2007-01-29
Losing the information stored on your PC may be caused by different reasons. However, getting your data back is not as hard as it used to be, since now there are data file recovery methods. You can ask an expert technician to recover your data, which is usually more expensive, but reliable as well; or you can just buy yourself data file recovery software and go for it.
There are many possibilities why you may have lost your computer data. Among other we can mention:
* Emptying of the recycling bin on your computer’s desktop
* Loss of formatted files even after a reformatting
* Loss of files after hard disk crash
* Loss of files after partition errors
* Loss of files from USB port error or camera error
* Loss of files from a backup CD
Many people have lost Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, Access databases, PDF documents, and many other files to accidental deletion or malicious errors but have found solace in the operation of a decent computer program such as “Recover my Files” or “Active@undelete”. However, still others have lost files and cannot recuperate any of their losses using a “do-it-yourself” program.
The advantage of using a “do-it-yourself” program is that it is an easy and most times cheap way to recover important information. There are programs that can work on Windows, Linux, or Mac; freeware or shareware, include full sets of instructions and tend to be fairly user-friendly. Besides, they may even come with extra functions, very helpful in most cases.
What an expert can provide
When the lost data is of extremely high importance, and if your budget is reasonable, you might consider calling in an expert to solve your problem. Consider that the technician may ask you to give him your hardware for a few days, so you will have to get used to live without your precious work tool. The rate of success is quite high but unfortunately sometimes the cost is equal to the task. Of course, in the case of many a stressful business situation involving important documents, cost isn’t always an issue worth discussing.
When you face a situation when you have lost vital information, remember that is very important to stay calm. Do not try to solve the problem immediately without thinking. First establish a plan of attack that can help you recover your lost material at a low cost and without taking much time. Sometimes you will prefer to acquire a computer program, like a CD data recovery software; and others, mainly for difficult situations, the trained capabilities of a technician will function better. You have the options, you just need to take the right decision.
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2007-01-27
Few of us have time anymore to run around town to get a lot of things done. We have projects that we would get finished, if they only weren’t such a pain. This is where a delivery person business can make money for you. When you offer to take away the hassle of everyday chores, you will entice a large part of your local community.
A delivery person doesn’t have to limit themselves with a particular item that they can retrieve for a customer. In fact, it is better if the person doesn’t have a limit, except of course, what their motor vehicle can transport. The delivery charge in this business is how you will make money in this side business.
What you need
It always helps to have a large car or van that can transport a variety of things when you want to make money as a delivery person. One that loads from the back will be most helpful for fitting longer items into the vehicle as well as helpful in unloading these items once they have arrived at the customer’s house.
Try to figure out what kinds of items you will deliver to make money. Some people offer to deliver furniture and other large items, while others prefer to pick up small items, and even pets from various s. It all depends on what you feel comfortable transporting as well as retrieving from the back of your vehicle.
You want to be sure that you are well-versed in how to lift and carry things from one place to the other as well. By using your legs instead of your back, you can continue to make money with the fear of an injury that can keep you from making your deliveries.You can also think about delivering flower to make money as well. Most florists charge a lot of money to have their arrangements delivered, but you can drive to the florist and then deliver them without the higher cost. This can be quite lucrative as well as fun for the person delivering.
You may also want to invest in a dolly to move heavier items from one place to another. This can assist with larger appliances as well as pieces of art and heavy materials. And it also saves your health which is vital in continuing to make money for you.
Growing over time
The main concern of a delivery business is that you continue to offer services that can make money for you. Try to listen to your customers to see what other kinds of things you can deliver for them. Some might want to have certain foods or groceries delivered to them—you can do that. And without the tip that most delivery people will expect.
On your vehicle that is delivering, you will want to place an advertisement that can tell others where you may be reached for services. Include something that is easy to remember and easy to read from far distances. While you might make money from one client, you can continue to add more deliveries to your income list.
Not everyone has the capability to pick up their furniture or they don’t want to wait around for the delivery people to come to the door. This is where you can jump in and make money for yourself. Your customers won’t have to rent a truck or take time out of their day to wait around for a delivery because your small business size can give them the personal attention that they have been looking for and that they deserve.
