USA Tricks Blog

Study Shows the Most Expensive and Cheapest Cars to Insure

2012-04-07T22:03:00.001-07:00

In the market for a Porsche Carrera GT2? First, congratulations on being our hero. Next, be prepared for one of the most expensive ownership experiences on the road, Porsche parts and labor not withstanding. According to a study by Insure.com, the Carrera GT2 is the most expensive vehicle to insure out of all 2010 models in the U.S., running owners almost $3,000 annually. And that’s assuming the owner is a 40-year old male with an excellent driving record, two categories a large percentage of Americans don’t fit into.

Rounding out the top 5 most expensive cars to insure are the Mercedes S65 AMG ($2863.03/year), the Dodge Viper SRT-10 2 Door Coupe ($2851.89/year), the Porsche Panamera Turbo AWD ($2837.39/year), and the Dodge Viper SRT-10 2 Door Convertible ($2815.90 /year).

Fortunately, most cars don’t cost nearly that much to insure. On the other end of the spectrum, for instance, is the Mazda Tribute I 2WD - the least expensive vehicle to insure – which on average costs owners a modest $1,070.25 annually. Along with the Tribute I, the study found the least expensive vehicles to insure are the Honda Odyssey LX ($1095.26/year), Mazda Tribute I 4WD ($1103.29/year), Chrysler Town & Country LX ($1119.83/year), and the Jeep Wrangler X ($1124.38/year).
Gallery: Most Expensive Cars To Insure
Gallery: Most Expensive Cars To Insure

Looking across other categories, the study found that the Dodge Caliber is the least expensive passenger car to insure ($1,196/year), the GMC Canyon WT the least expensive pickup ($1,152.39/year), and the Honda Odyssey LX the least expensive minivan ($1,095.26/year) in average national premiums.

The Insure.com study covered more than 2,400 vehicles nationwide. To calculate the average premium for each model, the study used the following method:

“Averages are based on a single 40-year-old male driver who commutes 12 miles to work, with policy limits of 100/300/50 ($100,000 for injury liability for one person, $300,000 for all injuries and $50,000 for property damage in an accident) and a $500 deductible on collision and comprehensive coverage. The policy includes uninsured motorist coverage. Rates were averaged across 10 ZIP codes in each state and six major insurance companies.”
Gallery: Least Expensive Cars To Insure
Gallery: Least Expensive Cars To Insure

The profile of the average person that drives a particular model has considerable influence on the model’s average insurance rates, the study found. For example, smaller cars tend to be driven by younger, more inexperienced drivers and, therefore, tend to be more expensive to insure. Rates also tend to go up with horsepower, which is why the list of the most expensive cars to insure contains some of the most powerful vehicles available.

Because some models, especially exotic cars like Bentleys and Lamborghinis, are not available for calculating insurance, they were excluded in the study. However, you can bet their monthly premiums aren't chicken feed.

The study cautioned that the average rates are for comparative purposes only and that auto owners’ personal rates will depend on their personal factors. Depending on one’s age, gender, and driving record, the cost to insure a vehicle could be significantly higher or lower than the national average for a particular model.

Insurance rates are a big expense when owning a vehicle and we recommend doing your homework before you buy. Getting quotes based on your personal factors and the model in consideration is free, quick, easy and will end up saving you some financial pain every month.

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Lamborghini Aventador

2012-04-07T22:00:00.001-07:00

The Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 is a two-door, two-seater sports car publicly unveiled by Lamborghini at the Geneva Motor Show on 28 February 2011, five months after its initial unveiling in Sant'Agata Bolognese.[2] Internally codenamed LB834,[3] the Aventador was designed to replace the ten-year-old Murciélago as the new flagship model in the Lamborghini lineup starting in 2011.[4] Soon after the Aventador unveiling, Lamborghini announced that it had already sold over 12 months of the production vehicles, with deliveries starting in the second half of 2011.[5] The suggested retail price is €255,000 in Europe, £201,900 in the UK and $379,700 in the U.S.

Etymology

Like previous Lamborghinis, the Aventador name was chosen for its symbolic connection to the world of fighting bulls, sharing a name with the legendary Aventador, a trophy-winning bull in the world of Spanish bullfighting. Bred by the sons of Don Celestino Cuadri Vides, the bull that bore the number 32 took part in a notably spirited, bloody and violent battle with a torero in the town of Zaragoza, Spain that earned him the “Trofeo de la Peña La Madroñera" in 1993.[3][9]

Production will be limited to 4000 units (4099 Murciélagos have been built). The moulds used to make the carbon-fibre monocoque are expected to last 500 units each and only 8 have been made.[10] Lamborghini says that the Aventador is two generations ahead of anything else on sale, using Formula One-style suspension and a lightweight carbon fibre monocoque.[11] Stylistically, the Aventador represents an evolution of its predecessor, the Murciélago. The car's shape also borrows heavily from Lamborghini's limited-edition Reventón and their Estoque concept car.

Engine

The Aventador LP 700-4 will be using Lamborghini's new 691 bhp (515 kW) 6.5 liter 60° V12 engine. Known internally as the L539,[3] the new engine is Lamborghini's fourth in-house engine and second V12. It is the first all-new V12 since the 3.5 litre powerplant found in the Miura

Reception

On 31 July 2011, the Aventador was reviewed on motoring show Top Gear, receiving mixed reviews from Richard Hammond. Although impressed with the performance and handling, Hammond expressed dismay at the lack of temperament and danger associated with driving previous Lamborghini supercars.[18] The Aventador recorded the third fastest time around the Top Gear track with a time of 1.16.5, beating the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, among others. Top Gear also announced that it chose the Aventador as the car of the year for 2011.[19]

The Lamborghini Aventador makes an appearance on video games such as Forza Motorsport 4 via the November Speed Pack DLC, Car Town and Need for Speed: The Run. It also served as the cover art of the PlayStation Vita game Asphalt: Injection. It has also been confirmed as downloadable content for Gran Turismo 5.

Lamborghini Aventador J

Six months after unveiling the Aventador, plans for a roadster version were leaked by the U.S. EPA after it included the model on a data sheet on its website. Lamborghini officially unveiled the Aventador J to the world at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The roofless and windowless concept car uses the same V12 engine as the standard Aventador, producing 700hp through a lightweight seven-speed automated transmission. The car has also been stripped of its air conditioning and radio units to save further weight, allowing it to weigh in at only 3,472 pounds (1,575 kg).[20][21] The car at the Geneva show is the only copy to be produced.[22]

The J designation comes from Appendix J in the FIA rulebook that describes the technical specifications of race cars

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Telecom operators’ shift to mobile commerce increases threat of revenue leakage and fraud, warns global KPMG report

2012-04-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

Rise of m-Commerce and converged services contribute to increased risk of leakage and potential for fraud
20 per cent of telecom operators currently report leakages of up to 10per cent of their revenue
Revenue Assurance functions with too little influence in many telecom businesses

Press release

March 27th 2012. The majority (94 per cent) of telecom operators worldwide expect revenue leakage to increase and almost half of them (49 per cent) believe the increase will be significant, according to a global survey by advisory firm KPMG. * The research identifies a number of factors responsible for the increased risk such as complex network systems, the rise of m-Commerce, converged service offerings, multiple third party partners and a rise in outsourcing, all of which create the potential for inaccurate data capture and billing, and increased fraud. The report also reveals that the Revenue Assurance function (responsible for detecting and recovering leaked revenue) has surprisingly little influence in many telecom companies.Joe Gallagher, Head of UK Telecoms, comments, “The rise of m-Commerce and converged services is going to fundamentally transform the industry and this will bring new opportunities but also increased risks for operators. Revenue leakage will be a major issue in the years to come and it is surprising that Revenue Assurance functions and fraud management teams are often marginalized in companies and do not have more influence. What operators need to understand is that the role of the RA function is absolutely critical to the financial and reputational success of their business.”

Revenue Leakage and Recovery

The survey reveals that globally one fifth of respondents leak up to 10 per cent of their revenues. The best performing region appears to be Asia Pacific where 75 per cent of respondents said they leak less than one per cent of their revenue (with 15 per cent reporting leakages between one and 10 per cent and 10 per cent higher than 10 per cent). In Europe 15 per cent of respondents said they leak over 10 per cent of revenues and 19 per cent say they leak between one and 10 per cent (66 per cent say leakage is less than one per cent). The worst performing region according to the research is Africa & the Middle East (32 per cent leak between one and 10 per cent, 18 per cent leak over 10 per cent).

Just 40 per cent of respondents manage to retrieve more than half of all losses. Companies from Europe and the Americas have the highest recovery rates (55 per cent ) while those from Africa and the Middle East are the least effective, with four out of ten (39 per cent) recovering less than 10 per cent of their reported leakages.

Joe Gallagher comments, “These figures are alarming and should serve as a wake-up call to the industry. The problem is not going to go away but will only become worse. For operators who want to succeed in an increasingly competitive and complex environment it is absolutely essential to tackle this problem as an absolute priority.”

Revenue Assurance Function and Fraud Management evolving

Only one in five (21 per cent) of respondents say their RA function reports directly to the Board of Directors. Just 24 per cent of RA departments hold fully centralised control over their organizations, which could hinder the spread of consistent RA practices. Fifty-four per cent are not fully satisfied with the existing communication between RA and senior management, while a lack of career opportunities is considered one of the main reasons for staff attrition.

In many companies, the management of fraud is an evolving activity. 40 per cent of respondents say their businesses have a dedicated fraud management function:- in two thirds of cases this department is less than ten years old. Only 44 per cent claim to have a fraud risk management framework in place.

Joe Gallagher comments, “RA and Fraud Management have evolved considerably over the last few years and although there is some way to go before it is considered a true business advisor, a growing number of companies are involving RA in product, system and network planning in a bid to proactively prevent leakages and fraud.”

“Currently most RA teams ultimately report to the CFO, who is a powerful sponsor able to ensure that action is taken. However, given the volume of fraud and revenue leakage across the industry, the function needs to be exerting greater influence at the very top of the organisation.”

“RA is in an ideal position to look at the entire revenue cycle and identify opportunities for cost savings and revenue enhancement. Through data analytics and modelling, RA professionals also gain a unique understanding of customer behaviour and could make an important contribution to marketing and improving the overall customer experience – a big area of focus for the sector.”

Note

*KPMG’s Global Revenue Assurance Report, March 2012. 137 executives worldwide were interviewed for this report; interviews were conducted anonymously between September and December 2011.

About KPMG

KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and operates from 22 offices across the UK with over 11,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a turnover of £1.7 billion in the year ended September 2011. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. We operate in 152 countries and have 145,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (‘KPMG International’), a Swiss entity. KPMG International provides no client services.

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How to Protect From Spyware ?

2012-04-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

What is spyware ?

Spyware is a general term used to describe software that performs certain behaviors, generally without appropriately obtaining your consent first, such as:

    Advertising

    Collecting personal information

    Changing the configuration of your computer

Spyware is often associated with software that displays advertisements (called adware) or software that tracks personal or sensitive information.
Trading tracking for services

That does not mean all software that provides ads or tracks your online activities is bad. For example, you might sign up for a free music service, but you "pay" for the service by agreeing to receive targeted ads. If you understand the terms and agree to them, you may have decided that it is a fair tradeoff. You might also agree to let the company track your online activities to determine which ads to show you.

What spyware does

Other kinds of spyware make changes to your computer that can be annoying and can cause your computer slow down or crash.

These programs can change your web browser's home page or search page, or add additional components to your browser you don't need or want. They also make it very difficult for you to change your settings back to the way you had them.
Know what you're installing

The key in all cases is whether or not you (or someone who uses your computer) understand what the software will do and have agreed to install the software on your computer.

A common trick is to covertly install the software during the installation of other software you want such as a music or video file sharing program.

Whenever you install something on your computer, make sure you carefully read all disclosures, including the license agreement and privacy statement. Sometimes the inclusion of unwanted software in a given software installation is documented, but it might appear at the end of a license agreement or privacy statement.

If its not one thing, its another. That is one of those ridiculous phrases that pretty much goes without saying. Like "wherever you go, there you are." But, in this case it seems appropriate.

Allow me to elaborate. Computers on the Internet are almost constantly bombarded with viruses and other malware- so users employ antivirus software to protect themselves. Email inboxes are constantly flooded with pathetically useless spam- so users employ anti-spam programs and techniques to protect themselves. As soon as you think you have things under control you find out your system has a myriad of spyware and adware programs silently running in the background monitoring and reporting on your computer activity. Hence, "if its not one thing, its another."

The more benign spyware and adware simply monitors and tracks your the sites you visit on the web so that companies can determine the web-surfing habits of their users and try to pinpoint their marketing efforts. However, many forms of spyware go beyond simple tracking and actually monitor keystrokes and capture passwords and other functions which cross the line and pose a definite security risk.

How can you protect yourself from these insidious little programs? Ironically, many users unwittingly agree to install these programs. In fact, removing some spyware and adware might render some freeware or shareware programs useless. Below are 5 easy steps you can follow to try to avoid and, if not avoid, at least detect and remove these programs from your computer system

1.Be Careful Where You Download: Unscrupulous programs often come from unscrupulous sites. If you are looking for a freeware or shareware program for a specific purpose try searching reputable sites like tucows.com or download.com.

2.Read the EULA: What is an EULA you ask? End User License Agreement. It's all of the technical and legal gibberish in that box above the radio buttons that say "No, I do not accept" or "Yes, I have read and accept these terms". Most people consider this a nuisance and click on "yes" without having read a word. The EULA is a legal agreement you are making with the software vendor. Without reading it you may be unwittingly agreeing to install spyware or a variety of other questionable actions that may not be worth it to you. Sometimes the better answer is "No, I do not accept."

3.Read Before You Click: Sometimes when you visit a web site a text box might pop up. Like the EULA, many users simply consider these a nuisance and will just click away to make the box disappear. Users will click "yes" or "ok" without stopping to see that the box said "would you like to install our spyware program?" Ok, admittedly they don't generally come out and say it that directly, but that is all the more reason you should stop to read those messages before you click "ok".

4.Protect Your System: Antivirus software is somewhat misnamed these days. Viruses are but a small part of the malicious code these programs protect you from. Antivirus has expanded to include worms, trojans, vulnerability exploits, jokes and hoaxes and even spyware and adware. If your antivirus product doesn't detect and block spyware you can try a product like AdAware Pro which will protect your system from spyware or adware in real time.

5.Scan Your System: Even with antivirus software, firewalls and other protective measures some spyware or adware may eventually make it through to your system. While a product like AdAware Pro mentioned in step #4 will monitor your system in real time to protect it, AdAware Pro costs money. The makers of AdAware Pro, Lavasoft, also have a version available for free for personal use. AdAware will not monitor in real time, but you can manually scan your system periodically to detect and remove any spyware. Another excellent choice is Spybot Search & Destroy which is also available for free.

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How to Insurance Super Cars ?

2012-04-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

f you drive one of the hottest performance vehicles around, you might think that sky high car insurance is just par for the course. However, if you’re savvy in your approach to supercar insurance you can actually secure an affordable deal.

Why does it cost more to insure a supercar ?

