Shoppers welcome early start to "Black Friday"

NEW YORK/BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota (Reuters) - Retailers declared their experiment with earlier store openings to kick off the holiday shopping season a success on Friday, with those new hours expected to be a Thanksgiving night staple for more retailers next year.

Stores such as Target Corp opened hours before midnight on Thursday to try to capture a bigger piece of the retail pie. The move seemed to bring out a different type of shopper than the usual one who grabs the "Black Friday" deals, analysts said.

That meant by Friday morning, some shoppers, like Christian Alcantara, 18, at a J.C. Penney Co Inc store in Queens, New York, had already made a lot of their purchases. J.C. Penney stuck to a more traditional 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT) Friday opening.

"They should open earlier. I've been everywhere else and I've already shopped," he said.

Shoppers like Alcantara are likely to force holdouts like J.C. Penney to move their post-Thanksgiving sales into Thursday night next year, said Liz Ebert, retail lead at consulting firm KPMG LLP.

"There will be pressure on them. There'll be an expansion of it next year," Ebert said.

Hard data on "Black Friday" store traffic will not come in until this weekend. But analysts said retailers who opened early brought in a non-traditional Black Friday shopper, with more families coming in together and buying more than just the "doorbuster" sale items.

"I've never seen parents bring so many kids on Black Friday," Toys R Us Chief Executive Jerry Storch said.

The National Retail Federation expects sales during November and December to rise 4.1 percent this year, below last year's 5.6 percent increase. That made store operators' strategy important as they battled each other, rather than seeing a growing pie in a season when U.S. retailers can make a third of their annual sales and 40 to 50 percent of their profits.

"Retailers want them to buy now, they want to get that share of wallet early," said Michael Appel, a director at consulting firm AlixPartners. He noticed that the Galleria Mall in White Plains, New York, was busy from midnight to 3 a.m., but that traffic, while still brisk, was less heavy by midmorning.

Shoppers used smartphones and tablets and a lot of research as they hit stores, a mobile phenomenon that started last year and seemed to be more prevalent this year.

Thom Blischok, chief retail strategist and a senior executive adviser with Booz & Company's Retail practice, was waiting on line with one woman in Phoenix, who was shopping for a refrigerator. Using her mobile device, she found the appliance online for the same price and left the store without. She intended to buy it online instead.

"There's a fundamental transformation of shopping," he said.

Mobile devices account for 45 percent walmart.com traffic and online traffic coming from Walmart's mobile app was three times bigger than last year, Joel Anderson, chief executive of Walmart.com, said.

Overall, online sales were up 20 percent versus the same period last year, through 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) on Friday, IBM said.

The National Retail Federation said 147 million people would shop Friday through Sunday, when deals are at their most eye-catching - down from 152 million the same weekend last year.

The NRF estimate did not account for Thursday shoppers and anecdotal evidence suggested retailers opening earlier may have cut into traffic on "Black Friday", the traditional start of the holiday season that denotes the point when retailers in the past would turn a profit for the year.

"People seemed to be shopping quite a bit, although in talking to mall management, it seemed that traffic was not as busy as last year," Deloitte retail analyst Ramesh Swamy said.

Retailers were also using technology better, allowing sales staff to match prices customers found online and having them use tablets as mobile "checkout stands" so buyers did not have to wait in line, a service consumers were quickly coming to expect.

"I even heard customers complaining about a retailer that didn't have mobile checkout," he said.

SAVING UP FOR CHRISTMAS SPREE

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, two-thirds of shoppers were planning to spend the same amount of money as last year or were unsure about plans, while 21 percent intended to spend less, and 11 percent planned to spend more.

"I definitely have more money this year," said Amy Balser, 26, at the head of the line outside the Best Buy store in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. "I definitely don't think (the economy) has bounced back anywhere near as much as it needs to, but I see some improvement," she said.

For others, Christmas is the focal point of their annual shopping.

"We cut back spending on birthdays and anniversaries so we'd have more for Christmas. We've adapted," said Cheri Albus, 58, of Papillion, Nebraska, after shopping at J.C. Penney at Westroads Mall in Omaha.

Retail stocks rose in holiday-shortened trading on Friday, in line with gains across the market. Among the leaders, Wal-Mart ended up 1.9 percent and Macy's Inc rose 1.8 percent.

STARTING EARLY

Across the country, store lines were long - in the hundreds or more in many places - with the move toward earlier opening hours appearing to help. By sunrise on Friday, it was commonplace, even at large stores in the major cities, to find many more staffers than shoppers.

While the shift to earlier openings was criticized by store employees and traditionalists because it pulled people away from families on the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, many shoppers welcomed the chance to shop before midnight or in the early morning hours.

Some workers used the day to send a message.

OUR Walmart - a coalition of current and former Wal-Mart staff seeking better wages, benefits and working conditions - targeted Black Friday for action across the country after staging protests outside stores for months.

Nine protesters were arrested on misdemeanor charges after blocking a street outside a Walmart near Los Angeles, police said. Three of those arrested were Walmart workers, OUR Walmart said.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc's U.S. discount stores, which have been open on Thanksgiving since 1988, offered some Black Friday deals at 8 p.m. on Thursday and special deals on certain electronics, such as Apple Inc iPads, at 10 p.m.

At the Macy's store in Herald Square in Manhattan, the line at the Estee Lauder counter was four deep shortly after its midnight opening. The cosmetics department's "morning specials" included free high-definition headphones with any fragrance purchase of $75 or more, and a set of six eye shadows for $10.

But for some people, cheap wasn't cheap enough - like the Macy's shopper who bought Calvin Klein shoes at 50 percent off but was still not satisfied.

"I was hoping for deeper discounts," said Melissa Glascow, 35, of Brooklyn, New York.

That could actually be an intentional strategy to help retailers' profits.

"It appears that manufacturers and retailers are making concerted efforts to drive margins, which may take some of the sales sizzle out of a traditionally big selling day/period, but should be positive to gross margins," Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter said in a note to clients.

Lines at Best Buy stores were similar to last year but the traffic to its website was "significantly" higher, Shawn Score, head of the company's U.S. retail business, told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Martinne Geller and Jochelle Mendonca in New York, Jessica Wohl and Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Chicago, Brad Dorfman in Milwaukee, Paul Ingram in Tucson, Arizona, Jason McLure in Littleton, New Hampshire, and Barbara Liston in Orlando, Florida; Writing by Brad Dorfman and Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Nick Macfie, David Holmes, Jeffrey Benkoe, Dale Hudson and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/black-friday-thursday-kicks-off-u-holiday-shopping-025954866--finance.html

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Kettleman City activists seek to block expansion of toxic dump

KETTLEMAN CITY, Calif. ? Environmental activists and leaders of this impoverished community, outraged by unreported spills of cancer-causing chemicals, are trying to block expansion of a toxic waste dump that is the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi River.

