Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - Apple Expected To Unveil New iPads On Tuesday

Source       - http://www.mercurynews.com/
By             - Patrick May
Category   - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

With just 66 shopping days left until Christmas, Apple (AAPL) is about to give Santa Claus more goodies to stuff into those stockings.

At an event Tuesday morning in San Francisco, the Cupertino-based tech giant is expected to unveil a fifth-generation iPad as well as a follow-up version of the iPad mini it released a year ago. And while its email invitation cryptically announces, "We still have a lot to cover," one thing is clear: With its stock price well below its onetime high and its share of the tablet market continuing to shrink, Apple has a lot riding on this launch.

IDC analyst Tom Mainelli thinks this week's iPad refresh should help Apple as well as the burgeoning pack of rivals chipping away at the iPad's former dominance.

"A new iPad launch always piques consumer interest in the tablet category, and traditionally that has helped both Apple and its competitors," he said. After Apple skipped its traditional iPad upgrade last spring, Mainelli added, "its numbers were down, but almost everyone else's were down too. So while Apple's market share may have dropped, they still drive the overall tablet market, and consumers are still paying close attention to what Apple is doing with its products."

As with past Apple events, the rumor mill has been working overtime. Most analysts and bloggers expect the new iPad will sport the more powerful 64-bit A7X processor and reveal a slimmer physique than its predecessors. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the tablet will be 15 percent thinner than the iPad 4 and feature more rounded edges.

And since Apple has historically offered the same features across different platforms, evidenced by the personal assistant Siri eventually showing up on both iPhones and iPads, most observers widely believe the second-version iPad mini will come with the same Retina display that the larger iPad already features.

One big question is whether either of the new devices will feature Touch ID, Apple's proprietary fingerprint identity sensor featured on the new iPhone 5s unveiled last month. A Chinese blog site leaked photos of a purported fifth-generation iPad with the sensor in place of the traditional home button. And analyst Tim Bajarin with Creative Strategies says improving its tablet's security makes sense as Apple continues to push its devices into the business world.

"We believe that as an iPad 5 starts showing up in more and more corporate accounts, and as more employees are taking their tablets to work with them, security becomes an ever more important part of the equation," Bajarin said. "And since Apple owns the Touch ID technology, they could also introduce it on the iPad mini."

Apple's event comes as the tablet computer plays an increasingly significant role both in the lives of consumers and in the way companies conduct business. From iPad-equipped airline pilots and warehouse managers to schoolteachers and their tablet-toting students, the device has become a crucial and handy tool for the mobile masses.

IDC reports that tablet shipments in the fourth quarter are expected for the first time to surpass total PC shipments, which include desktop and laptop computers. And it forecasts tablets will do the same on an annual basis by the end of 2015.

So even though Apple's piece of the global tablet pie may be smaller than it was in 2010 when the first iPad went on sale -- a drop from 77 then to 37 percent today -- IDC's Mainelli says that doesn't necessarily mean Apple's in trouble.

"When the iPad first launched, nobody was really all that competitive in the tablet market, so since then 

Apple has only had one direction to go, and that's down" in terms of market share, he said. "Having said that, Apple doesn't chase market share at the expense of profitability or a good user experience. So while there are a lot of guys out there making Android tablets, not a lot of them are making any money.

"At the end of the day," Mainelli said, "the companies left standing are those who put out good products that people want and make money doing it."

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - How Much Does a Glass Of Wine Contain? It May Depend On The Glass

Source      - http://www.latimes.com/
By            - Mary MacVean
Category   - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venue
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

If you’ve ever wondered how you got tipsy when you only had a glass or two of wine, the answer could be in the sort of glass you used. Drinking from a wide glass is just one way that you might be getting more than you thought.

Unlike a bottle of beer, or a shot of spirits, a glass of wine is rarely an exact measure except in bars or restaurants. Researchers from Iowa State and Cornell universities found there were several conditions that could cause someone to pour with a heavy hand.

“People have trouble assessing volumes,” Laura Smarandescu, coauthor of the research study and an assistant professor of marketing at Iowa State, said in a statement.

Participants in the study – 73 students and staffers who drank at least one glass of wine in a given week -- were asked to pour what they considered a normal glass of wine – the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says that’s 5 ounces.

If they were pouring into a wide glass, they poured about 12% more than if they poured into a narrow wine glass. The same was true when people held a glass, rather than pouring into a glass on the table. The researchers tried other conditions, too. People poured 9% more white wine into a glass than red – because of the contrast of color, they said. The food and other things on the table had less effect, the researchers wrote.

