Saturday 30 March 2013

Why To Choose Gatwick Aiport Hotels?

Hotels near Gatwick airports provide you the needed comfort to relax before taking up the flight. These hotels are furnished with facilities to provide value added services to their guests. Read on the article to know more about such hotels.

Traditionally, hotels are usually located far away from airports forcing travellers to commute for several miles between their hotels and the airport to catch their flights. This is changing since more and more airports are having hotels built around them to serve those travellers who would love to stay near the airport. They are many reasons why one should use the services of airport hotels rather than travel to the city hotels.

It allows you to travel without worry or stress. By booking an airport hotel at your destination prior to your flight, you will travel with a peace of mind since you will not be thinking of whether you will be late or there will be traffic jam especially if your flight is to arrive during rush hours. These hotels also ensure that you do not need to drive to your home when you arrive late at night. Driving at night is dangerous especially after you had a long flight. You can have a rest and wait to drive home the next day when you have already relaxed enough and when there is also no heavy traffic. The hotels are also available in different sizes,style and also in price. Apart from the five star hotels around the airports, there are also budget hotels. This means that you will be able to find a hotel that fits both your needs and your pocket.

If you are connecting flights or your flight has been cancelled or delayed, instead of travelling to further hotels to get a place to relax and enjoy food from, you can visit Gatwick airport hotels. These are near and hence you will not waste more time travelling to and from the hotel when you are coming back to the airport. This reduces the chance of you getting stuck in traffic and hence not only wasting time, but also risking missing your flight. These hotels also offer there customers great discounts. Some discounted hotels offer passengers discounts of up to 75 percent.

The hotels also provide their clients with value added services such as parking spaces and airport car rentals. Some of these hotels also offer their clients 'Park and Fly'. This means that you can park your car there and fly to your destination without having to worry about its security. When you come back, you will simply take your car and drive home hence there is no need to hire a taxi or rent a car if you already have one. There are also hotels that offer free parking services to clients so long as they have spend at least a night in the hotel.

Every Gatwick Airport hotel is also fit with amenities and facilities to ensure your life is as comfortable as possible while you stay there. You will find things such as iron and iron board in the rooms. Most of these hotels also have business centre, fitness centre, spa and some may also have swimming pools. In top of these, these hotels provide their clients with good nutritious meals plus quality room services..

About the Author:
The author of this article is associated with Days Hotel Gatwick, providing comfortable accommodation to the travellers. For further details, log on to dayshotelgatwick.com

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Why-To-Choose-Gatwick-Aiport-Hotels-/4510504

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Friday 29 March 2013

Fisker puts US workers on furlough to conserve cash

Fisker puts US workers on furlough to conserve cash

Fisker's cash reserves have been in trouble ever since its Department of Energy loans were frozen, and now its putting its US workforce on furlough to keep money in the bank while it searches for a partner with deep pockets. "This is a common practice, particularly in the automotive industry, to manage costs and operations based on current activity levels and commercial requirements," said Fisker, which has over 200 employees in America, in a statement concerning the unpaid leave. Considering that battery woes and other mishaps have contributed to keeping assembly lines quiet, current activity levels are indeed low. Reuters says the automaker hasn't built a car since July, and it's coming up against a federal loan payment in late April. According to the outlet, Fisker was aiming to partner with Chinese auto companies that could bolster its finances, but talks are said to have crawled to a stop. Regardless, the firm is still on the lookout for an investor to fuel the production of its Atlantic hybrid.

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Source: Reuters

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ESgcYwSHI88/

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RIM founder says board asked him to stay as CEO

TORONTO (AP) ? Research In Motion co-founder Mike Lazaridis says he has no plans to sell his significant interest in the BlackBerry maker now that he's retiring as vice chairman and director. He also reveals that the board asked him last year to reconsider stepping down as chief executive.

Lazaridis said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday that he decided to stay on to help new CEO Thorsten Heins with the critically important new BlackBerry launch. He says he's leaving now that that's been done.

Lazaridis helped turn the email smartphone into a ubiquitous device that many could not live without, but he and Jim Balsillie stepped down as co-CEOs in January 2012 after several quarters of disappointing results. He says the board wanted both him and Jim to stay.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rim-founder-says-board-asked-him-stay-ceo-161545761.html

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Wednesday 27 March 2013

4 Piece Creativity Center drafting table combo | Self Improvement ...

4 Piece Creativity Center drafting table combo


This 4-Piece Creativity Center includes a drafting table with a 30 in. x 40 in. white melamine top, black legs, black drafting chair, a UL-approved 75 watt black swing arm lamp, and black art tray.
List Price: 376.91
Price: 218.11

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Source: http://self-improvement.roxy-publishing.com/blog/news-self-growth/4-piece-creativity-center-drafting-table-combo

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Artifacts shed light on social networks of the past

Mar. 25, 2013 ? Researchers studied thousands of ceramic and obsidian artifacts from A.D. 1200-1450 to learn about the growth, collapse and change of social networks in the late pre-Hispanic Southwest.

The advent of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have made us all more connected, but long-distance social networks existed long before the Internet.

An article published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences sheds light on the transformation of social networks in the late pre-Hispanic American Southwest and shows that people of that period were able to maintain surprisingly long-distance relationships with nothing more than their feet to connect them.

Led by University of Arizona anthropologist Barbara Mills, the study is based on analysis of more than 800,000 painted ceramic and more than 4,800 obsidian artifacts dating from A.D. 1200-1450, uncovered from more than 700 sites in the western Southwest, in what is now Arizona and western New Mexico.

With funding from the National Science Foundation, Mills, director of the UA School of Anthropology, worked with collaborators at Archeology Southwest in Tucson to compile a database of more than 4.3 million ceramic artifacts and more than 4,800 obsidian artifacts, from which they drew for the study.

They then applied formal social network analysis to see what material culture could teach them about how social networks shifted and evolved during a period that saw large-scale demographic changes, including long-distance migration and coalescence of populations into large villages.

