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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50329597/
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Monday, December 31, 2012
NCAA Wrap: La Salle routs Siena
December 29, 2012, 11:00 pm
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Ramon Galloway scored 22 points to lead La Salle to an 80-52 victory over Siena Saturday night.
The visiting Explorers (9-2) never trailed and stormed to a 39-24 halftime lead. They extended it to 28 points, outscoring Siena (2-11) 41-28 in the second half.
Galloway's 22 points included six treys on 10 attempts. The Explorers also hit 6 of 7 3-point shots in the second half, finishing 13 of 28 from long range. The Saints, meanwhile, were just 3 of 17 beyond the arc in losing their ninth straight (see full recap).
Penn falls to Wagner in OT
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Kenneth Ortiz finished with 23 points, 10
rebounds and six assists to lead Wagner past Penn, 68-63, in overtime
Saturday.
Miles Cartwright converted a three-point play to put Penn (2-9) up 52-51 with 2:32 remaining. Ortiz then made a layup to put Wagner (6-5) back on top, but Henry Brooks' jumper with 1:38 left to play put Penn ahead 54-53.
Orlando Parker made 1 of 2 free throws with 37 seconds left to tie the game at 54, and Cartwright missed a last second 3, ensuring overtime (see full recap).
Penn State's Newbill sets new high
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- D.J. Newbill scored a career-high 23 points and added 12 rebounds as Penn State was able to hang on throughout a foul-plagued second half to defeat Duquesne 84-74 Saturday.
The Nittany Lions won their fourth straight game by opening a 22-point second-half lead that was enough to offset a Dukes comeback.
Duquesne (7-7) pulled to within five with 56 seconds left as Penn State's Nick Colella and Jermaine Marshall fouled out and the Dukes were consistently successful from the foul line.
The Nittany Lions had pulled away about halfway through the second half with an 11-0 scoring stretch (see full recap).
?2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
Tags:Source: http://www.csnphilly.com/ncaa/news/NCAA-Wrap-La-Salle-routs-Siena?blockID=818355&feedID=704
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Apple?s 12 Days of Christmas : Day 6 Sonic Jump
?
?
You and your friends can download a fantastic selection of songs, music videos, apps and books for free. Each download will only be available for 24 hours. Get the special 12 Days of Christmas app to make it even easier to access your gifts while you?re on the go.
To access these gifts, the Region Format setting on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch needs to match your iTunes Store account.
You need to download the app and then each day for 12 days there will be something free.
Day 5 ? Sonic Jump
?
?
Source: http://connecteddigitalworld.com/2012/12/31/apples-12-days-of-christmas-day-6-sonic-jump/
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Ainol Novo 7 Aurora 2 - 7 Inch IPS Screen Dual Core 1.5GHz White Android Tablet (16GB)
Ainol Novo 7 Aurora 2 is the second 7 Ainol Novo Android Tablet,with Amlogic8726-M6 Dual Core processor and 7 inch 1024*600 High-resolution LG IPS Screen.Ainol Novo 7 Aurora 2 support Google Play,WIFI,Skype,MSN,Flash,HDMI and so on...
Ainol Novo 7 Aurora 2 16GB Features:
OS: Android 4.0.3 pre-install Google Play
CPU: Amlogic8726-M6 Dual Core 1.5GHz
GPU: Dual Core Mail 400?2
RAM:??? DDR3 1G 1333MHZ
Storage: 16GB
Screen: 7 inch Capacitive Touchscreen, 1024*600 High-resolution LG IPS Screen
Resolution:??? 1024*600?? Pixels
Visible Angle: 178?
Display: IPS
Skype???? Yes
Android Market:??? Yes
Camera???? Front camera, 2 Megapixels
Ainol Novo 7 Aurora 2 16GB Details:
Gravity Sensor???? Yes
OTG :? Support(exfat?ntfs?fat32) Support (win2000/xp/vista/7)
Extend Card???? Support TF card up to 32GB extended
Video???? 1080P, AVI/MOV/MP4/RMVB/FLV/MKV?
Music???? MP3/WMA/WAV/APE/AAC/FLAC/OGG
Ebook???? UMD, TXT, PDF, HTML, RTF, FB2?
Email and Browser: Yes, built in
WIFI:??? Yes, 802.11 b/g/n
Flash : Support Flash 10.2 (Adobe designed for Amlogic)
HDMI: Support HDMI 1.4
Multi-Touch???? Yes, 5 points touch
Battery :4000 MAh
Weight:? 342g
Size: 186*120*11.9mm
Ainol Novo 7 Aurora 2 16GB contain:
1 x Ainol Novo7 Aurora 2 Android 4.0.3 Tablet
1 x USB cable
1 x Charger
Payment:
* We accept PayPal,Western Union,Wired Transfer.
Source: http://www.ainol-novo.com/ainol-novo-7-aurora-2-7-inch-ips-screen-dual-core-1-5ghz-16gb.html
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Sunday, December 30, 2012
Update Samsung Galaxy Camera to Android 4.1.1 with XXALK8 Firmware [HOW TO INSTALL]
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Source: www.ibtimes.com --- Sunday, December 30, 2012
How to install XXALK8 firmware on Samsung Galaxy camera. ...
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2012 top business stories: Oregon retail scene sees plenty of activity ...
The biggest, most tragic news of 2012 in local retail will likely continue to shake the community for a good portion of the year to come.
A masked gunman, later identified as 22-year-old Jacob Roberts, opened fire Dec. 11 near the food court at Clackamas Town Center, killing two adults and seriously injuring a teenage girl. Terrified shoppers dropped purses, shopping bags and strollers as they made for the doors. Others ducked into stores and sat for hours with employees as police searched for the gunman, who subsequently killed himself in a back hallway.
The violence chilled shoppers young and old who came to realize how safe they'd once felt in malls, especially during the holidays.
Retailers at Westfield Southcenter in Seattle, where a teenager was killed in a gang-related shooting in 2008, said it can take six months to a year to regain some sense of normalcy.
Indeed, people returned to Clackamas, shopping and writing words of support on memorial stars along the mall's railings. On the day after Christmas, usually one of the busiest days of the year, traffic was strong, though many shoppers and store employees commented it didn't seem as busy as some years.