Supercars certainly look good, their drivers often take good care of them and they are usually kept in fantastic condition – so why do they cost more to insure?

The answer is straightforward – they have higher values. If you were to write off the latest Ferrari model it would obviously cost a lot more for an insurer to replace than a Ford Fiesta or a Volkswagen Polo. Similarly, even partial damage to supercars is more expensive to repair because their parts are more expensive.

In addition, supercars have more powerful engines and in the minds of insurers, this means they are more likely to be driven at fast speeds. This carries obvious dangers as it increases the likelihood of an accident occurring.

Finally, supercars are also more desirable to thieves and they are often the target of envious vandals. All of this adds up to make them more expensive to insure.

So what can be done about these added costs?

Just because you won’t get the same quote for a supercar as you would for a general run-around it doesn’t mean you should give up on finding a decent price. Your first step should be to use a comparison website to compare quotes from as many insurers as you can as quickly as possible – that will give you a more complete overview of the market.

Make sure you consider the specialist car insurers too. Several companies actually specialise in offering supercar insurance believing that their drivers are more likely to take care of their vehicles and so they deserve more competitive premiums. They may also offer specialist policy features such as:

    Annual mileage discounts: Very often supercars are secondary vehicles in the household with most owners having a less powerful car for general run-arounds. As such, agreeing to a mileage cap may be beneficial.
    Agreed valuations: Imagine if your supercar were written off or stolen and then massively undervalued by an insurer leaving you out of pocket? With many specialist insurers, this concern can be a thing of the past as they offer guaranteed agreed valuations so you know from the outset what your vehicle is worth in case the worst happens.
    Track cover: Specialist cover for your supercar in case you plan to race it on a track or in a rally.
    Advanced driver discounts: You may earn a reduced premium if you undertake an advanced driving course to prove you can handle such a powerful vehicle.

    Owners’ club or manufacturer’s club discounts: Joining a car club could earn you a discount as it shows the insurer you are interested in learning more about your supercar and taking good care of it.

So are specialists always the cheapest ?

High performance car insurance specialists may offer policies tailored towards super car drivers but that doesn’t mean they are necessarily the cheapest.

On the contrary, you should still compare quotes with a comparison website to get an overview of the deals available. You may find that a regular insurer offers cover features not available with the specialists or that its prices are cheaper. Most comparison websites will include some specialists in their listings.

Further ways to save

Remember that whether you drive a Porsche or a Panda, car insurance quotes are determined by the level of risk you are deemed to pose to an insurer. Lowering this risk will lower your premiums – here are some tips:

    Drive safely: You can build up a no-claims bonus by avoiding accidents and convictions.
    Invest in security: Look for insurer approved alarms, immobilisers and tracking devices to reduce the risk of theft.

Park safely: Keep your supercar in a locked garage overnight away from prying thieves.

Increase your excess: Consider raising your voluntary excess to lower premiums.

Pay annually: You can avoid interest charges by paying premiums upfront.

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High Performance Car Insurance UK

2012-04-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

High Performance Car Insurance UK

If you are the proud owner of a high performance super car or a classic sports car enthusiast you will definitely benefit from Insureyourmotor.com services. You can often have a hard time obtaining car insurance from regular insurance providers as many insurers will refuse to insure you due to the perceived high risk involved and those that do will charge you through the roof.

Insureyourmotor.com can help you to short cut this inconvenience. Having established a reputation for a fast and efficient online service, we believe that high performance cars deserves high performance insurance.

Therefore, we are proud to be able to offer specialist performance car insurance policies specifically designed to cater for all makes of sports cars. Whether your car is kit built, classic, prestige, imported, modified, or simply has a powerful engine; as a specialist insurer, we will be able to help you.

Whether you use your cherished vehicle for day-to-day use, traveling to and from work or simply for track days, rallies, or club events, you will need to find a specialist provider that understands your individual requirements.

In order to avoid the hassle that you can often experience when trying to procure performance car insurance for a particular model, you might find it preferable to deal with a specialist insurer. If you are a sports car collector or enthusiast, then this is the type of car insurance that you will need to give you the peace of mind that your pride and joy is covered for all eventualities.

High performance car insurance policies usually come with the full range of benefits that you might expect from any normal car insurance policy. Call us or get a fast free online quote today !

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99 High Paying Keywords Paying From $2 Up To $100 Per Click !

2012-04-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

High Paying Keywords ! Everyone is trying to somehow find a way to incorporate High Paying Keywords into their content. as you all know, keywords play a big part in how much you earn from your google Ad sense. of course you can’t just stuff your blog with high paying keywords that don’t have any relevancy to the subject of your blog or the content of it, and expect to get thousands of clicks on them. relevant high paying keywords used with quality content is the key to getting the most out your Ad sense. here are some of the Best High Paying Keywords With Payouts Of $2-$100 Per Click !

Expect to get paid for each click on any one of these high paying keywords, anywhere from $2 up to $100. yes $100 us dollars for a click. if you can incorporate these high paying keywords into your content, where it will be relevant and meaningful, you can expect to make a lot of money from even just one blog with a couple of pages filled with quality and informative content which have some of these high paying keywords incorporated into them.

1. Structured settlements

2. Mesothelioma

3. Acne

4. Life Insurance

5. Asbestos

6. Bextra

7. Bankruptcy

8. Car Insurance

9. Dental Plans

10. Private Jets

11. Debt Consolidation

12. Credit Cards

13. Canadian Pharmacy

14. Online Trading

15. Equity Line Credit

16. Loans

17. Mortgages

18. Pay Day Loans

19. Cash Advance

20. Equity Loans

21. Reduce Debt

22. Refinance

23. Jet Charter

24. Rehab

25. Wrongful death

26. Legal Advice

27. Taxes

28. Investing

29. Bonds

30. Vioxx

31. IRA Rollover

32. Refinance Quotes

33. Adult Education

34. Distance Learning

35. Alcohol Treatment

36. Depression

37. Drug Rehab

38. Extra Money

39. Cell Phone Plans

40. Calling Cards

41. VOIP

42. Weight Loss

43. Homeowner’s Insurance

44. Rewards Cards

45. Spam Filter

46. Lasik

47. Facelift

48. Teeth Whitening

49. Annuity

50. Anti Virus Protection

51. Adult Diaper

52. Free Credit Report

53. Credit Score

54. Satellite

55. Anti Spam Software

56. Dedicated Hosting

57. Domain Name

58. Need Money

59. Bachelor Degree

60. Master Degree

61. Doctorate Degree

62. Work at Home

63. Quick Book

64. Spyware

65. Eloan

66. Malpractice Lawyer

67. Lenox China

68. Cancer

69. Payperclick

70. Personal Injury Attorney

71. Lexington Law

72. Video Conferencing

73. Transfer Money

74. Windstar Cruise

75. Casinos Online

76. Laptop Computer

77. Online Banking

78. Borrow Money

79. Low Interest Credit Cards

80. Personal Domain Name

81. Cellular Phone Rental

82. Internet Broker

83. Term Life

84. Cheap Hosting

85. University Degrees Online

86. Online Marketing

87. Consolidate

88. Business Credit

89. Web Host

90. Death Insurance

91. Yellow Page Advertising

92. Travel Insurance

93. Register Domain

94. Credit Counseling

95. Email Hosting

96. Trans Union

97. Consumer Credit

98. Blue Cross

99. Helpdesk Software

Don’t forget, the more relevant quality content you have on your blog, the higher your chances will be for making more money with such keywords. after building your high paying keyword incorporated content, focus on driving traffic to your blog. the more traffic you generate, the more money you will make. but not just any traffic will work for you. you need to drive quality targeted traffic to your blog, where you have your high paying keywords waiting to be clicked on. since google Ad sense shows ads that are made of keywords related to your content, obviously a person(targeted traffic) who comes to your blog trying to find such information is more likely to click those ads which are made of high paying keywords,thus making you more money.

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Free Wi-Fi access spreads to London Overground

2012-04-05T20:07:00.002-07:00

Following the news that Boris Johnson has signed a deal with Virgin Media to enable calling on the Tube, (see our previous story here), London Overground has announced that commuters will get free Wi-Fi access at up to 56 London stations. This follows an agreement between London Overground and public Wi-Fi network operator, The Cloud. Although the roll out isn’t exactly detailed, some should have it in time for the London 2012 Olympics. See Rightmobilephone‘s blog here for list of first stations to offer it. One danger, according to Kineto Wireless is that the current system of leaving wireless access points(WAPs) Open brings risks to smartphone, tablet and notebook owners. The free London Overground service is available in the vicinity of the station for up to 60 minutes.

After that users will be charged on a PAYG basis. As normal users will need to go through a one-time registration service to get access.

According to Kineto Wireless’s Steve Shaw such ‘open access’ which enables a person to find a hotspot, quickly becomes the security hole through which hackers capture data as it flies through the air.

Rather than viewing the Wi-Fi access point as an end-point, it needs to be viewed as a proxy, a gateway for devices to access services from a variety of providers, Shaw says.

Step one is to help devices know what they are getting. An SSID of ‘coffee_shop’ is quaint for local access, but in reality this coffee shop access point (AP) could become a proxy for service providers like iPass, Boingo, the Cloud or even AT&T.

Rather than broadcasting an open AP name, the device would query the AP to determine a whole range of information, including authentication and security mechanisms.

Second step is authentication. Perhaps the coffee shop has agreed to proxy service for a range of providers? A device may have the username and password credentials pre-loaded to use Boingo’s service.

Rather than being the endpoint, the AP takes the Boingo credentials from the device and then queries Boingo’s servers directly to enable (or reject) connectivity.

For smartphones or other SIM-based devices, the process may rely on the SIM credentials, thus moving to a completely automated authentication process.

This is exactly why the GSMA recently got together with the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) to tackle the issue. See our previous story here.

A key security hole in today’s networks is that APs need to be open (unencrypted) for a device to begin to attach. It’s this ‘over the air (OTA)’ interface which is most vulnerable.

Next-generation APs will appear locked, but will have the ability for the device to query for specific information about the AP and begin the authentication process securely.

Shaw concludes, “These capabilities are all inherent in the cellular network today. Applying the same principles to the world of public Wi-Fi will only serve to ease connectivity, increase security and begin transforming Wi-Fi into a credible sidekick to the outdoor macro network.”

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Why I'm returning my new iPad and buying a Kindle Fire

2012-04-05T08:40:00.002-07:00

A look at how selected makers of phones and other consumer-electronic gadgets are faring:

Jan. 19: Microsoft Corp. says it shipped 8.2 million Xbox 360 video game consoles in the latest quarter, compared with 6.3 million a year earlier.

Jan. 24: Apple Inc. says it sold 37 million iPhones in the latest quarter, double the figure of the previous quarter and more than twice as many as it sold in the holiday quarter of 2010. The iPhone 4S launched during the quarter, and Sprint Nextel Corp. joined as an iPhone carrier in the U.S. Apple shipped 15.4 million iPads in the quarter, again more than doubling sales from a year earlier. Apple sold 5.2 million Macs during the quarter, up 26 percent from a year earlier. The company sold 21 percent fewer iPods, at 15.4 million.

Jan. 26: Nokia Corp. says it sold 19.6 million smartphones in the quarter, down from 28 million a year earlier. That includes more than 1 million Lumia devices running Microsoft's Windows software. The Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 hit stores in Europe and Asia in November, while T-Mobile started offering the 710 in the U.S. in January.

Nintendo Co. says worldwide sales of the 3DS handheld totaled 11.43 million in the last nine months of 2011. The company is now forecasting sales of 14 million machines for the fiscal year through March 2012, down from an earlier 16 million, despite an August price cut. Nintendo sold 9 million Wii machines during the nine-month period. It is now expecting to sell 10 million Wii machines in the year ending March, down from an initial estimate of 13 million, which was revised lower to 12 million in July. The company did not provide quarterly breakdowns.

Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. says it shipped 10.5 million mobile devices in the quarter, including 5.3 million smartphones and 200,000 tablet computers. A year earlier, the company shipped 11.3 million devices, including 4.9 million smartphones.

Jan. 27: Samsung Electronics Co., maker of the Galaxy line of phones and tablet computers, doesn't disclose the number of smartphones it sells, but it says shipments rose by about 30 percent in the latest quarter, compared with the third quarter. No comparison to the previous year was given.

Feb. 2: Sony Corp. says it sold 6.5 million PlayStation 3 units, on par with the 6.3 million in the 2010 holiday quarter. Sales of the PlayStation Portable declined to 2.4 million, from 3.6 million a year earlier.

Feb. 6: HTC Corp. says several newly introduced 4G and other high-end smartphones disappointed as competition grew more intense from Apple and Samsung. It predicts its revenue will drop further in the current quarter, but will return to normal after that with the introduction of several new models. HTC doesn't disclose the number of devices it sold, citing competitive reasons.

Feb. 9: Lenovo Group Ltd. says it shipped 14 million PCs, up from 10.2 million a year earlier.

Feb. 22: Garmin Ltd. says it sold 6.1 million devices during the quarter, roughly the same as the year before. Higher volumes in outdoor, fitness and marine devices helped offset declines in auto navigation devices.

Feb. 28: TomTom says it sold 3.2 million personal navigation devices in Europe in the latest quarter compared with 3.5 million a year earlier. In North America, it sold 4 million units during the recent quarter, compared with 6.6 million a year ago. The combined European and North American markets declined 29 percent.

Thursday: Research in Motion Ltd. says it sold 11.1 million BlackBerry smartphones and 500,000 PlayBook tablets in the latest quarter, which ended March 3.

View Original Article Here

Why I'm returning my new iPad and buying a Kindle Fir

2012-04-05T08:32:00.002-07:00

New Apple iPad. (Apple) My new iPad is going back to the store.

I paid $600 for the 32GB Wi-Fi model, and although I like it well enough, I don't think it's worth the money.

Before the Apple faithful take my head off, allow me to explain -- and to note that I'm keeping my original iPad. Also, I have such mad love for my iPhone 4S, I want to cook it breakfast every morning. You get my meaning; this isn't just wayward iPad-bashing.

When Apple announced the new tablet, I was underwhelmed but intrigued. I'd skipped the iPad 2, so I figured I "owed" myself this upgrade. Plus, it would be a business expense; I do write for a blog called iPad Atlas, after all.

Mostly, though, I got caught up in the hype. After reading gushing praise for the new iPad's Retina Display and blazing processor, I had to see what the fuss was about.

The fuss, it turns out, was more overblown than a Kardashian wedding. The screen? Yep, it's nice. Does it make my eyes leap from my skull and dance a marimba cha-cha? No. Neither does it cure cancer or introduce me to supermodels, despite what some drooling bloggers intimated.

The new iPad is admirably peppy, though I never found my original iPad to be slow. My kids enjoy messing with the built-in cameras, but that's a luxury I certainly don't need. Using an iPad to snap photos or video is like driving a monster truck to the grocery store: uncomfortable and impractical (to say nothing of showy). The only thing that I'll actually miss is big-screen FaceTime -- but for those moments I can always Skype on my laptop.