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2007-01-26
Announcing
Emporium Directory, we just have a PR3 for our directory after the recent Google update of our directory.
Emporium-directory.com has aim to connect webmaster and user of the internet communities under one roof and provides them opportunity to add and visit links and reprocessed items in a highly competitive & easier environment.
Emporium-directory.com helps you to find new website traffic, it is low cost advertisement to your industry, it helps you to lower your inventory level & more.
The
blog feature is another way to prove that Emporium-directory.com is not just another
link directory among thousands of others, but serious, trusted, and useful web resource for webmasters and website owners that offer help in making their websites popular and profitable," resumes Menj.
Emporium Directory is a general web directory containing quality and hand-picked listings at affordable rates. Submit to our directory to increase your backlinks, popularity and traffic. Our rates are USD2.99 for regular links and USD9.99 for featured. Reciprocal links are free. Prices will not last long, we intend to keep these old prices until the end of February 2007 before increasing them to reflect our new PageRank.
So do not wait now, hurry up and
submit. This slashed rates will not last long so hurry before it ends :)
Tag: web, websites, blogs, internet, list, forums, menj, PHP Link Directory, submit link, payment, categories, listing, backlinks, seo, web directories
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2007-01-25
Judge orders counterclaim refiled; HP denies charges
A suit filed against Hewlett-Packard Co. by a former executive alleging that the company resorted to corporate spying over Dell Inc.'s plans to develop a line of printers must be resubmitted under a court seal, a federal judge ruled.
Karl Kamb Jr., who is being sued by HP on separate claims, accused HP of paying off a former Dell executive in Japan to reveal trade secrets on Dell's plans to enter the printer business. Dell had been a reseller of HP printers until it launched its own line of printers a few years ago. Printing and Imaging is one of HP's biggest and most profitable lines of business.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Schneider yesterday ordered Kamb to withdraw his counterclaim against HP and to resubmit it under seal so that the contents would not be made public. The judge also issued a restraining order barring any parties to the case from discussing it with the media.
The message, "you do not have permission to view this document," popped up today when the link was clicked for the counterclaim on the Web site for access to federal court filings. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
But news reports about the counterclaim said that Kamb accused HP of spying on him, including using pretexting to obtain his phone records.
Kamb is one of four former HP executives sued in 2005 by HP for conspiring to start a business to make and sell flat-panel TVs while they were supposed to be developing a flat-panel TV business for HP. HP's suit asks for $100 million in damages from the defendants.
"This counterclaim is wholly without merit," said HP in a prepared statement. "It's a blatant attempt to delay the prosecution of the original case against the persons filing the counterclaim. We intend to vigorously pursue our original claim and to defend ourselves against this action with equal vigor."
HP's statement continued: "The claim that pretexting was involved in this investigation is, to the best of our knowledge, patently untrue. Furthermore, as we've said in the past, HP strongly rejects such methods of investigation and has said that those methods will not again be employed on behalf of the company."
Kamb's attorney did not return a call seeking comment.
The allegation that HP spied on Kamb comes amid continued legal jeopardy for former HP executives and others in a pretexting scandal. In that case, former HP Chairman Patricia Dunn is among five defendants facing felony charges in California for conducting an investigation to identify the source of leaks from HP's board to the media. Private investigators hired by HP allegedly used false pretenses to get phone companies to reveal the calling records of people who were targets of the investigation.
One of the defendants in the state case, private investigator Bryan Wagner, pleaded guilty Jan. 12 in Federal District Court in San Jose to similar charges. His attorney is going to petition in State Superior Court in San Jose Friday for the state charges against Wagner to be dismissed.
The other defendants, including former HP attorney Kevin Hunsaker and two other detectives, have not responded publicly to reports that the state has offered a plea bargain in which five felony charges, including conspiracy, would be withdrawn, if they plead guilty to one misdemeanor count each.
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2007-01-25
With Windows Storage Server continuing to win over small and mid-size customers — with a 53 percent unit share of the 2005 worldwide NAS and unified storage market, according to Gartner — and Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003 making inroads into the enterprise space, Microsoft appears to be the vendor to beat in the storage server space. While that is clearly not good news for the competition, Microsoft customers (at least some of them) aren't complaining.
