text:
loose wire blog
Jeremy Wagstaff: ex Reuters/BBC/WSJ etc
Guidance for PR
Tag Archives: Skype security
The Fate of New Acquisitions: Whither or Wither?
By Jeremy Wagstaff
I'm writing this on a Windows PC using a great piece of Microsoft software called Windows Live Writer. And that's only part of the problem.
As you no doubt know, Microsoft have announced they bought Skype, the Internet telephony company, for $8.5 billion. You'll have to look under a lot of stones to find someone who thinks this is a good deal for Microsoft. Skype made $20 million last year on revenue of $860 million, posting a net loss of $69 million because of interest expenses. In short, this is not a company about to fill Microsoft's coffers with dosh.
Whenever a big company goes on a buying spree I reach for my gun and head for the hills. These things never end well. A few weeks back we heard about Cisco buying and then killing Flip, those great little pocket cameras so simple to use people actually use them. I used to keep a list of these acquisitions, because I naively used to think that a big company buying a smaller one was a happy ending. I've nearly always been proved wrong.
Yahoo bought a browser bookmarking service called delicious that they parked in a siding until eventually selling it, a few weeks back, to someone who actually seems to understand the product. In fact a fun game is to quiz Yahoo PR people about the state of their company's lesser known products and count how many "I'll have to get back to you on that one" responses. I'll give you a head start: Ask about Konfabulator, a sort of desktop widgets program which was excellent, but has quietly withered on the Yahoo vine. The developer's blog hasn't been updated since 2007.
Yahoo are probably the most egregious offenders but everyone does it. Google boughtJaiku, a twitter-like service that was better than twitter, but have done precisely nothing with it. Nokia bought dopplr, a social networking service for people who travel, and have done precisely nothing with it. (Product blog hasn't been updated since September 30 2009, two days after Nokia bought it.)
So why do it? Buying companies makes people money, somewhere in the chain. It disguises ineptitude, or it is what is called a defensive play: I'll buy it so you can't.
The Skype deal neatly illustrates Microsoft's problem is a simple one: It lacks direction. It doesn't seem to know what it wants to do so it creates a new brand, a new product, a new division—often out of an old one. The product I'm writing this on is part of (frankly the only good part of) the Windows Live array of products—whatever that is; I've never quite figured that part out. (Type live.com into your browser and something different seems to happen each time; now it's a sort of stream of consciousness page that's more of a stew of Microsoft's various offerings. ) Windows Live Writer was part of a product Microsoft bought called Onfolio; it has survived, somehow, though few people seem to know about it outside a very narrow group of enthusiasts.
And here's the rub. Microsoft has no idea what to do with all these products it spews out or inherits, so it forgets about them. Most of you know that Hotmail and Bing are Microsoft products. But how about Lync? Or Kin? Anyone remember Zune? And what is the difference between Windows Live and Windows Live Essentials, for example? Or Windows Messenger, Office Communicator, Windows Live Messenger and MSN Messenger? Or Sync Center, Live Mesh, SkyDrive, FolderShare and Live Sync?
No, I'm not sure either.
Go to Windowsmarketplace.com and you'll be told that "Windows Marketplace has transitioned from an ecommerce site to a reference site." Confused yet? Go togetpivot.com, the website of what was billed a year or so back as "the most ambitious thing to come out of Live Labs" and you'll get directed to, er, bing.com. Live Labs itself was disbanded a few months later. Now old links to Live Labs go to bing.com, which was where those members of the team ended up that didn't quit. Out of the 14 projects initiated by the lab counted on Wikipedia, all but five are dead. Of those, only a couple seemed to still have any life in them.
When a company diverts a link from one of its own press releases barely a year old to, effectively, nowhere, it's a pretty good sign that's where the vision has gone too. This was after all Microsoft's big research team—at least the most exciting one (Microsoft spends about $9 billion per year on R&D, according to Jean-Louis Gassée, a French analyst.) Microsoft products seem to get lost in a labyrinth of confusing branding, branching and segmentation tunnels, confusing and demoralizing the user to the degree they throw up their hands and go buy a Mac.
Not I. I know about Microsoft products because I use them. A lot. And the more I usemy Mac the more impressed I am with parts of Windows 7. The problems with the operating system could be fixed in an afternoon: Watch a couple of users try it out and then ask them what was missing. Build those bits into a new version, ditch the trash and you're good to go. (Some clues: something like iPhoto but better than Photo Gallery for handling photos. Something like iMovie but not Movie Maker. Apple's products all come pre-installed. Microsoft's are a confusing, lengthy and intrusive download and reboot away. Oh, and something half way between Microsoft Word ($200 or thereabouts) and the freebie WordPad; Apple's equivalent Pages costs $20. It's not as good as Word, but it's a 10th the price.)
So where is Skype going to fit into all this? Well, the problems start with Skype itself. Since eBay bought it in 2005 it has been something of an orphan, passed around with little idea of what its future might be. It wasn't always thus. I drank the Kool-Aid back in 2005, and thought like others it was going to change the way we communicated and did business online. I joined the vision of a world where everyone from clairvoyants to business consultants (ok, that's not such a wide swathe) would offer services over Skype. Audio, text, video, you name it.
That hasn't happened. For most people it is just a way to avoid paying rip-off phone charges and do the odd video call. Everything else is marginal. The most recent Extra—the add-ons that were supposed to be part of this new Skype ecosystem–is dated January 2010 and that's just an update on an old program. One guy I interviewed in 2005 had set up a network of 30,000 experts in 50 countries on a website called Jyve.com that was going to piggyback this new Skype-connected world. He's nowhere to be found now and Jyve.com is an empty page.
eBay didn't get it, of course, but that's only part of the story. About a year ago I wrote a piece calling on Skype to realize that it was at heart the world's most effective social network tool. I wrote:
If Skype dovetailed with Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn it could position itself at the heart of social media. After all, it's probably the only application that most Internet users have installed, loaded and [have] active on their computer. Unlike Facebook et al, Skype is there, right in the moment. It's the ultimate presence app.
Indeed, it's much more like an instant Rolodex (remember those?) than all the other networking services we use. If I want to contact someone the first place I check is Skype—if they're online, what's the point of contacting them any other way?
In other words, Skype offers a granularity that other social networking tools don't: Not only is it comfortable with one to all (the status update message), it's also comfortable with the one to several (add people to a chat or call), it's also great at instantly connecting one on one. You can even reach people offline via it, if they have call forwarding enable, or you have their SMS details stored.
No other social network offers that.
Skype sits on every computer (and most smartphones.) By definition all the people the user is connected to are people he wants to actually communicate with—rather than just 'friending' or ' 'connecting to'. It's an easier way to share stuff—photos, files etc–and it's now pretty easy to set up groups and stuff (In Afghanistan we used it as a way to share security updates; people could see the information in real time or catch up on messages when they got online. In Singapore I use it to talk to my students via teams and the whole class.)
Unfortunately Skype may have read my piece, or they may not. Either way, they half went down this road by trying to throw in lots of things that people didn't need—including an annoying Firefox extension that turned every number on a webpage into a phone number, including bank accounts. Now Skype is so big and clunky it crashes on my Android phone and my Windows computer.
But in a perfect world Skype works. It's simple. For many people it's a telephone. For others it's a presence indicator: I'm online, I'm not. My computer is connected to the internet (green button showing) or there's a problem with the connection (grey downer button showing). For some people it's become a very useful way to organize teleconferences (though don't talk to my colleagues on an Indonesia project about this; they spend hours trying to get a connection going.)
Skype wasn't first but it worked better than others, which is why everyone has a Skype account, and why asking for someone's Skype ID is almost as natural as telling asking for their email address.
But unfortunately I'm not sanguine about a Microsoft/Skype future. Either they integrate the technology behind it into their other smorgasbord of products, in which case you wonder why they didn't develop the technology themselves, or they leave it as it is. Either way it's not good: While analysts have focused on how Skype might fit into Microsoft's non-PC products like Kinect and Xbox, it's hard to imagine that Microsoft won't try to shoehorn Skype users into one of its misbegotten sub-brands, losing non-Windows users along the way.
Skype Messenger anyone? Live Skype? Skype Office? Skype Explorer? I shudder to think what will happen. I may be wrong—I've been plenty wrong about Skype before—but my fear is of a Skype that gets as clunky and overloaded as MSN Messenger, as bewildering as the Live family of products, as impossible to separate from other Microsoft products as Microsoft Word, as doomed as Outlook Express and anything from the Live Labs mob.
I do hope I'm wrong because of all the networks I have on my computer and cellphone, Skype is still the one I actually need. Skype: whither or wither?
