Ideal Leadership ? How Leadership Can Grow Your Company

Develop you find all that you wished to learn about leadership in these page. Take all your time to utilize our resources to itas best. Develop to provide all of the vital information on management for you personally through this article. Use it wisely in every work. Succession planning is vital to the success of any company. Leadership transitions in business affect worker retention, the entire organizationas continuity, client retention and returns on investment. It is necessary to create and apply a procedure that produces exposure, responsibility and greater integration of most areas of the business. We?ve created a humorous anecdote on leadership to produce itas reading more enjoyable and interesting for you. This way you understand there is a funny side to leadership too! leadership came to exist time straight back. Nevertheless, could you think that there are a few people who still donat know very well what a management is? The rapidly changing demographics at work, particularly the aging baby boomer portion, there is a genuine challenge to find talent for leadership roles. Companies that are ready to answer pro actively with logically developed and implemented effective authority succession plans are in an exceptional position in the marketplace and global economies. Your strategic thinking business coach supplies the following set of recommended strategic measures to design a leadership succession planning process. Strategic Action #1: Begin the succession planning process early. An interval of one to three years before the expected travel is ideal dependent upon the leadership position. Visit this link a guide to tim stephens to compare why to allow for it. Probably the most ideal approach will be to start the planning process as soon as the new leader takes charge. Strategic Action #2: Demonstrably decide and communicate the purpose, objectives, and level of the management succession plan or program. It?s rather appealing to go on writing on leadership. But as there?s a limitation to the amount of words to be written, we?ve restricted ourselves for this. In the event people desire to discovergetlearndig upidentifybe taught further about life training system discussions, there are many libraries you could investigate. Nevertheless, do enjoy yourself reading it. Proper Action #3: Clearly define the desired and necessary qualities of the new leader. The features must be influenced by the companyas strategic plan and its requirements. Strategic Action #4: Produce a clearly focused management development strategy. This may allow potential candidates to obtain training for additional responsibility within the company. Strategic Action #5: Create a talent management process which will combine strategic thinking for particular growth opportunities for future leaders. This might include mentoring and some kind of teaching. Proper Action #6: Identify future leadership prospects by creating a system for evaluating current and future leadership needs. Have more acquainted with management as soon as you finish reading this article. Only then will you realize the importance of management in your day to day life. ?Strategic Action #7: Identify a system for communicating information to ensure that the management succession and/or development plans come in line with strategic business requirements. DiscoverGetLearnDig upIdentifyBe taught new information about clicky by browsing our prodound linkURLsiteuse withwebsitewikiarticlearticle directoryportfolioencyclopediapaperessayweb page. Your strategic thinking business coach encourages you to use strategic thinking in the development of leadership succession plans. If you would prefer to find out more about how to produce a succession strategy and how a strategic thinking business coach can facilitate and guide you because project, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his web site at www.businesscoach4u.com or by e-mail at jgecoach@aol.com Glenn Ebersole, Jr. Can be a professional, who is thought to be a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of public relations, business training, advertising, management, strategic planning and design. Glenn will be the Founder and Leader of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, an innovative marketing, public relations, proper planning and organization development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an unbiased professional executive, advertising, and management consulting firm. He?s an Avowed Facilitator and serves as a mentor and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a list of customers. Glenn can also be the author of the monthly publication, aGlennas Guiding Lines a? Thoughts From Your Own Strategic Thinking Business Coacha and has published more than 250 articles on business. In summary, I feel this report on authority can get its value once people like you feel that you?ve gained from reading this. Best of luck!.

Strategic Leadership ? How Leadership Can Grow Your Company

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Wall Street Fundamentals Releases New In-Depth Stock Reports on CLNE, CMI, FSYS and WPRT

Interest in Natural Gas vehicles has continued to grow rapidly. According to a recent report from Navigant Research the number of NGVs on the road will grow to 34.9 million by 2020, a sharp rise from the 18.2 million vehicles estimated to be on the road in 2013. ?Today, growth in the market is being fueled less by negative external events and more by positive industry developments, such as increased vehicle availability, a stronger focus on the largest users of fuel in new regions, and a greater openness to alternative fuel vehicles on the part of motorists and fleet operators.? says Dave Hurst, principal research analyst with Navigant Research.

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ:CLNE - News) shares traded in the range of $12.70 to $13.47 Thursday before settling to close at $13.29, an increase of 4.65 percent. The stock appears to be facing resistance at the $13.37 and $13.60 levels with some support at $13.13. Shares of Clean Energy Fuels have gained approximately 6.75 percent in 2013.

More information on Clean Energy Fuels and access to the free equity report can be found at:
www.WallStreetFundamentals.com/CLNE

Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI - News) shares traded in the range of $107.91 to $108.98 Thursday before settling to close at $108.51, an increase of 1.07 percent. The stock appears to be facing resistance at the $109.08 and $109.95 levels with some support at $106.02. Shares of Cummins have gained approximately 20.0 percent in the past year.

More information on Cummins and access to the free equity report can be found at:
www.WallStreetFundamentals.com/CMI

Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSYS - News) shares traded in the range of $16.24 to $17.84 Thursday before settling to close at $17.60 a share, an increase of 6.73 percent. The stock appears to be some facing resistance at $18.05 with some support at the $17.16 and $16.43 levels. Shares of Fuel Systems Solutions have gained approximately 19.6 percent in 2013.

More information on Fuel Systems Solutions and access to the free equity report can be found at:
www.WallStreetFundamentals.com/FSYS

Westport Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ:WPRT - News)(TSX:WPT.TO - News) shares traded in the range of $30.61 to $33.75 Thursday before settling to close at $33.44, an increase of 9.32 percent. The stock appears to have some support at the $31.80 and $31.64 levels. Shares of Westport Innovations have gained approximately 25.2 percent in 2013.

More information on Westport Innovations and access to the free equity report can be found at:
www.WallStreetFundamentals.com/WPRT

Wall Street Fundamentals offers our members a full range of investor services including in-depth equity reports on your favorite companies and timely market updates featuring the hottest stocks trending in the marketplace.

Activate your always free membership by signing up at www.WallStreetFundamentals.com today.

Disclaimer: Information, opinions and analysis contained herein are based on sources believed to be reliable, but no representation, expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, completeness or correctness. The opinions contained herein reflect our current judgment and are subject to change without notice. We accept no liability for any losses arising from an investor's reliance on or use of this report. This report is for information purposes only, and is neither a solicitation to buy nor an offer to sell securities. Certain information included herein is forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements concerning manufacturing, marketing, growth, and expansion. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could affect actual results and cause them to differ materially from expectations expressed herein. Wall Street Fundamentals has no financial relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this release.