"We had been a Novell eDirectory/Novell NetWare shop for authentication and file and print," says Rob Summers, enterprise network planner and integrator at Intermountain Healthcare, a 27,000-employee nonprofit healthcare system based in Salt Lake City.
The problem was that all of Intermountain's clinical applications, both the ones it developed in house and its third-party applications, used Microsoft Active Directory, not Novell's eDirectory.
"In the healthcare vertical, there aren't a lot of third-party tools or applications being written for healthcare delivery that leverage eDirectory or NetWare," says Summers.
So rather than maintain two separate directory structures, eDirectory and Active Directory, Intermountain made the decision to migrate from Novell NetWare to Windows Server 2003 at all of its mid-to-large facilities and from Novell Nterprise Branch Office to Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 at its smaller remote sites. Intermountain also migrated from Novell GroupWise to Microsoft Exchange and is using Microsoft Data Protection Manager to replicate remote file systems back to its central office and its Xiotech Magnitude 3D SAN or one of its larger facilities.
"We've had a great relationship with Novell over the years," Summers says. But the Microsoft products offered "better industry support, third-party utilities and third-party add-ons.
"We are a Microsoft shop. We realize that," he says. "And a lot of our application vendors are relying on and leveraging Active Directory's framework and infrastructure. So we just decided to move forward with Windows Storage Server," which integrates natively with Active Directory.
"You can establish your group policies based on their in the Active Directory tree, and the management is a piece of cake," he says. "You also have seamless authentication — whether it's a NAS appliance or whatever, it becomes a member server in Active Directory. So you have a single point of management."
Another factor driving Intermountain's decision to move to Microsoft Windows Storage Server at its clinics and homecare agencies, which had either Iomega or HP NAS server appliances, was its need to have a remote office solution "that was very reliable yet could be managed off-site without much effort at all," says Summers. Again, Windows Storage Server fit the bill.
Bottom line, says Summers: Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 "is a great solution for file and print in a NAS box," especially if you are a Microsoft shop with branch office or remote sites.
The 500-Pound Gorilla in a NAS Box
Intermountain is clearly not the only Microsoft shop out there, a fact that Microsoft is well aware of — and counts on.
"We have a large majority of customers today running their server infrastructure on Windows Server," notes Bala Kasiviswanathan, Microsoft's group product manager for Windows Storage.
While talking to their server customers, Microsoft discovered that many of them just wanted basic file and print serving capabilities and were buying network-attached storage devices to do this.
"Customers who had a lot of Windows Servers and wanted to have some of these file-serving capabilities were telling us that the full Windows Server was probably overkill," he says. But they didn't want to put a non-Windows Server product on their network because they didn't want to have to manage two separate directories, as was the case at Intermountain. Enter Windows Storage Server 2003 R2, a kind of stripped down Windows Server for basic file, print and storage.
Of course, you don't have to be a Microsoft shop to use Windows Storage Server 2003 R2, though it certainly helps. The product includes heterogeneous support for protocols such as SMB, NFS, AppleTalk and Netware, allowing data to be shared across different platforms. Similarly, Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 is fully compatible with server management tools such as Microsoft Systems Management Server, Tivoli and HP OpenView.
Additionally, because it typically comes pre-installed from Microsoft's OEM partners, "you don't have to really configure anything," says Kasiviswanathan. "Most of the partners that we have give you a certain capacity and a certain redundancy in their hardware, so you can pick and choose what size and what features you want — and you have a variety to choose from."
Windows Storage Server 2003 R2, he adds, "is still one of the best file and print servers in terms of performance, features and total cost of ownership."
Unifying Storage
Not happy to leave well enough alone, in December Microsoft announced a new addition to the Windows Storage Server family, Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003.
"Windows Unified Data Storage Server is kind of an evolution," says Kasiviswanathan. "People were telling us that file and print and storage on the network appliance device are great, but I also want to store block data — so can you give me a solution for that?"
To accomplish that, Microsoft created a file and print server that allows customers to store files and block data with Exchange, SQL or any other database on the same device through an iSCSI target interface.
That said, Kasiviswanathan is quick to point out that Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003 is not a replacement for Windows Storage Server 2003 R2. It's about offering customers a choice, yet another tool in Microsoft's already very large toolkit. For those customers who don't need to store block data and just need file and print serving capabilities, stick with Windows Storage Server 2003 R2, he says.