Activists say the history of the troubled Chemical Waste Management dump and new citations alleging failure to report 72 hazardous materials spills over the last four years show the company cannot be trusted to protect public health. The state Department of Toxic Substances Control issued the citations earlier this month ? and is the agency that must rule on the proposed expansion.

"If this new case is not enough to demonstrate a pattern and practice of violations, I don't know what else the agency would need to see," said Ingrid Brostrom, an attorney with the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment. The 1,600-acre dump is just off Interstate 5 in Central California.

PHOTOS: Kettleman City's toxic spills

Company officials say the 30-year-old landfill is among the most heavily regulated and monitored facilities of its kind, overseen by nearly a dozen state and federal agencies. During a recent tour of the facility, Bob Henry, Chemical Waste senior district manager, said the spills in question were small, caused by third parties and cleaned up on the site.

State regulators "are simply saying we were supposed to report the spills verbally and with a written report," Henry said. "Is this a major issue? No."

Brian Johnson, the state agency's deputy director of enforcement, disagreed. "It is very serious," he said. "We view these violations as consistent with a troubling pattern and emblematic of a system failure on Chemical Waste's part."

Residents of this close-knit community of 1,500, most of them low-income farmworkers, have long distrusted the facility 3.2 miles from the city. They believe the dump, the only one in California licensed to accept carcinogenic polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, is responsible for serious illnesses, birth defects and deaths among children.

A survey by state health investigators ruled out the dump as the reason 11 babies were born with illnesses including cleft palates and other physical deformities in Kettleman City between September 2007 and March 2010. Three of the babies died.

Despite those findings, many residents blame the landfill. This month, the city has rallied around Ivonne Rangel, whose 2-year-old son Daniel died of leukemia Nov. 12.

Standing last week beside a living-room shrine composed of cheery portraits of her son, fresh roses, toys, rosary beads and candles, Rangel said, "The first thing that came to my mind after my son was diagnosed with aggressive leukemia was that toxic waste dump.

"They say there is no connection between our sick children and the dump, but that is a big lie," Rangel said, her eyes filled with tears.

Family and friends held a memorial service and funeral for the boy several days ago.

Maria Saucedo, whose daughter, Ashley, was born with a cleft palate and other ailments and died at 11 months, said she felt "offended and let down by a system that would even consider expanding the dump after all the legal problems and children born with defects."

Chemical Waste officials say the facility is running out of room. With less available space, the company has reduced the amount of hazardous materials it receives from throughout the state to roughly 120,000 tons a year. About 1% of that is PCBs, which are found in electrical transformers, voltage regulators and additives to lubricating and cutting oils.

In 1985, the Environmental Protection Agency fined the company $2.1 million for violations that included operating additional landfills and waste ponds without authorization.

In 2003, the waste dump was among 22 such facilities that California EPA officials determined emitted unusually high levels of radiation.

In 2005, the company was fined $10,000 for violating federal PCB monitoring requirements. It was cited again in 2007 for failing to properly analyze incoming wastes, storm water runoff and leachate for PCBs, and for failing to properly calibrate analytical equipment.

In 2010, the EPA levied a $302,100 fine against the facility for failing to properly manage PCBs. A year later, the facility agreed to pay $400,000 in fines and spend $600,000 on laboratory upgrades needed to properly manage hazardous materials.

Maricela Mares-Alatorre, an activist with Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice and a Kettleman City mother of two, said activists hope the latest citations will be "an eye-opener for state regulators."

louis.sahagun@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/N0FsB2yvTJ0/la-me-kettleman-spills-20121125,0,6252497.story

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Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Support Group - DukeHealth.org

Date

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012
Click here for a list of other dates

Time

3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Organization

Duke Cancer Patient Support Program

Description

Patients with breast and gynecologic cancer and their family members are invited to join our support group.

Parking vouchers will be available to group participants.

Contact

For more information, please call 919-684-4497 or e-mail cancersupport@duke.edu

Registration status

No registration required

Location

Duke Cancer Center

Location Specifics

Room 0N01, 0-Level Conference Room by Cancer Center Cafe

Address

20 Duke Medicine Circle
Durham, NC 27710

About This Page

Updated: Nov. 4, 2011
URL: http://www.dukehealth.org/events/breast_gynecologic_cancer_support_group/20121128

Source: http://www.dukehealth.org/events/breast_gynecologic_cancer_support_group/20121128?utm_source=dukehealth.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS_events

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Usuario:AdrielNottingham1594 - Educaci?n ambiental ...

De Educaci?n ambiental

Affiliate Marketing -- Make Money Online Rapidly

Affiliate marketing could be the fastest means anyone getting into the internet company scene may make money. In the following paragraphs I will be sharing with you why you ought to start a joint venture partner marketing company and make cash fast on the internet.

Affiliate marketing is often a revenue sharing business on the net where an online affiliate decides to market a merchants goods or services, after which it, certain percentage with the sales pays to the online as payment.

How can anybody start a joint venture partner business online and make money online? This is actually the same type of question My spouse and i hear all around in forums and websites. I will try out my best to set you through your processes involving starting an affiliate marketer business as a new entrant into the internet business arena.

Affiliate marketing make money online fast similar to I stated before could be the fastest methods anyone coming into the internet business newly can quickly start a organization and make a living.

First, to get started on a business along with affiliate marketing, you need to determine what your current passion or even interest is, furthermore, it is also crucial that you determine what you really want to attain with your organization.

Pick a area of interest or attention that most closely fits your passion, experience shows that you will do better with your enterprise when you selected niches which can be related to the passion. The beautiful thing regarding internet business is there are products for no matter what niche you determine to choose. Allow me to not forget to tell you that you should also decide whether to go for ebooks or physical ones. Are you going to.

The next step you'll want to take is to find the product which best suit your favorite niche. You can easily do this through heading over to Clickbank.internet or Amazon.com, there are many places you can find products to market, but the two I have stated earlier have stay consistent over time. Get acquainted with more about the product or service you will be advertising, visit the internet marketer page and learn more about the actual promotional equipment available.

Having understood the idea of the product, you'll be able to go ahead and have a suitable domain name and internet hosting space for your promotional campaign to begin. Create a review website, in which you will create a short assessment about the good and the bad side from the product. Research has shown that customers search for product reviews before making purchases on the internet. Thus, making this where you can exploit your evaluate page.

Build your reviews while positive and also honest as you can; because which will determine step 2 your potential customers will take. Several prospects could possibly be convinced by your review and then go ahead to make a purchase. When this is done, you will end up credited with the sales as well as certain percentage from the sales will probably be credited for you.

That is precisely what it takes to start an enterprise on the internet using affiliate marketing making money fast online. Once you master this act very well, it will become much simpler for you to arrive choose goods to promote and then sell on the internet. Online marketing is still the least difficult and most effective way to make money on the internet right now for a fresh comer.

Learn more about full-time dad and focus further in regards to the important actions on TUTORMAN"S EASY 3 STEP FORMULA FOR NEWBIES.