"A lot of people have come out to support local merchants and national ones. That's the right thing to do," said John Jost, owner of Eugene-based Excalibur Cutlery & Gifts, which was hit financially by the mall's two-day closure following the tragedy. "It does take a while for memories to fade."
In other retail news, there was plenty of activity.
Comings
In February, Target Corp. announced plans to open a City Target in downtown Portland's Galleria Building. The 89,000-square-foot location at Southwest 10th Avenue and Alder Street will feature a pharmacy and the usual fashion and home offerings. A few blocks away, across from Pioneer Place mall, will come a long-awaited mega Apple store. Development plans call for a 165-foot-long, glass-enclosed store.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which for years battled Portlanders and politicians to wend its way into the Rose City, found a way to bring its price-slashing smiley face to town: defunct grocery stores. The Arkansas-based chain opened three mini-me versions in shuttered grocery stores in Lake Oswego, Beaverton and Gresham. Wal-Mart also updated and added groceries to its Southeast Portland location and broke ground on a 90,000-square-foot store with groceries at Hayden Meadows in North Portland.
GoingsLast January, in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tilman Fertitta sealed the deal on his purchase of McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants Inc. He immediately took the Portland company private and, according to many regular diners, reduced the chain's once-famous selection of local wines.
Lisa Sedlar, who joined New Seasons Market in 2005 and was named chief executive in 2010, announced she would leave the Portland-based grocery chain to launch her own line of healthy convenience stores. The grocer's leadership, which has since named Wendy Collie as CEO, liked Sedlar's idea and took a minority stake in her new venture.
Makeovers
Many of the metro area's malls unveiled updates and expansions this year.
The 13-year-old Woodburn Company Stores completed its final build-out, adding 16 stores as part of a $10 million expansion that added 38,569 square feet. New names included footwear retailers The Puma Store and Crocs, and clothing retailers Maurices and Charlotte Russe. Jantzen Beach also spent the year reworking the once-enclosed mall in North Portland into a 100,000-square-foot, U-shaped design that allows shoppers to access stores from the outside. The $50 million overhaul, which will add about 30 new stores, also included a revamp of the mall's Target, which added groceries.
Westfield Vancouver installed new carpeting, sleek furniture and a couple of new retailers. The update's main attraction is a snazzy Cinetopia 23 theater, which offers massive movie screens, including one 80-footer, as well as food and cocktails delivered to moviegoers' comfy seats.
Metro-area J.C. Penney stores have gotten spiffed up, too, incorporating several flashy stores-within-stores as part of the Texas-based chain's complete overhaul. Along with the new look, the retailer no longer relies on coupons or doorbuster deals to woo customers, relying instead on "every day low prices." Initial marketing confused some shoppers and the jury's still out on whether former Apple executive Ron Johnson's leadership at the venerable chain will be a success.
Fred Meyer, the locally based subsidiary of The Kroger Co., also completed a number of regularly scheduled, though major renovations in the Portland area. The chain's Hollywood West store in Northeast Portland, which will gain a New Seasons as a neighbor just a few blocks away in 2013, unveiled an $18 million update designed by a Eugene firm. Overall, the chain will spend $40 million on renovations at three Oregon stores, including its Tualatin location, next year.
-- Laura Gunderson
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/12/2012_top_business_stories_oreg.html
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
Wardrobe Malfunctions: Vintage Almost-Dangerous Outfits (PHOTOS)
Today's bra-top wearing Miley Cyrus and pastie enthusiast, Nicki Minaj, come from a long line of women who dared to bear it all. Let's just say the sheer trend isn't anything new. In honor of the history of the wardrobe malfunction, we put together some of the most epic and memorable fashion fails from the pre-Janet Jackson's nipple days. We have all the MVPs: our girls Xtina and Britney in the nineties (more like naughties), and of course Marilyn Monroe in her iconic white dress in "The Seven Year Itch."
Check out the slideshow to see our picks for near "fashion fail" status.
Want more? Be sure to check out HuffPost Style on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram at @HuffPostStyle.
--
Do you have a style story idea or tip? Email us at stylesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com. (PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.)
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/29/wardrobe-malfunctions-photos-celebrity_n_2376149.html
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An image gallery gift from NASA's Swift
Dec. 28, 2012 ? Of the three telescopes carried by NASA's Swift satellite, only one captures cosmic light at energies similar to those seen by the human eye. Although small by the standards of ground-based observatories, Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) plays a critical role in rapidly pinpointing the locations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the brightest explosions in the cosmos.
But as the proxy to the human eye aboard Swift, the UVOT takes some amazing pictures. The Swift team is celebrating eight years of UVOT operations by collecting more than 100 of the instrument's best snapshots in a web-based photo gallery (http://www.swift.psu.edu/uvot/coolPics.php). The images also can be viewed with the free Swift Explorer Mission iPhone app (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swift-explorer/id465669299?mt=8) developed by the Swift Mission Operations Center (MOC), which is located in State College, Pa., and operated by Penn State.
Swift has detected an average of about 90 GRBs a year since its launch in 2004. "When we aren't studying GRBs, we use the satellite's unique capabilities to engage in other scientific investigations, some of which produce beautiful images from the UVOT that we're delighted to be able to share with the public," said Michael Siegel, the lead scientist on the UVOT and a research associate in astronomy and astrophysics at the MOC.
The targets range from comets and star clusters to supernova remnants, nearby galaxies and active galaxies powered by supermassive black holes.
"One of our more challenging projects in the past was completing an ultraviolet mosaic of M31, the famous Andromeda galaxy," said Stefan Immler, a member of the Swift team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Because the galaxy is so much larger than the UVOT field of view, we had to take dozens of pictures and blend them together to show the whole object."
An ongoing mosaic project targets the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, two small satellite galaxies orbiting our own, and makes the Andromeda effort look like child's play. Although the galaxies are much smaller than M31, they are both much closer to us and extend over much larger areas of the sky. The task involves acquiring and aligning hundreds of images and is far from complete.
With the UVOT's wavelength range of 1,700 to 6,000 angstroms, Swift remains one of few missions that study ultraviolet light, much of which is blocked by Earth's atmosphere.
