heroes scripture: February 2013

Monday, February 25, 2013

Personal Injury Lawyer Larry Disparti Says Google Nexus Tablet Matches His Law Firms Mission

Personal Injury Lawyer Larry Disparti Says Google Nexus Tablet Matches His Law Firms Mission ? (February 23, 2013)

Tampa, FL (PRWEB) February 23, 2013

Larry Disparti, a personal injury lawyer serving clients throughout Florida and Illinois, explained today why his firm has switched from providing clients with the Apple iPad to loaning to them Google Nexus tablets during the course of their case.

Disparti said his firm, The Disparti Law Group, P.A., is calling the program the Client Recovery Maximizer System?.

We found that the integration of Googles Nexus tablet with Google features like Gmail, Google docs and chat, as well as the Google calendaring feature, make the Nexus tablet more useful for our purposes, said Disparti, founder of the Disparti Law Group, P.A, which has offices in Chicago and the Tampa-St. Petersburg area of Florida.

Our firms mission is to help our clients to recover compensation for the injuries they have suffered, and we need for them to have the ability to readily contact and assist us as their attorneys, he added. The Google Nexus tablet fits our mission perfectly. While the iPad certainly has many great uses, we simply find that the tablet suits our firm better.

The Disparti Law Group recently began the program of loaning to each of the law firms clients a Google Nexus tablet. Disparti said the devices should enable clients to:

????Communicate with the firms attorneys through dedicated email accounts
????Take photos and record video of their injuries and recovery
????Keep up with doctors and lawyers appointments.

Much of the video content, including a diary of the clients recovery and interviews with family members, can be used to compile video demand packages and strengthen the clients position when negotiating for a settlement, Disparti said.

Disparti cited a Consumer Reports review that said the 16GB Nexus 10 equals the iPad in most areas of performance and has a slightly larger display.

A Los Angeles Times comparison of the Nexus 10, the iPad and Microsofts Surface said the Nexus 10 consistently loaded Web pages faster than its rivals and noted that it is lighter and thinner than the iPad. The Times rated the iPad higher for video and sound quality and said it has access to more games than the Nexus.

Disparti said his firm has found that the Nexus is a more cost-effective choice with a price point about $100 lower than the iPad and the Surface.

The attributes of the Nexus are what we hope prospective clients are looking for in a law firm, Disparti said. The Disparti Law Group is dedicated to its work and to delivering services to clients as efficiently as possible.

And, as our switch from the iPad to the Nexus tablet demonstrates, we examine the facts and go where the evidence leads. Were not afraid to reexamine the common wisdom or our previous conclusions.

About Disparti Law Group, P.A.

The personal injury and disability benefits lawyers of the Disparti Law Group, P.A., provide legal assistance in cases involving Social Security Disability (SSD), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), railroad disability (FELA and RRB claims) and veterans benefits (including TSGLI claims). Additionally, the firm represents clients in cases involving car accidents, slip-and-fall or premises liability, products liability, medical malpractice, wrongful death, nursing home neglect and inadequate security. The Disparti Law Group, P.A., features an Illinois office in Chicago (200 S. Wacker Dr., #3100, Chicago IL 60606; local phone 312-506-5511) and Florida offices in Tampa (2203 N. Lois #830, Tampa, FL 33607; local phone 813-932-2942) and Holiday (1041 U.S. 19, Holiday, FL 34691; local phone 727-934-7862). For more information, please use the firms online contact form.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/personal-injury-lawyer/google-nexus-tablets/prweb10461826.htm.

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Source: http://www.creativemac.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=2446725

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

AMD Turbo Dock tech boosts performance of docked Windows convertible laptops

amd-turbo-dock-convertible-laptop-tablet-windows

While the jury's still out as to whether users will embrace the new convertible laptops that have launched with the debut of Windows 8, AMD is betting that its new Turbo Dock technology can help improve the computing experience whether you're using one in tablet mode or as a traditional notebook.

The chip company says its new feature, to be showcased in devices unveiled at next week's Mobile World Congress 2013, addresses the fact that the hybrid device performs similarly whether it's in laptop or tablet mode, even if you are doing wildly different tasks. To remedy this situation, Turbo Dock will speed up the accelerated processing unit (APU) of the unit when its docked in its keyboard, while drawing less power when it's being used as a tablet.

The innovation will be baked into AMD's new "Temash" chip for tablets and hybrid devices, which will also be on display at MWC 2013. It will counter Intel's current Ivy Bridge processors being used in Windows 8 mobile PCs, as well as the forthcoming Haswell chips. Like Intel, AMD is playing catch-up in the tablet processor space, but hopes its long-time association with traditional Windows desktops and laptops will help it break into the market via the new form factors based around Windows 8.

The Turbo Dock feature is a nice selling point -- especially if it works well in real-world testing -- that marries internal performance to external usage, but will anyone be buying? That's not a question unique to AMD and its new Temash platform. To spur the adoption of touchscreen Windows 8 systems, including the convertible laptops Turbo Dock is designed to work with, Microsoft and Best Buy are planning a $100 discount program starting this Sunday.?

We'll see what types of devices Turbo Dock will launch with as MWC 2013 kicks into gear next week, so stay tuned.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zdnetaustralia/~3/i2pds87DYQg/

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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Data paper describes Antarctic biodiversity data gathered by 90 expeditions since 1956

Public release date: 19-Feb-2013
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Contact: Julian Gutt
julian.gutt@awi.de
Pensoft Publishers

Huge data encompassed into a unique georeferenced macrobenthic assemblages database

A new peer-reviewed data paper offers a comprehensive, open-access collection of georeferenced biological information about the Antarctic macrobenthic communities. The term macrobenthic refers to the visible-for-the-eye organisms that live near or on the sea bottom such as echinoderms, sponges, ascidians, crustaceans. The paper will help in coordinating biodiversity research and conservation activities on species living near the ocean bottom of the Antarctic.