Such conditions make it easy to drink more than intended, said another coauthor, Douglas Walker, an assistant professor of marketing at Iowa State. Their research was published this week in the journal Substance Use and Misuse.

If a person thinks about how much wine he drinks based on the number of glasses, that could be a problem, Walker said. “One person’s two is totally different than another person’s two.”

It’s important to become aware of portions – just as people have for food, says coauthor Brian Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University. And the participants were asked about the conditions after the pouring; the researchers found they were generally accurate about which conditions had influenced them.

“Increasing awareness of pouring biases is a step toward limiting alcohol intake for improved health outcomes and preventing alcohol-related problems,” the authors wrote.

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - Android vs iPhone For Kids: How To Choose

Source      - http://www.usatoday.com/
By            - Suzanne Kantra
Category  - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

Thinking about buying your child a smartphone? With the arrival of the lower-cost iPhone 5C ($79 at Walmart with a contract), it may seem the logical choice. The iPhone has a simple interface, parental controls, all sorts of apps and, now, cool bright colors. But is an iPhone better than your Android options? I've broken it down by parental pain points and made a pick for the best type of smartphone for kids.

PARENTAL CONTROLS

If you were to just consider the parental controls available through Apple's iOS versus Android, iOS would win hands down. You can easily shut off access to web browsing, the camera, video chat, installing apps, deleting apps and sharing location information, among other things. Plus, you can set content ratings for videos, music, books and apps, and even set a volume limit.

With iOS 7 (coming Wednesday for current devices) parents also get the ability to automatically block access to adult content on the Internet or limit browsing to a list of sites they've approved.

Android phones offer few parental controls baked-in. You can set content restrictions for entertainment and apps available through the Google Play store, and require a password before your child can make a purchase, but that's about it. The password requirement for purchases also doesn't hold true for free apps, so they could still download free games if you didn't want them to.

All Android devices have access to robust third-party parental-control apps, though, including Kid's Shell, Kido'z and NQ Family Guardian. They let you block, manage and monitor apps, including locking Google Play and in-app purchasing. They also provide content filtering for web browsing and the ability to set time limits on using the device. In short, everything you need to create boundaries you feel are appropriate for your child.

All the major carriers—AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon—will let you set call and text restrictions by time of day. Sprint also lets you monitor and restrict who your child texts and see apps your child downloads. AT&T and Verizon let you set text and data usage limits, with Verizon letting you also set limits on calls and see which apps your child downloads. T-Mobile lets you put a cap on talk and text.

New cellphone carrier Zact provides the most robust controls. With Zact, parental controls can be set remotely via the Zact Control app (free for Android or iOS devices). You can set time-based restrictions for talk, text and individual apps and set when the device can have Internet access.

MALWARE

There are no anti-malware apps for iOS devices because of the way apps are restricted in Apple's operating system. These restrictions have also limited the frequency of malware on iOS devices. However, if your child jailbreaks the iPhone to load unauthorized apps, all bets are off. So it's worth loading an app like Lookout Mobile Security that will warn you if the device has been jailbroken.

Android devices receive the overwhelming share of malware attacks. However, if your child sticks to purchases from Google Play, Amazon App Store and other reputable marketplaces, the risk drops significantly. Plus, there are free anti-malware apps that protect Android devices, including Norton Mobile Security and Trend Micro Mobile Security.

LOST PHONE

Both iOS and Android devices have lost phone location and wiping options, so you'll be covered either way.

For Android devices, you can locate and ring the phone using Google's Android Device Manager web portal. For iOS devices, you need to turn on the Find my iPhone in settings before you can locate it using iCloud.

Once you have Find my iPhone turned on, you can also remotely wipe the phone if it falls into the wrong hands. And, with iOS 7, you'll also be able to create a custom message that tells people how to contact you should they find the device—even if you choose to wipe it.

For Android, you'll need to turn the remote wipe option on in the Google Settings app (a separate app from your device settings app) before you can remotely wipe it.

PRICE

You can get an iPhone 4S (starting Friday) or a number of Android phones for free from your carrier, if you sign a new contract. To get the best price on an Android phone, you'll want to check out the Android phone options on Amazon and Wirefly and compare them to your carrier.

When you look at what you're getting for your money, you'll find last year's flagship Android devices, such as the Samsung Galaxy S III, at the free/penny price point in some places, while last year's iPhone 5 will cost $79.

Cellphone plan costs are also a factor. Looking at the major carriers (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile), a plan for your child will start at $30 per month if you add a line or $50 if you get a standalone plan. Even the more budget-friendly services like Cricket Wireless, Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile will cost you at least $35 per month for service.