Contact:
Wall Street Fundamentals
Website: www.WallStreetFundamentals.com
Email: editor@wallstreetfundamentals.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wall-street-fundamentals-releases-depth-stock-reports-clne-123000314.html

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Tiny nanocubes help scientists tell left from right

June 28, 2013 ? In chemical reactions, left and right can make a big difference. A "left-handed" molecule of a particular chemical composition could be an effective drug, while its mirror-image "right-handed" counterpart could be completely inactive. That's because, in biology, "left" and "right" molecular designs are crucial: Living organisms are made only from left-handed amino acids. So telling the two apart is important-but difficult.

Now, a team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and Ohio University has developed a new, simpler way to discern molecular handedness, known as chirality. They used gold-and-silver cubic nanoparticles to amplify the difference in left- and right-handed molecules' response to a particular kind of light. The study, described in the journal Nano Letters, provides the basis for a new way to probe the effects of handedness in molecular interactions with unprecedented sensitivity.

"Our discovery and methods based on this research could be extremely useful for the characterization of biomolecular interactions with drugs, probing protein folding, and in other applications where stereometric properties are important," said Oleg Gang, a researcher at Brookhaven's Center for Functional Nanomaterials and lead author on the paper. "We could use this same approach to monitor conformational changes in biomolecules under varying environmental conditions, such as temperature-and also to fabricate nano-objects that exhibit a chiral response to light, which could then be used as new kinds of nanoscale sensors."

The scientists knew that left- and right-handed chiral molecules would interact differently with "circularly polarized" light-where the direction of the electrical field rotates around the axis of the beam. This idea is similar to the way polarized sunglasses filter out reflected glare unlike ordinary lenses.

Other scientists have detected this difference, called "circular dichroism," in organic molecules' spectroscopic "fingerprints"-detailed maps of the wavelengths of light absorbed or reflected by the sample. But for most chiral biomolecules and many organic molecules, this "CD" signal is in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the signal is often weak. The tests thus require significant amounts of material at impractically high concentrations.

The team was encouraged they might find a way to enhance the signal by recent experiments showing that coupling certain molecules with metallic nanoparticles could greatly increase their response to light (see: http://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=11157). Theoretical work even suggested that these so-called plasmonic particles-which induce a collective oscillation of the material's conductive electrons, leading to stronger absorption of a particular wavelength-could bump the signal into the visible light portion of the spectroscopic fingerprint, where it would be easier to measure.

The group experimented with different shapes and compositions of nanoparticles, and found that cubes with a gold center surrounded by a silver shell are not only able to show a chiral optical signal in the near-visible range, but even more striking, were effective signal amplifiers. For their test biomolecule, they used synthetic strands of DNA-a molecule they were familiar with using as "glue" for sticking nanoparticles together.

When DNA was attached to the silver-coated nanocubes, the signal was approximately 100 times stronger than it was for free DNA in the solution. That is, the cubic nanoparticles allowed the scientists to detect the optical signal from the chiral molecules (making them "visible") at 100 times lower concentrations.

"This is a very large optical amplification relative to what was previously observed," said Fang Lu, the first author on the paper.

The observed amplification of the circular dichroism signal is a consequence of the interaction between the plasmonic particles and the "exciton," or energy absorbing, electrons within the DNA-nanocube complex, the scientists explained.

"This research could serve as a promising platform for ultrasensitive sensing of chiral molecules and their transformations in synthetic, biomedical, and pharmaceutical applications," Lu said.

"In addition," said Gang, "our approach offers a way to fabricate, via self-assembly, discrete plasmonic nano-objects with a chiral optical response from structurally non-chiral nano-components. These chiral plasmonic objects could greatly enhance the design of metamaterials and nano-optics for applications in energy harvesting and optical telecommunications."

This research was conducted at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials and funded by the DOE Office of Science and by the National Science Foundation.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/hrpWn2kSSTU/130628102933.htm

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Video: Public Pension Cost Cover-Up?

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/52346193/

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Beach Benefits: Oceanside Living Is Good for Health

WASHINGTON ? The age-old wisdom that being near the seaside is good for your health may be true, studies suggest.

People often focus on the threats the ocean poses to human health, whether it's storms and floods, harmful algal blooms or pollution. But research shows that spending time by the ocean has many positive effects on health and well-being, epidemiologist Lora Fleming of the University of Exeter in England, said here on Wednesday (June 26) at a science policy conference of the American Geophysical Union.

The notion that being near a beach makes one feel healthy is not new, of course. Doctors were prescribing trips to the shore or visits to "bathing hospitals" ? special clinics that offered seawater bath treatments ? as early as the 18th century. But only recently have scientists begun studying the ocean's health benefits experimentally, Fleming said.

Fleming's colleagues at the University of Exeter's European Centre for the Environment and Human Health have begun a project called "Blue Gym" to study how natural water environments can be used to promote human health and well-being. [Stunning Sands Gallery: A Rainbow of Beaches]

In one experiment, study participants were shown photographs of ocean views, green fields or cities, and asked how much they were willing to pay for a hotel room with each of those views. People were willing to pay more for the room with an ocean view, the results showed.

When you put a person in a beach environment, "It's not going to be any great surprise to you that people relax," said study researcher Mathew White, an environmental psychologist at Exeter. The question, he said, is how many people experience such health effects, and how much they impact people's health.

White and colleagues have also looked at census data in England to see how living near a coast affects people's health. They found that people who lived closer to the coast reported better health.

It's possible that the people living closest to the coast are simply wealthier and have better access to health care. But the study found that the health benefits of ocean proximity were greatest for socioeconomically deprived communities.

The researchers also looked at the effect of moving near a coast. Moving closer to the sea "significantly improves people's well-being," White said ? by about a tenth as much as finding a new job. The seaside environment may reduce stress and encourage physical activity, he added.

The researchers are now doing lab experiments to study the physiological benefits of coastal life. In the experiments, people in stressful situations, such as dental surgery, look at either a virtual beach, or the dental room. The trial is ongoing, but early studies suggest people report feeling less pain when immersed in a beach setting.

These studies suggest ocean exposure could be a useful form of therapy, Fleming said. For instance, surfing might improve the well-being of troubled kids, she said.

Still, many questions remain. Future studies will need to consider whether children and other populations show the same benefits from coastal living, what the optimal "dose" of time spent at the ocean might be, and how long the health effects last.

It also remains unclear how growing human communities might affect the beach environment. It's not going to be so great if everyone starts moving to the beach, Fleming said.