The data paper "Antarctic macrobenthic communities: A compilation of circumpolar information", published in the open access journal Nature Conservation, describes data from approximately 90 different expeditions in the region since 1956 that have now been made openly available under a CC-By license. The paper provides unique georeferenced biological basic information for the planning of future coordinated research activities, for example those under the umbrella of the biology program Antarctic Thresholds Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation (AnT-ERA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). The information collected could be also beneficial for current conservation priorities such as the planning of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

The expeditions were organised by several famous explorers of the Antarctic. The area covered by the paper consists of almost the entire Southern Ocean, including sites covered by a single ice-shelf. The vast majority of information is from shelf areas around the continent at water depth shallower than 800m. The information from the different sources is then attributed to the classified macrobenthic assemblages. The results are made publicly available via the "Antarctic Biodiversity Facility" (data.biodiversity.aq).

A specific feature of this paper is that the manuscript was automatically generated from the Integrated Publishing Toolkit of the Antarctic Node of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (AntaBIF IPT) and then submitted to the journal Nature Conservation through a novel workflow developed by GBIF and Pensoft Publishers. (see previous press release). Data are made freely available through the AntaBIF IPT, and sea-bed images of 214 localities through the data repository for geoscience and environmental data, PANGAEA- Data Publisher for Earth and Environmental Science (sample: http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.198682).

Speaking from on board the research vessel 'Polarstern', the paper's lead author Prof. Julian Gutt of the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany commented:

"The most important achievement of this paper is that data collected over many years and by various institutions are now not only freely available for anyone to download and use, but also properly described to facilitate future work in re-using the data. The Data Paper concept is certainly a great approach that multiplies the effect of funds and efforts spent by generations of scientists."

The data will also be used for a comprehensive Biogeography Atlas of the Southern Ocean project to be released during the XI SCAR Biology Symposium in Barcelona July 2013.

###

Published by Pensoft Publishers.

ORIGINAL SOURCE:

Gutt J, David B, Lockhart SJ, van de Putte A (2013) Antarctic macrobenthic communities: A compilation of circumpolar information. Nature Conservation 4: 112. doi: 10.3897/natureconservation.4.4499

Further contacts:

Dr Vishwas Chavan
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
Copenhagen, DENMARK
Tel. 45-35-32-14-75, Fax. 45-35-32-14-80
Email: vchavan@gbif.org

Additional Information:

What is a Data Paper?

A Data Paper is a scholarly journal publication whose primary purpose is to describe a dataset or a group of datasets, rather than to report a research investigation. As such, it contains facts about data, not hypotheses and arguments in support of those hypotheses based upon data, as found in a conventional research article. Its purposes are three-fold:

to provide a citable journal publication that brings scholarly credit to data publishers;
to describe the data in a structured human-readable form;
to bring the existence of the data to the attention of the scholarly community.

Sources:

Chavan V, Penev L (2011) The data paper: a mechanism to incentivize data publishing in biodiversity science. BMC Bioinformatics, 12 (Suppl 15): S2. doi: 10.1186/1471-2105-12-S15-S2

Penev L, Mietchen D, Chavan V, Hagedorn G, Remsen D, Smith V, Shotton D (2011). Pensoft Data Publishing Policies and Guidelines for Biodiversity Data.
http://www.pensoft.net/J_FILES/Pensoft_Data_Publishing_Policies_and_Guidelines.pdf

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Data paper describes Antarctic biodiversity data gathered by 90 expeditions since 1956

Public release date: 19-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Julian Gutt
julian.gutt@awi.de
Pensoft Publishers

Huge data encompassed into a unique georeferenced macrobenthic assemblages database

Speaking from on board the research vessel 'Polarstern', the paper's lead author Prof. Julian Gutt of the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany commented:

The data will also be used for a comprehensive Biogeography Atlas of the Southern Ocean project to be released during the XI SCAR Biology Symposium in Barcelona July 2013.

###

Published by Pensoft Publishers.

ORIGINAL SOURCE:

Gutt J, David B, Lockhart SJ, van de Putte A (2013) Antarctic macrobenthic communities: A compilation of circumpolar information. Nature Conservation 4: 112. doi: 10.3897/natureconservation.4.4499

Further contacts:

Dr Vishwas Chavan
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
Copenhagen, DENMARK
Tel. 45-35-32-14-75, Fax. 45-35-32-14-80
Email: vchavan@gbif.org

Additional Information:

What is a Data Paper?

Sources:

Chavan V, Penev L (2011) The data paper: a mechanism to incentivize data publishing in biodiversity science. BMC Bioinformatics, 12 (Suppl 15): S2. doi: 10.1186/1471-2105-12-S15-S2

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Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/pp-dpd021513.php

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How China's Urban Consumers Have Changed Since 1995

When your country gets wealthier, you spend more of your money on things that aren't food.

So it's not surprising that Chinese urban consumers now spend 14 percentage points less of their budget on food today than they did in 1995, US Funds' Frank Holmes.

Holmes writes:?

Within the country, more and more residents are relocating to the cities to get higher paid jobs and acquire discretionary income. In addition, government economic, social, rural and welfare policies are influencing the cost of goods.

As a result, they're now spending much more on clothes and medicine:

Holmes concludes that this is great news for Chinese stocks:

...reforming the hukou (urban residency) registration system will likely have a tremendous influence on China?s economy, and this is especially true in the consumer space. For the?China Region Fund, we believe stocks in the consumer discretionary sector will profit from the increasing renminbi in residents? pockets.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/RwC7PH_d3HI/how-chinas-consumers-spend-their-money-2013-2

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Energizer Recharge Value AA/AAA NiMH Battery Charger review

How many devices, toys and gadgets do you own that use AA or AAA batteries? Do you feed these devices standard alkaline batteries, or do you use rechargeables? I personally prefer to go the rechargeable route mainly because it’s easier and less expensive for me to pop a set of drained batteries into a charger [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/02/18/energizer-recharge-value-aaaaa-nimh-battery-charger-review/

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Monday, February 18, 2013

Steve Rosenbaum: Stanfords VR Lab Offers Wild Glimpse of the Future

The thing about virtual reality is that it's kind of been around a bit too long. Remember when second life was so darn hot? Well, that was a long time ago.