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Afghanistan, analyst, Android, Apple Inc., bank accounts, Cisco Systems Netherlands Holdings B.V., eBay Inc, ecommerce site, Facebook Inc, Features of Skype, Freeware, head for the hills, Indonesia, Internet telephony, Internet users, IP telephony, Jean-Louis Gassée, lesser known products, LinkedIn Corporation, M&A, Messenger, MSN Messenger, narrow, Nokia Oyj, operating system, Photo Gallery, Portable software, reference site, Singapore, Skype, Skype Office, Skype security, Skype Technologies S.A., smartphones, SMS, Social media, social network, social network tool, social networking service, social networking tools, Sync Center, Windows 7, Windows Live Messenger and MSN Messenger, Windows Live Writer, Xbox, Yahoo!, YAHOO! INC., Zune on May 19, 2011 by jeremy.
Skype's New Dawn?
We talk about Facebook, twitter, MySpace and Friendster as the big social networks but we keep forgetting one that is far bigger than that: Skype. This from a Bloomberg piece on Skype's vacillating fortunes:
Skype has soared in popularity since it started in 2003 and has about 548 million users worldwide—more than Facebook, MySpace and Twitter combined.
Pretty much everyone I know is on Skype—more so than Facebook—and their investment in it is greater: They had to figure out how to install software, set up a microphone, a webcam, create an account, and maybe even buy credit. More importantly, they can actually estimate its value to them, by counting the money it's saved them, if they want.
We all know about eBay's missteps with Skype over the past few years and the software could definitely do with a total overhaul. But now there are new faces involved—including Marc Andreessen, who knows a thing or two—I foresee huge opportunities ahead.
One is a route they're clearly going to take: the enterprise. That makes sense, but it also means damping down Skype's huge social reputation, since companies will tend to think of it as at best a frivolous time waster for its employees, at worst a security threat.
Still, it would make lots of sense to go that route, possibly creating a separate sub brand of Skype that built a wall between the existing network of users and the enterprise one.
But I think there's a much bigger opportunity out there, one that was talked up back in 2005 but never left the ground. That was leveraging the free connectivity to allow an eco system of services to develop atop of it.
Consulting, translation, education, all that kind of thing.
This never really took off, but I think that may have had more to do with its execution, and the fact that the world wasn't quite ready. Most people signed up to Skype for the free calls. They weren't really interested in more than that.
And yet since then Facebook and other social networks have. (Taken off, I mean.) Doing, actually, pretty much the same thing. Setting up an account, adding your buddies to it, and then communicating.
But the potential of that network was never exploited. A few memory-hogging applications and a few desultory ads have been pretty much it.
Maybe now Skype can make the most of this. One is the eco system of services I mentioned, but there are also location-based opportunities, mobile opportunities, video opportunities.
If Skype dovetailed with Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn it could position itself at the heart of social media. After all, it's probably the only application that most Internet users have installed, loaded and active on their computer. Unlike Facebook et al, Skype is there, right in the moment. It's the ultimate presence app.
Of course, Skype has some ways to go to do this. The interface needs a serious rethink: It looks so 2000s.
It needs to add—or reintroduce—lots of features, like individual invisibility (being invisible to some people and not others), to encourage those who either don't have it running or have themselves permanently invisible, to keep it there in their system tray.
It needs to lower some of its walls to allow interoperability with other chat clients, like Google Talk, and with services like Facebook and LinkedIn. Indeed it should throw open all its doors, so I can look up my friends on the Skype app and communicate with them using any or all of those services. Skype is the app is the network.
Then we might be back to those heady days of 2004-2005 when Skype looked like it was not just going to be the end of ruinous IDD phone monopolies, but that it might herald a new era of networking.
This entry was posted in Internet life, Networks and tagged big social networks, Bloomberg L.P., eBay Inc, Facebook, Facebook Inc, few memory-hogging applications, Freeware, Funding, Hutchison 3G, Internet users, LinkedIn, LinkedIn Corporation, M&A, Marc Andreessen, MYSPACE INC, Portable software, Skype, Skype security, SMS, Social media, social network, Social network service, social networking tools, social networks, Twitter Inc. on January 18, 2010 by jeremy.
Software, Slowly, Gets Better
Is it just me, or are software developers beginning to get their users? For a long time I've felt the only real innovation in software has been in online applications, Web 2.0 non-apps—simple services that exist in your browser—but now it seems that ordinary apps are getting better too.
Evernote, I feel, is one that's really leading the charge. They've taken the feedback that us users have been giving them and have added, incremental release by incremental release, some really cool features. For example: now you can save searches in the Windows version. Reminds me of the old Enfish Tracker Pro, whose departure I still mourn. In fact, Evernote isn't far off becoming a real database instead of a dumping ground for things you'll read one day. Maybe.
Skype, too, have pulled their socks up. I hated 4.0 beta, not least for its big bumbling footprint. But the new version is better—a lot better. The main improvement is the option to make it look like your old Skype. But it has some nice new touches, including a chronology scroller that might interest Evernote's legal department (Skype on the left, Evernote on the right):
Move the bar on the right and you can move easily through old chats. Legal niceties aside, I think this kind of innovation is great to see, and almost restores my faith in designers realising that we don't just use software in the here and now, but also as repositories of past heres and nows, if you know what I mean.
In short, our decision to commit to software is largely based on how much we will be able to get out of it. Not just in terms of hours saved in what we do now, but in what past information we'll be able to get out of it. We have been using computers long enough now to have built up a huge repository of interactions and memos, and we want, nay we insist, to be able to get that stuff back. Quickly and easily. And, increasingly, to be able to move it to other places should we wish.
Google understands this relatively well. A chat in GTalk, for example, can be readily accessed via Gmail. And, now, we can also see and search our other data held within Google's silos, right within Gmail, via some widgets from Google's Gmail Labs. Here are two widgets that let you view your calendar:
and here's one to see your documents within Google Docs:
Note the window at the top for searching through your document titles. This means one less step to access your data.
All these things have some basic concepts in common:
As I've mentioned, it's about being able to get what you've put in out. Skype have listened to their customers and realised it's less about the interface and more about the information the interface gives access to. If they were smart they'd find an easy way to send old chats to your email account or at least make it easy to search all your chats from one box. (I'm told that, or something like it, is coming in the 'Gold' version of Skype 4.0 next year. Until now only group chats—three or more people can be saved to your contact list.)
Secondly, software should, where possible, work with other people's software. Emusic's new download manager (above), for example, does something that has been missing ever since the service launched. Previously, if you wanted to include MP3 files you'd bought from the service in iTunes, you'd need to either drag them across into iTunes or re-introduce the folder into iTunes. The new version of the downloader tool now synchronizes automatically with iTunes, meaning you don't need to do anything. Thank God for that.
There are tons of other things that software needs to do that it presently doesn't. I could start listing them but I need to go to bed. But maybe in this downturn developers could take a note from some of these examples, and use the time to look more carefully at what users need, at how they use your software, and explore new and better ways for them to use it for what they do, not what you think they should do.
Technorati Tags: skype,usability,evernote,gmail,google,google docs,google calendar,emusic,gui,interface,productivity
This entry was posted in Productivity, Rants, Software, apps and tagged Cross-platform software, download manager, downloader tool, eMusic, Evernote, Freeware, gmail, Google, Google Talk, ITunes, MP3, online applications, Portable software, Skype, Skype security, software developers on November 10, 2008 by jeremy.
If You Know the Answer, Why Ask the Question?
Just downloaded and installed the new beta version of Skype, and am now removing it. Why? Because it's humongously big, and doesn't have any option I could find for reducing its footprint. Compare this:
(and notice the Compact Mode option that I couldn't find in the 4.0 version.)
What bothers me is that Skype already know this is a problem. Try to download a different version of Skype after the beta, and you're confronted with a (rather creepy) questionnaire as they try to find out why you're doing what you're doing. One of the answers:
Well, d'oh. If you knew that was a problem, then why not make it an option to reduce the screen size? Compare this to something like Google Talk, which couldn't get any smaller:
or even some of those twitter clients. I know the video is supposed to be great on the new version of Skype, but if you're not actually running video, what's the excuse for such a desktop-hogging client? I can't think of one.
This entry was posted in Phones, Productivity and tagged Cross-platform software, Freeware, Portable software, Skype, Skype security on July 1, 2008 by jeremy.
Phones Aren't About Telephony
Skype is a powerful tool because it's found its way into the hands of people who need it most — ordinary folk. Now it and the companies that make devices to use Skype on need to understand that it's not about telephony anymore, if it ever was. It's about two or more people sharing each others' presence. Now we need the products to make that happen.