Their findings illustrate dramatic changes in social networks in the Southwest over the 250-year period between A.D. 1200 and 1450. They found, for example, that while a large social network in the southern part of the Southwest grew very large and then collapsed, networks in the northern part of the Southwest became more fragmented but persisted over time.

"Network scientists often talk about how increasingly connected networks become, or the 'small world' effect, but our study shows that this isn't always the case," said Mills, who led the study with co-principal investigator and UA alumnus Jeffery Clark, of Archaeology Southwest.

"Our long-term study shows that there are cycles of growth and collapse in social networks when we look at them over centuries," Mills said. "Highly connected worlds can become highly fragmented."

Another important finding was that early social networks do not appear to have been as restricted as expected by settlements' physical distance from one another. Researchers found that similar types of painted pottery were being created and used in villages as far as 250 kilometers apart, suggesting people were maintaining relationships across relatively large geographic expanses, despite the only mode of transportation being walking.

"They were making, using and discarding very similar kinds of assemblages over these very large spaces, which means that a lot of their daily practices were the same," Mills said. "That doesn't come about by chance; it has to come about by interaction -- the kind of interaction where it's not just a simple exchange but where people are learning how to make and how to use and ultimately discard different kinds of pottery."

"That really shocked us, this idea that you can have such long distance connections. In the pre-Hispanic Southwest they had no real vehicles, they had no beasts of burden, so they had to share information by walking," she said.

The application of formal social network analysis -- which focuses on the relationships among nodes, such as individuals, household or settlements -- is relatively new in the field of archaeology, which has traditionally focused more on specific attributes of those nodes, such as their size or function.

The UA study shows how social network analysis can be applied to a database of material culture to illustrate changes in network structures over time.

"We already knew about demographic changes -- where people were living and where migration was happening -- but what we didn't know was how that changed social networks," Mills said. "We're so used to looking traditionally at distributions of pottery and other objects based on their occurrence in space, but to see how social relationships are created out of these distributions is what network analysis can help with."

One of Mills's collaborators on the project was Ronald Breiger, renowned network analysis expert and a UA professor of sociology, with affiliations in statistics and government and public policy, who says being able to apply network analysis to archaeology has important implications for his field.

"Barbara (Mills) and her group are pioneers in bringing the social network perspective to archaeology and into ancient societies," said Breiger, who worked with Mills along with collaborators from the UA School of Anthropology; Archaeology Southwest; the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Hendrix College; the University of Colorado, Boulder; the Santa Fe Institute; and Archaeological XRF Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M.

"What archaeology has to offer for a study of networks is a focus on very long-term dynamics and applications to societies that aren't necessarily Western, so that's broadening to the community of social network researchers," Breiger said. "The coming together of social network and spatial analysis and the use of material objects to talk about culture is very much at the forefront of where I see the field of social network analysis moving."

Going forward, Mills hopes to use the same types of analyses to study even older social networks.

"We have a basis for building on, and we're hoping to get even greater time depth. We'd like to extend it back in time 400 years earlier," she said. "The implications are we can see things at a spatial scale that we've never been able to look at before in a systematic way. It changes our picture of the Southwest."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Arizona. The original article was written by Alexis Blue.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Barbara J. Mills, Jeffery J. Clark, Matthew A. Peeples, W. R. Haas, Jr., John M. Roberts, Jr., J. Brett Hill, Deborah L. Huntley, Lewis Borck, Ronald L. Breiger, Aaron Clauset, and M. Steven Shackley. Transformation of social networks in the late pre-Hispanic US Southwest. PNAS, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1219966110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/0K6u-laZM0Y/130325184018.htm

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Apple beta-testing patch that disables Evasi0n

Apple beta-testing patch that kills Evasi0n

Apple is beta-testing an update that will disable the Evasi0n jailbreak. David Wang, one of the creators of Evasi0n said, that in analyzing the beta release of iOS 6.1.3, he found that one of the five bugs used by the Evasi0n team to jailbreak iOS had been fixed. If 6.1.3 ships to users with this fix in place, it would mean that the Evasi0n jailbreak no longer worked. According to Forbes, Wang says that Evasi0n currently requires all of the exploits to function:

?If one of the vulnerabilities doesn?t work, evasi0n doesn?t work,? he says. ?We could replace that part with a different vulnerability, but [Apple] will probably fix most if not all of the bugs we?ve used when 6.1.3 comes out.?

It?s not uncommon for iOS updates to contain fixes for bugs that jailbreak developers use to get around the restrictions of iOS, so the fact that 6.1.3 effectively disables Evasi0n is not surprising. Wang expects that iOS 6.1.3 could remain in beta for another month. This might give him and the rest of the Evasi0n team time to begin to develop a version of the jailbreak that works with 6.1.3, but they will have to wait until 6.1.3 is finalized and released to the public before they know the entirety of what they?re up against.

Source: Forbes



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/NwAgXRDmQkQ/story01.htm

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North Korea reportedly cuts 3G for tourists, restricts access to long term visitors

It was just a month ago that North Korea started allowing mobile internet access to visitors (while still restricting it from citizens), but now a tour group says that program has ended. First reported by North Korea Tech, a post on the Koryo Group site indicates that tourists can still purchase SIM cards for international calling, but internet access is not available, a return to its policy from January. A recent blog post from the 22nd goes into more detail, explaining that 3G Koryolink access for foreigners "has been restricted to long term visitors/residents of Pyongyang only." With no word from the government on the policy change you'll have to insert your own reasoning, although we imagine Eric Schmidt is not pleased.

[Image credit: Jean Lee, Instagram]

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Via: TechCrunch, North Korea Tech, Tech in Asia

Source: Koryo Group (1), (2)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/bn4II33Co8w/

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Tuesday 26 March 2013

CA-BUSINESS Summary

TSX drops to near one-month low after Cyprus deal

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell to its lowest point in nearly a month on Monday as investors reconsidered their initial relief over a bailout deal for Cyprus, while shares of BlackBerry dropped 4.5 percent after a downgrade by Goldman Sachs. Stocks initially rose after Cyprus reached a deal with international lenders for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout, averting a collapse of its banking system.