So, when I was invited to explore the Stanford Human/Virtual Reality Lab, I have to say I was ready to be underwhelmed. The lab is the work of professor Jeremy Bailenson -- and one thing is clear right away, he's spent a ton of Stanford's money on the lab. The Lab's mission is "...to understand the dynamics and implications of interactions among people in immersive virtual reality simulations and other forms of human digital representations in media, communication systems, and games." Which is fancy talk for a simple goal, to explore just where VR might actually make a real difference in our world.

Entering the lab, the first thing you think is, "so, this is it?" There's not much to see except a worn-looking blue-gray carpet, a stack of computer equipment and a weird looking helmet attached to a fat electronic umbilical cord. Moments later, I'm wearing the helmet, a $45,000 helmet I'm told, and from inside, I'm seeing the same bland boring room. Only, it's the computer's digital construction of the room. There's the click of a switch -- and I'm standing on an empty street in a virtual city, with tall buildings around me. I point my arms toward the air and "Woosh..." I'm flying. Dang. I'm flying in the air! The room has speakers all around, so I can hear the air rushing by. The floor has haptic sensors that shudder with a thud when I land.

In the course of a half hour, the folks I'm with are flying, swimming in a virtual ocean, and walking across a virtual pit. Exhilarating, terrifying, awe-inspiring. Extraordinary experiences - and each of them in their own way very much real. But the truth is, this is the tip of the iceberg. Games and VR are things you can experience with what is now commercial VR games and platforms. Maybe not at this level, but VR is out in the mainstream. Bailenson's goal is to explore the social, and interpersonal impact of VR - and in that, he's breaking some very new ground. Bailenson's lab studies the social mechanics of virtual existence. In it, identity is endlessly morphing - and the nature of interaction is up for grabs.

Says Bailenson "In the past, VR [virtual reality] has always been this amazing toy that someone has in their garage, and in the last five years what we started to see is that this stuff is no longer science fiction.How is this changing who we are as humans? How is that affecting the human identity?"

He tests how we interact with non-human avatars, finding how powerful, and creepy, eye contact can be.

For example, in the real world, making eye contact makes you more convincing, but you can only look one person in the eye at a time. In his VR lab, a cyber-you can connect with direct eye contact to multiple other people. The result is a more convincing conversation. And these revelations go further, copying another person's head movements after a four-second delay makes them much more likely to agree with you, the lab discovered.

They're testing how all kinds of ways we interact, and who we interact with impacts the way we behave. From talking with a older version of ourselves, to having advertisements that are automatically populated with characters that mimic some of our physical characteristics to sell us soda or clothes.

In one of the demonstrations that is the most remarkable, and shocking, Bailenson shows how he can take a picture of a person, and render a 3D lifelike avatar in just a few minutes. The idea that someone can have a virtual me out in the world quickly, and without my permission, keeps me up nights thinking about a whole new kind of identity theft.

The powerful realization you find yourself facing after an hour in Bailenson's VR lab is that the digital self can have "superpowers" the real you does not. And the behaviors that trigger us to feel fear, or trust, or empathy can now be constructed in virtual worlds. And it's clear they will be.

Bailenson isn't your conventional computer nerd. His background is in cognitive psychology at the University of Michigan and Northwestern University. And he says his work is inspired by novelists like William Gibson and Neal Stephenson, whose cyberpunk fantasies he read while an undergrad.

And watching the experiments taking place in the lab, you can see the coming together of science fiction and technology. There's one project, where your face is actually placed inside an ad that is trying to sell you something, or even more strangely, your facial characteristics are partially morphed on the face of the virtual pitchman (or woman). How will you react when someone who looks and sounds a lot like you is trying to sell you something? If this sounds familiar, it should -- it's right out of the piece of fiction written by Philip K. Dick that was turned into the movie Minority Report.

The VR Lab at Stanford is doing far more than building neat helmets or VR worlds. As they explain it they are "using empirical, behavioral science methodologies to explore people as they interact in these digital worlds."

And one thing is absolutely clear, Virtual Reality at this level isn't going to stay in the labs much longer.

Currently the Lab's $45k headset is the best in the world, but a commercial product called the Oculus Rift has already raised 2.5 million dollars after seeking just $250,000, clearly paving the way for a low cost, high quality VR headset that will bring virtual worlds to the average computer user in the near future.

(photo credit Rick Smolan)

Follow Steve Rosenbaum on Twitter: www.twitter.com/magnify

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-rosenbaum/stanfords-vr-lab-offers-w_b_2701782.html

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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Food science expert: Genetically modified crops are overregulated

Public release date: 17-Feb-2013
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Contact: Chelsey B. Coombs
diya@illinois.edu
217-333-5802
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. It has been almost 20 years since the first genetically modified foods showed up in produce aisles throughout the United States and the rest of the world, but controversy continues to surround the products and their regulation.

Bruce Chassy, a professor emeritus of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, believes that after thousands of research studies and worldwide planting, "genetically modified foods pose no special risks to consumers or the environment" and are overregulated.

Chassy will elaborate on this conclusion at the 2013 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston on Feb. 17. During his talk, "Regulating the Safety of Foods and Feeds Derived From Genetically Modified Crops," Chassy will share his view that the overregulation of GM crops actually hurts the environment, reduces global health and burdens the consumer.

Farmers have witnessed the advantages of GM crops firsthand through increases in their yields and profit, and decreases in their labor, energy consumption, pesticide use and greenhouse gas emissions, Chassy said.

Despite these benefits, various regulatory agencies require newly developed GM crops to be put to the test with rigorous safety evaluations that include molecular characterization, toxicological evaluation, allergenicity assessments, compositional analysis and feeding studies. This extensive testing takes five to 10 years and costs tens of millions of dollars, and Chassy argues that this process "wastes resources and diverts attention from real food safety issues."

"With more than half of the world's population now living in countries that have adopted GM crops, it might be appropriate to reduce the regulatory scrutiny of GM crops to a level that is commensurate with science-based risk assessment," Chassy said.