The 6.5-foot-long (2 meter) UVOT is centered on an 11.8-inch (30 cm) primary mirror. Designed and built by the Mullard Space Science Laboratory in Surrey, England, the telescope module includes the primary and secondary mirrors, an external baffle to reduce scattered light, two redundant detectors -- only one has been used to date -- and a power supply.
Each detector lies behind an identical filter wheel. The wheel holds color filters that transmit a broad range of wavelengths as well as devices called grisms, which spread out incoming light in much the same way as a prism spreads sunlight into a rainbow of component colors. The detectors retain information on the position and arrival time of each photon of light, an operating mode similar to typical X-ray telescopes.
Because most ultraviolet light never reaches the ground, Swift's UVOT provides a unique perspective on the cosmos. For example, it can measure the amount of water produced in passing comets by detecting the ultraviolet emission of hydroxyl (OH), one of the molecular fragments created when ultraviolet sunlight breaks up water molecules. Other types of UVOT science include exploring emissions from the centers of active galaxies, studying regions undergoing star formation, and identifying some of the rarest and most exotic stars known.
Toward the end of its energy-producing life, a star like the sun will blow away its outer layers as its core transforms into a compact, Earth-sized remnant known as a white dwarf. This chapter of stellar evolution, known to astronomers as the post-asymptotic giant branch phase, lasts only about 100,000 years -- just an eye-blink in comparison to the star's total lifetime. To better understand the process, astronomers need to study large numbers of these unusual stars.
"The UVOT's capabilities give us a great tool for surveying stellar populations and cataloging rare types of ultraviolet-bright stars," Siegel explained.
One of the first targets for the stellar survey was the giant cluster Omega Centauri, which hosts millions of stars and may be the remains of a small galaxy. Thanks to Swift's UVOT, astronomers at Goddard and Penn State have cataloged hundreds of rare stellar types in the cluster and are now comparing their properties and numbers to predictions from theoretical models describing how stars evolve.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/nasa/~3/HrIX9RciCqE/121228203202.htm
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Friday, December 28, 2012
Lady and the Champs 2013 How To Speaking Conference: Public ...
Lady and the Champs 2013 How To Speaking Conference: Public Speaking Training at it?s Best
The Champs bowing to Patricia Fripp
Many of my readers and past attendees of Lady and the Champs are asking me about the content for this year. I will keep you in the dark as to what you can learn from my World Champions Edge partners Ed Tate, Darren LaCroix, Craig Valentine?and Mark Brown. My partners are all Toastmasters?International World Champions of public speaking. They each beat out 25,000 contestants. Together we hold a yearly conference which is known as the best, most content-rich, and fun public speaking conference.
Every year we all?create a brand new brand keynote speech. We all deliver multiple breakout sessions. This year here are mine?
KEYNOTE
HOW TO Benefit From Fifty Shades of Fripp
What a wonderful life! She finds it hard to believe it herself. Patricia Fripp has been working for over 50 years. In this keynote presentation, you will learn the best business advice and speaking techniques she has learned and incorporated into her career. You can benefit from the same advice that has taken Fripp to the top of two professions.
You will walk away knowing the philosophy, habits, ideas, and techniques Fripp has learned from her parents, multi-millionaire clients,? bosses, and speaking mentors. Most of the advice is practical and profound in its simplicity.
Fifty Shades of Fripp will never be a best-selling book. However, when you incorporate the ideas, you can take your career and business to a much higher level of success.
Breakout: HOW TO Create Your Keynote?Faster Than You Think!
Are you an enthusiastic and good speaker in search of a winning presentation? Do you have a challenge knowing what to speak about? Do you have so much content you don?t know how to organize it? In any of these cases you can benefit from the Fripp process to create your keynote.
From Patricia Fripp you will learn how to:
??Mine your life experience for content
??Create a strong structure
??Create compelling openings
??Build emotional connection
??Tell memorable stories
In this action-packed, content-rich, session you are guaranteed to jump-start your speech creation. No matter where you are in your speaking development, you will walk away feeling you have hit the jackpot. You will know HOW to create your keynote?as soon as you sit down and focus.
Breakout: HOW TO Boost Your Sales Through Your Sales Presentations
Every sales conversation and presentation is a missed or captured opportunity. A good portion of Patricia Fripp?s business is helping her corporate clients redesign their sales presentations. In an era of tough competition and fewer sales, presentations that persuade, educate, and help you sell more will give you a competitive edge. Your public speaking and persuasive conversational skills will increase when you learn the inside secrets of winning sales.
In this session you will learn:
??What mistakes 90% of all sales professionals make
??When to get the information that will give you a competitive edge
??How to restructure your sales presentation to be user-friendly
??How to take your satisfied clients on sales calls
??How to be remembered more positively than your competition
In this action-packed, content-rich, session you are guaranteed to revisit how you sell yourself and your product. A portion of this session will be focused on laser coaching of volunteer?s sales presentations.
Breakout: HOW TO Present to Senior Management without Being Terrified
Do you have the position, salary, and respect you deserve? Do you have brilliant ideas and no confidence to share them? Are you looking for the competitive edge that comes from being powerfully persuasive and professional in the toughest of corporate speaking situations?
In this fun and interactive Patricia Fripp session, you will gain career-building strategies that have a long-term impact on your career.
You will learn how to:
??Effectively prepare for unplanned and frequent meetings
??Confidently present to senior managers
??Understand the two best ways to open your presentation
??Master one-on-one speaking
??Appreciate what is different speaking to senior leaders from all your other presentations
Attending this career-building session with Patricia Fripp will give you an edge over your equally qualified co-workers. A portion of this session will be focused on laser coaching.
Breakout: HOW TO Open Your Presentation with Maximum Impact
We all know the importance of a great speech opening yet so often find ourselves at a loss for the right words to set the tone for the message we want to deliver. In this presentation you will learn from Patricia Fripp how many speech-opening options are available to you. As part of your workbook you will receive dozens of opening techniques and actual words you can adapt.