Icahn opens door to Blackstone tie-up on Dell bid

(Reuters) - Two of the most prominent U.S. investors could upset Michael Dell's $24.4 billion buyout bid for Dell Inc , after billionaire Carl Icahn opened the door to an alliance with Blackstone Group to wrest control of the computer maker from its founder. Icahn said on Monday he has started preliminary talks with Blackstone. Both sides have made bids that could be superior to the offer on the table from Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake.

BlackBerry shares drubbed, just days before key results

TORONTO (Reuters) - Reports of a lackluster launch of its pivotal new smartphone in the U.S. market cost BlackBerry an influential downgrade on its stock on Monday and a 4 percent drop in its share price, just days ahead of quarterly results that will offer the first concrete gauge of how its new phone is being received. The results, due on Thursday, will offer a glimpse of sales of the new Z10 device in Britain, Canada and several other markets, where it has been available for more than a month.

Cyprus girds for run on banks after sealing bailout

NICOSIA (Reuters) - The president of Cyprus assured his people a bailout deal he struck with the European Union was in their best interests and would end anxiety, but he also announced "very temporary" capital controls to stem a run on the island's banks. Returning on Monday from fraught overnight negotiations in Brussels, the conservative leader said the 10-billion euro ($13 billion) rescue plan agreed there in the early hours of the morning was "painful" but essential to avoid economic meltdown.

Analysis: Cyprus rescue raises new questions about euro's long-term survival

LONDON (Reuters) - The messy deal to bail out Cyprus has averted the latest threat to the break-up of the euro but at the cost of raising new questions about the single currency's long-term viability. Savers in other euro zone banks appear so far to be taking the freezing of balances over 100,000 euros in Cyprus's two biggest lenders in their stride. Perhaps they judge that events in a tiny, far-away island with outsize banks and a reliance on deposits from Russian oligarchs hold little relevance for them.

Boeing 787 takes to sky in first flight check

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner took to the sky on Monday in the first of two flights aimed at showing that the plane's new lithium-ion battery system meets regulatory safety standards, a key step toward ending a two-month, worldwide grounding of the high-tech jet. Monday's two-hour flight test, if successful, would allow Boeing to go ahead with a second flight test "in coming days" that would gather data to be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said.

Rajaratnam's brother pleads not guilty to insider charges

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rengan Rajaratnam, the younger brother of imprisoned hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, pleaded not guilty on Monday to insider trading charges. The younger Rajaratnam entered his plea in Manhattan federal court, one day after his arrest at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Vinoo Varghese, an attorney for Rajaratnam, said his client arrived in New York early Sunday morning, accompanied on a flight from Brazil by an FBI agent.

Best Buy founder Schulze rejoins as chairman emeritus

(Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc founder Richard Schulze, who left the board last year and later failed in his effort to take the company private, will rejoin the retailer as chairman emeritus and add two of his former colleagues to the board. The news helped dispel rumors the top investor in the world's largest consumer electronics chain was contemplating selling his stake in the company he founded in 1966. Best Buy shares rose as much as 3 percent on Monday.

U.S. approves Nasdaq payback plan for Facebook IPO, UBS unhappy

(Reuters) - Regulators approved Nasdaq OMX Group's $62 million compensation plan for firms that lost money in Facebook Inc's glitch-ridden market debut, a victory for the exchange operator that also set the stage for potential lawsuits from firms seeking more. The Nasdaq plan will give retail market makers far less than the $500 million in estimated losses from Facebook's initial public offering. Nasdaq said in a note to traders on Monday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the plan, and that firms had one week to submit requests for compensation.

Canadian advisers see gains, pitfalls in social media

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian financial adviser Will Britton is the quintessential success story of social media in the industry. He's active on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and when someone needs a financial planner, Britton's contacts are quick to send a "here's my guy" link. Presto, a new client. "I'm probably doing it wrong according to what social media experts may say," said Britton, a certified financial planner in Kingston, Ontario, and member of Advocis, the Financial Advisors Association of Canada.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-business-summary-000511153--finance.html

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Florida Gulf Coast University Is F*cking Up Your Bracket, And You Love It

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Swiss+Tech MMCSSS Micro-Max Fits Nearly Every Tool in Your Pocket

Swiss+Tech MMCSSS Micro-Max Fits Nearly Every Tool in Your PocketIf preparation is your goal and you'd rather not carry around a giant toolbox everywhere you go, Swiss+Tech's MMCSSS Micro-Max fits pretty much every tool in your pocket for under $10.

No pocket tool will replace a good, solid toolset simply because of its size, but this one comes about as close as you're going to get. The 19-in-1 keychain-ready multitool offers two hex wrenches (1/4", 7/16"), six screwdrivers (#0,1,2 flat, #0,1,2 Phillips), pliers, bottle opener, wire cutter and stripper, wire crimper, hand drill, file, two rulers, and two rule extensions (both with millimeter and inch measurements). If you need a DIY powerhouse in a pocket size, you can get this solid option on the cheap.

Swiss+Tech MMCSSS Micro-Max 19-in-1 Keychain MultitoolSwiss+Tech MMCSSS Micro-Max 19-in-1 Keychain Multitool ($10) | Amazon

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/JaEeX0xNU4c/swiss%252Btech-mmcsss-micro+max-fits-nearly-every-tool-in-your-pocket

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Obesity may be linked to microorganisms living in the gut

Mar. 26, 2013 ? How much a person eats may be only one of many factors that determines weight gain. A recent Cedars-Sinai study suggests that a breath test profile of microorganisms inhabiting the gut may be able to tell doctors how susceptible a person is to developing obesity.

The study, published online Thursday by The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, shows that people whose breath has high concentrations of both hydrogen and methane gasses are more likely to have a higher body mass index and higher percentage of body fat.