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2007-01-24
From the beginning of time man has sought a
way to extend life, reverse the aging process, and live forever. Up to this point, nothing has proven to be significantly viable for this purpose. However, the greatest advance in man’s ability to “turn back the clock” may now be available to us. The human growth hormone (
HGH or Somatotropin) has produced increases in the levels of insulin-like growth hormone 1 (IGF-1). There is a direct connection between the level of this hormone in a human’s body, and their age. As observed by many scientists, if this hormone could be kept at the levels of youth, then would the aging process be slowed down, or even stopped altogether? It is a question that has spawned much controversy within the ranks of physicians, with many leading doctors on both sides of the issue.
The discovery of this new hormone has resulted in many private sellers attempting to make profit from the sale of this product in various forms. HGH is administered via injection by doctors who give growth hormone to their patients. However, many sellers are now offering the hormone in pill, nasal spray, and homeopathic forms. Although the cost of the product in these forms may only be 5% of the cost of injection treatments, the effectiveness of these others forms is questionable. The benefits of HGH are very real, but so are the side effects; It is up to the individual to determine whether the possible benefits outweigh the possible side effects.
HGH website with information on
buying human growth hormone, supplements, and much more.
Tag: hgh, human growth hormone, supplements, genf20, human, growth, control, human growth control, 100% natural, enhancement, tonify, relaxing, beauty, pills, spray, health, improvement, advantages, hghr hgh-r hgh-r,dr atkins diet,hgh,human growth hormone,hghr hgh-r hgh-r,atkins diet recipes
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2007-01-24
Popular blog web directory has been launched at http://www.Bloghints.com covering various topic in blog industries such as BLOG RESOURCES, BUSINESS BLOGS, COMMUNITY BLOGS and many more.
The web directory owner Musab Hint explains, “Sense of a web directory to offer link listings for blogs as a part of link building and traffic generation campaigns. Usually blogs are submitted by Internet marketing managers and consultants who know all secrets of correct submission to web directories. But there are also website owners and webmasters who do SEO and web promotion work by themselves, and for them the blog’s topics are intended.
Directory listing normally cost somewhere around $50 and as much as several hundred, depending on what service you place your ad with. However, many SEO, and other blog writer can’t or don’t want to spend that kind of money on each blog listing they place. That’s why blog directories such as Bloghints.com who offer free blog submission, have become so popular in recent years.
“The blog will be promoted in special blog-related directories and websites to make it popular among targeted visitors.
The blog directory feature is another way to prove that Bloghints.com is not just another link directory among thousands of others, but serious, trusted, and useful web resource for webmasters and website owners that offer help in making their websites popular and profitable,” resumes Musab.
Submit your Blog to Blog Directory! Search blogs listed in BlogHints.com Blog Directory. Submissions are human edited and approved.
Tag: Blog Directory, directory of blogs, submit link, submit blog, free blog directory ,blog categories, blog, directory, search blog, blogger, blogging, blogs, weblog, blog engine, best blog, best blogs, blog sites, blog index
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2007-01-23
Blog Posting Services
I am offering blog posting service, suitable for your product review, website latest news, announcement or anything. I will use your article with a couple paragraphs with 1 homepage and 3 deeplinks to your site.
Blog posting for sell on high pr + traffic blog for only USD25
Post your own article on 254 blogs and get 1016 backlinks for 25$!!
Each blog has its own domain (.com, .net, .biz, .info) and they are on several ips.
Here is the PR of the blogs:
PR5 = 5 Blogs
PR3,2,1 = 5 blogs
PR0 = 244 blogs
Articles:
* you write;
* max 300 words;
* max 4 links (all on the same domain);
* 1 image;
Price: 25$
Your article will be live within 24-36 hours, but usually within 2 hours.
If u need me to write the article it will be an addon cost of USD5 per article
Email me seo@masdini.com if interested, I’ll reply you the blogs list
Additional information:
Your post will be submitted to faves.com, co.mments.com, squidoo.com, stumbleupon.com, propeller.com, Del.icio.us, petalingstreet.org, DIGG, Yahoo MyWeb, blogmarks.net, ma.gnolia.com, de.lirio.us, bumpzee.com, base.google.com, google.com/notebook, google bookmark, technorati and many more. Quick readership and fast result. All blog post is permanent and will be stored in archive page. Free graphics design for your post. Free submission to 181 PR0 blogs ( plz check list ) payment via paypal.