Follow Tanya Lewis on Twitter?and Google+.?Follow us @livescience, Facebook?& Google+. Original article on?LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/beach-benefits-oceanside-living-good-health-122922810.html

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Brazilian president's plan to import doctors faces resistance

By Esteban Israel

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff's plan to import foreign doctors to work in rural and poor parts of Brazil, part of a move to quell massive street protests over poor public services, has run into stiff opposition from the powerful medical lobby.

Public dissatisfaction over the quality of healthcare has helped fuel nationwide protests over the past month and spurred Rousseff, a pragmatic leftist, to announce earlier this week the "emergency action" plan to bring in foreign doctors.

Brazil's public healthcare system, which serves some 75 percent of its 194 million people, has a shortage of 54,000 physicians, leaving it with a mere 1.8 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, according to government data.

The problem is particularly dire in remote parts of the country. In Imperatriz, a city of 250,000 in the poor northeastern state of Maranhao, the municipal hospital's intensive care unit has gone without a pediatrician for a year.

With not enough Brazilian doctors to meet these needs, health officials have seized upon the idea of importing doctors from Spain and Portugal, which have about double the number of doctors per capita but are suffering deep economic crises.

Local doctors, however, are skeptical and angry about the plan, which they see as an attempt to obscure the government's failures in healthcare. The Federal Board of Medicine, which represents 400,000 doctors, has announced a walk-out on July 3 in protest.

"Portuguese and Spanish won't come because of the work conditions," said Roberto D'Avila, president of the Federal Board of Medicine. "All this rhetoric is being employed to justify the arrival of Cuban doctors without re-training."

Early this year, authorities floated the idea of bringing up to 6,000 doctors from Cuba. D'Avila is dubious of the skills of Cuban doctors, claiming that some have the training of one of "our nurses."

"Bringing doctors from abroad would only make matters worse," Alison Soto, the director of the municipal hospital in Imperatriz, said in an interview. "It's the government's skewed view."

Brazil, a former Portuguese colony, has long been a destination for immigrants, with waves of Europeans and Japanese going there in the last century. But foreigners only represent 0.3 percent of Brazil's current labor force, far below the global average of 3 percent, according to United Nations data.

"Brazil needs to have a migratory flow 10, 15, 20 times bigger than it currently does," Ricardo Paes de Barros, secretary of strategic affairs for the president's office, said in an interview with Reuters. "That would oxygenate Brazil's society and economy."

In the last six months Brazil has taken steps in that direction, facilitating access to temporary work visas and permitting spouses of foreign professionals to work as well.

Paes de Barros wants to simplify the hiring of foreign professionals, create special visas for foreigners interested in looking for jobs in Brazil and offer work permits to foreigners who study in the country.

Changing work laws, however, likely won't be enough to fix the labor shortages. Foreigners complain about the high cost of living, violence and traffic gridlock in its cities.

And with the country's once strong economic growth cooling - GDP grew by about 0.9 percent last year - Latin America's largest economy is not as strong a lure as it was a few years ago.

A faltering economy and the government's decision to focus on preparations for the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics has stoked public anger and fueled the demonstrations.

"We could have the friendliest legislation in the world without anyone wanting to come," said Paes de Barros. "We don't only have to send the invitations - we have to make sure that the party will be a good one."

(Reporting by Esteban Israel; Additional reporting by Lucas Iberico-Lozada; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brazilian-presidents-plan-import-doctors-faces-resistance-211315356.html

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Glastonbury festival kicks off with mud and megastars

By Belinda Goldsmith

PILTON (Reuters) - Britain's largest music festival got off to a traditionally muddy start on Thursday as thousands of campers arrived at Glastonbury in pouring rain for three days of music headlined by veteran rockers the Rolling Stones.

The event that started as a retreat for about 1,500 hippies on a dairy farm in rural Somerset in 1970 has grown into the world's largest music festival, featuring about 2,000 acts on 58 stages and attended by more than 135,000 people.

Gates opened early Wednesday and by late Thursday nearly 120,000 people had flooded into the 900-acre site about 130 miles southwest of London, turning the working farm of festival founder Michael Eavis into a tent city.

But while Glastonbury is known for megastars performing alongside eclectic acts, it also has a reputation for falling foul of Britain's fickle summer and this year was no exception, despite forecasts for dry weather.

By mid-afternoon on Thursday the rain was falling heavily, continuing into the night, with revelers in raincoats and rubber boots - known as wellies - negotiating muddy tracks.

"The forecast was fine so I am glad I did bring clothes for all weather," said Grace Murphy, 23, an Irish social work student, dressed in a bright pink raincoat and black wellies.

"We'll still have fun. It's a great atmosphere and there's no other festival as awesome as Glastonbury."

Meteorologists from Britain's national weather service, the Met Office, had forecast largely dry weather, but even in the rain the music fans descending on Glastonbury were determined to have fun, having paid 205 pounds ($315) each for tickets.

"You've got to expect some rain at Glastonbury. It's part of the experience," said Amanda Delve, a retailer aged in her 40s, browsing some of the 350 food stalls on the site.

GLAMPING IN THE MUD

The resources needed at Glastonbury are staggering, with 13 miles of fences ringing the site where there are about 198 pubs and bars, and 4,500 toilets. The festival was not held in 2012 as the London Olympics needed so much of the equipment.

An army of workers spends weeks preparing the site where the Rolling Stones play on Saturday, their first performance at Glastonbury, marking their 50 years in the music business.

The headline act on Friday is Britain's Arctic Monkeys and on Sunday it is British folk band Mumford & Sons who confirmed this week that bassist Ted Dwane was well enough to perform after undergoing surgery for a blood clot on the brain.

While the big names grab the spotlight, Eavis has ensured the event stays true to its alternative roots with music of all genres as well as dance, circus, and workshops in meditation, willow sculptures, and shamanic drum making.

On Thursday the Gyuto Monks, a group of Tibetan monks, chanted from a stage in the pouring rain. The Grammy-nominated group live in Dharamsala, north India, with the Dalai Lama who they followed when he fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

Over the years the festival has not only grown in size but it has also started to attract a different crowd, with research showing the average age of revelers at Glastonbury is now 36 - and it does not have to be too rough an experience.

Campers can opt for a more glamorous stay known as "glamping" with companies offering ready-pitched tents, golf buggies to get around, champagne, private toilets and showers.

"The type of people here this year are totally different from when I first came in 1995, much older, but I guess at 205 pounds a ticket that's to be expected," said Mark Bignell, 45.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith; Editing by Pravin Char)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/megastars-mingle-monks-music-fans-glastonbury-festival-173654486.html

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Microscopy technique could help computer industry develop 3-D components

June 28, 2013 ? A technique developed several years ago at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for improving optical microscopes now has been applied to monitoring the next generation of computer chip circuit components, potentially providing the semiconductor industry with a crucial tool for improving chips for the next decade or more.

