyer of California, publicised as the oldest until his retirement three years ago at 91.

But it turns out that Creekmore had a 20-month advantage all along, clowning away in his low-key style in eastern Montana. He now carries the imprimatur of Guinness World Records, which declared him the world's oldest performing clown in February after friends applied on his behalf.

Creekmore's introduction to clowning came in the 1930s when the Barnum and Bailey Circus passed through Great Falls. At 15, he had moved out of his family's house to work on a string of central Montana ranches while he put himself through high school.

At a local parade he pulled together a costume from old clothes and lipstick - and became hooked on the laughter he drew.

After retiring from ranch work in 1981, he joined the Shriners, a group that holds circus performances to raise money for hospitals.

"Creeky understands that to make a child laugh, to make a child smile, that's what life's about," his grandson McCraw, 39, said.

Malaria fight 'badly compromised'

Scientists have found new evidence that resistance to the front-line treatments for malaria is increasing.

They have confirmed that resistant strains of the malaria parasite on the border between Thailand and Burma, 500 miles (800km) away from previous sites.

Researchers say that the rise of resistance means the effort to eliminate malaria is "seriously compromised".

The details have been published in The Lancet medical journal.

For many years now the most effective drugs against malaria have been derived from the Chinese plant, Artemisia annua. It is also known as sweet wormwood.

In 2009 researchers found that the most deadly species of malaria parasites, spread by mosquitoes, were becoming more resistant to these drugs in parts of western Cambodia.

This new data confirms that these Plasmodium falciparum parasites that are infecting patients more than 500 miles away on the border between Thailand and Burma are growing steadily more resistant.

The researchers from the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit measured the time it took the artemisinin drugs to clear parasites from the bloodstreams of more than 3,000 patients. Over the nine years between 2001 and 2010, they found that drugs became less effective and the number of patients showing resistance rose to 20%.

Prof Francois Nosten, who is part of the research team that has carried out the latest work, says the development is very serious.

"It would certainly compromise the idea of eliminating malaria that's for sure and will probably translate into a resurgence of malaria in many places," he said.

'Untreatable malaria'
Another scientist involved with the study is Dr Standwell Nkhoma from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute.

"Spread of drug-resistant malaria parasites within South East Asia and overspill into sub-Saharan Africa, where most malaria deaths occur, would be a public health disaster resulting in millions of deaths."


The drug artemisinin is derived from the Artemisia annua plant
The scientists cannot tell if the resistance has moved because mosquitoes carrying the resistant parasites have moved to the Burmese border or if it has arisen spontaneously among the population there. Either way the researchers involved say it raises the spectre of untreatable malaria.

"Either the resistance has moved and it will continue to move and will eventually reach Africa. Or if it has emerged, now that artemisinin is the standard therapy worldwide then it means it could emerge anywhere," Prof Nosten told the BBC.

"If we were to lose artemisinin then we don't have any new drugs in the pipeline to replace them. We could be going back 15 years to where cases were very difficult to treat because of the lack of an efficacious drug."Ma

OR7 Lone Wolf Returns To California

A male wolf that made headlines by becoming the first of its species in more than 80 years to be found in the wild in California has crossed back into the Golden State on its determined quest for a mate.

The gray wolf, designated OR7 by wildlife managers, has traveled more than 2,000 miles (3,219 km) since leaving its pack in northeastern Oregon last September and heading south, paying its first visit to California in late December.

The animal, which wandered back to Oregon in early March, returned to California last Friday and was still roaming a forested area in northern Siskiyou County on Thursday, said Karen Kovacs, wildlife program manager with the California Department of Fish and Game.

Young male wolves like OR7, which will turn 3 in mid-April, must leave the home range of their parents to find a female companion and reproduce because only the dominant pair in each wolf pack form a mating bond.

"What happens is they leave looking for love. And when they don't find it, they keep walking - because the love of their life is just over that hill," said Ed Bangs, a wolf expert who spearheaded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's reintroduction of wolves to the lower 48 states in the 1990s. "He won't stop doing that until he dies. Or he finds the love of his life."

OR7, fitted with a tracking collar, gained worldwide attention after entering California on Dec. 28, making it the state's first wild wolf since the last one was trapped and killed in 1924 in Lassen County.

The newcomer loped along the crest of the Cascade Mountains, crossed highways and rivers, including the Deschutes and Klamath, and traveled to within 15 miles (24 km) of the Nevada border on its journey.

OR7 spent about two months in northern California before heading back to its home state in early March. The gray wolf is listed as an endangered species in the Pacific Northwest, making it protected under federal law.

Steve Pedery, conservation director of the environmental group Oregon Wild, said there are at last 29 wolves inhabiting Oregon.

California wildlife officials were surprised to learn the wolf had returned.

Most wolves travel less than 100 miles (161 km) in search of new territory and mates.

About a dozen gray wolves are known to have traveled distances of 180 miles (290 km) or more since the species was reintroduced in the continental United States. One female wolf was documented to have roamed 3,000 miles (4,828 km) from Wyoming and back again, Bangs said. (Reuters)

Tsunami 'Ghost Ship' Sinks Off Alaska Coast

A Japanese fishing vessel that seems to have drifted unmanned at sea since the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami has sunk to the bottom of the Gulf of Alaska after the U.S. Coast Guard fired at the so-called ghost ship on Thursday (April 5).

The Coast Guard Cutter Anacapa, a 110-foot patrol boat, used its 25mm chain gun to fire high-explosive rounds at the derelict ship, Petty Officer David Mosley told LiveScience. "These rounds punctured the hull of the vessel causing it to take on water and sink." The vessel sank at 6:15 p.m. local time some 180 miles (290 kilometers) west of the southeast coast of Alaska, in waters more than 6,000 feet (1,828 meters) deep.

The drifting vessel was considered a navigational hazard, as it was located in busy shipping lanes near the Dixon Entrance in Southeast Alaska, according to a statement by the coast guard.