4G LTE? Again, nice, but I have no need for it. And that leaves...what? The new iPad is a little slimmer, a little faster, and little easier on the eyes than the original. Not enough, Apple. I want my $600 back.

As fate would have it, a Kindle Fire arrived shortly after the new iPad. (It's a loaner, due back to Amazon in about a week.) As you're no doubt aware, it's a hair less expensive: $199.

Yes, it has a smaller screen, less storage, no cameras, no 3G/4G, no Bluetooth, and so on. But you know what? I love the little guy, because it better suits my needs.

For one thing, it's way more comfortable for reading. I consume a lot of e-books, but I find the iPad too big and cumbersome -- especially for reading in bed. The Fire is small enough and light enough that I can lie on my side and grip it one-handed. (Shut up.)

I also like magazines, most notably Entertainment Weekly, Time, and Wired. The app versions of all three work nicely on the iPad, but I like the Kindle Fire (Android) versions even better. Maybe it's because I was expecting a shrunken, ill-fitting stab at accommodating the smaller screen, but the formatting is just beautiful. Reading these mags on the Fire is a pleasure.

Music, movies, TV shows, games, apps -- the Kindle Fire excels at all this stuff, just like the iPad. I'm streaming "This Is Spinal Tap" (courtesy of Amazon Prime, an uneven but compelling service) as I type this, and it looks exquisite. Granted, the paltry 8GB of storage limits how much media I can take with me, but I'm mostly an around-the-house user anyway. (That's why I get by just fine with Wi-Fi.)

I also like the Kindle's modern, media-centric, dare-I-say-sexy interface, which actually makes Apple's UI seem rather dated.

So here's the upshot: for one-third of what I paid for the new iPad, I can accomplish 95 percent of what I want to do with a tablet, and with a smaller form factor I find more appealing. Different strokes for different folks, of course, but for me this is a no-brainer: I'm returning the new iPad and jumping into the Fire.

Your thoughts?

View Original Article Here

Sophos acquires DIALOGS to provide the industry’s most complete mobile device protection

2012-04-05T08:31:00.000-07:00

Acquisition combines mobile and security expertise, resulting in even stronger enterprise MDM solutions

Press release

April 3rd 2012. Complete security leader, Sophos, has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire DIALOGS, a privately-held provider of mobile management solutions, headquartered in Germany. DIALOGS, one of Europe’s leading mobile device management (MDM) providers with customers such as BMW AG, Daimler AG, Siemens AG and ThyssenKrupp, brings twenty years of experience in mobile product development. This acquisition further solidifies Sophos’s leadership position within enterprise mobile protection.The increased prevalence of smartphones and tablets represents a major shift in the way people and businesses work and collaborate. IT staff at enterprises of all sizes are faced with new challenges and risks in handling and securing an array of corporate and personal devices. That, coupled with the ever-expanding usage of apps and the threat of device loss or theft, reinforces the importance of mobile data protection solutions.

Sophos allays IT worries and ensures that customers have complete protection everywhere and on any device, all without impacting business productivity. The company’s award-winning solution – Sophos Mobile Control – is designed specifically for enterprises to simply and quickly secure, monitor and control mobile devices. As a key concern for mobile device users is having secure access to corporate data, the combination of Sophos’s encryption and data protection capabilities and DIALOGS’ SaaS-based and on-premises mobile management technology provides a unique value proposition to the market – secure collaboration from everywhere.

“IT continues to see large numbers of mobile devices coming into the enterprise – both corporate and employee-liable – and is under intense pressure to bring these devices under control,” said Chris Hazelton, research director, Mobile & Wireless, 451 Research. “Email was the initial pain point, but management of mobile apps is taking centre stage. Now more than ever, IT needs to focus on app data travelling across these devices. The ability to provide a flexible SaaS MDM offering paired with mobile application management (MAM) will go a long way toward solving the mobility challenges faced by IT today.”

Together with DIALOGS, Sophos strengthens its mobile footprint, providing customers with complete security for their mobile workforces. DIALOGS offers an MDM solution, smartMan, which is already at the core of Sophos Mobile Control and will form the basis for MDM and mobile management solutions that will be integrated into the Sophos UTM-based (unified threat management) suite. Additionally, DIALOGS offers mobile communication services for fast and reliable mobile messaging and location-based services, which Sophos will continue to support.

“CISOs and CIOs have major concerns about upholding security policies and ensuring compliance for mobile devices without hindering employee productivity. And in this evolving market, with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) presenting further challenges to IT, our customers need the peace of mind that they can manage and secure all of their devices, irrespective of their users’ device preferences,” said Rainer Gawlick, CMO, Sophos. “This is only the beginning of Sophos’ complete security offering for mobile devices and will be complemented by solutions for mobile security and mobile data encryption in the coming months. Joining forces with DIALOGS will allow Sophos to offer fully integrated solutions.”

“We’re excited to be joining a complete security leader with deep background in mobile security,” said Frank Zimmermann, co-founder and managing director, DIALOGS. “Our complementary expertise will further strengthen the Sophos mobile development team, resulting in quicker time-to-market to deliver enterprises the industry’s most comprehensive mobile security offerings.”

About DIALOGS

DIALOGS, one of Europe’s leading mobile data communication providers, enables the professional use of locating mobile devices via GSM and GPS as well as fast and reliable short message service (SMS) communication worldwide. DIALOGS´ core competencies are mobile device management for smartphones and tablets, and remote access solutions for optimised and secure communication. DIALOGS solutions can be used with all major devices and operating systems, such as Apple iPhones and iPads, including the latest iOS5 release, Google Android phones and tablets, Symbian, Windows Mobile devices and RIM BlackBerry.

About Sophos

More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, mobile and network security solutions backed by SophosLabs – a global network of threat intelligence centres. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards. Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.

View Original Article here

Nokia Lumia 800 W7 Mango Updates disappoint

2012-04-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

In Europe, Nokia has been proudly boasting that has released the third software update for the Lumia 800 W7 Mango phone in only four months. There are plenty of disappointments, however. One of them will almost certainly focus around the fact that while Wi-fi tethering has been promised – it’s not available via this release (1600.2487.8107.12070). Also there appears to be no fix for the omission of auto-answering with Bluetooth headsets. Plus the software is going to be released in phases. So in the UK, for example, the first Lumia 800 owners to be able to receive the update will be on Vodafone, BT and certain 3 UK handsets. [We assume Nokia means 3 when it says H3G – Hutchison 3G.] It looks like some Lumia 800s purchased through retail will be able to receive the update as well.What this update does promise to deliver however is “significant improvements in battery performance and power management.”

The company claims in its Conversations by Nokia blog here that the average user should see between 25 to 30 hours of battery life with on a typical daily usage pattern.

It says that given the Lumia 800 sports a 1450 mAh battery, is now among the top performers in battery life for the key measures Nokia has concentrated on.

Interestingly, the original date scheduled for this update was April 18th [2012] and the first examples were released on 28th March [2012]. Expect further releases on April 4th, 11th and 18 [2012].

Now here’s the curious bit. These updates are being delivered via Microsoft’s desktop PC software. Zune (aka Windows Phone 7 Connector) on the Apple Mac.

Which is curious because there is very definitely an OTA (over-theair) upgrade capability built into W7 Mango. Go to ‘Settings’, and scroll down to ‘Phone update’ to see it.

However, since Nokia is concentrating on delivering these updates through Zune, notification that the new release has come out shouldn’t appear. You’ll have to try connecting you handset to Zune on the dates given above.

There’s absolutely no mention of it in the Conversations blog so Nokia doesn’t appear to have fixed a bug that GoMobile News has encountered.

When you pair a Bluetooth handset with the Lumia 800 certain functionality is provided. Bizarrely, if you have this W7 Mango phone configured to read out your received text messages – logical while you are travelling, the handset reads them to you via your headset.

However, despite searching everywhere for the setting – GoMobile News can find no way to force the handset to auto-answer incoming calls.

Which is curious because Microsoft claims that Windows Phone 7 supports all the kinds of Bluetooth profiles you’d expect to make auto-answer work.

There’s a list here which mentions Hands Free Profile (HFP 1.5) and Headset Profile (HSP 1.1).

In our humble opinion it can’t have implemented these profiles properly. Which goes back to our gripes with no Profiles with the Nokia Lumias story.

If you want to check whether your mobile operator in you particular geography has actually released the third update visit this site. Tony is currently Editor of GoMobile News.

View the original article here

TweetDeck taken offline following discovery of bug exposing Twitter accounts

2012-04-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

TweetDeck, the popular Twitter client used by millions, has been taken offline after a possible bug was discovered which appears to give some users access to other people’s accounts.

“TweetDeck is currently down while we look into an issue. Apologies for the inconvenience,” the company said — in a tweet, naturally.

According to a TechCrunch report on Friday, the bug was discovered by a guy called Geoff Evason, a TweetDeck user living in Sydney, Australia.

Evason claimed that a bug had given him access to “hundreds” of Twitter and Facebook accounts through TweetDeck.

“I didn’t do anything special to make this happen,” he told TechCrunch.

On his website, Evason was keen to make clear that he hadn’t hacked TweetDeck. “I just logged in one day, the account was slower than normal, and I could post from many more accounts,” he said.

In

London-based TweetDeck was bought by Twitter for some $40 million in May last year. The app is popular with so-called ‘power users’ of the microblogging service, enabling them to easily manage multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts in a single window.

Friday’s news comes just a few days after Twitter admitted that an unfollow bug was causing some users to lose followers.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

More from Digital Trends

Jack’s back: The restored exec’s plans for Twitter

How to: Use Twitter for news

Twitter turns six: Looking back at what 140 characters have accomplished

Study: Facebook engages fans and followers more than Twitter

View Original Article Here

Apple pledge likely to boost China factory wages

2012-04-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

BEIJING (AP) — Consumers probably won't have to pay more for iPads, iPhones and other popular consumer electronics despite a Chinese company's pledge to trim work hours and raise wages for its hardscrabble assembly workers.

The paychecks have already been steadily growing even before this week's pledge, and labor expenses remain a small portion of the total bill for most gadgets made in China.

At most, the cumulative wage increases could crimp the profits of major technology companies. Manufacturers have a bigger worry in finding ways to save money on the parts that power the devices.

Nonetheless, assembly costs are likely to escalate because of Foxconn Technology Group, which assembles an estimated 40 percent of the world's electronics, including the hot-selling iPhone and iPad.

Foxconn, owned by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., promised to limit hours while keeping total pay the same. That commitment will translate into higher hourly wages.

The pledge came after Apple Inc., the world's most valuable company, hired a labor auditor to review the practices and conditions in Chinese factories run by Foxconn. A report on the audit, released Thursday, evoked images of a sweatshop and said Foxconn routinely violated overtime laws by assigning its assembly-line workers to toil for more than 60 hours per week.

Foxconn's concession is expected to have ripple effects not only because it involves Apple, one of the world's most scrutinized companies, but also a major Chinese employer that cuts a broad swath.

Foxconn has about 1.2 million workers and either currently or has assembled products for a long list of technology companies including Microsoft Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. Those companies' smartphones, computers, video game consoles and other devices have become household staples around the world.

"I think whatever Foxconn did will have an impact, certainly, on all Chinese workers in all trades," said Willy Lin, managing director of Hong Kong-based Milo's Knitwear, which makes clothing in three factories in China for European clients.

Japan's Toshiba Group, which employs 32,000 workers in China to make products such as refrigerators and TVs, said it already plans similar changes to reduce overtime work and improve working conditions at its factories.

China has long been a low-cost manufacturing center for goods stamped with some of the world's best-known brands.

But wages there have been steadily rising for years as companies compete for workers.

IHS iSuppli analyst Thomas Dinges believes China's communist leadership also realizes that the country's economic evolution requires raising the standards of living so more factory workers assembling the devices will eventually be able to buy them.

After the 2008 global financial crisis triggered a freeze in the minimum wage to help exporters compete, Chinese workers have received big pay increase over the past two years, though salaries remain paltry by Western standards.

Foxconn responded to a spate of suicides by employees in 2010 by more than doubling its basic monthly salary to 1,800 yuan ($290). That year, Toyota Motor Corp. and other Japanese automakers also granted pay hikes following a wave of strikes that had tacit government support.

China's leaders have already promised to double the country's minimum wage from 2010 levels by 2015.

The minimum wage in Shanghai, one of the world's most expensive cities, is about 1,200 yuan ($200) a month after an increase of more than 10 percent last year. The northern city of Tianjin raised its minimum wage to 1,070 yuan ($175).

Beijing has tightened enforcement of wage and hour rules "because there has been a general lack of compliance — greater than in other countries," said K. Lesli Ligorner, head of the China employment group for the law firm Simmons & Simmons. "China is trying to make sure that at least at the lowest level of unskilled workers, there are greater protections in place for them."

The higher wages in China haven't resulted in higher prices for electronics so far, nor have they seriously dented the profit margins of technology companies, Dinges said.

That's largely because the labor bill typically represents less than 10 percent of the total cost for most gadgets. It's even less significant for Apple, which has used its clout and high demand for its products to negotiate extremely favorable deals with its suppliers and contractors.

ISuppli estimates that Apple pays less than $8 for the assembly of a 16-gigabyte iPhone 4S and $188 for its components. The phone sells in the U.S. for $649, though wireless carriers offer them at a subsidized $199 with a two-year service contract.

The estimates suggest that if Apple were to absorb a Foxconn wage increase to keep pay the same and cut the work week from 60 hours to 49, it would pay about $2 more to have an iPhone made. Dinges expects Apple to offset any higher labor expense by wringing out savings elsewhere.

Not that $2 will make much of a difference. Apple's regulatory filings imply that it makes hundreds of dollars in profits per phone.

Apple's latest iPad costs slightly more to make even though the tablet computer is less expensive to assemble than the iPhone, according to iSuppli. The firm estimates parts cost $325. Labor adds just $4 more to the bill.

Other technology companies might have a tougher time dealing with potentially higher labor costs because their profit margins are far thinner than Apple's.

Even so, higher prices for parts remain a bigger worry than rising labor costs. For instance, the labor costs for Microsoft's Xbox 360 are less than $10 while all the parts cost nearly $210, according to iSuppli. The video game console retails for about $300.

Amazon.com Inc. may already be selling its $199 tablet computer, the Kindle Fire, at a loss after marketing expenses and distribution costs are factored in. ISuppli estimates the Kindle Fire's parts cost about $173 while labor expenses add another $14.

Personal computer makers such as HP and Dell already have had to deal with higher prices for disk drives after massive flooding closed key factories in Thailand last fall. Now, prices for an important memory chip called DRAM could rise because a major Japanese supplier, Elpida Memory Inc., recently filed for bankruptcy protection.

Wages, workplace conditions and the environmental impact are sensitive for many U.S. and European companies after years of scathing criticism from human-rights groups. Nike Inc., Gap Inc. and The Walt Disney Co. are among the companies that have spelled out labor standards with the foreign factories that make shoes, clothing, toys and other goods sold under their brands.

Now it's the technology industry's turn to crack down, even if it means higher assembly costs.