Source: http://maescentics.medellin.unal.edu.co/~jfmunerad/index.php/Usuario%3AAdrielNottingham1594

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Source: http://evansgail72.typepad.com/blog/2012/11/usuarioadrielnottingham1594-educacin-ambiental.html

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Good Icon Use in Web Design ? 10 Examples

The use of icons has a special place in web design. Icons improve the usability of your website by offering a neat way to present content. It is far more effective than lengthy text. Icons help to break up the text on a web page and makes the content easier to read. It is a great way to present information on a website. Good icons are an essential characteristic of good web design.

Web designers have been using icons since the early days of web design. In recent years, the use of icons has become even more prevalent. In this article we take a look at ten examples of web design that make good use of icons. You can use it for inspiration when designing your own website or blog.

1. Mixpanel.com

Mixpanel is a real-time analytics service that helps companies understand how users interact with web applications. Today Mixpanel has more than 580 mobile and web companies analyzing 6.2 billion actions every month. Icons are used on the homepage effectively to display the main features of the service.

2. Bislr.com

Bislr is a revolutionary way for business owners to create a professional business website and market their business online. The site uses icons effectively to showcase the main features.

3. Smallbusinessecommerce.co.uk

Small Business E-Commerce offers fully functional websites to businesses at the cost of a template. You can choose from a range of up-market designs, free logo, free web hosting and professionally prepared content for your site. Icons are used throughout the site to highlight the main features of the service.

4. Theprayerengine.com

The Prayer Engine is a customizable, web-based Prayer Wall and moderation system. It?s the cheapest, most effective way to share prayer requests online. Now for WordPress! Icons are used on the header graphic to show the main steps.

5. Icons.robinclediere.com

Free social icons by Robin Clediere is actually a site that provides icon sets for use on websites. The site provides a good collection of icons that you can download for free. The website is a great source for web design inspiration. Icons are also used effectively in the site?s design.

6. Clasesinglesmadrid.com

They provides a service of finding all sites belonging to the owner of any site you specify. Icons are used effectively as navigation elements on the homepage of the website.

7. Messagesforjapan.com

View messages of hope for Japan, write your own, and have it automatically translated into Japanese. Bold icons are used on the homepage to guide users towards the three main tasks that can be performed on the site.

8. Tumblr.com

Tumblr, is a popular blogging platform and social networking website. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog. Icons displayed on the dashboard allow users to choose the type of content they wish to post to their blog.

9. Aviary.com

Aviary.com are focusing on truly helping everyone in the world be more creative with simple photo editor, which can be embedded in any web or mobile app for a beautiful, seamless editing experience wherever you are. Icons are used on the site to highlight the main advantages of using the service.

10. Pixel2html.net

Pixe2HTML offers PSD to HTML / CSS conversion services for websites. They can convert any Photoshop design into HTML and CSS based website that is coded with the highest quality markup, pixel perfection and cross browser compatibility. Icons are used on the website to highlight the core selling points of the service.

What About You?

Above are only a few examples of great icon use in web design. There are many more. Do you use icons on your website? If you do and would like to showcase your site on this list, please add your entry by leaving a comment below. Alternatively, please feel free to suggest another website.

If you like this article, please share it!

Source: http://www.kronikmedia.co.uk/blog/web-design-icons-examples/6024/

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Malicious Ways that Spam Can Ruin Your Business | Summer ...

Spam can come in many forms, including ?special? toolbars and comment spam designed to post comments on your site that are false and sometimes embarrassing.? In a recent post from Google, we?re told that Google will penalize our sites if too much spam is tracked to the site.? This could be disastrous for your business and frustrating for you.?

Here are two ways that unchecked spam can hurt and possibly ruin your sites:

• Rankings.? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the main way that most marketers build their sites for quality traffic and great rankings.? But spamming techniques can ruin your good rankings by luring visitors to your site(s) by droves in an unethical manner.

Spamming techniques such as invisible text, stuffing unrelated keywords into your content, and duplicate content can alert search engines that you?re contriving to get traffic in an unethical manner, and they will ?red flag? those sites and penalize the site owners.

• Credibility.? It?s so easy to lose your online credibility with spamming techniques.? Blogs are especially susceptible to these methods because visitors and participators in the blog don?t want to be inundated with useless content and multiple backlinks that have nothing to do with the purpose of the blog.

These spammers can use the legitimate backlinks on your blog to sell to other ?black hat? Internet Markets, causing your blog followers to fall by the wayside like flies.

Your reputation and ethics are so important to anything you do online while building your site(s).? Keep appraised of spammers who are out for a quick buck and who can ruin interest in your online efforts.

Web Spam Vs. Email Spam

You should know that there?s a difference between web spam and email spam.? The simplest explanation is that email spam is out for you to purchase a product, and web spammers (comments and/or blog posts) want your visitors to purchase their products.? You?re not the target ? but your clients are ? and that can drive them off of your site or blog in droves.

There is a service that you can turn to that will automatically delete comment and blog spam so that you don?t have to worry about it anymore.? The service is called Akismet, and you can access it through plugins such as WordPress or the Akismet API.? All you have to do is register and API key (like a password) which is your own private access to your account.

Then, each time a comment, pingback or trackback?appears on your site, the Akismet service tests it and either Okays it or turns it down.? You don?t have to do a thing ? and, you can be assured that the spam designed to ruin your site and steal sales and customers from you is taken care of.? Click Here to Tweet this Post.

When you use a plugin such as Akismet to stop spam from invading your site, you?ll keep Google and other search engines from penalizing your sites and from losing credibility with your followers.

I?ve spoken about ?black hat techniques? before, and web spamming is definitely one of the worst.? They?re hoping you?ll disregard them because these spam techniques use flattery, praise and other positive comments to catch you off guard.

There?s no way for you to know if these comments and posts are legitimate.? That?s why it?s a good thing to use a plug in like Akismet to check it out for you.? Just be sure you?re protected from these spammers who are thieves and who can run your business off the Internet.?

Related posts:

1. Spam Blocker For WordPress
2. 5 Plug-ins You Need for your WordPress Blog
3. 6 Ways To Get Free Traffic For Your Website
4. Empower Your IM Business by Building a List

Tagged as: Akismet, API key, Black Hat, blog followers, comment spam, Credibility, duplicate content, Inernet Markets, invisible text, Malicious Ways that Spam Can Ruin Your Business, pingback, Rankings, reputation and ethics, spammers, spamming techniques, stuffing unrelated keywords into your content, trackback, Web Spam Vs. Email Spam, web spammers, wordpress

Source: http://www.carolamato.com/malicious-ways-that-spam-can-ruin-your-business/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=malicious-ways-that-spam-can-ruin-your-business

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Source: http://sterling796.typepad.com/blog/2012/11/malicious-ways-that-spam-can-ruin-your-business-summer.html

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Britain's Goulden Girl - Arts & Entertainment - The Suffolk Voice

With the success of her debut album, Lights, on the Billboard charts, Ellie Goulding faced high expectations as she released her second album, Halcyon, on the ninth of October. Over the past few years, Goulding gained attention after performing at the Royal Wedding reception, winning a Brit award, having a number one pop album in the United States, and a rumored relationship with DJ Skrillex. Critics have compared her voice to fellow British act Florence Welch, of Florence + The Machine, and tagged her with the potential to become the new Adele. It comes as no surprise that on her new album, Goulding works to tell us about her journey and show a new, more mature side of herself as she has grown and reflects on all that has happened in her life.