The Canadian coast guard had spotted the vessel, called Ryou-un Maru, more than a week ago in Canadian waters; it drifted into U.S. waters Saturday, with its location verified during flyovers by an Air Station Kodiak HC-130 Hercules airplane on Saturday and Monday.

Once the ship began to sink on Thursday, it took some four hours to vanish beneath the water, MSNBC.com reported.

While Petty Officer Mosley isn't sure why the vessel is being called a "ghost ship," he suspects it was coined such due to the fact it has been drifted at sea unmanned and without power.

"Now that the ship has been sunk, it will remain on the bottom of the ocean while nature reclaims the vessel," Mosley said.

University Boat Race 2012 halted by swimmer

Oxford: The race was later restarted but one of the Oxford crew broke an oar, allowing Cambridge a comfortable win.

Organisers were initially forced to stop the 158th Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge to prevent Oxford's oars colliding with the swimmer near Hammersmith Bridge.

The two crews were halfway along the four-and-a-quarter mile course when Sir Matthew Pinsent, the former Olympic rower and one of the race officials, spotted the man, leading the umpire to stop the race.
Oxford had an advantage of around a quarter of a length when the race was brought to a standstill, after around eight minutes.

It is not the first time the Boat Race has been temporarily halted. In 2001 the race was stopped just over a minute after the start following repeated warnings to both crews to move apart and then a clash of blades.
Sir Matthew said the swimmer had risked a "serious injury".
"Fortunately we spotted him and stopped the race," he said, adding: "It's not ideal but we could we do? We could not possibly have carried on."


The swimmer was picked up by a lifeboat and led off Chiswick pier by police amid booing from the assembled crowd.One of Oxford's blades broke shortly after the race had resumed and the Cambridge crew rowed to victory.

There was more drama at the end of the race when Dr Alexander Woods, 27, an Oxford rower, collapsed and was lifted out of his seat by medics.

Scotland Yard said the swimmer had been arrested on suspicion of a committing public order offence and was being held at a west London police station.

China Japan move closer to support IMF

China and Japan said they will consult “very closely” on the issue after Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, asked members to commit as much as $500bn (£315bn) extra to the Washington-based global lender for possible bailouts.

Jun Azumi, the Japanese finance minister, said the pair would look at further funding to strengthen the IMF's financial base, following talks with his Chinese counterpart Xie Xuren in Toyko.
“Rather than make decisions independently, we’ve agreed to consult each other very closely,” he said. “Although a critical moment of the European issue has gone, we can never be optimistic.”

The IMF wants to ramp up its ability to attack Europe's debt crisis. The issue of increasing its firepower is expected to be top of the agenda at a meeting of finance ministers from the Group of 20 nations on April 20.

“It’s important for Japan to check China’s intention on this, while China probably wants to increase its political influence if it puts up money,” Tomoko Fujii, a senior foreign exchange strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, told Bloomberg.

Headline April7, 2012 / Misery-Microfinance-Murals

MISERY   MICROFINANCE  MURALS

Respectful dedication to all poverty ridden in the world

For the last 3 days we suffered with the unfortunate! Shared what we could with them. The tragedy of the world is that we understand not, the fundamental truths of economics. Samuel Brittan is right : We pursued the noble objetive of "full employment" by the wrong means".

Goldman Sachs!!!?? Oh, dear, God! Mercy! Just read what Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone's Description of Goldman Sachs syas: "Great Vampire Squid!!!" Positing that this financial institution is wrapped around the fact of humanity, sucking out all life. And these very words are used also, by the very people who work at Goldman Sachs. 

However, the ground reality now, is even more complicated. Writer David Roodman, who analysed the experience of hundreds of micro credit clients over several years and published his findings in a book titled "Due Diligence: An impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance , highlights one critical insight: 'The best estimate we have of the impact of microcredit on poverty among clients is zero." 

But Nobel Laureate, Prof Yunas is still passionate about microcredit as ever, 'I don't think it could have spread so rapidly if it did not help the poor people!!??"

The Founding Visions was always to fight poverty with loans as small as 25 dollars by organising borrowers into small member groups. So effective was the model that it is now replicated across the world. 

Grameen organised small groups, and got the loan jointly owned and then smashed the choke points of the loan sharks who had long exploited the deep poverty all around. Grameen has a remarkable repayment rate of 98%. But, but in many microcredit programs, interest rates can top 60% on a 6 month loan. The operating income of Grameen exceeds 100 million dollars. Therefore Grameen will always be cited as a proof of microcredit's giant potential.This obviously maybe so but other world thinkers fell that savings is a much better anti poverty strategy. With many thanks to !WOW!. For this research we continue this sophisticated post. Don't miss!! 

Good night and God bless.

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless

Lisey's Story by Stephen King

Book Description:
Lisey Debusher Landon lost her husband Scott two years ago, after a twenty-five year marriage of the most profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was an award-winning, bestselling novelist and a very complicated man. Early in their relationship, before they married, Lisey had to learn from him about books and blood and bools. Later, she understood that there was a place Scott went -- a place that both terrified and healed him, could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it's Lisey's turn to face Scott's demons, Lisey's turn to go to Boo'ya Moon. What begins as a widow's effort to sort through the papers of her celebrated husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited. Perhaps King's most personal and powerful story ever, Lisey's Story is about the wellsprings of creativity, the temptations of madness, and the secret language of love.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

The Nightmare Before Christmas, is a 1993 stop motion musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to "Christmas Town". Danny Elfman wrote the film score and provided the singing voice of Jack, as well as other minor characters. The remaining principal voice cast includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page and Glenn Shadix.

The Nightmare Before Christmas began with a poem written by Tim Burton when he was a Disney animator in the early 1980s. With the success of Vincent in 1982, Disney started to consider The Nightmare Before Christmas as either a short subject or 30-minute television special. Over the years, Burton's thoughts regularly returned to the project, and in 1990, Burton and Disney made a development deal. Production started in July 1991 in San Francisco. Walt Disney Pictures decided to release the film under their Touchstone Pictures banner because the tone was rather dark for children. The Nightmare Before Christmas was met with critical and financial success. Disney has reissued the film annually under their Disney Digital 3-D format since 2006.