You will learn how to:
??Create original and unique openings
??Adapt some of Fripp?s classic openings to suit you
??Use opening lines as topic transitions
??Deliver a presentation opening to set the right flavor
In this fun and interactive Patricia Fripp session, you will never be at a loss as to how to open a presentation with impact. A portion of this session will be focused on laser coaching.
Here is my mini bio if you are not familiar with me.
Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE, Hall of Fame keynote speaker, business presentation expert, sales presentation skills trainer, and highly sought-after executive speech coach. Named ?One of the 10 most electrifying speakers in North America? by Meetings and Conventions magazine. Kiplinger?s Personal Finance wrote, ?The sixth best investment in you is to attend a Patricia Fripp speaking school.? Companies and executives who want powerful, persuasive presentation skills that ensure them a competitive edge call Patricia Fripp! ?
If you would like to benefit from past conference check out the Lady and the Champs Combo
Check out Lady and the Champs 2013
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How to Fight After-Christmas Blues - Reluctant Entertainer
A few nights ago as I was in the kitchen by myself?the last of our guests had just left our home?I was hand-washing the dishes that didn?t fit into the dishwasher and a wave of sadness came over me.
Christmas was over.
When you think about all the anticipation and preparation that takes place in the weeks leading up to Christmas?probably more for women than men?when it?s all over, I?ve found that two things happen. A sigh of relief and a ?let-down? feeling.
The after-Christmas blues.
This year feels different. I?m embracing the fact that my kids are getting older, and I?m fighting the blues with a healthier approach. Thankful for the gift of each day, for the gift of my family and friends, I?ve found there are things I can do to keep from falling into a rut of after-party blues.
Don?t forget to hug and kiss the ones you love!
Looking ahead, with JOY in my heart:
1. Start the morning off by reading something inspirational. Something that gets your mind off of yourself and on to others. We really are created not just to get joy, but to give or italics it.
2. Plan another party or dinner in your home. It may be a NYE dinner, or a get-together in January. If you love to have people in your home, it?s a good thing to look ahead and keep the excitement and anticipation and outreach going.
3. Keep exercising, even if it?s just a walk every day. Exercise during the holidays is essential, as it creates physical energy, clears the mind, and flushes out toxic emotions. Try it consistently for 5 days and see if you feel a difference.
4. Clean or tidy up your house. It may be too soon to take your Christmas decorations down ? or maybe not. I particularly like to get things back in order right after Christmas. As I put away, I freshen up the wood, vacuum under the furniture, fluff the pillows, bring out a new candle.
5. Take old stuff to Good Will. There?s a tradition for New Year?s in many cultures, symbolic of getting rid of the old (and making room for new). I have 2 large boxes ready to go to Good Will this week. It feels good to purge and make yourself get rid of things you really don?t need anymore.
6. Clean the yard, patios, or work on a winter project. Getting in the outdoors, even if only an hour a day, will give a new mind set. Not only are you getting an outdoor chore done, you?re feeling a sense of accomplishment (and it?s good for the physical well being).
7. Hunker down, read good books, watch movies, curl up by the fire, take naps, don?t fight the long winter days and nights. It?s a hibernating time ? time to catch up on sleep and rest.
8. Start a new project. Our neighbor tore out their back patio area and gave us the concrete, so we?re slowly building new beds in the back side yard. It?s free, it?s improving our yard, and again, manual labor is good for the soul.
9. Change your diet. After so much good food, today is the day to do a juice fast. Time to get the sugar and rich foods out of your system and replace them with vitamins and minerals.
10. Keep busy. The best thing you can do for yourself is to do something for others. Don?t dwell on disappointments from the holidays but start anew with a fresh outlook. Look around yourself and see what condition those around you are in. It could be your neighbor that needs help, or an elderly friend.
Did I mention, hug and kiss the ones you love? (wink-wink)
Because I?m all about hospitality, invite your friends over for hot chocolate and conversation. Don?t keep to yourself or you?ll find the dark shadows of depression creeping up on you.
How about making a meal for another family, or better yet, extending an invitation for others to join you for a post-holiday meal.
It feels good to give. It?s what we?re made for.
Do you struggle with after-Christmas blues?
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Source: http://reluctantentertainer.com/2012/12/how-to-fight-after-christmas-blues/
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Top Real Estate Professional, Janice Copeland, in Winchester, VA ...
Denver NC ? 12/28/12 Pro Step Marketing, a real estate focused marketing design and implementation firm, developed a marketing strategy for Janice Copeland in Winchester, VA to assist distressed homeowners in finding comprehensive information to investigate options to avoid foreclosure. This strategy enables homeowners facing foreclosure to find options, such as short sales, to assist them in this difficult time.
Those who visit the Janice Copeland website at ShenandoahShortSales.com to Help Avoid Foreclosure in the Winchester, VA area will find information regarding the short sale process as an option of avoiding foreclosure.? In addition, visitors will find tools such as free reports, checklists and qualifying forms to help the seller during this process.? With a description of how the short sale process works, how it compares to a foreclosure, and how a homeowner may be able to qualify for a short sale, this plan allows distressed homeowners to evaluate all their options and know that there are experts in the Winchester, VA area that are able to help them.
Pro Step Marketing, www.prostepmarketing.com, led byTricia Andreassen is a leader in real estate marketing strategy field providing fully executed marketing plans for real estate professionals from print to web.? ?Many homeowners are hiding and not sharing that they are in trouble.? They are embarrassed and want to get information on their own terms?, says Andreassen.
?
For more information, visit www.prostepmarketing.com or call 866-799-9888.
Source: http://blog.prostepmarketing.com/?p=1106
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
Study ties drug shortage to poorer cancer survival - Salt Lake Tribune
Young cancer patients who couldn?t get a key medicine because of a national drug shortage were more likely to suffer a relapse than others who were able to get the preferred treatment, doctors report. It?s the first evidence that a long-standing drug-supply problem probably has affected cancer treatment results in specific patients.
The study involved more than 200 children and young adults with a blood cancer called Hodgkin lymphoma. Like childhood leukemia, it can be cured nearly 80 percent of the time. But a drug shortage that has worsened since 2009 is threatening that success rate, doctors report in Thursday?s New England Journal of Medicine.