Veteran technology analyst Rob Enderle believes U.S. technology firms will be able to pressure Foxconn and other Chinese manufacturers into absorbing the higher labor costs on their own. As leverage, the U.S. firms can threaten to move the assembly work elsewhere, such as Mexico or Taiwan.

Higher costs in China already have prompted some companies in labor-intensive industries such as shoes and textiles to migrate to Vietnam and other lower-wage economies.

"It's too early to tell how this is going to work out," Enderle said. "My expectation is that a lot of these Foxconn workers who are getting higher salaries are going to be unemployed a year from now because they were quietly let go or the work moved elsewhere."

___

Liedtke reported from San Francisco. AP Business Writers Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong and Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo and Associated Press writers Annie Huang in Taipei, Taiwan and Foster Klug in Seoul, South Korea contributed.

View Original Article Here

BlackBerry maker forced to deny consumer sector exit

2012-04-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

Oh dear. The Canadian smartphone manufacturer has done it again and managed to generate headlines which were almost diametrically opposite to its real intentions. Lack of Press training strikes again. The gaff centres around remarks apparently made by newly appointed CEO, Thorsten Heins, during his announcement of RIM’s quarterly report. Shipment and earnings figures fell below analysts’ expectations. What he was actually talking about was a ‘re-doubling’ of the company’s efforts in the enterprise space which were actually interpreted as headlines such as ‘BlackBerry maker gives up on consumer market’ and ‘Rim is pulling out of the consumer market’. These headlines have generated a mixed reaction from the industry itself with some believing RIM should put itself up for sale. Others argue that RIM should concentrate on low-end devices where Apple doesn’t compete.GoMobile News can recall comments made by Psion’s management which were interpreted as a sign it was pulling out of the consumer PDA market. So it did. We don’t think RIM should make the same mistake.

At IDC, research director for consumer mobile, John Delaney, argues that what Rim actually needs to do is stop trying to play the game on Apple’s terms.

What he believes is that RIM should focus on low-end devices because that is exactly the sector in the smartphone market where Apple refuses to play.

That sector actually plays on one of RIM’s major strengths – the major appeal of its IM messaging service – BBM (BlackBerry Messenger).

Delaney’s views on RIM’s role in the BOYD (Bring Your Own Device) trend are also compelling. Instead of sourcing smartphones from a central source, IT managers have given in and are enabling employees to pick what device they want to use.

He describes this process as ‘consumerisation’ because increasingly enterprise devices are being bought by consumers. It’s therefore exactly the wrong time to start thinking about not pitching BlackBerries to consumers.

So focussing more attention on making RIM’s devices work well in an enterprise environment doesn’t necessarily equate to any kind of consumer pull out.

In fact, Alec Saunders, RIM’s vp for developer relations, actually tweeted … “We are not leaving the consumer market.” So there!

However, it hasn’t stopped Victor Basta, a director of Magister Advisors commented, “In our view they [RIM] should sell the company while that corporate customer base remains intact.”

An interesting argument because it may well meet with a sympathetic response from some RIM investors.

As Basta points out, “RIM spends billions on R&D, but they consistently deliver me-too products and are outpaced in a market that demands innovation.”

Valuations in the mobile space are currently strong and RIM could maybe find a buyer from the enterprise mobility sector ( SA or Sybase?) or from those with a strong interest in the device marketplace (Huawei or HP).

Hmm. GoMobile News thinks that HP would be better off making a go of its webOS rather than buying the third best mobile OS.

Why do analysts so readily forget that a BlackBerry is a tool – and what it does very effectively is send messages. It beats the pants of a touch-based UI.

View Original Article Here

Adobe Photoshop CS6 Reviews : Photoshop Beta Pops With New Features, New Look

2012-03-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

Adobe's expected to have its next edition of Photoshop finalized by this summer. Until then, prospective buyers can try out a free beta version of the software. The application's interface has been darkened, a decision that end up making the photo's colors pop out more. Beyond that, Photoshop CS6 is bristling with "why didn't anyone think of that before" features.

It's not often that Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) offers the public a free preview of its flagship product, Photoshop, but that's what it's doing with the next version of the photo editing software.

Adobe announced Thursday that a beta release of Photoshop CS6 for both PCs and Macs is available from the company's website.

Although the CS6 download is free, you have to create a user account before you can install it on your computer. That process is simple, but what Adobe will do with the information it collects from you isn't immediately revealed by the company.

A final version of the CS6 is expected by the end of June.

Smart Cursors

The latest release of the software has 60 percent more new features than the previous edition of the offering, including 65 additions requested by users.

Among those new features is a complete redesign of the program's user interface, including remodeling of some 1,800 icons and 250 cursors. Longtime Photoshop users needn't fret. The redesigns are intuitive and easy to learn.

A nice addition to the interface are "smart cursors." When you hover over an object in a photo with one of those cursors, information about the object will appear on the screen.

Adobe has also changed the default colors for the main window to gray and dark gray. The darker colors in the window make images that you're working on "pop" more in the program. You can customize the color scheme, but you're limited to shades of gray or black.

Magic Patching

A common-sense feature that's been absent from previous versions of the software has been introduced in CS6. The program will now do automatic page saves at designated intervals, as well as background saves, so you don't have to waste time watching progress bars as a save is made.

Adobe has also improved support of RAW files with CS6. For example, slider controls for controlling hightlights, shadows, contrast, exposure and such have both positive and negative values to give you better control over adjustments made to a RAW image.

The company has also introduced a pair of nifty "content aware" features. To remove an object from an image, typically you would select it, cut it and then fuss with a clone tool to fill in the vacant spot left by the cut.

With CS6's Content Aware Patching, you can select an object, drag it to an area on the photo and the vacant area where the object previously resided will be seamlessly patched and the object removed from the photo.

Content Aware Moving works in a similar vein, only instead of the object disappearing, it remains at its new location in the photo.

Fancy Cropping

Adobe has also added some new blur filters to Photoshop. Not only do you have field, iris and tilt blur filters, but you can mix them in a single photo, too.

An adaptive wide-angle feature is another new addition to the program. It allows you to straighten lines within a wide-angle shot without destroying the natural distortion of the photo.

While cropping is a straightforward operation in a photo editing program, Adobe has found a way to tweak the tool to improve it.

First, when you choose the tool, the crop border defaults to the edges of the photo. Since most cropping is done from the edges in, that should make reframing a photo a tad faster for most croppers.

In addition, you can move the entire photo around the crop area, not the crop area around the photo, as is the case in many photo editors. The change is a subtle one, but one that will have you asking yourself, "Why didn't someone think of this before now?"

You can also straighten a photo inside a crop by choosing "straighten" and "drawing" a line on the photo. CS6 will automatically straighten and recrop the photo for you.

Video Editing

With so many still cameras incorporating video into their repertoire, it's not surprising that Adobe has brought video editing to CS6, too.

Video can be edited on a "timeline." As you trim a clip, an editing window pops up that makes it very easy to find the exact point to make your cut.

Video transitions are limited to simple fades, but you can do "Ken Burns Effects" on any stills you drag into your movie.

CS6 represents a major overhaul of Photoshop, which will make upgrading tantalizing for may users. The best part of this upgrade, though, is that you get to try it for free before you have to front the cash to buy it.

View Original Article Here

Photoshop CS6 Highlights

    Content-Aware Patch — Patch images with greater control using the newest member of the Content-Aware family of technologies. Choose the sample area you want to use to create your patch, and then watch Content-Aware Patch magically blend pixels for a stunning result.
    Blazingly fast performance and a modern UI — Experience unprecedented performance with the Mercury Graphics Engine, which gives you near-instant results when you edit with key tools such as Liquify, Puppet Warp, and Crop.* Plus, a refined, fresh, and elegant Photoshop interface features dark background options that make your images pop.

New and re-engineered design tools — Create superior designs fast. Get consistent formatting with type styles, create and apply custom strokes and dashed lines to shapes, quickly search layers, and much more.

You will also discover hundreds of new ways to work faster and with greater creative freedom and precision when you dive into Photoshop CS6 beta.

Important Notes About Photoshop CS6 Beta

    Photoshop CS6 beta includes all the features in Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CS6 Extended. Take this opportunity to try out the 3D image editing and quantitative image analysis capabilities of Photoshop Extended*, but note that—while these features will be included in the shipping version of Photoshop CS6 Extended—they will not be included in the shipping version of Photoshop CS6.

    Adobe ID login and online activation are required either at installation or within seven days after your first launch of the Photoshop CS6 beta. The same requirements will be in place for the shipping version of Photoshop CS6 when it is released. Your Adobe ID provides multiple benefits, including an easy way to access your serial numbers, the Adobe.com community, and the upcoming Adobe Creative Cloud™ membership.

    Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CS6 Extended will be part of the Adobe Creative Suite®, and Photoshop CS6 Extended will be part of Adobe Creative Cloud membership. Both Photoshop editions will also be available separately.

    For updates from the Photoshop team, join Photoshop on Facebook, follow Photoshop on Twitter, and check out the Photoshop.com blog.

Original Article Here

Photoshop CS6 greets you with a fully redesigned UI that's much darker for purportedly a "more immersive experience." (Fortunately, you can revert to the old light gray color theme by going to Preferences / Interface.) If you look closer, all the old favorites from the pen tool to layers panel are still here, but they've been shuffled around a bit and cleaned up. While you can break windows out like in CS5, tabs still rule your window management experience. It works great for browsing the web, but Photoshop's insistence on tabs by default is often frustrating when you're opening several files that you want to see at the same time. For new users, the Photoshop learning curve is still pretty high, but pro users should be able to get situated pretty quickly.

One notable improvement is the new draggable section embedded into toolbars. Photoshop's window management and toolbar management has never been its strong suit, and we've lost track of more toolbars than we can count in older versions of the app. The only fix used to be a hard rearrangement the entire workspace, but now each toolbar has a textured line for easy movements (see the top of the primary tools section to the right). Similarly, snapping toolbars to the side of the main Photoshop window is clearer than before, because the side of the window glows blue to indicate it's ready to snap.
Finally, searchable layers!

The new Mini Bridge feature incorporates a file browsing tool directly into CS6. While you do have to keep the Bridge media manager running in the background, Mini Bridge lets you easily — and visually — browse your hard drives for photo and video assets to work with. It's a nice complement to the usual file open dialogue, and if you stay organized, you can keep your files just a few clicks away.

You can now search and sort layers by color, name, mode, and attribute with the new layer search tools, a great feature for anyone that has to deal with large Photoshop files with tons of layers and folders. Like Lightroom and even iPhoto, Photoshop's now highlighting adjustments even more than in CS5 in the Adjustments window on the right side of the screen. It's a much cleaner UI this time around, giving you quick access to a range of non-destructive adjustments like curves, color balance, and saturation.

Upending decades of Photoshop precedent, Adobe has added cursors to tools like crop and lasso, and it's a bit confusing at first. Previously, you needed to use the bottom of the lasso as your guide to looping (think of how you "point" with the top left tip of the cursor on a Mac), but now an additional cursor has been added on to the lasso icon. Essentially, you're moving two different cursors around now, and it's a bit like learning to use a mouse again. Furthermore, it's not consistent across all tools, so the eyedropper is still just an eyedropper.

Content-aware move

"Content-aware move" is a new tool in CS6 that lets you move an object within an image and intelligently fill the space it previously inhabited in just one step. For example, you can select a cat on a rug, click the content-aware move tool, drag the cat to another spot on the rug, and release. CS6 simultaneously moves the cat and fills in the area it previously inhabited (based on context). If you did a poor job selecting the object you want to move, CS6 feathers the edges of your selection once it has moved to its new spot. In our tests, content-aware move worked pretty poorly; results always required touching up, especially if the image’s background has any degree of complexity.

The "content-aware extend" tool is a little less delicate, letting you take a geometrical shape and stretch it proportionately. For example, it's simple to extend a flagpole, which has obvious edges CS6 can work from. Extending a skyscraper by a couple stories also works decently enough, while extending something with unpredictable geometrical features (like a person) is impossible. Realistically, there aren't many scenarios where you'll want to use the content-aware extend feature.

Video editing

CS6 includes a basic video editor that will come in handy for photographers who don’t want to drop a few hundred dollars on a video editing suite. The key here is that once you drop in a video, you can tool around with it using the Photoshop tools and shortcuts you’re accustomed to. Color and exposure adjustments, as well as layers, work just how you’d expect them to (the left image above is adjusted video, the right shows raw footage) — which is a good thing. If you’d like, you can add borders, textures, filters, and even audio tracks to your video. Once you’re finished editing, you’re presented with just a handful exporting options. It's no Premier, Final Cut, or even iMovie, but Photoshop aficionados will feel right at home inside the new video editor.

Deep features

A NEW WAY TO CROP

The crop tool now functions in an entirely new way as well. On previous versions, you’d select your crop area, and move and transform that selection around the image. Now, you select a crop area, and the window snaps to that selection as a new center — and here’s where it gets weird — you move and rotate the image in and around the crop selection area. It's potentially a more powerful tool once you get the hang of it, but if you've been using the crop tool and its keyboard shortcuts for years, the revised tool may be extraordinarily frustrating to get used to.
Adobe changed how a core tool has worked for decades

It’s not necessarily bad — it’s just changing how a basic tool has worked for years. An upside here is the new straighten tool: simply draw a line anywhere in your image where you’d like to establish a new horizon, and Photoshop automatically reorients the image along that angle. It’s a lot easier than the old method of using the ruler or eyeballing it in CS5.
Background save

One of CS6’s most important (yet nearly invisible) feature additions is "background save," which lets you edit images and other projects while files are being saved. Effectively, any time you habitually press Command + S, you’ll be able to continue working, saving you from having to wait until Photoshop grinds through another save. If your computer or CS6 app frequently crashes, you can also turn on auto-save intervals, which tell the app how often to save your work in case something happens. These two features were among the most requested from Adobe, and will go a long way towards making the editing workflow more seamless.

A NEW WAY TO CROP

The crop tool now functions in an entirely new way as well. On previous versions, you’d select your crop area, and move and transform that selection around the image. Now, you select a crop area, and the window snaps to that selection as a new center — and here’s where it gets weird — you move and rotate the image in and around the crop selection area. It's potentially a more powerful tool once you get the hang of it, but if you've been using the crop tool and its keyboard shortcuts for years, the revised tool may be extraordinarily frustrating to get used to.
Adobe changed how a core tool has worked for decades

It’s not necessarily bad — it’s just changing how a basic tool has worked for years. An upside here is the new straighten tool: simply draw a line anywhere in your image where you’d like to establish a new horizon, and Photoshop automatically reorients the image along that angle. It’s a lot easier than the old method of using the ruler or eyeballing it in CS5.
Background save

One of CS6’s most important (yet nearly invisible) feature additions is "background save," which lets you edit images and other projects while files are being saved. Effectively, any time you habitually press Command + S, you’ll be able to continue working, saving you from having to wait until Photoshop grinds through another save. If your computer or CS6 app frequently crashes, you can also turn on auto-save intervals, which tell the app how often to save your work in case something happens. These two features were among the most requested from Adobe, and will go a long way towards making the editing workflow more seamless.