The technique, called Through-Focus Scanning Optical Microscopy (TSOM), has now been shown able to detect tiny differences in the three-dimensional shapes of circuit components, which until very recently have been essentially two-dimensional objects. TSOM is sensitive to features that are as small as 10 nanometers (nm) across, perhaps smaller -- addressing some important industry measurement challenges for the near future for manufacturing process control and helping maintain the viability of optical microscopy in electronics manufacturing.

For decades, computer chips have resembled city maps in which components are essentially flat. But as designers strive to pack more components onto chips, they have reached the same conclusion as city planners: The only direction left to build is upwards. New generations of chips feature 3-D structures that stack components atop one another, but ensuring these components are all made to the right shapes and sizes requires a whole new dimension -- literally -- of measurement capability.

"Previously, all we needed to do was show we could accurately measure the width of a line a certain number of nanometers across," explains NIST's Ravikiran Attota. "Now, we will need to measure all sides of a three-dimensional structure that has more nooks and crannies than many modern buildings. And the nature of light makes that difficult."

Part of the trouble is that components now are growing so small that a light beam can't quite get at them. Optical microscopes are normally limited to features larger than about half the wavelength of the light used -- about 250 nanometers for green light. So microscopists have worked around the issue by lining up a bunch of identical components at regular distances apart and observing how light scatters off the group and fitting the data with optical models to determine the dimensions. But these optical measurements, as currently used in manufacturing, have great difficulty measuring newer 3-D structures.

Other non-optical methods of imaging such as scanning probe microscopy are expensive and slow, so the NIST team decided to test the abilities of TSOM, a technique that Attota played a major role in developing. The method uses a conventional optical microscope, but rather than taking a single image, it collects 2-D images at different focal positions forming a 3-D data space. A computer then extracts brightness profiles from these multiple out-of-focus images and uses the differences between them to construct the TSOM image. The TSOM images it provides are somewhat abstract, but the differences between them are still clear enough to infer minute shape differences in the measured structures -- bypassing the use of optical models, which introduce complexities that industry must face.

"Our simulation studies show that TSOM might measure features as small as 10 nm or smaller, which would be enough for the semiconductor industry for another decade," Attota says. "And we can look at anything with TSOM, not just circuits. It could become useful to any field where 3-D shape analysis of tiny objects is needed."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/l3YXanJMEUE/130628131025.htm

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New rules aim to rid schools of junk foods

WASHINGTON (AP) ? High-calorie sports drinks and candy bars will be removed from school vending machines and cafeteria lines as soon as next year, replaced with diet drinks, granola bars and other healthier items.

The Agriculture Department said Thursday that for the first time it will make sure that all foods sold in the nation's 100,000 schools are healthier by expanding fat, calorie, sugar and sodium limits to almost everything sold during the school day.

That includes snacks sold around the school and foods on the "a la carte" line in cafeterias, which never have been regulated before. The new rules, proposed in February and made final this week, also would allow states to regulate student bake sales.

The rules, required under a child nutrition law passed by Congress in 2010, are part of the government's effort to combat childhood obesity. The rules have the potential to transform what many children eat at school.

While some schools already have made improvements in their lunch menus and vending machine choices, others still are selling high-fat, high-calorie foods. Standards put into place at the beginning of the 2012 school year already regulate the nutritional content of free and low-cost school breakfasts and lunches that are subsidized by the federal government. However most lunchrooms also have the "a la carte" lines that sell other foods ? often greasy foods like mozzarella sticks and nachos. Under the rules, those lines could offer healthier pizzas, low-fat hamburgers, fruit cups or yogurt, among other foods that meet the standards.

One of the biggest changes under the rules will be a near-ban on high-calorie sports drinks, which many beverage companies added to school vending machines to replace high-calorie sodas that they pulled in response to criticism from the public health community.

The rule would only allow sales in high schools of sodas and sports drinks that contain 60 calories or less in a 12-ounce serving, banning the highest-calorie versions of those beverages.

Many companies already have developed low-calorie sports drinks ? Gatorade's G2, for example ? and many diet teas and diet sodas are also available for sale.

Elementary and middle schools could sell only water, carbonated water, 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice, and low fat and fat-free milk, including nonfat flavored milks.

First lady Michelle Obama, an advocate for healthy eating and efforts to reduce childhood obesity, pointed out that many working parents don't have control over what their kids eat when they're not at home.

"That's why as a mom myself, I am so excited that schools will now be offering healthier choices to students and reinforcing the work we do at home to help our kids stay healthy," Mrs. Obama said in a statement.

At a congressional hearing, a school nutritionist said Thursday that schools have had difficulty adjusting to the 2012 changes, and the new "a la carte" standards could also be a hardship.

Sandra Ford, president of the School Nutrition Association and director of food and nutrition services for a school district in Bradenton, Fla., said in prepared testimony that the healthier foods have been expensive and participation has declined since the standards went into effect. She also predicted that her school district could lose $975,000 a year under the new "a la carte" guidelines because they would have to eliminate many of the foods they currently sell.

"The new meal pattern requirements have significantly increased the expense of preparing school meals, at a time when food costs were already on the rise," she said.

Ford called on the USDA to permanently do away with the limits on grains and proteins, saying they hampered her school district's ability to serve sandwiches and salads with chicken on top that had proved popular with students.

The Government Accountability Office said it visited eight districts around the country and found that in most districts students were having trouble adjusting to some of the new foods, leading to increased food waste and decreased participation in the school lunch program.

However, the agency said in a report that most students spoke positively about eating healthier foods and predicted they will get used to the changes over time.

One principle of the new rules is not just to cut down on unhealthy foods but to increase the number of healthier foods sold. The standards encourage more whole grains, low-fat dairy, fruits, vegetables and lean proteins.

"It's not enough for it to be low in problem nutrients, it also has to provide positive nutritional benefits," says Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest who has lobbied for the new rules. "There has to be some food in the food."

The new rules are the latest in a long list of changes designed to make foods served in schools more healthful and accessible. Nutritional guidelines for the subsidized lunches were revised last year and put in place last fall. The 2010 child nutrition law also provided more money for schools to serve free and reduced-cost lunches and required more meals to be served to hungry kids.

Last year's rules making main lunch fare more nutritious faced criticism from some conservatives, including some Republicans in Congress, who said the government shouldn't be telling kids what to eat. Mindful of that backlash, the Agriculture Department left one of the more controversial parts of the rule, the regulation of in-school fundraisers like bake sales, up to the states.