"This is the first large-scale human study to show an association between gas production and body weight -- and this could prove to be another important factor in understanding one of the many causes of obesity," said lead author Ruchi Mathur, MD, director of the Diabetes Outpatient Treatment and Education Center in the Division of Endocrinology at Cedars-Sinai.

The study, which will also appear in JCEM's April 2013 issue, analyzed the breath content of 792 people. Based on the breath tests, four patterns emerged. The subjects either had normal breath content, higher concentrations of methane, higher levels of hydrogen, or higher levels of both gases. Those who tested positive for high concentrations of both gases had significantly higher body mass indexes and higher percentages of body fat.

The presence of methane is associated with a microorganism called Methanobrevibacter smithii. This organism is responsible for the majority of methane production in the human host.

"Usually, the microorganisms living in the digestive tract benefit us by helping convert food into energy. However, when this particular organism -- M. smithii -- becomes overabundant, it may alter this balance in a way that causes someone to be more likely to gain weight," Mathur said.

These organisms scavenge hydrogen from other microbes and use it to produce methane -- which is eventually exhaled by the host. Researchers theorize this interaction helps neighboring hydrogen-producing bacteria thrive and extract nutrients from food more efficiently. Over time, this may contribute to weight gain.

"Essentially, it could allow a person to harvest more calories from their food," Mathur said.

In an ongoing study funded by the American Diabetes Association, Mathur is working to confirm the link between M. smithii, obesity and pre-diabetic conditions by determining how efficiently people digest food before and after eliminating the microorganism with a targeted dose of antibiotic. Participants who have evidence of methane on their breath are given a standard diet over three days, undergo an oral glucose challenge, and swallow a "smart pill" to track how fast the food moves through their bodies. In addition, their stool is collected and sent for calorie analysis allowing researchers to determine how many calories are being harvested during digestion. Participants then repeat the same tests after taking the antibiotic regimen to see if elimination of the organism results in measureable changes.

"This should let us know just how energy balance is affected by M. smithii," Mathur said, "We're only beginning to understand the incredibly complex communities that live inside of us. If we can understand how they affect our metabolism, we may be able to work with these microscopic communities to positively impact our health."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Ruchi Mathur et al. Methane and Hydrogen Positivity on Breath Test is Associated with Greater Body Mass Index and Body Fat. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2013; (in press)

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/1rYGnU62ogc/130326095058.htm

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Sunday 24 March 2013

ASUS teases something square and grey, will reveal its new device tomorrow (update: it's a DVD writer)

ASUS teases something square and grey, will reveal its new device tomorrow update it's a DVD writer

Were we expecting any new hardware from ASUS? Items we've seen but have not shipped like the Qube and Transformer Book spring to mind immediately, but they're not a direct match for this pic the company posted on its Google+ page earlier this evening (Update: we replaced it with the final pic.) It's inviting any and all guesses as to what's in store and promises a device reveal tomorrow, so your period of eager anticipation will be (thankfully) short lived. Judging by the comments it might not be anything we've gone hands-on with previously, but the image reveals that spun-metal aluminum look we've become familiar with on ASUS' tablets and laptops lately. Beyond that, the oddly squarish aspect ratio draws immediate comparisons to the 3:2 Chromebook Pixel, but until it's officially unveiled we'll leave the rest of the random speculation up to you.

Update 1: The smart money so far is on its Varidrive media dock, which appears to match the dimensions and spun-metal look nicely -- we'll see what it really is tomorrow.

Update 2: Well, ASUS has relieved the overwhelming tension on its Google+ page by announcing a new... DVD writer. It does strongly resemble the aforementioned Varidrive dock with its spiral brushed aluminum look and the outfit claims it's the world's thinnest at 13mm, but as one G+ commenter put it: "a DVD writer. Seriously." Check the second source below for the reveal.

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Source: ASUS (Google+) (1), (2)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Qb9qiNBg-ZQ/

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Archos picks a new CEO, ships 80 and 97 Titanium tablets to the US

Archos Titanium tablet hands-on

Archos has been going through some tough times lately, having to reorganize and lay off a quarter of its staff toward the end of last year. You could say that the company is using the spring as a chance for renewal: company Chairman Henri Crohas has picked Deputy CEO Loïc Poirier to replace him in the full CEO position as of May 1st. Poirier's main focus will be on finishing the work that started in 2012, which should concentrate Archos' efforts on its signature tablet business as well as ventures into home automation and smartphones.

As if to mark its potential comeback, the company is catering to Americans by shipping its 80 Titanium and 97 Titanium tablets their way alongside the already mentioned GamePad. The 8- and 9.7-inch slates are selling for $169 and $249, with screen size the real differentiatior -- both run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on top of a dual-core 1.6GHz processor and an IPS-based LCD. They won't give a Nexus 10 owner second thoughts, but they include a fair amount of bang for our US bucks.

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Source: Archos

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/22/archos-picks-a-new-ceo-ships-80-and-97-titanium-tablets-to-us/

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Saturday 23 March 2013

?Video Game Addiction Is Real!? | A VERY STRANGE PLACE

Hello, everyone, lemme tell you a story! (All about how my life got flipped turned upside down and I?d like to take a minute just sit right there I?ll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel Air okay fine I think you got the point.)

Once upon a time, about sixteen seconds ago, I was checking the school?s computers for anything interesting. After cycling through three different varieties of goat porn, I finally found a document titled ?videogames?.

Oh, THIS I have to see.

It was a three page essay about how all video games are evil and highly addicting and are destroying teenager?s lives and oh, fuck you.

Let?s be clear: video games ARE. NOT. EVIL. YOU. UTTER. MORON. They?re a new, revolutionary medium that kick the asses of everything that came before. Trying to preach about how video games are evil is going to put you in the same?category?as those people who tried to outlaw movies or fun.

So, in retaliation, I went through the file and edited in my own? notes.

Ahem.

?Anyone who has experienced it knows all too well ? video game addiction is real.

(No, it?s not.)