Iris Blur and tilt shift

With easy-to-use photo editing tools, filters, and effects available on countless apps on mobile devices, it's only fitting that these ideas are bleeding back into pro apps. Precise tilt shift, lens, and blur effects have never been that easy to do in earlier versions of Photoshop, but tutorials and action packs made it possible. CS6 changes that with new blur tools built directly into the filters menu. The filters are applied directly to the current layer, and give you the option of size, location, blur intensity, and angle of application. Like the tweaked adjustment layer selection, these new filters should make post-production on your photos a smoother process.

requests and more

Adobe is also noting that it has added over 65 new features requested by users, ranging from a Paste Lorem Ipsum feature for quickly filling up text blocks to the ability to bump your brush sizes up to over 5000 pixels. Most of these are pretty minor, but for an app as big as Photoshop that's rightfully spawned Tumblr complaint sites like Adobe UI Gripes, it's nice to see Adobe cleaning up grammar and paying attention to small UI details across the app.

Looking back to version 1.0, Photoshop really hasn't strayed from its core functions in the past twenty or so years. Lasso tools, paintbuckets, high pass filters, blur, and even primitive type support were there in the first iteration of the app, and followups built on those basic image editing ideas over the years. Photoshop CS6 may look like a huge visual refresh — and it's certainly the most drastic one in recent memory — but it's largely the same Photoshop, good and bad, underneath. You can finally try it out today with the launch of the free beta preview, and the download comes in just under 1GB — start your download here. CS5 launched nearly two years ago in April 2010, and CS6's official release should be available sometime in the first half of 2012. It's $699 new, but you'll be able to upgrade for $199 ($999 and $399 for CS6 Extended, respectively).

View Original Article Here

Top Free Android Apps - 25 Apps

2012-03-22T04:19:00.000-07:00

1. Seesmi

There are many Twitter apps on Android - and Twitter itself shook up the scene with the launch of its own-brand app recently - but we're sticking with Seesmic. Offering support for multiple accounts, a home page widget showing latest tweets and an incredibly slick and professional design, it's one of the finest examples of app development out there today.

2. Facebook for Android

Facebook for Android is lacking in features compared to Facebook itself, but a recent update added Inbox support to the Android app, finally allowing its users to communicate in almost real time. The app's fast and stable, with a simplicity that reminds you of the old days when using Facebook used to be bearable.

3. ASTRO File Manager

ASTRO is nothing more than a Windows-style file explorer, but if you're into tinkering and directly installing Android APK files yourself, it's essential to stick something like this on your phone. It makes your phone feel like a computer, and makes you feel like you're in charge of it.

UPDATE: ASTRO still exists as a free ad-supported app, but you'll have to pay for the full version without ads. Our new favourite file explorer app is listed below.

4. UK Jobs

Hey, times are hard and you've got to pay for your oppressive monthly mobile phone contract somehow. Offering a fully searchable database of current UK job vacancies, UK Jobs, which pulls in its data from independent employment site 1job.co.uk is, a slightly cumbersome but useful and non-governmental tool.

5. Hotmail

Microsoft has teamed up with developer SEVEN to offer an official Hotmail app for Android, which gives users a simple, clean interface, push notification support and even lets you manage multiple Hotmail accounts from within the app. If your email needs haven't yet been assimilated by Google, it's a useful option.

6. Google Sky Map

A stunning app that renders Patrick Moore obsolete, by using your phone's orientation tools to give you an accurate representation of the stars and planets on your screen. Point your phone at the sky, then learn what constellations are visible and if that's a UFO or just Venus. Google Sky Map even works indoors, if you're not keen on getting cold.

7. Layar

The stunning augmented reality app Layar has recently gone commercial, adding an online shop that allows users to buy AR content such as travel guides, local house price apps and much more. But you're still able to use the numerous free Layers to pop data up over real-world locations, delivering a satisfying futuristic experience.

8. Foursquare

The social media darling Foursquare is represented in fine form on Android, with the Google app offering easy one-click check-ins, integrated Google Maps for a seamless Google-branded experience and home page shortcut options to all your favourite places.

9. WordPress for Android

WordPress for Android started out as independent creation wpToGo, before WordPress decided it liked it so much it bought it up - hiring the maker to develop it in-house. It's very feature-packed, with the latest version offering full integration with other apps, letting you spin content and send it directly to the app for easy updating. It could do with more image insertion tools, though.

10. Google Goggles

A bit of a novelty, in that Google Goggles lets you take photos and have Google analyse them and come back with a search results page for what it thinks you're looking at. However, the app's main use is as a QR code reader, which lets you scan barcodes for quick access to apps and whatever data people choose to embed in the odd little data squares.

11. Winamp

Yes, the same Winamp from a decade ago. It's had an Android app for some time, with recent updates adding support for iTunes, Mac syncing, plenty of music streaming options, new release lists and Shoutcast integration for radio support. It's a fine, free media player.

12. Samsung ChatOn

There are plenty of messaging tools on Android, but Samsung's beats many of them by offering multi-platform support - with clients even available for older Samsung non-smart feature phones. It could be the ideal way to keep in touch with an out of touch relative. More "with it" users will be able to use its drawing, image sharing and social networking features.

13. Skyfire 3.0

The USP of the Skyfire browser is that it supports Flash content, popping up a little window when it detects an embedded YouTube video or something similar. The actual Flash business is handled by Skyfire's server, which does all the computery stuff, then sends the file to your handset. A bit clunky on slower Android phones, but it works like a dream on models with faster processors.Despite the arrival of Flash with Android 2.2, this is still relevant for those on phones and Android versions not able to support Adobe's Flash Player.

14. BBC News

While the BBC's Android iPlayer app is a bit on the disappointing side, the corporation's BBC News app is much more refined. There's a stylish grid-based front page, plus you're able to swipe from left to right to switch between stories in your chosen specialist category. A recent update also added a couple of Home screen widgets, too, plus the ability to submit your own news tips, as if the BBC was a small blog clamouring for content.

15. RAC Traffic

An official production of the motoring organisation, RAC Traffic is dead simple - it guesstimates your location via the mobile signal, then pops up the current traffic alerts for your area. It's much better than having to listen to the radio for the odd update about arterial blockages.

16. Swype

The odd line-drawing alternate keyboard Swype is a love-it or hate-it kind of thing, with the significant amount of re-learning required to make the most of it quite offputting to some users. Once you're familiar with the idea, though, it's genius - with advanced prediction options further speeding your line-typing. Swype is not available through the Android Market - the only way to install is is via a direct download from the maker.

17. Evernote

After the Android version of Dropbox, the next best solution for keeping all your 'business' in one place is Evernote - which lets you stash and sync all your text notes, voice memos and files on your phone and access them through a desktop computer.

18. Flickr

As well as supporting Flickr uploading, this app also lets you capture photos from within the app and comes complete with a set of filters, so you can hipsterise your life with ease. It supports sharing with Twitter and Facebook as well, so your other, non-photo-nerd friends can enjoy the results of today's snapping session.

19. Last.fm

The subscription-based thrills of Last.fm open up a world of music streaming on your mobile. You have to 'buy in' to the odd Last.fm way of organising things and suggesting new music, but if you're easily led and not restricted by bandwidth it's a superb tool.

20. Google Maps Navigation

An absolute must-get. As long as you have Android 1.6 or above, the latest update to Google Maps introduces turn-by-turn voice navigation, simultaneously devastating the satnav industry while boosting the in-car dashboard dock/charger accessory scene. Route calculations are done at the outset of your trip, minimising data transfer en route and keeping you on target even when the GPS signal drops. It's amazing, it works, and it's free.

21. 3banana Notes/ Catch Notes

A simple note-taking tool that lets you sync those disjointed, late night thoughts you have together into one huge, incoherent database. If you have a Snaptic account you're able to sync the Android app with that too - or you can simply log in with your Google details for instant mobile jotting. Once written, notes may also be pinned to the home screen, creating a little post-it note-style reminder icon.

UPDATE: 3banana has undergone a name change and is now known as Catch Notes.

22. gvSIG Mini Maps

gvSIG Mini Maps is an incredibly comprehensive mapping tool which combines major online maps including Google, Bing, Open Street Map and more, which will win UK fans for one huge reason alone - it supports the official and recently open-sourced Ordnance Survey data. This means you're never more than a post code search away from seeing where you are in OS-level detail, which offers much more in the way of accurate local data than other map tools provide.

23. Astrid Task / Todo list

Astrid describes itself as an "open source" task list, which includes syncing support with www.rememberthemilk.com for the ultimate in minutiae management. You set a list of tasks and are then able to order them according to their importance - also setting off a timer to see precisely how long you've wasted on Twitter instead of doing the job in hand. It's basically the world's most complex and in-depth personal to do list, which, if used correctly, will consume more time than the tasks themselves. Ideal for expert-level procrastinators.

24. Shareprice

Shareprice uses your login from financial site www.iii.co.uk to offer live share price updates on your Android phone. Watch your nest-egg lose 50 per cent in value every three weeks during the latest trans-global financial crisis, live! It's ideal for users with share values so low they have to be checked in private, to ensure their partner doesn't see exactly how much money has disappeared into some notional financial black hole.

25. Skifta

Skifta is the first software tool to be granted DLNA certification, meaning it turns your Android phone into an official DLNA device. This in turn means streaming all of your household media to your phone, and beaming your phone videos to your TV. Seems a little buggy at the moment, but there are plenty of updates arriving all the time. Requires Android 2.2 or higher.

View Original Article Here

Lady Gaga : Who Is ? Why ?

2012-03-22T02:56:00.001-07:00

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (/ˈstɛfəniː dʒʌrməˈnɑːtə/; born March 28, 1986), better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She began performing in the rock music scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and was signed with Streamline Records by the end of 2007. During her employment as a songwriter for the record company, her vocal abilities captured the attention of recording artist Akon, who signed her to his label Kon Live Distribution.

Lady Gaga came to prominence as a recording artist following the release of her debut album The Fame (2008), which was a critical and commercial success that topped charts around the world and included the international number-one singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". After embarking on the The Fame Ball Tour, she followed the album with The Fame Monster (2009), which spawned the worldwide hit singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro". The album's success allowed her to embark on the eighteen-month long Monster Ball Tour, which later became one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. Her 2011 album Born This Way topped the charts of most major markets and generated more international chart-topping singles, including "Born This Way", "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory". Beside her musical career, she involves herself with humanitarian causes and LGBT activism.

Influenced by such acts as David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Queen, Lady Gaga is recognized for her flamboyant, diverse and outré contributions to the music industry through fashion, performance and music videos. She has sold an estimated 23 million albums and 64 million singles worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time and her singles some of the best selling worldwide.[1] Her achievements include five Grammy Awards and 13 MTV Video Music Awards. Lady Gaga has consecutively appeared on Billboard magazine's Artists of the Year (scoring the definitive title in 2010), ranked fourth in VH1's list of 100 Greatest Women in Music, is regularly placed on lists composed by Forbes magazine and was named one of the most influential people in the world by Time magazine.[2][3] In 2012, Gaga was ranked at number four on Billboard's list of top moneymakers of 2011, grossing more than 25 million dollars.

Basic Information

Birth name : Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Born : March 28, 1986 (age 25), New York, New York, U.S.
Genres : Pop, dance
Occupations : Singer-songwriter, performance artist, record producer, dancer, businesswoman, activist
Instruments : Vocals, piano, keyboards
Years active : 2005–present
Labels : Def Jam, Cherrytree, Streamline, Kon Live, Interscope
Website : LadyGaga.com

1986–2004: Early life

Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986 in New York City to parents Cynthia (née Bissett) and Joseph Germanotta, an internet entrepreneur.[5][6] Descending from Italian and more distant French-Canadian roots, Gaga is the elder of two children.[7][8] Her sister, Natali, a fashion student, was born in 1992.[9][10] Despite her seemingly affluent upbringing in the family home in Manhattan's Upper West Side, Gaga has stressed that she did not come from a wealthy background, stating that her parents "both came from lower-class families, so we've worked for everything—my mother worked eight to eight out of the house, in telecommunications, and so did my father."[11][12]

From the age of 11, Gaga – who was raised Roman Catholic – attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girls Roman Catholic school on Manhattan's Upper East Side.[13][14][15] She described her academic life in high school as "very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined" but also "a bit insecure": "I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn't fit in, and I felt like a freak."[16][17] Acquaintances dispute that she did not fit in at school. "She had a core group of friends; she was a good student. She liked boys a lot, but singing was No. 1," recalled a former high school classmate.[18] Gaga began playing the piano at the age of 4, went on to write her first piano ballad at 13, and started to perform at open mike nights by the age of 14.[19][20] Her passion for musical theatre brought her lead roles in high school productions, including Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.[21] She also appeared in a very small role as a mischievous classmate in the television drama series The Sopranos in a 2001 episode titled "The Telltale Moozadell" in addition to unsuccessfully auditioning for parts in New York shows.[11][22]

When her time at the Convent of the Sacred Heart came to an end, her mother encouraged her to apply for the Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21), a musical theatre training conservatory at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.[11] After becoming one of twenty students to gain early admission, she eventually lived in an NYU dorm on 11th Street by the age of 17.[21] CAP21 prepared her for her future career focus in "music, art, sex and celebrity" where, in addition to sharpening her songwriting skills, she composed essays and analytical papers on art, religion, social issues and politics, including a thesis on pop artists Spencer Tunick and Damien Hirst.[20][23][24] With CAP21, she also tried out for and won auditions, including the part of an unsuspecting diner customer for MTV's Boiling Points, a prank reality television show.[11][25] But Gaga felt more creative than some of her classmates. "Once you learn how to think about art, you can teach yourself," she said.

2005 - 2007 : Career beginnings
Lady Gaga (right) performing with Lady Starlight (left) at Lollapalooza 2007

Gaga withdrew from CAP21 at 19, in the second semester of her sophomore year, deciding to focus on her musical career.[26] Her father agreed to pay her rent for a year, on the condition that she re-enroll at Tisch if unsuccessful. "I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate shit until somebody would listen," she remembers.[21] Settled in a small apartment on Rivington Street towards the summer of 2005, Gaga recorded a couple of songs with hip-hop singer Grandmaster Melle Mel, for an audio book accompanying the children's book The Portal in the Park, by Cricket Casey.[11][27] She also began a band called the Stefani Germanotta Band (SGBand) with some friends from NYU – guitarist Calvin Pia, bassist Eli Silverman, drummer Alex Beckham and booking manager Frank Fredericks – in September of that year.[11][21] The band played a mixture of songs: some self-penned alongside classic rock numbers like Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er".[11] Playing in bars like the Greenwich Village's The Bitter End and the Lower East Side's the Mercury Lounge, the band developed a small fan base and caught the eye of music producer Joe Vulpis.[11] Soon after arranging time in Vulpis' studio in the months that followed, SGBand were selling their extended plays Words and Red and Blue (both 2005) at gigs around New York while becoming a local fixture of the downtown Lower East Side club scene.[21]

SGBand reached their career peak at the 2006 Songwriters Hall of Fame New Songwriters Showcase at The Cutting Room in June where Wendy Starland, a musician, appeared as a talent scout for music producer Rob Fusari. Starland informed Fusari – who was searching for a female singer to front a new band – of Gaga's ability and contacted her. With SGBand disbanded, Gaga traveled daily to New Jersey to work on songs she had written and compose new material with the music producer.[11] While in collaboration, Fusari compared some of her vocal harmonies to those of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen.[28] It was Fusari who helped create the moniker Gaga after the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga". Gaga was in the process of trying to come up with a stage name when she received a text message from Fusari that read "Lady Gaga."[29] He explained, "Every day, when Stef came to the studio, instead of saying hello, I would start singing 'Radio Ga Ga'. That was her entrance song" and that the text message was the result of a predictive text glitch that changed "radio" to "lady". She texted back, "That's it," and declared, "Don't ever call me Stefani again."[29][30] The New York Post, however, has reported that this story is incorrect, and that the name resulted from a marketing meeting.[18]
Full right profile of a young blond woman, surrounded by sitting spectators in a pub. She wears a black leotard and her long hair falls around her side. With her right hand she holds a pair of video sunglasses to her eyes.