The new guidelines also would not apply to after-school concessions at school games or theater events, goodies brought from home for classroom celebrations, or anything students bring for their own personal consumption.

The USDA so far has shown a willingness to work with schools to resolve complaints that some new requirements are hard to meet. Last year, for example, the government temporarily relaxed some limits on meats and grains in subsidized lunches after school nutritionists said they weren't working.

The food industry has been onboard with many of the changes, and several companies worked with Congress on the child nutrition law three years ago.

___

Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rules-aim-rid-schools-junk-foods-100107920.html

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US stocks fall in quiet end to a bumpy month

NEW YORK (AP) ? Given the wild trading of late, it was a calm close to the month.

After flitting between tiny gains and losses most of Friday, the stock market closed mostly lower, a peaceful end to the most volatile month in nearly two years.

"It's a dull Friday," said Gary Flam, a stock manager at Bel Air Investment Advisors. A bull market, he added, is "rarely a straight march up."

The Standard & Poor's 500 index ended its bumpy ride in June down 1.5 percent, the first monthly loss since October. Still, the index had its best first half of a year since 1998 ? up 12.6 percent.

Investors still seem unsure how to react to recent statements by Federal Reserve officials about when the central bank might end its support for the economy.

Mixed economic news added to investors' uncertainty Friday. An index of consumer confidence was almost unchanged, but a gauge of business activity in the Chicago area plunged.

"Investors don't know what to make of the news," said John Toohey, vice president of stock investments at USAA Investment Management. "I wouldn't be surprised to see more ups and downs."

The S&P 500 stock index closed down 6.92 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,606.28. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 114.89 points, or 0.8 percent, to 14,909.60. The Nasdaq composite index rose 1.38 points, or 0.04 percent, to 3,403.25.

Stocks have jumped around in June. By contrast, the first five months of the year were mostly calm, marked by small but steady gains as investors bought on news of higher home prices, record corporate earnings and an improving jobs market.

By May 21, the S&P 500 had climbed to a record 1,669. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke the next day, and prices began gyrating.

Investors have long known that the central bank would eventually pull back from its bond purchases, which are designed to lower interest rates and get people to borrow and spend more. Last week, Bernanke got more specific about the timing. He said the Fed could start purchasing fewer bonds later this year, and stop buying them completely by the middle of next year, if the economy continued to strengthen.

Investors dumped stocks, but then had second thoughts this week as other Fed officials stressed that the central bank wouldn't pull back on its support soon. The Dow gained 365 points Tuesday-Thursday. For the month, the Dow moved up or down at least 100 points 16 of 20 trading days, the most since September 2011.

Bonds have also been on a bumpy ride in recent weeks, mostly down.

The prospect of fewer purchases by the Fed sent investors fleeing from all sorts of bonds ? municipals, U.S. Treasury securities, corporate bonds, foreign government debt and high-yield bonds. Investors pulled a record $23 billion from bond mutual funds in the five trading days ended Wednesday, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Bond yields, which move in the opposite direction of bond prices, have rocketed.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.49 percent from 2.47 percent late Thursday. Last month, the yield was as low as 1.63 percent. Treasury yields help set borrowing costs for a large range of consumer and business loans.

It was a rocky month in foreign markets, too. Major indexes in France, Germany and Britain lost about 5 percent in June.

In U.S. economic news Friday, the University of Michigan said its index of consumer sentiment dipped to 84.1 in June from 84.5 the previous month. But that was still relatively high. May's reading was the highest since July 2007.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Business Barometer sank to 51.6 from a 14-month high of 58.7 in May. That was well below the level of 55 that economists polled by FactSet were expecting.

Bill Strazzullo, chief strategist of Bell Curve Trading, is worried stock investors will sell on any signs the Fed is slowing its economic stimulus program.

"This rally is still very much being supported by monetary easing by central banks," he said. He added, referring to Friday's quiet trading: "It's the calm before the storm."

The S&P 500 has gained 13.8 percent since the start of the year, including dividends. That is its best performance in a first half of the year since 1998, when it gained 17.7 percent.

On Friday, eight of the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 were down for the day, led by health care companies. They fell 0.9 percent.

In commodities trading, gold gained $12.10 to $1,223.70 an ounce. The price of crude oil fell 49 cents to $96.56 a barrel. The dollar rose against the euro and the Japanese yen.

Among stocks making big moves:

? BlackBerry maker Research In Motion plunged $4.02, or 28 percent, to $10.46 after the company posted a surprise loss in the first quarter and warned of future losses despite releasing its new line of smartphones this year. The company also discontinued making new versions of its slow-selling tablet computer, The Playbook.

? Accenture fell $8.26, or 10 percent, to $71.96. The consulting firm cut its revenue and profit outlook for its fiscal year ending in August. Revenue was hurt by lower demand in Europe as well as in its communications, media and technology division.

? Hospira rose $2.16, or 6 percent, to $38.31. The drug company said it had received a positive opinion from a European drug regulator for a drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis, among other illnesses. A final decision could come in three months.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-06-28-Wall%20Street/id-1106b73b65ed4e3eb78502ca4c30ba29

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FDA Gets Tough on Tobacco

As the Food and Drug Administration this week announced the rejection of four proposed tobacco products, experts voiced hope that the federal government can diminish tobacco use through regulation.

The FDA's decision Tuesday marked the first time tobacco products were subject to federal oversight. The FDA also authorized two new tobacco products though they are versions of what's already on the market.

The FDA's authorizations come four years after the passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gave the FDA the ability to regulate any new tobacco products put on the market.

"[The] historic announcement marks an important step toward the FDA's goal of reducing preventable disease and death caused by tobacco," FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg said in a statement.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, tobacco smoke and secondhand smoke is responsible for the death of 443,000 Americans each year. Experts said the FDA's regulations were just one small step towards diminishing the use of tobacco in the U.S.

Dr. Richard Hurt, founder and director of the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center in Minneapolis, said he was pleased the FDA had started to regulate products, although he remained concerned that it took the FDA four years to make a final decision about six products.

"This is just the toe in the water of the FDA's regulation," said Hurt. "All of us in the tobacco field have been waiting for them to do something."

Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, admitted that the process "has taken time," but believed it would become more streamlined in the future.

"As all involved parties continue to gain more experience, FDA expects the process to move much more quickly," Zeller told reporters during a call on Tuesday.

Some 4,000 tobacco products await FDA authorization. Approximately 3,500 of those products are already on the market because they beat a deadline that would have held them off the market pending FDA authorization. They are allowed to remain on the market unless the FDA issues an order saying they do not meet specific standards.