Although gaming addiction is not yet officially recognized as a diagnosable disorder by the American Medical Association, (For obvious reasons.) there is increasing evidence that people of all ages, especially teens and pre-teens, are facing very real, sometimes severe consequences associated with compulsive use of video and computer games.

(Oh yes, the consequences are so severe. OH GOD, HE?S GOING FOR THE HIGH SCORE! GET THE KNIFE!)

Video games are becoming increasingly complex, detailed, and compelling to a growing international audience of players.

(Oh god, they?re growing larger and larger. Run! They feed on human flesh!)

With better graphics, more realistic characters, and greater strategic challenges, it?s not surprising that some teens would rather play the latest video game than hang out with friends, play sports, or even watch television.

(What? They?re not watching T.V? BURN THE HERETIC!)

Of course, all gamers are not addicts ? many teens can play video games a few hours a week, successfully balancing school activities, grades, friends, and family obligations. But for some, gaming has become an uncontrollable compulsion.

(Yeah, they end up injecting video games directly in to their eyeballs. We call it ?Doing A Detective Vision?.)

Studies estimate that 10 percent to 15 percent of gamers exhibit signs that meet the World Health Organization?s criteria for addiction. Just like gambling and other compulsive behaviors, teens can become so enthralled in the fantasy world of gaming that they neglect their family, friends, work, and school.

(Okay, I think you?re confusing ?gamers? with ?Koreans?.)

If you or a loved one shows signs of computer or video game addiction, this website is for you.

(If you?re the kind of person who?ll send a person in to rehab for playing a video game, you need to take a step back, look at your life, and brain yourself with a baseball bat.)

Here, you will find up-to-date information and resources that will help you assess whether gaming has gone from an entertaining pastime to a full-blown obsession. From signs (Signs? Like what? ?OH GOD, HE?S PLAYING POKEMON, GET THE TRANQ GUN!?) and symptoms (Yeah, the symptoms list just reads ?playing video games? over and over again.) to advice for parents and treatment options, this site offers advice and solutions to help bring compulsive gamers back to real life.

What Makes a Video Game Addictive? Read more to find out?

(Don?t mind if I do!)

More Articles about Internet and Gaming Addiction

  • Taking Risks in Video Games Tied with Real-Life Risks

Video games and other media that depict risk-taking may increase the likelihood that people will take dangerous risks in their real lives. more?

(Yeah, if the people involved are COMPLETE TWATS. But in that case, it?s probably better to let them stick their dick in a blender or whatever else they were trying to do.)

  • Top 10 Alternatives to Video Games

It isnt always easy to get your teen to stop playing video games. They may not be motivated to change bad habits, or worse, they may have become addicted to video games or the Internet. more?

(?Son, we?ve noticed you?ve been playing video games. Have you tried cocaine instead??)

  • The Internet May Be Causing More Harm to Your Children Than You Think

A new study published in the journal Injury Prevention shows that Internet addiction can lead teens to cause themselves harm through pulling their own hair or hitting, pinching or burning themselves. more?

(Wait, now we?re talking about ?the internet?? I thought we were talking about video games! Geez, at least try to stick to ONE incredibly stupid thing at a time! You practically gave me whiplash!)

  • Increased Media Consumption Among Teens Contributing to Poor Health

If you?re worried that your teenager has been gaining weight lately, and if you think television, video games and Internet use may be playing a role, you?re not alone. more?

(Little Known Fact: The internet actually spontaneously generates sticky buns when it senses you?re getting bored.)

  • How to Protect Your Teens From Cyberbullies

Instead of physically harming or verbally attacking their victims, cyberbullies use the Internet, cell phones and other technology to hurt, threaten and embarrass others. more?

(Cyberbullies? I just met ?erbullies!)

  • Risk of Internet Addiction Higher in Teens with ADHD and Depression

Children and teens who are diagnosed with one of several emotional and behavioral disorders are more likely than their peers to become addicted to the Internet. More?

(Man, remember when this stupidity was about video games? Yeah, now you?ve sold out, you corporatist son of a bitch.)

  • When (and How) to Pull the Plug: Six Tips for Protecting Your Child from Internet Addiction

The secret to ensuring that your children have a healthy relationship with the Internet and video games means effectively managing your kids? computer activities. If you can help your children learn to game and navigate the online world responsibly, you?ll have gained an essential point of entry into their lives. More?

(?Essential point of entry?? This is parenting, not Mission fucking Impossible!)

  • Never Too Old for Video Games?

Recent studies show that the average video game addict is 35 years old and is fatter and more depressed than the general population. More?

(Of course you had to throw ?fatter? in there, you condescending jackass.)

  • Study Documents Prevalence of Pathological Behavior among Young Video Gamers

A recent study has added scientific support to claims of addiction among one notoriously dedicated group: Young video game players may actually suffer from video game addiction. More?

(BREAKING NEWS: PEOPLE WHO ENJOY PLAYING VIDEO GAMES ENJOY PLAYING VIDEO GAMES.)

  • Fun Ways to Limit Your Teen?s Screen Time This Summer

Now is the time to make a plan to help your teen stave off summer boredom. Here are a few tips to ensure this season isnt remembered as the summer of screen time. More?

(?What?s that, son? You?ve found a way to express yourself personally??SUPPRESS?IT!?SUPPRESS?IT IMMEDIATELY!)

  • New Facts about Video Game Addiction: Problem More Widespread Than Expected

Don?t believe video game addiction really exists? New research may convince you to think again. More?

(New research may also convince you to stick your dick in a garbage disposal. What of it?)

  • Confronting the Dreaded Cyber Bully

Cyber bullying is not harmless fun and can cause deep emotional scars that last a lifetime. Use these tips to arm your family against cyber bullying. More?

(I?d advise a harpoon.)

  • About Video Game Addiction

Video game addiction does exist ? and it?s affecting children and teens all across America. More?

(Because, as everybody knows, video games are ONLY played in America. Fuck you, Japan.)

  • Game Over: Video Games Strain Relationships with Friends and Family

Video games have done far more than change the way we entertain ourselves. They have changed how we communicate, how much time we spend with friends and family, and how much time we invest in active, real-life pursuits. More?