New cellphone carrier Zact is great for light smartphone users because you pay just for what you use—and you don't have to get data if your child will only be using WiFi networks. For instance, for about $19 per month, you can get 250 minutes of talk, 1000 texts and 250MB of data. Or, for the same $19, you could get 500 minutes of talk, 2500 texts and no data. You can make adjustments throughout the month and get reimbursed for what you don't use at the end of the month.

BEST SMARTPHONE FOR KIDS

My pick for the best smartphone for kids is a low-cost Android phone. There are great phones that cost nothing up front, like the Samsung Galaxy S III on Sprint.

The Galaxy S III may be a year old, but it is still a great phone. It has a beautiful 4.8-inch display, a battery that will easily take kids through a full day of use, an 8MP camera that performs well in low light and a 1.5GHz dual core processor, which easily handles all but the most processor-intense games. It was Samsung's flagship model until April this year and it's holding up well.

The other key factor is the price of monthly service set by the carrier. For Sprint & AT&T customers, adding a second line is the way to go. Verizon and T-Mobile customers may want to consider a plan on Zact. Zact has the Galaxy S III for $449 upfront or, you can save more with the $259 Samsung Galaxy Victory. Either way, you'll pay less over time, especially for lighter users.

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - This Is Samsung’s Galaxy Gear Smartwatch: A Blocky Health Tracker With a Camera

Source       - http://venturebeat.com/
By             - Christina Farr
Category    - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues
Posted By  - Homewood Suites New Orleans

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

Samsung is set to reveal its Galaxy Gear smartwatch next Wednesday, Sept. 4, in Berlin. But this weekend, we got a first look at the watch.

The press has been speculating about the hardware and design, and leaking information, since word got out that the company would be designing its smartwatch to rival new and yet-to-be-released gadgets from Sony, Apple and Pebble.

We’ve been speaking with sources to separate fact from fiction. And this weekend, a source showed us one of the prototypes sent to developers and a few select partners. Note that Samsung is highly security conscious in protecting its designs, and occasionally sends off prototypes that don’t mirror the final design.  But it won’t be far off.

My source, who requested anonymity, also showed me an internal promotional marketing video for the watch. The video was not developed by Samsung, but by an independent team working closely with Samsung. I wasn’t allowed to photograph the smartwatch itself, but I snapped a few stills from the video, which clearly shows the high-quality OLED display, with its square screen. I also made some sketches based on my time with the watch.

I’ll walk you through the specs, and then offer a few insights about potential use-cases for Samsung’s smartwatch. Health and fitness junkies will be intrigued. My initial impression was that it’s a new wearable fitness device to rival a Nike Fuelband or Fitbit Flex — a smartphone companion rather than a smartphone alternative.

At about 3 inches diagonally, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch is quite large. Although its screen is square, large bezels on the top and bottom give it a chunky, rectangular shape, with rounded corners.

The color is fairly basic — dark black and grey, although it may be enhanced in the final version. The wristband is clunky and masculine, large enough to hold speakers in the clasp. It’s not heavy to hold, but it dwarfed my tiny lady wrists when I tried it on. Women may instead opt for a Misfit Shine, which isn’t a watch but is a small jewel-like button.

The smartwatch prototype has Bluetooth to connect with the Galaxy S family of smartphones and tablets, although it may also connect to all Android devices. It also has Wi-Fi for Internet access, including e-mail, even when it’s not connected to a smartphone, but I didn’t see that in action.

It has a 4-megapixel camera built into the strap, and tiny speakers in the clasp. You can measure health data through the camera. Take a picture of your food, and you can tag it according to what type of food it is, such as “grains” or “fat.” It’s a clear swipe at Google Glass — but would anyone take photos of their meals from a watch, other than for spy movie appeal?

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - 10 Best Smartphone Apps For Students

Source          - http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/
By                 - Grant Brunner
Category      - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues
Posted By     - Homewood Suites New Orleans

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

When you head into high school, your life really starts getting busy, and your schedule will only continue to fill out. Thankfully, there are countless apps to help keep your school work, social life, and schedule under control. Here are ten of the best iOS apps that every high school student needs to download.

Atomic Web Browser

With Atomic, you can save whole web pages for offline viewing, download files, and use gestures to navigate quickly for just $1.99. If you’re frequently without WiFi or cell signal, keeping a handful of important reference pages stored on your device can totally save the day when it comes time to study.

Evernote

Taking notes has never been easier. With Evernote, you can save text, images, and even audio in the app, and have it automatically sync to the web, your desktop, and other devices. The app and basic service are both free, and the extensive premium features on offer are only $5 per month.