During his talk, Chassy will chronicle the scientific tests used in pre-market safety assessments of GM foods and elaborate on the evidence from thousands of research studies and expansive GM plantings that he says show these crops do not present risks to consumers or the environment. The overregulation of GM foods is a response not to scientific evidence, Chassy said, but to a global campaign that disseminates misinformation and fear about these food sources.

###
Chassy's presentation is to begin at 1:30 p.m. in Room 201 of the Hynes Convention Center.

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Food science expert: Genetically modified crops are overregulated Public release date: 17-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Chelsey B. Coombs
diya@illinois.edu
217-333-5802
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. It has been almost 20 years since the first genetically modified foods showed up in produce aisles throughout the United States and the rest of the world, but controversy continues to surround the products and their regulation.

Bruce Chassy, a professor emeritus of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, believes that after thousands of research studies and worldwide planting, "genetically modified foods pose no special risks to consumers or the environment" and are overregulated.

Chassy will elaborate on this conclusion at the 2013 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston on Feb. 17. During his talk, "Regulating the Safety of Foods and Feeds Derived From Genetically Modified Crops," Chassy will share his view that the overregulation of GM crops actually hurts the environment, reduces global health and burdens the consumer.

Farmers have witnessed the advantages of GM crops firsthand through increases in their yields and profit, and decreases in their labor, energy consumption, pesticide use and greenhouse gas emissions, Chassy said.

Despite these benefits, various regulatory agencies require newly developed GM crops to be put to the test with rigorous safety evaluations that include molecular characterization, toxicological evaluation, allergenicity assessments, compositional analysis and feeding studies. This extensive testing takes five to 10 years and costs tens of millions of dollars, and Chassy argues that this process "wastes resources and diverts attention from real food safety issues."

"With more than half of the world's population now living in countries that have adopted GM crops, it might be appropriate to reduce the regulatory scrutiny of GM crops to a level that is commensurate with science-based risk assessment," Chassy said.

During his talk, Chassy will chronicle the scientific tests used in pre-market safety assessments of GM foods and elaborate on the evidence from thousands of research studies and expansive GM plantings that he says show these crops do not present risks to consumers or the environment. The overregulation of GM foods is a response not to scientific evidence, Chassy said, but to a global campaign that disseminates misinformation and fear about these food sources.

###
Chassy's presentation is to begin at 1:30 p.m. in Room 201 of the Hynes Convention Center.

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/uoia-fse021113.php
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With Microsoft as tablet rival, will HP go Android?

First a Chromebook, next an Android tablet?

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

If Hewlett-Packard introduces an Android tablet, the newfound rivalry with Microsoft will be one motivating factor, according to analysts.

"I can see why they would go down this route instead of sticking with Microsoft for everything," said Ben Bajarin, a principal at Creative Strategies.

That may be putting it charitably. "[PC makers] are pissed off at Microsoft. That's the general mood," said Roger Kay, principal analyst at Endpoint Technologies, referring to Microsoft's entry into the PC/tablet market with Surface.

Surface practically precluded HP from coming out with a Windows RT tablet based on an ARM chip -- the same silicon used for Android devices -- Kay said.

In fact, HP scuttled plans last year to bring out an RT tablet and then dissed Microsoft's device publicly, calling it "slow...kludgy" and "expensive."

But that of course isn't the only reason HP would do an Android tablet. It could, for instance, try to take the lead in bringing Android tablets to large corporate customers, Bajarin said.

To some extent, Samsung is doing that in phones now, but HP, being the largest PC maker in the world, could spearhead Android for business, according to Bajarin. "They could see that as a big opportunity," he said.

And being late to the Android market isn't all bad. "All the development in Android up to this point accrues so they can claim to be on board without a whole lot of development that they have to do independently," Kay said.

This would come about two years after HP's WebOS tablet debacle. In August of 2011, the company terminated its TouchPad only a month and a half after the device's introduction.

It also ended plans for a WebOS-based phone at that time.

HP currently offers the Windows 8-based ElitePad 900 tablet and a Windows 8 hybrid tablet-laptop: the Envy x2. Both are based on Intel's power-efficient -- and relatively slow -- Atom processor.

And it already has one product based on a Google operating system. It's selling a Chromebook for $330.

HP declined to comment.

Remember the WebOS-based HP TouchPad? This time HP will adopt Android. The company already has a Windows 8 tablet.

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/JhqR/~3/-yk2tphYB-g/

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What's China doing in Greenland?

China?s drive to develop Greenland?s rare earths may be driven more by its economic than geopolitical interests, Rogers writes.

By Will Rogers,?Guest blogger / February 15, 2013

Bergs calved from Helheim glacier float in Sermilik Fjord on the south-eastern coast of Greenland. If China does manage to acquire the exclusive rights to develop Greenland?s rare earths, don?t expect the geopolitical balance to go out of whack quite that easy, Rogers writes.

Nick Cobbing/Greenpeace/Reuters/Handout/File

Enlarge

Western policymakers are becoming increasingly anxious about China?s foothold into Greenland, particularly its desire to produce the semi-autonomous island?s rare earth metals ? the materials used in high-end electronics, from smart phones and smart bombs to clean energy technologies, including wind turbines and advanced batteries. But policymakers can rest assured that there is more to China?s foray into Greenland than meets the eye ? and not as much cause for concern.

Skip to next paragraph Consumer Energy Report

Our mission is to provide clear, objective information about the important energy issues facing the world, address and correct misconceptions, and to actively engage readers and exchange ideas.?For more great energy coverage, visit?Consumer Energy Report.

A Thawing Frontier

Greenland?s icy frontier is transforming before our eyes. Climate change is contributing to a hastened retreat of the island?s massive ice sheet and ushering in new opportunities for the 57,000 people living in the northern hinterlands.

The island?s extractive industries are poised to be the biggest winner, as the thawed ice reveals new deposits of raw materials, everything from iron ore to aluminum.?(Read More:?Rocking the Boat in the Energy Rich South China Sea)

Rare earths are the big prize. The small town of Narsaq sits near?one of the world?s largest deposits of rare earths. According to Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd, one of the island?s leading mineral development companies, that deposit could contain about?10.3 million metric tons of rare earth metals, equivalent to about 10 percent of the known global reserves (which today total?about 110 million metric tons, according to the U.S. Geological Survey).?