(The exact same can be said about literally any form of media ever, but then again, BOOKS don?t exactly have internet protest groups, do they?)

(I checked.)

(They don?t.)

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Source: http://averystrangeplace.com/2013/03/22/video-game-addiction-is-real/

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What the President Can and Should Do About Climate Change

In Barack Obama's State of the Union address, he intoned: " For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change. ... If Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will." Now the president's science advisors, a group known as PCAST for President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, have offered some suggestions for what he can and should do about climate change--on his own.

First and foremost, the 19 advisors note that it's past time for the nation to prepare for climate change, because climate change is already upping the odds of weather havoc like Superstorm Sandy. Whether it's the challenge of flooding or extreme drought, the nation will require a more robust and resilient infrastructure, which means spending money on upgrading or just plain repairing the electric grid, bridges and tunnels and even water mains--much as the 2009 stimulus attempted. But it also means that the U.S. needs to invest in its weather prediction capabilities: both better supercomputers as well as more or at least replacement satellites. The advisors also note that the U.S. is already reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector, largely thanks to a shift away from burning coal to burning cheap and cleaner natural gas. In an ideal world, that shift would be accelerated by a tax on the carbon in fuels or a CO2 cap-and-trade system but Washington, D.C. remains far from that ideal. In the interim, the President should continue to encourage fracking for gas from shale, set new CO2 standards for power plants under the authority of the Clean Air Act, and boost efforts to develop technologies that can capture CO2 and sequester it deep underground. At the same time, the Obama administration should lobby to continue, if not increase, the amount of money spent developing future clean energy technologies, whether better batteries for electric cars or robust heat pumps for geothermal power. In particular, because nuclear power is too expensive to develop without direct government support, it therefore deserves and "requires special attention," the advisors write. The President can also help enable clean energy and energy efficiency by revising rules from the Treasury Department on what types of projects get access to funding, requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to work with the Department of Energy to create programs that value energy efficiency investments as part of a mortgage, and encouraging the U.S. Congress to broaden and lengthen the tax credits for renewable energy production. In addition, a Quadrennial Energy Review--similar to the Quadrennial Defense Review that sets priorities for the U.S. military--could help focus and shape a coherent and stable U.S. energy policy, something that the country has never had. That is also something supported by the nominee to be the new Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz. Finally, the Obama administration might reach out to Canada and Mexico to craft a North American climate agreement to signal the nation's seriousness about international efforts to combat climate change. Bilateral cooperation with China should also be increased --via scientific exchanges, workshops and the like--to help the world's two largest polluters to restrain the greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming. This blend of adaptation to the climate change already guaranteed as well as mitigation of the greenhouse gas emissions that would make global warming worse are "essential parts of an integrated strategy for dealing with climate change," the advisors write. In the end, however, the President can only do so much on his own. A truly integrated strategy would require the U.S. Congress to get involved. Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
? 2013 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/president-climate-change-220400825.html

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Thursday 21 March 2013

I stuck around the Middle East, till I saw it was a time for a change, I killed Saddam and his ministers? (Unqualified Offerings)

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Nuggets beat Thunder for first 13-game win streak

Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson (3) shoots in front of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison (4) in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson (3) shoots in front of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison (4) in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Denver Nuggets forward Corey Brewer (13) is fouled by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison (4) as he shoots in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) blocks a shot by Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee (34) in front of Thunder forward Nick Collison (4) and Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

(AP) ? Andre Miller isn't known for voicing his opinion. So when the veteran point guard started talking, the Denver Nuggets listened.

A big performance on his 37th birthday started with an inspirational speech and finished with Miller's play doing all the talking for him.

Miller scored 13 of his season-best 20 points in the fourth quarter, and the Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-104 Tuesday night for their first 13-game winning streak since joining the NBA.

"He's a coach and a teacher and a veteran, and he does it every day in a very classy way, a very quiet way," coach George Karl said. "And then he can do what he did tonight, where he can take the most talented team maybe in the NBA and be the best player on the court for the last 6 minutes of the game."

Denver took control just after halftime, building a 13-point lead and then holding off the Thunder as they got back within 102-97 after Russell Westbrook's 17-foot jumper from the left elbow with 4:08 to play. Karl put Miller back in the game at the next stoppage, and the 13-year veteran was a stabilizing force.

Miller had back-to-back jumpers as Denver answered right back with five straight points, and he went five for six at the foul line in the final 69 seconds to close it out.

Denver's previous longest winning streak since the 1976 ABA-NBA merger was 12 straight in 1982. The franchise won 15 in a row in the 1969-70 ABA season.

"It's cool. I'm sure a lot of people didn't think we would get this game, but we talked about having some pride, working hard and practicing," Miller said. "We put in a lot of work to get to this point, so at least we came out and gave a good effort and it paid off."

Ty Lawson led Denver with 25 points. Miller also had nine assists and seven rebounds in 23 effective minutes.

Kevin Durant had 34 points and Westbrook chipped in 25 for Oklahoma City, which fell to 30-5 at home this season.

The Thunder gave up a season-worst 72 points in the paint ? Denver's specialty ? as both teams struggled throughout the game from 3-point range.

The Nuggets trailed by 10 early in the second quarter, but then dictated the tenor of the game the rest of the way.

"It's easy to fall into that trap. That's what they do. They get up and down the court," Durant said. "Our game is a little different. We want to run, but we want to run off our defense.

"Those guys run off of makes, misses of course and turnovers, but they continually run and pass the ball well and they score a lot in the paint. We fell into the trap and we couldn't play that game with them."

The Nuggets, who average an NBA-best 57.8 points in the paint, had 66 and 60 in that category in wins against Oklahoma City in Denver earlier this season.

"I'm sure they talked about keeping us out of the paint. They like to get to the paint and the free-throw line. It was just a battle of the wills, and we figured out how to play some defense in the second half, and that led to more paint points," said Miller.

