tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52670535444453112762024-03-18T13:03:21.082+07:00FourtrianglePaparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-13558463298294947302012-07-22T08:49:00.000+07:002012-07-22T08:50:41.775+07:00Airbus A400M Atlas ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">As of July 2012<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the A400M is undergoing flight
testing. Orders totalled 174 aircraft from eight nations as of July 2011. Airbus
Military is expected to deliver the first aircraft in early 2013.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> The Airbus A400M Atlas,is a multi-national four-engine
turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military as a
tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities.The aircraft's maiden flight,
originally planned for 2008, took place on 11 December 2009 in Seville, Spain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">As of July 2012 the A400M is
undergoing flight testing. Orders totalled 174 aircraft from eight nations as
of July 2011.Airbus Military is expected to deliver the first aircraft in early
2013.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Development<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Origins<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The project began as the Future
International Military Airlifter (FIMA) group, set up in 1982 by Aérospatiale,
British Aerospace (BAe), Lockheed, and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) to
develop a replacement for the C-130 Hercules and Transall C-160.Varying
requirements and the complications of international politics caused slow
progress. In 1989 Lockheed left the grouping and went on to develop an upgraded
Hercules, the C-130J Super Hercules. With the addition of Alenia of Italy and
CASA of Spain the FIMA group became Euroflag.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The A400M is positioned as an
intermediate size between the Lockheed C-130, and the Boeing C-17. Originally
the SNECMA M138 turboprop (based on the M88 core) was selected to power the
A400M. Airbus Military issued a new request for proposal (RFP) in April 2002,
after which Pratt & Whitney Canada with the PW180 and Europrop
International answered; the latter was a new design. Airbus Military preferred
the PWC engine, but political interference resulted in the selection of the Europrop
TP400-D6 in May 2003.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The partner nations – France,
Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Belgium, and Luxembourg –
signed an agreement in May 2003 to buy 212 aircraft. These nations decided to
charge the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) with the
management of the acquisition of the A400M.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Following the withdrawal of Italy
and revision of procurement totals the revised requirement was for 180
aircraft, with first flight in 2008 and first delivery in 2009. On 28 April
2005, South Africa joined the partnership programme with the state-owned Denel
Saab Aerostructures receiving a contract for fuselage components.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Into production<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The A400M assembly at the Seville
plant of EADS Spain started in the first quarter of 2007. Airbus plans to
manufacture thirty aircraft per year.The major assemblies arrive by Airbus
Beluga transporters. The four Europrop TP400-D6 flight test engines were
delivered in late February 2008 for the first A400M.Static structural testing
of a A400M test airframe began on 12 March 2008 in Spain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The first flight, originally
scheduled for the first quarter of 2008, was postponed due to program delays,
schedule adjustments and financial pressures. EADS announced in early January
2008 that continued development problems with the engines had resulted in a
delay to the second quarter of 2008 before the first engine test flights on a
C-130 testbed aircraft. The first flight of the aircraft, previously scheduled
for July 2008, had again been postponed. Civil certification under European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) CS-25 will be followed later by certification for
military purposes. The A400M was "rolled out" in Seville on 26 June
2008 at an event presided by King Juan Carlos I of Spain.On 12 January 2011,
serial production of the A400M for its first customers started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Development problems<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">On 9 January 2009, EADS announced
that the first delivery has been postponed until at least 2012. EADS also
indicated that it wanted to renegotiate "certain technical characteristics"
of the aircraft.EADS has long maintained the first deliveries would begin three
years after the A400M's first flight. The German newspaper Financial Times
Deutschland has closely followed the A400M program and reported on 12 January
2009 that the aircraft is overweight by 12 tons and may not be able to achieve
a critical performance requirement, the ability to airlift 32 tons. Sources
told FTD at the time that the aircraft could only lift 29 tons, which is
insufficient to carry a modern armored infantry fighting vehicle (like the
Puma).The FTD report prompted the chief of the German Air Force to say,
"That is a disastrous development," and could delay deliveries to the
Luftwaffe until 2014.The Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the Luftwaffe
is delayed at least until 2017. This leads the political planning to potential
alternatives in the shape of a higher integration of European airlift capabilities.The
OCCAR reminded the participating countries that they can terminate the contract
before 31 March 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">On 29 March 2009, Airbus CEO
Thomas Enders told Der Spiegel magazine that the program may need to be
abandoned without changes.Then on 3 April 2009 the South African Air Force
announced that it would start considering alternatives to the A400M due to
postponed production and increased cost.On 5 November 2009, South Africa
announced it was cancelling the order citing increased cost and delivery
delays.On 12 June, The New York Times reported that Germany and France have
delayed the decision whether or not to cancel their orders for another six
months, while the UK still plans to decide at the end of June. The NYT also
quotes a report to the French Senate from February 2009, according to which
"the A400M is €5 billion over budget, 3 to 4 years behind schedule, [...]
aerospace experts estimate it is also costing Airbus between €1 billion and
€1.5 billion a year."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The shortage of military
transports caused by the A400M delay forced the UK to lease, and subsequently
purchase, six C-17s. France and Germany have also been considering other
planes, as all three countries need to support their operations in Afghanistan.The
ADS Group has warned that shifting the British orders to American aircraft for
the short term budget savings would cost much more over time in missed civil
and military aerospace business, because they say that the technologies used in
the A400M would be a bridge to the next generation of civilian aircraft.In June
2009, Lockheed Martin said that both United Kingdom and France had asked for
technical details on the C-130J as an alternative to the A400M.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Airbus acknowledged in 2009 that
the program is expected to lose at least €2.4 billion and cannot break even
without sales outside NATO countries.A PricewaterhouseCoopers audit of the
program projected that it would run €11.2 billion over budget unless corrective
measures were taken, which would result in an overrun of only €7.6 billion.On
24 July 2009, the seven European nations announced that they would continue
with the A400M program, and form a joint procurement agency to renegotiate the
contract with EADS.The ministers of the seven European launch customers were
supposed to meet 15 October 2009 in Germany to approve a new timetable,
configuration and financial terms for the A400M airlifter.On 14 October 2009,
French Ministry of Defense spokesman Laurent Teisseire, announced this meeting
had been postponed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">On 9 December 2009, the Financial
Times reported that Airbus has asked for an additional €5 billion subsidy to
complete the project.On 5 January 2010, Airbus repeated that the A400M program
may be scrapped, costing Airbus €5.7 billion unless €5.3 billion was added by
partner governments.On 11 January 2010, Tom Enders, Airbus chief executive,
stated that he was prepared to cancel production of the A400M if European
governments did not provide more funding. Delays to the A400M project had
already increased its budget by 25%.On 5 November 2010, Belgium, Britain,
France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey finalised the contract and agreed
to lend Airbus Military €1.5 billion. The program is at least three years
behind schedule. The deal, however, meant also that the UK reduced its order
from 25 to 22 aircraft and Germany from 60 to 53, decreasing the total order
from 180 to 170.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Flight testing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Before the first flight, the
company obtained the required hours of airborne test time on the engines using
a C-130 testbed aircraft.The first flight of the C-130 testbed occurred on 17
December 2008.The A400M's maiden flight was carried out from Seville on 11
December 2009.The first A400M had flown 39 hours of test flights as of 9 March
2010.The second test aircraft's engines were tested on 18 March 2010 prior to
it beginning test flights.The second A400M completed its first flight on 8
April 2010.The third A400M took to the air in July 2010. With this flight the
three A400Ms have taken more than 100 flights, totaling 400 hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In July 2010, the A400M passed a
key test: ultimate-load testing of the wing.On 28 October 2010, Airbus Military
announced that it was about to start refuelling and air-drop tests.By late
October 2010 the A400M had flown 672 hours of the 2,700 hours expected to reach
certification. Cold weather testing is to be performed in either Canada or
Sweden.In November 2010, the first paratroop jumps were performed from the
A400M.In December 2010 the A400M fleet's flight time has risen to 965 hours.A400M
number four joined the test fleet with its first flight of over five hours on
20 December 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Winter tests were done in Kiruna,
Sweden during February 2011.By April 2011 a total of 1,400 flight hours over
450 flights had been achieved.In May 2011 the A400M's EPI TP400-D6 engine
received certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).In May
2011, the A400M fleet had totaled 1,600 hours over 500 flights; by September
2011, the total increased to 2,100 hours and 684 flights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Due to a problem with the gearbox
the A400M did not fly demonstrations at the 2011 Paris Air Show. It was shown
on static display insteadBy October 2011, the total flight hours had reached
2,380 over 784 flights. A minor problem that occurred during wet landing test
led to reconstruction of parts of the main landing gear door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">High altitude start and landing
tests were performed at La Paz at 4,061.5 m (13,325 ft) and Cochabamba at 2,548
m (8,360 feet) in Bolivia in March 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Design<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The Airbus A400M will increase
the airlift capacity and range compared with the aircraft it was originally set
to replace, the older versions of the Hercules and Transall. Cargo capacity is
expected to double over existing aircraft, both in payload and volume, and
range is increased substantially as well. The cargo box is 17.71 m long
excluding ramp, 4.00 m wide, and 3.85 m high (or 4.00 m aft of the wing).and
the ramp is 5.40 m long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The A400M will operate in many
configurations including cargo transport, troop transport, Medical evacuation,
aerial refuelling, and electronic surveillance. The aircraft is intended for
use on short, soft landing strips and for long-range, cargo transport flights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">It features a fly-by-wire flight
control system with sidestick controllers and flight envelope protection. Like
other Airbus aircraft, the A400M will have a full glass cockpit (all
information accessed through large colour screens) and as such will represent a
technological leap compared to the older C-130s and C-160s that many countries
now operate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The A400M's wings are primarily
carbon fibre reinforced plastic. The eight-bladed Scimitar propeller is also
made from a woven composite material. The aircraft is powered by four Europrop
TP400-D6 engines rated at 8,250 kW (11,000 hp) each.The TP400-D6 engine is to
be the most powerful turboprop engine in the West to enter operational use.One
of the few propeller powered aircraft with swept wings, the turboprops provide
an efficient cruise speed of 780 km/h (480 mph) which falls between the C-130
and the jet-powered C-17.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The pair of propellers on each
wing of the A400M turn in opposite directions, with the tips of the propellers
advancing from above towards the midpoint between the two engines. This is in
contrast to the overwhelming majority of multi-engine propeller driven aircraft
where all propellers on the same wing turn in the same direction. The
counter-rotation is achieved by the use of a gearbox fitted to two of the
engines, and only the propeller turns the opposite direction; all four engines
are identical and turn in the same direction which eliminates the need to have
two different "handed" engines on stock for the same aircraft, which
simplifies maintenance and supply costs. This configuration, dubbed DBE (Down
Between Engines), allows the aircraft to produce more lift and lessens the
torque and prop wash on each wing. It also reduces yaw in the event of an
outboard engine failure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">EADS and Thales will provide the
new Multi-Colour Infrared Alerting Sensor (MIRAS) missile warning sensor for
the A400M.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Operational history<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Exports<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">South Africa<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In December 2004, South Africa
announced it would purchase eight A400Ms at a cost of approximately €837
million, with the nation joining the Airbus Military team as an industrial
partner. Deliveries were expected from 2010 to 2012.In 2009, South Africa
cancelled all eight aircraft, citing increasing costs. On 29 November 2011
Airbus Military reached an agreement to refund pre-delivery payments worth €837
million to Armscor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Canada<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Airbus Military made a bid in
2006 to supply Canada with the A400M to meet a tender request for 17 new
tactical airlifters to replace their old C-130E models.The Canadians ordered four
C-17 Globemaster IIIs and 17 C-130J Super Hercules instead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Others<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In July 2005, the Chilean Air
Force signed a Memorandum of understanding for three aircraft,but no order has
been placed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In December 2005, the Royal
Malaysian Air Force ordered four A400Ms to supplement its fleet of Lockheed
C-130 Hercules.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In 2009 the United States Air
Force Air Mobility Command requested information on the A400M and the company
responded with a proposal for 118 A400Ms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 11.4pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 11.4pt; margin: 4.8pt 0in 6pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In June 2010, EADS suggested a
possibility that the Royal Australian Air Force might consider buying the
A400M.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Specifications<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Data from Airbus Military specifications<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">General characteristics<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Crew:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 3 or 4 (2 pilots, 3rd optional, 1
loadmaster)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Capacity:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 37,000 kg (81,600 lb)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">116 fully
equipped troops / paratroops,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">up to 66
stretchers accompanied by 25 medical personnel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Length:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 45.1 m (148 ft 0 in)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Wingspan:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 42.4 m (139 ft 1 in)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Height:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 14.7 m (48 ft 3 in)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Empty weight:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 76,500 kg (168,654 lb) ; operating
weight[84]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Max takeoff weight:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 141,000 kg (310,852 lb)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Fuel capacity:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 50,500 kg (111,330 lb) internal fuel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Max landing weight:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 122,000 kg (268,963 lb)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Powerplant:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 4 × Europrop TP400-D6 turboprop,
8,250 kW (11,060 hp) each<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Propellers:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 8-bladed, 5.3 m (17 ft 5 in) diameter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Performance<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Cruising speed:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 780 km/h (485 mph; 421 kn) (Mach
0.68-0.72)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Initial cruise altitude:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> at MTOW: 9,000 m (29,000 ft)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Range:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 3,298 km (2,049 mi; 1,781 nmi) at max
payload (long range cruise speed; reserves as per MIL-C-5011A)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Range at 30-tonne payload:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 4,540 km (2,450 nmi)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source: <a href="http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A400M" style="background-color: white;">http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A400M</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-2339641993474634362012-07-22T07:38:00.007+07:002012-07-22T07:38:51.824+07:00Top 5 Important Pictures That Shaped America ~ Fourtriangle<br />
<div style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 12.0pt;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">5. Migrant Mother</span></strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xJ39Ea43oaw/UAtJavn9UCI/AAAAAAAABfs/xEUEwN4csqU/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xJ39Ea43oaw/UAtJavn9UCI/AAAAAAAABfs/xEUEwN4csqU/s400/1.jpg" width="331" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">After the outbreak of World War
I, the United States pursued a policy of non-intervention, avoiding conflict
while trying to broker peace. When a German U-boat sank the British liner
Lusitania in 1915, with 128 Americans aboard, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson vowed,
“America is too proud to fight” and demanded that Germany end the attacks on
passenger ships. In January of 1917, Britain’s secret Royal Navy cryptanalytic
group, Room 40, intercepted a German coded message to Mexico, which suggested
that Mexico should declare war on the United States with the help of Germany.
U.S. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">President Woodrow Wilson released the information to the public to gain
support for the war. He realized that a U.S. conflict was imminent, after
German submarines sank numerous U.S. merchant ships.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The United States officially entered World War I on April 6, 1917.
After the end of the war, the U.S. moved into the Golden Age of media, with the
establishment of public radio and the first major broadcast networks. However,
by the end of the 1920s, the U.S entered the Great Depression, which was the
longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century. The Great </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Depression originated in the United States, starting with the plummet of the
stock market. The depression had devastating effects in virtually every
country. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while
international trade plunged and unemployment in the U.S. rose to 25%. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Tensions
quickly elevated in major settlements around the United States and this era in
U.S. history is full of dark and depressing pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Photograph<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Dorothea Lange was an influential American documentary
photographer, best known for her Depression-era work. Lange’s photographs
humanized the tragic consequences of the Great Depression and profoundly
influenced the development of documentary photography. Her best known images
were taken in 1936, when she captured a set of pictures that would become known
as the Migrant Mother collection. In March 1936, after picking beets in the Imperial
Valley, Florence Owens Thompson and her family suffered car trouble near the
city of Nipomo, California. Florence Thompson’s husband and sons took the car’s
radiator to be fixed and she set up a temporary camp with her small children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">While the family waited for the men to return, Dorothea Lange
approached Florence and took a collection of famous images. One of the pictures
shows a close-up portrait of Florence Owens Thompson and her children. The
image was published in newspapers all over the United States and has since
reached near mythical status, symbolizing, if not defining, this entire era in
U.S. history. It was not until the late 1970s that Thompson’s identity was
discovered. She was quoted as saying “I wish she hadn’t taken my picture. I can’t
get a penny out of it. She didn’t ask my name. She said she wouldn’t sell the
pictures. She said she’d send me a copy. She never did.” As one of the most
powerful photographs of the Depression era, Migrant Mother reflects the victims
who suffered the most in the United States during the 1930s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">4. American Soldiers Storm
Normandy</span></strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F-HAW5z-gnU/UAtJps9iA3I/AAAAAAAABf0/G7OIymZUfdU/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F-HAW5z-gnU/UAtJps9iA3I/AAAAAAAABf0/G7OIymZUfdU/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In 1939, Nazi Germany and the
Soviet Union invaded Poland marking the beginning of the Second World War. In
1940, the Selective Service Act was passed in the United States. The law
required that all men between the ages of 21 and 35 register with the U.S.
draft board. On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy
conducted a surprise attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor. The next day,
the U.S. declared war on Japan resulting in the entry into World War II. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Over
the next four years of war, 418,000 U.S. soldiers were killed in battle. On
January 16, 1945, the Red Army breached the German front and entered the city
of Berlin. May 8, 1945, is officially Victory in Europe Day, when the Allies
formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. August 14, 1945,
is Victory over Japan Day in the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">After the end of the Second World War, the Korean Peninsula, which
was ruled by Japan since 1910, was divided along the 38th Parallel, with U.S.
troops occupying the southern portion and Soviet troops occupying the north. In
1948, government officials failed to hold free elections on the Korean
Peninsula and this deepened the division between the two sides. The North
established a Communist government and the 38th Parallel became a political
border between the two Koreas. On June 25, 1950, the conflict escalated into
open warfare when North Korean forces invaded South Korea. This event marked
the beginning of the Korean War (1950-1953). The U.S. came to the aid of South
Korea, while China and Russia joined the communist north. The conflict ended
after the threat of nuclear war was made and the Korean Demilitarized Zone
(DMZ) was formed, which is a 2.5 mile (4.0 km) wide buffer zone between the two
Koreas. Today, the DMZ is the most heavily militarized border in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Photograph<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">A number of famous American photographs were taken during the
Second World War. The three most referenced images include the Conference of
the Big Three at Yalta, which shows Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Premier Josef Stalin in February of 1945.
The Flag Raising on Iwo Jima is probably the most well known American photo in
existence, while the picture taken of a happy couple celebrating the end of the
war with a kiss in New York City is iconic. For this article, I have selected a
war photo that was captured on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), as American soldiers
swarmed the beaches of Normandy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The Normandy landing was the largest amphibious invasion of all
time, with over 160,000 Allied troops entering France on June 6, 1944. This
famous image shows American soldiers as they leave the ramp of a Coast Guard
landing boat and enter the frigid waters off Normandy. At the time that the
picture was taken, these men were under heavy Nazi machine gun fire. They were
forced to travel through the heavy tides and deep water holes, searching for
solid land. Looking at this image, you can feel the wetness in the air and
smell the gunpowder that looms over the battlefield. This photograph was taken
under the intense pressures of war and gives a historic glimpse into the
conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">3. Martin Luther King Jr.
Assassination</span></strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IYQ282bHHIw/UAtKYfJUHGI/AAAAAAAABf8/QKhDog31AJ4/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IYQ282bHHIw/UAtKYfJUHGI/AAAAAAAABf8/QKhDog31AJ4/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Earl Warren made a historic ruling. He granted the children of Oliver
Brown the right to attend an all white school, striking down the “separate but
equal” concept that was prevalent in the United States. Warren ruled that
segregation violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The decision
led to the African-American Civil Rights Movement. During this time, acts of
nonviolent protest and civil disobedience produced crisis situations between
activists and police. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 granted equal access to
public accommodations for everyone regardless of race, religion or national
origin. The enactment of the law resulted from numerous demonstrations designed
to show the hardships of segregation in America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The United States also experienced a youth movement during the
early 1960s, known as the hippy subculture. These people practiced the
principle of free love, harmony with nature, communal living, world peace,
artistic expression, and in many cases widespread experimentation with
mind-altering substances. During this time, music grew in America like never
before and Beatle Mania expanded. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Bob Dylan emerged as a lyricist. Many of the
pubic demonstrations included speeches in strong opposition to the U.S. involvement
in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was a conflict that lasted from 1955-1975.
The war was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies,
and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the U.S. and other
anti-communist nations. The conflict ended with the fall of Saigon on April 30,
1975, and the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Photograph<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Serious Steps is an award-winning image that was captured in 1962.
It shows President John F. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Kennedy and former Commander-in-chief Dwight D.
Eisenhower walking together. Two notable pictures that document the Vietnam War
are titled Tank Commander and Dreams of Better Times, each of these images was
awarded the Pulitzer or World Press honor. On May 4, 1970, four students were
killed by the Ohio National Guard in the Kent State shooting. A photograph
showing the lifeless body of 20-year-old Jeffrey Miller won the 1970 Pulitzer
Prize. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most famous leader of the American civil
rights movement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In 1964, King became the youngest man to be awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize. On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was staying in room 306
at the Lorraine Motel, which is located in Memphis, Tennessee. While standing
on the balcony of the hotel, King was fatally shot and wounded from a single
gunshot to the head. After the shooting, Martin’s friends quickly rushed to his
side and desperately tried to stop the bleeding. They were also pointing in the
direction of an old run down hotel across the street. The moment was captured
by photographer James Louw. The image has since become one of the most famous
in U.S. history. It shows the fatally wounded Martin Luther King Jr. laying at
the feet of his friends, while they yell for help. It is a descriptive photograph
that shows what the scene was like when King was assassinated. You can see his
leg propelled up against the balcony bars, with large pools of blood forming.