Kane, Givenchy and Preen Feature in ‘World's First Shoppable Music Video'

Thanks to the likes of Rihanna and Lady Gaga, music videos are increasingly becoming a showcase for the latest fashion designs, and now online luxury retailer SSENSE has announced what it has dubbed the "world's first shoppable music video."

Starring rising Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, hip-hop duo FKi and Grammy- nominated producer Diplo, the video for "I Think She Ready", debuting April 4, is viewable here.

The video was styled exclusively by SSENSE, a Montreal-based site which ships a variety of top men's and womenswear labels internationally.

The clip features Spring/Summer 2012 runway trends including bright, pop colors and animal prints, with designers featured including 3.1 Phillip Lim, Christopher Kane, Givenchy, and Preen.

To shop items seen in the clip, viewers need to click on an SSENSE hotspot in the video to access information on the styles shown. They will then be presented with images of the products and a direct link to the item on ssense.com for purchase.

Music videos have become an increasingly important arena for the latest trends in recent years -- last year Lady Gaga’s "Born This Way" video premiered Mugler’s Fall 2011 collection before it hit the runway and Duran Duran’s "Girl Panic!" clip starred supermodels including Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford decked out in creations by the likes of Balmain and Dolce & Gabbana.

Hyères International Fashion and Photography Festival: Chloé Launching New Prize

French fashion house Chloé has announced the launch of the Chloé Prize at the upcoming Hyères International Fashion and Photography Festival.

The 27th edition of these parallel fashion and photography events will run April 27-30, and as usual the most anticipated elements will be the annual competitions, which have in the past recognized design talent such as Viktor & Rolf.

Japanese creator Yohji Yamamoto headed up the fashion jury which earlier this year selected the ten candidates competing for the designer prize; these include France's Daniel Hurlin and Canada's Steven Tai.

For 2012 there will be an additional fashion gong though, the Chloé Prize, with ten participants competing for the prize worth 15,000 euros by creating a silhouette in the spirit of the fashion house, which is famed for its modern and feminine aesthetic.

The prize comes ahead of Italian label Bottega Veneta's team-up with digital-camera manufacturer Red Digital Cinema Camera Co. for a new annual photo contest called New Exposure. With the aim of discovering and supporting new photography talent, the ceremony will take place in New York July 11, with one of the prizes including the possibility to shoot for Bottega Veneta.

Anthropologie Latest Store to Launch Designer Collabs

While Anthropologie's sister store Urban Outfitters is well known for its designer collaborations with the likes of Rachel Comey, the retailer will launch its own series of team-ups April 5 via a new Made In Kind collection.

Limited edition designer collaborations have long been creating hype and attracting retailers to mass market stores such as H&M and Target, with the retailers selecting one big-name brand to team up with at a time.

But Anthropologie's new collection stands apart since it will see 11 separate team-ups being unveiled all at once via the Made in Kind online platform, with the brand hosting multiple exhibitions each month on the site.

The debut collaborators include established creators such as Gregory Parkinson, John Patrick and Samantha Pleet, as well as lesser known names including Rachel Rose and British brand Place Nationale. Anthropologie's international stores will also be stocking some of the upcoming collaborations, including May's Charlotte by Charlotte Taylor collection.

Samsung expects profits to double from smartphone boost

Samsung Electronics has said it expects its profit for the first three months of the year to almost double as its smartphone sales continue to grow.

The company said it expects an operating profit 5.8tn won ($5.1bn; £3.2bn) for the period.

The success of Samsung's Galaxy range has seen it become the world's biggest-selling smartphone maker.

Analysts said the firm had benefited from keeping its margins healthy, despite growing competition.

"There was a big surprise in profit, while revenue was in line, which suggests a stronger-than-expected profit margin from the handset division thanks to robust sales of high-end models like the Galaxy S and Note," said Choi D-Yeon of LIG Investment & Securities.

"Handset margins are estimated to have topped 20% and profits from the division also topped 4tn won."

The company will release its full earnings report on 27 April. 

Further growth?

While Samsung's phone unit has prospered, other divisions, including memory chip manufacturing, have been going through a tough time.

Prices for memory chips have been falling globally, not least due to oversupply.

Analysts said that natural disasters last year in Japan and Thailand had resulted in a fall in production of various electronics products, which use these chips, resulting in high inventory levels putting pressure on prices.

At the same time, slowing demand from key markets such as the US and Europe hurt chipmakers.

However, analysts said that as the global economy recovers and supply chains in the region get back on track, chip prices were likely to recover, boosting Samsung's profits further.

"With memory chip prices rising, chips will play a big part in second quarter profits," said Kim Sung-in, a chip analyst with Kiwoom Securities.

"Expectations for operating profit will reach somewhere between 6.5tn to 7.5tn won."

 

Challenges

While the company is expected to grow further, analysts warned that Samsung will have to overcome potential hurdles on the way.

To begin with, it will have to fend off competition from its biggest rival Apple, they said.

"Samsung and Apple are expected to launch the new Galaxy S and iPhone in the second quarter, and they will engage in full-fledged war," said Lee Ka-keun of Hana Daetoo Securities.

The fear is that increased competition may force Samsung to lower its prices in a bid to attract customers, a move which, if implemented, would impact on its profit.

At the same time, Samsung is also involved in a legal battle with Apple over patents involving technology it uses in its smartphones and tablet PCs.

The outcome of those cases will have an impact on its growth going forward.

BBC

Chocolate printer to go on sale after Easter

The UK scientists who developed a prototype chocolate printer last year say they have now perfected it.

They hope to have the machine on sale at the end of April - just missing the Easter egg rush.

It would allow chocolate lovers to print their own custom-made sweets, layer by layer.

Lead scientist Dr Liang Hao, from the University of Exeter, founded the Choc Edge company to commercialize the device after interest from retailers.

3D printing using plastic, wood and metal is already widely used by industry to create objects ranging from jewelery and footwear to human bones.