–
Sales representative:
Mas Dini Bin Muzammal
YM:Abg_hensem1 at yahoo.com
Gtalk: Adfunk
MSN: reckno6 at hotmail.com
Email: seo@masdini.com
Phone: 60136679137
Tags: make money blogging, paid to blog, blogging ads, advertise on your blog, bloggers, get paid to blog, make money blogging, paid to blog, blog for money, advertise on blogs, blog advertising, get paid to blog, get paid for blogging, make money blogging, build inbound links, publisher, article,opinion, ads, pay per post
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2007-01-23
Do you want to promote your website ? Are you looking for more visitors ?
Then visit
LinkSlinky.com, the uniquely designed directory where you find individual categories including consumer electronics, online groups, education, shopping, science, and many more.
Link Slinky founder, David Davis says, "The Directory works like this, when you hover over the small images, a larger image with an extended description appears in the "Slink View Port” the design is certainly much more appealling than other ordinary directories.
Another unique feature offered is every page on Link Slinky shares it's meta information with the sites in it's library. What that means is that every site in the Slink view port will share the meta description, which will be changed randomly, the meta kewords, 2 keywords from each submission, and the title of the page will randomly match the title of the sites listed within the Slink view port.
Submission on Linkslinky.com is an easy and secure investment in your web site promotion needs.
Premium Listing are very cost-effective at as little $2.00 per month. Standard submissions don't include submission in Link Slinky's unique Slink view port, but are free. Reciprocal listings are included in the Slink view port if space is available.
This directory will give link partners exposure on a high traffic and highly respected website in the SEO industry. Linkslinky.com is a top website connecting businesses with SEO professionals, related media services and internet users worldwide.
For more information visit
Linkslinky.com.
Tag: link, links, directory, directories, search engine optimization, optimisation, submit, url, submission, seo, sem, categories
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2007-01-21
Mashup Groups has launched the directory of web 2.0 Mashup.com that contains more detailed information about their product, which help the internet community. The new portal webpage will feature graphic icons that easily navigate to various section of division of applications. Once the reader clicks on the icon, the section opens to reveal examples of product from that category
The website contains the wide range of applications includes Web 2.0, Hybrid Application, Map, Map Area, Map Physical, RSS, Feed, API, Letter, Character, Number, Combination. The most elegant of application designs keeping the accent always on comfort, wearability and affordability by understanding the ever changing scenario of the software world. The software collection range from online to offline in various operating systems, styles, designs and combination.
The honour adds that “ the collection of software driven by the latest market trends and focussing precisely on the customer requirements to ensure the highest quality products are delivered to our client for their total satisfaction”. We offers expresses deliveries in major cities across the world and abroad.
The CEO of Mashup.com Mr.John Doe said “to make the entire web useful to each individual by providing them with the control they need to receive the results they desire, our website offers many advanced features that user can easily modify until they find the information they are looking for”. We believe that the internet is a powerful medium even while seeking software and applications.
For more information please visit our website http://www.Mashup.com
Tag: Mashup, Mashups, Web 2.0, Hybrid Application, Goggle Map, GoogleMaps, Map Area, Map Physical, RSS, Feed, API, Letter, Character, Number, Combination
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2007-01-21
NCPA Study Shows Living With globalwarming awareness2007 Is Less Costly, More Beneficial
Trying to stop global warming imposes huge costs and provides very few benefits, according to a study authored by a Bush Administration analyst and released today by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA).
“Living with global warming costs a fraction of what it would take to stop it,” said Indur Goklany, author of the NCPA study. “The costs of trying to prevent global warming far exceed any benefits of doing so for the foreseeable future.”
The NCPA study compared the costs and benefits of adapting to global climate change with strategies that prevent global warming, such as the Kyoto Protocol, and found that problems most often projected to dramatically worsen as a result of global warming are more effectively and economically lowered by adapting to climate change rather than trying to prevent it. For example:
* Meeting Kyoto emission targets would reduce fatalities from malaria by one-half of one percent, but investing an additional $1.5 billion annually for treatment would cut the death toll in half.