Lady Gaga performing in a bar, sporting one of her earlier looks (2008)

Although the musical relationship between Fusari and Gaga was unsuccessful at first, the pair soon set up a company titled Team Lovechild in which they recorded and produced electropop tracks and sent them to music industry bosses.[11] Joshua Sarubin, the head of A&R at Def Jam Recordings, responded positively and vied for the record company to take a chance on her "unusual and provocative" performance. After having his boss Antonio "L.A." Reid in agreement, Gaga was signed to Def Jam in September 2006 with the intention of having an album ready in nine months.[11] However, she was dropped by the label after only three months – an unfortunate period of her life that would later inspire her treatment for the music video for her 2011 single "Marry the Night".[31][32] Devastated, Gaga returned to the solace of the family home for Christmas and the nightlife culture of the Lower East Side.[11]

She became increasingly experimental: fascinating herself with emerging neo-burlesque shows, go-go dancing at bars dressed in little more than a bikini in addition to experimenting with drugs.[11][14] Her father, however, did not understand the reason behind her drug intake and could not look at her for several months.[14][30] "I was onstage in a thong, with a fringe hanging over my ass thinking that had covered it, lighting hairsprays on fire, go-go dancing to Black Sabbath and singing songs about oral sex. The kids would scream and cheer and then we'd all go grab a beer. It represented freedom to me. I went to a Catholic school but it was on the New York underground that I found myself."[23] It was then when she became romantically involved with a heavy metal drummer in a relationship and break-up she likened to the musical film Grease: "I was his Sandy, and he was my Danny, and I just broke." He later became an inspiration behind some of her later songs.[33]

During this time, she met performance artist Lady Starlight, who helped mold her on-stage persona.[34] Starlight explained that, upon their first meeting, Gaga wanted to perform with her to songs she had recorded with Fusari. Like SGBand, the pair soon began performing at many of the downtown club venues like the Mercury Lounge, The Bitter End, and the Rockwood Music Hall. Their live performance art piece was known as "Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue" and, billed as "The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Rockshow", was a low-fi tribute to 1970s variety acts.[35][36] Soon after, the two were invited to play at the 2007 Lollapalooza music festival in August that year.[37] The show was critically acclaimed, and their performance received positive reviews.[20][35] Having initially focused on avant-garde electronic dance music, Gaga had found her musical niche when she began to incorporate pop melodies and the glam rock of David Bowie and Queen into her music.[38]

While Gaga and Starlight were busy performing, producer Rob Fusari continued to work on the songs he had created with Gaga. Fusari sent these songs to his friend, producer and record executive Vincent Herbert.[39] Herbert was quick to sign her to his label Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, upon its establishment in 2007.[40] Gaga later credited Herbert as the man who discovered her, adding "I really feel like we made pop history, and we're gonna keep going."[39] Having served as an apprentice songwriter under an internship at Famous Music Publishing, which was later acquired by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Gaga subsequently struck a music publishing deal with Sony/ATV.[41] As a result, she was hired to write songs for Britney Spears and labelmates New Kids on the Block, Fergie, and the Pussycat Dolls.[41] At Interscope, singer-songwriter Akon recognized her vocal abilities when she sang a reference vocal for one of his tracks in studio. He then convinced Interscope-Geffen-A&M Chairman and CEO Jimmy Iovine to form a joint deal by having her also sign with his own label Kon Live Distribution, making her his "franchise player."[31][43]

As 2007 came to a close, her former management company introduced her to songwriter and producer RedOne, whom they also managed. The first song she produced with RedOne was "Boys Boys Boys", a mash-up inspired by Mötley Crüe's "Girls, Girls, Girls" and AC/DC's "T.N.T.".[30][44] Gaga continued her collaboration with RedOne in the recording studio for a week on her debut album and also joined the roster of Cherrytree Records, an Interscope imprint established by producer and songwriter Martin Kierszenbaum, after co-writing four songs with Kierszenbaum including the singles "Christmas Tree" and "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)".[41] Despite her secure record deal, she admitted that there was fear about her being too "racy", "dance-orientated" and "underground" for the mainstream market. Her response: "My name is Lady Gaga, I've been on the music scene for years, and I'm telling you, this is what's next."

By 2008, Gaga had relocated to Los Angeles in order to work extensively with her record label to complete her debut album and set up her own creative team Haus of Gaga, modeled on Andy Warhol's Factory.[30][45] The Fame was first released on August 19, 2008 to slow radio play. Gaga supported it by performing around Europe and in small gay clubs around the US in addition to being billed as a supporting artist on the North American leg of New Kids on the Block's reunion concert tour.[46][47] A sleeper hit, lead single "Just Dance" had preceded the album's release by four months but only hit the summit of the international charts in January 2009, provoking the instant success of the album, earning her first Grammy Award nomination (for Best Dance Recording) and becoming one of the best-selling singles worldwide.[46][48] Gaga achieved a greater unexpected success when "Poker Face", another sleeper hit, reached number one in most major music markets worldwide in early 2009, selling 9.8 million singles worldwide.[49][50] The follow-up single won the award for Best Dance Recording at the 52nd Grammy Awards over nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

The Fame itself was nominated for Album of the Year while winning Best Dance/Electronica Album at the same ceremony.[51] Contemporary critics lauded the album, describing it as an exploration of her obsession with fame and the intricacies of a rich and famous lifestyle, noting its combination of genres "from Def Leppard drums and hand claps to metal drums on urban tracks", the inspiration drawn from 1980s synthpop and incorporation of dance music with clear hooks.[31] The Fame went to number one in Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and the UK and appeared in the top five in Australia, the US and 15 other countries.[52][53] It also stayed atop the Dance/Electronic Albums chart for 106 non-consecutive weeks and, since its release, has sold over 12 million copies worldwide.[54] The album's success spawned many 2009 honors including Billboard magazine's Rising Star award and the accumulation of 3 of 9 MTV Video Music Awards nominations, winning Best New Artist with the video for her single "Paparazzi" gaining Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects.[55][56] In addition to being an opening act on the Pussycat Dolls' Doll Domination Tour during the first half of 2009 in Europe and Oceania, she also embarked on her own six-month critically appreciated worldwide concert tour The Fame Ball Tour which ran from March to September 2009.[57][58]

While she traveled the globe, she wrote The Fame Monster, an EP of eight songs released in November 2009. Each song, dealing with the darker side of fame from personal experience, is expressed through a monster metaphor. Making Gaga the first artist in digital history to have three singles (alongside "Just Dance" and "Poker Face") to pass the four million mark in digital sales, its lead single "Bad Romance" topped the charts in eighteen countries and reached the top two in the US, Australia and New Zealand while accruing the Grammy Awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Short Form Music Video.[59] The second single "Telephone", which features singer Beyoncé, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and became Gaga's fourth UK number one single; its accompanying music video, although controversial, receiving positive reception from contemporary critics who praised her for "the musicality and showmanship of Michael Jackson and the powerful sexuality and provocative instincts of Madonna."[60][61] Her following single "Alejandro" paired Gaga with fashion photographer Steven Klein for a music video similarly as controversial – critics complimented its ideas and dark nature but the Catholic League attacked Gaga for her alleged use of blasphemy.[62] Despite the controversy surrounding her music videos, they made Gaga the first artist to gain over one billion viral views on video-sharing website YouTube.[63] At the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, Gaga won 8 of her 13 nominations, including Video of the Year for "Bad Romance" (with "Telephone" also nominated), which made her the first female artist to be nominated twice for the award.[64][65] In addition, The Fame Monster garnered a total of six nominations at the 53rd Grammy Awards – equating to the amount of Grammy nominations her debut received – winning Best Pop Vocal Album and earning her a second-consecutive nomination for Album of the Year.[66][67]
Profile of a young blond woman. Her hair falls in waves up to her shoulders. She wears a purple leotard with visible sequins attached. Ample bosom, arm and leg are visible.
Lady Gaga performing at The Monster Ball Tour in 2010

The success of the album allowed Gaga to start her second worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just weeks after the release of The Fame Monster and months after having finished The Fame Ball Tour.[68] Upon finishing in May 2011, the critically acclaimed and commercially accomplished tour ran for over one and a half years and grossed $227.4 million, making it one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time and the highest-grossing for a debut headlining artist.[69] Concerts performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City were filmed for a HBO television special titled Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden. The special accrued one of its five Emmy Award nominations and has since been released on DVD and Blu-ray.[70] Gaga also performed songs from the album at international events such as the 2009 Royal Variety Performance where she sang "Speechless", a power ballad, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II; the 52nd Grammy Awards where her opening performance consisted of the song "Poker Face" and a piano duet of "Speechless" in a medley of "Your Song" with Elton John; and the 2010 BRIT Awards where a performance of an acoustic rendition of "Telephone" followed by "Dance in the Dark" dedicated to the late fashion designer and close friend, Alexander McQueen, supplemented her hat-trick win at the awards ceremony.[71] Other performances may have included her participation in Michael Jackson's This Is It concert series at London's O2 Arena. "I was actually asked to open for Michael on his tour," she stated. "We were going to open for him at the O2 and we were working on making it happen. I believe there was some talk about us, lots of the openers, doing duets with Michael on stage."[72]

Nevertheless, she realized a collaboration with consumer electronic company Beats by Dr. Dre to create a pair of in-ear jewel-encrusted headphones titled Heartbeats. "They are designed to be the first ever fashion accessories that double as the absolute best sonically sounding headphones in the world," she commented.[73] Gaga also partnered with Polaroid in January 2010 as their Creative Director.[74] Excited about "blending the iconic history of Polaroid and instant film with the digital era," Gaga unveiled the first trio of new products called Grey Label: a pair of picture-taking sunglasses, a paperback-sized mobile printing unit and an updated version of the traditional Polaroid camera at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show.[75] But her collaboration with past producer Rob Fusari led to her production team, Mermaid Music LLC, being sued in March 2010 when he claimed that he was entitled to a 20% share of the company's earnings. Gaga's lawyer, Charles Ortner, described the agreement with Fusari as "unlawful" and declined to comment, but five months later, the New York Supreme Court dismissed both the lawsuit and a countersuit by Gaga.[76][77] In addition to such strife, Gaga was tested borderline positive for lupus, but claimed not to be affected by the symptoms. The revelations caused considerable dismay among fans, leading to Gaga addressing the matter in an interview with Larry King, saying she hopes to avoid symptoms by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

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Why Lady Gaga Sucks

“Only a non-critical audience, nourished on the watery pap of pop music
could have fallen for such tenth-rate drivel.” –Ewan MacColl

If you want to call it party music, no harm done. It plays great in the background of dry-hump dance parties, behind the “CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!” of keg stand chants. Just don’t call it art. Don’t mythologize her rise to fame. Don’t call her an original. And don’t pretend she’s talented. There’s nothing new about her other than the sheer level of suck she’s managed to lower the standard of music.

Believe it or not, the quote above isn’t about Lady Gaga (although it could very neatly sum up one side of the fence). It was actually a gibe lodged 45 years ago against a young Minnesotan folk singer named Robert Allen Zimmerman. He had just played a booed-out set at the Newport Folk Festival. Zimmerman was a cigarette-thin, sophisticatedly scraggly, anglofroed musician that was said to look like an “undernourished cockatoo” performing on stage. One critic credited him with inventing the “arrogant, faux-cerebral posturing that has been the dominant style” of pop music since rock shook the jukebox.

But for a guy blamed for sullying the folk music tradition, Zimmerman, who changed his name to Bob Dylan early in his career, wasn’t an iconoclast just for the sake of raising eyebrows. He was naturally different. What he sang he felt, and what he felt came from what he saw happening in the world around him. There was substance to the controversy surrounding him. And whether you like him or not, he had a message, a sincere one, and he was the voice of a generation.
But this rancid reincarnation of Madonna with less clothing (and talent) would be harmless if everyone just agreed that she’s entertainment, not art. Unfortunately, the critical establishment responsible for calling this crap out has somehow become warped; they’re confused about the difference between art and entertainment.

“Think of Lady Gaga as Britney Spears with a brain,“ says Jon Bream of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Well that’s not saying much, now is it? “GaGa is a provocatively dressed, bleached blonde who makes irresistible, mindless dance music that packs clubs and the top of the pop charts,” Bream continues. In only two sentences, Gaga went from Britney “with a brain” to “mindless” without the writer even catching his own folly. What’s so brainy about writing “irresistible, mindless dance music?” And who cares if it packs clubs? There are long lines for the toilets at those clubs, too.
Elevating her status to an artist not only confuses what MaGaga is but it also confuses what art is.

“I want to hammer it into people’s heads that pop music is legitimate art when it’s done right,” says Gaga in a recent interview by the Seattle Times. “A good pop song can be played anywhere in the world for any kind of person, and it’s gonna make them wanna get up and [expletive] dance.”

Big Macs are all over the world, too, but no one’s calling them art.

“I have a fascination with Andy Warhol,” she explains, “and the way he wanted to make commercial art that was taken as seriously as fine art,” GaGa says.

But Warhol, for as much as he celebrated the manufactured ubiquity of popular culture (like Campbell’s soup cans, Elvis, Monroe etc.), he was also putting a fork in it. The way Warhol created his art (in a factory, with workers on an assembly line pressing screen prints) and the copious reproductions he produced of just one piece of art forced some uncomfortable parallels between the art world and the world of manufactured goods. When art was put on an assembly line, the world began to ask some serious questions about what art was.

Warhol’s way of embracing popular culture drew our attention to it in new ways. He took the complacent familiarity out of everyday things we had around us and made us hold a mirror up to the crass, commercial, corporate-sponsored societies that were beginning to overtake the world. And even if that wasn’t his goal, it happened. That is his legacy.

But Gaga isn’t drawing attention to popular culture in the same way. She’s celebrating all that is wrong with it. Where Warhol could defamiliarize a product’s effect upon us, Gaga goes in the opposite direction. She tries to sell it back to us. Her videos are nothing more than product placements (in a recent video, she wears Diet Coke cans as curlers), advertisements (for products and a way of life) set to really bad music.

“Music has gotten so pretentious that now it’s almost rebellious to be a pop artist,” she says. “A lot of indie-rock bands and singer-songwriters have this middle finger up at the pop world and record labels.”