Dr Hao told the BBC that chocolate printing, just like any other 3D printing technique, starts with a flat cross-section image - similar to that produced by ordinary printers turning out images, and then prints out chocolate layer by layer to create a 3D shape, without any moulding tools.

"We've improved and simplified the machine, so now it is really easy to use," said Dr Hao.

"You just need to melt some chocolate, fill a syringe that is stored in the printer, and get creative printing your chocolate."

Food printing

A number of retailers and e-commerce websites around the world have expressed interest in buying the printer once it becomes available, added the researcher.

For instance, Thorntons - the UK's largest specialist retailer and manufacturer of chocolate and confectionery goods - approached the scientist after the prototype came out.

The company was unavailable for comment.

Other researchers around the world have also been busy trying to develop "food printers" - in 2011, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a prototype of a similar device, dubbed Digital Chocolatier.

BBC

Planning a quick getaway? Don't make these mistakes

Not that long ago Budget Travel asked readers if it would be worth flying six hours to a destination if you only had four nights to spend there. And we were surprised when the majority of you said yes! So the next question is: how do you make the most of a short break? We consulted travel experts and real travelers to get their tips for making a long weekend holiday just as much fun — and just as satisfying — as a weeklong vacation. The surprising thing? Our go-to advice for saving on hotels and airfare when on vacation could actually ruin your short trip.

Mistake No. 1: Booking a hotel too far from the action

"I think this is the biggest mistake [that travelers make when planning short getaways]," says travel expert John E. DiScala of JohnnyJet.com, "It generally takes time to get to and from a city when you stay farther out, and you're going to have to pay more for transport, too."

If you're going to Disneyland for a short visit for example, he says, it's worth paying extra to stay at a hotel right near the attractions. The same goes for short city visits, too. "You could possibly save money by staying in Hoboken [New Jersey] if you go to New York and public transport into the city is not expensive," he says, "But it will take more time — you have to factor that in and figure out if it's worth it." So while, yes, saving money by staying a bit outside of town is usually smart advice, on short trips it's a bad idea. After you do the math, chances are that even paying $50 more per night for a more centrally located hotel can end up being worth it for the time you'll save.

Mistake No. 2: Checking a bag

Nothing is worse than arriving in Manchester, N.H., and finding out that your bag is on its way to Manchester, England. It could take four days to get it back-meaning you'll have it just in time to check it for your flight home. With all the savvy packing tips out there, there's usually no reason why you should check a suitcase for a short break.

"If it's a warmer climate, it's fairly easy to pack light," says Mike Cooney of the Florida-based travel agency Cooney World Adventures. "But for colder climates you have the option of dressing in layers so you don't have to pack as much in the actual bag itself." If you have sports equipment that must be checked (skis, a surfboard), consider shipping it ahead of time or, better yet, opt for rental gear instead. And checking a bag usually requires more time at the airport -- instead you can spend more time seeing the sights and then head straight to security on the way home.

Mistake No. 3: Trying to make the most of every second

Instead of rushing between Chelsea and Midtown — two neighborhoods in opposite parts of town — to see five different art exhibitions during a short trip to New York City, your time might better be spent really delving into just one or two spots during your stay. Figure out your goals for the trip ahead of time, says DiScala, and then schedule your activities accordingly. "Some people want to see it all, and others will go to Paris for a weekend and just want to hang at one café and soak in the culture," he says.

And be realistic about what you can actually see in just a couple days. In the end it all comes down to personal preference — think about what you're looking to get out of your getaway and what you and your travel partners can sanely handle. After all, the last thing you want is to come back from your vacation feeling like you need a vacation.

Mistake No. 4: Booking a flight with multiple connections

The flights that float to the top when you're looking for cheap airfare on sites like Orbitz or Expedia are usually the ones that involve switching planes at an airline's hub. It's a fine way to save some dollars — until you find yourself spending extra hours on layovers and facing potential delays.

 

"It's worth it to pay extra to get the nonstop option, especially when you have a short amount of time in a place," says DiScala, who logs more than 150,000 air miles per year, "If there's a cancellation or weather delays in a hub city, there goes your vacation." It's also worth avoiding destinations that require various forms of transportation to reach, such as islands only accessible by an infrequent ferry or resorts that require a private shuttle ride (especially one that doesn't depart until other passengers have arrived).

Mistake No. 5: Winging it

On a recent girls getaway with four friends to Miami Beach, Janet Malin of Tampa, Fla., found herself wishing she'd figured out her group's dining logistics ahead of time. "We got to the hotel and had a few drinks by the pool, and next thing we knew it was time to go out for dinner," she recalls, "But we hadn't booked a table anywhere and couldn't decide on a place we all wanted to hit." The group ended up wandering aimlessly around South Beach before settling on a random place. Sure, it's hard to predict weeks in advance if you (and your traveling companions) will be in the mood for Italian or if you'd rather have tapas on any given night, but reservations aren't usually set in stone.

Research dining options ahead of time, or call your hotel's concierge for recommendations after you book your room.

Mistake No. 6: Forgetting to prepare for a new time zone

Unlike some of the other tips on this list, the advice for dealing with jet lag on short vacations is the same as on longer getaways. "Anywhere you go, do everything possible to maintain the new time schedule you're on," advises Cooney. "If I'm flying to say San Francisco from the East Coast, I would immediately go out after arriving at the hotel, walk around the city, have dinner, have a cup of coffee … the objective is to try and get on the new time zone as soon as possible." If it's already nighttime in your destination when you step on the plane, pass on the in-flight meal and movie and pop in the earplugs for a snooze instead — that way you'll be waking up with the locals, instead of feeling like it's time to sleep when you touch down. Plan lots of outdoor activities for your first day in a different time zone, too — the sunlight and fresh air will keep you energized. If there's no avoiding a snooze, try to limit yourself to a 20-minute power nap.