* Meeting Kyoto targets would reduce the population at risk for hunger by only 2 percent by 2085, but investing an additional $5 billion to solve agricultural problems in developing countries would reduce hunger by 50 percent beginning today.
* The population at risk for coastal flooding would decline by meeting Kyoto emission standards, but at a cost of $165 billion a year. By contrast, investing an additional $1 billion annually in preventive measures would address the problem just as well, if not more effectively.
Moreover, adapting to climate change would enhance both economic development and human capital and increase the capacity for technological innovation in developing countries.
“By confronting problems head on we can save lives now, especially in developing countries,” Goklany added. “Preventive strategies, like the Kyoto Protocol, will by default condemn thousands to poverty, disease and death.”
Tag: globalwarming awareness2007, global warming, causes, effects, climate change, articles, bush global warming, carbon dioxide, consequences, definition
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2007-01-18
A Sacramento, Calif., radio station has fired 10 employees after a woman died in a water-drinking contest to win a Nintendo Wii, the Associated Press and other media sources are reporting.
A preliminary autopsy indicated that Jennifer Strange, 28, died from water intoxication after participating in KDND-FM 107.9's on-air "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest Friday. The participant who drank the most water without using the bathroom was promised a game console valued at $250.
During the match, contestants were given two minutes to drink an 8-ounce bottle of water, then given another bottle to drink after a 10-minute break.
After drinking two gallons and becoming one of two final participants, according to witness reports, Strange began to feel ill and had to quit. She called in sick to work after the contest, complaining of a bad headache, and about five hours later, her mother found her dead in her Rancho Cordova, Calif., home.
An excess of water in the body can lead to the dilution of vital fluids. That in turn can lead to swelling of the brain, seizures, comas and in some cases death.
John Geary, vice president and general manager of Entercom/Sacramento, the parent company of KDND, sent an e-mail to reporters Tuesday stating that "effective immediately, the 'Morning Rave' program is canceled and 10 employees are no longer with the station."
Among the fired employees were three morning disc jockeys.
Strange, a mother of three, took part in the contest hoping to win the system for her children, according to reports.
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2007-01-18
Yes, the new PRADA Phone by LG looks a lot like Apple's iPhone. The slick, button-free, touch-screen interface is particularly similar. "A lot of people will say it's an iPhone rival," says IDC's Randy Guisto, although its price point is somewhat higher. "It's a PRADA phone," he says, and therefore people expect to pay a lot for it.
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In the catwalk-crazed nooks of society, the fashionistas who gleefully fork over nearly $3,000 for a PRADA bag, can now have a new, matching accessory -- a PRADA phone. South Korea's LG Electronics has teamed up with Italy's infamous high-end apparel and accessories manufacturer to produce an equally high-end phone.
The companies are touting the PRADA Phone by LG as a real breakthrough in the industry, describing it as the first completely touch-screen mobile phone, apparently sidestepping the fact that Apple introduced its own touch-screen iPhone just last week.
Indeed, there are numerous similarities. The PRADA Phone by LG plays music and videos on a wide, LCD screen. It has a 2-megapixel camera, eight megabytes of internal memory, and yes, it looks a lot like Apple's iPhone. The slick, button-free, touch-screen interface is particularly similar.
Randy Guisto, IDC's Group Vice President of Mobility, Computing, and Consumer Markets, isn't surprised by the comparisons. "A lot of people will say it's an iPhone rival," he tells us, because there are no other buttonless phones out there yet.
And even though the two phones share some of the same characteristics, he says, the PRADA phone is aimed at a high-end consumer, with plenty of extra cash to spend.
Cost of Luxury
"It's a PRADA phone," he says, and therefore people expect to pay a lot for it. "It's done for prestige," he adds, pointing out that the intent of high-end products like this is to build brand equity, as opposed to driving a large volume of sales.
Prestige marketing has been slowly gaining momentum in this arena over a number of years, Guisto says. "Affinity marketing has been pretty popular and we've seen it in mobile devices before."