Facebook Messenger

Keeping in touch with your friends is simple thanks to Facebook Messenger. This free app allows you to send text, audio, and photos with friends. Regardless of what device your friends have, Facebook chat works with everything, and doesn’t require an expensive texting plan.

Find My Friends

Want to keep track of where your friends and family are? It’s easy with Apple’s free Find My Friends app. Just send requests to your buddies, and then you can easily locate each other on a map. This is an especially useful tool when you’re waiting to be picked up by your parents, or when you’re waiting for a friend at the library.

iHeartRadio

Need some fresh tunes in the background as you study? Try out iHeartRadio. This free streaming app allows you to stream your favorite radio stations, and even customize your own station. With iHeartRadio on your iOS device, you never have to buy music again.

iTunes U

If you’re preparing yourself for college, your first step is trying out free college courses. With Apple’s iTunes U, you can watch lectures from universities all over the world, and get a high quality education without ever spending a dime. It would be a huge waste not to take advantage of this service.

Kindle

Keep your entire library with you all the time. Amazon’s free Kindle app gives you access to thousands of e-books ranging from novels to instructional manuals to full-fledged textbooks. No need to haul around a heavy book bag now that all of your books fit on a lightweight tablet or smartphone.

Pages

With this $9.99 word processor from Apple, you can write and edit your homework wherever you go. More importantly, your work will automatically sync via iCloud to your Mac and the Pages beta available on iCloud.com. No need to wait to get your work done. You could be done writing before you even get off the bus.

RunKeeper

High School is stressful, and your schedule will only get busier when you graduate. It’s important to stay fit now, so you’ll have less health problems to deal with when you go to college or start working. With RunTracker, you can easily monitor your exercise, and make small changes now that will pay off big time down the road.

Wolfram Alpha

What’s the square root of Pi? What’s the popularity of your surname in the United States? What is the melting point of steel? You can easily find the answers to your most burning questions with this wonderful $2.99 app from the folks at Wolfram Alpha. Research and analyze facts from every aspect of the world, and never stop learning.

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - Hackers Crack The iPhone, And AntiVirus Software Won t Help

Source - http://news.yahoo.com/
By - Larry Greenemeier
Category - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

Search Apple's app Store for iPhone or iPad antivirus software and you'll find only a handful of security programs designed to defend these iOS devices from malicious software (malware). The search is just as likely to turn up game titles such as "OperationAntiVirus" and "AntiViral Lite," in which you pretend to rid fictitious computers of intruders.

There's a reason this software is so missing: Until now Apple's mobile gadgets have yet to face a serious security threat. The iPhone and iPad are not immune to viruses, but Apple's stringent app vetting process, the devices' architecture--which partitions, or "sandboxes," code to protect it--and relatively low demand for mobile malware (compared to PCs anyway) among cyber attackers have helped iOS fly under the radar of cyber attackers.

No longer. Apple has crept a little closer to the crosshairs thanks to two new research papers. One was presented this week at the annual Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas. A second will be unveiled in mid August at the 2013 USENIX Security Symposium in Washington, D.C. Researchers from the Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC) have written both papers, and they are using the shows to describe two different ways of exploiting flaws in Apple security and infecting an iPhone with viruses.

Such research has become common in recent years as so-called "white-hat" academic and corporate researchers hack away at computer systems to find security flaws before the bad guys do. Common practice is to alert the maker of the targeted hardware or software before publicly disclosing any problems, providing a reasonable amount of lead-time so the vulnerabilities can be fixed before any malicious attackers come calling.

One iOS attack is an end run around Apple's mandatory app review process, which the company established to ensure that only approved apps run on iOS devices. Georgia Tech research scientist Tielei Wang and his colleagues discovered they could install malware onto iOS devices via a Trojan Horse-style attack that disguises malicious code that Apple would otherwise reject during the review. Once inside Troy--or in this case someone's iPhone or iPad--the app, nicknamed "Jekyll," lies dormant until an attacker remotely sends a signal instructing it to misbehave, posting tweets, taking photos, sending e-mail and SMS messages, and attacking other apps, according to the researchers. Any of these modes of communication could be used to divulge sensitive information stored on the device, including passwords and PINs.

For the other attack, Georgia Tech research scientist Billy Lau and his team built a phony plug-in charger they used to install malware onto iOS devices. They called this charger a "Mactans"--named after a type of black widow spider--and designed it to resemble a normal iPhone or iPad charger.