Hundreds of drugs, including sedatives, antibiotics, painkillers and cancer treatments, have gone in and out of short supply in recent years. Reasons include manufacturing and contamination problems, plant shutdowns, and fewer makers and lower profits for certain drugs, especially generics infused during surgery or cancer treatment.
Doctors sometimes substitute different drugs for ones in short supply. But proving that the swaps led to poorer results has been tough, especially for cancer patients whose disease and response to treatment vary so much.
"We really couldn?t put our finger on, did anybody really suffer?" said Dr. Michael Link, a cancer specialist at Stanford University and past president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
The new study, led by Dr. Monika Metzger of St. Jude Children?s Research Hospital in Memphis, gives the best evidence so far that patients are suffering.
It focused on mechlorethamine, or nitrogen mustard, a drug that has been in short supply until last month, when more became available. Doctors compared results among 181 Hodgkin lymphoma patients who received the drug to 40 others who were given a different chemotherapy, cyclophosphamide, when the first choice was unavailable.
Only 75 percent of those given the substitute drug stayed free of cancer for two years versus 88 percent who received the preferred treatment.
"We can think of no credible explanation for this dramatic difference" other than the drug substitution, the authors wrote.
No patients died, but those who relapsed were given more aggressive treatments, including stem-cell transplants that have more side effects and can harm fertility.
story continues below
One of them was Abby Alonzo, of Port St. Lucie, Fla. She was diagnosed with lymphoma three years ago, when she was 10. After eight weeks of treatment with the preferred drug, "she was doing wonderfully," said her mother, Katie Alonzo.
Then doctors said they were out of it.
"I said, what do you mean, we don?t have the medication my child needs?" Katie Alonzo said.
After four weeks on the substitute chemo, Abby?s cancer had returned and spread to more places, her mother said. The child received high doses of chemotherapy and radiation and now seems cancer-free, although the treatments damaged her lung capacity, leaving her short of breath.
"When your child has cancer you live day by day," and to find out a life-saving medicine isn?t available is "very, very frightening," Katie Alonzo said.
Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/55530514-68/cancer-drug-treatment-patients.html.csp
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Obama cuts vacation short as 'fiscal cliff' looms
President Barack Obama speaks as he and first lady Michelle Obama, not seen, arrive to visit with members of the military and their families in Anderson Hall at Marine Corp Base Hawaii, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The first family is in Hawaii for a holiday vacation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Barack Obama speaks as he and first lady Michelle Obama, not seen, arrive to visit with members of the military and their families in Anderson Hall at Marine Corp Base Hawaii, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The first family is in Hawaii for a holiday vacation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Barack Obama visits with members of the military and their families in Anderson Hall at Marine Corp Base Hawaii, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The first family is in Hawaii for a holiday vacation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Barack Obama speaks as first lady Michelle Obama listens during a visit with members of the military and their families in Anderson Hall at Marine Corp Base Hawaii, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The first family is in Hawaii for a holiday vacation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Barack Obama speaks as first lady Michelle Obama listens during a visit with members of the military and their families in Anderson Hall at Marine Corp Base Hawaii, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The first family is in Hawaii for a holiday vacation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Barack Obama visits with members of the military and their families in Anderson Hall at Marine Corp Base Hawaii, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The first family is in Hawaii for a holiday vacation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
HONOLULU (AP) ? With a yearend deadline looming before the economy goes over the so-called fiscal cliff, President Barack Obama is cutting short his traditional Christmas holiday in Hawaii, planning to leave for Washington on Wednesday evening.
Obama was expected to arrive in Washington early Thursday, the White House said late Tuesday. First lady Michelle Obama and the couple's two daughters are scheduled to remain in Hawaii until Jan. 6.
In the past, the president's end-of-the-year holiday in his native state had stretched into the new year. The first family left Washington last Friday night.
Congress was expected to return to Washington on Thursday. Before he departed for Hawaii, Obama told reporters he expected to be back in the capital this week.
Without action by Obama and Congress, automatic budget cuts and tax increases are set to begin in January, which many economists say could send the country back into recession. So far, the president and congressional Republicans have been unable to reach agreement on any alternatives.
Lawmakers have expressed little but pessimism for the prospect of an agreement coming before Jan. 1. On Sunday, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said she expects any action in the waning days of the year to be "a patch because in four days we can't solve everything."
With the collapse last week of House Speaker John Boehner's plan to allow tax rates to rise on million-dollar-plus incomes, lawmakers were increasingly worried that no deal can be reached.
They were already preparing their arguments about who is to blame if the new year comes without an agreement.
Obama already has scaled back his ambitions for a sweeping budget bargain. Before leaving the capital on Friday, he called for a limited measure that extends George W. Bush-era tax cuts for most people and staves off federal spending cuts.
The Obamas were spending the holiday at a rented home near Honolulu. On Christmas Day, the president and first lady visited with members of the military to express thanks for their service.
"One of my favorite things is always coming to base on Christmas Day just to meet you and say 'thank you,'" the president said at Marine Corps Base Hawaii's Anderson Hall. He said that being commander in chief was his greatest honor as president.
Obama took photos with individual service members and their families.
On Christmas Eve, Obama called members of the military to thank them for serving the nation, then joined his family for dinner, the White House said. The Obamas opened gifts Christmas morning, ate breakfast and sang carols.
Friends were joining the Obamas for Christmas dinner Tuesday night, the White House said.
___
Reach Matthew Daly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC
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New computer bridges classical and quantum computing
A new type of machine could rival quantum computers in exceeding the power of classical computers, researchers say.
Quantum computers rely on the bizarre properties of atoms and the other construction blocks of the universe. The world is a fuzzy place at its very smallest levels ? in this realm where quantum physics dominates, things can seemingly exist in two places at once or spin in opposite directions at the same time.
The new computers rely on "boson" particles, and resemble quantum computers, which differ from traditional computers in important ways. Normal computers represent data as ones and zeroes, binary digits known as bits that are expressed by flicking switch-like transistors on or off. Quantum computers, however, use quantum bits, or qubits (pronouced "cue-bits"), that can be on and off at the same time, a state known as "superposition."
This allows the machines to carry out two calculations simultaneously. Quantum physics permits such behavior because it allows for particles that can exist in two places at once or spin in opposite directions at the same time.