The unique aspect to Goulding's music is that she is able to mix pop music and electronic music so masterfull. This is why her single, "Lights," is a stand out on the charts. On this album, she continues to use this skill, but makes use of tribal-like drums for a new sound. Catchy songs like "Don't Say A Word," "Anything Can Happen," and "Only You" mirror the influences that Goulding built herself upon and they make use of her strong yet airy voice to capture the listener's attention. Synthesizers are also a big part of the Goulding style and using less of this instrument, in comparison to the first album, showcases a haunting and raw voice that has grown stronger.

A risk that Goulding was willing to take on Halcyon was working with two diverse artists to create music. "I Need Your Love," featuring DJ Calvin Harris, stays strict to Goulding's style with synthesizers and incorporates dubstep from Harris. "Hanging On," featuring British rapper Tinie Tempah, is the clear winner with its catchy lyrics and an exceptional rap from Tempah. Fans of the two featured artists ought to be pleased with a job well done as the songs are well executed and add to Goulding's reputation as an artist worth working with.

Going back to her roots, Goulding recorded her album in her hometown of Herefordshire, England, and the topics of her new songs reflect an emotional past. Lyrics full of connotations about war, loneliness, and heartbreak make the album, at times, dark and gloomy, particularly towards the end of the album, where songs blend together in a pit of sadness. The pain and roughness evident in Goulding's voice goes to show that her journey has been long, but one that has shaped who she is, as she acknowledges happy and sorrowful times.

Stepping out from the spotlight of her debut into the music industry, it is clear that Ellie Goulding has matured from her Lights days. She has great potential to succeed as she demonstrates that she has strong and emotional vocals and a sense of who she is. Like the title Halcyon suggests, Goulding is calm, at peace, happy, and carefree, knowing what kind of music she wants to make.

Source: http://www.thesuffolkvoice.net/arts-entertainment/britain-s-goulden-girl-1.2957731

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CSN: Harbaugh taking unnecessary QB gamble

November 21, 2012, 10:44 pm

Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated tells us that Jim Harbaugh has demoted Alex Smith for Colin Kaepernick. He also tells us that Smith is trying to be the loyal soldier by backtracking on ESPN?s Trent Dilfer.

[RELATED: Report -- Smith informed Kaepernick will start]

Well, all that means is that Smith doesn?t feel comfortable fighting the power. It does mean, though, that Harbaugh has decided to roll the dice on Kaepernick, and if he?s right, he has a Super Bowl trophy.

And if he?s not, he has created a mess out of which he cannot gobble his way to an escape.

Harbaugh chose to tell Smith Wednesday that he was going with Kaepernick in New Orleans and beyond, concussion clearance or no concussion clearance. He decided that a so-so game against St. Louis and a big game against Chicago was evidence enough to put his championship plans in the hands of a neophyte.

It is a gambler?s move at a time when gambling isn?t required. It is a move that declares the already shiny status quo to be null and void, and it is a move that tells every other player on the roster that yesterday?s deeds do not equal today?s hunch.

And all Kaepernick has to do is win it all for Harbaugh to be beyond bulletproof. He will be Nick Saban, and Urban Meyer, and Chip Kelly, all rolled into one. Invulnerable, even in the face of any and all Yorks. And maybe that?s how it should be in the NFL. In an amoral sport like football, in a soulless organization like the NFL, winning is the one reductive truth that trumps all other behaviors.

But if he?s wrong, if the 49ers aren?t a Super Bowl team after all, if Kaepernick?s 1 ? games of work really are too small a sample size, he won?t be able to gobble or jive his way out of this flightless bird.

And we have no rooting interest either way. We don?t care who wins the hand. We just know that he decided to go all-in trusting only his gut and the gods who handle the flop, turn and river.

He has, in short, revealed his truest nature here. We make no value judgments, but we do know when a guy has decided to gamble on a longshot, and when he needs to do so. This was not that time, but Harbaugh couldn?t wait. He didn?t want people to talk about a quarterback controversy because he knows that it isn?t who talks that?s the problem, but who hears it.

And Smith, based on sources, is not going to object to the change. Whether that makes him a good teammate or a natural-born follower is for others to deduce; psychology isn?t what we do here.

But Harbaugh?s gamble puts the entire team at risk, and it shows that while he is unafraid to make bold moves, it also shows that loyalty is a one-way street. Players suspect that of coaches and general managers all the time, but they file the information away from when the time comes to use it.

And being 7-2-1, going into New Orleans, isn?t that time.

In short, Colin Kaepernick has been given the keys to the Lexus and told he can drive it like a Lamborghini Murcielago. If he wins the race, well, genius has been served. Winners by definition cannot lose.

[RELATED: Kaepernick inherits Super Bowl expectations]

But if Kaepernick wraps it around a tree, or dunks into a lagoon, or gets hit the wrong way, the fault will not be his, but Harbaugh?s. The coach went all in when he didn?t have to. He could have checked, even check-raised, but he pushed all his chips in because despite the fact that he didn?t have to do it, he did it anyway. He surrendered to an impulse at a time when being impulsive wasn?t really needed.

And impulses sometimes cause scorch marks and scarring.

Ray Ratto is a columnist for CSNBayArea.com

Source: http://www.csnbayarea.com/11/22/12/Impulsive-Harbaugh-goes-all-in-unnecessa/nbcsportsniners.html?blockID=804951&feedID=2800

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SBA Disaster Loans Aid Homeowners, Renters | Bankrate.com

insurance

Highlights

• The SBA offers low-interest loans to homeowners and renters.
• Loans pay to repair damaged homes and fix or replace damaged possessions.
• Primary residences are covered, but not vacation and second homes.

For homeowners and renters adversely affected by Superstorm Sandy, there may be help from a surprising place: the U.S. Small Business Administration. While the SBA may be best known for helping entrepreneurs launch small businesses, the agency also offers streamlined, low-interest loans designed to help homeowners and renters get back on their feet after a natural disaster such as Sandy.

"The purpose of the program is to help repair or replace property to its pre-disaster condition as quickly as possible," says SBA spokeswoman Carol Chastang.

In the initial aftermath of Sandy, the SBA has issued more than 134,000 loan applications to homeowners, renters and businesses. Businesses can apply for a similar but separate program.

But according to Chastang, the number of applications for SBA disaster loans is likely to grow higher as the Northeast begins the slow process of rebuilding from one of the region's most destructive storms.

"One thing to keep in mind is that we're still very much at the beginning of this process," Chastang says. "One week after the storm, and the region is still a disaster area, which can make it difficult to get damage assessments."