The researchers say they contacted Apple about their work in advance of the Black Hat and USENIX presentations, prompting the company to implement a feature in iOS 7 that defends against a Mactans-like attack by notifying users when they plug their mobile device into any peripheral that attempts to establish a data connection. Apple has yet to publicly release a way to counter Jekyll, the researchers add.

Audacious cybersecurity demos are nothing new--Microsoft, Cisco and other tech giants have suffered through years of their most popular products being publicly dissected during Black Hat presentations. What makes the attacks on smartphones and tablets more disturbing is the general lack of protection these devices have.

"There's not much, security-wise, that antivirus apps provide because of the way the phone is architected," says Charlie Miller, a security engineer at Twitter who is best known for testing mobile-device security when he was a principal analyst with Independent Security Evaluators. "On your PC, the reason your antivirus works is that it has access to everything--it can search for malware at the lowest levels in your computer. On my Android or iPhone, when you download an antivirus app, due to sandboxing there are limits to what it can do. So it turns out it can't scan the entire device."

Sandboxing is how Apple partitions iOS so a problem in one area, such as an attack against the mobile browser, will not spread to the rest of the device. As a result, iOS antivirus could neither scan the memory nor the file systems of other apps on a device, Lau says. Antivirus software on iOS, if available, would be "completely useless" in detecting the type of malware installed by Mactans and, likely, against something like Jekyll, he adds.

Mobile devices using Google's Android operating system more compatible with the current, PC-based approach to antivirus, where they have access to more system resources, says Con Mallon, senior director of mobile product management at security software maker Symantec.

Antivirus apps running on Android can scan more of their respective devices than those running on iOS, Lau acknowledges. But, he adds, they still don't fully protect users.

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - Asian Stocks Snap Three-Day Loss As Abe Wins Election

Source - http://www.bloomberg.com/
By - Yoshiaki Nohara
Category - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index snapping three days of losses, after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s victory in upper-house election gave him a freer hand to execute economic reforms. 

Samsung Engineering Co. rose the most on MSCI Asia Pacific Index, jumping 8.3 percent in Seoul, on speculation it will post a profit in the third quarter. NEC Corp. added 4.2 percent in Tokyo after the Nikkei newspaper reported the computer manufacturer will form a server partnership with Hewlett-Packard Co. Minsheng Banking Corp., China’s first non-state lender, dropped 1 percent after the central bank removed a floor on lending rates.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.5 percent to 135.62 as of 3:59 p.m. in Tokyo with all of the 10 industry groups on the measure rising. 

“Abe’s victory in the upper house is bullish for Japanese equities and the Japanese economy as a whole, as the removal of political headwinds bolsters the government’s ability to press forward with all ‘three arrows’ of its growth strategy,” John Vail, Tokyo-based chief global strategist at Nikko Asset Management Co., which manages $162 billion, wrote in an e-mail. “Global investors should be seriously considering Japanese equities, or they may well miss out on major opportunities. These reforms will be even stronger than promised before the election.” 

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 4.3 percent this year through July 19, with consumer discretionary stocks leading the gain and energy shares falling the most among the 10 industry groups on the measure. The Asian benchmark gauge traded at 13.2 times estimated earnings, compared with 15.4 times for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 13.4 times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

Regional Gauges

Japan’s Topix index gained 0.4 percent after falling as much as 0.4 percent. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 0.5 percent after yesterday’s victory by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party gave it an outright parliamentary majority, allowing Abe to push through economic reforms and deregulation. Shipping line companies gained the most among the 33 industry groups on the Topix. Nippon Yusen (9101) K.K., Japan’s biggest shipping line by sales, added 3.4 percent to 303 yen. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., ranked No. 2, gained 1.9 percent to 422 yen. 

South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.5 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.6 percent, while New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index climbed 0.4 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex Index rose 0.5 percent and Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.7 percent.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was little changed and China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 0.6 percent. The People’s Bank of China scrapped the floor on the rates banks can charge customers on July 19 while keeping a cap on deposit rates. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said July 16 the nation will seek to keep economic growth, employment and inflation within limits. 

“The gesture by the PBOC was symbolically important, but the actual economic and financial impact was neutral,” said Khiem Do, Hong Kong-based head of Asian multi-asset strategy at Baring Asset Management Ltd., which manages about $51 billion. Li’s comments last week “provide a bottom to the market, but for the market to go up strongly, one needs to see clear measures to boost growth in China.” 

China Minsheng dropped 1 percent to HK$7.76 in Hong Kong as Moody’s Investors Service said it will face increased competition for loans to small and medium enterprises. Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank Co., created after the government merged rural cooperatives in the region, lost 2.5 percent to HK$3.14. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the country’s No. 1 lender, retreated 1.2 percent to HK$4.86.