I was chatting with someone last night, a gent in his early 60s from LA, who should have retired but decided to take on one more project, in Hong Kong. He was in two minds about it because it would mean a year away from his wife, but he was persuaded because he knew Skype would keep him in touch. Of course it could be any VoIP tool, but the point here is that Skype was the first to cross the threshold into this market because it was easier (and worked better) than all the others at the time. Now the guy can chat with his wife every night and being apart is bearable and not making him too poor.
But he was still using it as a phone: Call the other person up, chat and then hang up. Had he ever thought about just leaving the line open, I asked him? Why would I do that? he replied. Because it won't cost you anything, and then you'll hear the sounds of home, which in a way is what you're really missing. Your wife banging around in the kitchen, the kids arguing, a dog barking, the sound of the wood pigeon in the garden (OK, that's more my memory of home than his. Not sure they have wood pigeons in LA.)
I then realised that actually there would be a great line of products here. Wireless devices that you could place around the house, outside, some that are just microphones picking up sound, and others that also serve as speakerphones, so his wife can just wander around and, when she wants to, chat as well. Of course, a Bluetooth headset might do the trick, and maybe there are some wireless handsets that might work. I've done a quick search and not found any obvious candidates. Most seem to assume you want to use Skype as a phone. But Skype is not really about phones anymore. It's about presence — on one side, showing other people whether you're available, etc, and on the other, allowing you to teleport yourself to the person you're with without the old restrictions of the phone: cost, the structured nature of phone conversation, having to press a device to your ear.
Manufacturers, it's true, are beginning to wake up to the idea that we don't use our devices in the way, or the place, they're designed for. Take the percushion pillow phone, for example, which finally solves that problem of trying to have a conversation with someone while you're trying to get to sleep. That's a good start. Now lets see devices that use sound and vision to make anyone, including my new homesick friend, to really feel they're home.
This entry was posted in Design, Devices, Phones and tagged Bluetooth, Features of Skype, Freeware, Headset, Louisiana, Portable software, Skype, Skype security, Speakerphone, Telephony, Voice over Internet Protocol, VOIP, Wireless devices, wireless handsets on March 29, 2007 by jeremy.
My Bank Balance is a Phone Number
If you're getting weird numbers that look more like telephone numbers in your online bank account balances, then it might not have anything to do with winning the lottery, but to do with Skype. Here's how to fix it.
A Skype extension for your Internet Explorer or Firefox browser is an option you can install with the latest version of Skype (version 3) for Windows. As the Skype explanation linked to above puts it:
Skype now has browser extensions for Internet Explorer and Firefox. You can choose at install time if you want to install these or not. They automatically convert phone numbers on web pages into Skype links. You can simply click them and Skype starts a SkypeOut call to that number.
Well, yes. That is indeed what happens. But it also turns anything that could be a telephone number on Yellow Pages into something that Skype can call. But more insidiously, it also converts bank balances into telephone numbers, like this one submitted by a reader from Canada:
This would freak out the casual user not a little, I should think. Who wants to think that a piece of code in their browser is scouring their bank account Web site and turning anything it can find into telephone numbers? Indeed, my first response on hearing that something was altering their online bank Web page was to fear the worst, and assume some nasty Trojan had found its way into their computer. In fact, what has happened is that the user has allowed the overactive Skype extension to be installed and is now finding it hard to know how much money they've got left in their account. (Not to mention the conniptions that result from suspecting something bad is happening.)
Anyway, the solution is an easy one: Remove the offending extension. Do do this, go into Tools/Manage Add-ons (in Internet Explorer 6) or Manage Add-ons./Enable or Disable Add-ons… (in Internet Explorer 7) and disable any extensions with Skype in them (there should be either, or both Skype technologies SA Browser Extension and Skype add-on (Mastermind) Browser helper Object.) Disabling them is simply a question of selecting them and then clicking on Disable in the lower left corner of the window. You will probably have to restart your browser.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't find any mention of this on Skype's Web site, so I'm going to ask them for clarification. My personal feeling: This kind of extension should be smarter than it is. Tinkering with a banking – or any financial — Web site's display in the browser should be a no-no. The extension should recognise either that the browser is in secure zone, and therefore should not be scanned or altered, or it should be smart enough to distinguish between a telephone number and any other kind of number.
This entry was posted in Security and tagged bank account, bank balances, banking, Browser Helper Object, Canada, Features of Skype, Freeware, Internet Explorer, online bank, online bank account balances, Portable software, Skype, Skype security, Skype technologies, Social Issues, WEB Broadcasting Systems Inc. on February 25, 2007 by jeremy.
Skype SMS' Teething Problems
You've probably all heard of Skype's new SMS service, which is very cool. If you have a Skype-Out account, you can send SMS messages to cellphones and, if you register you cellphone number with Skype, the recipients can reply to you on your mobile phone. Great idea. Only problem: It doesn't work.
Well, it does work, but not always. At least one cellular operator doesn't seem to pass the messages on. That wouldn't be a problem, except that Skype says that the message has been delivered, and charges you for it. Teething troubles, I guess, but still a nuisance, if you're counting your Skype pennies. (This experiment has so far set me back €0,44. Money that has gone forever. Forever.) Other folk are reporting similar problems, although it doesn't sound widespread.
Skype's technical people say you should raise a help ticket if this happens to you. The only problem is: How do you know that it doesn't get through? An interesting conundrum as Skype ventures into new waters. Consider: Cellular SMS supports a service which allows you to receive notification of the arrival of your message; Skype users can tell whether other Skype members are online and available. But now you can send an SMS to someone, unless the pending/delivered/failed notification feature works properly, all those presence/delivery indicators are out the window.
A weird disjuncture, given that Skype is best used for non-local calls. Skype is all about reaching beyond the tyranny of long distance communication costs. And the same is true of Skype SMS, I suspect, especially in those places where SMS is very cheap. Here in Indonesia, for example, cellular SMS to an Indonesian phone costs 250 rupiah, or 3 US cents. A Skype SMS costs 14 US cents. No one is going to send a Skype SMS to someone locally if that kind of price difference exists. So Skype SMS might best work if you want to communicate with someone who is not at their computer, or doesn't have Skype (or doesn't have a computer) but doesn't live in your zone. Not a bad niche. But the problem still remains: If SMS via Skype is really going to kick in, reliability is going to be an issue. Who is going to use the service if they have no way of knowing whether their messages landed?
Something that Skype needs to fix.
This entry was posted in Phones and tagged 250, cellular telephone, Cross-platform software, EUR, Features of Skype, Freeware, Hutchison 3G, IDR, Indonesia, Mobile telecommunications, Skype, Skype security, SMS on May 5, 2006 by jeremy.
SkypeKiller Or PR Stunt?
Some people, we know, really don't like Skype. A few people are now building a business on it. Now there's SkypeKiller ("Your whole network Skype ridden for free"), a French program which will remove all traces of Skype from your network. As its homepage states:
With nearly 200 million downloads and 62 million regular users worldwide, Skype´s IP telephony service has become a real phenomenon. However use in corporate networks can cause real problems:
* Uncontrollable bandwidth usage
* Uncertainty as to confidentiality
* Potential security flaws
* Productivity issues
* etc …
Thanks, Russell Shaw of ZDNet blogs, who walks us through how to use it. Unfortunately, "SkypeKiller" as a name is much more likely to be assumed to be a program that is better than Skype. And Stuart of Skype Journal reckons it's more about cheap PR than being a serious tool.
This entry was posted in Phones, Security, Software, apps and tagged corporate networks, Freeware, IP telephony, Portable software, Skype, Skype security, telephony service, Voice over Internet Protocol on November 20, 2005 by jeremy.
A Skype Rival?
A rival to Skype? broadband reports talks about Jajah:
Jajah is a new Skype-like IP based communications client that seems to offer more features than Skype. In particular, it claims an ability to seamlessly handle SMS, bridge to Skype and SIP phones, and send video (as well as the usual low priced direct-to-phone calling rates).
I haven't checked it out yet.
This entry was posted in Phones and tagged communications client, Cross-platform software, Features of Skype, Freeware, IP Phone, Jajah, Skype, Skype security, SMS on June 28, 2005 by jeremy.
This blog has been running, on and off, since 2001. It collects my writings for the Journal, Review, BBC and Reuters, and some I write for my own amusement.
I'm a technology writer and consultant, based in Singapore.
I consult for companies large and small trying to make sense of technologies and how best to position themselves. I largely do this by creating bespoke content that hits a high ethical bar. I was chief technology correspondent in Asia for Thomson Reuters. Before that I was a technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review (the Loose Wire column). I was a correspondent for Reuters in the 1980s and 90s. I have an irregular slot on the BBC's World Service Business Daily show.