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Goodbye, Windows Live Messenger. Hello, Skype.

Microsoft will soon begin shuttling its Windows Live Messenger users to Skype.?

By Matthew Shaer / February 15, 2013

Microsoft is merging its Skype and Messenger services.

Reuters

Enlarge

Back in October of 2011, Microsoft completed its $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype, the popular Internet phone and video chat company. Now, more than a year later, Microsoft has begun funneling all Windows Live Messenger users onto the Skype platform. Microsoft is billing the whole thing as an upgrade, but it's not exactly optional ? where once you communicated with pals via Live Messenger, beginning April 8, everyone will do so via Skype.?

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"The process will take a few weeks to complete," Parri Munsell of Microsoft wrote in a blog post. "We?ll start the upgrades with our English language clients, and finish up with Brazilian Portuguese on April 30 or later."

As TechCrunch notes, the change-up is restricted to desktop clients, so if you're a mobile user, and you're still smitten with the Windows Live Messenger experience, Microsoft isn't going to cut you off just yet. But there seems to be little reason to avoid making the switch: It's Skype that's going to be continually refined and improved in coming years, not Live Messenger, which will basically be a dinosaur starting on April 8.?

In addition, Skype already offers some features that Live Messenger does not, including Facebook-integrated video calling and instant messaging.?

It's worth noting that back in 2011, many analysts were?extremely wary?of Microsoft's decision to pay such a hefty price for Skype, which was actually losing money at the time. But Microsoft was clearly less concerned with profitability than with enhancing products such as Windows and the Windows Phone mobile operating system.?

Over at the Verge, Tom Warren sees the Live-Messenger-to-Skype transition as a step in the right direction for Microsoft.?"If this first sign of integration helps move Microsoft towards Skype in every product to compete against services like WhatsApp, iMessage, Google Talk, and others," Warren writes today, "then it will benefit all who rely on Microsoft's ecosystem of software and services in the long run."

For more tech news, follow us on?Twitter:?@CSMHorizonsBlog

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/scitech/~3/jAlNuas9Ky8/Goodbye-Windows-Live-Messenger.-Hello-Skype.

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A player in debt issue? Harlem Shake

If you were waiting for the political world to glom onto the ?Harlem Shake? online dancing phenomenon, your wait is over.

Alice Rivlin, the former director of the Congressional Budget Office, and David Walker, the former Comptroller General of the United States, are getting their shake on in a new video for The Can Kicks Back campaign.

The video begins innocently enough, with Rivlin and Walker telling a conference room full of twenty somethings that ?it?s time to shake things up? and ?there?s no dancing around the fact that more needs to be done? (get it?).

?The Congressional Budget Office?s new report shows that our national debt will hit 77 percent of the gross domestic product by 2023,? says Rivlin. ?We can?t grow our economy and have a prosperous America with debt growing that fast.?

?And you know that will impact young people the most,? Walker says.

Then things get crazy.

True to ?Harlem Shakes? form, the conference room ? including Rivlin and Walker ? bust into body-wriggling dancing.

The Internet meme, which has exploded online this month, begins with one person dancing with those around him or her seemingly unaware. Later, the entire room erupts into dance.

The Can Kicks Back campaign was launched late last year and is a ?millennial-driven campaign to fix the national debt and reclaim our American Dream,? according to its website.

This isn?t the group?s first foray into viral videos ? this was the group that brought us former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson dancing ?Gangham style?.

Source: http://feeds.politico.com/click.phdo?i=c171ae2245f9b10f3b9d450b3a29e72c

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South Africa vs Pakistan 2nd Test Match Day 3 Live Streaming

by rahus | February 16, 2013 at 01:19 am

The genius of Saeed Ajmal came to the fore for the first time in the series, as the Pakistan spinner single-handedly put South Africa on the back foot on day two of the second test at Newlands on Friday.

Pakistan vs South Africa 2nd Test Live Streaming ? Link 1

Pakistan vs South Africa 2nd Test Live Streaming ? Link 2

South Africa went to stumps on 139-5 in response to Pakistan's 338 all out, with Ajmal profiting from a Decision Review System controversy in the process of claiming all five Proteas wickets.

Ajmal's threat was nullified by a seam-friendly pitch in the first test at the Wanderers, but a healthy breeze and a dry surface at Newlands assisted both drift and turn as he recorded figures of 5-41 from 25 bewitching overs.

From the moment that Ajmal was introduced in just the 12th over of the innings, South Africa's batsmen never looked comfortable against the offspinner as they struggled to pick him.

"We know he's a quality bowler, and obviously the wicket has assisted him because there's been a bit of purchase and it's a little bit drier than we thought it would be," South Africa's assistant coach Russell Domingo said.

"Maybe we've been a bit tentative against him. He hasn't given us many scoring opportunities so maybe we need to look at playing a little bit more positively against him."

Ajmal dismissed openers Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen in the second session, before inducing a collapse midway through the third that claimed Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and Faf du Plessis.

Smith, Amla and Kallis were all trapped lbw, while Petersen and du Plessis were caught at short leg and slip respectively.

"The home team in the first test were not under much pressure at all," Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore said. "Here they're confronted with a total of 300-plus on the board on a wicket that's totally different to the one in the first test and it's become harder."

Ajmal's haul was not without debate, however, with umpire Steve Davis at the center of a contentious decision to give Kallis out.

Davis, who had already had two other calls overturned by the DRS, appeared to give Kallis out caught before the batsman referred the decision upstairs.

HotSpot failed to find an edge, but ball-tracking technology suggested the ball would have struck the outside of leg stump.

Kallis was therefore given out lbw on 'umpire's call,' despite the ICC's DRS rules stating that decisions over a different mode of dismissal should be "conducted as if the batsman has been given not out."

Kallis sought clarity from Davis before he was eventually forced to leave the field, but while the incident left a sour taste in South African mouths, it took little away from Ajmal's superb effort, which saw him bowl all his overs unchanged.