U.S. Earnings

Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent today. The measure added 0.2 percent in New York on July 19, capping a fourth straight week of gains, as better-than-forecast results from General Electric Co. offset disappointing earnings from Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. 

About 53 percent of S&P 500 companies that have reported second-quarter results have beaten revenue projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

Among other stocks that rose, Samsung Engineering soared 8.3 percent to 76,000 won, the most since September 2011. The provider of engineering construction and project management services is expected to post an operating profit of 130 billion won in the third quarter as it makes up losses from about five overseas projects in the first half, said Wayne Lee, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities Co.

NEC added 4.2 percent to 246 yen in Tokyo after the Nikkei newspaper reported the computer manufacturer will form a server partnership with Hewlett-Packard Co. 

China Resources Power Holdings Co., a mainland generator that tumbled 15 percent last week amid allegations of overpaying for coal assets, rose 4.7 percent to HK$17.78 in Hong Kong as shareholders rejected a merger plan with China Resources Gas Group Ltd.

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - Samsung’s Galaxy S4 Sales Hit 20 Million – Can It Beat The iPhone 5?

Source - http://wallstcheatsheet.com/
By - Nathanael Arnold
Category - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans

 

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

In contrast, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold about 47.8 million iPhones in the quarter following the release of the iPhone 5 on September 21, 2012. However, Apple does not break down iPhone sales figures by model, so this number also likely includes some older generation iPhones.

Samsung had previously announced Galaxy S4 sales of approximately 10 million about a month after its debut. However, a mid-June report from J.P. Morgan that suggested Galaxy S4 sales were unexpectedly slow recently sparked a 6.2 percent drop in the Korean company’s stock.

The Korea-based company has plans to sell approximately 100 million of the devices. However, J.P. Morgan estimates that the company is only likely to sell about 60 million.

Apple most recently reported iPhone sales of 37.4 million in the second quarter of this year. Sales of new smartphone models typically drop off after the first several months. Samsung’s product launch dates appear to be taking advantage of Apple’s somewhat predictable product refresh cycle.

Apple is widely expected to launch the next iteration of its flagship smartphone, also known as the “iPhone 5S,” in September. There are also widespread rumors and leaks that suggest the company will soon be unveiling a low-cost iPhone, or “iPhone lite,” that will be available in multiple colors.

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - Now It Is #facebook

Source - http://www.guardian.co.uk/
By - Tim Anderson
Category - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues 
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

Twitter hashtags began in 2007, invented by open-standards evangelist Chris Messina, who was inspired by similar tags on Flickr and, before that ,channels on IRC (internet relay chat). Messina called them tag channels and the idea was to improve "contextualisation, content filtering and exploratory serendipity", for which purposes they have been a remarkable success. Hashtags have many uses, but come into their own when there is breaking news, enabling Twitter users to see live updates from people on the ground.

Earlier this month, Facebook announced its own implementation, which is already live. "When you click on a hashtag in Facebook, you'll see a feed of what other people and pages are saying about that event or topic," says the announcement.

Is this futile Twitter envy or a significant move?

Adding hashtags will not make Facebook a destination for breaking news, any more than it has done for Google+, which already supports them. The culture is different. Some, such as Digg's Jake Levine, argue that Twitter is becoming a broadcast medium with diminishing interactivity. The case is overstated, but Twitter is particularly well suited for hashtags that let you follow a topic. Facebook, by contrast, is the place where you interact with friends.

Hashtags on Facebook are still significant though. In marketing, they are perfect for linking ads – whether online or offline – to online social-media campaigns and, in this context, Facebook's move makes sense. Facebook has more than a billion active users according to its own statements, whereas Twitter is estimated to have around 200 million active users per month. That translates to a large increase in the number of social-media participants who can easily search or click your hashtag and engage by repeating it in their posts.

The bottom line: hashtags are a powerful tool for social-media marketing and too important to ignore, despite the risks. The case for a hashtag tucked into the corner of your ad is stronger than ever.

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - Yoga Improved Brain Function Better Than Aerobic Exercise

Source - http://www.upi.com/
By - Press Release
Category - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues 
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

A single 20-minute session of Hatha yoga improved brain function better than moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise, U.S. researchers say.

Edward McAuley, a professor and director of the Exercise Psychology Laboratory at the University of Illinois, said the study involved 30 subjects who were young, female, undergraduate students.

"Yoga is an ancient Indian science and way of life that includes not only physical movements and postures but also regulated breathing and meditation," Neha Gothe, who led the study while a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said in a statement. 

