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রবিবার, ২৫ নভেম্বর, ২০১২
smoCAN Portable Smoking System Review: Smoking Simplified
Give the gift of premium Web services
14 hrs.
As you're trying to come up with great gifts for the holidays, software likely isn't the first thing that comes to mind. It can make a great gift for the right person, though, especially when they're not willing to shell out the cash themselves (as so few people are). Here are some of our favorite (and your favorite) premium Web services that not only boost productivity, but dish out a little holiday cheer too.
Note: Most of these are monthly subscriptions, so you can gift them however you like. Giving someone a few months or a year of a service is a great gift that you can tweak for your budget, and leave yourself room for the same gift next year if they really like it.
If a service doesn't offer a gift option, you can always use a prepaid credit card and give it to them for use with the service you're gifting.
SUBSCRIPTIONS?UNDER $5 A MONTH?
A personalized domain name
It?may sound silly for the No.?1 item on our list, but it's the cheapest subscription you can give, costing only $3.99 a year (that's 33 cents a month), and it's something everyone should have. They may not know it, but a personalized domain name can come in extremely handy, and will only get more important as time goes on. They can post their online CV or resume there, redirect it to their Twitter or Facebook page, and further control how the Internet sees you. The quicker you snatch it up before someone else with the same name, the better. We've linked to Namecheap below, since that's your favorite domain registrar, but check out our Hive Five for a few other options.
Crashplan+
If you have a friend who still isn't backing up their data, it's the perfect time to give them the gift of bulletproof backup thanks to Crashplan. Even if they're backing up to an external drive, that isn't good enough???they need something in the cloud so no matter what happens, their backups are always accessible and they don't become another sad story of lost data. Crashplan is our favorite option, being cheap and easy to set up, so get them in the habit now. If you're particularly cheap, RobotTaco notes that you can get a free subscription right now from this page.
LastPass and Xmarks Premium
If you know someone with multiple computers, the gift of synchronization can be a wonderful thing. Give them a combined subscription to LastPass and Xmarks for their passwords, bookmarks, history, open tabs, and everything else so they're able to browse easily from any computer.?
Xmarks is convenient, but LastPass is the most important app here, as it gives you the enhanced security everyone should have???make sure they create good passwords and turn on two-factor authentication, while you're at it, so they don't fall prey to the ever-increasing number of hacks happening nowadays.?
The pro versions give you access to the mobile apps for each service, more secure two-factor authentication with a thumb drive or YubiKey, plus an ad-free experience and priority support. You can buy each service separately, but buying them both together gets you a pretty sweet discount.
Pandora One
Everyone loves Pandora, but no one likes ads interrupting their music. Reader jrod3737recommended a subscription to Pandora One as a gift for just about anyone: it not only ditches the ads, but lets you use the Pandora desktop client, customize your experience with skins, and listen to higher quality audio all day long. You can either buy a month-to-month subscription or grab an entire year for a discounted price.
Evernote Premium
Evernote is still your favorite note-taking application, and it's only gotten better lately. If you know someone that isn't using Evernote yet???particularly if they need some extra organization in their life??a subscription to Evernote Premium is a great way to get them started. A premium subscription gets you more space per month, offline notebooks, collaborative notes, better speed, PDF search, priority support, an ad-free experience, and more. It's the perfect way to take someone's organization from good to awesome with one simple download.
SUBSCRIPTIONS UNDER $10 A MONTH
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime's combination of two-day shipping and sizable library of streaming TV shows and movies makes a fantastic gift for?...?well, anyone who ever uses Amazon. And if they don't use Amazon, they will once they can buy anything with free two-day shipping. Of course, you could always share your two-day shipping benefits with them, but getting them their own subscription lets them stream movies too, which is always nice???especially if they have a home theater PC or streaming set-top box in their living room.
Netflix and Hulu Plus
For the true TV addict, grab them a subscription to Netflix and/or Hulu Plus so they can watch all their favorite movies and TV shows on demand. Netflix is great for movies and TV shows alike, while Hulu Plus is particularly good for watching current seasons of shows as they air. Both subscriptions let you stream to a set-top box, too, and are the perfect companions for ditching an expensive cable subscription. Grab one or both for your friends and help set them free from the shackles of cable TV.
Spotify Premium
If your friend has truly embraced streaming and switched to Spotify for their music-listening needs, they need a premium subscription.?
Not only will it get rid of the ads (which the cheaper "Unlimited" subscription will also do), but it gives them higher-quality audio and lets them listen on their iPhone or Android phone, truly completing the Spotify experience.
?It may not be ready to replace most people's libraries, but if you know someone whose fallen in love with it, you should help them go all-out with a Premium subscription.?