In 1986, Martin Luther King Day was established as a United States holiday,
only the fourth Federal holiday to honor an individual, with the other three
being in honor of Jesus of Nazareth, George Washington, and Christopher
Columbus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">2. America Walks on the
Moon</span></strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FabCoYK6y64/UAtKvc1HHVI/AAAAAAAABgE/zCnYKwwMyaE/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FabCoYK6y64/UAtKvc1HHVI/AAAAAAAABgE/zCnYKwwMyaE/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">On July 20, 1969, the United
States Apollo 11 space flight landed on the moon. It was the third lunar
mission of NASA’s Apollo program and the vessel was crewed by Commander Neil
Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz
Aldrin Jr. The event was a historic moment in United States history and
represented a victory for the U.S. in the Cold War Space Race. By the early
1970s, the cost of the Vietnam War and the NASA space program increased
domestic spending and accelerated inflation in America. During this time, the
U.S. began to amass a federal deficit for the first time in the 20th century.
In 1971, the U.S. government, under Richard Nixon, printed an excess of
American currency in order to pay for the nation’s military spending and
private investments. These policies shifted the United States economic status
and ultimately led to an event known as the Nixon Shock. On August 9, 1974,
Richard Nixon resigned as the President of the United States, becoming the
first and only U.S. President to step down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Photograph<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">A number of famous photographs were taken during the Apollo 11
space mission. The pictures of the American flag on the moon and of the first
human footprint are lasting. I was going to include the photograph of the first
step on the moon, but Armstrong’s leap was not documented. There is a
famous picture of Buzz Aldrin jumping from the Command Module to the
moon. The photograph that I have selected was taken from the Apollo 15
mission, which was the fourth flight to land on the moon. The picture
gives a panorama view of the crew’s space vehicles and the American flag.
In the picture, Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin can be seen giving a salute to
the people of the world. It is a revealing photograph and shows the
technical equipment used to travel to the moon and back. If you look closely,
the moon’s surface can be viewed with human footprints scattered around. This
image represents an incredible achievement in the history of the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">1. September 11, 2001</span></strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BCtNkzQFr4g/UAtLFejl3vI/AAAAAAAABgM/cMh57P_hulY/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BCtNkzQFr4g/UAtLFejl3vI/AAAAAAAABgM/cMh57P_hulY/s400/5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In 1975, Bill Gates founded
Microsoft and the U.S. was launched into the age of technological advancement.
In 1977, the first home personal computer, Commodore PET, was released for
retail sale. By the 1990s, the Internet was beginning to take hold. The basic
applications and guidelines that make the Internet possible have existed since
the 1960s, but the network did not gain a public face until the 1990s. The
estimated population of Internet users is 1.97 billion as of July 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">On August 2, 1990, the Gulf War began in the Middle East. The
conflict was waged by a U.N. authorized coalition force from thirty-four
nations, led by the U.S. and United Kingdom, against Iraq. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">On September 11,
2001, the United States faced the biggest terrorist attack in history when 19
individuals hijacked four U.S. planes and crashed them into the World Trade
Centers, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania killing nearly
3,000 people and injuring over 6,000.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">On September 11, all civilian air traffic was suspended for three
days. It was the first time that an unplanned air flight suspension had
occurred in the United States. In response to the terrorist attacks, the U.S.
and U.K. declared war on Afghanistan and invaded the country on October 7,
2001. The United States government reported that the reason for invading
Afghanistan was to find Osama bin Laden and to destroy the organization of
Al-Qaeda. As of 2011, the United States is still at war in Afghanistan with no
current leads regarding the location of Osama bin Laden. On March 20, 2003, the
United States and United Kingdom invaded and occupied the country of Iraq,
starting the Iraq War. Recently, top U.S. military commanders in Iraq have said
they believe all U.S. troops will be out of the country by the end of 2011. The
two separate wars have become a controversial subject in the United States,
especially since the economic status of the nation has greatly declined since
2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Photograph<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The most famous image to emerge from the September 11 attacks is
titled Ground Zero Spirit and shows firefighters raising the American flag
against a tangle of iron and debris at Ground Zero in New York City. For this
article I have selected a picture that was taken by Bill Biggart. Bill Biggart
was the only working photojournalist to die on 9/11. After the World Trade
Centers were attacked, Bill Biggart traveled to the buildings to document the
event. He had three separate cameras, one being digital. As the South Tower
collapsed, Biggart snapped a famous collection of four photographs. He was
killed when the North Tower came down. However, his camera bag was miraculously
discovered in the wreckage. Most of his pictures were unsalvageable, but the
flash card in the digital camera was saved and some photographs were retrieved.
This image shows one of Biggart’s pictures as the South Tower collapsed to the
ground. You can see the burning North Tower still standing, a building that
would later fall, killing Biggart. In the picture, look at the destruction and
large pieces of debris traveling with the slide. Bill Biggart will always be
remembered for his bravery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://2leep.com/news/887519/0/more/" style="background-color: white;">http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://2leep.com/news/887519/0/more/</a></i></span></div>
Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-45560024871721374452012-07-21T18:27:00.002+07:002012-07-21T18:27:50.468+07:00Top 5 Reasons Why People Hate Top 10 Lists ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">5. Clutter the Internet<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SpGcNLcQpR8/UAqHAY0_DlI/AAAAAAAABd0/snyeqH_SAUE/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SpGcNLcQpR8/UAqHAY0_DlI/AAAAAAAABd0/snyeqH_SAUE/s400/1.jpg" width="364" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Critics might
say that some lists are a waste of bandwidth because they serve little or no
value. Readers who spend enough time with these lists (most will have left the
list immediately) will all wonder the same thing: what was the writer thinking?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Perhaps the
writer of The Top 10 Worst Shoes To Wear And Step In Dog Poop had an urgent
message they felt they needed to share, or maybe it seemed funny at the time.
However, most readers probably want their 5 minutes (and their appetites) back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">4. Unoriginal<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zIhBgYBAWDI/UAqHZH_-BWI/AAAAAAAABd8/2X_7MdKAaDk/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zIhBgYBAWDI/UAqHZH_-BWI/AAAAAAAABd8/2X_7MdKAaDk/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Some readers
might argue that lists such as Top 10 Sidekicks or Top 10 Most Expensive
Desserts have been done so many times you already know what will be on the
list. The two lists mentioned are common topics and some of the list items
might be the same, but at least the writing is original- and hopefully the
images or video footage illustrating each point is different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">3. Controversy For It’s Own Sake<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vCOp1-aLD0M/UAqI8wPQXvI/AAAAAAAABeE/KvNDozRDEcg/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vCOp1-aLD0M/UAqI8wPQXvI/AAAAAAAABeE/KvNDozRDEcg/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Some lists
are so controversial that readers might question whether the list was written
for no other reason than to start an argument. The Top 10 Arguments That Can’t
Be Won list is so controversial that the arguments in the comments have been
going on for two years. Last July (2010) Jim commented that it’s “getting close
to two years on this thread now and people are still pretending there is not
two sides to each debate… It is amazing how many here really think they have
“proven” something or presented a valid argument instead of an amusing rant…
This has been fun.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">2. False information<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-35oaWm1gfG0/UAqNcBIDW_I/AAAAAAAABe0/fE2JvBVev2k/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-35oaWm1gfG0/UAqNcBIDW_I/AAAAAAAABe0/fE2JvBVev2k/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Sometimes
readers will point out incorrect information in a list. Usually this is an
innocent error on the writer’s (or editor’s) part. However, there are also
lists out there on the Internet where the writer is intentionally spreading
false information in order to sensationalize the topic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">1. Supports Stereotypes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g7uwAl1Qs58/UAqOc5rObYI/AAAAAAAABe8/QLhGRYKD97U/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g7uwAl1Qs58/UAqOc5rObYI/AAAAAAAABe8/QLhGRYKD97U/s400/5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I think the
biggest reason to hate a top 10 list is when it supports stereotypes and
doesn’t give any insight into new ideas. Sometimes the stereotyping isn’t
blatant, but is implied throughout the whole list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://top5s.net/index.php/2012/07/top-5-reasons-why-people-hate-top-10-lists/" style="background-color: white;">http://top5s.net/index.php/2012/07/top-5-reasons-why-people-hate-top-10-lists/</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-55947684170672754072012-07-21T15:01:00.001+07:002012-07-21T15:01:15.561+07:00GTA 5 release date, trailer, cheats, news & rumours ~ Fourtriangle <b style="line-height: 15pt;"><span style="color: #1b1b1b; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">GTA 5 release date,
trailer, cheats, news and rumours all rolled up into one: What's in store for
the upcoming Xbox 360, Sony PS3 & PC title?</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cHYsdXRbHo0/UAphlEH-3GI/AAAAAAAABdE/LVfTHjFw81I/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cHYsdXRbHo0/UAphlEH-3GI/AAAAAAAABdE/LVfTHjFw81I/s400/8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Grand
Theft Auto 5 news<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Update:</span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> According to
fresh rumours, we could be seeing a GTA 5 release date announcement at the
Gamescom trade fair, which is held annually in Cologne, Germany.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
The rumour mill went wild after a Gamescom 2012 promotional video, which was
released online earlier this month, showed a brief clip of the game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
The game's publisher, Take-Two, is also included on the list of exhibitors, so
the chances of a big announcement being made is extremely likely, although
never gaurenteed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Previously, developer <a href="http://www.t3.com/Rockstar-Games" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1b1b1b; text-decoration: none;">Rockstar</span></a> offered
a tantalising insight into <a href="http://www.t3.com/news/gta-v-trailer-to-be-officially-unveiled-at-4pm-gmt-today" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1b1b1b; text-decoration: none;">Grand Theft Auto 5</span></a> with
a spokesperson for the company telling eager gamers more is to come "in a
few months time."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That was a few months ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">"Right now, we are very hard at work on the game and are
excited as well to show and tell you more as development progresses," an
unnamed representative for the company said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
"Expect that we'll be talking much more about GTAV starting at some point
in a few months' time."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What we do know for certain is that GTA 5 will be arriving on
the PS3 after <a href="http://www.t3.com/reviews/sony-ps3-slim-review" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1b1b1b; text-decoration: none;">Sony’s PlayStation 3</span></a> site
put up an official GTA V web page.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SN5g5AJW2qk/UApd8q4R2vI/AAAAAAAABcM/pAMvs_zV7fE/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SN5g5AJW2qk/UApd8q4R2vI/AAAAAAAABcM/pAMvs_zV7fE/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Elsewhere the map for GTA V has been 'leaked' via a person
claiming to be an employee of Rockstar who was leaving in two weeks, the map
shows Los Santos along with desirable Vinewood area known for being a fictional
interpretation of Hollywood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">GTA
5: Screenshots</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gOj6B8WoFek/UApeQy1I-lI/AAAAAAAABcU/q31tmlJ5uG0/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gOj6B8WoFek/UApeQy1I-lI/AAAAAAAABcU/q31tmlJ5uG0/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Update:</span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Earlier this month, Rockstar treated GTA fans
to an early glimpse of its upcoming title with the release of two new
screenshots.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
The pics show a man sitting alone on a pier, admiring the beautiful scenery
around him, while another is of a helicopter hovering above the city (San
Andreas).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Games blogs went crazy over the snaps, with many fanboys taking
to online forums to discuss the much-mooted title. Pics below. Enjoy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Grand
Theft Auto 5 release date</span></h3>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fvqeylhj-l8/UApeX7YVa6I/AAAAAAAABcc/4atlHv73lvM/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fvqeylhj-l8/UApeX7YVa6I/AAAAAAAABcc/4atlHv73lvM/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">As yet there has been no official confirmation on a Grand Theft
Auto 5 release date however analysts believe that Rockstar is following a 6
month schedule which will see an<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.t3.com/news/xbox-720-e3-2012-rumours-swirl" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1b1b1b; text-decoration: none;">E3 2012</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>launch.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">IndustryGamers spoke to
financial analysts who believe this schedule will result in a release before
the end of 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">"We
believe Rockstar Games is modeling a 4 to 6 month marketing window for
their upcoming<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>GTA V</em>release, suggesting a
Summer '12 launch period,"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i_NrJpmq3Os/UApelvp0rYI/AAAAAAAABck/Xca6j2vo85A/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i_NrJpmq3Os/UApelvp0rYI/AAAAAAAABck/Xca6j2vo85A/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">If Zavvi is to be believed then
the GTA 5 release date will be much later with the site stating an exact
release date of 23 November which would put it in line to be Christmas no.1.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">With the gaming world looking
toward Rockstar for a confirmed GTA V UK release date, a developer on the title
has suggested the game's release has been pushed back from a previously tipped
October arrival to a new December launch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Grand
Theft Auto 5 trailer<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Being the only official source of information the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.t3.com/news/gta-5-release-date-to-be-announced-in-a-few-months" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1b1b1b; text-decoration: none;">Grand Theft Auto 5 trailer</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>was useful in establishing a number of
facts including the location and the characters that would be featuring in the
game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Based on Los Angeles the main
location of the game will be centred around the fictional city of Los Santos,
first seen in Grand Theft Auto 4.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VK_-Jjt8xwg/UApexOotrSI/AAAAAAAABcs/YkaPOsaaNV4/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VK_-Jjt8xwg/UApexOotrSI/AAAAAAAABcs/YkaPOsaaNV4/s400/5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Los Santos will be situated
within San Andreas and if the trailer is anything to go by you’ll be able to
explore much of the surrounding countryside as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">It’s believed that the game
will feature many of the same driveable vehicles as has been prominent in all
Grand Theft Auto games, again if the trailer is to be an indicator it would
appear as though aircraft will also be featuring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Grand
Theft Auto 5 rumours<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Probably the biggest GTA 5 rumour at the moment is that the
game’s lead character will be played by actor Ned Luke after the game appeared
on his<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0902623/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1b1b1b; text-decoration: none;">IMDB profile</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(it
has since been removed).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HZBip5Z381I/UApe-nTEiXI/AAAAAAAABc0/Gj24WEXRG-s/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HZBip5Z381I/UApe-nTEiXI/AAAAAAAABc0/Gj24WEXRG-s/s400/6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">It’s believed that he will be
playing the lead character of the game whose name is rumoured to be Albert De
Silva.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">There had been reports that the
character was Ray Liotta reprising his role as an older Tommy Vercetti, however
fansites such as gtav.net have agreed in their prediction of Luke as the actor
involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">CVG believes that we’ll also
see the return of CJ, the main protagonist from GTA: San Andreas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 9.6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 1.25in; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 9.6pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Of course while there is a
likeness between CJ and the character in the trailer it’s far from solid proof
so we’ll have to wait for E3 until we know for sure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Grand
Theft Auto multiplayer<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">According to several fan sites
the game will come with a multiplayer mode, of course what that will be
specifically is unclear.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ms2WpD2qrug/UApfNHMOynI/AAAAAAAABc8/aauTR3EzE_A/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ms2WpD2qrug/UApfNHMOynI/AAAAAAAABc8/aauTR3EzE_A/s400/7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Some have suggested that the
game will take on board the lessons learned through Red Dead Redemption so will
include a number of mini-games and with the trailer showing jet ski's and
golfing you could find yourself racing around the bay in online races.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Grand
Theft Auto cheats<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Of course it wouldn’t be a GTA
game if it didn’t have insane cheats and while it’s unlikely that they’ll ever
be able to top those that were available for Vice City we’ll certainly keep our
eyes peeled for the best to hit the web.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Grand
Theft Auto history<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Coming in as the fifth
incarnation of the Grand Theft Auto franchise GTA V will potentially be set in
the modern day, making it the second game to focus perhaps on more realism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In contrast Grand Theft Auto:
Vice City was set during the 80’s in a fictional recreation of Miami and
featured everything from assault helicopters to porn studios.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="color: #444444;">Source:</span><a href="http://www.t3.com/news/gta-5-news/">http://www.t3.com/news/gta-5-news/</a></i></span></div>
Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-74822325769182272202012-07-17T08:58:00.001+07:002012-07-17T08:58:17.220+07:00Nokia Lumia 900 review ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Nokia Lumia 900 is a good-looking phone that boasts a
bright 4.3in screen that shows off the
software’s distinctive live tiles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Windows Phone powers the Nokia Lumia 900, which we first got
our hands on back at CES in January 2012. Microsoft’s elegant and
fresh-as-paint operating system hasn’t gained market share against Apple and
Android yet, but it deserves to. The brand first featured it on last year’s
Nokia Lumia 800 and this model is a bigger-screened (and blue hued) version.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nokia is gradually making something of a comeback with its
most recent phones, such as the Nokia Lumia 710 and the newer Nokia Lumia 610.
The 900 is the latest in an increasingly strong lineup of Windows Phone 7
phones that includes the HTC Titan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nokia Lumia
900: Build<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nokia’s new phone has great build quality, from the
individually milled speaker holes to the improved microUSB socket: the Lumia
800 had a flimsy plastic cover on the socket which was easy to damage. Here,
the socket sits proud (and naked) on the top edge. This is a solid, handsome
phone that feels good in the hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nokia Lumia
900: Features<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nokia has a long history of cameraphones and this
8-megapixel snapper is quick and efficient. Like most phones, it can struggle
in low light, though at least there’s a dual-LED flash. Unlike the Nokia Lumia
800, this one has a front-facing camera, too, so you can make video calls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nokia’s extras include handy apps like Nokia Drive, with
free downloadable maps and no need to connect to data in order to use it as a
satnav. Nokia Music is a series of tracks you can stream for free. Of course, there’s
the thousands of other Windows Phone apps but there’s still a dearth compared
to Android or iOS. Mind you, the ones it does have look spectacular.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nokia Lumia
900: Screen<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The big display looks great, with vivid colours and
pin-sharp detail. It’s smooth and responsive. The size means it’s immersive
enough to watch video on, for short bursts at least – though it can’t compete
with giant screens like the 5.3in display on the Samsung Galaxy Note.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nokia Lumia
900: Performance<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Compared to phones like the HTC One X, which has a quad-core
1.5GHz processor, you’d expect the Lumia 900’s single-core 1.4GHz chip to lag.
But everything canters along happily, whatever you’re doing. Microsoft only
supports single-core chips, for now. Another Redmond restriction is the absence
of a memory card slot, so the phone’s 16GB storage is all you get.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nokia Lumia
900: Battery<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A problem with the phone’s predecessor was that the battery
would quit too soon. The extra space means the Lumia 900 has a big-capacity
cell, which happily runs for more than a day without complaint – though it
can’t match the Motorola Razr Maxx’s stamina. Nokia has maximised the battery
by sealing it into the phone, like on the HTC One X.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nokia Lumia
900: Verdict<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The combination of hardware and software on the Nokia Lumia
900 is pretty winning. Microsoft’s OS is shown off to its best in this handsome
and appealing handset, with a screen that looks tremendous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Battery life is way above average, so though nightly charges
are preferred, it won’t need a lunchtime top-up. Although it’s big and solid,
it won’t feel too huge for most hands and the matte finish back feels good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Nokia Lumia 900 is a beautiful and accomplished handset
which shows Windows Phone at its best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Nokia Lumia
900 availability: Available now</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Product
name price: Nokia Lumia 900 price: £480</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Source:</span><a href="http://www.t3.com/reviews/nokia-lumia-900-review" style="background-color: white;">http://www.t3.com/reviews/nokia-lumia-900-review</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-6938216820283358362012-07-15T06:14:00.002+07:002012-07-15T06:14:59.160+07:00Samsung Galaxy Note 2 release rumoured for August 30th ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ggrdIiTyA9w/UAH8n_r2VmI/AAAAAAAABaY/EQH7IvnmlwY/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ggrdIiTyA9w/UAH8n_r2VmI/AAAAAAAABaY/EQH7IvnmlwY/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Further
blurring the lines between smartphones and tablets, Samsung is rumoured to be
preparing a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 release for IFA 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Following the
recent Samsung Galaxy S3 release, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 rumours have kicked
into overdrive with latest reports suggesting Samsung's next oversized
smartphone come tablet hybrid will be officially unveiled the day before IFA
2012.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Tipped to
further stretch the boundaries of what can be classed as a smartphone, new
reports have suggested the surprise success of 2011 will see Samsung increase
the 5.3-inch form factor for the Galaxy Note follow on with new technologies to
be brought in to give the handset’s expansive display a certain amount of
flexibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Having
previously been pencilled in for either a September of early October arrival,
latest reports have suggested the Korean handset manufacturer will host another
Mobile Unpacked event the day ahead of IFA 2012 with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2
release date set to be announced on August 30th. The Berlin based show is set
to run between August 31st and September 5th.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">With the
second-generation Galaxy Note set to steal the show, Samsung is expected to
unveil a host of other mobile devices at the Unpacked event that is scheduled
to kick off at 7pm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Citing
“undisclosed industry sources,” recent reports via MK Business News suggested
“Samsung is in the midst of developing a large-screen smartphone model with
displays exceeding five inches.” The reports went on to name the device as the
“Samsung Galaxy Note 2.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Adding new
fuel to the fire that is the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 rumour mill, Samsung has
teased the upcoming device via the official Samsung Mobile Arabia Twitter feed.