Gothe, a professor of kinesiology, health and sport studies at Wayne State University in Detroit, said the practice involves an active attentional or mindfulness component but its potential benefits have not been thoroughly explored.

The yoga intervention involved a 20-minute progression of seated, standing and supine yoga postures that included isometric contraction and relaxation of different muscle groups and regulated breathing. The session concluded with a meditative posture and deep breathing.

The participants also completed an aerobic exercise session where they walked or jogged on a treadmill for 20 minutes. 

Gothe and colleagues said they were surprised to see participants showed improvement in their reaction times and accuracy on cognitive tasks after yoga, while the aerobic exercise session showed no significant improvements on the working memory and inhibitory control scores.

The findings appear in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - Obama Judicial Nominee Wins Easy Confirmation

Source - http://www.latimes.com/
By - David G. Savage
Category - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans

 

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

Deputy Solicitor Gen. Sri Srinivasan, a rising star in legal circles, won an easy and unanimous Senate confirmation Thursday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, giving President Obama his first appointee to a conservative-leaning court that decides major regulatory disputes.

Srinivasan, 46, who was born in India and grew up in Lawrence, Kan., was praised as being exceptionally smart, highly qualified and even-tempered. Republicans said they had no hesitance in approving Srinivasan, unlike other Obama nominees. And some Democrats raised the prospect that he could be a future nominee to the Supreme Court.

He won confirmation on a 97-0 vote.

"We may be seeing him coming before the Senate again soon," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Since graduating from Stanford Law School in 1995, Srinivasan has worked as a clerk at the Supreme Court for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, worked as a government attorney in both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations and practiced law at O'Melveny & Myers in Washington.

In his best-known case, Srinivasan argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of former Enron chief Jeffrey K. Skilling in the appeal of his criminal conviction for fraud. By a 9-0 vote, the court agreed Skilling was wrongly convicted for denying the company his "honest services," but it upheld the other charges against him.

Two years ago, Srinivasan was appointed deputy solicitor general, working in the Justice Department office that represents the administration in the Supreme Court.

During Obama's first term, he was unable to put a judge on the D.C. Circuit court. His first nominee, New York attorney Caitlin Halligan, originally nominated in 2010 and then renominated in 2012 along with Srinivasan, was blocked by Republicans who cited her work on a state suit against gun manufacturers.

He will join a court that has four judges appointed by Republicans and three by Democrats. But the court also has four senior judges who were named by President Reagan in the 1980s, and they continue to participate in many cases.

By law, the D.C. Circuit is authorized to have 11 full-time judges, and Democrats were insistent on breaking the logjam that has kept seats vacant.

"It's sort of a lodestone of the hard right to make sure they control the D.C. Circuit," Schumer said at a news conference before the vote. "The sad fact is, even when we confirm Mr. Srinivasan, the all-important D.C. Circuit will still have three vacancies."

But Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) fired back and blamed Democrats for the "shenanigans" over the court nominees. "The fact of the matter is there is no obstruction, and the other side knows it," he said. He said the Senate had confirmed 99% of Obama's court nominees that have come to a vote.

Nationwide, 82 judicial seats are vacant, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Obama has 24 nominees pending.
 

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - Heart Patient Risk From iPad2 Found by 14-Year-Old

Source - http://www.bloomberg.com/
By - Michelle Fay Cortez
Category - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

Gianna Chien is somewhat different from all the other researchers reporting on their work today to more than 8,000 doctors at the Heart Rhythm Society meeting.

Chien is 14, and her study -- which found that Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPad2 can, in some cases, interfere with life-saving heart devices because of the magnets inside -- is based on a science-fair project that didn’t even win her first place.

The research offers a valuable warning for people with implanted defibrillators, which deliver an electric shock to restart a stopped heart, said John Day, head of heart-rhythm services at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, and chairman of the panel that reviews scientific papers to be presented at the Denver meeting.

If a person falls asleep with the iPad2 on the chest, the magnets in the cover can “accidentally turn off” the heart device, said Chien, a high school freshman in Stockton, California, whose father is a doctor. “I definitely think people should be aware. That’s why I’m presenting the study.”

Defibrillators, as a safety precaution, are designed to be turned off by magnets. The iPad2 uses 30 magnets to hold the iPad2’s cover in place, Chien said. While the iPad2 magnets aren’t powerful enough to cause problems when a person is holding the tablet out in front of the chest, it can be risky to rest it against the body, she found.
Apple Guide

Trudy Muller, an Apple spokeswoman, declined to comment on the study in an e-mail, referring questions about the iPad2’s safety to its online product guide. The guide cautions users about radio frequency interference, suggests that patients with pacemakers keep the iPad at least six inches away and says they should be turned off in health-care facilities when instructed by staff or posted signs.