Alternatively, if you don't like Spotify, you can grab them a subscription to one of the other great music services out there, like Grooveshark or Rdio.
FOR THE BIG SPENDERS: SUBSCRIPTIONS $10 A MONTH AND UP
A VPN for privacy and international browsing
A VPN (virtual private network)?may seem like an ultra geeky gift, but it's something not everyone knows they need, and nobody wants to pay for. However, it can be useful for all sorts of people, but especially good for users looking for an extra bit of privacy (like bittorrent users) or, as reader JeshuaSanmentions, those living internationally (who?want to watch Hulu or listen to Spotify when it isn't available in their country). Every user is different, so hit the link below to see some of the VPNs we recommend.
- Choose a VPN (Subscriptions range from $7.99/month to $38/month)
Extra Dropbox space
Dropbox is one of our all-time favorite Web services, and while you can grab a lot of space for free, sometimes you just need to pony up for a premium subscription. A subscription to expanded space can be great for students, video editors with large files, or people that just want to sync their large musicor photo libraries across computers. Alternatively, you can also grab someone one of the cheaper options, like Google Drive, Skydrive, or Box.
A special thanks goes out to everyone who provided suggestions last week! It made putting together these guides a lot easier, and a better fit for you.
More?from Lifehacker:
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/give-gift-premium-web-services-1C7209890
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শনিবার, ২৪ নভেম্বর, ২০১২
Health, Fitness and Excerise for Life ? Blog Archive ? Ibiza Fitness ...
Ibiza Fitness Music Workout ? Bikini Workout (Fitness Music for Weight Loss)
from Ibiza 2012 Fitness Workout Music: Best Workout Music and Feel Good Songs Ideal for Fitness, Outdoor Training, Aerobics, Aerobic Dance, Dynamix, Cardio, Weight Loss, Workout Songs for Running and Walking
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Source: http://www.mrgymhealth.com/?p=171
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শুক্রবার, ২৩ নভেম্বর, ২০১২
The man who remade Mexico City
Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has given Mexico's capital ? once infamous for its pollution, lawlessness, and general chaos ? new appeal thanks to environmental and civic programs.
Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, right, speaks to media members inside a train during the inauguration of a new subway line in Mexico City in October. Mr. Ebrard, whose term ends in December, is popular in his city and worldwide for the changes he has brought to Mexico's capital.
Eduardo Verdugo/AP
EnlargeJose Guadalupe Gonzalez walks among giant paper-mache renderings of fantastical dragons and serpents, called alebrijes, with his wife and two teenage daughters in the middle of Mexico City?s Zocalo to celebrate Day of the Dead. Later, the family considered catching a play for free, also in the main plaza, or strolling along the nearby, new pedestrian streets of downtown Mexico.
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In the winter the Gonzalez family goes ice-skating in the same spot. And on Sundays, any time of the year, they can hop on free bicycles and ride along Reforma, the city's most icononic thoroughfare.
In many ways, Mr. Gonzalez says his native city is an unrecognizable place, having transformed under leftist administrations and particularly the city?s outgoing Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, who has become an international star of sorts among the municipal set.
?Before the lower classes did not have access to these leisure activities," says Gonzalez, a retired mechanic.
Mayor Ebrard steps down on Dec. 5 with wide approval ratings over his six-year administration, which has changed Mexico City both on the surface and in ways much deeper. For starters, Mexico City simply looks different. There are all-women buses that circulate the city and newly paved bike paths traversed by men in suits commuting to work.
Perhaps the most important changes have taken place under the surface, via new laws, climate action, and violence-combating plans. Abortion was legalized in 2007, as was gay marriage in 2010, and later gay adoption. Mexico City has been at the vanguard of ecological change, and has also been transformed by the things one no longer sees: It?s now perceived as one of the safest places in Mexico.
In short, a city with one of the worst reputations among urbanites for pollution, lawlessness, and general chaos, has an entirely new appeal.
?Outsiders once viewed the city as terrorizing,? says Ivan de la Lanza, who works for the city?s bike sharing program called Ecobici. ?Now it?s a city that people want to visit, where they want to live.?
Quality of life
It is on the environmental front that Ebrard has garnered the most international plaudits, and one of the reasons he won the World Mayor?s 2010 prize for best urban leader. After taking office he outlined a 15-year ?Green Plan? to reduce the city?s overall greenhouse gas emissions. The Ecobici program now counts over 50,000 users who can forgo their cars to commute to work along 17 paved miles of bike path. The city just unveiled a new $2 billion subway line that not only cuts commutes by an hour and in some cases much more, but also aims to get hundreds of buses off the streets.