text:
<?php

namespace Cake\View\Helper;

use Cake\Core\App;
use Cake\Core\Exception\Exception;
use Cake\View\Helper;
use Cake\View\View;

/**
 * Number helper library.
 *
 * Methods to make numbers more readable.
 *
 * @link http://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/views/helpers/number.html
 * @see \Cake\I18n\Number
 */
class NumberHelper extends Helper
{

    /**
     * Default config for this class
     *
     * @var mixed
     */
    protected $_defaultConfig = [
        'engine' => 'Cake\I18n\Number'
    ];

    /**
     * Cake\I18n\LocalizedNumber instance
     *
     * @var \Cake\I18n\Number
     */
    protected $_engine = null;

    /**
     * Default Constructor
     *
     * ### Settings:
     *
     * - `engine` Class name to use to replace Cake\I18n\Number functionality
     *            The class needs to be placed in the `Utility` directory.
     *
     * @param \Cake\View\View $View The View this helper is being attached to.
     * @param array $config Configuration settings for the helper
     * @throws \Cake\Core\Exception\Exception When the engine class could not be found.
     */
    public function __construct(View $View, array $config = [])
    {
        parent::__construct($View, $config);

        $config = $this->_config;

        $engineClass = App::className($config['engine'], 'Utility');
        if ($engineClass) {
            $this->_engine = new $engineClass($config);
        } else {
            throw new Exception(sprintf('Class for %s could not be found', $config['engine']));
        }
    }

    /**
     * Call methods from Cake\I18n\Number utility class
     *
     * @param string $method Method to invoke
     * @param array $params Array of params for the method.
     * @return mixed Whatever is returned by called method, or false on failure
     */
    public function __call($method, $params)
    {
        return call_user_func_array([$this->_engine, $method], $params);
    }

    /**
     * Formats a number with a level of precision.
     *
     * @param float $number A floating point number.
     * @param int $precision The precision of the returned number.
     * @return float Formatted float.
     * @see \Cake\I18n\Number::precision()
     * @link http://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/views/helpers/number.html#formatting-floating-point-numbers
     */
    public function precision($number, $precision = 3)
    {
        return $this->_engine->precision($number, $precision);
    }

    /**
     * Returns a formatted-for-humans file size.
     *
     * @param int $size Size in bytes
     * @return string Human readable size
     * @see \Cake\I18n\Number::toReadableSize()
     * @link http://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/views/helpers/number.html#interacting-with-human-readable-values
     */
    public function toReadableSize($size)
    {
        return $this->_engine->toReadableSize($size);
    }

    /**
     * Formats a number into a percentage string.
     *
     * Options:
     *
     * - `multiply`: Multiply the input value by 100 for decimal percentages.
     *
     * @param float $number A floating point number
     * @param int $precision The precision of the returned number
     * @param array $options Options
     * @return string Percentage string
     * @see \Cake\I18n\Number::toPercentage()
     * @link http://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/views/helpers/number.html#formatting-percentages
     */
    public function toPercentage($number, $precision = 2, array $options = [])
    {
        return $this->_engine->toPercentage($number, $precision, $options);
    }

    /**
     * Formats a number into the correct locale format
     *
     * Options:
     *
     * - `places` - Minimum number or decimals to use, e.g 0
     * - `precision` - Maximum Number of decimal places to use, e.g. 2
     * - `locale` - The locale name to use for formatting the number, e.g. fr_FR
     * - `before` - The string to place before whole numbers, e.g. '['
     * - `after` - The string to place after decimal numbers, e.g. ']'
     * - `escape` - Whether or not to escape html in resulting string
     *
     * @param float $number A floating point number.
     * @param array $options An array with options.
     * @return string Formatted number
     * @link http://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/views/helpers/number.html#formatting-numbers
     */
    public function format($number, array $options = [])
    {
        $formatted = $this->_engine->format($number, $options);
        $options += ['escape' => true];
        return $options['escape'] ? h($formatted) : $formatted;
    }