The products that were authorized were two different kinds of Newport non-menthol cigarettes from the Lorillard Tobacco Co. The FDA said they would be allowed on the market because they did not raise different public health questions than comparable products already on the market. By law, the FDA cannot name the four products that were rejected or their manufacturers.

The FDA said there could be a number of reasons new tobacco products do not get authorization, such as if they raise questions of public health, or if there was a lack of data on their impact on public health or incomplete test data.

The FDA's authorization did not mean the products were any healthier than other tobacco products. The FDA authorizes the products on the basis that they will not present more harm to the public health than a comparable product already on the market.

Though the two products passed FDA muster under the guidelines of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, that does not allow Lorillard to claim they have FDA approval, because they do not meet the criteria of being "safe and effective" for users.

Lorillard Tobacco CEO Murray Kessler said he was "pleased" with the FDA's ruling.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/experts-hope-regulations-fda-tough-tobacco/story?id=19497517

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New Sqrrl CEO Discusses Security and Business Strategy ...

Mark Terezoni, CEO of Sqrrl, joins John Furrier and Dave Vellante in theCUBE for their ongoing coverage of Hadoop Summit. sqrrl builds software for Apache Accumulo and enables the development of secure, real-time applications that leverage big data. The three discuss security and Sqrrl?s business strategy.

Vellante observes that there is significantly greater awareness of security in the industry and asks how Sqrrrl architects security. Terezoni states that security is not a bolt on. He explains,?You can?t at some point decide you want to be secure and try to bolt it on.? We?ve built the ecosystem to allow it to interface and work in an enterprise environment. He notes that Sqrrl has added some encryption capabilities around the whole system. Terezoni?s main concern with security is that, ?It can?t be a pointed solution, it can?t address one piece of the ecosystem. It?s a stack. When we?re talking about security is that we have to address the whole stack.? He adds that more projects that provide security will help HDFS and Hadoop roll out more readily to customers.

Sqrrl enterprise is in revenue now with version 1.1. of the product, which has been out for a month. Terezoni says the company is targeting opportunities in the government, banking, finance, telecommunications and healthcare. He explains that the company offers ?a solution for developers to build real time big data applications very quickly and very easily. Once its ingested, its readily available.? The company has also built in discovery analytics.

?

?

Kathryn Buford is a PhD student in sociology whose research explores digital communities across the African diaspora, social entrepreneurship and the arts. Kathryn's work has been featured in various online publications as well as the online magazine for Live Unchained (www.liveunchained.com), which features innovative arts, media and events across the world. Contact her at kathryn@liveunchained.com and follow her on Twitter (@yeskathryn) for musings on creativity, technology, entrepreneurship and society.

Source: http://siliconangle.com/blog/2013/06/27/new-sqrrl-ceo-discusses-security-and-business-strategy/

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Target cuts ties with Deen; drugmaker distances

NEW YORK (AP) ? Paula Deen's multimillion-dollar merchandise and media empire continues to unravel following revelations that she used racial slurs in the past.

Target Corp., Home Depot Inc. and diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk on Thursday became the latest companies to distance themselves from the Southern celebrity chef.

Home Depot, which sold Paula Deen-branded cookware and kitchen products only online, said it pulled the merchandise off its website on Wednesday. And Target said that it will phase out its Paula Deen-branded cookware and other items in stores and on its website.

"Once the merchandise is sold out, we will not be replenishing inventory," said Molly Snyder, a Target spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk said it and Deen have "mutually agreed to suspend our patient education activities for now." Deen, who specializes in Southern comfort food, had been promoting the company's drug Victoza since last year when she announced she had Type 2 diabetes.

These are the latest blows dealt to Deen since comments she made in a court deposition became public. Last week, the Food Network said that it would not renew her contract. On Monday, pork producer Smithfield Foods dropped her as a spokeswoman. Then, on Wednesday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, said it too was cutting ties with Deen following a tearful "Today" show interview in which she said she's not a racist.

On the same day, Caesars Entertainment announced that Paula Deen's name is being stripped from four buffet restaurants owned by the company. Caesars said that its decision to rebrand its restaurants in Joliet, Ill.; Tunica, Miss.; Cherokee, N.C.; and Elizabeth, Ind., was a mutual one with Deen.

The stakes are high for Deen, who Forbes magazine ranked as the fourth highest-earning celebrity chef last year, bringing in $17 million. She's behind Gordon Ramsay, Rachel Ray and Wolfgang Puck, according to Forbes.

Deen's empire, which spans from TV shows to furniture and cookware, generates total annual revenue of nearly $100 million, estimates Burt Flickinger III, president of retail consultancy Strategic Resource Group.

But Flickinger says that the controversy has cost her as much as half of that business. He also estimates that she could lose up to 80 percent by next year as suppliers extricate themselves from their agreements.

"The accelerating domino effect is commercially disastrous for Paula Deen's empire," he said.

It's a dramatic fall from a woman who overcame her humble Southern roots and personal hardships to build a merchandising and media empire.

Deen, who grew up in Albany, Ga., was grappling with a failed marriage, the death of her parents and a prolonged battle with agoraphobia when she started her home-based catering business called The Bag Lady in June 1989, according to her company website.

Then a mother of two teenage boys, Jamie and Bobby, and on the verge of homelessness, she used her last $200 to start the catering business. She describes the business as delivering "lunch-and-love-in-a-bag." Five years later, she opened her first restaurant called The Lady and Sons in Savannah, Ga. Her first cookbook, "The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook," came out in 1998.

Soon after, she had her first TV appearance on QVC. But it was when "Paula's Home Cooking," began airing on the Food Network in 2002 that she started to hit stardom, according to her site. Deen now has two shows airing on the Food Network: In addition to "Paula's Home Cooking," there's "Paula's Best Dishes," which made its debut in 2008.

Deen's empire has continued to grow over the years as her brand has blossomed.

In addition to her The Lady and Sons restaurant, Deen owns with her brother, Bubba, a seafood restaurant in Savannah called Uncle Bubba's Oyster House. Deen is the author of 14 cookbooks that have sold more than 8 million copies and her bimonthly magazine "Cooking with Paula Deen" has a circulation of nearly 1 million, according to her website. And Deen's product lines span from a full line of cookware to assorted food items to furniture.

Not every company Deen does business with has severed ties with the celebrity chef. Among other stores that sell her products, Kohl's Corp. declined to comment, while Macy's Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp. said they're evaluating the situation. QVC, meanwhile, said it's reviewing its deal with Deen.