Qualifying

To qualify for SBA disaster loans, homeowners and renters need to live in a county that has received a presidential disaster declaration and where individual disaster aid is offered. Parts of Connecticut, New Jersey and New York have received federal disaster declarations in the wake of Sandy.

Renters and homeowners can file claims for their primary residence, but second homes and vacation homes aren't eligible under the SBA disaster loan program, although those properties may be eligible for relief under the SBA's business loan program.

Homeowners may borrow up to $200,000 to repair disaster-related damage to their homes. Renters and homeowners may borrow up to $40,000 to repair or replace personal property (such as furniture, appliances, etc.) lost or damaged as a result of the storm. Both renters and homeowners are prohibited from using the money to improve their property beyond pre-disaster conditions. However, homeowners may be able to borrow?an additional 20 percent to make?improvements that lessen the risk of property damage in the future.

The primary criterion for issuing the loan is the homeowner's ability to repay. Typically, that means the SBA will consider the applicant's income statement, says Chastang.

Terms

In most cases, qualified homeowners and renters will be able to borrow SBA money at a 1.688 percent interest rate. Homeowners who have substantial means and are easily able to repair their property on their own are still eligible for a loan, but they may be offered the loan at 3.375 percent, Chastang says. "The vast majority of qualified applicants will get the lower rate," she says.

The term, or length, of the loan is determined case by case, depending on ability to pay, and it can be up to 30 years.

What about insurance?

While many people living in Superstorm Sandy's path doubtless had some level of insurance that may cover their losses, Chastang says it's still a good idea to begin the SBA loan process if you think you qualify.

"A lot of people think that it'll just be taken care of through their insurance," Chastang says. "But in the case of a major disaster, insurance companies tend to get overloaded, and it can take a long time for those checks to arrive."

If the homeowner or renter does collect on an insurance claim, that money is used to offset all or a portion of the loan amount.

Applying

While paperwork may be the last thing on the mind of a displaced homeowner or renter, Chastang says the SBA disaster loan application is designed to be as quick and streamlined as possible.

"It's a four-page application that covers a lot of basic information, and there's an additional form that authorizes the SBA to check (Internal Revenue Service) tax returns to verify income," says Chastang.

Down the road, homeowners will have to show title to the property, but according to Chastang, it's understood that in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, many homeowners won't have access to those documents.

Right now, Chastang says the typical application takes about 10 days to close and another five days before the check arrives. But in many cases, the process moves much faster.

Homeowners and renters can apply online at the SBA website or call (800) 659-2955. They can also email for information by writing to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov.

Investigate other programs

While the SBA can help a number of homeowners and renters hurt by Superstorm Sandy, Chastang stresses that it's important to investigate all programs and to register.

"These programs are designed for specific situations, so it's possible that if you don't qualify for one form of relief, you may qualify for another," says Chastang.

To help people make the most of the disaster programs available to them, Chastang recommends they register at DisasterAssistance.gov, which is a clearinghouse for all federal agencies and programs.

Source: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/weather/natural-disasters/sba-disaster-loans-aid-homeowners-renters.aspx

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Lending Statutes For Payday Loans - Business Debt Relief Blog

Lending Statutes For Payday Loans

Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 November 2012 04:14 Written by Ebiz Wednesday, 21 November 2012 06:14

The state stature regarding payday loans for which are single -payment short term loans are as follows. These loan lenders hold personal checks for future payments or use the process of electronic debits to personal checking accounts for payments.?There are thirty eight states that have specific statures allowing

the payday lender to exist but there are eight states that do not have any standards for payday lending. These eight states do not have lending sutures nor do they require any lenders to put a cap on interest rates on these loans.

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In 2012, twenty two states were in the process of introducing payday lending legislation. For example: Delaware set a five loan limit per 12 month period for borrowers; Louisiana requires that the lenders send data to the Office of Financial Collection information and data concerning their operations, functions and customers of deferred tractions and small loans for a period of one year beginning on Jan 1 2013; Nebraska provides that the director of Banking and Finance shall collect fees, charges, cost and fines under the Delayed Deposit Services Licensing Act and remit them to the state treasurer.

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Your Payday Loan Information Should Alyways Be Confidential

Oklahoma? demands that certain information remain confidential; Tennessee requires lending institutions be licensed through a multi-state system; Utah modified the check cashing and deferred deposit act to require an interim committee and a local forum to settle payday loan disputes. As you see, they are all different. The state adds the legislation to suit their dire individual needs to protect the consumer.

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There have always been regulations imposed on short term lenders as to how much interest to charge, how many times a loan can be rolled over, how much the borrower can be granted, the fees charged, the practice of disclosures being explained fully to the customer, the process of default on an auto title loan concerning the disposition of the vehicle and the balance of the loan and the right of the borrower to change his/her mind etc. The short term or alternative lenders, however, were not forced to comply with these fair lending practices.

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These lenders would find loopholes and prey on the downtrodden consumers and their urgent need for cash. Most of the borrowers would soon send up in a down ward loop of debt and paying more than twice the amount of the initial loan amount. The interest on these rollovers would reach up to 1000%. The state heard the cry for help and began to require these lenders to be licensed and provided them with strict regulations to follow, or their business operations would need to shut down.

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The state statures are not inclusive because of the urgent need for legal legislations to help the consumer obtain a safer loan, but as the alternative lenders can still find loopholes, more legislation is being presented to put better safeguards on these loans for the consumers. ?Even with all these stricter legislation measures controlling these short term loan, the borrower still need to take the responsibility of the loan costs on his/her own shoulders. The borrower needs to fully understand what he/she is signing and not be negligent in their haste to merely secure the funds.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 21st, 2012 at 6:14 am and is filed under Debt. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Source: http://blog.ebusinessdebtrelief.com/debt/lending-statutes-for-payday-loans

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Video: Turkey Tips For the Perfect Bird

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/49917595/

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Revamping Retirement System A Priority For Incoming House Speaker

(Source: WillWeatherford.com)

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) ? Incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford said the current pension system is ?old and archaic?, and he wants to change it.

Weatherford, a Wesley Chapel Republican, proposes making the state retirement program for new employees more like it is for private sector employees.

According to the News Service Of Florida, he said new state employees should be required to enroll in 401(k)-type plans instead of counting on regular pension payments from the state.

Most large corporations have moved to such plans, which help them control retirement costs while also placing more responsibility on workers to make investment decisions. ?It (pension costs) is a ticking time bomb in every state and in every city across the country, and it?s time for us to get real and do what the private sector has done,? Weatherford told reporters, as he prepares to formally begin presiding over the House next week. But trying to change the pension system likely would be controversial.

The Republican-controlled Legislature in 2011 approved a plan to require workers to contribute 3 percent of their salaries to the retirement system ? a move that has touched off a legal battle now at the Florida Supreme Court. Rep. Dwayne Taylor, a Daytona Beach Democrat who has served as a trustee on his city?s fire and police pension board, said requiring new employees to enroll in 401(k)-type plans would jeopardize the actuarial soundness of the pension system.