No, Gaga. They’ve got their middle fingers up to you. It’s easy to be a pop artist, it’s not easy to be rebellious.

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The secrets of Lady Gaga’s social media success

The woman millions of people would get to know as Lady Gaga was still mostly unheard-of when Tynicka Battle and Amina Elshahawi received a request for a proposal from the future pop star’s record label.

The two are cofounders of a company called ThinkTank Digital, and by the time they were approached in 2008 on behalf of Gaga they were already running the social media and online marketing strategies for several major music and entertainment labels.

Gaga wasn’t the first new artist they had worked with, but almost from the beginning they could see that she was unique. In an attempt to generate some early buzz they contacted an entire list of music bloggers, most of whom are bombarded with hundreds of pitches from other artists and record labels every week.

“In the first six months of the campaign we were able to secure 50 interviews with her,” Elshahawi told me. “That’s actually pretty unheard-of for a new artist … In the first six months we reached about 10 million impressions with these interviews and all the coverage that was going on with her.”

593px Gagafameball 220x222 The secrets of Lady Gagas social media successOf course today most music bloggers couldn’t hope to get access to Gaga, but in those early days the constant availability was critical. In addition to making her available for interviews, the musician’s record label released all kinds of assets that made great blogger fodder, from video clips to photos of her.

Anyone who has monitored Lady Gaga’s social media presence would agree that this early momentum has paid off: Gaga is one of the elite few to have reached a billion views on her YouTube channel. She has amassed over 30 million likes on Facebook and last year she became the “Queen of Twitter” when she surpassed Britney Spears as the most-followed user on that network.

Despite her success on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, much of the early focus for her social media brand was on Myspace. Remember, in 2008 the site was still neck and neck with Facebook for social dominance, and Twitter was still planted firmly within the early adopter community. By October 2009, Gaga had amassed over 700,000 friends on Myspace.

“Myspace at the time was pretty much the hub for her fan base,” Battle explained. “We worked closely with the editorial team over there to do exclusives and do interviews and special features. Imeem was a really big platform at the time, so we worked really closely with them. We had presences on Facebook and Twitter but we really stepped up the effort over time at those places.”

The two said they began shifting more of their efforts toward Facebook and Twitter at some point in 2009, though they never completely turned away from Myspace, given its early support for Gaga. Though her Facebook page is now managed by a number of people — including the star herself — the ThinkTank Digital team attributed much of the Twitter success to its authenticity. “Twitter she did handle herself, because actually at that time she made it clear that she wanted to be the one to tweet,” said Elshahawi. “She didn’t want anything promotional on her Twitter account.”

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Top Military Forces in the world

2012-03-22T01:09:00.000-07:00

In honor of a recent list of cheesy 80s actioners, here is a list for us James Bond wannabes. This list looks at 10 of the special forces from around the world that have the honor of being the most elite and – consequently – badass. Feel free to mention your own favorites in the comments which will no doubt include a lot that are not listed here.

10.Spetsnaz

Whereas most of the training regimens of militaries around the world are designed to teach, Russia’s Special Purpose Regiments, equivalent to the U. S. Green Berets, endure punishment daily throughout their training. They may quit anytime they want. The Spetsnaz want only the best, pain-hardened, battle-loving killers.

They spar with the express goal of injuring each other, breaking ribs, fingers, vertebrae, healing only long enough to get back on their feet and complete the training. They are typically deployed for reconnaissance or house-to-house close quarters combat, but are also employed as extremely formidable bodyguards for high-ranking politicians.

They claim that they are not taught to ignore pain, since that is impossible. They are instead taught to enjoy it.

9. French Navy Commandos

They call themselves “berets verts,” or “green berets,” and consist of 6 units: Hubert, Trepel, de Montfort, de Penfentenyo, Jaubert, and Kieffer. Each unit is trained for special tasks, whether combat diving, close quarters sea combat, exfiltration, canine units, or long range fire support, including snipers and missile launchers. They were established much at the behest of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who was a naval officer in WWII.

8. MARSOC

Currently, only men are allowed to try out for the U. S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. It’s primary missions are typically special reconnaissance, direct action, and internal defense within foreign nations.

Their training regimen is comprised of 4 phases, increasing in strenuousness. Phase 1 is SERE training, survival, evasion, resistance, escape. They are trained to make fire by friction, fire by mirrors, even fire by ice, depending on the location to which they are deployed. You mold the ice with the heat of your hands into the shape of a lens, which works just like a magnifying glass.

Of course, they take matches and Zippos with them. After this, they begin physical fitness training, and hand-to-hand combat, practicing a hybrid of the most functional martial arts: Jeet Kune Do, Wing Chun, Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, even Pankration. Then, Sayoc Kali, which is Filipino knife fighting.

This is just phase 1. Phase 2 is marksmanship, amphibious demolitions, reconnaissance. Phase 3 is a contrinuation of 2, but with the addition of field radioes and satellite data-uplink systems. Phase 4 is “irregular warfare” instruction, which is a euphemism for “anything goes.” This phase consists primarily of the Derna Bridge operation, which forces the recruits to use all skills acquired during the course.

7.MI-6

The closest thing to James Bond can be found in the personnel of the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service, or Security Service, section 6. It works in close partnership with section 5 (MI-5), the latter which is more of a pure spy agency, dedicated to counter-intelligence and counter-espionage.

MI-6, however, is the unit which deploys its agents all over the world to detect international intelligence threats and “neutralize” them before they become truly dangerous. Their headquarters is at Vauxhall Cross, London, and they will be quick to tell you there that there is no James Bond among them, and that their assignments and missions are quite boring.
They do, however, have an agent very similar to “Q,” who is in charge of all equipment and weaponry deployed for each operation. They also have indoor firing ranges, dojos, and a gym.

6.U. S. Army Rangers

After basic Army training, voluntary enlistment into the 75th Ranger Regiment will train the recruit for the HALO parachute jump, SERE, languages, elite combatives expert, mountain warfare, combat diving, in addition to all the weapons qualification training.

After nine weeks of this, they enroll in Advanced Individual Training, to become masters of their chosen fields, then immediately enroll in the Army Airborne School, then in Ranger Indoctrination or Orientation Programs.

By the time they’ve graduated, they’re so well trained that members have reported waking up screaming from nightmares about Ranger school to be relieved that they are only in Vietnam.

But then, they lose a few points for an incident a Ranger told me about: he was the captain of a tank regiment on maneuvers in the Amazon jungle. Just an exercise, but because of the sweltering heat, they had to open their tank hatches. This captain, who shall remain nameless, heard a thump behind him, and turned to see a Goliath Bird-eating Spider crawling toward him, raising its front legs and hissing.

He admits to screaming like a girl, knifing the tarantula, jumping out of the tank and running off into the jungle for a mile and a half. His buddies still rib him about it.

5.U. S. Army Green Berets

That’s their nickname. Technically they are the U. S. Army Special Forces, as opposed to the special forces of other countries, many of which also wear green berets.

Typically, the Green Berets are trained to administer “unconventional warfare,” which entails infiltrating a hostile area in anticipation of a large-scale military engagement, and training the local resistance populations to fight back against the enemy. This was done in South Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, among others.

In the event that there is no local resistance to the enemy, the Green Berets infiltrate and soften up the enemy by “neutralizing” as many of its officers as possible. This usually involved sniping and throat cutting.

Training is very extensive and begins with the Army’s assessment of the recruit’s possession of 12 attributes: intelligence, physical fitness, motivation, trustworthiness, accountability, maturity, stability, judgment, decisiveness, teamwork, influence, and communications. 40% of applicants satisfy the Army that they have these attributes.

Final training consists of various endurance courses, carrying heavy backpacks over 40 miles of rugged terrain, with nothing but a live chicken and a knife, day and night. If the recruit can make a fire, he can eat the chicken cooked. He is not given matches or a lighter. He is allowed only a compass and his own hand-drawn map, completed from earlier reconnaissance courses.

4.The Delta Force

The only official United States counter-terrorism unit, dedicated to hostage rescues, counter-insurgency, and general counter-terrorism. They’re full name is 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, managed by the Army. Selection is done according to a physical fitness test: situps, pushups, followed by a 3-mile run, in an undisclosed time limit.

Then an all-night, 18-mile hike over mountainous terrain with a 35 lb backpack and a compass, no map. This finally culminated with a 40-mile hike with a 45 lb backpack, in a shorter time limit.

Then psychologists conduct a grueling battery of mental exams on the recruit to try to break him into confusion. If he passes this, he actually gets to begin Delta Force training, for 6 months. Firearms, heavy weaponry, elite hand-to-hand training.

3.Shayetet 13

The name means “Flotilla 13,” and their official motto is the same as the Israeli military: “Never Again,” in reference to the Holocaust. Their unofficial motto, as they like to joke, is “When the going gets tough, the Jews get pissed.”

They are 1 of the 3 most elite Israeli special forces units, but Shayetet 13 is the unit most similar to the Delta Force. They specialize in hostage rescue and counter-terrorism, and because they live so close to a host of nations that seem bent on eradicating them, they are at all times ready in an instant to travel abroad and kill. They are very secretive, but of their missions publicized, the most notable include Operation Spring of Youth, in which they hunted down members of Black September in Beirut Lebanon and killed them, in revenge for the 1972 Munich massacre.

Apart from their firearms and heavy weapons training, they train extensively in Krav Maga, the national martial art of Israel, to which they endearingly refer as “Jew-jitsu.” It’s philosophy is based on the principle that in a real street fight no quarter will be asked or given. Fight to kill. Groin strikes are quite prevalent.

2.Navy SEALs

You might think there are a lot of them, given the number of action movies dedicated to the plot device of an invincible warrior, but there are only about 2,000 of them. They are the Unites States’s most elite special warfare combatants. They are trained in all the fields in which the other U. S. special forces are trained, but to an even higher degree of competency.

SEAL training lasts over a year, and requires an age of between 17 and 28 years, male, incorrect vision no worse than 20/200 in either eye, and correctable to 20/20, and the physical screening test, which is beyond belief.

500 yd (460 m) swim using breast or combat sidestroke in under 12:30 with a competitive time of under 10:30.

At least 42 push-ups in 2 minutes with a competitive count of 79 or more.

At least 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes with a competitive count of 79 or more.

At least 6 pull-ups from a dead hang (no time limit) with a competitive count of 11 or more.

Run 1.5 mi (2.4 km) in boots and trousers in under 11:30 with a competitive time of 10:20 or less.

Then training begins. Physical conditioning, diving, land warfare, for 24 weeks, then 26 more weeks of SEAL qualification training. Then specialization in whatever fields a SEAL team needs expertise in: anything from sniper to language specialist, rope climbing, diving, jumpmaster, surreptitious entry, dynamic entry (door breacher), etc.

1.British SAS

The Special Air Service is trained to perform equally well in all the fields listed for the SEALs, but is also trained by MI-5 and MI-6 for in-depth counter-espionage, more so than the SEALs. Physical competency must be of equal stature to the SEALs, to the degree that both special forces work closely together when necessary (Iraq and Afghanistan) and have good camaraderie.

They wear a tan beret, just as the U. S. Army Rangers, and both the SAS and SEALs are trained in knife fighting by experts in Apache Indian knife techniques, as well as Sayoc Kali, Krav Maga, Jeet Kune Do, and for the last 3 years or so, the Keysi Fighting Method, made famous by the Chris Nolan “Batman” films.

They have the distinction of being the model on which almost all national commando units are based today, including every other entry on this list.

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How to Speed Torrent Downloading ? 10 Ways to Speed Up Torrents

2012-03-22T00:22:00.000-07:00

Imagine being on the autobahn with the accelerator down and then you realize that you are driving a wrecked car. The plight is not so uncommon on the information superhighway too.

Torrent users would attest to the fact that half of our time is spent looking for ‘healthy’ torrents and the other half trying to download (and a bit of upload too) at the maximum speed. The former is mandatory; the latter thankfully is within the realm of tweaking.

If you are the one who thinks that your torrent download speeds could do with a boost then keep reading. Below, you’ll find a few tips on how to speed up torrent download speed.

Your ISP is where it starts

Check the maximum download and upload speeds allowed by your ISP. Most ISP’s have specific bandwidths for both uploads and downloads. Obviously your torrent download speed won’t cross the cap set by the ISP. Go over to this article on Speed.io for broadband speed test and this one by Tina on ways to increase your connection speed. There are many other bandwidth testers like DSLReports which is included in the speed test within uTorrent.

Choosing the right BitTorrent client

Use the better clients out there like uTorrent, Vuze or the BitTorrent client itself. Wikipedia lists about 51 of them supporting the BitTorrent protocol. The choice of client used should always be updated to the latest version. The screenshots here depict uTorrent. The settings should be similarly configurable for other clients too. Mac users shuld also check our Transmission vs. uTorrent post

Go for healthy seeds and peers

A peer is any computer participating in the download and upload of a torrent file. A seed (or seeder) is anyone who has one complete copy of the file being shared across the torrent network. A leech (or a leecher) is the person who does not have the complete file yet but has joined the network to download it. A leecher becomes a seeder when he downloads the entire file and then shares it across the network.

increase torrent downloading speed by choosing healthy seeds

For high torrent speeds, the best bet is in numbers. The greater the number of seeders, the healthier the torrent and the better the chance of higher speeds. The rule of thumb says to choose the torrent files with a high number of seeders and preferably lesser number of leechers i.e. a higher seed-leecher ratio.

Get through the firewall

Firewalls can block all incoming BitTorrent connections coming through. To ensure otherwise, a firewall should be manually configured to accept the connections and let it through the client. Windows XP has the Windows Firewall. Configure the firewall installed to accept the connections by checking the BitTorrent client on the allowed list i.e. Options – Preferences ““ Connection – check Add uTorrent to Windows Firewall. Also, check the Windows Firewall exception (if you keep it enabled) in your client too. Shutting down the firewall is not recommended as it leaves the computer open to attack.

Note: If the home computer is behind a router, it also should be configured through the feature called Port Range Forwarding to enable torrent traffic. The router documentation should have specific information on this.

Limit your upload rate

A peer to peer network is all about sharing alike, but an unlimited upload rate hits the download rate too. Using the speed tests, find out your maximum upload speed and then set your client’s upload rate (Global Upload Rate in uTorrent) to about 80% of your maximum upload speed. You can also try varying your upload speeds ““ keep it high initially and then gradually bring it down towards the middle of the download.

Note: Mind the speed units it may be given in kilobits per second (kb/sec) or kilobytes per second (kB/sec). 1 kilobyte = 8 kilobit

Go to a different port

The default port for the BitTorrent protocol is any between port numbers 6881-6999. ISPs throttle traffic on these ports as BitTorrent sharing involves high bandwidth usage. It’s easy to configure a different port in your torrent client. Use some number above 10000 to get around ISPs and also avoid problems with other applications. By default, the uTorrent port is randomized each time it starts. Set a specific port by not enabling the Randomize Port setting.

Increase the number of Max Half Open TCP connections

This figure specifies how many connections a torrent client should attempt to establish simultaneously at any given time. Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or newer, limits this to a default of 10 as a barrier against virus multiplication. But that’s a bummer for torrent speeds as torrents too need a large number of simultaneous connections.