    /**
     * Formats a number into a currency format.
     *
     * ### Options
     *
     * - `locale` - The locale name to use for formatting the number, e.g. fr_FR
     * - `fractionSymbol` - The currency symbol to use for fractional numbers.
     * - `fractionPosition` - The position the fraction symbol should be placed
     *    valid options are 'before' & 'after'.
     * - `before` - Text to display before the rendered number
     * - `after` - Text to display after the rendered number
     * - `zero` - The text to use for zero values, can be a string or a number. e.g. 0, 'Free!'
     * - `places` - Number of decimal places to use. e.g. 2
     * - `precision` - Maximum Number of decimal places to use, e.g. 2
     * - `pattern` - An ICU number pattern to use for formatting the number. e.g #,###.00
     * - `useIntlCode` - Whether or not to replace the currency symbol with the international
     *   currency code.
     * - `escape` - Whether or not to escape html in resulting string
     *
     * @param float $number Value to format.
     * @param string $currency International currency name such as 'USD', 'EUR', 'JPY', 'CAD'
     * @param array $options Options list.
     * @return string Number formatted as a currency.
     */
    public function currency($number, $currency = null, array $options = [])
    {
        $formatted = $this->_engine->currency($number, $currency, $options);
        $options += ['escape' => true];
        return $options['escape'] ? h($formatted) : $formatted;
    }

    /**
     * Formats a number into the correct locale format to show deltas (signed differences in value).
     *
     * ### Options
     *
     * - `places` - Minimum number or decimals to use, e.g 0
     * - `precision` - Maximum Number of decimal places to use, e.g. 2
     * - `locale` - The locale name to use for formatting the number, e.g. fr_FR
     * - `before` - The string to place before whole numbers, e.g. '['
     * - `after` - The string to place after decimal numbers, e.g. ']'
     * - `escape` - Set to false to prevent escaping
     *
     * @param float $value A floating point number
     * @param array $options Options list.
     * @return string formatted delta
     */
    public function formatDelta($value, array $options = [])
    {
        $formatted = $this->_engine->formatDelta($value, $options);
        $options += ['escape' => true];
        return $options['escape'] ? h($formatted) : $formatted;
    }

    /**
     * Getter/setter for default currency
     *
     * @param string|bool $currency Default currency string to be used by currency()
     * if $currency argument is not provided. If boolean false is passed, it will clear the
     * currently stored value
     * @return string Currency
     */
    public function defaultCurrency($currency)
    {
        return $this->_engine->defaultCurrency($currency);
    }

    /**
     * Event listeners.
     *
     * @return array
     */
    public function implementedEvents()
    {
        return [];
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Take a Virtual 3D Tour of Darlington Locomotive Works!
We will use the latest computer aided design and modelling techniques to realise the potential of the original design and estimate that No. 2007 Prince of Wales will cost around £5m to build over a 7-10 year period. As with Tornado, funds will be raised through regular monthly donations, donations dedicated to specific components, The Boiler Club, The Mikado Club, The Cylinder Club and commercial sponsorship.
We have the expertise, the track record and a plan…. But this can't happen without you.
It's that man again! Unable to stay away from Darlington Locomotive Works, James May returned to Darlington Locomotive Works to fabricate another component for what he describes as a 'whopper' of a locomotive! You can read the full story here.


text:
Deal Among 100 Elected NC Clerks of Court Refocus on Serving Communities By Helping Stop Hunger Now
Published Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 2:59 pm
Sept. 24, 2013. North Carolina's 100 elected clerks of superior court recently participated in a global effort to refocus their local efforts in serving others. Clerks of court joined forces with Stop Hunger Now, an international hunger relief agency, to volunteer time and money to package 10,000 meals. The event was organized by the N.C. Conference of Clerks of Superior Court (NCCSC) to help emphasize the importance of being mission minded and to lead by serving others.
"North Carolina's clerks of superior court serve families and children in our state every day," said NCCSC Executive Director Barbara Moore. "This unified effort to help feed families and children around the world helped us refocus on our powerful ability to positively change lives in the communities we serve."
In addition to volunteering time, each clerk of superior court contributed $25 to help fund the meals. Meals are highly nutritious, dehydrated, and comprised of rice, soy, vegetables, flavoring, and 21 essential vitamins and minerals. The meals will be shipped to hungry people in Stop Hunger Now's network of 65 countries.
"Working together to volunteer for Stop Hunger Now gave us new energy to face the challenges we each have in our own counties," said Wake County Clerk of Superior Court Lorrin Freeman. "Our effort reminded us that despite recent budget cuts and hard times, we are all fortunate in so many ways."
The Stop Hunger Now effort took place in conjunction with the N.C. Conference of Clerks of Superior Court gathering that recently took place in Asheville. Watauga County Clerk of Court Diane Deal was among those in attendance for both the conference and the Stop Hunger Now effort.
"I will tell you it was a wonderful experience. Helping to fill up those bags of food, knowing it got to people that didn't have enough, that were hungry more often than not, it was an awesome experience," Deal said. "We are all here to serve the public. We are servants at heart.
About the N.C. Conference of Clerks of Superior Court
The Conference was created by the General Assembly in 2006 pursuant to Article 63 of Chapter 7A of the North Carolina General Statutes. The goal of the Conference is to improve the administrative operations of the offices of the Clerk of Superior Court while increasing public accessibility to the courts. For more information email [email protected].
About Stop Hunger Now
Stop Hunger Now is celebrating its 15th anniversary of its ongoing work to create a movement to end hunger. More than 100 million meals have been packaged and distributed worldwide. Learn more at www.stophungernow.org.
« Impact of Deer Disease Expecte...
Grant Opportunity for WNC Farm... »
Watauga County Deeds - July 5-10: 22 Deed Transfers With a Total Value of $6,456,500.00
Blowing Rock Town Council Approves Conditional Use Permit for Conversion of Moody Furniture Building
De la Cruz Farms to Celebrate Honey Harvest with Hoedown on July 27
867 Runners Ascend Grandfather Mountain for 25th Annual Bear Race
Weekly Crime Reports: Activity and Arrests in Boone and Watauga County, June 30 - July 7
JSMHM Features Jeff Little - "The Piano Man of the Blue Ridge" - at July 20 Concert
Watauga, Avery Obituaries – July 9, 2019
Stadium Parking Deck On Track to be Completed by the Start of the Fall Semester
Candlelight Ghost Tours This Saturday, July 20, at Wilkes Heritage Museum
PO Box 152, Boone, NC 28607
1600 Highway 105 in Boone
©2019 - High Country Press. All Rights Reserved.
займ на карту
Privacy Policy | Rights & Permissions | Discussion Guidelines
Website Management by Outer Banks Media