Sparking a new round of excitement, the Arabian arm of the Korean tech giant
lumped the second-generation Note in with a selection of already confirmed
devices tweeting: "Which one of these are you excited about: #GalaxyBeam
#GalaxyTab2 #GalaxyNote2 ? #Poll"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Features<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Whilst
everything is still far from confirmed, the mooted Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is
tipped to be the first handset to land boasting an unbreakable plane (UBP)
display with the new, slimline screen acting “a precursor to the flexible
display.” The oversized handset is said to be getting even bigger with the
previous 5.3-inch screen being replaced by a new 5.5-inch model.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">With the new
streamlined screen allowing Samsung to shave precious millimetres from the
handset’s form, it is expected the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will sport an all new
form factor with Google’s newly confirmed Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating
system lining up alongside a possible S3 mimicking quad-core processor and a
new 12 -megapixel camera giving the device some added grunt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Samsung Galaxy Note Release Date<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Again a long
way from being confirmed, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 rumour mill has suggested
that the Korean manufacturer could use the S3 sibling to detract with the
widely expected autumn Apple iPhone 5 release. As such, an early October
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 release date was originally banded around before the
latest September arrival speculation took the limelight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Were you
impressed enough by the Samsung Galaxy Note to desire a sequel? If so what
would you like to see feature in such a handset? Let us know via the T3 Twitter
and Facebook feeds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://www.t3.com/news/samsung-galaxy-note-2-release" style="background-color: white;">http://www.t3.com/news/samsung-galaxy-note-2-release</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-44048419998468528902012-07-13T06:39:00.002+07:002012-07-13T06:39:39.607+07:00Addis Ababa’s Future National Stadium And Sports Village In Ethiopia ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Entertainment is an essential part of our lives; without
entertainment, sports or games, our lives would be like a barren land. For that
matter, Addis Ababa’s new National Stadium and Sports Village project is a new
and exciting place for people to visit from all over the world. This
architectural wonder can house more than sixty thousand people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EZ_tvR8PjAk/T_9cQRJRmRI/AAAAAAAABYA/nrmyqunKOUM/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EZ_tvR8PjAk/T_9cQRJRmRI/AAAAAAAABYA/nrmyqunKOUM/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Surrounded by spectacular buildings, churches, cisterns and
other local attractions, this stadium is one of its kind. It is designed by
LAVA in collaboration with DesignSport and JDAW, known as the local Ethopian
firm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xx8M_GWnm9A/T_9cmKBpS5I/AAAAAAAABZI/Q28KDrlA3DE/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xx8M_GWnm9A/T_9cmKBpS5I/AAAAAAAABZI/Q28KDrlA3DE/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LfFdLZlO828/T_9c1pIfboI/AAAAAAAABZQ/atAGBKiDJfU/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LfFdLZlO828/T_9c1pIfboI/AAAAAAAABZQ/atAGBKiDJfU/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The stadium is fully packed with solar powered umbrellas
providing a sheet of shelter for the visitors, with fountains and water
attractions, and urban parks that take you closer to nature. The design and
architecture of this project was inspired by Massob, an Ethopian communal
serving woven grass basket.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This awe-inspiring marvel in Ethopia’s heart is now under
construction.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://2leep.com/news/886691/0/more/" style="background-color: white;">http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://2leep.com/news/886691/0/more/</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-63504025543207941082012-07-11T19:33:00.000+07:002012-07-11T19:33:23.184+07:00MacBook Air 2012 review ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
new Apple MacBook Air 2012 offers the latest PC tech, including third-gen Intel
Core processing, Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 connectivity<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Back in 2008,
Apple made laptops cool again by unleashing the super-skinny MacBook Air. The slimline beauty was made even thinner in
2010, and the 2012 version – which is on review here – is the latest iteration
of that design.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Packing the
latest Intel Core processing power, alongside nippy DDR3L RAM, SSD flash
storage and ultrafast connectivity, the new MacBook Air 2012 - available as 11-
and 13-inch versions - has not only the
looks but the power to once again dominate the ultraportable notebook market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But this time
around, it does face stiff competition at least. Apple seemingly kicked off a
slimline laptop revolution with the MacBook Air, and if you haven't heard the
word Ultrabook by now, you soon will have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The shops are
now packed with svelte laptops, with the likes of the Asus ZenBook UX31, the HP
Envy 14 Spectre, the Dell XPS 13 and the Acer Aspire S3 wowing buyers with
their impressive spec sheets and their skinny chassis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But has the
new MacBook Air still got enough about it to lead the pack? To find out we took
the smaller ii-inch Air model for a spin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">MacBook Air: Build<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While we
welcome the new hardware inside the MacBook Air, we can't help but feel that
the 2012 models are more evolution than revolution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That's not to
say that we don't love the Air's beautiful design – it's impossible not to.
But, as this is the third time that Apple has wheeled out exactly the same
chassis, we are slightly underwhelmed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There's only
so long the wow-factor can last and, two years down the line, the awe
surrounding the MacBook Air has definitely diminished, especially when you
consider the wealth of new design ideas hitting the Ultrabook market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But, and it's
a big but - the MacBook Air design and build is still one that the new
Ultrabook brigade strive for. Sure, there are a lot of refreshing new ideas in
the laptop arena, but more than a handful of Ultrabooks are clearly trying to
emulate Apple's famous design.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Despite its
age, it's easy to see why. At 300 x 192 x 17mm it's tiny. Even tinier when you
consider the graded base which helps the Air hit a ridiculously lean 3mm at its
thinnest point. The 11.6-inch model that we reviewed weighs just over 1kg as
well, making it the ultimate portable PC (the 13-inch model weighs just 270g
more).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The keyboard
that we know and love from the MacBook family, with its isolated backlit keys,
is back – alongside the brilliant track-pad which supports a plethora of
multi-touch gestures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">MacBook Air: Features<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--ts-pmgNgEA/T_1vki1QTLI/AAAAAAAABW4/oDLVlKVBB2c/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--ts-pmgNgEA/T_1vki1QTLI/AAAAAAAABW4/oDLVlKVBB2c/s400/2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In the face
of the new Ultrabook competition Apple has responded with a major refresh of
the MacBook Air’s hardware setup, offering the latest tech at a much more
competitive price.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The biggest
change is the addition of a third-generation Intel Core platform. The 11.6-inch
model that we used for this review was running via a 1.7GHz dual-core i5 chip,
which can run as fast as 2.6GHz using Intel’s Turbo Boost tech. On the 13-inch
model it’s a 1.8GHz i5 CPU as standard; you can opt for an i7 processor on both
versions for £130 more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Intel's
third-generation core setup, codenamed Ivy Bridge, also gives you access to
Intel HD Graphics 4000, meaning graphics that are twice as fast as the previous
MacBook Air generation. There's also 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3L RAM on board and the
overall result is a performance that is much more impressive than last time
around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">However, if
you're biggest desire with a MacBook is performance, you should consider one of
the Pro models, which substitute portability for power. If you want an Apple
notebook which boasts both incredible operation and desirability, you should
take a look at the MacBook Pro with Retina display – although, be warned, it
doesn't come cheap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In terms of
connectivity the new MacBook Air packs a couple of USB 3.0 ports – a nice
update from the 2011 model – as well as a Thunderbolt port. There's no SD card
reader on the 11-incher, although there is on the 13-inch machine. There's also
a 3.5mm headphone jack and an updated power adaptor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">MacBook Air: Screen<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U65zQXxJNYg/T_1xj5XkR9I/AAAAAAAABXA/L1Gt4-bJtJg/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U65zQXxJNYg/T_1xj5XkR9I/AAAAAAAABXA/L1Gt4-bJtJg/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Unfortunately,
the eye-boggling Retina display that amazes on the iPhone 4S, the new iPad 3
and now the MacBook Pro, hasn't found its way to the MacBook Air range yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Instead,
we're looking at the same glossy LED-backlit display as before, with a 1,366 x
768 resolution (1,440 x 900 for the 13-inch model). Colours appear vibrant,
especially with brightness turned up full-whack, and there are no signs of
ghosting or blurriness when playing back HD content. The viewing angles are
good, if not great.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">MacBook Air: Performance<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NIBTSc0y98Q/T_1yIa9V3XI/AAAAAAAABXI/NgUgI71xUig/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NIBTSc0y98Q/T_1yIa9V3XI/AAAAAAAABXI/NgUgI71xUig/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
latest-generation Intel Core power results in a vastly improved experience when
using the 2012 MacBook Air. The lack of a discrete graphics processor means
that you won’t be able to seamlessly play the latest games, quickly edit HD
movies or anything else too demanding, but that’s not really what the Air is
all about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s a
slimline machine that won't take up too much space in your bag that will be
more than up to the task for anything you demand of it when you’re out and
about. If you need to do a bit of work on the go, or quickly check something on
the web, the instant-on feature will come in incredibly handy, and the 30-day
standby life-span makes it a brilliant living-room machine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As an
entertainment hub it thrives with photos and HD movies looking great on its LED
display. Storing your digital media may be a bit of a pain, however, with just
64GB of storage on the cheapest setup (£849). A higher price tag of £80 more
gets you 128GB on the smaller model and you can go up to 512GB of storage for
£640 extra, should money not be an issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This storage
is of the SSD variety though – so it's lightening fast to access your files.
The webcam has also been improved; it’s now a 720p HD one so your FaceTime
calls should be clearer than ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">MacBook Air: Battery<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple is
promising a battery life of five hours for the 11-inch model and seven hours on
the 13-inch one. In our test, which involves looping HD video using Apple's
QuickTime on full brightness, it lasted just under four hours, indicating that
Apple’s promise for normal usage should be about right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Charging the
MacBook Air is a quick and easy affair using the relatively small power pack
and the new MagSafe 2 power adaptor, which is thinner than the previous
incumbent. If you want to use your old Mac powerpack, Apple will sell you an
adaptor for £9.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">MacBook Air: Verdict<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In terms of
performance and usability it's hard to fault the 2012 Apple MacBook Air. It may
not have the sheer power of its MacBook Pro brethren, but it's hardly a slacker
either with the third-generation Intel Core power making for a much slicker
experience than last year's range.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Its slimline
chassis and lightweight footprint mean that it is the perfect portable machine
and, despite the Ultrabook onslaught, it is still the most desirable notebook
available.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But we're not
too sure just how much longer that desirability can last. Yes, it looks
brilliant, is a pleasure to use, and it has a fantastic build quality. But
these are all plus points that could be said of both the 2010 and 2010 MacBook
Airs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ultimately,
we think it's time that Apple shook up the laptop market again and we're
desperately hoping that the 2013 Air refresh shows more signs of the unique
innovation that has made the Cupertino-based company the biggest name in tech.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Until then,
we'll enjoy using the new MacBook Air, albeit with a tinge of disappointment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple MacBook Air availability:
Available now<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple MacBook Air price: From £849<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://www.t3.com/reviews/macbook-air-2012-review" style="background-color: white;">http://www.t3.com/reviews/macbook-air-2012-review</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-72136158222401785612012-07-10T16:26:00.000+07:002012-07-10T16:26:07.692+07:00Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Screenshots: Google OS in pics ~ Fourtriangle<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: Google Now<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5a8hV_jbqIU/T_v0Wbc-jkI/AAAAAAAABVg/mgtAXmbXdsw/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5a8hV_jbqIU/T_v0Wbc-jkI/AAAAAAAABVg/mgtAXmbXdsw/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Like Siri but
for Android, Google Now brings a more sophisticated way of getting information
you need both quickly and efficiently. Using your search and location history a
series of 'cards' which look inspired by a similar design seen on the Palm Pre,
will display information throughout the day to help you find out about the best
bus route to get to work or the latest results for your favourite sports team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: Google Now Unlock<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LQWfP0WAjrY/T_v0jaOAB8I/AAAAAAAABVo/7Yde6l2KygQ/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LQWfP0WAjrY/T_v0jaOAB8I/AAAAAAAABVo/7Yde6l2KygQ/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Similar to
the Camera Unlock introduced in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean
users can now jump straight into new intelligent search engine Google Now from
the Unlock screen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">3. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: Project Butter<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MtO6R8cQv2o/T_v0qv8AgwI/AAAAAAAABVw/tZ-sKti2lQE/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MtO6R8cQv2o/T_v0qv8AgwI/AAAAAAAABVw/tZ-sKti2lQE/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As ridiculous
as the name sounds, Project Butter seeks to improve navigating around your
smartphone or tablet, making vital changes under the hood which makes
everything quicker and should deliver n improved touch response when you are
scrolling through your apps for instance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">4. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: Google Now<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-445HWIkKjhA/T_v03QdfmEI/AAAAAAAABV4/TpLiMaL0ZzE/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-445HWIkKjhA/T_v03QdfmEI/AAAAAAAABV4/TpLiMaL0ZzE/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">One of the
ways you can access Google Now is by swiping up from the home button to access
the intelligent information system that could very well blow Apple's Siri out
of the water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">5. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: Camera<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UTtPnlI-9Tw/T_v0-wz3KSI/AAAAAAAABWA/NpNyD1_wYIA/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UTtPnlI-9Tw/T_v0-wz3KSI/AAAAAAAABWA/NpNyD1_wYIA/s400/5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The decision
not to include a rear-facing camera on the Nexus 7 means the tablet misses out
on a some nice new additions to the Camera app. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
smartphone snappers will however be able to benefit from being able to review
photos straight from the camera application and swipe away photos you don't
want to keep similar to the way you can dismiss applications using the Recent
App feature still present from Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://www.t3.com/features/android-jelly-bean-screenshots" style="background-color: white;">http://www.t3.com/features/android-jelly-bean-screenshots</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-37127312276816845272012-07-08T12:21:00.000+07:002012-07-08T12:21:28.525+07:00Apple Inc. ~ Fourtriangle<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_gs5ylGr6vk/T_kVaBsBo3I/AAAAAAAABT4/Z3P_O6BxjOU/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_gs5ylGr6vk/T_kVaBsBo3I/AAAAAAAABT4/Z3P_O6BxjOU/s320/1.jpg" width="293" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple Inc.
(NASDAQ: AAPL; formerly Apple Computer, Inc.) is an American multinational
corporation that designs and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and
personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products are the
Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Its software
includes the Mac OS X operating system; the iTunes media browser; the iLife
suite of multimedia and creativity software; the iWork suite of productivity
software; Aperture, a professional photography package; Final Cut Studio, a
suite of professional audio and film-industry software products; Logic Studio,
a suite of music production tools; the Safari web browser; and iOS, a mobile
operating system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As of July
2011, Apple has 364 retail stores in thirteen countries,and an online store.It
is the largest publicly traded company in the world by market capitalization,as
well as the largest technology company in the world by revenue and profit, more
than Google and Microsoft combined.As of September 24, 2011, the company had
60,400 permanent full-time employees and 2,900 temporary full-time employees
worldwide;its worldwide annual revenue in 2010 totalled $65 billion, growing to
$108 billion in 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Fortune
magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and
in the world from 2008 to 2012.However, the company has received widespread
criticism for its contractors' labor, and for its environmental and business
practices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Established
on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California, and incorporated January 3, 1977,the
company was named Apple Computer, Inc. for its first 30 years. The word
"Computer" was removed from its name on January 9, 2007,as its
traditional focus on personal computers shifted towards consumer electronics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">History<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1976–1980: The early years<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple was
established on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne,to
sell the Apple I personal computer kit. They were hand-built by Wozniak and
first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club.The Apple I was sold as
a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips)—less than what is
today considered a complete personal computer.The Apple I went on sale in July
1976 and was market-priced at $666.66 ($2,723 in 2012 dollars, adjusted for
inflation.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple was
incorporated January 3, 1977without Wayne, who sold his share of the company
back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. Multi-millionaire Mike Markkula provided
essential business expertise and funding of $250,000 during the incorporation
of Apple.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zlqPt0f-ncE/T_kVqqatg7I/AAAAAAAABUA/vhddIGxk0oo/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zlqPt0f-ncE/T_kVqqatg7I/AAAAAAAABUA/vhddIGxk0oo/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Apple II
was introduced on April 16, 1977 at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It
differed from its major rivals, the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, because it came
with character cell based color graphics and an open architecture. While early
models used ordinary cassette tapes as storage devices, they were superseded by
the introduction of a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drive and interface, the Disk II.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Apple II
was chosen to be the desktop platform for the first "killer app" of
the business world—the VisiCalc spreadsheet program.VisiCalc created a business
market for the Apple II, and gave home users an additional reason to buy an
Apple II—compatibility with the office.According to Brian Bagnall, Apple
exaggerated its sales figures and was a distant third place to Commodore and
Tandy until VisiCalc came along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">By the end of
the 1970s, Apple had a staff of computer designers and a production line. The
company introduced the ill-fated Apple III in May 1980 in an attempt to compete
with IBM and Microsoft in the business and corporate computing market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jobs and
several Apple employees including Jef Raskin visited Xerox PARC in December
1979 to see the Xerox Alto. Xerox granted Apple engineers three days of access
to the PARC facilities in return for the option to buy 100,000 shares (800,000
split-adjusted shares) of Apple at the pre-IPO price of $10 a share. Jobs was
immediately convinced that all future computers would use a graphical user
interface (GUI), and development of a GUI began for the Apple Lisa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1980,
Apple went public, generating more capital than any IPO since Ford Motor
Company in 1956 and instantly creating more millionaires (about 300) than any
company in history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1981–1985: Lisa and Macintosh<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yn6aCxyQXUc/T_kWHzTeezI/AAAAAAAABUI/5qy4wfHo94w/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yn6aCxyQXUc/T_kWHzTeezI/AAAAAAAABUI/5qy4wfHo94w/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Steve Jobs
began working on the Apple Lisa in 1978 but in 1982 he was pushed from the Lisa
team due to infighting, and took over Jef Raskin's low-cost-computer project,
the Macintosh. A turf war broke out between Lisa's "corporate shirts"
and Jobs' "pirates" over which product would ship first and save
Apple. Lisa won the race in 1983 and became the first personal computer sold to
the public with a GUI, but was a commercial failure due to its high price tag and
limited software titles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1984,
Apple next launched the Macintosh. Its debut was announced by the now famous
$1.5 million television commercial "1984". It was directed by Ridley
Scott, aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984,
and is now considered a watershed event for Apple's success and a
"masterpiece".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Macintosh
initially sold well, but follow-up sales were not strong[46] due to its high
price and limited range of software titles. The machine's fortunes changed with
the introduction of the LaserWriter, the first PostScript laser printer to be
offered at a reasonable price, and PageMaker, an early desktop publishing
package. The Mac was particularly powerful in this market due to its advanced
graphics capabilities, which had necessarily been built in to create the
intuitive Macintosh GUI. It has been suggested that the combination of these
three products was responsible for the creation of the desktop publishing
market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1985 a
power struggle developed between Jobs and CEO John Sculley, who had been hired
two years earlier.The Apple board of directors instructed Sculley to
"contain" Jobs and limit his ability to launch expensive forays into
untested products. Rather than submit to Sculley's direction, Jobs attempted to
oust him from his leadership role at Apple. Sculley found out that Jobs had
been attempting to organize a putsch and called a board meeting at which
Apple's board of directors sided with Sculley and removed Jobs from his
managerial duties.Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT Inc. the same year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1986–1993: Rise and fall<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Having
learned several painful lessons after introducing the bulky Macintosh Portable
in 1989, Apple introduced the PowerBook in 1991. The Macintosh Portable was
designed to be just as powerful as a desktop Macintosh, but weighed 7.5
kilograms (17 lb) with a 12-hour battery life. The same year, Apple introduced
System 7, a major upgrade to the operating system, which added color to the
interface and introduced new networking capabilities. It remained the
architectural basis for Mac OS until 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The success
of the PowerBook and other products brought increasing revenue.For some time,
it appeared that Apple could do no wrong, introducing fresh new products and
generating increasing profits in the process. The magazine MacAddict named the
period between 1989 and 1991 as the "first golden age" of the
Macintosh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Following the
success of the Macintosh LC, Apple introduced the Centris line, a low-end
Quadra offering, and the ill-fated Performa line that was sold in several
confusing configurations and software bundles to avoid competing with the
various consumer outlets such as Sears, Price Club, and Wal-Mart, who were the
primary dealers for these models. The result was disastrous for Apple as
consumers did not understand the difference between models.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">During this
time Apple experimented with a number of other failed consumer targeted
products including digital cameras, portable CD audio players, speakers, video
consoles, and TV appliances. Enormous resources were also invested in the
problem-plagued Newton division based on John Sculley's unrealistic market
forecasts.[citation needed] Ultimately, all this proved too-little-too-late, as
Apple's market share and stock prices continued to slide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple saw the
Apple II series as too expensive to produce, while taking away sales from the
low end Macintosh.In 1990, Apple released the Macintosh LC with a single
expansion slot for the Apple IIe Card to migrate Apple II users to the
Macintosh platform.Apple stopped selling the Apple IIe in 1993.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Microsoft
continued to gain market share with Windows, focusing on delivering software to
cheap commodity personal computers while Apple was delivering a richly
engineered, but expensive, experience.Apple relied on high profit margins and
never developed a clear response. Instead they sued Microsoft for using a
graphical user interface similar to the Apple Lisa in Apple Computer, Inc. v.