A patch has been available for a while from LvlLord which modifies the TCPIP.sys file in Windows to allow a higher number of TCP connections.

After running the patch, you have to set the number of connections in your torrent client. For example, in uTorrent go to Options ““ Preferences ““ Advanced – net.max_halfopen. Set any number from 50 to 100. But see that net.max_halfopen is set lower than the value set in TCPIP.SYS. Always check if it is still patched because Windows updates sometimes overwrite it.

Experiment with Protocol Encryption

Some ISPs love to act like Big Brothers and constrict bandwidth for P2P protocols. Protocol Encryption in most of the torrent clients helps to override this bandwidth shaping. Enable outgoing protocol encryption and put a checkmark on Allow Incoming Legacy Connections.

With protocol encryption, ISPs find it difficult if not impossible to detect that the traffic is coming from BitTorrent. Experiment with enabled, disabled and forced options because you could be getting better speeds with encryption disabled. Non-encryption makes a torrent connection compatible with someone who is not using encryption but as a minus it makes the torrent detectable to an ISP with a bandwidth restricting policy.

Bandwidth and connections

Your BitTorrent client’s settings options will let you enter figures for ““

Global maximum number of connections gives the maximum number of connections that a BitTorrent client can make for any P2P exchange. Setting this too high does NOT mean higher speeds. Setting it too high would take up useless bandwidth and too low a figure would miss out on peers. For my 256kbps connection, I have a setting of 130.

Maximum number of connected peers per torrent gives the maximum number of peers that a BitTorrent client can connect to for any P2P exchange. Experiment by setting this number close to the available peers for a particular torrent. For my 256kbps connection, I have a default setting of 70.

Number of upload slots per torrent gives the maximum number of peers that a BitTorrent client will upload to for any P2P exchange. A low setting may affect downloads. For my 256kbps connection, I have a setting of 3.

uTorrent has a Speed Guide which handily calculates the figures for a particular connection.

Some common sense

Most BitTorrent clients allow us to view the individual files in a download. You can selectively disable the download of files you don’t think necessary.

Familiarize yourself with the customization settings of your particular client available in the Help files or at the website FAQs.

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Best Android phones : Read Befor You Buy It

2012-03-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

Motorola Droid Razr Maxx (Verizon Wireless) Editors' Choice - Motorola Droid Razr Maxx (Verizon Wireless)

The Motorola Droid Razr Maxx proves that a powerful Android superphone can remain thin yet still promise marathon-worthy battery life. If you can live without Ice Cream Sandwich and have big hands, the Maxx is extremely compelling.

Photos By : http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/01/motorola-droid-4-droid-razr-maxx-announced/

Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Verizon Wireless) Editors' Choice - Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Verizon Wireless)

As the first U.S. phone with Ice Cream Sandwich, Verizon's Samsung Galaxy Nexus takes a coveted, solitary step forward. However, once other premium handsets receive the updated Android OS, the Galaxy Nexus will lose some of its competitive edge.

Photo By : http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/18/samsungs-galaxy-nexus-gets-official-android-4-0-4-65-inch-hd/

Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket (AT&T)

If you live in an area that gets AT&T's LTE network, we highly recommend the powerful and beautiful Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket.

Photo By : http://www.slashgear.com/att-galaxy-s-ii-skyrocket-and-htc-vivid-offer-lte-on-nov-6-31192001/

LG Nitro HD (AT&T)

With its gorgeous display, high-def everything, and 4G speeds, the LG Nitro HD has what it takes to compete; however, a few flaws keep it from trampling the competition.

Photo By : http://www.newcellphonesblog.com/att-lg-nitro-hd-now-on-sale-price-249-99.html

Motorola Droid 4 (Verizon Wireless)

Melding an excellent keyboard, swift LTE data, and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor into one Android device, the Motorola Droid 4 is long overdue. Fans of the first Motorola Droid will find plenty to smile about here, but those who aren't married to a QWERTY keyboard may not enjoy carrying around such a massive phone.

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World's Fastest Cars

2012-03-21T21:28:00.000-07:00

While most of us can only dream of owning the fastest car in the world, some will do whatever it takes to possess the most powerful speed. So, how fast are the fastest cars in the world?

Here are the 10 fastest street legal cars available on the market (production models, as opposed to concept or modified cars) measured by tested top speed (theoretical speeds do not count).

World's Fastest Cars:

1. Bugatti Veyron Super Sport: 267 mph, 0-60 in 2.4 secs. Aluminum, Narrow Angle 8 Liter W16 Engine with 1200 hp, base price is $2,400,000. Although the Bugatti Veyron lost the title to SSC Ultimate Aero on March 2007, Bugatti challenge the record in Germany on July 10, 2010 with the new 2010 Super Sport Version and the Veyron once again claims the title of the fastest car in the world at 267 mph. The original Bugatti Veyron has a top speed of 253 mph, priced at $1,700,000 and equipped with 1001 hp.

2. Hennessey Venom GT: 260 mph, 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, has a 6.2-liter LS9 Turbocharged V8 Twin Turbo V8 Engine producing 1200 hp, has a price tag of $950,000. The Venom GT has yet to be tested and proven, but could possibly hit a top speed of 275 mph. This might just be the Veyron Super Sport's closest competitor!

2. Koenigsegg Agera R: 260 mph, 0-60 in 2.9 secs. 5.0-liter V8 Engine with twin turbo’s, housing 1099 hp. Base price is $1,600,000. If you're into snow sports, the Agera R can be fitted with a Ski Box as well as winter tires, not that I would take one on a ski trip or anything like that. While the Agera R has a massive theoretical top speed, the current tested top speed is 260 mph. Expect this snow car to be the Bugatti's archenemy for the next 5 years.

3. SSC Ultimate Aero: 257 mph, 0-60 in 2.7 secs. Twin-Turbo V8 Engine with 1183 hp, base price is $654,400. Tested in March 2007 by Guinness World Records, The SSC Ultimate Aero was the fastest car in the world from March 2007 to July 2010. On March 2011, the Koenigsegg Agera R also surpassed it, forcing this American made car to the #3 spot. Shelby SuperCars will continue their quest to reclaim the fastest car title, and their new SSC Tuatura might do the job (we'll just have to wait).

4. Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo: 248 mph, 0-60 in 2.8 secs. Twin Turbo All Aluminum V8 Engine with 750 hp, base price is $555,000. Smooth and bad-ass. It will make you want to show it off non-stop.

5. Koenigsegg CCX: 245 mph, 0-60 in 3.2 secs. 90 Degree V8 Engine 806 hp, base price is $545,568. Made in Sweden, it is the older brother of the Agera R, only losing to 4 other supercars in the world.

6. McLaren F1: 240 mph, 0-60 in 3.2 secs. BMW S70/2 60 Degree V12 Engine with 627 hp, base price is $970,000. The fastest car in the 20th century with doors that looks like bat wings. Maybe Batman needs to order one and paint it black

7. Zenvo ST1: 233 mph, 0-60 in 2.9 secs. Twin-Charged 7.0 liter V8 Engine forging 1,104 hp. Base price: $1,225,000. The first Supercar from Zenvo Automotive, a Danish sports car company in pursuit of speed and perfection. This 100% Danish made supercar is limited to 15 units and the company even promised "flying doctors" to keep your baby functioning.

8. Gumpert Apollo: 225 mph, 0-60 in 3.0 secs, 4.2 liter V8 Engine that houses 650 hp. Base price: $450,000. Gumpert claims that the Apollo was designed such that it could drive upside-down in a tunnel with speeds at 190 mph or above. Of course, no one has tested this yet.

8. Noble M600: 225 mph, 0-60 in 3.7 secs. Twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 Engine with 650 hp. Base price is $330,000. The Noble M600 also happens to be a very cool car. Its inconspicuous design sports a slender and contoured body which does not scream out for attention at every second of the day.

9. Aston Martin One-77: 220 mph, 0-60 in 3.4 secs. 7.3 litre V12 Engine with 750 hp. Base price: $1,850,000. The production of this is limited to 77, hence the name One-77. This is beauty and power packed into One.

9. Ascari A10: 220 mph, 0-60 in 2.8 secs. 5.0 litre BMW V8 S62 Engine with 625 hp. Base price: $650,000. The company planned to produce 50 of these supercars at its factory in Banbury, England.

10. Lamborghini Aventador: 217 mph, 0-60 in 2.9 secs. V12 Engine with 700 hp, base price is $379,700. According to Lamborghini, Aventador is the name of a Bull that entered into battle at the Saragossa Arena on October 1993. This is the fastest bull in the world!

10. Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster: 217 mph, 0-60 in 3.4 secs. Twin turbocharged AMG V12 engine that produces 678 hp. Base price is $1,850,000. The Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster is a limited-edition, with five ever produced. It is the quintessential exotic and exclusive supercar.

10. Ferrari Enzo: 217 mph, 0-60 in 3.4 secs. F140 Aluminum V12 Engine with 660 hp, base price is $670,000. Only 399 were ever produced; the price goes up every time someone crashes.

10. Jaguar XJ220: 217 mph, 0-60 in 3.8 secs. Twin Turbo V6 Engine with 542 hp, base price was $650,000. Made in 1992, this car still has what it takes to make the list.

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World's Most Expensive Cars

2012-03-21T21:19:00.001-07:00

What is the most expensive car in the world? The 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe was sold for $8,700,000 in 1987. However, that car and many alike will not be included in this list because it is not available on the market today. It is hard to imagine someone would actually spend 8 million dollars on a car instead of using it for something more productive. However, if you had the money and opportunity, you would probably spend a small fraction of it on a collection of supercars for your private garage.

Here are the 10 most expensive street legal production cars on the market (at least 2 available); we will not include concept cars.

World's Most Expensive Cars:

1. Bugatti Veyron Super Sports $2,400,000. This is by far the most expensive street legal car available on the market today (the base Veyron costs $1,700,000). It is the fastest accelerating car reaching 0-60 in 2.5 seconds. It is also the fastest street legal car when tested again on July 10, 2010 with the 2010 Super Sport Version reaching a top speed of 267 mph. When competing against the Bugatti Veyron, you better be prepared!

2. Aston Martin One-77 $1,850,000. The name "One-77" says it all: beauty and power in One, limited to 77 units. With 750 hp, it is able to travel from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and reaching a maximum speed of 220 mph.

2. Pagani Zonda Clinque Roadster $1,850,000. One of the most exotic cars out there is also one of the most expensive. It can go from 0-60 in 3.4 seconds with a top speed of 217 mph.

3. Lamborghini Reventon $1,600,000. The most powerful and the most expensive Lamborghini ever built is the third on the list. It takes 3.3 seconds to reach 60 mph and it has a top speed of 211 mph. Its rarity (limited to 20) and slick design are the reasons why it is so expensive and costly to own.

3. Koenigsegg Agera R $1,600,000. The Agera R can burn 0-60 in 2.8 seconds, reaching a maximum speed of 260 mph. It has the parts to reach 270 mph, but the supercar is electronically capped at 235 mph. With the completion of certain paperwork, the company will unlock the speed limit for one occasion.

4. Maybach Landaulet $1,380,000. The Landaulet is the most expensive sedan on the market and it can reach from 0-60 in 5.2 seconds. Probably the most luxurious car ever made with a convertible roof that can open fully at the rear. This car is made especially for those CEOs and Executives who have their own personal driver.

5. Zenvo ST1 $1,225,000. Able to reach 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 233 mph. The Zenvo ST1 is from a new Danish supercar company that will compete to be the best in speed and style. The ST1 is limited to 15 units and the company even promised "flying doctors" to keep your car running.

6. McLaren F1 $970,000. In 1994, the McLaren F1 was the fastest and most expensive car. Even though it was built more than 15 years ago, it has an unbelievable top speed of 240 mph and reaching 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. Even today, the McLaren F1 is still top on the list and outperforms many other supercars.

7. Ferrari Enzo $670,000. The most popular supercar ever built. The Enzo has a top speed of 217 mph and reaching 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. Only 400 units were produced and it is currently being sold for over $1,000,000 at auctions.

8. Pagani Zonda C12 F $667,321. Produced by a small independent company in Italy, the Pagani Zonda C12 F is the 8th most expensive car in the world. It promises to delivery a top speed of 215 mph+ and it can reach 0-60 in 3.5 seconds.

9. SSC Ultimate Aero $654,400. Don't let the price tag fool you, this American made car is actually the 3rd fastest street legal car in the world with a top speed of 257 mph+ and reaching 0-60 in 2.7 seconds. This baby cost less than half as much as the Bugatti Veyron, yet has enough power to compete against the most expensive car. It is estimated that only 25 of this exact model will ever be produced.

10. Ascari A10 $650,000. This badboy can reach a tested top speed of 215 mph, zooming 0-60 in 2.8 seconds. The British car company plans to assemple 50 of these supercars in their factory in Banbury

View Original Article Here

Photos By http://www.thesupercars.org/top-cars/most-expensive-cars-in-the-world-top-10-list/

Top 5 Fastest Bikes in the World

2012-03-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

5. BMW K1200S 167 mhh (268 km/h)

With enough raw power to shock even the most seasoned adrenaline junky, the K 1200 S hurls you from a dead stop to sixty mph in just 2.8 seconds. Once you're over the whiplash, you'll keep climbing, topping out at speeds that run neck-and-neck with the fastest production motorcycles in the world.

4. Ducati 1098s 169 mph (271 km/h)

The Ducati 1098 is a 1099 cc L-twin sport bike manufactured by Ducati. It was announced on November 8, 2006 for the 2007 model year and replaces the 999. The 1098 makes a manufacturer claimed 160 horsepower, 90.4 ft-lb torque, and weighs 173kg. These figures gives the 1098 the highest torque-to-weight ratio of any production sport bike ever made.

3. Aprilia RSV 1000R Mille 175mph (281 km/h)

The RSV Mille and limited-edition RSV Mille Factory are high performance V-twin powered motorcycles made by Aprilia with a 143 HP 998 cc engine built by the Austrian company Rotax. For 2006. the RSV Mille Factory won the Maxisport category for Masterbike 2006 and overall Masterbike of the year.

2. Yamaha YZF R1 176mph (283 km/h)

The Yamaha YZF-R1 motorcycle, introduced in 1998, was the first significant motorcycle in the true litre class (1,000 cc) "handling arms race" between the Japanese Big Four motorcycle manufacturers (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha). When introduced, it took the class closer to a true racing motorcycle, and increased the handling capabilities.

1. Honda CBR 1100XX Super Blackbird 178mph (286 km/h)

Honda CBR 1100 XX Super Blackbird is a sport-touring motorcycle built by Honda. It combines big engine power, Easy operational error-tolerance with touring comfort. The Blackbird production started in 1997 and the last year of production was 2006. The Blackbird was the result of Honda's attempt to build the world's fastest production motorcycle, stealing the crown from Kawasaki.

Source : http://www.funonthenet.in/articles/fastest-bikes.html#ixzz1poa25oh9

USA Green Card

2012-03-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

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Source : http://www.usa-green-card.com/