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Few restrictions on assault rifle purchases in Florida
(WCTV)
By CBS News; AP
Published: Jun. 14, 2016 at 5:48 PM EDT
By: CBS News; AP
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBS News)-- As in mass shootings elsewhere, the massacre of 49 people at an Orlando nightclub is raising questions about access to guns - assault rifles, in particular.
In Florida, buying one is no problem as long as you're 18, a legal resident of the United States, aren't a felon or a domestic abuser and have no documented mental health or substance abuse issues.
Here are the state's basic rules:
All firearm purchases from federally licensed dealers require a background check, regardless of whether the buyer has a concealed weapons permit.
There is no waiting period to buy a rifle. There is a three-day waiting period to buy a handgun, and handgun buyers must be 21 or older. Some counties and jurisdictions impose longer waiting periods.
People charged with or convicted of a felony can't buy guns. Neither can people who have been convicted of two or more DUIs, have been involuntarily committed to a mental health hospital or have a restraining order against them.
Florida is generally considered to be a state with minimal restrictions on firearms purchases, security analyst and former ATF special agent Matthew Horace told Crimesider.
"It's easy to buy a gun there -- people go to Florida to buy guns because it's firearm-friendly," Horace said. When it comes to assault rifles, a purchaser can walk away with the gun immediately after clearing a background check, Horace said.
Whether Florida gets its gun laws right depends on the perspective. Brian Malte, the national policy director for the Brady Campaign, said getting a gun is far too easy in Florida and private sales don't require a background check.
"The corporate gun lobby seems to use Florida as their example, and unfortunately we've seen what that example has produced, including George Zimmerman, who had a history of violence and an arrest record and yet was able to carry a concealed gun," Malte said, referring to the neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012. "Florida is certainly no shining example of gun laws."
But former Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey believes the state gets it right. He ran the agency that conducts background checks for gun purchases.
"I've had an opportunity to look at what a lot of states are doing. Florida is ahead of the pack with what they're doing with firearms," Bailey said. "It works as well in Florida as it does anywhere else."
Of course, some of the disqualifiers, like mental health and substance abuse, would have to be self-reported if there's no record of the problem.
Bailey said people can't be denied a gun just because other people think they're mentally ill.
"Not in a free society," he said. "There has to be some sort of determination that that person is mentally incompetent."
Florida also requires training and a background check before someone can get a license to carry a gun in public. But very few people are denied.
Mateen had a concealed carry permit from the state of Florida, CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton reported. According to the Associated Press, Mateen had a firearms license since at least 2011, and it was set to expire in 2017.
There are about 1.6 million concealed weapons permit holders. In the past 19 years, only 24,713 applications have been denied, and 17,557 of those were because the application wasn't filled out properly, not necessarily because the applicant didn't qualify.
Former Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson, who ran the agency that issues the permits, doesn't believe gun laws need to be changed. He said assault rifles like the one Omar Mateen used in the Orlando attacks also are used for legitimate purposes.
"People use AR-15s to hunt deer, to hunt hogs, to hunt all kinds of game," he said. "Think of the over 1 million people that have them and have never misused them, and they want to do away with certain aspects of the gun permitting or buying weapons because of one person's lawlessness."
Milton reports during the assault, Mateen, 29, was armed with a Sig Sauer MCX rifle, purchased on June 4, and a a Glock 17 handgun, purchased on June 5. The weapons were purchased legally, according to the ATF. Authorities have also said a .38 caliber weapon was found in his vehicle.
Like other assault rifles, the Sig Sauer MCX is legal to purchase and possess in Florida -- as long as they are in semi-automatic mode. The assault-style rifle fires one round per trigger pull, but is capable of firing hundreds of rounds within minutes, Horace said.
Mateen bought the handgun and rifle legally at the St. Lucie Shooting Center in Port Lucie, near his home and about 120 miles south of Orlando. The owner of a gun store, Ed Henson, said Mateen Monday passed a full background check and had two security licenses. Henson said that if he hadn't bought the guns from him, he would've purchased them somewhere else. Henson told reporters during a news conference Monday outside his business that he is sorry this "evil person" bought the guns from his store.
Henson said his store is cooperating with federal investigators and said "We follow the rules; we don't make the rules."
"I'm sorry he picked my place," Henson said. "I wish he picked no place."
TFD investigating after mobile home fire results in total loss of home
'Let's show our youth that love works' Panama City native hopes to spread love at Capitol
MLK Foundation of Florida, Leon County Government goes virtual for annual MLK, Jr. Awards
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp plans to give teachers, school staff $1K bonus payment


Vanguard Military School is very proud to be established as one of the Government's new Partnership Schools which opened in February 2014 in Albany, Auckland. It is a senior secondary school that caters for Year 11, 12 and 13 students.
The school uses the ethos and training methodology of the military to help students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, achieve attitudinal and academic excellence. It follows the best practices and traditions of military schools from around the world.
The New Zealand Curriculum will be taught with NCEA Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and University Entrance being our measurable performance targets. Maths, English and Physical Education are all compulsory subjects at the school as we look to improve the numeracy, literacy and health issues many of our young people have.
Vanguard Military School will use registered teachers to teach every core subject in the curriculum.
lt will only be using non-registered teachers in areas where an expert with instructional experience will provide a better fit. An example of this is our teaching of Military Drill by ex-New Zealand Defence Force Personnel. All staff at the school will have police and background checks regarding their suitability.
The Ministry of Education also requires Vanguard Military School to report to it every three months to monitor its performance and provide high levels of accountability to the community.


text:
Items The Bostonian
The Bostonian
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Art & Architecture Collection
Beal, H. Martin (fl. 1886-1896)
Original Scan
Posters: arranged by artists
Beal, H. Martin
Beal, H. Martin (fl. 1886-1896) (Artist)
Date Issued: 1893 - 1924 (Approximate)
Place: New York, etc.
Shelf locator: 3-MDW+++ (Posters: arranged by artists)
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b15595684
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 52cae510-c5d3-012f-d6de-58d385a7bc34
The copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
1893: Issued (Approximate)
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Art & Architecture Collection, The New York Public Library. "The Bostonian" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1893 - 1924. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-f71b-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Art & Architecture Collection, The New York Public Library. "The Bostonian" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed July 16, 2019. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-f71b-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Art & Architecture Collection, The New York Public Library. (1893 - 1924). The Bostonian Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-f71b-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-f71b-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 | title= (still image) The Bostonian, (1893 - 1924) }} |author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=July 16, 2019 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lennox, and Tilden Foundation}}</ref>


Size of group: 10 persons min.
Notes with the following words are prepared: before the apple, the apple, after the apple, before the pear, the pear, after the pear, before the orange, the orange, after the orange. The notes are placed in a pot. The three fruits are given to 3 players. This players give their notes to the others while the music plays. As soon as the music stops a note is pulled out of the pot and is read out. The person who has taken the position read from the card is out. For example, "before the apple" – the player in front of the player with the apple is out. If "the apple" is called out then the person with the apple card is out.
The last ones standing are the players for the next game.


text:
Dekanat borysowski I – jeden z jedenastu dekanatów wchodzących w skład eparchii borysowskiej Egzarchatu Białoruskiego Patriarchatu Moskiewskiego.

Parafie w dekanacie

 Parafia św. Jana Kronsztadzkiego w Borysowie
 Cerkiew św. Jana Kronsztadzkiego w Borysowie
 Parafia Narodzenia Pańskiego w Borysowie
 Cerkiew Narodzenia Pańskiego w Borysowie
 Parafia Świętej Trójcy w Borysowie
 Cerkiew Świętej Trójcy w Borysowie
 Parafia św. Włodzimierza Wielkiego w Borysowie
 Cerkiew św. Włodzimierza Wielkiego w Borysowie
 Parafia Zmartwychwstania Pańskiego w Borysowie
 Sobór Zmartwychwstania Pańskiego w Borysowie
 Parafia Świętych Męczenników Królewskich w Józefowie
 Cerkiew Świętych Męczenników Królewskich w Józefowie
 Parafia św. Michała Archanioła w Łosznicy
 Cerkiew św. Michała Archanioła w Łosznicy
 Parafia św. Jana Kronsztadzkiego w Nowosadach (więzienna)
 Cerkiew św. Jana Kronsztadzkiego w Nowosadach
 Parafia Narodzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Oździąciczach
 Cerkiew Narodzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Oździąciczach
 Parafia Przemienienia Pańskiego w Wialąciczach
 Cerkiew Przemienienia Pańskiego w Wialąciczach
 Parafia św. Mikołaja Cudotwórcy w Zaczyściu
 Cerkiew św. Mikołaja Cudotwórcy w Zaczyściu
 Parafia Zaśnięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Zorzyczach
 Cerkiew Zaśnięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Zorzyczach
 Parafia Narodzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Żyćkowie
 Cerkiew Narodzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Żyćkowie