It more than matched that of Vernon Philander, who had claimed the ninth five-wicket haul of his 15-test career in the morning session as the Proteas clinched the five wickets required to close out the Pakistan innings before lunch.

Philander took three wickets in three overs at the start of the day, including centurion Asad Shafiq for his overnight score of 111, and finished with figures of 5-59.

Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson claimed the final two wickets to wrap up the innings, but not before Tanvir Ahmed and Ajmal had put on 64 runs for the ninth wicket.

"Certainly it was very important that we got as many runs as possible in the first innings, because we feel that the wicket might be a bit harder to bat on as the days go," Whatmore said.

Source: http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/south-africa-vs-pakistan-2nd-test-match-day-3-live-streaming

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Saturday, February 16, 2013

Pat Brady?s Gay Marriage Crusade and the Daily Herald?s Bias Against GOP

-By Warner Todd Huston

Once in a while you see one of the Old Media?s little anti-conservative tricks that just screams to be pointed out and in a story about Illinois GOP Chair Pat Brady?s apostasy on gay marriage we see one of those tricks screaming out loud and clear.

The story focuses on Chairman Brady?s personal crusade to upset centuries of man/woman marriage traditions only to replace them with an anything-goes marriage policy. Chairman Brady has stepped aside from his role as Chairman of the Party, decided not to abide by his own party?s platform, and entered into a campaign to legalize gay marriage in Illinois.

I don?t begrudge the chairman his personal opinion, of course. I also appreciate that he is going to pains to note that he is doing this outside his role as GOP chairman?though I am not sure how one can easily separate the roles. I mean, when a party chairman calls you on the phone, regardless of what he is saying you are still talking to the party chairman!

Regardless, Brady says he feels that the GOP is ?on the wrong side of history? on the issue of eliminating traditional marriage. This, to me, is not a logical position to take. ?History? is not always right. ?History? once supported keeping women from voting. That changed. That was good. ?History? has also said that ?social issues? are more important to teach our children in school than reading, writing, and arithmetic. One change was good. The other not so much, but BOTH were ?on the side of history? and the times. It seems that ?history? is sometimes on the wrong side of? well, of history.

You can give a million examples from all over the world where ?history? was both wrong and right. Being ?on the side of history? is no panacea to morality. It is the issue that matters, not the measure of public opinion.

Anyway, whatever. Mr. Brady has his opinion and it is one that runs contrary to conservative principles.

That all being said, the Old Media is desperate to use Mr. Brady as a way to attack Republicans and a recent piece written by the Daily Herald?s Mike Riopell reveals that attempt.

Riopell?s piece notes that Brady launched his little anti-conservative campaign to undermine traditional families but noted that for all his phone calls and cajoling he only got one vote. So, what does this ONE vote mean to the Daily Herald?s Mike Riopell?

Check out his penultimate paragraph (my bold):

The flap over Brady?s views on same-sex marriage emphasizes a divide in the GOP over some social issues, but he points out Democrats weren?t united on the issue, either

?Emphasizes a divide?? Let?s review, shall we? One guy (Pat Brady) went on a personal campaign to tear down traditional marriage and after all the efforts he got one vote to go his way (Freshman GOP senator Jason Barickman).

One guy?one opinion?one vote.

How is it a ?divide? when 99.9% of the party and all its elected senators but one ignored Brady?s advice?

Obviously there is no divide, at least not as evinced in this vote What we are seeing here is Mike Riopell?s attempt to create a divide where none really exists. And that, my friends, is a typical, Old Media rhetorical trick to manufacture a reality to replace the truth.

Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago-based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com and BigJournalism.com, RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, RightPundits.com, StoptheACLU.com, Human Events Magazine, among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. Warner is also the editor of the Midwest Editor for RedCounty.com. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book "Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture" which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of PubliusForum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions, EMAIL Warner Todd Huston: igcolonel .at. hotmail.com "The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it." --Samuel Johnson

Source: http://www.prairiestatereport.us/2013/02/16/pat-bradys-gay-marriage-crusade-and-the-daily-heralds-bias-against-gop/

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Airbus ditches lithium-ion batteries for A350 planes

Phil LeBeau, CNBC correspondent ? ? ? 1 day

Airbus has started informing airlines that have ordered the new A350 that the new plane will have Nickel-Cadmium batteries, rather than lithium-ion batteries, the European plane maker told CNBC Thursday.

Airbus said the move is based entirely on reducing uncertainty in the program schedule -- not due to any safety concerns.

Airbus will continue working on eventually using lithium-ion batteries in A350 models, but until questions about the reliability of those batteries are resolved, the European plane maker will use nickel-cadmium batteries.

The plane maker is on track on deliver the A350 late next year. The lithium-ion batteries, used to power Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, are the subject of a probe after technical problems at two of the planes prompted regulators worldwide grounded entire the fleet of 50 planes last month.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/airbus-says-no-lithium-ion-batteries-a350-planes-1C8392066

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Legal Aid For Veterans In Ohio Seen As Possible Model For Others

CINCINNATI -- After the warehouse where he worked for nearly three decades closed and he faced the prospect of losing his unemployment benefits, Steve Brannan didn't know where to turn for legal help. An Army veteran, he had no money for a lawyer.

"I didn't know where to turn, and I had to go to a lot of places before I found help," said Brannan, 53, of Wilmington.

He eventually resolved the problem with help from the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, but now, Brannan and other veterans will have help just for them. A call center to open this month in central Ohio will pair low-income veterans, active military personnel and their families who can't afford attorneys with volunteer lawyers providing free representation in non-criminal cases. It's part of what legal experts and others say it a growing effort across the United States to meet the legal needs of those who have served their country, including programs in Maine, Georgia and Oklahoma.

"We need to make sure those who have given so much to our country receive the help they need," said former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Stratton, who retired from the court last year to devote much of her time to helping veterans with mental health and legal issues.

Spearheaded by Stratton, the Columbus-based center is a joint project of the Ohio Military/Veterans Legal Assistance Project and Capital University Law School. It will provide referral service in Franklin, Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Madison, Pickaway and Union counties, and officials hope it eventually can be expanded across Ohio and perhaps become a model for other areas. To be eligible for legal aid, , the income of the veterans and others seeking help can't exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.