Microsoft Corporation.The lawsuit dragged on for years before it was finally
dismissed. At the same time, a series of major product flops and missed
deadlines sullied Apple's reputation, and Sculley was replaced by Michael
Spindler.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1994–1997: Attempts at reinvention<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Newton
was Apple's first foray into the PDA markets, as well as one of the first in
the industry. Despite being a financial flop at the time of its release, it
helped pave the way for the Palm Pilot and Apple's own iPhone and iPad in the
future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">By the early
1990s, Apple was developing alternative platforms to the Macintosh, such as the
A/UX. Apple had also begun to experiment in providing a Mac-only online portal
which they called eWorld, developed in collaboration with America Online and
designed as a Mac-friendly alternative to other online services such as
CompuServe. The Macintosh platform was itself becoming outdated because it was
not built for multitasking, and several important software routines were
programmed directly into the hardware. In addition, Apple was facing
competition from OS/2 and UNIX vendors like Sun Microsystems. The Macintosh
would need to be replaced by a new platform, or reworked to run on more powerful
hardware.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1994,
Apple allied with IBM and Motorola in the AIM alliance. The goal was to create
a new computing platform (the PowerPC Reference Platform), which would use IBM
and Motorola hardware coupled with Apple's software. The AIM alliance hoped
that PReP's performance and Apple's software would leave the PC far behind,
thus countering Microsoft. The same year, Apple introduced the Power Macintosh,
the first of many Apple computers to use IBM's PowerPC processor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1996,
Michael Spindler was replaced by Gil Amelio as CEO. Gil Amelio made many
changes at Apple, including extensive layoffs.After multiple failed attempts to
improve Mac OS, first with the Taligent project, then later with Copland and
Gershwin, Amelio chose to purchase NeXT and its NeXTSTEP operating system,
bringing Steve Jobs back to Apple as an advisor.On July 9, 1997, Gil
Amelio was ousted by the board of directors after overseeing a three-year
record-low stock price and crippling financial losses. Jobs became the interim
CEO and began restructuring the company's product line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At the 1997
Macworld Expo, Steve Jobs announced that Apple would join Microsoft to release
new versions of Microsoft Office for the Macintosh, and that Microsoft made a
$150 million investment in non-voting Apple stock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On November
10, 1997, Apple introduced the Apple Online Store, tied to a new build-to-order
manufacturing strategy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1998–2005: Return to profitability<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On August 15,
1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer reminiscent of the Macintosh
128K: the iMac. The iMac design team was led by Jonathan Ive, who would later
design the iPod and the iPhone.The iMac featured modern technology and a unique
design, and sold almost 800,000 units in its first five months.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Through this
period, Apple purchased several companies to create a portfolio of professional
and consumer-oriented digital production software. In 1998, Apple announced the
purchase of Macromedia's Final Cut software, signaling its expansion into the
digital video editing market.The following year, Apple released two video
editing products: iMovie for consumers and, for professionals, Final Cut Pro,
which has gone on to be a significant video-editing program, with 800,000 registered
users in early 2007.In 2002 Apple purchased Nothing Real for their advanced
digital compositing application Shake,as well as Emagic for their music
productivity application Logic, which led to the development of their
consumer-level GarageBand application.iPhoto's release the same year completed
the iLife suite.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mac OS X,
based on NeXT's OPENSTEP and BSD Unix was released on March 24, 2001, after
several years of development. Aimed at consumers and professionals alike, Mac
OS X aimed to combine the stability, reliability and security of Unix with the
ease of use afforded by an overhauled user interface. To aid users in migrating
from Mac OS 9, the new operating system allowed the use of OS 9 applications
through Mac OS X's Classic environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On May 19,
2001, Apple opened the first official Apple Retail Stores in Virginia and
California.Later on July 9 they bought Spruce Technologies, a DVD authoring
company. On October 23 of the same year, Apple announced the iPod portable
digital audio player, and started selling it on November 10. The product was
phenomenally successful — over 100 million units were sold within six years.In
2003, Apple's iTunes Store was introduced, offering online music downloads for
$0.99 a song and integration with the iPod. The service quickly became the
market leader in online music services, with over 5 billion downloads by June
19, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Since 2001
Apple's design team has progressively abandoned the use of translucent colored
plastics first used in the iMac G3. This began with the titanium PowerBook and
was followed by the white polycarbonate iBook and the flat-panel iMac.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2005–2007: The Intel transition<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At the
Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address on June 6, 2005, Steve Jobs
announced that Apple would begin producing Intel-based Mac computers in 2006.On
January 10, 2006, the new MacBook Pro and iMac became the first Apple computers
to use Intel's Core Duo CPU. By August 7, 2006 Apple had transitioned the
entire Mac product line to Intel chips, over one year sooner than announced.The
Power Mac, iBook, and PowerBook brands were retired during the transition; the
Mac Pro, MacBook, and MacBook Pro became their respective successors.On April
29, 2009, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple was building its own team
of engineers to design microchips.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple also
introduced Boot Camp to help users install Windows XP or Windows Vista on their
Intel Macs alongside Mac OS X.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple's
success during this period was evident in its stock price. Between early 2003
and 2006, the price of Apple's stock increased more than tenfold, from around
$6 per share (split-adjusted) to over $80. In January 2006, Apple's market cap
surpassed that of Dell.Nine years prior, Dell's CEO Michael Dell said that if
he ran Apple he would "shut it down and give the money back to the
shareholders."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Although
Apple's market share in computers had grown, it remained far behind competitors
using Microsoft Windows, with only about 8% of desktops and laptops in the U.S.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2007–2011: Widespread success<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple
achieved widespread success with consumer electronics that refer to Apple's
iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad that introduced innovations in respective devices:
mobile phones, portable music players and personal computers. The business
model of offering a store for applications to be purchased was an innovation
from a business point of view. Touch screens had been invented and seen in
mobile devices before, but Apple was the first to achieve mass market adoption
of a touch screen based user interface that included particular pre-programmed
touch gestures. The widespread success was continuing when Apple's co-founder
and chief executive officer Steve Jobs passed away, but some speculated that
this would lead to Apple's days of technological innovation and compelling
product design to become things of the past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Delivering
his keynote speech at the Macworld Expo on January 9, 2007, Jobs announced that
Apple Computer, Inc. would from that point on be known as Apple Inc., because
computers were no longer the main focus of the company, which had shifted its
emphasis to mobile electronic devices. The event also saw the announcement of the
iPhone and the Apple TV.The following day, Apple shares hit $97.80, an all-time
high at that point. In May, Apple's share price passed the $100 mark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In an article
posted on Apple's website on February 6, 2007, Steve Jobs wrote that Apple
would be willing to sell music on the iTunes Store without DRM (which would allow
tracks to be played on third-party players) if record labels would agree to
drop the technology.On April 2, 2007, Apple and EMI jointly announced the
removal of DRM technology from EMI's catalog in the iTunes Store, effective in
May.Other record labels followed later that year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In July of
the following year, Apple launched the App Store to sell third-party
applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch.Within a month, the store sold 60
million applications and brought in $1 million daily on average, with Jobs
speculating that the App Store could become a billion-dollar business for
Apple.Three months later, it was announced that Apple had become the
third-largest mobile handset supplier in the world due to the popularity of the
iPhone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On December
16, 2008, Apple announced that after over 20 years of attending Macworld, 2009
would be the last year Apple would be attending the Macworld Expo, and that
Phil Schiller would deliver the 2009 keynote in lieu of the expected Jobs.Almost
exactly one month later, on January 14, 2009, an internal Apple memo from Jobs
announced that he would be taking a six-month leave of absence, until the end
of June 2009, to allow him to better focus on his health and to allow the
company to better focus on its products without having the rampant media
speculating about his health.Despite Jobs' absence, Apple recorded its
best non-holiday quarter (Q1 FY 2009) during the recession with a revenue of
$8.16 billion and a profit of $1.21 billion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">After years
of speculation and multiple rumored "leaks" Apple announced a large
screen, tablet-like media device known as the iPad on January 27, 2010. The
iPad runs the same touch based operating system that the iPhone uses and many
of the same iPhone apps are compatible with the iPad. This gave the iPad a
large app catalog on launch even with very little development time before the
release. Later that year on April 3, 2010, the iPad was launched in the US and
sold more than 300,000 units on that day and reaching 500,000 by the end of the
first week.In May of the same year, Apple's market cap exceeded that of
competitor Microsoft for the first time since 1989.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple
released the fourth generation iPhone, which introduced video calling, multitasking,
and a new uninsulated stainless steel design, which acts as the phone's
antenna. Because of this antenna implementation, some iPhone 4 users reported a
reduction in signal strength when the phone is held in specific ways. After a
large amount of media coverage including mainstream news organizations, Apple
held a press conference where they offered buyers a free rubber 'bumper' case,
which had been proven to eliminate the signal reduction issue. Later that year
Apple again refreshed its iPod line of MP3 players which introduced a
multi-touch iPod Nano, iPod Touch with FaceTime, and iPod Shuffle with buttons
which brought back the buttons of earlier generations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In October
2010, Apple shares hit an all-time high, eclipsing $300.Additionally, on
October 20, Apple updated their MacBook Air laptop, iLife suite of
applications, and unveiled Mac OS X Lion, the latest installment in their Mac
OS X operating system.On January 6, 2011, the company opened their Mac App
Store, a digital software distribution platform, similar to the existing iOS
App Store.Apple was featured in the documentary Something Ventured which
premiered in 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2011–present: Post–Steve Jobs era<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On January
17, 2011, Jobs announced in an internal Apple memo that he would take another
medical leave of absence, for an indefinite period, to allow him to focus on
his health. Chief operating officer Tim Cook took up Jobs' day-to-day
operations at Apple, although Jobs would still remain "involved in major
strategic decisions for the company."Apple became the most valuable
consumer-facing brand in the world.In June 2011, Steve Jobs surprisingly took
the stage and unveiled iCloud. iCloud is an online storage and syncing service
for music, photos, files and software which replaced MobileMe, Apple's previous
attempt at content syncing.This would be the last product launch Jobs would
attend before his death. It has been argued that Apple has achieved such efficiency
in its supply chain that the company operates as a monopsony (one buyer, many
sellers), in that it can dictate terms to its suppliers.Briefly in July 2011,
due to the debt-ceiling crisis, Apple's financial reserves were greater than those
of the US Government.On August 24, 2011, Jobs resigned his position as CEO of
Apple.He was replaced by Tim Cook and Jobs became Apple's chairman. Prior to
this, Apple did not have a chairman and instead had two co-lead directors,
Andrea Jung and Arthur D. Levinson, who continued with those titles until
Levinson became Chairman of the Board in November.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On October 4,
2011, Apple announced the iPhone 4S, which includes an improved camera with
1080p video recording, a dual core A5 chip capable of 7 times faster graphics
than the A4, an "intelligent software assistant" named Siri, and
cloud-sourced data with iCloud.One day later, on October 5, 2011, Apple
announced that Jobs had died, marking the end of an era for Apple Inc.The
iPhone 4S was officially released on October 14, 2011. On October 29, 2011,
Apple purchased C3 Technologies, a mapping company, for $240 million. C3 is the
third mapping company Apple has purchased so far.On January 10, 2012,
Apple acquired Anobit, an Israeli hardware company that developed and supplies
a proprietary memory signal processing technology that improves the performance
of flash-memory used in iPhones and iPads for $390 million.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On January
19, 2012, Apple's Phil Schiller introduced iBooks Textbooks for iOS and iBook Author
for Mac OS X in New York.This was the first major announcement by Apple since
the passing of Steve Jobs, who stated in his biography that he wanted to
reinvent the textbook and education. The 3rd generation iPad was announced on
March 7, 2012. It includes a Retina display, a new CPU, a five megapixel
camera, and 1080p video recording.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Products and marketing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Mac and accessories<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mac Mini,
consumer sub-desktop computer and server introduced in 2005.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">iMac,
consumer all-in-one desktop computer introduced in 1998.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mac Pro,
workstation-class desktop computer introduced in 2006, replacing the Power
Macintosh.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">MacBook
Pro, professional notebook introduced in 2006, replacing the PowerBook.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">MacBook
Air, ultra-thin, ultra-portable notebook introduced in 2008.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple also
sells a variety of computer accessories for Mac computers including the AirPort
wireless networking products, Time Capsule, Thunderbolt Display, Magic Mouse,
Magic Trackpad, Wireless Keyboard, and the Apple Battery Charger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">iPad<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yZBc6gEYinI/T_kWrBUooxI/AAAAAAAABUQ/ji6fPbrWdhI/s1600/4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yZBc6gEYinI/T_kWrBUooxI/AAAAAAAABUQ/ji6fPbrWdhI/s320/4.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On January
27, 2010, Apple introduced their much-anticipated media tablet, the iPad
running a modified version of iOS. It offers multi-touch interaction with
multimedia formats including newspapers, magazines, ebooks, textbooks, photos,
movies, TV shows videos, music, word processing documents, spreadsheets, video
games, and most existing iPhone apps.It also includes a mobile version of
Safari for web browsing, as well as access to the App Store, iTunes Library,
iBooks Store, contacts, and notepad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Content is
downloadable via Wi-Fi and optional 3G service or synced through the user's
computer.AT&T was initially the sole US provider of 3G wireless access for
the iPad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On March 2,
2011, Apple introduced an updated iPad model which had a faster processor and
two cameras on the front and back respectively. The iPad 2 also added support
for optional 3G service provided by Verizon in addition to the existing
offering by AT&T.However, the availability of the iPad 2 has been limited
as a result of the devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan in March
2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On March 7,
2012, Apple introduced the iPad 3, aka, "The New iPad". The iPad 3
added LTE service from AT&T or Verizon and an upgraded processor, the A5X.
It also added the "Retina" display (2048 by 1536 resolution)
originally found on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. The dimensions and form factor
remained relatively unchanged, with "The New iPad" being a fraction
thicker and heavier than the previous version, and minor positioning changes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Since the
tablet launched in 2010, iPad users have downloaded 3 billion apps, while the
total App Store downloads is up to over 25 billion downloads.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">iPod<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dfeh2QcupS0/T_kW_l49SBI/AAAAAAAABUY/LiGiTh7-AZc/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dfeh2QcupS0/T_kW_l49SBI/AAAAAAAABUY/LiGiTh7-AZc/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On October
23, 2001, Apple introduced the iPod digital music player. It has evolved to
include various models targeting the wants of different users. The iPod is the
market leader in portable music players by a significant margin, with more than
220 million units shipped as of September 2009.Apple has partnered with Nike to
offer the Nike+iPod Sports Kit enabling runners to synchronize and monitor
their runs with iTunes and the Nike+ website. Apple currently sells four
variants of the iPod.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">iPod Shuffle,
ultraportable digital audio player first introduced in 2005, currently
available in a 2 GB model.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">iPod Nano,
portable media player first introduced in 2005, currently available in 8 and 16
GB models. The latest generation has a FM radio, a pedometer, and a new
multi-touch interface that replaced the traditional iPod click wheel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">iPod Classic
(previously named iPod from 2001 to 2007), portable media player first
introduced in 2001, currently available in a 160 GB model.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">iPod Touch,
portable media player that runs iOS, first introduced in September 2007 after
the iPhone went on sale. Currently available in 8, 32, and 64 GB models. The
latest generation features the Apple A4 processor, a Retina Display, and dual
cameras on the front and back. The back camera allows for HD video recording at
720p.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">iPhone<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qh91UnAoXZQ/T_kXdW24DhI/AAAAAAAABUg/U5-gq8IhR2U/s1600/6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qh91UnAoXZQ/T_kXdW24DhI/AAAAAAAABUg/U5-gq8IhR2U/s320/6.png" width="294" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At the
Macworld Conference & Expo in January 2007, Steve Jobs revealed the long
anticipated iPhone, a convergence of an Internet-enabled smartphone and iPod.The
original iPhone combined a 2.5G quad band GSM and EDGE cellular phone with
features found in hand held devices, running scaled-down versions of Apple's
Mac OS X (dubbed iOS, formerly iPhone OS), with various Mac OS X applications
such as Safari and Mail. It also includes web-based and Dashboard apps such as
Google Maps and Weather. The iPhone features a 3.5-inch (89 mm) touch screen
display, 4, 8, or 16 GB of memory, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi (both "b" and
"g").The iPhone first became available on June 29, 2007 for $499 (4
GB) and $599 (8 GB) with an AT&T contract.On February 5, 2008, Apple
updated the original iPhone to have 16 GB of memory, in addition to the 8 GB
and 4 GB models.On June 9, 2008, at WWDC 2008, Steve Jobs announced that the
iPhone 3G would be available on July 11, 2008.This version added support for 3G
networking, assisted-GPS navigation, and a price cut to $199 for the 8 GB
version, and $299 for the 16 GB version, which was available in both black and
white. The new version was visually different from its predecessor in that it
eliminated the flat silver back, and large antenna square for a curved glossy
black or white back. Following complaints from many people, the headphone jack
was changed from a recessed jack to a flush jack to be compatible with more
styles of headphones. The software capabilities changed as well, with the
release of the new iPhone came the release of Apple's App Store; the store
provided applications for download that were compatible with the iPhone. On
April 24, 2009, the App Store surpassed one billion downloads.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On June 8,
2009, at Apple's annual worldwide developers conference, the iPhone 3GS was
announced, providing an incremental update to the device including faster
internal components, support for faster 3G speeds, video recording capability,
and voice control. On June 7, 2010, at WWDC 2010, the iPhone 4 was announced,
which Apple says is its "'biggest leap we've taken" since the
original iPhone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The phone
includes an all-new design, 960x640 display, Apple's A4 processor used in the
iPad, a gyroscope for enhanced gaming, 5MP camera with LED flash, front-facing
VGA camera and FaceTime video calling. Shortly after the release of the iPhone
4, it was realized by consumers that the new iPhone had reception issues. This
is due to the stainless steel band around the edge of the device, which also
serves as the phone's cellular signal and Wi-Fi antenna. The current fix for
this issue was a "Bumper Case" for the phone distributed for free to
all iPhone 4 owners for a few months. In June 2011, Apple overtook Nokia to
become the world's biggest smartphone maker by volume.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On October 4,
2011, Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S, which was released in the United States,
Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan on October 14,
2011, with other countries set to follow later in the year.This was the first
iPhone model to feature the Apple A5 chip, as well as the first offered on the
Sprint network (joining AT&T and Verizon Wireless as the United States
carriers offering iPhone models). On October 19, 2011, Apple announced an
agreement with C Spire Wireless to sell the iPhone 4S with that carrier in the
near future, marking the first time the iPhone was officially supported on a regional
carrier's network.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Another
notable feature of the iPhone 4S was Siri voice assistant technology, which
Apple had acquired in 2010,as well as other features, including an
updated 8 megapixel camera with new optics. Apple sold 4 million iPhone 4S
phones in the first three days after its release, which made it not only the
best iPhone launch in Apple's history, but the most-successful launch of any
mobile phone ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Apple TV<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k4YOVgWea0A/T_kXwllSxpI/AAAAAAAABUo/-tcvFhQiCLo/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k4YOVgWea0A/T_kXwllSxpI/AAAAAAAABUo/-tcvFhQiCLo/s320/7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At the 2007
Macworld conference, Jobs demonstrated the Apple TV, (previously known as the
iTV),a set-top video device intended to bridge the sale of content from iTunes
with high-definition televisions. The device links up to a user's TV and syncs,
either via Wi-Fi or a wired network, with one computer's iTunes library and
streams from an additional four. The Apple TV originally incorporated a 40 GB
hard drive for storage, includes outputs for HDMI and component video, and
plays video at a maximum resolution of 720p.On May 31, 2007 a 160 GB drive was
released alongside the existing 40 GB model and on January 15, 2008 a software
update was released, which allowed media to be purchased directly from the
Apple TV.In September 2009, Apple discontinued the original 40 GB Apple TV and
now continues to produce and sell the 160 GB Apple TV. On September 1, 2010,
alongside the release of the new line of iPod devices for the year, Apple
released a completely redesigned Apple TV. The new device is 1/4 the size, runs
quieter, and replaces the need for a hard drive with media streaming from any
iTunes library on the network along with 8 GB of flash memory to cache media
downloaded. Apple with the Apple TV has added another device to its portfolio
that runs on its A4 processor along with the iPad and the iPhone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The memory
included in the device is the half of the iPhone 4 at 256 MB; the same as the
iPad, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 3G, and iPod touch 4G.It has HDMI out as the
only video out source. Features include access to the iTunes Store to rent
movies and TV shows (purchasing has been discontinued), streaming from internet
video sources, including YouTube and Netflix, and media streaming from an
iTunes library. Apple also reduced the price of the device to $99.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Software<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple
develops its own operating system to run on Macs, OS X, the latest version
being OS X Lion (version 10.7). Apple also independently develops computer
software titles for its OS X operating system. Much of the software Apple
develops is bundled with its computers. An example of this is the
consumer-oriented iLife software package that bundles iMovie, iPhoto and
GarageBand. For presentation, page layout and word processing, iWork is
available, which includes Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. iTunes, QuickTime media
player, Safari web browser, and Software Update are available as free downloads
for both Mac OS X and Windows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple also
offers a range of professional software titles. Their range of server software
includes the operating system OS X Server; Apple Remote Desktop, a remote
systems management application; and Xsan, a Storage Area Network file system.