Kenneth Faried said Miller spoke to the team before the game for the first time all season, preaching that there should be no excuses after a 109-108 overtime victory a night earlier in Chicago.

"Andre Miller is a guy who doesn't really say too much. ... When he talks, and he talks to the rest of us, everybody listens," Faried said. "Nobody's playing around. Everybody listens, everybody locks in and is focused."

Denver moved within 3? games of the Thunder in the Northwest Division and became the first team this season to beat Oklahoma City three times. It's also a big win in the chase for home-court advantage in the playoffs for Denver, which is tied with Miami for the NBA's best home record at 30-3 and using the win streak to try and edge out the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis in a tight race.

"I don't know where it ranks in NBA history, but it's a good run," said Karl, who won 14 in a row with Seattle in 1996. "I don't want to get too happy about it because we have a job to do and we have a challenge. It's to move in to get home court. There's no question that the brand of basketball that we're playing is growing and maturing, and our confidence is growing with it."

The Nuggets trailed 66-65 at halftime, but took the lead on Danilo Gallinari's 3-pointer and then followed Westbrook's tying, two-handed dunk off an inbound alley-oop pass by charging ahead with a 12-2 run. Andre Iguodala's right-handed, fast-break slam ? created by Gallinari's steal ? put Denver up 80-70 midway through the third and prompted Scott Brooks' second timeout to try and end the surge.

After back-to-back Thunder baskets, the Nuggets added to their cushion with seven straight points ? a Lawson 3-pointer, a Corey Brewer jumper and then an 18-footer by Lawson ? to make it 87-74 with 2:59 left in the third.

The Nuggets had six players score in double figures, getting 13 apiece from Faried and Gallinari, 11 from Brewer and 10 from Iguodala. Faried also grabbed 15 rebounds as Denver overcame a 14-6 first-quarter rebounding deficit to beat Oklahoma City 52-45 on the glass.

Wilson Chandler, who tied his career-high with 35 points in a win at Chicago a night earlier, did not return after separating his left shoulder in the fourth quarter. Karl called it a "slight" separation and also said Lawson aggravated a heel injury. Both are considered day-to-day.

Kevin Martin had 14 points off the bench for Oklahoma City and Kendrick Perkins had 11 rebounds, but did not play over the final 18 minutes as Denver build up its big rebounding edge.

The Nuggets were 4 for 21 from 3-point range, only slightly better than Oklahoma City's 4 for 25.

"The first time us meeting, they blew us out and it wasn't even close. They really was taunting and all the, I guess, disrespectful stuff and we got upset about that," Faried said. "Tonight, I really wanted to come out and prove that, hey, we can compete with y'all and actually, we're better."

Notes: Karl drew a technical foul in the second quarter for complaining to official Marat Kogut after Lawson was called for his third foul against Durant's "rip move," when he swings the ball through a defender's arms. ... Denver's winning streak is the third-longest in the NBA this season, behind Miami's current 23-game run and the Los Angeles Clippers' 17-game streak. Oklahoma City won 12 straight earlier in the season. ... The Heat and San Antonio are the only other teams to beat Oklahoma City twice this season.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-20-BKN-Nuggets-Thunder/id-8cf640d615834d00a51f36258278b421

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Insight: In heartland, Obama's move against jet loophole hits turbulence

By Andy Sullivan

WICHITA, Kansas (Reuters) - First came the recession, throwing thousands out of work. Then came the drought, choking crops and draining reservoirs. Then came the president, arguing that the private-plane buyers who fuel this city's economy benefit from an unfair tax break.

President Barack Obama's proposal to reduce that tax break has won wide support among Democrats who see it as an example of how the U.S. tax code is too generous to the wealthy.

But what looks like a loophole in Washington appears much different in this prairie city of 400,000, where leaders of all political stripes worry that Obama's rhetoric is already undermining an industry that accounts for 1 in 10 jobs in the region.

"I'm certainly disappointed that he would do something of this nature," said Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, a Democrat who displays Obama's portrait on his office wall. "As long as you're doing something to threaten my aviation industry ... I'll continue to speak out against it."

Brewer's vow could serve as an early warning for Obama and lawmakers in Congress as they try to streamline the U.S. tax code in order to lower rates or narrow trillion-dollar deficits.

The idea of eliminating perks in the nation's tax laws may sound appealing in the abstract. But many changes - particularly to provisions that have helped to create jobs - are likely to spur bipartisan blowback from places like Wichita that are still struggling to emerge from the country's deepest recession in 80 years.

In Wichita, a city that bills itself as the "Air Capital of the World," business and labor leaders are questioning why a president who bailed out Detroit's auto industry seems less concerned about the impact his words might have on another manufacturing industry that employs 1.2 million people and exported $4.8 billion worth of aircraft last year.

"It's so frustrating," said Republican Representative Mike Pompeo, who represents the region in Congress. "All the aviation manufacturers want is for him to stop talking down their industry. Don't write them a check, don't give them a tax credit, don't hand them a subsidy. Stop bashing them."

The International Association of Machinists, a labor union with close ties to Obama's Democrats, has warned that Obama's push to raise taxes on private-plane buyers could undermine his efforts to boost the economy.

Obama's allies say that it is only fair to ask affluent private-plane buyers to pay a bit more in taxes at a time when social programs that help the poor are facing sharp cutbacks.

"These things don't exist in a vacuum, and you have to balance the benefits with the costs," said Michael Linden, director of tax and budget policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. "Why should (jet tax breaks) be prioritized over, say, nutrition assistance to low-income families and pregnant women?"

A HOME-GROWN INDUSTRY

Aviation has been a central part of Wichita's economy since the first commercially built aircraft in the United States were produced here in the 1920s.

Home-grown companies such as Cessna, Beechcraft and Learjet spurred development of the private-aircraft market after World War II. Alongside large-plane makers such as Boeing, they anchor a local network of more than 200 machine shops and other parts suppliers.

Wichita now has the highest concentration of aerospace manufacturing jobs in the United States, according to Wichita State University economics professor Jeremy Hill.