Mistake No. 7: Dressing for only one part of the day

Does anyone still wear fanny packs and those zip-off cargo pants anymore? We hope not. When your time is limited, avoid dressing like a tourist on urban exploration, which most likely requires heading back to the hotel to change for the evening. The key is smart layering. For both men and women, a thin T-shirt with a cardigan or blazer is a good way to go in temperate climates. And for footwear, opt for comfortable leather shoes instead of the sneakers from your gym bag. Plus, choosing clothes that you can wear all day and into the night makes packing a breeze, and diminishes the chance that you will have to check a bag (remember Mistake No. 2?).

Mistake No. 8: Mapping out where you are — once you get there

Unless you're fine with just seeing where the wind blows you — and hey, we're all for spontaneous travel at times — you'll lose a lot of time on the ground if you don't have at least an idea of the layout of your destination before you arrive. If you are going international, grab cash from the ATM at the airport so you don't have to search out a bank hear your hotel. And make like grade school and do your homework: Study maps before you leave and figure out the best route to take from your hotel to the attractions and restaurants you plan to visit. Pre-planning extends to knowing the physical location of the airport you fly into, too, as it relates to the city center, says Malin, who's made the mistake of choosing a cheaper flight into a satellite airport that required more transit time to reach the city center.

Source: Msnbc

Fullbright Award Recipient Case Nafziger '12 Will Teach In South Korea

DePauw University senior Case M. Nafziger will spend the upcoming academic year in South Korea teaching English as a result of being awarded an English Teaching Assistant grant through the 2012-13 Fulbright U.S. Student Program competition.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and established in 1946, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program competition aims to increase mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchange while serving as a catalyst for long-term leadership development.

“As a student at DePauw, I have had the privilege of traveling to two continents, taking courses in numerous disciplines, and studying alongside students from across the globe,” Nafziger wrote in his Fulbright application. “My dual degrees in English writing and vocal performance have prepared me to look at the world through a creative lens.”

The senior notes, “My interest in going to Korea began in March 2011, when a branch of the South Korean government announced its focus on providing increased arts education through orchestra programs at low-income schools, in an effort to bridge cultural gaps and provide balanced and creative social development for the nation’s children. This initiative surprised me, as many modern economies have cut such funding. But Korea historically places great value in the arts, as seen in 1962, when traditional Korean folk music gained legal support as an ‘Intangible Cultural Asset.’ While the United States is a melting pot of cultural traditions, Korea’s population is more grounded in a collective history, which I hope will inspire and influence my music career upon return to the United States.”

Nafziger, whose parents are both teachers, states, “Debate over educational policy has caused me to think critically about what and how I learn, and to appreciate the educational experiences I have been fortunate to acquire. Most importantly, my parents and teachers have instilled in me the conviction that education plays an urgent role in the development of children, communities, and nations. When coupled with my desire to teach, I believe that my artistic interests can indeed promote peace.”

Read more.

AUSTRALIA Critics Counter Website Allowing University Indicator Comparisons

For the first time, students from around the world can compare Australia’s 39 public universities on the basis of their courses, student satisfaction levels, the qualifications of academics, staff-student ratios, drop-out rates and graduate employment.

Although criticised immediately for including information of doubtful validity, the MyUniversity website is probably unique in providing so many comparative details of each university’s operations.

Officially launched on Tuesday 3 April in Canberra by Tertiary Education Minister Senator Chris Evans, MyUniversity is an interactive, searchable site that includes a wide variety of indicators. Evans said the site would “empower students to make the right call”.

“Enrolling at university is a huge life decision for young Australians and their families. MyUniversity will help ensure that students have all the relevant information to make an informed decision about what’s best for them,” he said.

Evans said the site was designed to ensure accountability and transparency as universities began competing for students in Australia’s new demand-driven system after the government this year lifted limits on the number of students each university could enrol.

Creation of the A$1.5 million website was foreshadowed by then education minister Julia Gillard two years ago and follows similar ventures for Australian schools and hospitals.

The MySchools site has generated considerable controversy since it was first launched in January 2010, and has resulted in league tables of schools being drawn up by some newspapers.

As well as basic information about courses, enrolment numbers, student backgrounds and gender, the site provides details of amenities such as car parking and child care along with clubs, societies and other aspects of campus culture.

Belinda Robinson, chief executive of the national lobby group Universities Australia, was cautious about endorsing the website and seemed more concerned by the accuracy and reliability of some information now being made publicly available.

“Prospective students, making one of the biggest decisions of their lives, must have confidence that the information available to them presents an accurate and complete picture of the options they are considering,” Robinson said.

“Getting it right is also essential for the reputation of universities operating in an increasingly competitive market brought on by the demand-driven enrolment system.

“We don’t believe the MyUniversity website is there yet, particularly in relation to attrition rates, staff-student ratios, the entry score cut-off search function, course mapping and searchability. While the government has addressed a number of key concerns raised by Universities Australia throughout the consultation period, further improvements are required.”

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) was more sceptical, if not deeply critical, saying the site showed the government was “focused on league tables rather than quality in higher education”.

“The use of indicators, including cost of library photocopying, whether a university has a swimming pool and the number of car parking spaces on campus, fails to address the real quality issues in higher education, such as insufficient government funding and a highly casualised workforce,” NTEU President Jeannie Rea said.

“While the minister claims the MyUniversity website is intended to lift performance and quality, the reality is that the information it is based on is at best limited, and at worst inaccurate and misleading.”

Rea said that if students were looking to base their choice of institution on whether a campus had an automatic teller machine, the site might be useful. But if they wanted an indication of the quality of teaching and research at any given institution, the information provided relied on a set of indicators that had been under question for many years.

The union had been critical for some time of the misuse of statistical data, such as graduate employment outcomes and student satisfaction results, in determining the quality of learning and teaching. Yet these were included as measurable indicators of quality by the website.

“The use of student satisfaction scores in particular is prone to manipulation and does not reflect quality in teaching. Indeed, if institutions based their courses on whether students liked their subjects, which is essentially what these metrics capture, they would risk driving down the quality of degrees from Australian universities.

“There is always a danger of teaching to the test – or the survey, in this case,” Rea said.

She said the diversity of Australian universities made it difficult to attempt any comparisons. Although the union believed students should be able to make an informed choice of where best to study, it should be just that – an informed choice based on accurate, clear and transparent information.