That is because fewer people would be paying into the system, while it would still owe benefits to retirees and workers who would be entitled to the more-traditional pensions.

?There?s a domino effect when you start tinkering with the system,? Taylor said. The Florida Retirement System includes state employees and many local-government workers, such as teachers.

Weatherford said he would have to look at whether his proposal would also apply to local governments. People in the retirement system currently can choose whether to enroll in pension plans or 401(k)-type plans, though most have chosen pensions. As of Aug. 31, 540,352 active employees were in the pension plan, while 107,040 were in a 401(k)-type plan.

Under Weatherford?s proposal, already-hired workers would continue to be able to choose a pension of a 401(k)-type plan, which might help avert legal problems. The key question in the court battle about the 2011 law is whether the state can force already-employed workers to contribute 3 percent of their salaries to the retirement system.

Opponents have not legally fought the requirement for new employees. The financial health of public pension plans has been a major issue in numerous states.

Florida?s pension plan has an estimated balance of $125.1 billion, though, on an actuarial basis, it is not fully funded. An October report from state economists said it was funded at 86.9 percent.

Any changes to the retirement system are closely watched by groups such as public unions, and Weatherford?s idea could touch off a political fight. The unions and their legislative backers argue, in part, that pensions and other benefits are a way to make up for lower salaries that workers earn working for the government instead of in the private sector.

But Weatherford said pension costs are a ?real problem for the state long term.? ?I think when it comes to pensions, this is not anything radical,? Weatherford said. ?Ninety percent of the private sector has a 401(k)-based plan.?

Source: http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/11/17/revamping-retirement-system-a-priority-for-incoming-house-speaker/

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Despite Myanmar reforms, much remains to be done

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) ? In the west, terrified villagers flee burning homes after an explosion of ethnic and religious violence. In the north, refugees from a civil war cower in chilly camps, desperately short on life's basic necessities. And in dank jails, hundreds of political prisoners languish behind bars, wondering when they'll ever be freed.

This is not the Myanmar that President Barack Obama will see when he becomes the first American head of state to visit this pagoda-studded country on Monday. He wants to encourage the stunning democratic transformation Myanmar has undergone since last year, but there are concerns his visit may be premature.

The nation's warp-speed revolution is fragile. Its nascent transition has already been bloody. And much unfinished business remains: from repealing harsh laws that helped silence a generation of pro-democracy dissidents, to overhauling a political power structure still tipped heavily in favor of army rule.

"If President Obama doesn't put his full weight behind further urgent reforms in Myanmar, this trip risks being an ill-timed presidential pat on the back for a regime that has looked the other way as violence rages, destroying villages and communities just in the last few weeks," said Suzanne Nossel, the U.S.-based director of Amnesty International.

White House officials cautioned Thursday that Obama's visit to Myanmar, also known as Burma, should not be viewed as a "victory celebration." They reiterated that urgent action is still needed, particularly on freeing political prisoners and ending the unrest in western Rakhine state.

"This is a moment when we believe the Burmese leaders have put their feet on the right path and that it's critical to us that we not miss the moment to influence them to keep going," said Danny Russel, Obama's top Asia adviser.

There is little doubt that the reforms in Myanmar have come quicker and gone farther than anyone here dared dream.

Just a few years ago, this was a place denigrated by Washington as an isolated "outpost of tyranny," a country led by a xenophobic clique of army officers so distrustful of the West that they rejected foreign aid even when Cyclone Nargis killed more than 100,000 people in 2008.

Even when the junta ceded power to an elected government early last year, few considered the prospect of real change. The vote, boycotted by the main opposition, was considered neither free nor fair, and the new president, Thein Sein, was a former general.

But Thein Sein's government surprised the world. It freed hundreds of political prisoners, though not all of them. It signed cease-fire deals with numerous rebel groups. It abolished a draconian system of media censorship. It revamped finance and investment laws. Aung San Suu Kyi ? the longtime opposition leader who spent most of the last two decades as a prisoner in her own home ? is now an elected lawmaker with an official voice in government.

Today, the consensus is the reforms are irreversible. But that doesn't mean "the future is necessarily bright," said Myanmar historian Thant Myint-U, the grandson of the late U.N. Secretary General U Thant.

The problem is "not with the political leadership at the top," he said, "but with the enormity of challenges facing this country after decades of war, repression, and international isolation."

Myanmar is a country where oxen still haul carts of wheat past simple houses made of bamboo and dried leaves, much like they did centuries ago. Its education and health systems are neglected, in tatters. And although the country exports electricity, its infrastructure is so poor and mismanagement so high that only about 25 percent of people living here have access to electricity.

The nation's best and brightest are abroad: A 1988 crackdown on democracy protesters forced a generation of skilled labor to flee. Refugees ? hundreds of thousands in Thailand alone ? continue to live in camps, still too uncertain to return.

Although Thein Sein's administration has been widely credited with beginning the monumental task of turning the ship of state around, it also has seen grave setbacks.

Chief among them: the collapse of a 17-year-old truce with ethnic Kachin rebels in the north. That triggered a wave of fighting that has driven more than 75,000 people from their homes. On Wednesday, Kachin rebels attacked a prison convoy, killing two convicts and injuring 14 others, state media reported.

In western Myanmar, another 110,000 people have been displaced in a separate conflict between the Buddhist Rakhine and the stateless Muslim Rohingya. Many Rohingya were born in Myanmar, but they are denied citizenship because the government considers them foreigners from neighboring Bangladesh.

The conflict has degenerated into an anti-Muslim campaign also targeting the Kaman minority.

"Please tell Obama that we want to go home," one woman pleaded this week in Sin Thet Maw, where she fled with 5,000 other ethnic Kaman Muslims after Buddhist mobs turned their neighborhood to ashes and forced them to flee on boats.

"We have no schools, no medicines, no toilets," the 48-year-old, Ohnmar Saw, said. "We need help, and nobody is helping us."

Although the crisis in the west goes back decades, it has been exacerbated ? ironically ? by the newfound right to freedom of expression the U.S. has pushed so long for. Racist rants against the Rohingya have appeared online with increasing frequency and viciousness. The government's lifting of a longstanding ban on protests has paved the way for massive anti-Muslim protests staged by Buddhist monks, bolstering nationwide antipathy toward Muslims and setting the stage for the latest spasm of violence in late October.

The "democratic opening has allowed for repressed voices ... both negative and positive, to emerge," said Aung Naing Oo of the Vahu Development Institute think-tank, who traveled back to his homeland for the first time this year after fleeing two decades before.

But the upside is clear: "Myanmar is no longer a dictatorship," he said.