[Experiment Demonstrates Possibility of Quantum Internet]
In principle, quantum computers could solve certain problems much faster than can classical computers, because the quantum machines could run through every possible combination at once. A quantum computer with 300 qubits could run more calculations in an instant than there are atoms in the universe.
However, keeping qubits in superposition is challenging, and the problem grows more difficult as more qubits are involved. As such, building quantum computers that are more powerful than classical computers has proven very difficult.
Now, though, two independent teams of scientists have built a novel kind of device known as a boson-sampling computer. Described as a bridge between classical and quantum computers, these machines also make use of the bizarre nature of quantum physics. Although boson-sampling computers theoretically offer less power than quantum computers are capable of producing, the machines should still, in principle, out-perform classical computers in certain problems.
In addition, a boson-sampling computer does not require qubits. As such, "it's technologically far simpler to create than building a full-scale quantum computer," said researcher Matthew Broome, a quantum physicist at the University of Queensland in Australia.
Boson-sampling computers are actually a specialized kind of quantum computer (which is known more formally as a universal quantum computer).
"The main difference between boson-sampling computers and universal quantum computers is that boson-sampling quantum computers can't solve a universal set of problems like universal quantum computers can," Broome said. "But they are still conjectured to be able to solve problems that would be massively intractable for classical computers. Boson sampling computers are an intermediate model of a quantum computer."
Boson-sampling computers are not based on qubits, but on particles called bosons. "In our case, we use photons," said researcher Ian Walmsley, a quantum physicist at the University of Oxford in England. Photons are the packets of energy that make up light, and are one type of boson.
Broome and Walmsley were in separate groups that each devised a boson-sampling computer, based off concepts first described by theoretical computer scientist Scott Aaronson at MIT. The computers involve multiple devices that can each generate single photons. The photons are inserted into a network where they can interact with one another. They emerge from outputs equipped with sensors to analyze the particles.
The task of calculating which outputs these photons will emerge from, an operation known as boson sampling, grows well beyond the capabilities of classical computers the more photons are involved. The new computers accurately resolved what paths the photons would take ? three photons with Broome and his colleagues' machine and four in Walmsley and his collaborators' device.
Since boson-sampling computing is in its infancy, it remains uncertain whether these computers can solve problems beyond boson sampling. Still, this research suggests that computers based on quantum physics could indeed tackle problems beyond the reach of classical computers.
Previously, there was nothing to say "that anything you can do on a quantum computer you can't do on a normal computer, which leaves in question the necessity for quantum computers," Broome said. "Now, with boson sampling, we're coming up with machines based on quantum physics that can attack problems strongly believed to be intractable for classical computers."
In the future, "it would be great to push these computers toward more photons to tackle problems that would be challenging to simulate on normal computers," study coauthor Walmsley added. Using about 20 to 30 photons would be a problem?beyond the capabilities of classical computers.
Both research teams detailed their findings online Dec. 20 in the journal Science.
This story was provided by TechNewsDaily, sister site to LiveScience.
Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Source: http://news.yahoo.com/computer-bridges-classical-quantum-computing-175759146.html
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Make Some Noise for Singapore and Win $5,000 Grant & Prizes ...
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://calvintimo.com/2012/12/27/make-some-noise-for-singapore-and-win-a-5000-grant-prizes/
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Three Reasons to Move Your Body - Living Well In Saratoga Springs ...
By Sarah A LoBisco, ND
Now that the holidays are in full swing, the last thing people are thinking about is dieting!? This results in one of the top New Year's Resolutions: weight loss.
This after thought of holiday splurging is probably most evident in various fitness centers attendance rates: cycling at full speed ahead in January and dead at the doorknob in July.
It's true, diets work, but they don't last. It's only with shifting lifestyle habits,such as nurturing the body with healthy foods, that optimal weight can be maintained. In fact, one of the pitfalls of dieting, besides the emotional swings from yo-yo weight loss, is an obsessive focus on food "laws" and body image distortions.
(I actually highlighted this as a thought to ponder on my "December 2012 Holistic Health Top Reads" on my homepage. Make sue you key in your thoughts.)
Although many still are of the belief that they can burn calories with working out to make up for an unhealthy diet, this is simply not true. Exercise can aid in weight management by increasing muscle mass and curbing cravings, but it must be in conjunction with a healthy diet, balanced hormones, optimal digestive function, and quenching inflammation systemically.
Still, the other health benefits of exercise can't be overstated. My previous blogs discuss some of the brain boosting and mood support exercise has. Besides these facts and optimal weight maintenance, here's more proof below on how moving your body can also has reduce pain and has heart promoting properties.
Read on to learn more about....
Exercise Tips:
Move it to Beat Join Pain
Ignoring the pain won't make it go away. Nor will avoiding all motions that spark discomfort. In fact, limiting your movements can weaken muscles, compounding joint trouble, and affect your posture, setting off a cascade of further problems. And while pain relievers and cold or hot packs may offer quick relief, fixes like these are merely temporary.
By contrast, the right set of exercises can be a long-lasting way to tame ankle, knee, hip, or shoulder pain. Practiced regularly, joint pain relief workouts might permit you to postpone -- or even avoid -- surgery on a problem joint that has been worsening for years by strengthening key supportive muscles and restoring flexibility. Over time, you may find limitations you've learned to work around will begin to ease. Tasks and opportunities for fun that have been weeded out of your repertoire by necessity may come back into reach, too.
Harvard
Medical School. The Secret to Joint Pain Relief-Exercise. Harvard Health
Publications 10/4/12. http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/the-secret-to-joint-pain-relief-exercise?e=mkester%40nci.com&j=28081960&l=16278673_HTML&mid=148797&u=323662523&jb=0
Yoga Boosts Stress-Busting Hormone, Reduces Pain, Study Finds
A new study by York University researchers finds that practicing yoga reduces the physical and psychological symptoms of chronic pain in women with fibromyalgia. The study is the first to look at the effects of yoga on cortisol levels in women with fibromyalgia. The condition, which predominantly affects women, is characterized by chronic pain and fatigue; common symptoms include muscle stiffness, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal discomfort, anxiety and depression
York University (2011, July 27). Yoga boosts stress-busting hormone, reduces pain, study finds. ScienceDaily. Accessed August 2, 2011.