"The end goal is to make sure no veteran or service member is denied the opportunity for legal assistance," OMVLAP Director Mike Renner said.

There are no data on how many veterans and service members may need legal assistance in the U.S. But demand will only increase as more service members return to civilian life, said retired Army Col. David Sutherland, who heads the Washington-based Dixon Center, which works to address needs of veterans, military service members and their families.

"About 1,000 service members are leaving the military or being demobilized each day," said Sutherland, and his organization estimates that about 1 million will leave over the next three years.

Though some free assistance for veterans and service members was available through legal aid agencies and other organizations in Ohio, Stratton said she worried that "agencies didn't always know about each other."

"I would like to see all of the state organizations together in one pro bono program," said Stratton."

Established partly with Columbus Foundation funding, Ohio's center will offer help for problems including foreclosures, divorces and landlord-tenant and creditor-debtor issues. About 40 lawyers have volunteered so far.

The center joins similar projects developed by bar associations, law schools and other groups in a few states.

More such projects are showing up every few months, said Nan Heald, executive director of Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Maine, a statewide organization that provides free, civil legal assistance to low-income people. Pine Tree also helped create Stateside Legal, a website highlighting unique legal needs of veterans, military personnel and their families and resources to help solve those problems.

Special laws have been designed to protect veterans, service members and their families, but lack of knowledge about those laws can actually create headaches.

"A military family can come home and find their house has been foreclosed on, even though there's a law that says that's not supposed to happen," she said. Stateside Legal works to increase awareness of those laws.

The State Bar of Georgia's Military Legal Assistance Program has helped connect more than 900 people with lawyers since 2009. About half are family law issues such as divorce and child support, said Norman Zoller, the program's coordinating attorney.

"With multiple deployments, it's not surprising that many service members face these types of issues," Zoller said.

As part of Oklahoma Lawyers for America's Heroes program, about 500 volunteer lawyers have helped nearly 1,200 clients since 2010, said Deborah Reheard, former president of the Oklahoma Bar Association, which runs the program.

Reheard, now executive director of the Pros 4 Vets support organization, plans to establish an online clearinghouse to inform bar associations nationwide about existing legal assistance programs and encourage others to start them.

Former Army Capt. Stuart Sparker and Steve Lynch, the only fulltime civilian attorney assigned to provide legal assistance to active military personnel in Ohio, welcome the state's new call center.

Sparker, a law student at Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University, says he knows of other veterans faced with child custody questions or divorce, and "without financial resources to hire an attorney, they're stuck."

Lynch says he gets calls frequently from those who need representation and can't afford it.

"I do what I can, but there is no way I can help everyone," he said.

Also on HuffPost:

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/16/legal-aid-for-veterans_n_2702026.html

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U.N. Security Council warns against arms transfers to Yemen

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council warned on Friday against attempts to destabilize Yemen with weapons shipments as the country tries to rebuild after two years of upheaval and expressed concern that former president Ali Abdullah Saleh was undermining the process.

The 15-member council said it was ready to consider further measures, including sanctions, "if actions aimed at undermining the Government of National Unity and the political transition continue."

Yemen said its coast guard seized missiles and rockets on January 23 believed to have been sent by Iran. Iran has denied any connection to the weapons, which were found aboard a vessel off the coast in an operation coordinated with the U.S. Navy.

The Security Council has asked its group of experts that monitors compliance with the Iran sanctions, which includes a ban on arms exports, to investigate the incident after Yemen officially complained, Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters.

"The Security Council expresses concern over reports of money and weapons being brought into Yemen from outside for the purpose of undermining the transition," the Security Council said in a statement.

The council also expressed concern over reports of interference "by individuals in Yemen representing the former regime ... including former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and former vice president Ali Salim Al-Beidh."

Under the U.S.-backed power transfer deal, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is overseeing reforms for a two-year interim period to ensure a transition to democracy. Presidential and parliamentary elections are expected in 2014.

Saleh stepped down in February 2012 after 33 years in office as part of the power-transfer deal, but he remains influential. His continuing sway in Yemen worries Gulf neighbors and Western nations fearful that the transition could descend into chaos.

Council envoys visited Yemen last month to show support for the power transfer. Yemen is struggling with several conflicts, including an al Qaeda insurgency, a Shi'ite Muslim rebellion and separatist forces.

Iran's U.N. mission wrote to the Security Council regarding the allegations about the ship containing arms bound for Yemen to deny responsibility.

"It has been further claimed that the items seized on board ... the ship were produced in Iran," Iran's U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee wrote. "Even if some of these items were made in Iran, this does not provide any evidence that Iran was involved in the shipment of arms to Yemen."

The council has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its nuclear enrichment program, which the United States, European Union and their allies suspect is at the heart of a weapons program. Iran rejects the allegation and refuses to halt what it says is a peaceful energy program.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by David Brunnstrom and Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-n-security-council-warns-against-arms-transfers-205304182--finance.html

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Alfa Romeo making its U.S. return after 18 years

Paul A. Eisenstein , The Detroit Bureau ? ? ? 1 day

It was already building cars by the time Henry Ford switched on his first moving assembly line, but despite a long and proud history both on the road and on the track, you may never have heard of Alfa Romeo and almost certainly may never have driven one.

The Italian manufacturer of the slick little sports car Dustin Hoffman drove in ?The Graduate,? Alfa Romeo abandoned the U.S. market in 1995, the victim of endemic quality problems and fast-shrinking sales. But with its parent Fiat SpA now married to Detroit?s Chrysler, Alfa is getting ready to stage a long-awaited comeback.

An all-new supercar, the Alfa Romeo 4C, will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show less than a month from now and then start rolling into U.S. showrooms before year-end. If all goes according to plan, the Italian maker hopes to quickly add three more models and target more established European luxury marques like BMW, Jaguar and Audi.

The news is resonating loudly among a small but devoted group of ?Alfisti? who have watched with disappointment as the Fiat subsidiary repeatedly postponed plans for a comeback. Indeed, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne made that one of the key elements of his turnaround plan after the maker took control of Chrysler following its 2009 bankruptcy.