For the professional creative market, there is Aperture for professional
RAW-format photo processing; Final Cut Pro, a video production suite; Logic
Pro, a comprehensive music toolkit; and Motion, an advanced effects composition
program.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple also
offers online services with iCloud, which provides cloud storage and syncing
for a wide range of data, including email, contacts, calendars, photos and
documents. It also offers iOS device backup, and is able to integrate directly
with third-party apps for even greater functionality. iCloud is the fourth
generation of online services provided by Apple, and was preceded by MobileMe,
.Mac and iTools, all which met varying degrees of success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Marketing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple
aficionados wait in line around an Apple retail store in anticipation of a new
product. This branch is located on Fifth Avenue in New York City, with a glass
cube housing a cylindrical elevator and a spiral staircase that lead into the
subterranean store.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">"The scenes I witnessed at the
opening of the new Apple store in London's Covent Garden were more like an
evangelical prayer meeting than a chance to buy a phone or a laptop. "<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">– Alex Riley,
writing for the BBC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple' brand
and brand community. Apple's brand's loyalty is considered unusual for any
product. At one time, Apple evangelists were actively engaged by the company,
but this was after the phenomenon was already firmly established. Apple
evangelist Guy Kawasaki has called the brand fanaticism "something that
was stumbled upon".Apple has, however, supported the continuing existence
of a network of Mac User Groups in most major and many minor centers of
population where Mac computers are available.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mac users
would meet at the European Apple Expo and the San Francisco Macworld Conference
& Expo trade shows where Apple traditionally introduced new products each
year to the industry and public until Apple pulled out of both events. While
the conferences continue, Apple does not have official representation there.
Mac developers, in turn, continue to gather at the annual Apple Worldwide
Developers Conference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple Store
openings can draw crowds of thousands, with some waiting in line as much as a
day before the opening or flying in from other countries for the event.The New
York City Fifth Avenue "Cube" store had a line as long as half a
mile; a few Mac fans took the opportunity of the setting to propose marriage.The
Ginza opening in Tokyo was estimated in the thousands with a line exceeding
eight city blocks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">John Sculley
told The Guardian newspaper in 1997: "People talk about technology, but
Apple was a marketing company. It was the marketing company of the
decade."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Research in
2002 by NetRatings indicate that the average Apple consumer was usually more
affluent and better educated than other PC company consumers. The research
indicated that this correlation could stem from the fact that on average Apple
Inc. products are more expensive than other PC products.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Name<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">According to
Steve Jobs, Apple was so named because Jobs was coming back from an apple farm,
and he was on a fruitarian diet. He thought the name was "fun, spirited
and not intimidating".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Logos<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OgQ-YUFyDkQ/T_kYHheyPXI/AAAAAAAABUw/Snhpvu9W6BQ/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OgQ-YUFyDkQ/T_kYHheyPXI/AAAAAAAABUw/Snhpvu9W6BQ/s320/8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple's first
logo, designed by Ron Wayne, depicts Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple
tree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Almost
immediately, though, this was replaced by Rob Janoff's "rainbow
Apple", the now-familiar rainbow-colored silhouette of an apple with a
bite taken out of it. Janoff presented Jobs with several different
monochromatic themes for the "bitten" logo, and Jobs immediately took
a liking to it. While Jobs liked the logo, he insisted it be in color to humanize
the company.The Apple logo was designed with a bite so that it would not be
recognized as another fruit. The colored stripes were conceived to make the
logo more accessible, and to represent the fact the Apple II could generate
graphics in color.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This logo is
often erroneously referred to as a tribute to Alan Turing, with the bite mark a
reference to his method of suicide.Both the designer of the logo and the
company deny that there is any homage to Turing in the design of the logo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1998, with
the roll-out of the new iMac, Apple discontinued the rainbow theme and began to
use monochromatic themes, nearly identical in shape to its previous rainbow
incarnation, on various products, packaging and advertising. An Aqua-themed
version of the monochrome logo was used from 2001–2003, and a Glass-themed
version has been used since 2003.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Steve Jobs
and Steve Wozniak were Beatles fans,but Apple Inc. had trademark issues with
Apple Corps Ltd., a multimedia company started by The Beatles in 1967,
involving their name and logo. This resulted in a series of lawsuits and
tension between the two companies. These issues ended with settling of their
most recent lawsuit in 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Slogans<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple's first
slogan, "Byte into an Apple", was coined in the late 1970s.[166] From
1997–2002, Apple used the slogan "Think Different" in advertising
campaigns. Although the slogan has been retired, it is still closely associated
with Apple.Apple also has slogans for specific product lines — for example, "iThink,
therefore iMac" was used in 1998 to promote the iMac,and "Say hello
to iPhone" has been used in iPhone advertisements."Hello" was
also used to introduce the original Macintosh, Newton, iMac ("hello
(again)"), and iPod.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Advertising<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Since the
introduction of the Macintosh in 1984 with the 1984 Super Bowl commercial to
the more modern 'Get a Mac' adverts, Apple has been recognized in the past for
its efforts towards effective advertising and marketing for its products,
though its advertising has been criticized for the claims of some more recent
campaigns, particularly 2005 Power Mac ads and iPhone ads in Britain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple's
product commercials gained fame for launching musicians into stardom as a
result of their eye-popping graphics and catchy tunes.First, the company
popularized Canadian singer Feist's "1234" song in its ad campaign.Later,
Apple used the song "New Soul" by French-Israeli singer-songwriter
Yael Naïm to promote the MacBook Air.The debut single shot to the top of the
charts and sold hundreds of thousands of copies in a span of weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Corporate affairs<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">During the
Mac's early history Apple generally refused to adopt prevailing industry
standards for hardware, instead creating their own.This trend was largely
reversed in the late 1990s beginning with Apple's adoption of the PCI bus in
the 7500/8500/9500 Power Macs. Apple has since adopted USB, AGP,
HyperTransport, Wi-Fi, and other industry standards in its computers and was in
some cases a leader in the adoption of standards such as USB.FireWire is an
Apple-originated standard that has seen widespread industry adoption after it
was standardized as IEEE 1394.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ever since
the first Apple Store opened, Apple has sold third party accessories.For
instance, at one point Nikon and Canon digital cameras were sold inside the
store. Adobe, one of Apple's oldest software partners,also sells its
Mac-compatible software, as does Microsoft, who sells Microsoft Office for the
Mac. Books from John Wiley & Sons, who publishes the For Dummies series of
instructional books, are a notable exception, however. The publisher's line of
books were banned from Apple Stores in 2005 because Steve Jobs disagreed with
their decision to publish an unauthorized Jobs biography, iCon. After the
launch of the iBookstore, Apple stopped selling physical books, both online and
at the Apple Retail Stores.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Headquarters<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Worldwide<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple Inc.'s
world corporate headquarters are located in the middle of Silicon Valley, at
1–6 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California. This Apple campus has six buildings
that total 850,000 square feet (79,000 m2) and was built in 1993 by Sobrato
Development Cos.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple created
subsidiaries in low-tax places such as Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and
the British Virgin Islands to cut the taxes it pays around the world. According
to the New York Times, Apple was among the first tech companies to designate
overseas salespeople in high-tax countries in a manner that allowed the company
to sell on behalf of low-tax subsidiaries on other continents, sidestepping
income taxes. Apple was a pioneer of an accounting technique known as the
"Double Irish With a Dutch Sandwich," which reduces taxes by routing
profits through Irish subsidiaries and the Netherlands and then to the
Caribbean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 2006,
Apple announced its intention to build a second campus on 50 acres (200,000 m2)
assembled from various contiguous plots (east of N Wolfe Road between
Pruneridge Avenue and Vallco Parkway). Later acquisitions increased this to 175
acres. The new campus, also in Cupertino, will be about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of
the current campus.The new campus building will be designed by Norman Foster.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On June 7,
2011, Steve Jobs gave a presentation to Cupertino City Council, detailing the
architectural design of the new building and its environs. The new campus is
planned to house up to 13,000 employees in one central four-storied circular
building (with a café for 3,000 sitting people integrated) surrounded by
extensive landscape (with parking mainly underground and the rest centralized in
a parking structure). There will be additional buildings such as an auditorium,
R&D facilities, a fitness center and a dedicated generating plant as
primary source of electricity (powered by natural gas and other more
environmentally sound means).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple's
headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are located in Cork
in the south of Ireland. The facility, which opened in 1980, was Apple's first
location outside of the United States. Apple Sales International, which deals
with all of Apple's international sales outside of the USA, is located at
Apple's campus in Cork along with Apple Distribution International, which
similarly deals with Apple's international distribution network.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On April 20,
2012, Apple announced the addition of 500 new jobs to its European
headquarters. This will bring the total workforce from around 2,800 to 3,300
employees. The company will build a new office block on its Hollyhill Campus to
accommodate the additional staff. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Corporate culture<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple was one
of several highly successful companies founded in the 1970s that bucked the
traditional notions of what a corporate culture should look like in organizational
hierarchy (flat versus tall, casual versus formal attire, etc.). Other highly
successful firms with similar cultural aspects from the same period include
Southwest Airlines and Microsoft. Originally, the company stood in opposition
to staid competitors like IBM by default, thanks to the influence of its
founders; Steve Jobs often walked around the office barefoot even after Apple
was a Fortune 500 company. By the time of the "1984" TV ad, this
trait had become a key way the company attempted to differentiate itself from
its competitors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As the
company has grown and been led by a series of chief executives, each with his
own idea of what Apple should be, some of its original character has arguably
been lost, but Apple still has a reputation for fostering individuality and
excellence that reliably draws talented people into its employ, especially
after Jobs' return. To recognize the best of its employees, Apple created the
Apple Fellows program, awarding individuals who made extraordinary technical or
leadership contributions to personal computing while at the company. The Apple
Fellowship has so far been awarded to a few individuals including Bill
Atkinson,Steve Capps,Rod Holt,Alan Kay,Guy Kawasaki,Al Alcorn,Don Norman,Rich
Page,and Steve Wozniak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Numerous
employees of Apple have cited that projects without Jobs' involvement often
take longer than projects with his involvement.Another presents the image of
Jobs "wandering the hall with a flame thrower in hand, asking random
people 'do you work on MobileMe?'".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At Apple,
employees are specialists who are not exposed to functions outside their area
of expertise. Jobs saw this as a means of having best-in-class employees in every
role. For instance, Ron Johnson who was Senior Vice President of Retail
Operations until November 1, 2011, was responsible for site selection, in-store
service, and store layout, yet he had no control of the inventory in his stores
(which is done company wide by then-COO and now CEO Tim Cook who has a
background in supply-chain management). This is the opposite of General
Electric's corporate culture which has created well-rounded managers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Under the
leadership of Tim Cook who joined the company in 1998 and ascended to his
present position as CEO, Apple has developed an extremely efficient and
effective supply chain which has been ranked as the world's best for the four
years 2007–2010. The company's manufacturing, procurement and
logistics enables it to execute massive product launches without having to
maintain large, profit-sapping inventories; Apple's profit margins have been 40
percent compared with 10–20 percent for most other hardware companies in 2011.
Cook's catchphrase to describe his focus on the company's operational edge is
“Nobody wants to buy sour milk”. The company previously advertised its products
as being made in America up to the late 1990s, however as a result of
outsourcing initiatives in the 2000s almost all of its manufacturing is now
done abroad. According to a report by the New York Times, Apple insiders
"believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility,
diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their
American counterparts that “Made in the U.S.A.” is no longer a viable option
for most Apple products".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Finance<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In its fiscal
year ending in September 2011, Apple Inc. hit new heights financially with $108
billion in revenues (increased significantly from $65 billion in 2010) and
nearly $82 billion in cash reserves. Apple achieved these results while losing
market share in certain product categories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On March 19,
2012, Apple announced plans for a $2.65 per share dividend beginning in fourth
quarter of 2012, per approval by their board of directors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Environmental record<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Greenpeace
has campaigned against Apple on various environmental issues, including a
global end-of-life take-back plan, non-recyclable hardware components and
toxins within iPhone hardware. Since 2003 Greenpeace has campaigned against
Apple's use of particular chemicals in its products, more specifically, the
inclusion of PVC and BFRs in their products.On May 2, 2007, Steve Jobs released
a report announcing plans to eliminate PVC and BFRs by the end of 2008.Apple
has since eliminated PVC and BFRs across its product range,becoming the first
laptop maker to do so<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In the first
edition, released in August 2006, Apple scored 2.7/10.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Environmental Protection Agency rates Apple highest amongst producers of
notebook computers, and fairly well compared to producers of desktop computers
and LCD displays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In June 2007,
Apple upgraded the MacBook Pro, replacing cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL)
backlit LCD displays with mercury-free LED backlit LCD displays and
arsenic-free glass,and has since done this for all notebooks. Apple has also
phased out BFRs and PVCs from various internal components. Apple offers
information about the emissions, materials, and electrical usage of each product.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In June 2009,
Apple's iPhone 3GS was free of PVC, arsenic, BFRs and had an efficient power
adapter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In October
2009, Apple upgraded the iMac and MacBook, replacing the cold cathode
fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlit LCD displays with mercury-free LED backlit LCD
displays and arsenic-free glass.This means all Apple computers have mercury
free LED backlit displays, arsenic-free glass and are without PVC cables. All
Apple computers also have EPEAT Gold status.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 2010,
Climate Counts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to directing consumers
toward the greenest companies, gave Apple a score of 52 points out of a
possible 100, which puts Apple in their top category "Striding".This
was an increase from May 2008, when Climate Counts only gave Apple 11 points
out of 100, which placed the company last among electronics companies, at which
time Climate Counts also labeled Apple with a "stuck icon", adding
that Apple at the time was "a choice to avoid for the climate conscious
consumer".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In October
2011 Chinese authorities have ordered an Apple supplier to close part of its
plant in Suzhou after residents living nearby raised significant environmental
concerns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In November
2011 Apple featured in Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics that ranks
electronics manufacturers on sustainability, climate and energy and how green
their products are. The company ranked 4th out of 15 electronics companies
(moving up five places from the previous year) with a score of 4.6/10 down from
4.9.Greenpeace praises Apple's sustainability, noting that the company exceeded
its 70% global recycling goal in 2010. It continues to score well on the
products rating with all Apple products now being free of PVC vinyl plastic and
brominated flame retardants. However, the guide criticizes Apple on the Energy
criteria for not seeking external verification of its greenhouse gas emissions
data and for not setting out any targets to reduce emissions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In January
2012, Apple announced plans and requested that their cable maker Volex begin
producing halogen-free USB and power cables.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Labor practices<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 2006, the
Mail on Sunday reported on working conditions existed at factories in China
where the contract manufacturers Foxconn and Inventec produced the iPod.The
article stated that one complex of factories that assembles the iPod (among
other items) had over 200,000 workers that lived and worked in the factory,
with employees regularly working more than 60 hours per week. The article also
reported that workers made around $100 per month and were required to live pay
for rent and food from the company, which generally amounted to a little over
half of workers' earnings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apple
immediately launched an investigation and worked with their manufacturers to
ensure acceptable working conditions.In 2007, Apple started yearly audits of
all its suppliers regarding worker's rights, slowly raising standards and
pruning suppliers that did not comply. Yearly progress reports have been
published since 2008.In 2010, workers in China planned to sue iPhone
contractors over poisoning by a cleaner used to clean LCD screens. One worker
claimed that he and his coworkers had not been informed of possible
occupational illnesses.After a spate of suicides in a Foxconn facility in China
making iPads and iPhones, albeit at a lower rate than in China as a whole,workers
were forced to sign a legally binding document guaranteeing that they would not
kill themselves.In 2011 Apple admitted that its suppliers' child labor practices
in China had worsened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Workers in
factories producing Apple products have also been exposed to n-Hexane, a
neurotoxin that is a cheaper alternative than alcohol for cleaning the
products.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.</a></i></span></div>
Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-5817551294683599782012-07-08T08:47:00.003+07:002012-07-08T08:47:54.016+07:00Top 5 Facts on the 2012 NBA ~ Fourtriangle<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Steroids<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5VftVQyBgfI/T_jlhxi-HeI/AAAAAAAABSs/WOS8PcZGP1E/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5VftVQyBgfI/T_jlhxi-HeI/AAAAAAAABSs/WOS8PcZGP1E/s320/1.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The NBA adopted the first anti-drug policy in major
professional sports on September 28, 1983. Under the current program, all
players are subject to random testing for banned substances during the
pre-season and all players are subject to testing for reasonable causes at any
time. Steroids were added to the list of banned substances in 1999 and a
handful of players have been suspended for abusing the substance, including
Rashard Lewis, O.J. Mayo, and Darius Miles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite the policy, many people feel the NBA is experiencing
a steroid abuse problem and that some star players are abusing the drug. In
2011, the issue of steroid abuse in the NBA was called a huge problem by
Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose. He is quoted: “It’s huge and I think we need a
level playing field, where nobody has that advantage over the next person.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The three players in the NBA that are most often talked
about in regard to steroid abuse include LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Dwight
Howard. All comments are speculative, but James and Howard have been discussed
because of their body proportions. Each man has an enormous shoulder span and
body size in comparison to their small head, which is often a sign of drug
abuse. The sure size of Dwight Howard in 2012 is much larger than in his early
career. In 2011, a podcast surfaced on the Internet in which Kevin Durant put
down the use of steroids. In 2012, boxing champ Floyd Mayweather, Jr. drew
headlines when he accused Jeremy Lin of steroid abuse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Fundamentals
Have Changed<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NH4xHvOddxQ/T_jlrlTnjdI/AAAAAAAABS0/Usd_bnun7Ug/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NH4xHvOddxQ/T_jlrlTnjdI/AAAAAAAABS0/Usd_bnun7Ug/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The NBA is not a good example of fundamental basketball. The
league has changed over the last twenty years from a defensive minded game to
high scoring matchups. The quick play makes for exciting television, but in
some cases the art of defense is poorly represented. One of the most glaring
changes is individual play. The NBA has evolved into a showcase for certain
players, who will always take important shots under pressure situations. The
strategy of the game has been lost to one-on-one play.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The NBA has accepted the new style and adopted a collection
of rules to deter physical play. The most important being the ban of hand
checking, which makes it more difficult for defensive players to stay in front
of their opponent. Some feel that the strict defensive rules has given NBA
players a passive stance, as they are often seen complaining for a call with
little or no contact. In today’s game, more fouls are called and much more time
is spent at the free throw line than in other competitive leagues. This has
forced some to call the upcoming class of American superstars soft and flashy
in comparison to their European counterparts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3.
Incredible Athletic Ability<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lvVHKEUUMbs/T_jl9jQDKoI/AAAAAAAABS8/CBwnO351-rU/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lvVHKEUUMbs/T_jl9jQDKoI/AAAAAAAABS8/CBwnO351-rU/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The players of the NBA display some incredible athletic
ability. They are among the most coordinated people in the world and are
extremely talented jumpers. The record for a vertical jump was recorded by a
professional dunker named Kadour Ziani at 61 inches (155 cm). At 5’10 Ziani is
the only person to ever do a double windmill slam dunk. In the NBA, the top
jumpers hold a vertical of around 44 inches. The slam dunk is also one of the
most exciting plays in sports. There is nothing quite like an acrobatic dunk in
the face of an opponent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another great thing about watching NBA games is the fast
paced play. The action makes for a great live show. It is extremely fun to go
visit the arena and witness the incredible strength, power, and length of the
NBA players. The players are extremely explosive and emotional. It is great to
watch a pure shooter perform at the top level. Basketball is also a streaky
game, which makes it competitive and in some cases unpredictable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. ESPN
Coverage<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mQQv8fkLmeQ/T_jmLDU7r7I/AAAAAAAABTE/vFmZCCpU6-U/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mQQv8fkLmeQ/T_jmLDU7r7I/AAAAAAAABTE/vFmZCCpU6-U/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are a fan of SportsCenter and the ESPN network of
television channels then you are all too familiar with the show’s repetitive
nature. ESPN can’t be blamed for showing rerun episodes, but the content of
SportsCenter is often examining the same stories day after day. ESPN has a
certain agenda and they love to make controversy. The network likes to focus on
two major sports, the NFL and the NBA. During the NBA playoffs, ESPN devotes
countless hours to examining every angle of the games. This is great if you
want to hear people rant about LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and the NBA referees,
but the information can quickly get repetitive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ESPN has turned itself into a catalyst for some media
stories with little importance, such as the play of New York Knicks guard
Jeremy Lin. You might wonder why so much attention is paid to the NBA on ESPN?