Exercise + Fish Oil= Better
Heart Outcomes!
Taking fish oil and exercising had a combination heart boosting effect by lowering triglycerides (TAG) and atherogenic lipid molecules!
Fish oil was shown to independently improve plasma TAG homeostasis but did not resolve hyper-chylomicronaemia. Instead, combining fish oil with chronic exercise reduced the plasma concentration of pro-atherogenic chylomicron remnants; in addition it reduced the fasting and postprandial TAG response in viscerally obese insulin resistant subjects.
Karin M Slivkoff-Clark, Anthony P James and John CL Mamo. The chronic effects of fish oil with exercise on postprandial lipaemia and chylomicron homeostasis in insulin resistant viscerally obese men. Nutrition & Metabolism 2012, 9:9?doi:10.1186/1743-7075-9-9. http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/9/1/9
Source: http://www.saratoga.com/living-well/2012/12/three-reasons-to-move-your-body.html
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
TV Sex, Love, & Romance ? 2012?s Best & Worst Relationships ...
December 26, 2012 06:00 AM PST
Looking for something to keep you cozy as 2012 comes to a chilly close? TVLine hereby kicks off its two-part review of the year in TV with this heartwarming (and perhaps other body parts-warming) rundown of the year?s most notable sex- and love-related moments on TV.
This gallery captures what and who we loved, hated and couldn?t shut up about for the past 12 months. Best Love Story? Most Kick-Ass Parent? Sex Scene That Made Us Most Uncomfortable? Yeah, it?s all in here.
Click through the gallery below, then hit the comments with your thoughts. Which of our picks do you like? Which would you swap? Coming Thursday: Part 2 of our review, including Most Disappointing Show, Most Underrated Actor, Best Show No One Was Watching, Wackiest Plot Twist and other categories.
Source: http://tvline.com/2012/12/26/tv-sex-scenes-love-romance-best-worst-television-relationships/
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Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tips For Potential Borrowers Of Payday Advances | Finance ...
TIP! A payday loan is sometimes the only financial option left available to people. It?s important to make sure that you have no other options before taking out a loan, though.
Almost every person has times in their life when unexpected emergencies occur, such as accidents or repair bills that cannot be avoided. Sometimes you won?t have enough money in the bank to take care of these situations. This is when you may need to find additional help. Keep reading into the following paragraphs for ideas on how you can take advantage of payday advances.
TIP! If the time comes when you are using payday loans frequently, think about seeking the advice of a debt counseling professional. When you?re taking many payday loans, it?s a sign of a real problem.Comparison shop for lenders. Different lenders have different interest rates, and fees. You might see one that seems to be a good deal but there may be another lender with a better set of terms! Don?t go with one company until they have been thoroughly researched.
TIP! You should know what the payday loan will end up costing you. Everyone knows that payday loan providers charge borrowers very high interest rates.Be aware of the fees that come with a payday loan. Needing the money right now is perfectly understandable, but just remember that you?ll eventually be responsible for the fees. Be sure to demand that the company give you a written fee schedule before you take out a loan. Before you get the loan, make sure you know what you have to pay.
TIP! Avoid applying for a payday loan through the phone. You must fill out an application in person or online before you can be approved.
Don?t hesitate to shop around when you are looking for cash advance loans. Compare online deals vs. in person cash advance loans and select the lender who can give you the best deal with lowest interest rates. By doing your research, you will make a smarter financial decision.
TIP! If your paycheck will be insufficient to repay a proposed loan, your request may be denied. If you find yourself rejected because of this, you need to find another way to get the money you need.
If you?re going through with a payday loan, make sure you do your research on all the different lenders that are available to you. Do not just go with the first one you see advertising for. Take your time to figure out all you can about a company on the Internet. See if they offer customer reviews and look over these prior to giving anyone personal information. Working with a reputable company is half the battle with these loans.
TIP! Pay off any payday loan you take out as soon as possible. The typical duration of a payday loan is two weeks, but if you can afford to, in many cases you can pay off the loan early and save on interest costs.
Before borrowing from a payday lender, be sure that the company is licensed to do business in your state. Each state has different lending laws in order to get a legit and legal loan. For whatever state you reside, the lender you choose must be licensed in that state.
TIP! Do your research about any payday loan before accepting it. A lot of people think that loans from reputable companies provide the best terms.
Getting a payday loan can be quite serious. You may end up with problems with your credit and your bank if it is not handled correctly. Only get a payday loan if it is an emergency. Those dollars and more are coming out of a future paycheck.
TIP! It is very important that you understand you might not be able to secure a payday loan when you work for yourself. Self-employment is not looked at as a reliable income source by some payday lenders.
Understand that annual interest rates on payday loans are as high as 651%. Although it fluctuates in each state, the national average does reach that high of a number. Due to the way payday lenders operate, this number may not even appear in your contract. If it doesn?t, don?t assume the interest rate is lower. They may have just put the number in the small print where it?s not easily found.
TIP! You must be sure to have the money in your account on the day that your payday loan comes due. Most companies require the account be paid in full by the due date through your checking account.
A good option if you?re in a money pinch and have nowhere to turn is to think about taking out a payday loan. Payday loans come with substantial interest rates, but do offer you help in occasional emergencies. Remember to use the tips mentioned in the article above in order to safely use cash advance loans.
You might have previously been unsuccessful in your search for information on Smart Penny Stocks. Thankfully, this article helped you out. Before long, others will start to see you as an expert on Smart Penny Stocks.