But while most of the Chrysler revival strategy has gone according to plan, Alfa?s return soon fell behind schedule, and during a media roundtable held during the North American International Auto Show last month, Marchionne signaled yet another delay, noting problems with the powertrain planned for the 4C.

The Detroit Bureau: Tesla-NY Times Dispute Sparking Larger Debate

It just didn?t have the right feel and sound, the chief executive lamented, asserting that if Alfa couldn?t come up with a ?Wop engine,? it wasn?t going to come back to the States. Apparently, that motivated the troops. Barely two weeks later, plans for the 4C were finalized.

?This undertaking to bring Alfa back is a one-shot deal,? Marchionne cautioned. ?We are not going to do this twice.?

Today part of the Fiat empire ? which includes not only the Fiat and various Chrysler brands but also Maserati and Ferrari ? Alfa Romeo debuted on June 24, 1910, the product of a French consortium and Italy?s Nicola Romeo. The name was short for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, or the Lombard Automobile Factory.

The company quickly built up a strong reputation for its performance in motor sports and for its striking, street-legal sports cars. But its fortunes rode a roller-coaster before Fiat took Alfa over in 1986. Things haven?t done much better since then, and many industry observers believe the return to the U.S. could be Alfa?s make-it-or-break-it move. If the strategy succeeds, Alfa hopes to more than triple sales to 500,000 over the next several years, the U.S. market accounting for nearly 20% of that volume.

The Detroit Bureau: As Truck Wars Heat Up Ram Ramps up Production

Fiat has offered a first look at the new Alfa 4 C supercar, three advance images closely resembling the concept car first unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show ? and quickly going on to win an assortment of awards across Europe. The latest kudo comes from Britain?s popular What Car? magazine, which recently named it the ?Most Exciting Car of 2013.?

Alfa is aiming for the ?tip of the spear,? echoed auto analyst Joe Phillippi, of AutoTrends Consulting, staging its return with a striking ?halo car? that won?t get lost in the crowd. It will feature track-ready technologies including an ultra-light carbon fiber chassis and a turbocharged four-cylinder engine that Alfa hints will be one of the most powerful in the segment, at least in terms of the power-to-weight ratio, a more accurate measure of performance than raw horsepower.

Though the maker is saving key details for the Swiss debut, industry reports suggest the Alfa Romeo 4C will likely come in somewhere between $75,000 and $100,000 and, ?at that price, I?m sure their volume expectations will be modest,? said Phillippi, ?though they?ll probably meet them.?

Longer-term, the Fiat subsidiary will add more product to broaden its range ? including an affordable sports car it has agreed to develop in a new partnership with Mazda Motors. The Japanese maker will use its version of that 2-seater to replace the aging MX-5 Miata model.

Part of the challenge for Alfa will be standing out in an increasingly crowded and competitive market ? a challenge similar to the more mainstream Fiat brand which got off to an extremely slow start after its late 2011 return to the States.

The Detroit Bureau: Chevy Stuggles to Kickstart Slow-Selling Malibu Sedan

Like Fiat, Alfa will have to rebuild a reputation tarnished by the poor quality of the products it rolled out in the late 1980s and ?90s. ?They will have to pass muster,? stressed analyst Phillippi, ?and show they can get fit, finish and refinement right.? There are too many other options available otherwise.

The fact that a generation of American buyers has had little experience with Alfa is both good news and bad for the brand?s planned comeback. It will take some creative marketing ? and plenty of dollars ? to rebuild awareness, company officials acknowledge. On the other hand, the hip, young and affluent buyers the brand covets will largely have little direct knowledge of Alfa?s past problems.

Regaining a foothold in the U.S. could be the breakthrough Alfa needs. But if it doesn?t succeed? Senior Volkswagen officials, including CEO Martin Winterkorn, openly covet the Italian marque. For now, Fiat chief Marchionne insists Alfa isn?t for sale. And if the 4C succeeds it won?t need to be. But if the U.S. revival falls flat, well, all bets are off.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/alfa-romeo-making-its-u-s-return-after-18-years-1C8379906

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Photos: A roundup of the best images of the week

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/snapshots-slideshow/

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Kleverbeast Launches Into Public Beta, Bringing App Creation To The Masses For $29/Month

Kleverbeast, co-founded by Hatch Labs CEO and founder Dinesh Moorjani, is today launching in public beta to bring quick and easy app creation to the multitudes, letting anyone (even someone with no programming experience) build a beautiful, content-rich app in a matter of minutes. The service employs a simple drag-and-drop dashboard to help users figure out how to lay out their preferred media. Ten or fifteen years ago, website creation was relegated to those who either new how to code or had the money to hire developers. Today, sites like Tumblr and WordPress make it easy for almost anyone to build their own website. But apps are a different story, especially if your vision is a complex, professional-looking app. Moorjani explains that it can cost anywhere between $20,000 on the low-end to six or seven figures on the high-end to get a team together to build an app. Kleverbeast eats that model for breakfast, offering a full suite of app creation tools starting at just $29/month. Plus, once you build the app it can be released onto all major platforms, including iPhone, iPad and Android. The service supports all kinds of media, including photos, videos, animations, image effects, and social media integration. You can also update your app contents anytime, and test out the app on your actual mobile device as you build it. Here are some examples. Kleverbeast offers up a bunch of customizable templates built by Kleverbeast’s own expert design team, but eventually Moorjani believes that the platform may be more open for developers to submit their own templates. The app creation space has been heating up of late, with services like Yapp Events and Appy Couple letting people get a taste for simplified app development, but no one has the same all-encompassing platform as Kleverbeast, covering verticals like fashion, photography, advice, design, small businesses, and almost anything else that would fit into an app format. To prove just how easy it is to build an app on Kleverbeast, the team made me an app in about twenty minutes during the course of our meeting. Here’s a screenshot of the homepage: The service is available as a public beta starting today, and the company is offering a free seven-day trial to let you test out the service.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/obN2-MEvrl4/

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