One reason is that ESPN and its affiliate ABC hold the majority of the NBA
broadcast contracts and the games are played on those channels. It is good
business to promote the sports that you cover. When the NCAA basketball
tournament comes around in March, the games are hardly mentioned on ESPN
because the company doesn’t hold any rights to the broadcast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. The Refs
Control the Game<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eAQUPmw106E/T_jmd1vjITI/AAAAAAAABTM/5kCR4_nZ9es/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eAQUPmw106E/T_jmd1vjITI/AAAAAAAABTM/5kCR4_nZ9es/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For starters, it feels like a disproportionate number of NBA
referees are really old. Unlike any other sport, officials in the NBA are constantly
blamed by the media for making bad calls and controlling the game. Players and
coaches in the NBA have been known to get upset at the officials for
inconsistent work. Some people feel NBA games are called differently during the
playoffs, with the ultimate goal being to extend a series. In the NBA, it often
appears that games are pushed to a close matchup and the work of the officials
is amateur on each end of the court.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Basketball is a unique sport in that the refs have a large
influence over the series. The game is fast-paced and it can be difficult for
officials to determine the separation between a charge and a block. For this
reason, it is important for basketball refs to be patient and make sure contact
is made before blowing the whistle. This technique is basic, but often lost to
some NBA refs who are seen anticipating contact over and over. At least once
every playoff series, a player in the NBA will make a public comment about the
officials favoring one side during a contest. Another way NBA referees control
the game is through the distribution of fouls to star players.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://top5s.net/index.php/2012/07/top-5-facts-on-the-2012-nba/" style="background-color: white;">http://top5s.net/index.php/2012/07/top-5-facts-on-the-2012-nba/</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-17852630963582979772012-07-08T08:28:00.001+07:002012-07-08T08:48:27.600+07:00Goal-line technology debate: How will it work ? ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sepp Blatter and the
football governing bodies could be on the cusp of introducing goal-line
technology. Here's how goal-line technology might well look...<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JfAIO7AKcjg/T_jiAgfdhVI/AAAAAAAABSA/OZZSrLfJ_oM/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JfAIO7AKcjg/T_jiAgfdhVI/AAAAAAAABSA/OZZSrLfJ_oM/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It made the headlines at EURO 2012 (this time in England's
favour) and it didn't take long for Mr Blatter to speak out about the necessity
for goal-line techology. A decision on the introduction of goal-line tech could
once and for all banish another year of “ghost” goals as agog fans up and down
the country shout “That was in!” and debate how the ref should have gone to
Specsavers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We look at the goal line tech facts, identify the best
solutions and ask why it’s taken the beautiful game so long to embrace the
technology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Goal-line
technology solution 1: Hawk-Eye Innovations</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The leading contender
for the contract…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Already used in tennis, cricket and snooker, the Hawk-Eye
system recorded a 100 per cent success rate during testing with the
International Tennis Federation.…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How does it
work?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hawk-Eye uses vision processing to identify the exact centre
of the ball within each frame of footage taken from a number of 500fps cams
strategically positioned around the pitch. It uses the goal-line as a static
point of reference to compensate for camera movement, then triangulates the
info from each calibrated camera to provide a virtual 3D position of the ball
accurate to 3.6mm. The same process is repeated for each frame of footage
taken, stitching the individual 3D positions of the ball together to create a
single virtual trajectory of its flight. If the ball has crossed the line, the
referee on the pitch will be notified in less than half a second.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Goal-line
technology solution 2: CAIROS<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The goal
line technology backed by Adidas…<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cairos Technologies AG has partnered with Adidas to present
a goal-line technology system that will add electronic wizardry to the pitch
and the ball itself. Trials performed in 2005 found it to be slow and lacking
in accuracy, but Adidas is unlikely to stand for that…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How does it
work?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No cameras here, instead a number of thin cables are laid
under the turf of the penalty area and behind the goal-line, with electricity
passed through the cables to create a magnetic field. Low range sensors fi tted
within the ball measure these magnetic fields when inside the goal area and
transmit information on the ball’s exact location to a number of receivers
placed off the pitch, which then forward all of the data to a central computer
system. The locational data is constantly tracked and an alert is sent out the
instant a ball crosses the goal-line. When the alert is raised a radio signal
is transmitted to the referee within “micro-seconds” of the goal being scored.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
standards goal-line tech must pass FIFA’s tests…<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1/</b> The testing
process will see all systems set three tasks. The first challenge involves
tracking shots that are played across the pitch into an empty net. A 100 per
cent accuracy rate is required here<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2/</b> In this task a
ball-shooting machine fires shots at up to 60mph at a static wall on the
goal-line. The line will then be moved to test overall accuracy – 90 per cent
success ensures a pass on this test<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3/</b> Task three:
balls are placed on a sled and moved across the line in slow motion, sometimes
with the ball spinning, to see if the system can tell whether the full surface
of the ball has crossed the line<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4/</b> To ensure the
pace of the game isn’t affected, all systems must offer instant response,
transmitting a wireless signal to a wristwatch worn by the referee the instant
the ball crosses the goal-line<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
Experts:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Former
Brazilian footballer Pele:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"If you use tech and still don’t get it right every
time, it doesn’t increase fairness, so why implement it at all? Let’s not rush
into goal-line tech, but take time to consider it"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">England and
Arsenal footballer Theo Walcott:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“My biggest concern is that you don’t want to kill the game
by stopping it all the time, but I do think goal-line technology needs to be
looked at. These decisions [like Lampard’s disallowed goal – Ed] happen so
often now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Former
Premier League referee Jeff Winter:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I’ve yet to speak to any match official that wouldn’t fully
endorse any goal-line tech that gave an instant decision. In the technological
world, there must be a system that can show if a ball’s gone over five inches
of white line.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">England and
Saracens rugby player Chris Ashton:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I don’t see why football isn’t using goal-line tech
already; it can’t affect the game that much if the referee’s got someone to
help. It has worked in rugby so I don’t see why it can’t work in football.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where do you stand on
the goal-line technology debate? Let us know your thoughts via Facebook and
Twitter.</span><o:p></o:p></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://www.t3.com/features/goal-line-technology-debate-how-will-it-work" style="background-color: white;">http://www.t3.com/features/goal-line-technology-debate-how-will-it-work</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-46556605588710237642012-07-05T17:40:00.001+07:002012-07-05T17:40:21.953+07:00Internet Doomsday, July 9 ? ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bP0VV_aziZg/T_Vu-f-lbvI/AAAAAAAABRU/otBBKYpCZMY/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bP0VV_aziZg/T_Vu-f-lbvI/AAAAAAAABRU/otBBKYpCZMY/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Internet Doomsday!
DCWG! What’s all the fuss? This
week’s question comes from a retired high school principal who wants to know if
DCWG is legit. Yes it is and a very
helpful site to help you determine if you are part of the DNS Changer Trojan
infection that is in the news and headed toward a July 9 critical point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may remember a previous column where I described a
worldwide botnet that was being run out of Estonia and controlling 4 million
computers in over 100 countries all over the world. In a huge operation involving the FBI and
other worldwide police organizations, seven men were charged in 2011. Since then the FBI has been working to clean
up all the infected DNS servers and keep them from spreading. They have announced that as of July 9 infected
computers will not be able to access the internet in a move to clean up this
huge mess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As with a lot of these kinds of questions, one leads to
another. What is DNS? From the FBI website: “ DNS (Domain Name
System) is an Internet service that converts user-friendly domain names into
the numerical Internet protocol (IP) addresses that computers use to talk to
each other. When you enter a domain name, such as www.fbi.gov, in your web
browser address bar, your computer contacts DNS servers to determine the IP
address for the website. Your computer then uses this IP address to locate and
connect to the website. DNS servers are operated by your Internet service
provider (ISP) and are included in your computer’s network configuration. DNS
and DNS Servers are a critical component of your computer’s operating
environment—without them, you would not be able to access websites, send
e-mail, or use any other Internet services.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Criminals have learned that if they can control a user’s DNS
servers, they can control what sites the user connects to on the Internet. By
controlling DNS, a criminal can get an unsuspecting user to connect to a
fraudulent website or to interfere with that user’s online web browsing. One
way criminals do this is by infecting computers with a class of malicious
software (malware) called DNS Changer. In this scenario, the criminal uses the
malware to change the user’s DNS server settings to replace the ISP’s good DNS
servers with bad DNS servers operated by the criminal.” In a nutshell, you type in an URL in your
address bar and you surf to another site
run by a criminal enterprise.</span><o:p></o:p></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-18231569960696718312012-07-04T11:44:00.001+07:002012-07-04T11:44:11.726+07:00The New Xbox Rumored To Be Coming In 2013 ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Microsoft has always been a great competent to provide the
best of gaming, since after the remarkable success of Xbox 360 and beating all
the records for gaming stations out there now Microsoft finally planing to show
something new. As we reported from IGN we got to know that the Microsoft states
that their new gaming console that is the successor of Xbox 360 will come in
the end of 2013, probably in October or November.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xQ86p9Q7biM/T_PJ5nuJKBI/AAAAAAAABQo/W6a_cZ72Zds/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xQ86p9Q7biM/T_PJ5nuJKBI/AAAAAAAABQo/W6a_cZ72Zds/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now the good part is that IGN also stated that they have
been reported by Microsoft that the new gaming console will be six times more
powerful in gaming and graphics then the current Xbox 360. It surely sounds
like a huge challenge for Wii and Playstation. Since by now Wii is taking the
dominance in the new gaming by their new Wii station which has a tablet like
remote and is now Times best gaming station out there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Microsoft is about to put a great challenge to its rival
companies, even who knows they might get the chance to beat the Playstation 4
as well. Currently the Xbox is using ATI graphic chips to give the best quality
of the graphics. The new Xbox is rumored to have AMD Radeon HD 6670 offering
support for DirectX 11 and will be coming with Multi display output with 3D and
1080p HD output as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moreover it is also confirmed by Microsoft that the new Xbox
will be able to record you movies, TV shows and this time your gaming sessions
as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Surely the fans boys can’t wait to see the new generation
Xbox!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://realitypod.com/2012/01/the-new-xbox-rumored-to-be-coming-in-2013/" style="background-color: white;">http://realitypod.com/2012/01/the-new-xbox-rumored-to-be-coming-in-2013/</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-75206640992204064702012-07-04T11:36:00.002+07:002012-07-04T11:36:34.108+07:00Instaglasses Brings A New Concept For Instagram Camera ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instagram is one of the leading app in the app markets. Over
50 Million combined downloads on iOS and Android shows the love of people with
Instagram. A few days back, various concepts were rolling for an Instagram
Camera. Just now, a new instagram camera concept has come in. The adorable
Instagram camera glasses concept took the attention of all web users.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cIriMt_PTgQ/T_PHXJg4aPI/AAAAAAAABQA/WEKBj2k7nfM/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cIriMt_PTgQ/T_PHXJg4aPI/AAAAAAAABQA/WEKBj2k7nfM/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These physical glasses designed by Markus Gerkes takes the
name of “Instaglasses” and take photography to next level. The brilliant
glasses has buttons on the right side of the glasses to switch the filters.
According to the concept, the changing of filter is fabulous and can be done
whenever you like. To take photos, you can press a button and take snaps with a
built in 5 mega pixel camera. After taking the picture you can either store it
on cloud or put it on the on-board 2 GB storage. There is WiFi and WiFi plus 4G
version also. But then its just a concept. We would really love to see such
glasses in production soon.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://2leep.com/news/885895/0/more/" style="background-color: white;">http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://2leep.com/news/885895/0/more/</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-11131159028552142562012-07-03T12:53:00.001+07:002012-07-03T12:58:26.612+07:00Samsung Galaxy Note 2 release date, specs & price rumours ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is it a phone? Is it a tablet? No, it’s the Samsung Galaxy
Note 2, the next-gen ‘phablet’ by the Korean giant, expected to hit shelves
later this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While most mobile phones have been shrunk to within an inch
of their lives, others, particularly smartphones, are becoming bigger, wider
and slimmer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it was released last year, the Galaxy Note changed the
mobile landscape and took the 'is it a phone or tablet?' debate to new heights,
with it's 5.3-inch screen causing confusion among industry heads and consumers
alike.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some referred to it as a slate, others said it was too small
for a tablet status and should be marketed as a smartphone, while the rest
simply didn't know what to make of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what can we expect from the Note’s widely-anticipated
successor and will it arrive to much fanfare or to further scrutiny? We’ve
scoured the web for the latest news and rumours to find out…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Galaxy Note
2 release date<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With news of a next-gen iPhone hogging headlines across the
globe, rumour has it Samsung has pushed forward the Galaxy Note release date to
September – it was first reported to launch in October – a move some believe
was designed to take some heat off the launch of the new iPhone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the two won’t be in direct competition with each other
(phablets are an acquired taste in today’s compact kit mad society), it will
give Samsung the opportunity to flaunt the device ahead of the mooted next-gen
iPhone’s launch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As reported by T3 last month, the iPhone 5 is rumoured to
land some time in either September or October, but enough about Apple’s
next-gen blower.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This piece is all about Samsung (however, if you'd like to
read more on the next iPhone, check out our iPhone 5 rumours roundup for all
the latest gossip).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bean there,
done that!<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_7hhwGe9KSI/T_KIL3NAL8I/AAAAAAAABPQ/mTczI6xnByo/s1600/1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_7hhwGe9KSI/T_KIL3NAL8I/AAAAAAAABPQ/mTczI6xnByo/s320/1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will reportedly come pre-installed on
the second-generation Note. Aside from a seriously funky name, the new OS,
coupled with the Note 2's bold and beautiful screen, will make the user
experience all the more pleasant, particularly where gameplay is concerned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The new and improved smooth-running operating system by
Google means users are able to use features such as Google Now and Android beam
on the upcoming hybrid device.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A half
decent screen<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While most devices are proud of their slender frames,
Samsung’s Galaxy Note is curvy and proud. So proud, in fact, that it’s about to
get a whole lot bigger – albeit, only by 0.2 inches (but that’s a lot in
smartphone land).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sources say the upcoming handset will sport a 5.5-inch super
AMOLED screen – a small boost from its predecessor’s 5.3-inch display – but as
a compromise, the screen will actually be less wide, as the handset itself is
reported to don a slimmer form factor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, so it may not be championing the larger-than-life
gadgets movement (we take back our comment above about the original Note being
curvy and proud) – all Samsung is doing is relocating some of the fat to other
areas of the blower-cum-tablet – but the increased length will make, say,
browsing the web or reading emails a tad easier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sus-spec-ted
specs<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- New form factor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- 12-megapixel camera<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- Quadcore processor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- 5.5-inch display (with 1680 x 1050 resolution)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- Super AMOLED display<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A tweet
mistake<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While everyone more or less figured that Samsung will
release a follow-up to its successful Galaxy Note phablet, it was never
officially confirmed – well, not until an employee tweeted about it by
‘mistake’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last month, reports surfaced of a tweet sent by a Samsung
Arabia employee, which more or less outted the upcoming device.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It read: "Which one of these are you excited about:
#GalaxyBeam #GalaxyTab2 #GalaxyNote2 #Poll."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As one would expect, the tweet was removed not long
afterwards but it is the first clear indication given by Samsung that a second
Note is in the works (we'd start saving if we were you).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While making mistakes is all part of the job, the idea that
an employee accidentally let slip the existence of an important handset is
pretty, well, unbelievable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The launch of a new Note isn’t something Samsung would want
to let slip (unless it wanted to, of course), so it may well be that this is
purely a PR stunt designed to boost publicity around the device prior to its
official launch. If that’s the case, we’re happy they did it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flexible
display? Yeah right!<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HhCe9nejiZI/T_KIkmBijPI/AAAAAAAABPY/1RFmaBPY4Mg/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HhCe9nejiZI/T_KIkmBijPI/AAAAAAAABPY/1RFmaBPY4Mg/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of all the Galaxy Note 2 rumours that have surfaced around
the web, the craziest one we’ve heard so far is that the device will land with
a flexible display.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, one of those horrible screens that you can turn and
twist. This is according to Korean newspaper MK Business News, which wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“South Korea’s Samsung Electronics will be releasing a
flexible display-equipped successor model to the Galaxy Note in October so as
to compete against Apple’s iPhone 5.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While we understand that rumours should be taken with a
pinch of salt, we’re not convinced that Samsung will release a flexible display
for the Galaxy Note 2 – we’d expect a screen such as this to land on a more
prominent device, like the Samsung Galaxy S4.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Warning, the latter sentence is not a Galaxy S4 rumour, and
should not be treated as such.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://www.t3.com/news/samsung-galaxy-note-2-release-date-specs-and-price-rumours/screen">http://www.t3.com/news/samsung-galaxy-note-2-release-date-specs-and-price-rumours/screen</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-51656549794239288352012-07-03T08:33:00.002+07:002012-07-03T08:33:27.683+07:00Drive The New Audi e-Bike Via Your Phone ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A while ago, Ferrari made a shiny red luxurious Ferrari
tagged train, but now Audi has astonished everyone with its new ride! Audi has
unveiled a bicycle which is probably the most sexiest bike on our planet. Its
sporty, curvy and fast enough to carry the Audi’s label with pride.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ed9p2ylDH98/T_JLfvy9b0I/AAAAAAAABOY/0AFYGrcjXYM/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ed9p2ylDH98/T_JLfvy9b0I/AAAAAAAABOY/0AFYGrcjXYM/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The wow element does not stop at its shape. This new bike
can also be controlled via a phone, can run upto a speed of 50 miles an hour
and weights just 24 pounds. At heart of this bicycle is a 2.3 kW electric
motor, powered by a lithium ion battery, which takes the user experience to a
new level. Audi has not yet announced any price, but this is going to be one
hell of an amazing thing on roads. Below is the video to see this bike in
action</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://2leep.com/news/884231/0/more/" style="background-color: white;">http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://2leep.com/news/884231/0/more/</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-81676194693748438002012-07-03T08:22:00.000+07:002012-07-03T08:33:47.090+07:00Top 10 Features of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So finally Google has revealed a glimpse of the new Android
4.1 Jelly Bean. This is the latest update of its Android operating system and
is already creating a lot of buzz in the market. Nexus 7 tablets are going to
be the first devices to come preload with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean while upgrade
for Nexus S and Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be rolled out next month.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ampv-kSrjZI/T_JH7XXtCFI/AAAAAAAABNs/LfWR2JjuNQ8/s1600/1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="337" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ampv-kSrjZI/T_JH7XXtCFI/AAAAAAAABNs/LfWR2JjuNQ8/s400/1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As expected the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is going to offer a
more responsive, smooth and effortless experience than the previous version
that is Ice Cream Sandwich. The following are the Top 10 features of Android
4.1 Jelly Bean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10. Google
Voice Search<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rQXeJadqNLU/T_JIMUxo0YI/AAAAAAAABN4/d-G9xj2pAts/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rQXeJadqNLU/T_JIMUxo0YI/AAAAAAAABN4/d-G9xj2pAts/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Google voice search has been reworked from the
grassroots level. If reports are to be believed, this is basically done to pose
a tough competition to Apple’s Siri, which was a huge hit. Whatever information
you want to find out, you can easily do with the help of Jelly Bean. Just ask
your Android anything you want and you will get your answer. Also, it is high
on detail and will provide you with images and pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9. Improved
Keyboard<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You will see a predicative text input in version 4.1 of
Android. Earlier, it was seen in case of third party keyboards, but Google has
done a great move by inculcating it in stock keyboard. Also, unlike earlier
version you won’t require a net connection in order to create a message by
taking the help of voice to text technology as offline speech to text is also
available. Even though there is news that it’s just in US English, but sources
say more additional languages will be added to it gradually.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8. Google
Now<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lkGZrvD4kSU/T_JIsi2Lg7I/AAAAAAAABOA/wA5iw3eGQx0/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lkGZrvD4kSU/T_JIsi2Lg7I/AAAAAAAABOA/wA5iw3eGQx0/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Google Now is among the most noticeable feature of Android
4.1 Jelly Bean. It helps to impart more smartness and precision to the device.
Its main functionality is to provide you with real time alerts on flight
schedules to your favorite sportsperson or to stock market. So you will be
getting some vital information every time be it on public transport, official
appointments, public places, weather etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. Improved
Widgets<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The widgets in Android Jelly Bean are very smart and
intelligent. They can easily be resized to fit in on the home screen. They
adjust automatically to the orientation of the phone and rearrange themselves
in portrait and landscape modes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. High
Resolution Contact Photos<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jelly bean would allow you to store your contact photos at
720 x 720, thereby allowing you to see pictures more clearly. This is really a
wonderful improvement from its previous version.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Improved
Notifications<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m-8Z0-2ic8o/T_JI0967XuI/AAAAAAAABOI/Qq-CK9bnZrQ/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m-8Z0-2ic8o/T_JI0967XuI/AAAAAAAABOI/Qq-CK9bnZrQ/s320/4.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You will witness the expandable notifications in Android
4.1. You just need to pull the shade down and see the notifications. From mails
to social networking accounts to your call details, all the notifications can
be easily visible on one single screen. You can also expand the notifications
to have a look at the detailed content.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Improved
Interface<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Google has been successful in
tweaking the user interface in various ways. Everything in this OS is much
faster than the previous version. You can open multiple apps with ease and can
resize the widget so as to fit in the available space. However, the overall
looks of this Android version is very similar to Android 4.0 and this may be
one of the reason why it is termed as an offset of Ice Cream Sandwich and not
Android 5.0.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Project
Butter<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Android 4.0 is considered as a major advancement from
Gingerbread and introduced new interface with some brilliant speed
improvements. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is even further improvement to it with
“Project Butter”. It helps to make OS around hundred times faster and runs at
60 FPS. Additional, the home screen customizations have improved drastically in
this version.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Better
Camera<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Its instant shutter camera is something which will surely
catch your attention. Like its previous version, Google has again enhanced the
camera in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The photo gallery has become more fast and
user friendly and you can easily capture, edit and delete photos.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Android
Beam<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_3H50lt8H5s/T_JJMRn0mxI/AAAAAAAABOQ/ZJ4_Z73YiPs/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_3H50lt8H5s/T_JJMRn0mxI/AAAAAAAABOQ/ZJ4_Z73YiPs/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though Android Beam made its introduction in Ice Cream
Sandwich, it didn’t hit the headlines. However, in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean it
has made it very simple to share videos, images and files. Whenever a user
sends a file, Android Beam feature hands over from NFC to Bluetooth, thereby
making the file sharing process even easier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://2leep.com/news/885607/0/more/" style="background-color: white;">http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://2leep.com/news/885607/0/more/</a></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-74969520684034952792012-07-01T15:29:00.001+07:002012-07-01T15:29:15.175+07:00Nexus 7 Tablet Revealed, Price and Launch Date ~ Fourtriangle<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Google has confirmed prior to its developer conference in
San Francisco that they will be releasing their new tablet which goes by the
name Nexus 7.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ANkbnhPFS4/T_AKSvzL-sI/AAAAAAAABNE/0QutdxKwfuo/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ANkbnhPFS4/T_AKSvzL-sI/AAAAAAAABNE/0QutdxKwfuo/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Nexus 7 weighs just 340 grams and so one can expect it
to be very light. It will sport a 7-inch high definition display that can give
1280×800 pixel resolution which is also equivalent to 216 ppi. Moreover, its
back-lit IPS display can be seen clearly when viewing it on different angles.