“This can only happen if the indicators or measures used to create this information are specific, widely understood and agreed, and incapable of institutional manipulation.”

Original source here.

The University Of Auckland's Students get a kick-start in engineerin

Thirty-one top engineering students have been awarded Kick Start Scholarships from The University of Auckland. The scholarships, worth $2000 each, are awarded to outstanding first-year students studying at the Faculty of Engineering.

Faculty of Engineering Dean Professor Michael Davies says the scholarships, awarded to students of academic excellence, are designed to help first-year engineering students get established. “The scholarships were set up to help alleviate some of the financial pressure for the students, in particular to help them pay for their textbooks, fees and accommodation costs.”

There are four types of Kick Start scholarships: Affirmative Action, City of Sails, Edward Connelly, and Merit.

Four students received Kick Start Affirmative Action scholarships this year. These scholarships are open to top academic students of Māori or Pacific Island heritage. The scholarships are awarded based on an applicant's academic merit, personality and drive to make a difference.

Ten students were awarded Kick Start City of Sails scholarships. To be eligible students have to be from outside the Auckland metropolitan area. The scholarships are awarded to students who have demonstrated academic excellence in their final year of study and outstanding all-round ability.

Nine Edward Connelly Kick Start scholarships were awarded this year. These are given to students who demonstrate academic merit and all-round ability. The scholarships were established in memory of the late Edward Connelly, a former Faculty of Engineering employee, who made a significant bequest of his estate to the Faculty. Edward began his career as a janitor and moved his way up to store steward.

Eight students received Kick Start Merit scholarships. These scholarships are awarded to the top scholarship applicants based on academic marks achieved in the final year of secondary school and their personal achievements.

Kick Start Scholarship winners:

Affirmative Action: Emma McMillan, Wanganui High School; Ariah-Bella Peters, Kaitaia College; Daniel Matetaka-Ormsby, Mangere College, Auckland; Morgan Teepa McCauley, Western Heights High School, Rotorua.

City of Sails: Louis Olsen-Stahl, Wellington College; Jenny Sahng, Riccarton High School, Christchurch; Millie Alexander, St Hilda's Collegiate, Dunedin; Kieran Brennan, Palmerston North Boys’ High School; John McIvor, Napier Boys' High School; Abel Leenders, ACG Strathallan, Papakura; Ray Chang, Wellington College; Callum Munster, Doha College, Wellington; Tepine Joyce Ariu, Tawa College, Porirua; Blair Eastwood, Hutt International Boys' School, Upper Hutt.

Edward Connelly: Sarah Lowe, Botany Downs Secondary College, Auckland; Richa Patel, Lynfield College, Auckland; Arshin Zaman, Westlake Girls High School, Auckland; Elliot Buckley, Tauranga Boy’s College; Vaspan Raimalwala, Lynfield College, Auckland; Marcelle Hecker, Waimea College, Nelson; Zhen Yi Lim, Macleans College, Auckland; Anna Northey, Carmel College, Auckland; Nicholas Glucina, St Peter’s College, Auckland).

Merit: Nicholas Finch, Glendowie College, Auckland; Alyssa Develter, Epsom Girls Grammar School, Auckland; Liam Fisher, Glendowie College, Auckland; Sanelle Van Wyk, Macleans College, Auckland; Ryan Lim-Yip, Massey High School, Auckland; Angus Cheng, St Kentigern College, Auckland; Cameron Lawrence, ACG Strathallan College, Papakura; Tushar Garg, Auckland Grammar School.

Original source here.

University of Saskatchewan to decrease expenses in light of budget pressures

The University of Saskatchewan will need to decrease its expenses over the next four years in the face of budget pressures that include lower-than-requested provincial funding, salary and benefit costs rising faster than revenue increases, solvency and going concern pension issues, and the pressing need for capital renewal to support teaching, research and innovation.

At a public town hall meeting April 3, Provost and Vice-President Academic Brett Fairbairn and Vice-President Finance and Resources Richard Florizone outlined how the 2.1 per cent increase in the institution’s operating grant for 2012-13, announced in the March 21 provincial budget, affects financial projections for the future. The university had requested a 5.8 per cent grant increase.

“Prior to knowing what our provincial grant would be, we projected a shortfall of $10 million over the next planning cycle, which is 2012-2016,” said Fairbairn. “Now that we know what the grant is, our projected gap is more likely $12-15 million in 2012-13, and $20-40 million per year until 2016.

“Our challenge will be to remain focused on our institutional priorities as we work to close the gap between revenue and expenses. That said, our revenue sources are limited and our actions will centre primarily on reducing expenses. We need to think about what we will start doing, and what we will stop doing, but we must ensure that our solutions are sustainable in the long term.”

The provost pointed out that declining provincial funding is not unique to Saskatchewan, and that post-secondary institutions across the country are grappling with budget pressures similar to those being experienced by the U of S.

Fairbairn explained that budget decisions will be guided by the priorities outlined in the university’s recently approved third integrated plan, the academic mission of the institution and principles that include transparency, effective use of data and evidence, and decision-making at appropriate levels within the organization.

Read article at the original source here.

Trinity College Dublin Students Win Entrepreneurship Prize for Innovative Technology

Students from Trinity College Dublin’s School of Computer Science and Statistics have won the first-ever upStart entrepreneurship programme. The competition, organised by Citi, saw master’s students from TCD and Queen’s University Belfast universities create their own start-up business for a new technology product or service. Each business plan had to provide a real market prospect and teams competed with each other to win the opportunity for virtual funding from Citi for their business.

The winning entries were Happy Swap, a consumer exchange website for goods created by students from Trinity College Dublin, and Woogie Tap, an interactive tag for downloading information instantaneously, created by students from Queen’s University Belfast.

Pictured at the upStart awards at Citi’s offices in Belfast were (left to right back row), Nathan O’Reilly, Citi, Dr Peter Middleton, Queen’s University Belfast, Prof. Siobhán Clarke, Trinity College Dublin, Thomas De Souza, Citi, (front row) Conall Laverty, Queen’s University Belfast and Zhongtao Chen, Trinity College Dublin.