The study involving 26 volunteers with defibrillators found “magnet mode” was triggered in 30 percent of patients who put the tablet on their chest. The iPad2 didn’t interfere with four pacemakers or a loop-recorder, which were also tested. Walter Chien, a cardiac electrophysiologist, helped his daughter coordinate the patient testing.

Medtronic Inc. (MDT), the leading manufacturer of defibrillators, said its testing hasn’t found any risks from iPad technology when used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The Minneapolis-based company does tell patients to avoid placing any magnets near the area where their devices are implanted.

“The presentation at Heart Rhythm 2013 is a good reminder for patients to remain vigilant on new technology and its accessories and maintain a distance of six inches between an iPad and an implanted pacemaker or ICD,” the company said in a statement.
Magnet Switch

Most defibrillators will turn back on once the magnet is no longer affecting the device. Some, however, remain off until the magnet is reapplied or the device is turned back on manually, the younger Chien said. Patients should be told about the risk and doctors should check the devices to see if they have been inadvertently turned off by magnets, she said.

Chien said she received an iPad2 for her birthday in August 2011. She was struck at the time by the number of older customers taking a class on how to use the device at the company store and, given her father’s specialty, wondered if there could be a connection between the iPads and their heart devices.

“I don’t think anyone really knows about the risks,” Chien said.

The results are important because they can help raise awareness of the danger in a very specific setting, said Day, the heart meeting official, in a telephone interview. “Defibrillator patients can still buy Apple products,” he said. “Just don’t put them on your chest.”
Science Talent

A regular at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth, Chien doesn’t see herself becoming a doctor. At the camp, she regularly participates in the writing program and she said that one of her favorite parts of the iPad2 project was summing the results for publication in a medical journal. Eventually, she wants to write a novel, she said.

Chien first presented her results in the San Joaquin County Science Fair’s high school category in March, but the project was beat out for the top spot by work on electromagnetics and on the effect of punctuation mark placement in keyboards on carpal tunnel syndrome.

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues - Penguins Beat Islanders in Overtime for 2-1 Lead in NHL Playoffs

Source - http://www.bloomberg.com/
By - Erik Matuszewski
Category - Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues
Posted By - Homewood Suites New Orleans

Suites Near New Orleans Sports Venues

The Pittsburgh Penguins spoiled the New York Islanders’ first home playoff game in six years, winning 5-4 on Chris Kunitz’s overtime goal to avoid a second straight loss in their National Hockey League playoff series.

The Minnesota Wild sent the Chicago Blackhawks to their first loss of the postseason, winning 3-2 in overtime, while the Ottawa Senators routed the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 yesterday and the San Jose Sharks topped the Vancouver Canucks 5-2.

The Penguins, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, bounced back from a 4-3 home loss against the Islanders in Game 2 in which they blew a 3-1 lead. Kunitz scored a pair of goals yesterday, including the winner on a power play eight minutes, 44 seconds into overtime.

“In a game that had too many bad plays by us to be able to let them come back and get them in front, we did a good job of getting one in overtime,” Kunitz told reporters.

Kunitz, Jarome Iginla, Pascal Dupuis and Douglas Murray scored to give the Penguins a 4-2 lead yesterday in Uniondale, New York, before third-period goals by the Islanders’ Kyle Okposo and John Tavares tied the score.

The best-of-seven first-round series continues at the same venue tomorrow.

Also in the East, the Senators got three goals from Jean- Gabriel Pageau to rout the Canadiens in a game that featured a combined 236 penalty minutes between the two teams.

Ottawa, which scored four third-period goals, now has a 2-1 lead in the series and hosts Game 4 tomorrow.
Zucker’s Tie-Breaker

The Wild avoided a 3-0 deficit against the Blackhawks, the top seed in the Western Conference, as rookie Jason Zucker scored the tie-breaking goal 2:15 into overtime.

Two of the first three games in the series have gone to overtime and Minnesota will host Game 4 tomorrow.

The Sharks went ahead 3-0 in their series against the Canucks as Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture each scored twice. San Jose can close out the series with a home win tomorrow.

There are four NHL playoff games scheduled for tonight, including the New York Rangers hosting the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of their first-round series and trailing 2-0.

The Toronto Maple Leafs host the Boston Bruins with their Eastern Conference series tied at one game apiece. In the West, the Anaheim Ducks visit the Detroit Red Wings and the Los Angeles Kings host the St. Louis Blues. The Ducks and Blues both hold 2-1 series leads.