He cites Acer's Ferrari 3000, a candy-apple-red mobile PC, as well as HP Relevant Products/Services's James Bond-inspired Jornada 430se -- a handheld device which appeared in the 1999 flick, "The World Is Not Enough."
And just how much can users expect to pay for this kind of premium mobile luxury?
When it hits European stores in late February, the 12-mm thick PRADA phone (model KE850) will cost about 600 Euros (equivalent to US$780) in France, Britain, Germany and Italy.
Guisto tells us the price might deter some people, but so will the iPhone's $599 price tag.
Looking for a Break-Through
In the joint announcement, PRADA's president and CEO Patrizio Bertelli said the two companies were looking to develop a "break-through."
Rather than adding the PRADA brand name to an existing product, Bertelli explained that the two companies worked together to give their new phone a "very strong character and unique style, both in its contents and in its design."
Although Apple may have stolen the thunder from LG by announcing its own buttonless smartphone last week, the new design is innovative, nonetheless. It will be especially interesting to see whether the button-free design will be a hit with consumers, as these new-wave phones hit the street over the next year.
LG says countries in Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, can expect the phone in late March. The Korean version is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2007.
There's no word yet though on when and if it will launch in the U.S.
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2007-01-17
Can't wait all year for Apple's new mobile? These handsets are out now, packed with extra features - and with the right contract, they're free. So we asked readers to put them through their paces
The businessperson
The HTC TyTN One of the killer features of this is the slide-out Qwerty keyboard. This is the phone for people who are just as likely to be putting together a spreadsheet as making a phone call. It comes with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It also offers 3G for fast internet browsing and e-mail - something the BlackBerry range is yet to offer. It also has WiFi, so if you're in a café you can surf the web without paying the expensive network charges. On a less businessy note, you can make video calls to your loved ones, listen to your MP3s and take snaps of your mates with the 2-megapixel camera. Altogether and it's certainly enough to kill off the need for a PDA (or handheld computer) - or so the hype says. The Swiss Army Knife of smartphones, an office in your pocket and a bit of fun for the commute home.
The verdict from Reena Patel, advertising executive I would definitely use Microsoft Word and Excel to check and update documents on the move. That would allow me to organise my time more efficiently. It's like using a PC, so it's easy to locate specific programs and functions. It operates really well as an electronic diary, with a system that automatically alerts you to various events throughout the day, by bringing up a list of reminders and options. It'd be great for taking on business trips abroad - it even sets the time automatically when you get to a new country. This sounds like an inconsequential feature, but when you're preparing for a meeting and suffering from jet lag, not having to remember to adjust those settings would make a real difference. But it's frustrating that contacts cannot be automatically transferred from another SIM card. It's a bit bulky, so I might want to hang on to my old phone to use if I'm on a night out, yet it's still too small to really set up spreadsheets from scratch. That said, I'd trade in my PDA for one of these.
WOW FACTOR
The blogger
The Nokia N80 The N80 is designed for easy internet access from anywhere. To compensate for viewing a website on a pocket-sized device, the phone has a zoom function. It weighs just 134gand boasts a 3-megapixel camera and a music player.
The verdict from MySpace addict Bridie Woodward For my job, I need to constantly update various MySpace pages. At first, I was taken with the image quality and fast connection, which is as good as my laptop, but it has quite a short battery length. In the end, I found the screen too small, and it's labour-intensive having to zoom in and out. Working with such a tiny keypad is fiddly. The phone's most annoying aspect is that it switches between functions; if you're on the internet and it rings, the information you are working on is lost. I need constant access to the net, even while I'm on the phone. It's a useful back-up and it's fine for using the internet for short tasks. But it wouldn't work as the only tool for dedicated bloggers.
WOW FACTOR
The music fan
The Sony Ericsson W950i If you want more musical accompaniment from your phone than a polyphonic ringtone rendition of "Greensleeves", then the W950i might offer the perfect solution. Sony has branded it as a Walkman, and with 4GB of storage space (the same as the cheaper of the two iPhones), this MP3-player and phone can hold up to 4,000 songs (the big colour screen shows off the album's cover art, too). Access to the entertainment suite for storing albums, playlists and genres is made easy by a touch-screen. With high-quality built-in speakers, you can out-rival the pesky teenagers blasting tinny rap tunes from inferior phones at the back of the bus. For the more socially conscious, songs can be enjoyed through a Bluetooth stereo headset or standard earphones. The battery lets you play music for 10 hours at a time, with graphic equaliser and Mega Bass. If you get bored with your playlists, or fancy catching up with the latest from radio news channels, simply switch to the FM radio function. It has 3G for fast internet access and e-mail, and handwriting recognition, so you don't have to faff too much with typing on a small keyboard.