Galeria

Przypisy

Linki zewnętrzne
 Dekanat borysowski I

Borysów I
Religia w Borysowie

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
1979 חתימה הסכם שלום עם מצרים מנחם בגין אנואר סאדאת ג'ימי קרטר ב ארה"ב
Begin, Israel's most gallant rightwing leader
He put aside his personal row with Ben-Gurion for the good of the country, saw his greatest achievement as bombing the Iraqi reactor, and made Middle East-changing peace with Egypt; remembering Israel's first Likud prime minister
Shlomo Nakdimon|Published: 03.11.19 , 13:11
Today, according to the Jewish calendar, 27 years have passed since the death of Menachem Begin. One may be forgiven for assuming that the 40-year-old Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement was the late prime minister's political zenith, but he did not think so. When I asked him what was the most important of all of his government's decisions, he surprised me by saying the June 1981 bombing of the nuclear reactor in Iraq by the Israeli Air Force.
When I asked him why, he explained that this bombing raid, known as Operation Opera, eliminated a danger whose objective was to harm Israel's existence. Peace with Egypt, he said, was important, but there was no way of knowing how it would unfold in the future.
L-R: Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter and Menachem Begin in 1979 (Photo: AFP)
It is fair to assume that if Begin were with us today, he would point to the peace deal as an achievement that proved itself. He cracked the collective Arab bloc against Israel, and it was not just Jordan that followed in Egypt's footsteps. It also led to a deep and growing connection between Israel and other Arab states in the Middle East and beyond, some of which are open and some are not (and these are often touted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu). Egyptian President Abed al-Fattah al-Sisi is not only carefully preserving the legacy of Sadat and Mubarak when it comes to the Jewish state, but is also mediating between Israel and the current rulers of Gaza. And this is not all he is doing.
As someone who had the honor of serving the peace process with Egypt as a media advisor to Begin, I witnessed the development of his relationship with Anwar Sadat. The Egyptian president insisted that their private meetings, conducted in English, would be without advisers or note-takers. The two embarked on a vision of a new Middle East that would serve as a model for another world. Sadat was a victim of the peace-haters in his own country, and feared those who wished to torpedo the process. "They are waiting for me," he said. Similar warning signs were delivered to Cairo from Israel.
Begin with President Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1981 (Photo: Getty)
During the days when I covered politics for Yedioth Ahronoth, there was great interest in the stormy arguments between Prime Minister Ben-Gurion and Opposition Leader Begin, but behind the scenes there was a "romance" between Begin and Paula Ben-Gurion. He was always made sure to greet her, and would plant a Polish-style kiss on the back of her hand.
"Begin's habits appealed to her," said her son, Amos Ben-Gurion. "He showed her respect with gallantry, treated her with dignity, and my mother loved it."
On the eve of the 1967 Six-Day War, Begin moved to reinstall Ben-Gurion as premier. The country's founder was still remembered as a strong leader compared to his successor and then-prime minister, Levi Eshkol. Begin's attempts failed, but the tense history between the two seemed to have been erased. In 1969, Ben-Gurion gave Begin, then a minister in the national unity government, a copy of a sensitive document he had sent to Golda Meir, who became prime minister after Eshkol's death in February 1969. The document contained harsh criticism of Eshkol and even called his government a danger and a disaster.
David Ben-Gurion (center) in 1950 (Photo: Courtesy)
In a personal part of his letter to Begin, Ben-Gurion revealed his change of heart about the right-wing politician: "My Paula was always your admirer, for some reason; I would object, and sometimes very harshly, to your way, before the creation of the state and after, when I opposed (Revisionist Zionist Ze'ev) Jabotinsky's path. But I have never had a personal grudge against you, and everything I've come to know about you over the last few years had led me to admire you more, and my Paula was happy about that." Begin replied that Ben-Gurion's words "touched the depths of my heart." He added: "One had to know her (Paula) up close to realize how clever she was."
The entente did not survive. When the Ben-Gurion Institute asked him for an interview, Begin said: "I do not have good things to say, and I do not wish to say bad things." Nonetheless, as prime minister he used to visit Ben-Gurion's grave every year on the anniversary of his death, and would always eulogize him properly.
See all talkbacks "Begin, Israel's most gallant rightwing leader"


And I got the house more or less in shape.
Like many others my kids have been busy cutting paper snowflakes.
My poorly decorated gingerbread hearts decorating my kitchen window.
So happy everyone is feeling better.


We will have individual prizes for the winners of Taste, Appearance and Theme, as well the prize for Best in Show. The prizes will change from month to month, but in general the Best in Show prize will be worth around £20, and the other three prizes at around £10. Best of all, everyone will come away with the new look IronCupcake tote bag!


text:
Q: What are all finite groups such that all isomorphic subgroups are identical? There is a simple argument that shows that any two subgroups of a cyclic group that are isomorphic must be identical. This is because they can each be represented in terms of the generator of the cyclic group.
This made me wonder, what are all finite groups with the property that any two isomorphic subgroups are identical? My conjecture is that they must all be cyclic. Is this correct?

A: From the comments, here is short answer.
As pointed out, any exception to the conjecture must be a group that is non-abelian /and/ has every subgroup normal.
This means the group has the property of being a Dedekind group. In particular, there is a result that the quaternion group $Q_8$ is a subgroup of all such groups. The quaternion group as 6 elements of order four, which cannot belong to a single cyclic group of order four.
We conclude such an exception is not possible.
This depends heavily of the properties of a Dedekind group, which I have no insight to. A better answer would be much appreciated.

A: Let $G$ be a finite group with this property. Let $a\in G$
and let $a$ have order $k$. Then every element of order $k$ in $G$
generates $\left<a\right>$. So there are exactly $\varphi(k)$
elements of order $k$ in $G$. So for each $k$, $G$ has either $0$
or $\varphi(k)$ elements of order $k$.
Let $|G|=n$. Then for each $k$ for which there are elements of order $k$
in $G$, then $k\mid n$. But $n=\sum_{k\mid n}\varphi(k)$. If for some
$k\mid n$ there are no elements of order $k$ in $G$, then the total
number of elements in $G$ is $<n$, which is impossible.
In particular, $G$ has an element of order $n$. Thus $G$ is cyclic.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Our DRMtoday licensing service is also available on the AWS Marketplace for users of AWS Media Services. We've gathered answers to common questions below.
How do I subscribe and setup DRMtoday for AWS Media Services?
What is the free trial period?
Are there set up fees on top of the DRMtoday for AWS Media Services subscription fee?
Can I receive technical support assistance for implementation or setup?
How do 'units' work in the AWS Marketplace Pricing Information?
How is a license request counted?
What countries is DRMtoday for AWS Media Services available in?
DRMtoday for AWS Media Services supports API integration with AWS Elemental MediaPackage and AWS Elemental MediaConvert.
Not finding what you're looking for? View our other FAQs, or don't hesitate to contact us.
Once logged in to your AWS account click 'Continue to Subscribe' on the DRMtoday for AWS Media Services page. Once subscribed you will be sent a confirmation to your email address, allowing access to the DRMtoday service dashboard as well as relevant setup documentation. Our DRMtoday team validates subscriptions, so it may take a business day to receive the email with your account access details. Once your account has been activated, you will begin to receive monthly automatic billing through your AWS account as well as licensing reports through the DRMtoday dashboard.
Once your account has been activated by the DRMtoday team your free trial period begins automatically. You will be provided with either the first 45 days or first 500 license requests at no charge allowing you to run tests with the service. When you pass either 45 days or 500 license requests, whichever limit is reached first, the free trial ends and service charges will begin.
No, there are zero setup fees. Just the standard subscription fee.
We include detailed documentation, however, consulting, testing, and integration support is separate from the AWS Media Services offer and can be purchased directly from castLabs. For more details please contact sales@castlabs.com.
Each month, AWS considers your first 40,000 license requests as 1 base-limit unit.
If you use additional requests within the same month above the 40,000 limit, then 1 unit is defined as 1000 extra requests.
0 – 40,000 requests You are charged only the base-fee because you are within the 40,000 base-limit.
40,001 – 41,000 requests You are charged the base-fee, plus 1 additional unit of 1000 requests. By exceeding the 40,000 base-limit you have started using the next batch of 1000 requests.
41,001 – 42,000 requests You are charged the base-fee, plus 2 additional units of 1000 requests. This is because usage has both exceeded the 40,000 base-limit as well as an additional 1000 requests. A second batch of 1000 requests has started being used.
See our AWS Marketplace Pricing Information table for more information on volume tiers and costs.
A request is counted when an end user starts a session initiating a request for a video license. In cases where key rotation is used, such as for live streaming, each key rotation that signals a new license request is counted.
Our service is available for users worldwide. DRMtoday is built on reliable multi-region AWS infrastructure. We operate server nodes in multiple regions worldwide for speedy and scalable global coverage. No matter where your customers are located, they can access our powerful license delivery network.
If you haven't found the answer you were looking for on this FAQ, please contact us. We'll be happy to discuss any questions you may have.