Speaking at the event Prof Siobhan Clarke, Course Director of the MSc in Networks and Distributed Systems at TCD’s School of Computer Science and Statistics said: "The upStart experience transported the innovation and software engineering modules in the course out of the classroom and into the real economy, engendering a strong entrepreneurial spirit in the class. This perfectly positions the students as the drivers of innovation in the global technology industry."

The seven finalists presented their business plans to a panel of judges from Citi, Cisco, Invest Northern Ireland and Microsoft. Other business ideas presented included a social networking game, an online sports academy for tutors and pupils to connect, a 3D printing access portal for consumers, a social network for smart phones based on location and an app for paying bills. Each team had to convince the judges of the commercial strength of their idea and the team from each university who accumulated the most virtual funding was named the winner.

Chris Hayward, chief information officer EMEA at Citi, said the upStart programme has “allowed industry and academia to collaborate together and mentor the next generation of technology entrepreneurs. Many of the business ideas presented today have great potential for commercialisation and could become global products."

During the programme the students were mentored by business advisers from Citi Belfast and the Citi Innovation Lab, Dublin. The programme also included guest lecturers from the technology industry who discussed with the students the latest developments and sector trends. In addition, the programme hosted roundtable discussions for the students with Citi Ventures and Citi experts in global locations including New York, Palo Alto, Jersey City, London, Belfast and Dublin. The programme was run over two semesters in the current academic year at Queen’s University Belfast and Trinity College Dublin. There were 30 students on the inaugural programme from the two universities.

Read University Press Release here.

Nicole Kidman in talks on Grace Kelly role

LOS ANGELES: Australian actress Nicole Kidman is in talks to play the late Grace Kelly, the screen legend who married the prince of Monaco, in a film by French director Olivier Dahan, Variety reported Thursday.

The report said Kidman, 44, is in negotiations to play Kelly in "Grace of Monaco," which Pierre-Ange Le Pogam is producing with writer Arash Amel.

The entertainment daily said "nearly every top actress in Hollywood" is seeking the role and that no deal has been signed yet.

The screenplay by Amel is not a biopic but centers on the period from December 1961 to November 1962.

At the time Kelly, an Oscar winner and mother of two, had already spent six years as a princess and was called upon to save Monaco from an escalating crisis with France over the tiny monarchy's status as a tax haven.

Kidman won an Academy Award for her portrayal of author Virginia Woolf in "The Hours" (2002)

IT AIN'T EASY BEING GREEN

IT AIN'T EASY BEING GREEN: FIRST SIGNS OF ECO-FATIGUE

The starting point may well have been the 2006 release of Al Gore’s movie about climate change, “An Inconvenient Truth.” Ever since, more and more brands have launched “eco-friendly” products on the market. From cars to light bulbs, it is hard not to be pressured to go “green”.

When Le Monde invited its readers to send in their stories about how “adverse they are to sustainable development”, the paper received a huge number of e-mails.

Consumers feel that they are being taken for a ride when they are sold new, green products such as: “Low-energy light bulbs. 7 euros each. Duration: inferior to incandescent light bulbs. May contain polluting agents”. Christophe, a 43-year-old computer technician who recycles, thinks it might be much cheaper and greener not to buy them in the first place.

Florian, a 23-year-old student, believes that - as a French consumer - daily “earth-friendly” gestures won’t make a difference, as most of the world’s pollution comes from industrial Russia, China and the US.

Are Christophe and Florian atypical? Quite the opposite, says French pollster Ipsos, whose surveys show that an increasing number of people believe “too much is being done about climate change." In 2008, 33% agreed with the sentence above, but today that number has climbed to 45%.

According to experts, “ green fatigue” made its first appearance after the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, which didn’t yield much in the way of change. People started wondering if companies were plotting together to make consumers buy their new green products, and members of the “green resistance movement” started to emerge.

Rémy Oudghiri of the Ipsos Institute also explains this trend by the fact that, in times of economic crisis, people are focused on caring for themselves, rather than the planet.


Source

Nokia is bringing back its Xpress-on

Nokia is bringing back its Xpress-on color cover program by giving Lumia 710 owners in the U.S. one free cell phone cover during the month of April.

The manufacturer reported that the last time it implemented the offer, thousands of customers applied for the giveaway and received their covers.

Last month in March, the company surveyed 1,000 U.S. customers about their preferred shade. Blue won the majority of votes, with white, pink, and yellow following behind.

And just when you think the Lumia couldn't get any "freer," all throughout April, T-Mobile customers will be able to get the Lumia 710 for the low price of zero dollars after they sign a contract.

Source

Insurers Vow To Save Your E-Reputation

A new insurance product promises to protect families against damages to their e-reputation, a new but important concept in this era of fading privacy. But one writer wonders if this isn't all just a scare-mongering way to make new business.

First it was Swiss Life, now AXA has joined the party. Insurers have started selling e-reputation insurance products to protect your family's image on the internet. Called “Protection Famille Intégr@le”, AXA’s new product will protect you against identity theft, credit-card fraud, harm to your online reputation and e-commerce disputes. Both insurers use a dedicated e-reputation agency called the “Reputation Squad”, which will remove all problematic content, while providing psychological support and dealing with legal and administrative issues.

E-reputation has gone from “buzzword” to mainstream in just a few months. AXA and Swiss Life are playing on the anxiety and stress linked to the internet and social networks: the internet is rife with debauchery as well as all kinds of fraud and attacks on your moral - and of course financial - integrity.

Indeed, the internet, that place where hackers, pirates and intellectual property thieves roam freely, is also a place where your family can be attacked. Internet = danger: this is the message that the insurers want to get across to their clients.

In this hostile jungle, parents need to protect their children from the big bad wolves armed with smartphones and Photoshop, who won’t bat an eyelid as they publish inappropriate photos of our children. Luckily for them, AXA and Swiss Life, and surely many others to come are here to remind you of the dangers! Even if they’re just slightly exaggerated.