Given the new democratic equation, solving the conflict in Rakhine state will be difficult because the Rohingya are a deeply unpopular cause that few politicians will defend ? not Thein Sein, and not even Suu Kyi, whose party is looking toward elections due in 2015. Thein Sein appeared to make conciliatory remarks on the Rohingya in a letter to the United Nations on Friday, saying he would consider new rights for the minority, including citizenship, work permits and freedom of movement. But he stopped short of a full commitment and gave no timeline for addressing the situation.

There is also concern that the U.S. can do little to help.

America's own interests ? businesses are keen to tap into what is for them virgin territory rich in natural resources ? are at risk of trumping human rights. And Obama's trip is also part of a broader effort to bolster U.S. influence in a region dominated by China.

Washington's decision to suspend sanctions this year has also dramatically diminished its leverage here, said Aung Din of the Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma, which has called on Obama to cancel his trip.

"The risk, without political and economic pressure, is that we will not see the process of democratic change moving forward," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/despite-myanmar-reforms-much-remains-done-071004326.html

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Both sides appear upbeat on opening round of ?fiscal cliff? talks (Washington Post)

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HTC Windows Phone 8X (AT&T): Full Review

What's in a name? For HTC, a moniker like Windows Phone 8X shows that the company very much wants the world to think of its device as the flagship product for Microsoft's new OS. Offering a very sleek and colorful design, Beats Audio and a camera that can capture more of your friends at once, the 8X ($99 for 8GB, $199 for 16GB) is gunning to be the Windows Phone of the season. Find out if this device has what it takes to not only tear you away from Android and the iPhone, but also beat the feature-packed Lumia 920.

Design

Click to EnlargeTaking inspiration from the colorful home screen of Microsoft's new smartphone operating system, the HTC Windows Phone 8X strongly resembles a stretched oucoolt tile. We love how the blue soft-touch rear panel gently surrounds the 4.3-inch black display. You can also order the 8X in a bolder Limelight yellow.

Click to EnlargeOn the front, a 2.1-megapixel camera sits in the top right corner, next to a blue speaker bar, which stands out on the glossy obsidian surface. Capacitive buttons (Back, Start and Search) are located along the bottom.

Instead of tagging the front of the device with excessive labeling, HTC places all insignias (HTC, Beats and AT&T) on the rear panel, a nice touch. Here also is an 8-MP camera, flash and a speaker.

Along the top edge of the 8X are a power button and headphone jack. A volume rocker and dedicated camera button are located on the right, along with a pullout tray for the SIM card. The microUSB slot is tucked away at the bottom of the handset.

Click to EnlargeThe 8X's slim 5.21 x 2.6 x 0.39-inch frame slid easily into our pants pocket. It's also fairly light at 4.6 ounces. By comparison, the 6.5-ounce Nokia Lumia 920 is on the chunky side, wider and thicker at 5.1 x 2.8 x 0.42-inches. To be fair, the Lumia 920 has a slightly bigger display and a PureView camera that takes up more internal real estate.

Display

Click to EnlargeThe 4.3-inch Super LCD 2 display on the HTC 8X has a resolution of 1280 x 720 (341 ppi), which made maps, images and Web pages look great. A high-quality video of "The Hobbit" streamed from YouTube showed deep blacks and bright, vivid colors. Also, viewing angles were excellent. We could tilt the phone at extreme angles and still see the dwarves on-screen.

The 8X's 300 lux brightness was a hair shy of the 301 lux average. The Nokia 920 was only slightly brighter, at 310 lux. When we viewed the "Skyfall" trailer on the 8X and Lumia 920 side by side, the Lumia 920's screen offered better contrast and deeper black levels.

Audio

Click to EnlargeConsidering that HTC owns Beats Audio, it's only natural that this technology is included in the 8X. Beats is only activated when headphones are connected to the phone. Unlike Beats headphones, this app boosts both mid- and lower tones, but evenly, for a richer sound. When we listened to "Body and Soul" on our Monster DiamondTears headphones, Anita Baker's sultry vocals smoldered. The piano and bass were full-bodied and warm like a well-aged Bordeaux.

Pressing the physical volume controls displays a little drop-down window that lets you advance, rewind or pause tracks. At its largest, the Music + Video Live Tile shows a picture of the artist, as well as his or her name scrolling horizontally and vertically. It would be a better use of this tile if you could actually control tracks.

The rear-facing speaker on the 8X kicked out somewhat loud, but tinny sound. It was good for making phone calls via speakerphone, but you wouldn't want to use it to listen to music for extended periods.

Windows Phone 8

Click to EnlargePeople who aren't too keen on Android or iOS will want to check out the new Windows Phone 8 OS. Live Tiles are the keystone on which the operating system rests. We're big fans of the visually appealing, customizable tiles. The resizable, sometimes animated tiles are a welcome improvement over the static presentations of both iOS and Android.

There are lots of tiles users can pin to their Start screen, including people, apps, websites, photo albums, music albums, notes, directions and more. Live Tiles can now be resized to one of three sizes. Just long-press to make a tile smaller or as large as rectangle that stretches across the screen.

Click to EnlargeWhere Windows 8's Modern UI is designed for landscape navigation, Windows Phone 8 was designed with one-handed, portrait-mode use in mind. The main screens, as well as some Microsoft apps (People, Music + Videos, and Games, to name a few) only work in portrait mode. Fortunately, others that potentially involve a lot of typing (such as email and messaging) can rotate to landscape mode.

As attractive as Windows Phone 8 is, it could be easier to use. For instance, you need to press the top of the screen to see your battery life and signal strength. And while it's easy to switch apps, it takes more steps than we'd like to close them.

People Hub: Groups and Rooms

Click to EnlargeThe People hub aggregates your various contacts from Email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Skype and Twitter. Of course, if you're connected to all those networks, that can mean a lot of new information all at once. Two features, Groups and Rooms, let you contextualize and sort all this data. As its name suggests, Groups let you group selected contacts (say, Family or Favorites); opening that group then shows only updates and photos from those individuals.

Similar to the workgroups in Microsoft Office, Rooms lets you set up a virtual network with selected contacts to privately share photos, calendars and send messages. Inviting someone to a room was as easy as selecting them from our contacts list. From there, sharing photos, notes and sending messages was a simple matter. We can see this being a very helpful tool for both families and employees alike. We'd like to see Rooms migrate to Windows 8 as well.

As mentioned, if you link all of these social networks, your Contact List can quickly become epic in length. Fortunately, you can choose which contacts to display.

Kid's Corner

Click to EnlargeHave some content that you'd rather the kids not see? Windows Phone now sports a kid-proofing feature called Kid's Corner. Once activated in the Settings menu, adults can choose which videos, music and images are child-friendly. This content is accessed by flicking the lockscreen to the left. The rest of the content is locked by a password chosen by the user.

Although there are third-party apps for Android phone that go further than Kid's Corner, Windows Phone 8 does more for parents out of the box than Google or Apple.

Apps

Click to EnlargeThe Windows Phone Store features more than 120,000 apps and continues to grow. We were able to find popular third-party apps such as CNN, Netflix, IMDb and Evernote. However, Windows Phone has a long way to go before its apps store can compete with the massive catalogs of Android and iOS.