You don’t have to worry about scratching the screen as its scratch proof thanks
to the Corning glass on it. This slate can be considered a must have as it will
be boasting the newest Android operating system which is Android 4.1 or Jelly
Bean. The processor tasked to run its multitude of functions is a quad-core
NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor. By the way, it also has a 12 core CPU. For shooting
videos and stills, there is a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera that comes very
handy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One can never go wrong with the Nexus 7 as it is said to
have 10 good hours for reading and 8 superb hours of playing HD video on single
charge. Of course this is all made possible by its 4,325 mAh battery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to the experts, the specifications offered by
Nexus 7 are ideal for a variety of uses – watching movies, playing games,
reading e-magazines, etc. In addition, one strong point of the tablet is that
it runs on a pure version of Android which enables user all access to
applications in the Google Play Store. This also makes it fully intertwined
with Gmail and Google+.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other features that are known to be embedded on the slate
include near field communication (NFC), Google wallet and GPS.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Asus, a company known for its PC manufacturing prowess, is
tasked to make the tablet. With respect to pricing, the 8GB model will retail
for $199 while the 16GB variant goes for $249. The pricing for the 8GB version
is expected to make a head-on competition with Amazon’s Kindle Fire as well as
Barnes and Noble’s Nook Tablet. The slate will come with a $25 credit which can
be use for purchasing apps in the Google Play Store. Pre-orders are already
being accepted by Google with shipping expected to start in the next two to
three weeks.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://2leep.com/news/885519/0/more/">http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://2leep.com/news/885519/0/more/</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-74679875042289296432012-07-01T15:19:00.001+07:002012-07-01T15:19:53.851+07:00BlackBerry 10 OS delayed until 2013 ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1nuCP0xAWDY/T_AIG6n4-gI/AAAAAAAABM8/tFNuEO-7T6Y/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1nuCP0xAWDY/T_AIG6n4-gI/AAAAAAAABM8/tFNuEO-7T6Y/s400/1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BlackBerry's smartphone woes continue as during a
disappointing earnings call the company has delayed its BlackBerry 10 OS until
2013</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the company's share prices continue to plummet, Research
in Motion has revealed that the first BlackBerry 10 OS handsets have been
delayed until 2013.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Making the announcement during another poor quarterly
showing, BlackBerry’s parent company backtracked on its previous pledge to have
the first BlackBerry 10 packing handsets in consumer's hands before the end of
the year, revealing the mobile operating system has taken longer to develop
than anticipated and will face a new round of delays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"RIM's development teams are relentlessly focussed on
ensuring the quality and reliability of the platform and I will not compromise
the product by delivering it before it is ready," RIM CEO Thorsten Heins
said. "I am confident that the first BlackBerry 10 smartphones will
provide a ground-breaking next generation smartphone user experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He added: "The reception of the BlackBerry 10 platform
by our key carrier partners has been very positive and they are looking forward
to going to market with BlackBerry 10 smartphones in the first quarter of
calendar 2013."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet another blow for the flailing Canadian manufacturer,
RIM’s announcement came as the company revealed that in the three months
leading to June 2nd it made total losses of $518 million (£331.9m) with
revenues down 42 per cent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With handset sales dropping from 11.1 million in Q1 to just
7.8 million in Q2, RIM has confirmed that in an attempt to quell the decline it
is to shed a further 5,000 jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you been holding out for a new BlackBerry 10 handset?
Do you think this could be the end of the BlackBerry brand under RIM? Let us
know via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://www.t3.com/news/first-blackberry-10-handset-release-delayed-until-2013-says-ceo" style="background-color: white;">http://www.t3.com/news/first-blackberry-10-handset-release-delayed-until-2013-says-ceo</a></i></span></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-1315841913503178142012-07-01T11:13:00.000+07:002012-07-01T11:54:37.925+07:00Lockheed C-5 Galaxy ~ Fourtriangle<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-edl4Trl3O3k/T-_X_j9B-aI/AAAAAAAABMU/DOUa8JWm5ys/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-edl4Trl3O3k/T-_X_j9B-aI/AAAAAAAABMU/DOUa8JWm5ys/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport
aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with
a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry
outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy
has many similarities to its smaller C-141 Starlifter predecessor, and the
later C-17 Globemaster. The C-5 is among the largest military aircraft in the
world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The C-5 Galaxy had a complicated development; significant
cost overruns were experienced and Lockheed suffered significant financial
difficulties. Shortly after entering service, fractures in the wings of many
aircraft were discovered and the C-5 fleet were restricted in capability until
corrective work was conducted. The C-5M Super Galaxy is an upgraded version
with new engines and modernized avionics designed to extend its service life
beyond 2040.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The C-5 Galaxy has been operated by USAF since 1969. In that
time, it has been used to support US military operations in all major
contingencies including Vietnam, Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan; as well as
in support of allies, such as Israel during the Yom Kippur War and NATO
operations in the Gulf War. The C-5 has also been used to distribute
humanitarian aid and disaster relief, and in support of the US Space Shuttle
program run by NASA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Development<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CX-X and
Heavy Logistics System<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1961, several aircraft companies began studying heavy jet
transport designs that would replace the Douglas C-133 Cargomaster and
complement Lockheed C-141 Starlifters. In addition to higher overall
performance, the United States Army wanted a transport aircraft with a larger
cargo bay than the C-141, whose interior was too small to carry a variety of
their outsized equipment. These studies led to the "CX-4" design
concept, but in 1962 the proposed six-engine design was rejected, because it
was not viewed as a significant advance over the C-141.By late 1963, the next
conceptual design was named CX-X. It was equipped with four engines, instead of
six engines in the earlier CX-4 concept. The CX-X had a gross weight of 550,000
pounds (249,000 kg), a maximum payload of 180,000 lb (81,600 kg) and a speed of
Mach 0.75 (500 mph/805 km/h). The cargo compartment was 17.2 ft (5.24 m) wide
by 13.5 feet (4.11 m) high and 100 ft (30.5 m) long with front and rear access
doors.To provide required power and range with only four engines required a new
engine with dramatically improved fuel efficiency.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The criteria were finalized and an official request for
proposal was issued in April 1964 for the "Heavy Logistics System"
(CX-HLS) (previously CX-X). In May 1964, proposals for aircraft were received
from Boeing, Douglas, General Dynamics, Lockheed, and Martin Marietta. General
Electric, Curtiss-Wright, and Pratt & Whitney submitted proposals for the
engines. After a downselect, Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed were given one-year
study contracts for the airframe, along with General Electric and Pratt &
Whitney for the engines.All three of the designs shared a number of features;
all three placed the cockpit well above the cargo area to allow for cargo
loading through a nose door. The Boeing and Douglas designs used a pod on the
top of the fuselage containing the cockpit, while the Lockheed design extended
the cockpit profile down the length of the fuselage, giving it an egg-shaped
cross section. All of the designs had swept wings, as well as front and rear
cargo doors allowing simultaneous loading and unloading. Lockheed's design
featured a T-tail, while the designs by Boeing and Douglas had conventional
tails.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Air Force considered Boeing's design better than that of
Lockheed, although Lockheed's proposal was the lowest total cost bid.Lockheed
was selected the winner in September 1965, then awarded a contract in December
1965.General Electric's TF-39 engine was selected in August 1965 to power the
new transport plane.At the time GE's engine concept was revolutionary, as all
engines beforehand had a bypass ratio of less than two-to-one, while the TF-39
promised and would achieve a ratio of eight-to-one, which had the benefits of
increased engine thrust and lower fuel consumption.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Into
production<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rRPU6ipTaHA/T-_NXxHBmaI/AAAAAAAABLc/qgKp9tqcus4/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rRPU6ipTaHA/T-_NXxHBmaI/AAAAAAAABLc/qgKp9tqcus4/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first C-5A Galaxy (serial number 66-8303) was rolled out
of the manufacturing plant in Marietta, Georgia, on 2 March 1968.On 30 June
1968, flight testing of the C-5A began with the first flight, flown by Leo
Sullivan, with the call sign "eight-three-oh-three heavy". Flight
tests revealed that the aircraft exhibited a higher drag divergence Mach number
than predicted by wind tunnel data. The maximum lift coefficient measured in
flight with the flaps deflected 40 degree was higher than predicted (2.60 vs.
2.38), but was lower than predicted with the flaps deflected 25 degrees (2.31
vs. 2.38) and with the flaps retracted (1.45 vs. 1.52).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aircraft weight was a serious issue during design and
development. At the time of the first flight, the weight was below the
guaranteed weight, but by the time of the delivery of the 9th aircraft, had
exceeded guarantees.In July 1969, during a fuselage upbending test, the wing
failed at 128% of limit load, which is below the requirement that it sustain
150% of limit load. Changes were made to the wing, but in a later test, in July
1970, it failed at 125% of limit load. A passive load reduction system,
involving uprigged ailerons was incorporated, but the maximum allowable payload
was reduced from 220,000 pounds to 190,000 pounds. At the time, it was
predicted that there was a 90% probability that no more than 10% of the fleet
of 79 airframes would reach their fatigue life of 19,000 hours without cracking
of the wing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cost overruns and technical problems of the C-5A were the
subject of a congressional investigation in 1968 and 1969.The C-5 program has
the dubious distinction of being the first development program with a one billion
dollar overrun.Due to the C-5's troubled development, the Department of Defense
abandoned Total Package Procurement.In 1969 Henry Durham raised concerns about
the C-5 production process with Lockheed, his employer; subsequently Durham was
transferred and subjected to abuse until he resigned. The Government
Accountability Office (GAO) substantiated some of his charges against Lockheed;
later the American Ethical Union honored Durham with the Elliott-Black Award.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upon completion of testing in December 1969, the first C-5A
was transferred to the Transitional Training Unit at Altus Air Force Base,
Oklahoma. Lockheed delivered the first operational Galaxy to the 437th Airlift
Wing, Charleston Air Force Base, SC, in June 1970. Due to higher than expected
development costs, in 1970 there were public calls for the government to split
the substantial losses that Lockheed were experiencing.Production was nearly
brought to a halt in 1971 due to Lockheed going through financial difficulties,
partly down to the C-5 Galaxy's development but also a civilian jet liner, the
Lockheed L-1011.The U.S. government gave loans to Lockheed to keep the company
operational.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the early 1970s, NASA considered the C-5 for the Shuttle
Carrier Aircraft role, to transport the Space Shuttle to Kennedy Space Center.
However, they rejected it in favor of the Boeing 747, in part due to the 747's
low-wing design.In contrast, the Soviet Union chose to transport its shuttles
using the high-winged An-225,which derives from the An-124, which is similar in
design and function to the C-5.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During static and fatigue testing cracks were noticed in the
wings of several aircraft,and as a consequence the C-5A fleet was restricted to
80% of maximum design loads. To reduce wing loading, load alleviation systems were
added to the aircraft.By 1980, payloads were restricted to as low as 50,000 lb
(23,000 kg) for general cargo during peacetime operations. A $1.5 billion
program, known as H-Mod,to re-wing the 76 completed C-5As to restore full
payload capability and service life began in 1976.After design and testing of
the new wing design, the C-5As received their new wings from 1980 to 1987.During
1976, numerous cracks were also found in the fuselage along the upper fuselage
on the centerline, aft of the refueling port, extending back to the wing. The
cracks required a redesign to the hydraulic system for the visor, the front
cargo entry point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Continued
production and development<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1974, Iran, then holding good relations with the United
States, offered $160 million to restart C-5 production to enable Iran to
purchase aircraft for their own air force;in a similar climate as to their
acquisition of F-14 Tomcat fighters.However no C-5 aircraft were ever ordered
by Iran, as the prospect was firmly halted by the Iranian Revolution in 1979.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of President Ronald Reagan's military policy,
funding was made available for expansion of the USAF's airlift capability;
however as the C-17 program was still some years from completion a new version
of the C-5, the C-5B, was approved by Congress in July 1982 for purchase
instead.The first C-5B was delivered to Altus Air Force Base in January 1986.
In April 1989, the last of 50 C-5B aircraft was added to the 77 C-5As in the
Air Force's airlift force structure. The C-5B includes all C-5A improvements
and numerous additional system modifications to improve reliability and
maintainability.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1998, the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) began
upgrading the C-5's avionics to include a glass cockpit, navigation equipment, and
a new autopilot system.Another part of the C-5 modernization effort is the
Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP). The program will mainly
replace the engines with newer, more powerful ones. Three C-5s underwent RERP
as a test with full production in May 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A total of 52 C-5s are contracted to be modernized,
consisting of 49 B-, two C- and one A-model aircraft through the Reliability
Enhancement and Re-Engining Program (RERP). Over 70 changes and upgrades are
incorporated in the program, including the newer General Electric engines. Five
C-5M Super Galaxies have been produced.The RERP upgrade program is to be
completed in 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Design<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0K8f0jVCQgk/T-_NmBH5vzI/AAAAAAAABLk/JG8G9y8c0SU/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0K8f0jVCQgk/T-_NmBH5vzI/AAAAAAAABLk/JG8G9y8c0SU/s400/3.png" width="266" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overview<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The C-5 is a large high-wing cargo aircraft. It has a
distinctive high T-tail, 25 degree wing sweep, and four TF39 turbofan engines
mounted on pylons beneath the wings. The C-5 is similar in layout to its
smaller predecessor, the C-141 Starlifter. The C-5 has 12 internal wing tanks
and is equipped for aerial refueling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has both nose and aft doors for "drive-through"
loading and unloading of cargo.The C-5 is also known as FRED (fucking,
sometimes written as "fantastic", ridiculous, economic/environmental
disaster)by its crews due to its maintenance/reliability issues and large
consumption of fuel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has an upper deck seating area for 73 passengers and 2
loadmasters. The passengers face the rear of the aircraft, rather than forward.
Its takeoff and landing distances, at maximum gross weight, are 8,300 ft (2,500
m) and 4,900 ft (1,500 m) respectively. Its high flotation main landing gear
has 28 wheels to share the weight. The rear main landing gear is steerable for
a smaller turning radius and it rotates 90 degrees horizontally before it is
retracted after takeoff. The "kneeling" landing gear system permits
lowering of the parked aircraft so the cargo floor is at truck-bed height to
facilitate vehicle loading and unloading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The C-5 has a Malfunction Detection Analysis and Recording
(MADAR) system to identify errors throughout the aircraft. Some Galaxies have a
Low Pressure Pneumatic System (LPPS) that utilizes a turbo compressor driven by
bleed air to provide up to 150 psi pressure for inflating the aircraft's tires.
One of the unique features of the aircraft is the crosswind landing system that
allows the landing gear to be offset up to 20 degrees either side of
centerline; when the main landing gear was down (MLG) all the other 28 wheels
would be slaved to the MLG and driven by hydraulic actuators to the same
offset.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The C-5 features a cargo compartment 121 ft (37 m) long,
13.5 ft (4.1 m) high, and 19 ft (5.8 m) wide, or just over 31,000 cu ft (880
m3). The compartment can accommodate up to 36 463L master pallets or a mix of
palletized cargo and vehicles. The cargo hold of the C-5 is a foot longer than
the entire length of the first powered flight by the Wright Brothers at Kitty
Hawk.The nose and aft doors open the full width and height of the cargo
compartment to permit faster and easier loading. Ramps are full width at each
end for loading double rows of vehicles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Galaxy is capable of carrying nearly every type of the
Army's combat equipment, including bulky items such as the 74 short tons (67 t)
armored vehicle launched bridge (AVLB), from the United States to any location
on the globe.A C-5 is capable of transporting up to six Boeing AH-64 Apaches or
five Bradley Fighting Vehicles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Operational
history<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first C-5A was delivered to the USAF on 17 December
1969. Wings were built up in the early 1970s at Altus AFB, Oklahoma, Charleston
AFB, Dover AFB, Delaware, and Travis AFB, California. The C-5's first mission
was on 9 July 1970, in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.C-5s were used to
transport equipment and troops, including Army tanks and even some small
aircraft, throughout the later years of the US action in Vietnam.In the final
weeks of the war, prior to the Fall of Saigon, several C-5s were involved in
evacuation efforts; during one such mission a C-5A crashed while transporting a
large number of orphans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">C-5s have also been used to deliver support and reinforce
various US allies over the years. During the Yom Kippur war in 1973, multiple
C-5s and C-141 Starlifters delivered critical supplies of ammunition,
replacement weaponry and other forms of aid to Israel, the US effort was named
as Operation Nickel Grass.The C-5 Galaxy's performance in Israel was such that
the Pentagon began to consider further purchases.The C-5 was regularly made
available to support American allies, such as the British-led peacekeeper initiative
in Zimbabwe in 1979.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On 24 October 1974, the Space and Missile Systems
Organization successfully conducted an Air Mobile Feasibility Test where a C-5A
Galaxy aircraft air dropped a 86,000 lb Minuteman ICBM from 20,000 ft over the
Pacific Ocean. The missile descended to 8,000 ft before its rocket engine
fired. The 10-second engine burn carried the missile to 20,000 ft again before
it dropped into the ocean. The test proved the feasibility of launching an
intercontinental ballistic missile from the air. Operational deployment was
discarded due to engineering and security difficulties, though the capability
was used as a negotiating point in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The C-5 has been used for several unusual functions; during
the development of the secretive stealth fighter, the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk,
Galaxies were often used to carry partly disassembled aircraft, leaving no
exterior signs as to their cargo.It remains the largest aircraft to ever
operate in the Antarctic;Williams Field near McMurdo Station is capable of
handling C-5 aircraft, the first of which landed there in 1989.The C-5 Galaxy
was a major supply asset in the 1991 international coalition operations against
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, known as the First Gulf War.C-5s have routinely
delivered relief aid and humanitarian supplies to areas afflicted with natural
disasters or crisis, multiple flights were made over Rwanda in 1994.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MAnkqi4DZ_M/T-_OOI6IpCI/AAAAAAAABLs/WzAh7WNYEaE/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MAnkqi4DZ_M/T-_OOI6IpCI/AAAAAAAABLs/WzAh7WNYEaE/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The wings on the C-5As were replaced during the 1980s to
restore full design capability.The USAF took delivery of the first C-5B on 28
December 1985 and the final one in April 1989.The reliability of the C-5 fleet
has been a continued issue throughout its lifetime,however the C-5M upgrade
program seeks in part to address this issue.Their strategic airlift capacity
has been a key logistical component of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan
and Iraq; following an incident during Operation Iraqi Freedom where one C-5
was damaged by a projectile, the installation of defensive systems has become a
stated priority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The C-5 AMP and RERP modernization programs plan to raise
mission-capable rate to a minimum goal of 75%.Over the next 40 years, the U.S.
Air Force estimates the C-5M will save over $20 billion.The first C-5M
conversion was completed on 16 May 2006; C-5Ms began test flights at Dobbins Air
Reserve Base in June 2006.The USAF decided to convert remaining C-5Bs and C-5Cs
into C-5Ms with avionics upgrades and re-engining in February 2008.The C-5As
will receive only the avionics upgrades.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In response to Air Force motions towards the retirement of
the C-5 Galaxy, Congress implemented legislation that placed set limits upon
retirement plans for C-5A models in 2003.By 2005, 14 C-5As were retired.One was
sent to the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC) for tear down and
inspection to evaluate structural integrity and estimate the remaining life for
the fleet. 13 C-5As were sent to the Air Force's Aerospace Maintenance and
Regeneration Group (AMARG) for inspection of levels of corrosion and fatigue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The U.S. Air Force began to receive refitted C-5M aircraft
in December 2008;full production of C-5Ms began in the summer of 2009.In 2009,
the Congressional ban on the retirement of C-5s was overturned.The Air Force
seeks to retire one C-5A for each 10 new C-17s ordered.In October 2011, the
445th Airlift Wing based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base retired or
reassigned all of its remaining C-5s; it has since reequipped with C-17s.In
early February 2012, it was announced that the remaining 27 C-5As at Kelly
Field, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; and Martinsburg, West Virginia would be
retired in fiscal years 2013 and 2014. Kelly is to receive C-5Ms currently
assigned to Westover, Massachusetts and the other two wings are scheduled to
receive C-17s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On 13 September 2009, a C-5M set 41 new records; flight data
was submitted to the National Aeronautic Association for formal recognition.