And book-buyers are so far standing by Deen. As of Thursday afternoon, "Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Recipes, All Lightened Up," remained No. 1 on Amazon.com. The book is scheduled for October. Another Deen book, "Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible," is now at No. 5, up from No. 13 earlier in the day. Several other Deen books were out of stock.

___

AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report from New York.

Follow Anne D'Innocenzio on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/target-cuts-ties-deen-drugmaker-distances-155508712.html

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Paramount announces plans for 'Terminator' trilogy

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The "Terminator" is coming back.

Paramount announced Thursday that it is rebooting the "Terminator" franchise and planning for a new trilogy of films, but it's keeping mum on whether Arnold Schwarzenegger would play a role.

Schwarzenegger starred as the title character in the original 1984 movie. It spawned a trilogy that earned more than $1 billion at the box office worldwide.

Paramount says it will release the new "Terminator" in July 2015.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/paramount-announces-plans-terminator-trilogy-000841755.html

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Justin Bieber Sued for Allegedly Going MMA on Photographer

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/justin-bieber-sued-for-allegedly-going-mma-on-photographer/

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Paula Deen dropped by Wal-Mart after 'Today' tears

NEW YORK (AP) ? Paula Deen was dropped by Wal-Mart and her name was stripped from four buffet restaurants on Wednesday, hours after she went on television and tearfully defended herself amid the mounting fallout over her admission of using a racial slur.

The story has become both a day-by-day struggle by a successful businesswoman to keep her career afloat and an object lesson on the level of tolerance and forgiveness in society for being caught making an insensitive remark.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Wednesday that it ended its relationship with Deen and will not place "any new orders beyond what's already committed."

Caesars Entertainment Corp. said it had been "mutually decided" with Deen to remove her name from its restaurants in Joliet, Ill.; Tunica, Miss.; Cherokee, N.C.; and Elizabeth, Ind.

At the same time, Deen's representatives released letters of support from nine companies that do business with the chef and promised to continue. There's evidence that a backlash is growing against the Food Network, which tersely announced last Friday that it was cutting ties with one of its stars.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Deen had called him and he agreed to help her, saying she shouldn't become a sacrificial lamb over the issue of racial intolerance.

"What she did was wrong, but she can change," Jackson said.

During a deposition in a discrimination lawsuit filed by an ex-employee, the chef, who specializes in Southern comfort food, admitted to using the N-word in the past. The lawsuit also accuses Deen of using the slur when planning her brother's 2007 wedding, saying she wanted black servers in white coats, shorts and bow ties for a "Southern plantation-style wedding."

Deen said she didn't recall using the word "plantation" and denied using the N-word to describe waiters. She said she quickly dismissed the idea of having all black servers.

Deen told Matt Lauer on "Today" on Wednesday that she could only recall using the N-word once. She said she remembered using it when retelling a story about when she was held at gunpoint by a robber who was black while working as a bank teller in the 1980s in Georgia.

In the deposition, she also said she may also have used the slur when recalling conversations between black employees at her restaurants. Asked in the deposition if she had used the word more than once, she said, "I'm sure I have, but it's been a very long time."

Her "Today" show appearance was a do-over from last Friday, when Deen didn't show up for a promised and promoted interview. Deen told Lauer she had been overwhelmed last week. She said she was heartbroken by the controversy and she wasn't a racist.

"I've had to hold friends in my arms while they've sobbed because they know what's been said about me is not true and I'm having to comfort them," she said.

Looking distressed and with her voice breaking, Deen said if there was someone in the audience who had never said something they wished they could take back, "please pick up that stone and throw it as hard at my head so it kills me. I want to meet you. I want to meet you." It's an apparent reference to the Biblical passage about whether a woman guilty of adultery should be stoned: "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."

"I is what I is and I'm not changing," Deen said. "There's someone evil out there that saw what I worked for and wanted it."

An uncomfortable Lauer tried to end the interview, but Deen repeated that anyone who hasn't sinned should attack her.

Asked by Lauer whether she had any doubt that blacks consider use of the N-word offensive, Deen said: "I don't know, Matt. I have asked myself that so many times, because it is so distressing to go into my kitchen and hear" what some young people are telling each other.

Deen said she appreciated fans who have expressed anger at the Food Network for dropping her, but said she didn't support a boycott of the network. Through social media, the network has been attacked by people who said executives there acted in haste to get rid of Deen.

Save for the brief announcement late Friday that it wasn't renewing Deen's contract, Food Network executives have refused to discuss the case publicly, or say whether the network plans to address Deen's fans. There have been online reports that the Food Network removed Deen's programs from the air as early as Saturday; the network wouldn't speak about what it has or hasn't put on the air.

Starting last weekend, there has been a steady erosion of support for the network. The YouGov Brandindex, a measurement of how consumers perceive a particular company or product, said the Food Network's score ? which had been generally positive ? had dropped by 82 percent in a week. The network has a negative image in the South and West, spokesman Drew Kerr said.

Deen's case has also attracted some odd bedfellows. Conservative commentator Glenn Beck said the network has "contributed to the growing un-American atmosphere of fear and silence. Hello, Joseph McCarthy."

Meanwhile, liberal HBO host Bill Maher also said Deen shouldn't lose her show. "It's a wrong word, she's wrong to use it," he said. "But do we really have to make people go away?"

The Food Channel, a food marketing agency based in Springfield, Mo., said it has been flooded with angry messages from people mistaking the company for the Food Network. There have been so many that the agency posted a message to Deen on its website that it would be happy to work with her if possible.

Among the companies expressing support for her via her representatives was Club Marketing Services in Bentonville, Ark., which helps companies sell products at Wal-Mart, and Epicurean Butter.

___

Associated Press writer Russ Bynum in Athens, Ga.; Religion Writer Rachel Zoll in New York; Retail Writer Anne D'Innocenzio and Writer Tammy Webber in Chicago contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://www.today.com/

___

Follow Dave Bauder on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dbauder

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/paula-deen-dropped-wal-mart-today-tears-203545276.html

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Microsoft unveils latest Windows adjustments

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Microsoft on Wednesday released a preview version of an update to Windows 8, aiming to address some of the gripes people have with the company's flagship operating system.

At a conference in San Francisco, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledged that the company pushed hard to get people to adopt a radical new tile-based "Modern" user interface in Windows 8. Microsoft is now back-pedaling, making it easier to reach and use the older "desktop" interface.

"Let's make it easier to start applications the way we're used to," Ballmer told the audience of software developers. "What we will show you today is a refined blend of our Desktop experience and our Modern experience."

Microsoft made the preview of Windows 8.1 available for free as a download.