Source: http://financeinvestingmarket.com/2012/12/17/tips-for-potential-borrowers-of-payday-advances/
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Software industry braces for new phone apps rules
Dan Russell-Pinson is shown in his office at his home in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. Russell-Pinson, like many apps developers, is concerned that soon-to-be-issued federal rules intended to strengthen online privacy protection for children will cost him money and curb innovation in an industry that thrives on it. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Dan Russell-Pinson is shown in his office at his home in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. Russell-Pinson, like many apps developers, is concerned that soon-to-be-issued federal rules intended to strengthen online privacy protection for children will cost him money and curb innovation in an industry that thrives on it. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Dan Russell-Pinson demonstrates his iPad app in his office at his home in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. Russell-Pinson, like many apps developers, is concerned that soon-to-be-issued federal rules intended to strengthen online privacy protection for children will cost him money and curb innovation in an industry that thrives on it. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Dan Russell-Pinson is shown in his office at his home in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. Russell-Pinson, like many apps developers, is concerned that soon-to-be-issued federal rules intended to strengthen online privacy protection for children will cost him money and curb innovation in an industry that thrives on it. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? A cellphone game for kids about U.S. geography, "Stack the States," gets rave reviews from parents. Its creator, Dan Russell-Pinson, considered making the 99-cent app better by adding a feature to allow children to play online against one another. But with the Federal Trade Commission issuing more stringent online child privacy rules, he's not even pursuing the idea.
"It would require all kinds of data sharing," said Russell-Pinson, the founder and sole employee of Freecloud Design in Charlotte, N.C. "I would be kind of afraid to do that."
The software industry is bracing for new regulations that it says will stifle creativity and saddle small businesses with legal and technical costs to ensure their cellphone apps don't run afoul of the rules. The changes, which the FTC will announce Wednesday, would update a 14-year-old law prohibiting the collection of personal information from preteens. It raises these questions: What is the value of a child's privacy on the Internet, and who should pay for it?
Businesses said they fear that under the trade commission's proposal, routine transfers of data that pose no threat to a child's safety will be treated the same as the improper gathering of information that can be used to create detailed user profiles that are highly valued by advertisers. Responsible software developers will err on the side of caution and the result will be less kid-friendly content available on the Internet, they say.
The FTC's chairman, Jon Leibowitz, defended the government's approach. "When you are talking about children, you have to give the benefit of the doubt to privacy," he said last week on Capitol Hill.
The cost of the changes to developers just selling educational apps for kids on Apple's iTunes store could be as high as $271 million ? nearly 100 times what the FTC has projected for all the businesses it expects to be newly covered, according to the Association for Competitive Technology, a Washington-based trade group that represents small and midsize software development companies. The FTC's estimate is "laughable," said Morgan Reed, the group's executive director.
An outlay of several thousand dollars to design the required privacy policy for an app is small change for larger, established companies. But for the bulk of developers, that's a lot of money. Most have only a few employees and operate on tight profit margins, Reed said.
Russell-Pinson said he can afford the expense now. But two years ago, when he was starting his business, he would have been in a real bind. "I didn't even make $10,000 on my first three apps," he said.
The FTC has imposed steep fines on companies that have violated the current law, the 1998 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. In a 2011 case, a mobile apps developer, W3 Innovations, paid $50,000 to settle charges it illegally collected and stored the email addresses of preteens that downloaded apps called "Emily's Girl World" and "Emily's Dress Up."
The technological shift from desk-bound personal computers to wireless devices is driving the FTC's push for major revisions to the law, known as COPPA. It was written before an era of cellphones and tablets loaded with apps that can be designed to siphon up a person's precise location and other personal data highly valued by advertisers and data brokers.
The push for tougher online safeguards is supported by parents concerned about the abundance of apps and the easy access kids have to them. But parents can be a first line of defense, said Leticia Barr, a former schoolteacher who runs the website Tech Savvy Mama. Barr also works as a social media consultant to Location Labs, a provider of mobile safety apps to wireless carriers, and she is occasionally paid by other app developers to review their products.
Before Barr allows her two young children to use an app, she tests it thoroughly so she knows whether it can collect data or contains advertising that might be inappropriate for kids. "That's just my personal policy, just as I wouldn't send them over to a stranger's house to play," Barr said.
The FTC's proposed changes prohibit the use of behavioral marketing techniques that target children. The revisions also would expand the definition of personal information to include the location data that comes from a cellphone or tablet, the device's unique identification number and data-tracking files known as "cookies."
As evidence for what it said was the need for updated rules, the FTC announced last week it was investigating an unspecified number of app developers which may have violated the law by gathering information from kids without their parent's consent. The agency examined 400 apps directed at kids that it purchased from Apple's iTunes store and Google's apps store, Google Play. The majority failed to inform parents about the types of data the app could gather and who could access it, the FTC said. The agency did not name the companies or say how many it was investigating.
The co-founder of Launchpad Toys in San Francisco, Andy Russell, said he adheres to the current law and supports more stringent privacy protections for preteens. Russell has eight employees, but his apps business is financed with venture capital and isn't yet profitable. Spending money to ensure he meets the new privacy requirements means it will take him that much longer to get into the black.
"I can't speak for other developers, but I think there are a lot of people out there who would say: 'You know what, that's OK. I'm just going to fold up shop,'" Russell said.
Under the proposed changes, permission from the parent of a preteen must be verifiable. Russell said that requirement alone could pose a major hurdle. What will qualify as proof that the consent is legitimate? A driver's license number? A form that is signed and faxed by a parent?
"Nobody uses a fax machine anymore," Russell said. "Verification is a wonderful thing. But to date there just hasn't been a good way to do so."
The need to balance the impact of regulations against their value to the public has long caused conflict between the private sector and policymakers in Washington. The topic of this debate, kids' privacy, has forced app developers and industry representatives to walk a fine line to avoid being seen as insensitive to an issue parents care deeply about.
The FTC has estimated that 500 existing operators of websites and online services and 125 newly formed businesses would be covered by the rule changes. The overall expense for legal and technical fees to meet the new requirements will be $2.7 million, the agency said. That works out to $9,420 for a new business, and just over $3,000 for an existing one, according to the agency's figures.
But costs for new and existing operators will probably be the same, said the Association for Competitive Technology's Reed. Building the required privacy standards into an app already in the market is usually more expensive that adding those features from the start, he said.
Reed said the FTC's estimate of 625 covered businesses is off by thousands. The bottom line, he said, is that compliance costs are likely to be much greater than most apps ever earn for their developers. "The average app in the iTunes store makes around $3,000," Reed said. "So we're at a bit of impasse in terms of being able to convince people to put in the hard work for apps that parents actually want."
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