The C-5M had carried a payload of 176,610 lb (80,110 kg) to over 41,100 ft
(12,500 m) in 23 minutes, 59 seconds. Additionally, 33 time to climb records at
various payload classes were set, and the world record for greatest payload to
6,562 ft (2,000 m) was broken. The aircraft was in the category of 551,160 to
661,390 lb (250,000 to 300,000 kg) with a takeoff weight of 649,680 lb (294,690
kg) including payload, fuel, and other equipment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Variants<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">C-5A<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The C-5A is the original version of the C-5. From 1969 to
1973, 81 C-5As were delivered to U.S. Air Force bases. Due to cracks found in
the wings in the mid-1970s, the cargo weight was restricted. To restore the
C-5's full capability, the wing structure was redesigned. A program to install
new strengthened wings on 77 C-5As was conducted from 1981 to 1987. The
redesigned wing made use of a new aluminum alloy that did not exist during the
original production.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">C-5B<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The C-5B is an improved version of the C-5A. It incorporated
all modifications and improvements made to the C-5A with improved wings,
simplified landing gear, upgraded TF-39-GE-1C turbofan engines and updated
avionics. From 1986 to 1989, 50 of the new variant were delivered to the U.S.
Air Force.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">C-5C<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The C-5C is a specially modified variant for transporting
large cargo. Two C-5s (68-0213 and 68-0216) were modified to have a larger
internal cargo capacity to accommodate large payloads, such as satellites for
use by NASA. The major modifications were the removal of the rear passenger
compartment floor, splitting the rear cargo door in the middle, and installing
a new movable aft bulkhead further to the rear.The official C-5 technical
manual refers to the version as C-5A(SCM) Space Cargo Modification.
Modifications also included adding a second inlet for ground power, which can
feed any power-dependent equipment that may form part of the cargo. The two
C-5Cs are operated by U.S. Air Force crews on the behalf of NASA, and are
stationed at Travis AFB, California. 68-0216 completed the Avionics Modernization
Program in January 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">C-5 AMP and
C-5M Super Galaxy<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following a study showing 80% of the C-5 airframe service
life remaining,AMC began an aggressive program to modernize all remaining C-5Bs
and C-5Cs and many of the C-5As. The C-5 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP)
began in 1998 and includes upgrading avionics to Global Air Traffic Management
compliance, improving communications, new flat panel displays, improving
navigation and safety equipment, and installing a new autopilot system. The
first flight of a C-5 with AMP (85-0004) occurred on 21 December 2002.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP)
began in 2006. It includes new General Electric F138-GE-100 (CF6-80C2) engines,
pylons and auxiliary power units, upgrades to aircraft skin and frame, landing
gear, cockpit and pressurization systems.The CF6 engine produces 22% more
thrust (for 50,000 lbf/220 kN) from each engine,[88] providing a 30% shorter
takeoff, a 38% higher climb rate to initial altitude, an increased cargo load
and a longer range.Upgraded C-5s are designated C-5M Super Galaxy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">L-500<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lockheed also planned a civilian version of the C-5 Galaxy,
the L-500, the company designation also used for the C-5 itself. Both passenger
and cargo versions of the L-500 were designed. The all-passenger version would
have been able to carry up to 1,000 travelers, while the all-cargo version was
predicted to be able to carry typical C-5 volume for as little as 2 cents per
ton-mile (in 1967 dollars).[91] Although some interest was expressed by
carriers, no orders were placed for either L-500 version, due to operational
costs caused by low fuel efficiency, a significant concern for a profit-making
carrier, even before the oil crisis of the 1970s, keen competition from
Boeing's 747, and high costs incurred by Lockheed in developing the C-5 and
later, the L-1011 which led to the governmental rescue of the company.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Specifications
(C-5B)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Data from Quest for
Performance,International Directory of Military Aircraft,and USAF fact sheet<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">General
characteristics<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crew:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 8
typical (pilot, first pilot, 1st Officer, two flight engineers, three
loadmasters)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 minimum (pilot, copilot, two flight engineers)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Payload:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
270,000 lb (122,470 kg)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Length:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
247 ft 1 in (75.31 m)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wingspan:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
222 ft 9 in (67.89 m)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Height:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
65 ft 1 in (19.84 m)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wing area:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
6,200 ft2 (576 m2)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Empty weight:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
380,000 lb (172,370 kg)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Loaded weight:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
769,000 lb (348,800 kg)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Max. takeoff
weight:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 840,000 lb (381,000 kg)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Powerplant:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
4 × General Electric TF39-GE-1C high-bypass turbofan, 43,000 lbf (190 kN) each</span></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Performance<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maximum speed:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Mach 0.79 (503 kn, 579 mph, 932 km/h)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cruise speed:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Mach 0.77 (919 km/h)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Range:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
2,400 nmi (2,760 mi, 4,440 km) with a 263,200 lb (119,400 kg) payload</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service ceiling:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
35,700 ft (10,600 m) at 615,000 lb (279,000 kg) gross weight</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rate of climb:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
1,800 ft/min (9.14 m/s)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wing loading:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
120 lb/ft2 (610 kg/m2)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thrust/weight:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
0.22</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Takeoff roll:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
8,400 ft (2,600 m)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Landing roll:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
3,600 ft (1,100 m)</span></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fuel capacity:</span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
51,150 US gal (193,600 L)</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-5_Galaxy" style="background-color: white;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-5_Galaxy</a></i></span></div>
<br />Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-68967337832015724402012-06-30T10:28:00.000+07:002012-06-30T10:28:05.753+07:00How to Create an Invoice Using Your PayPal Account ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">How to Create an Invoice Using Your PayPal Account<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wdF1yfvOyKs/T-5yLLqdTGI/AAAAAAAABKA/_lF1_nG6QlQ/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wdF1yfvOyKs/T-5yLLqdTGI/AAAAAAAABKA/_lF1_nG6QlQ/s400/1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If you have
an online business and you give quotes to your customers for custom jobs then
you probably use some form of an invoicing system to collect the money from the
customers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">You have most
probably used or are currently using PayPal in some capacity to receive
payments for your products or services. PayPal is the most popular payment
gateway for online merchants and consumers alike and is used by tens of
millions of people to sell products from their websites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Apart from
giving you the ability to accept payments from customers via “Add to Cart” or
“Buy Now” buttons on your site, PayPal also has functionality which makes it
possible for you to create and send invoices directly from your PayPal account.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The invoice
functionality offered by PayPal is free and is a somewhat overlooked and
seemingly little known feature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">PayPal’s
invoicing feature can be a very useful tool for anybody who wishes to request a
payment from someone in a professional manner. This is in contrast to the
simpler “Request Money” feature which is also available from your PayPal
account and which allows for a basic message requesting payment to be sent to
anybody with an email address.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As we’ll see
in the example below, with the PayPal invoicing feature, you can tailor your
invoices to look official and professional and hence add that extra touch of
quality to how you request payments from your clients.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The added
beauty of using PayPal’s invoices is that they not only allow people to pay you
using their PayPal account, but they also make it possible for people to send
money even if they don’t have an account with PayPal but they simply want to
pay using their credit or debit card.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.tipsandtricks-hq.com/wp-content/uploads/tutorials/pdfs/creating-a-paypal-invoice.pdf" style="background-color: white;">How to Create Paypal Invoice (PDF File)</a></span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Source:<a href="http://www.tipsandtricks-hq.com/how-to-create-an-invoice-using-your-paypal-account-4592" style="background-color: white;">http://www.tipsandtricks-hq.com/how-to-create-an-invoice-using-your-paypal-account-4592</a></i></span></div>
<br />Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-21071066274982682532012-06-28T10:00:00.000+07:002012-06-28T10:00:06.597+07:00Top 5 Most Important Battles in History ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Battle
of Tours, 732<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4ufaWVajJqk/T-vGqbrdikI/AAAAAAAABI4/ghUVVBbQ5UU/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4ufaWVajJqk/T-vGqbrdikI/AAAAAAAABI4/ghUVVBbQ5UU/s1600/1.png" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chances are you never heard of this battle, but had the
Franks lost it, we might all be bowing towards Mecca five times a day and
studying our Koran each night. The battle near the city of Tours pitted about
20,000 Carolingian Franks under Charles Martel against a Muslim force of up to
50,000 soldiers under Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi intent on bringing Islam to
Europe. Though outnumbered, Martel proved to be an especially able commander
and routed the invaders, driving them back into Spain and, ultimately (through
his son, Pippin the Great) off the continent. Had Martel lost, Islam would
probably have become the predominant faith of Europe and, eventually, the main
religion around the world today. How this would have impacted western
civilization can only be guessed at, but chances are it would have taken a
dramatically different tact than it did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Battle
of Vienna, 1683<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TblHzgnnTtQ/T-vG3Q95vNI/AAAAAAAABJA/6zUcwshZ0XE/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TblHzgnnTtQ/T-vG3Q95vNI/AAAAAAAABJA/6zUcwshZ0XE/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In something of a remake of the earlier Battle of Tours (see
no. 5) the Muslims were again on the march in an effort to claim all of Europe
for Allah. This time, riding under the banner of the Ottoman Empire, somewhere
between 150,000 to 300,000 troops under Kara Mustafa Pasha met a mixed force of
some 80,000 troops under the Polish King John Sobrieski near Vienna one fine
September in 1683 and somehow lost. The battle proved to be the end of Islamic
expansion into Europe and resulted in their commander, Mustafa Pasha, being
executed by the Turks for his mishandling of the siege and battles for Vienna.
How close were things? Had Pasha attacked when he first arrived at the city
earlier that July, Vienna probably would have fallen; in waiting until
September, however, he gave time for the Polish Army and their allies to arrive
to break the siege and provide the forces necessary to send the Turks packing.
Still, you’d think that with a 2 to 1 or even 3 to 1 advantage, they should
have something to show for their efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3.
Yorktown, 1781<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8rs6kG80AYk/T-vHL-6L6qI/AAAAAAAABJI/M5PiCODWrJw/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8rs6kG80AYk/T-vHL-6L6qI/AAAAAAAABJI/M5PiCODWrJw/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In terms of numbers, this was a pretty puny battle (8,000
American troops, supported by 8,000 French troops, against some 9,000 British
troops) but by the time it ended on October 19, 1781, it changed the world
forever. The indomitable British Empire, the super power of its day, should
have easily defeated the rag-tag colonists under George Washington, and for most
of the war, they generally had the upper hand. By 1781, however, the upstart
Americans had learned how to fight and, having acquired the assistance of
England’s arch enemy, France, had become a small but professional fighting
force. As a result, the British under Cornwallis found themselves trapped on a
peninsula between the determined Americans on the one side and a French fleet
on the other that made escape impossible and so, after a couple of weeks of
fighting, they surrendered. In doing so, the Americans defeated the world’s
premier military power and gained independence for some backwoods country in
the new world called the United States of America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Battle
of Salamis, 480 BCE<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rkKydY4hIBQ/T-vHjblSIyI/AAAAAAAABJQ/UJbAiFm-nGI/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rkKydY4hIBQ/T-vHjblSIyI/AAAAAAAABJQ/UJbAiFm-nGI/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Imagine a sea battle today that involved over a thousand
ships and one can begin to appreciate the magnitude of this single engagement
between the outnumbered Greek Navy under Themistocles and the massive navy of
King Xerxes of Persia. The Greeks had used guile to get the Persian fleet to
sail into the narrow Straits of Salamis, where they were able to deprive them
of taking advantage of their superior numbers, and dealt the Persians a
humiliating defeat. As a result, Xerxes was forced to withdraw most of his army
back to Persia, thereby leaving Greece to the Greeks and preserving western
civilization in the process. A number of historians believe that a Persian
victory would have stilted the development of Ancient Greece, and by extension
‘western civilization’ per se, making Salamis one of the most significant
battles in human history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1.
Adrianople, 718<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r9vLX6upcYY/T-vIYpQcTFI/AAAAAAAABJY/vTfqTP1k9u0/s1600/5.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r9vLX6upcYY/T-vIYpQcTFI/AAAAAAAABJY/vTfqTP1k9u0/s320/5.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What The Battle of Tours (see No. 5) was for western Europe,
and the Battle of Vienna (No. 4) was for central Europe, the battle of
Adrianople was for eastern Europe in that once again, the armies of Islam were
stopped in their tracks just as they were prepared to take all of Europe. Had
this battle been lost and Constantinople—at the time the largest city in
Christendom—fallen to the Muslims, it would have allowed the armies of Islam to
move practically unimpeded throughout the Balkans and into central Europe and
Italy. As it was, Constantinople was to act like the cork in a bottle, keeping
the armies of Allah from crossing the Bosporus and taking Europe in force—a
role it was to play for the next 700 years until the city finally fell in 1453.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Source:<a href="http://top5s.net/index.php/2012/06/top-5-most-important-battles-in-history/" style="background-color: white;">http://top5s.net/index.php/2012/06/top-5-most-important-battles-in-history/</a></span></i></div>Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-91472961511639067962012-06-28T09:36:00.001+07:002012-06-28T09:36:21.474+07:00Dell XPS 13 review ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1I45vcqczeY/T-vCh12VmUI/AAAAAAAABIA/QR1oL9FPqjM/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="334" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1I45vcqczeY/T-vCh12VmUI/AAAAAAAABIA/QR1oL9FPqjM/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Ultrabooks
took the forefront at this year’s CES and Dell, one of the industry’s top guns,
unveiled the Dell XPS 13 to us all. It’s got some catching up to do – after
all, the Asus Zenbook UX31 and Toshiba Satellite Z830 have impressed us for
some months now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Luckily it
seems more than a match for its Ultra-competition and some remarkable design
choices instantly set this apart from others we’ve seen. With Intel, as ever,
providing the latest Sandy Bridge performance specs, this could be the
Ultrabook to tip the balance. The Dell XPS 13 we've been looking at is a
pre-build model, so the full retail version could potentially vary slightly,
but we'll keep you posted on that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dell XPS 13: Features<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The Dell XPS
13’s aluminium chassis is jaw-droppingly attractive. Outwardly, it’s a smaller,
thinner version of the Dell XPS 15z and the Dell XPS 14z – no bad thing. A
curving silver shell measuring 7mm at its thinnest point and a barely-there
weight of 1.4 means holding the XPS 13 is akin to holding a tablet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Once you lift
the lid and peer inside, the craftsmanship of the device becomes apparent.
Unlike the silver interiors of rivals like the Acer Aspire S3, the XPS 13 is a
rubberised jet black and devoid of stickers or markings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Because of
the thinness of the chassis the backlit chicklet keyboard, like other
Ultrabooks, has a shallow travel. But spacing of the keys is well proportioned,
as is the slightly curving design of the keys themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dell XPS 13: Screen<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1bfx7u-fA/T-vC3TlhpyI/AAAAAAAABII/mLibdSmO2DM/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PN1bfx7u-fA/T-vC3TlhpyI/AAAAAAAABII/mLibdSmO2DM/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We had to
marvel at the engineering of the screen on the Dell XPS 13. There’s almost no
bezel around the edge, so the 13.3-inch screen seems like it’s sitting in an
11-inch laptop. The whole screen is made with tough Gorilla Glass and the 1366
x 768 pixel resolution is good enough to enjoy 720p high-definition movies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dell XPS 13: Performance<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cEw31wmhUYw/T-vC_ScI9KI/AAAAAAAABIQ/DoSfCA2SRJM/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cEw31wmhUYw/T-vC_ScI9KI/AAAAAAAABIQ/DoSfCA2SRJM/s400/3.png" width="351" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">When you’re
done admiring the outside of the Dell XPS 13, you’ll find the interior
components just as pleasing. Sporting a quad-core Intel Core i7-2637M CPU, you
get lightning quick response times and can comfortably multitask between a
range of programs and web pages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The Sandy
bridge chip runs with an integrated Intel graphics card with about 1.5GB given
over to shared video memory. Movie and photo editing shouldn’t be a problem,
but games will be beyond this machine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dell XPS 13: Battery<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Battery life
is a key feature of the Ultrabook platform and the 6-cell battery built into
the XPS 13 isn’t accessible to the likes of you and me. But, Dell claims it
will run comfortably up to 8 hours, giving you an entire day at the office
without needing the mains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dell XPS 13: Verdict<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">While we've
only been able to get our hands on a pre-build version so far, the Dell XPS 13
Ultrabook matches jaw-dropping design with characteristically strong
performance. Although we would have liked a little more connectivity, there’s
very little to fault with this device.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It
differentiates itself from the competition with a head-turning design and keeps
up an impressive battery life. The Gorilla Glass display is given room to shine
thanks to a minimal bezel and we felt we could use it as much for work as for
kicking back with a high-definition movie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We feel this
is easily one of the strongest Ultrabooks in the current line-up and a
spectacular piece of engineering from Dell. We'll bring you more info as soon
as we've had the final retail model on our test bench, as well as a confirmed
retail price.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dell XPS 13 availability: March 2012</span></b></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dell XPS 13 price: £TBC (estimates suggest £899)</span></b></li>
</ul>
<br />Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5267053544445311276.post-85377678361237111012012-06-28T09:22:00.001+07:002012-06-28T10:35:10.026+07:00Call Of Duty Black Ops 2 preview ~ Fourtriangle<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mL6o5FfZUps/T-u_ZCgPO1I/AAAAAAAABHQ/gBAs1tQX2kQ/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mL6o5FfZUps/T-u_ZCgPO1I/AAAAAAAABHQ/gBAs1tQX2kQ/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Call Of Duty Black Ops 2 has a tough challenge ahead of it.
The latest entry in the biggest shooter franchise on the planet faces stiff
competition at the end of this year in the form of EA’s Medal Of Honor:
Warfighter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not only that, it’s likely the game’s publisher expects it
to improve on the sales of last year’s COD game, which, in spite of the fact it
has sold upwards of 9m units, still hasn’t broken the record for the series of
13.7m units – which is currently held by the first Call Of Duty: Black Ops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This means that Black Ops’s developer, Treyarch, is no
longer in competition with Infinity Ward, the studio behind the Modern Warfare
games. It’s mainly competing against its own past record. This is a pretty
tall-order, so it’s to the developer’s credit that the first reveal of the game
it’s shown T3, packs a sizable wallop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Call Of
Duty Black Ops 2: Plot<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unlike its predecessor, which was set during various
intervals during the Cold War, the story in Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 takes
place in the not-too-distant future. The game’s weapons are more advanced, the
gadgets are very high-tech, and a lot of the USA’s defence systems have become
automated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The story kicks off when terrorist group hacks into the
system that controls these robot defences and turns them on their users. Then
all hell breaks loose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sequence of events Treyarch reveals to T3 in the
first-look demo is mind-blowing. The COD series has always had a reputation for
mixing authentic shooter action with epic action set-pieces, but even so,
Treyarch have outdone themselves here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The reveal begins inside a Hummer speeding down the Los
Angeles freeway. The game’s protagonist, Mason, tries to save the life of a
presidential aid choking to death on his own blood. The President Of The United
States is sat beside him, talking to one of Mason’s comrades, Harper, about
getting her to safety.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overhead, UAV drones are firing missiles into the LA
traffic, and cars are being blown off the road. Suddenly the entire screen
shudders and the POV tips sideways as a missile hits the Hummer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Call Of
Duty Black Ops 2: Gameplay<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mason scrambles from the wreckage, leaps onto the back of
the car, and takes control of a missile turret. He quickly targets the UAV
drones overhead, as Harper covers the president. After shooting a fair number
of enemies down, he has to abandon the turret, as UAV shoots a hole in the
raised freeway beneath the Hummer, and the vehicle goes tumbling through it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The action comes thick and furious. We watch, open-mouthed,
as Mason and his troops avoid flying cars, rapel into the streets, commandeer a
car and then hurtle into downtown LA as explosions detonate all around them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They then have to shoot their way through a shopping mall;
here, the demo showcases some of the hardware players can expect to use, such
as remote drones that strafe enemies, and guns sporting bullets powerful enough
to shoot through a building’s support columns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The battle spills back out onto the street where T3 watches
as a skyscraper comes crashing down into the middle of the street. After a
brief exchange between Mason and Harper, the former leaps into a jumpjet and
takes to the skies, firing missiles and explosive rounds at the unmanned bombers
attacking the city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Call Of
Duty Black Ops 2: Verdict<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In terms of spectacle, this puts the likes of Michael Bay
and Tony Scott firmly in the shade. Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 looks bigger,
badder and better than its predecessor and its wall-to-wall action is
relentless. If the rest of Black Ops 2’s package is as impressive as this,
Treyarch should be onto a winner this November.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Call Of
Duty Black Ops 2 availability: 13 November 2012</span></span></b></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Call Of
Duty Black Ops 2 price: TBC</span></span></b></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Source:</b></span><a href="http://www.t3.com/reviews/call-of-duty-black-ops-2-review" style="background-color: white;">http://www.t3.com/reviews/call-of-duty-black-ops-2-review</a></i></span></div>
<br />Paparolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17433954287551406510noreply@blogger.com0