A Chinese Novelist's Perilous Attempt To Save Her Marriage, Online

Over the past few days, Liuliu, one of China’s best-selling authors, has exposed her own marriage crisis online. When her best-selling novel, Dwelling Narrowness, was first published in 2007 – later to be turned into a popular television drama that tackled gender tensions and housing difficulty in Chinese cities -- her husband had already started having an extramarital affair.

Liuliu’s public declaration of war, from the stance of the formally recognized wife, against the “Minor Third” (a Chinese term for the third party of the triangle) mirrors – and ultimately outshines -- the frustrated leading role she created in her fiction.

By way of her Twitter-like microblog weibo account, Liuliu’s self-exposure of her “family scandal” has a pre-emptive effect. Her seemingly polite and restrained mini messages successfully define the “enemy” as a marriage destroyer, while she manages to simultaneously demonstrate a wifely legitimacy in defending her marriage.

Thanks also to the online participation of her fans, as well as the immediate flood of media coverage, Liuliu has painted the perfect portrait of an innocent victim.

But we cannot forget that this digital marriage defense is in essence a form of public spectacle. On the surface, Liuliu’s attempt to persuade her rival to surrender looks like a public plea against the person who threatens her marriage. But in reality, it is also a contest of the involved parties based on their respective right to speak out.

After Liuliu’s public declaration, she rallied more than two million supporters from China’s vast blogsphere, whereas the “minor third” has no real means to defend herself. Under such disparity, the latter can be only a prisoner taken away in a metaphoric police van. Contempt, verbal abuse and ridicule are her fate.

Feast for others

What we see in this affair is the vague specter of Internet violence: 2.5 million posts on the subject, many filled with vitriolic language; a wave of photos of the unfaithful husband, his personality and looks picked apart; worse still, people who had nothing to do with the original affair were somehow pulled in and are suffering unprovoked verbal abuse.

However, can Liuliu really win back her husband by denouncing and denigrating her rival? Only she knows. After all, love and marriage have always been a private matter, and only those involved know what is really happening.

Nevertheless, what is certain is that by hanging out one’s dirty laundry in the public square, one’s life is turned into a feast for the crowd.

Except for a few real friends, nobody really cares about the crises in other people’s marriages. When the crowd has finally dispersed, the involved parties will feel like they have been stripped naked.

That a woman, particularly a well-known woman, chose to defend her marriage in this most drastic manner is in itself a very sad thing. It only helps to further blur the boundary between public and private domain. Even if the aggrieved party has found some false sympathy and support, eventually it will not help to solve her problem.

Marriage is never a one-sided business, nor does the breakdown arrive instantly. Rather than using a microblog as a platform of communication, the involved parties would be better off talking to each other calmly in private. This may require a much more formidable inner strength.

Source

Etsy Wants to Give Female Programmers $5,000 to Attend Hacker School

Etsy, the popular marketplace for all things handmade, just announced that it will not just be hosting the 2012 session of Hacker School at its headquarters in New York, but that it will also offer ten $5,000 grants to women who would like to attend this year’s session but don’t have the financial means to do so. As Etsy’s VP of engineering Marc Hedlund notes, the idea here is to ensure that about 50% of the next Hacker School class of about 40 participants will be female.

Hacker School is one of the many recently launched programs that aim to teach budding programmers to become better hackers. It’s a three-month, full-time program based in New York. The application deadline for this year’s summer session is May 7 and the program will run from June 4 to August 25. Hacker School itself is a free program and those who get the Etsy grants “can spend the money on whatever expenses necessary to free you up for Hacker School, no questions asked.”

Hacker School co-founder Nick Bergson-Shilcock also notes that the female applicants will be judged on the same scale as men. “It frustrates us a little that we feel the need to say that,” writes Bergson-Shilcock, “and we think it underlines the sexism (intentional and not) that so pervades the programming world.”

Etsy’s Marc Hedlund acknowledges that “20 is a small number,” but that he himself has only hired about 20 female engineers in the past 17 years. He also notes that he would be more than happy to hire any of the female engineers from this next batch of participants, “but more importantly, we just want to see these women go on to get fun, creative, lucrative jobs in technology — and hopefully tell other women about the great experiences they’ve had.” At Etsy, a site that has given many female entrepreneurs a chance to start their own businesses, eleven women currently work in Engineering and Operations. That’s up from just three last September. Etsy has about 100 employees in Engineering and Operations.

Source

Intel SSD to boost Windows 8 boot

New Intel solid-state drives are aimed at boosting Windows startup and wake times, making them a hardware feature that will be especially applicable to Windows 8.

The Intel SSD 313 Series offers what is in effect a solid-state drive cache, increasing the "responsiveness" of PCs that are based on hard disk drives -- that being a word Intel and Microsoft throw around a lot these days.

Responsiveness is code for the kind of instant-on experience you get on a tablet or smartphone.

And both Windows 8 PCs (think: ultrabooks) and tablets should offer that kind of responsiveness as long as the system has an SSD or hybrid SSD-HDD configuration, according to Intel.

Do you remember a Microsoft video demonstrating this last year? Well if you don't, here's a quick refresher:


That very-fast-booting HP EliteBook laptop in the video used a 160GB SSD (likely Intel), according to Softpedia.

Here's what Intel says about the necessary configuration for fastest performance. "When used as a cache, the Intel SSD 313 Series works...with Intel Core processors, select versions of the 6 and 7 series of Intel Express Chipsets, and Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers (10.5 and newer) to provide a fast-caching solution."

The SSD comes in 20GB and 24GB capacities and is available in either a 2.5 inch or mSATA package.

The SSD 313 Series uses cutting-edge Intel 25 nanometer (nm) Single Level Cell (SLC) NAND flash memory. SLC typically offers better performance and endurance compared with Multi Level Cell (MLC) NAND.

Amazon is selling the mSATA 24GB 313 for about $138. But consumers should also expect Windows 8 ultrabook and tablet suppliers to sell models with these already built in.

Source