The verdict from musician Johnny Langer (Man Like Me) This phone is impressive in every respect. It looks great and it's easy to use, with a simple layout that's not weighed down with useless functions. As a music player, it stands out from any other phone I've ever seen. It can hold an amazing number of songs, and without the need to buy a separate memory card. It's as easy to use as an iPod - you choose songs in a similar way - and its clear and powerful speakers give out exceptional sound quality. Files can be easily transferred from a PC in no time at all, and you can connect it to a hi-fi, in the same way as an iPod. The one downside is that it doesn't have a camera. This phone could easily replace my iPod.
WOW FACTOR
The happy snapper
The Sony Ericsson K800i We're all used to phones that let us capture frivolous shots, but the K800i is different: it claims to be a proper digital camera, with 3.2 megapixels and autofocus for crisp images, and a decent flash. It also offers red-eye reduction and an image stabiliser, while the BestPic function lets you take a series of photos with just one press of the button, so you catch the precise moment of the action - or avoid blinking. Images can be easily transferred to a PC or printer, and the software lets you touch up shots. It also has 3G for video calls, e-mail and fast internet access, plus an MP3 player and radio.
The verdict from freelance photographer Hal Shinnie This is the best camera phone. Having a good camera on your phone should, theoretically, make sure you never miss a picture moment. But although this camera does produce top-quality images - certainly good enough for standard-sized prints - it has fundamental flaws:there is a substantial shutter-delay, which means it's easy to lose a moment.
With 3.2 megapixels, it takes clear images in black and white, colour or sepia, but when functioning with the 16x digital zoom, pictures can lose a lot of quality. It's a straightforward model to use and has some fun features, including an option to take panoramic shots, and is a good camera for shooting moving images. Other functions include the face warp, which is a novel extra. It couldn't replace my digital camera in a professional capacity but it's really good for what it is - a phone that takes clear, high-quality images.
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2007-01-17
BEIJING, China -- Chinese teenagers are getting addicted to the Internet and taking to crime at a younger age than in any other country, state media reported on Wednesday.
Of China's 18.3 million teen Internet users, more than 2 million were addicts, with "good kids who impress their parents and teachers" the most vulnerable to the affliction, the China Daily said, citing a study by the Communist Youth League.
"Internet addicts in China are as many as 10 years younger than those in the West. They are more susceptible," the daily quoted Gao Wenbin, a psychology researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a top government think tank, as saying.
Most Internet addicts were male and aged between 15 and 20, Gao said, with as many as 15 percent of those in large cities needing "urgent help".
Gao blamed a lack of diversions at schools, forcing addicts into often illegal Internet cafes and exposing them to crime and violence.
"They will naturally turn to the virtual world if they cannot find an outlet for their energy either at home or school," he said.
Last week, another state newspaper said China had seen a 68 percent rise in juvenile crime in five years and that figure was going to rise.
"Earlier development and the culture of violence are to blame for an increase in harmful actions among adolescents under 14," the Beijing Morning Post said.
Pirated DVDs, including violent and adult material, are available on every street corner and computer and online gaming has exploded in China in recent years.
Amid growing concern that more and more young people are becoming hooked, China has issued a raft of regulations aimed at curbing excessive game-playing at Internet cafes and heavily fining owners that admit minors.
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2007-01-15
BOGUS and inflated insurance claims are adding five per cent to premiums, a report has found.
Bu t 41 per cent of drivers in Britain have never heard of staged accidents - where someone causes a collision to make a false or inflated claim.
Royal & SunAlliance carried out the study.
Spokesman John Beadle said: "Staged accidents are on the rise and are potentially extremely dangerous.
"Not only do they cost honest drivers millions of pounds each year, they also put innocent motorists in danger."
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