AT&T also makes its presence felt with its usual cast of carrierware. The HTC Windows Phone 8X comes preinstalled with AT&T FamilyMap, Code Scanner, Navigator, Radio, U-verse Live TV and myAT&T. Thankfully, you can remove these apps.

Click to EnlargeHTC offers an HTC app store and an HTC-branded hub with weather, stock and news updates from CNN and Yahoo. There's also Photo Enhancer, a photo filter app reminiscent of Instagram, and Converter, which can convert most common forms of measurement.

Although the 8X has its own Maps app, we prefer Nokia Maps, which offered more details and has separate views for satellite, public transit and traffic routes. We also liked the clean presentation of Nokia's Drive app that provided easy to follow turn-by-turn navigation. (Nokia Drive is slated to become available to all Windows Phones, but there's no ETA.)

Third-party apps include YouTube and YPmobile.

Word Flow Keyboard

Click to EnlargeThe on-screen keyboard on the 8X looks much the same as on previous versions of Microsoft's mobile OS. In portrait mode, the small rectangular keys were relatively easy to type on, as were their squarish landscape-mode counterparts. A new addition is the keyboard's predictive feature, which helped correct our spelling as we typed. We wish there was an option for haptic feedback, especially considering the three buttons below the screen gently buzz when pressed.

NFC

The HTC Windows Phone 8X has a NFC chip, which let us share photos, websites, contacts and other content by touching the phone to another NFC-enabled device. Tap & Share -- the name HTC gives to this feature -- can also be used to pair the phone to other devices.

The process has a few more steps than we would like. In order to share a photo, you have to open it, press the three dots on the screen to access settings and select Tap+Send from the Share menu options. With Android devices, it's much simpler; simply tap on the image while the two devices are touching.

Performance

Click to EnlargeThe HTC Windows Phone 8X's 1.5-GHz dual-core Qualcomm S4 CPU and 1GB of RAM delivered zippy app launches and tile navigation. On the Benchmark Free app, the 8X notched the top score of 7.9 on every test. That adds up to a cumulative score of 47.4, tying the Nokia Lumia 920, which also has a 1.5-GHz dual-core Qualcomm S4 CPU.

We also ran the WPBench app, which measures CPU, data and GPU performance. The 8X scored 233.97, compared with 226.75 for the Lumia 920.

With the screens on the Lumia 920 and the HTC 8X turned off, we pressed the camera button on both simultaneously. Both sprung to life in the same amount of time, about 2 seconds. They were also equally responsive when opening the People app.

Web Browsing and 4G LTE

Click to EnlargeAT&T continues to deliver fast speeds over its 4G LTE network. On Speedtest.net, we saw an average download speed of 13.7 Mbps and upload speeds of 6.9 Mbps. When we started browsing the Web, the mobile versions of NYTimes.com, CNN.com and ESPN.com loaded in 2.3, 3.1 and 4.4 seconds. The desktop version of Laptopmag.com loaded in a snappy 7.8 seconds.

Skype

Click to EnlargeThe new Skype app for Windows Phone 8 has all the video chatting and instant messaging you've come to expect, but now it's integrated with Microsoft's new OS. The app remains on in the background -- even when the phone is locked -- so that WP8 owners can potentially use Skype as their primary means of making voice calls. Of course, it remains to be seen if individual carriers will allow this functionality. Additionally, Skype contacts added all of our contacts to the People hub.

Over AT&T's LTE network, there was a noticeable amount of pixelation on both ends of our video chat. However, audio was crisp. In landscape mode, the 8X's wide-angle lens allowed us to fit an additional person in the shot. However, it did not rotate the image in our caller's feed.

Camera

Click to EnlargeThe 8X's rear-facing 8-MP camera impressed at almost every turn. In side-by-side shots with the Lumia 920, we saw sharper details with colors that popped off the display. A photo we took of three fall bouquets had richer yellows, reds and oranges on the 8X. However, we did notice that the Lumia delivered warmer tones.

Click to EnlargeStill, the Lumia is the hands-down winner in low-light settings. It was literally night and day, as we could barely make out our toys in the 8X shot. The 920 took advantage of what little light there was, allowing for a colorful, albeit somewhat fuzzy image.

Thanks to HTC's dedicated ImageChip, the 8X's camera snapped photos in less than a second after pressing the shutter. After you take a shot, we could share it with others via messaging, our various email accounts, Facebook, OneNote, SkyDrive or Twitter. Editing options on the phone let us perform a quick fix, crop or rotate. If you want to make heavier adjustments, an Apps link let us easily open the photo in the photo-editing programs installed on the phone.

Click to EnlargeWithin the photo app, pressing the icon that has two arrows facing in opposite directions lets you access Lenses, a fun feature that adds various filters to the camera. (Think Instagram, but there's a lot more potential as developers catch on.) Some lenses--such as CamWow--are frivolous, adding fun-house effects and such, but others such as CNN iReport let you upload video straight to CNN.

You can activate the camera from the lock screen merely by holding the shutter button for two seconds. You can also take photos without unlocking the phone, but doing so only gives you the ability to view (and delete) the photos you just took.

The front-facing 2.1-MP camera also took fairly good shots. While images captured in a slightly dim room were on the grainy side, colors were generally accurate. We liked the 88-degree wide-angle lens on the front, which is optimized for taking self-portraits. We could more easily fit more people in the frame than on the iPhone 5.

Battery Life and Call Quality

Click to EnlargeTo test the HTC 8X's battery life, we used the Peacekeeper battery test from Futuremark on medium brightness, as Windows Phone does not support our Web surfing rundown test. (Peacekeeper's test does run in the browser.) On this test, the 8X lasted 4 hours and 4 minutes, which is behind both the 8X for T-Mobile (4:43) and the Nokia Lumia 810 for that carrier (5:13). The 8X for AT&T likely had a shorter runtime because its 4G LTE radio uses more power than the HSPA+ chip inside the T-Mobile Windows Phones.

Test calls made to relatives in New Jersey and North Carolina came through loud and clear on both ends. There was no static or echoing when we switched over to speakerphone.

Verdict

Click to EnlargeThe HTC Windows Phone 8X is sturdy, sexy and svelte, and, like Microsoft's OS itself, clearly differentiated from Android and iOS devices. We especially like the 8X's fast back camera and wide-angle front camera. This handset's biggest limitations are the comparatively small size of the Windows Store and its relatively short battery life.

If you don't mind its extra bulk, the $99 Nokia Lumia 920 for AT&T is our top Windows Phone pick. It offers a superior 4.5-inch screen and exclusive goodies like wireless charging and Nokia Music and Nokia Drive. You also get 32GB of storage for $99, versus 8GB for the $99 8X. You'll need to step up to $199 to get 16GB. But if you want to travel lighter, the slim and light HTC Windows Phone 8X is a very good choice.

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limbaugh aaron smith wilt chamberlain joe arpaio