Those jobs pay well: The industry's average annual wage of $74,000 is nearly twice the regional average.

The city produces nearly half of all private aircraft worldwide. According to the nonpartisan Brookings Institution, exports account for nearly 20 percent of Wichita's gross metropolitan product, making it the most export-intensive city in the United States. Brewer and other civic leaders hope to boost exports further in coming years as China loosens its airspace restrictions and allows the country's newly minted billionaires to fly in style.

Private-aircraft sales have always risen and fallen along with the economy, but the 2008 recession proved especially severe.

Sales fell by 29 percent from 2008 to 2011, and the lower end of the market was hit especially hard as small-business buyers were unable to get bank loans, said aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia.

In Wichita, Hawker Beechcraft filed for bankruptcy and Textron Inc unit Cessna laid off 12,000 workers, two-thirds of its local workforce. The unemployment rate climbed to 10.6 percent in July 2009 from 3.5 percent in October 2007.

A SYMBOL OF EXCESS

Meanwhile, Wichita's main product was taking on unwelcome political baggage.

After auto executives were widely criticized for flying their corporate planes to Washington to ask for a bailout in 2008, the business jet came to symbolize corporate excess.

As the recession hammered Washington's balance sheet, Republicans pressed for deep spending cuts to narrow budget deficits that amounted to more than $1 trillion annually. Democrats countered with a proposal to raise revenue by eliminating some of the subsidies and breaks in the tax code that collectively deprive the government of more than $1 trillion in tax revenue each year.

One item on their list: reducing the tax benefits given to those who buy planes for business uses.

Obama has framed the choice in the starkest possible terms.

"Are Republicans in Congress really willing to let these cuts fall on our kids' schools and mental healthcare just to protect tax loopholes for corporate jet owners?" he asked in a radio address on February 23.

Such rhetoric initially caught industry officials by surprise.

"The first time we heard 'corporate jet loophole' we couldn't figure out what they were talking about," said Ed Bolen, who heads the National Business Aviation Association.

The U.S. tax code treats private aircraft as it does bulldozers, computers and other business equipment: Companies that buy them are allowed to deduct the cost from their tax bill over five years. The deduction applies only to planes used for business purposes.

The depreciation schedule has been in place for decades. It is supposed to reflect how long a product will be useful to a business. But private planes and factory machinery can be used for decades, while computers and mobile phones can become obsolete before the five-year depreciation period expires.

Obama and his Democrats say the depreciation schedule for corporate jets should be stretched out to seven years, to treat private-aircraft purchases like commercial airliner purchases.

That would effectively raise the cost of buying a private plane because customers would be able to deduct just 14.29 percent of the price from their tax bill in the year of purchase, rather than the 20 percent that current law allows.

The change would generate an additional $300 million in tax revenue each year, about as much as the U.S. government spends in 45 minutes.

Republicans are eyeing an overhaul of the tax code as well to try to lower corporate and personal income tax rates. That could lead to a longer depreciation period for business-plane buyers, but industry officials and advocates said they wouldn't necessarily object as long as their sector were not singled out.

"They're perfectly prepared to be part of a solution for corporate tax reform," said Pompeo, who ran an aerospace parts supplier before his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010.

WOULDN'T HELP, BUT MIGHT NOT HURT

Analysts say the business-plane industry probably wouldn't see much change if Congress stretched the five-year depreciation schedule to seven years, because taxes are only one factor that businesses consider in buying planes. The change also wouldn't apply to the 60 percent of sales that are made abroad.

"It can help, but it certainly doesn't make or break the industry," said aviation consultant Brian Foley.

Others say that Obama already has hurt the industry even though his tax proposal hasn't advanced in Congress.

As he strolls through the repair bays and passenger lounges at Yingling Aviation, a truck stop of sorts for private planes next to Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport, owner Lynn Nichols says Obama's rhetoric has led some of his customers to park their jets to avoid stigma.

Decisions like that translate into less maintenance work for Yingling, fewer plane sales for manufacturers and lower sales at area grocery stores, he said.

"I think Obama's been able to demonstrate to everybody he's a pretty good politician, but I just wish he'd be more mindful of the hurt that he creates," Nichols said.

While Obama has argued that business-plane buyers should pay more taxes, he has backed other tax breaks that could help the industry.

He has extended a temporary recession-fighting measure four times that would allow businesses to write off 50 percent of the cost of new capital purchases in the first year - a much more dramatic break than would otherwise be granted under the tax code. Plane manufacturers say they see an uptick in sales toward the end of every year as customers decide that the enhanced tax break provides enough incentive to make a purchase.

Obama also has proposed additional tax breaks for domestic manufacturers, though that measure has not become law.

The president's overall message is "a bit schizophrenic, isn't it?" said Brad Thress, Cessna's senior vice president of business jets.

Obama allies say the tax breaks favored by the president make more sense because they seek to boost economic activity as a whole.

The five-year depreciation schedule, by contrast, amounts to a special break for private-plane buyers who can afford to pay a bit more to help reduce the deficit, they say.

"If you can afford to buy a private jet, you can afford to depreciate it over seven years," Linden said. "Show me any mom-and-pop hardware store that owns a corporate jet, and I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn."

Chuck Pierson doesn't run a hardware store. But the Wichita dentist says it would be much harder to keep up with new developments in his field without his propeller-driven Cessna 421, which he has flown to out-of-the-way places like Bozeman, Montana, to examine new equipment and learn how to train his staff on new techniques.

Pierson said tax benefits were a factor when he was deciding whether to upgrade from a smaller aircraft in 2011. Aircraft purchases shouldn't be treated differently from the other equipment he and his partners have bought to improve their practice, which employs 30 people.

"They might think that it's a luxury, that we like to go around on Saturday afternoons and buzz fields or something, but it's a vehicle just like any other type of transportation for us," he said.

(Editing by David Lindsey and Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insight-heartland-obamas-move-against-jet-loophole-hits-050359328--business.html

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