Windows 8.1 will allow people to boot up in Desktop mode. There, they'll find a button that resembles the old Start button. It won't take users to the old Start menu, but to the new "Modern" Windows 8 start screen. Still, the re-introduction of the familiar button may make it easier for longtime Windows users to get accustomed to the changes. A common complaint about Windows 8 is that it hides features and functions, and replaces buttons with gestures and invisible click zones that have to be memorized.

Other new features of Windows 8.1 include more options to use multiple apps. People will be able to determine how much of the screen each app takes while showing up to four different programs, rather than just two. The update will also offer more integrated search results, showing users previews of websites, apps and documents that are on the device, all at once.

The preview version of Windows 8.1 is meant for Microsoft's partners and other technology developers, but anyone can download it. The release comes exactly eight months after desktops, laptops and tablets with Windows 8 went on sale. The version of the Windows 8.1 update meant for the general public will come later in the year, though the company hasn't announced a specific date.

Julie Larson-Green, the head of Microsoft's Windows division, said the update, rapid by Microsoft standards, "shows how much more responsive our engineering has become."

Many of the new features have been shown already. A three-day Build conference, which started Wednesday in San Francisco, gives Microsoft developers a chance to learn more about the new system and try it out. It also will give the company a chance to explain some of the reasoning behind the update and sell developers on Microsoft's ambitions to regain relevance lost to Apple's iPad and various devices running Google's Android software.

Windows 8, released Oct. 26, was meant to be Microsoft's answer to changing customer behaviors and the rise of tablet computers. The operating system emphasizes touch controls over the mouse and the keyboard, which had been the main way people have interacted with their personal computers since the 1980s.

Microsoft and PC makers had been looking to Windows 8 to revive sales of personal computers, but some people have been put off by the radical makeover. Research firm IDC said the operating system actually slowed down the market. Although Microsoft says it has sold more than 100 million Windows 8 licenses so far, IDC said worldwide shipments of personal computers fell 14 percent in the first three months of this year, the worst since tracking began in 1994.

Windows 8 was also supposed to make Microsoft more competitive in the growing market for tablet computers. But Windows tablets had less than a 4 percent market share in the first quarter, compared with 57 percent for Android and 40 percent for Apple's iPad.

One big problem is the fact that Windows 8 doesn't work well on smaller screens, making Windows tablets less competitive with cheaper tablets such as Apple's iPad Mini, Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire HD. Microsoft built Windows 8 primarily to run on tablets with 10-inch to 12-inch screens, and it is trying to address that shortcoming in Windows 8.1.

It's crucial that Microsoft sets things right with Windows 8.1 because the outlook for the PC market keeps getting gloomier. IDC now expects PC shipments to fall by nearly 8 percent this year, worse than its previous forecast of a 1 percent dip. IDC also anticipates tablets will outsell laptop computers for the first time this year.

Microsoft is addressing that shift by banking its future on touch controls. Its strategy calls for having just one operating system work on both tablets and traditional computers. That allows popular Windows programs such as Office to work well on tablets, too. But in making Windows easy for touch screens, mouse and keyboard commands are more complex to use and figure out.

Apple and Google, on the other hand, believe people use those machines differently and have opted to keep their operating systems separate. Apple, for instance, believes that it can be tiresome to have to constantly move your arm to touch a desktop or laptop screen. That's not a problem with tablets because you're already holding it.

As for the growing interest in smaller, cheaper tablets, Microsoft has said the company is working with other manufacturers to make some. At the conference, it didn't confirm reports that it is making its own.

Microsoft also said very little about Windows RT, the Windows 8 variant that's designed to run on the same phone-style processors that let the iPad and Android tablets be lighter and have longer battery lives than Windows 8 tablets with PC-style Intel processors. Windows RT has been hamstrung by a lack of applications, since it won't run older Windows programs.

At the conference, Microsoft showed off an Acer tablet with an 8-inch screen ? a size that would be a good fit for an RT device ? but it ran full-blown Windows 8 instead.

Microsoft Corp. just cut the effective price of its Surface tablet with Windows RT by including a keyboard cover for free. The cover sells for $120 or $130 on its own.

Microsoft also said this month that it would give buyers of the RT version of Surface the Outlook email and calendar program at no extra charge ? joining other Office freebies Excel, Word and Power Point ? and sweetening the offer for the device that is priced starting at $499. The new programs will come as part of the Windows 8.1 update.

___

Online:

Build conference: http://www.buildwindows.com

Windows site: http://windows.microsoft.com

Windows 8.1 site:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/products-and-technologies/windows-8-1/default.aspx

___

AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson contributed from New York.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-unveils-latest-windows-adjustments-182607246.html

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Microsoft teases a Metro-style version of Office, no word yet on availability (update)

We already knew that Windows RT tablets would be getting their very own Outlook app with Windows 8.1, but apparently Microsoft has even more plans up its sleeve. Here at Build, the company is teasing a Metro-style Office suite that will be available through the Windows Store, just like any other non-desktop Windows program. Unfortunately, this is a tease in the truest sense of the word: Redmond won't say when the app will be available, and isn't providing many official screenshots. However, a company spokesperson did tell reporters that PowerPoint will have "all of the same transitions, the same graphic power [and] file format capability" as the desktop version, so presumably the same is true of Word and Excel too. That's all we have to share for now, though you can bet we'll be back with a proper hands-on as soon as Microsoft is ready to show off a more final version of the app.

Update: ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley reports that the Metro-style Office applications (codenamed Gemini) will hit the Windows Store in 2014.

Filed under: Software, Microsoft

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/XipNRB-Yavc/

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Google Search Android app updated with location-based offers, voice-activated music playback

Jelly Bean users running Android 4.1 or later can now snag a few more features with Google's Search app. The update (version number varies depending on your device) delivers three notable additions. The first tool pushes saved offers as you approach a redemption location, reminding you of forgotten deals when they're most relevant. Next up is a new voice action, which lets you control music playback -- both on your device and in the Play Store -- by speaking to your handset. (Voice action tips also make a debut with this refresh.) A third addition enables instant access to information about television programming you're currently consuming, assuming your HDTV is connected to the web and on the same WiFi network as your device. Get your download on at the source link below.

Filed under: Software, Mobile, Google

Comments

Source: Google Play

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/26/google-search-for-android-updated/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Can Infidelity Make A Relationship Better? - Huffington Post

www.npr.org:

About 40 percent of marriages are rocked by affairs, according to a new book, but no one wants to admit it. Psychiatrist Dr. Scott Haltzman shares some hard truths and common misconceptions about infidelity in his new book The Secrets of Surviving Infidelity.

Read the whole story at www.npr.org

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1. HuffPost
2. Divorce

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/can-infidelity-make-a-rel_n_3506170.html

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