?Along with [President] Felipe Calderon, Ebrard has supported environmental causes more than any previous administrations,? says Gustavo Alanis Ortega, the director general of the Mexican Center for Environmental Rights in Mexico City.
There are of course ?incongruencies,? says Mr. Alanis Ortega.
The city closed down a giant landfill as part of its environmental plan, but that?s meant that streets have piled up with garbage ever since. Ebrard has forged ahead with new road systems, including a double-decker structure for the highway that rings the city. While it's been supported by some who believe it will relieve unbearable rush-hour traffic, it is criticized by others for the additional cars it will bring to the city center.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/bA19ZQZFX-E/The-man-who-remade-Mexico-City
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Violin bow maker keeps his craft alive
3 hrs.
In a small, sun-drenched studio outside of Boston, Benoit Rolland runs his hand over thin, dark planks of wood. He taps them to demonstrate how the percussive sound of each species varies. The pitch is higher in one plank, the reverb more durable in another.
By his count, Rolland is one of only a handful of people in the world who makes custom bows for violins, violas and cellos. It?s a traditional kind of work ? another Frenchman, Fran?ois-Xavier Tourte, settled the form of the bow in the 18th century, and most bows today are based on this design.
Though Rolland?s name might not?be widely known, his bows are played on instruments with recognizable names like Stradivarius and Guarneri. Rolland has been making custom bows since the early '70s, and today he can produce as many as 30 in a year, selling them for up to $15,000 apiece.
In almost any other field, a machine would have replaced his job, but his clientele are the professional musicians who travel the world performing at the top of their field.
Befitting such an expensive piece of equipment, Rolland?s process for designing a bow is very specific. It begins with a private audience.? If a customer lives abroad, he asks for them to send an audio recording.
?After a small while, I?m able to guess the bowings,"?Rolland said. "And then the fingerings. And the fingerings are very important, because they are linked to the bowings. And the bowings are linked to the fingerings.??
"It's a circle,"?Rolland explains. "When I can get into that circle, I have a fair idea of who I?m working for.?
After listening to the performer, Rolland chooses a specific wood and works up a design that accommodates their strengths and weaknesses. He prefers to use a species of Brazilian wood called pernambuco,? celebrated for its tone, strength and longevity.
Unfortunately, pernambuco is an endangered species, and it?s impossible to buy more of the rare timber.
Rolland has a stockpile of the wood that he hopes will last the rest of his life, but anticipating the eventual disappearance of pernambuco, he began experimenting with alternative materials. In the 80s, he was one of the first people to create a bow from carbon fiber.
Unlike the warm sound of a wooden bow, Rolland says, ?Carbon fiber conveys a very fast vibration. It?s not an advantage. We have to damp the vibration a little bit to give more warmth through the sound.?
His innovations have won him recognition. In October, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, also known as a ?Genius Award,? for the improvements he has made to the enduring wooden stick.
One of his recent changes to bow design was to slightly alter the angle at which the bow hair sits on an instrument, yielding greater sound and improved control.
?I do not plan nor intend to change the sound of the violin, otherwise it wouldn?t be a violin anymore," he says. "But, you know, violin playing is very difficult.?
When asked what he has in store, he demurs. ?I have several inventions that are cooking,"?he says with a grin. "I don?t say that because I?m French. ?
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/modern-world-violin-bow-maker-keeps-his-craft-alive-1C7206756
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France should study takeover of ArcelorMittal plant: minister
PARIS (Reuters) - France's industry minister said on Thursday that the government should consider a takeover of two threatened French blast furnaces at ArcelorMittal's
"The question ... of eventual government control, even temporary, should be seriously studied by the government," Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg told the Senate.
The fate of the two blast furnaces, which have been out of operation since last year due to lack of demand, is a hot issue in France, where President Francois Hollande's Socialist government is under pressure to save jobs and reverse decades of industrial decline.
On Wednesday, Montebourg told the National Assembly that the government had received two offers of interest for some of ArcelorMittal's assets beyond the two blast furnaces at the plant near the German border.
ArcelorMittal said in October that it planned to close the two mothballed furnaces, where some 629 workers could lose their jobs.
It agreed to delay its decision to close the plant by two months until December 1 in order to give the government time to find a buyer.
Montebourg also told the Senate on Thursday that ArcelorMittal held an "astronomical" tax debt to French authorities, without specifying further, a charge the company denied.
"We currently have no tax debt with the French authorities," wrote ArcelorMittal in a statement, adding that it complied with all applicable taxes in France.
(Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey, Alexandria Sage and Phil Blenkinsop; Writing By Alexandria Sage; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/france-study-takeover-arcelormittal-plant-minister-195219097--finance.html
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বৃহস্পতিবার, ২২ নভেম্বর, ২০১২
More Thanksgiving travelers driving to save money
CHICAGO (AP) ? Feeling the pinch of the sluggish economic recovery, many Americans setting out on the nation's annual Thanksgiving migration sacrificed summer vacations, relied on relatives for airfare or scoured the Web for travel deals to ensure they made it home.
It's not just tight family finances making travel tough. Airlines struggling to save on jet fuel and other expenses have cut the number of flights, leading to a jump in airfares. Those hitting the roads face high gas prices and rising tolls. Now, with talk of the nation sliding off a "fiscal cliff" come January, many travelers said they're accepting that sacrifices for pricy holiday journeys have become the norm.
"You become immune to it, I guess," said Chris Zukowski, a 43-year-old locomotive engineer from the Chicago suburb of Huntley, as he hugged his wife and three children goodbye at Chicago's O'Hare Airport and lamented he could not afford to join them on the holiday trip to New Jersey.
"You have to cut back on things just to make sure that you can afford to do stuff like this, so they can go visit grandma," he said, referring to his son and two daughters.
Weather also upset some travel plans. Dense fog in the Chicago area contributed to the cancellation of nearly 200 flights at the city's two airports Wednesday morning, according to flightstats.com. More than 800 other flights were delayed at O'Hare and Midway.
That meant Paul Griffin, 50, had to wait a little longer to reunite with his son, Ryan, an Arizona State University freshman flying into O'Hare on a cheap ticket his father discovered after a month of sifting through deals on websites.
"I'm looking forward to seeing him," Griffin said. "I haven't seen him since August. He's a little homesick."
If the nation's travel patterns are any kind of barometer for the state of the economy, the travel forecast for Thanksgiving week suggested a slight upward nudge as people and businesses recover slowly from the 2007-09 recession in which Americans lost nearly a quarter of their wealth.
About 43.6 million Americans were expected to journey 50 miles or more between Wednesday and Sunday, just a 0.7 percent increase from last year, according to AAA's yearly Thanksgiving travel analysis. After a couple of years of healthy post-recession growth, this year's numbers suggest it will take a stronger economy to lift travel demand significantly, the travel organization said.
More people are driving, fewer are flying and the average distance traveled was expected to be nearly 17 percent ? or about 120 miles ? shorter than a year ago, it said.
As car ownership declines among younger Americans, many of those hitting the road were jumping onto buses.
"I can't afford to own a car; it's too expensive," said 21-year-old web design student Kayla Sprague, of Minneapolis.
She was setting off on a 235-mile bus trip to Fargo, N.D. From there, her parents planned to drive her the rest of the way to a family gathering in Grand Forks.
Army Pfc. Jordan Clark, of Biloxi, Miss., said he was only able to fly because relatives pooled their resources to buy his ticket.
"It's been difficult. My parents help out, my grandparents," the 20-year-old serviceman said before getting on a flight from Chicago to San Antonio. He wasn't so lucky over the summer, when he had to make the same journey by bus in what became a three-day ordeal thanks to breakdowns. But it saved him more than $200.
Aided by smartphone apps, social media and other technology, consumers are getting better at sniffing out deals and realize they need to be flexible with dates and even with which airports they chose when booking, said Courtney Scott, a senior editor at Travelocity.
"I think people are really becoming smarter, more creative travelers and shoppers," Scott said.
That's a necessity for many, given that airfare is up 9 percent from Thanksgiving last year, bumping the average domestic roundtrip to $386, according to Travelocity.
Some with large families say that means flying would break the bank, so they are hitting the road.
Linne Katz, 46, and her five children were among them, leaving their home in Haledon, N.J., at 1 a.m. Wednesday in hopes of getting to her father's home in Tennessee while the sun was still up. But driving has some downsides, she said.
"My oldest keeps having to go the bathroom. ... I think he's getting carsick," Katz said, as she stopped to take pictures of her children under the "Virginia Welcomes You" sign at an I-66 rest stop near the Manassas National Battlefield.
Others said they haven't changed their habits, but they're not feeling good about them.
"I'm not cutting back in any identifiable place, but you feel guilty about every other dollar," said Chad Werner, a 38-year-old finance attorney who was munching on a pastry in the atrium of Atlanta's airport while waiting for his flight to Albuquerque, N.M. "I'm also buying a house right now, so I'm in that phase of hemorrhaging money anyway. So maybe my mindset is different."
___
Associated Press writers Michelle Nealy in Chicago; Matthew Barakat in Chantilly, Va.; Patrick Condon in Minneapolis; and Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/more-thanksgiving-travelers-driving-save-money-174035937--finance.html
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