text:
Cambus war eine Whiskybrennerei in Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, Schottland.

Geschichte
Die Brennerei wurde 1813 von John Mowbray in der Nähe der Stadt Tullibody am Fluss Devon gegründet, um Grain Whisky zu produzieren. Sie war eine der ersten und zeitweilig die größte Grain-Whisky-Destillerie des Landes. 1877 gehörte die Brennerei zu den Gründungsmitgliedern der Distiller Company Ltd. (DCL). 1914 zerstörte ein Feuer die Produktionsgebäude, verschonte jedoch die Lagerhallen. Der Betrieb wurde erst 1938 wiederaufgenommen, erreichte jedoch nicht mehr den vorherigen Stand. Durch die Übernahme durch Scottish Grain Distillers kam Cambus schließlich zu Diageo. 1993 wurde die Brennerei stillgelegt. Diageo nutzt sie derzeit zum Befüllen von Fässern und als Lagerhaus.

Produktion
Das zur Whiskyherstellung benötigte Wasser stammt aus dem Lossburn Reservoir. Als Brennapparate wurden zwei Coffey Stills eingesetzt.

Abfüllungen
Die Brennerei verausgabte keine Originalabfüllungen. Es existieren jedoch Abfüllungen unabhängiger Abfüller.

Weiterführende Informationen

 D. Daiches: Scotch whisky, Macmillan, 1970.

Einzelnachweise

Ehemalige Whiskybrennerei (Schottland)
Ehemaliges Unternehmen (Clackmannanshire)
Gegründet 1813


Here, you can download catalogs, brochures and datasheets for products as well as manuals and spare parts lists.
Documents are available in multiple languages.
Almost all documents are available in English, Italian, German and French. Some documents are also available in Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese and Turkish.
Catalogs are primarily includes in metric measurements; in some cases, the NEMA version is available as well.
We are available to assist you at any time.
Please contact us with your questions and requests.


A recent article in the London Evening standard reports on French President Sarkozy's new initiative.
You can always rely on the French to ask difficult questions such as: what is progress? And set up an international commission to find out.
It's not what people say. It's what's *behind* what people say.
France is the first country to at least indirectly open the debate on the case for 'steady state economics'. That is, an economy with no growth. Because what politicians aren't really telling us is that the future is about less. Less of everything. Except for (and with apology) the most uneducated amongst us, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that stuff is going to run out eventually, actually quite soon.
The relentless pursuit of profit, systemic corruption, and rapacious greed is ruining us. Humanity has to evolve very quickly to a state of cooperation between individuals, companies and nation states where there is a continuous, fair exchange of value, rather than the notion of "I win. You lose", as the default position of business and government.
A steady state economy can only be built and sustained by peer-to-peer, open source styles of organisation and production.
Sorry to burst your bubble but humanity's survival is going to have to be based on 'being' rather than 'having'.
A guest post from Frank Dunn, an English physicist, mathematician and polymath, best summed up as an answer to why "we could do so much better, be so much better; if only we wanted to".
Taleb: what fools these mortals be?
Reading Brian Appleyard on Taleb in the ST Magazine (Cover Article, Expect the Unexpected, Prophet of Loss) left me with a sadness I have felt many times before. Appleyard writes sympathetically & warmly of Taleb. I too have much sympathy with Taleb. He writes and talks warmly and wisely on the foolish hubris of financial maths.
However, even he has misunderstood several key issues. He also gives the impression we can do no better. He, like Donald Rumsfeld seems to have given up: "There are things that we do not know we do not know". You can hear mediocre scientists saying much the same thing about consciousness or quantum theory: "there are things that we are perhaps not meant to know"; or similar specious superstitious nonsense. I could write several books on how we could do better. Actually I already have, but I will keep it brief here.
The 'Black Swans' that Taleb describes so poetically have been known for a few decades to students of market behaviour by a far less glamorous name: 'Fat Tails'. These are the extreme events that happen far more often than they should, if you believe in conventional financial maths. These 'extreme events' or 'outliers' have been ignored for all this time as if they did not matter. However, 'Fat Tails' are more than merely important: they reveal the real, true risks of investment(s). The problem is thus not so much the existence of Black Swans, but the ostriches who have chosen to ignore them.
Financial markets are conclusively NOT random. If they were, the 'Fat Tails' full of 'Black Swans' would not be there. Instead there would be a nice simple 'Bell Curve' of the 'Normal' statistics of random behaviour. Taleb thus confuses randomness with uncertainty.
Financial markets, like human beings behave neither deterministically nor randomly. They exhibit the open-ended uncertainties of choice; human choice.
Using Network Models, it is possible to understand the effects of individual free will, as well as the collective free will of groups or crowds. The essential differentiating feature of networks is they allow for influence (or cause) to be non-local; for remote events to influence local outcomes.
Inside the human brain, this means we can collect and organise information before we are ready to act. Externally, it reveals our collective, group or crowd behaviour; as well as how crowds can be often foolish but sometimes wise. This tribal, organised and communal behaviour gives the lie to the Darwinist illusion of man as ruthless individual. We are team players and Dawkins is yet another deluded fool.
However, these network models are still very crude and there is much work yet to do. In particular, as Penrose pointed out 20 years ago we will need better computers to model the human brain accurately: non-algorithmic quantum computers.
We could do so much better, be so much better; if only we wanted to.
Who is the Bigger Fool, the Mathematician, or the Central Banker?
So financial mathematicians turned out to be cheap salesmen like so many others; like so many politicians, lawyers, pensions sellers, IT & management consultants; pouring all their energies into flogging defective products they already had; rather than developing better offerings.
The question then must be: why do we all buy so much specious mediocrity? Why are Central Bankers, just like the typical consumer so eager to buy all the rubbish proffered to them? Perhaps it is because no-one thinks too deeply any more; anything too difficult is left to some arbitrary 'expert'?
Perhaps, like Taleb we enjoy parties too much? Ironically, we are all too busy 'networking' to see how networks really work. I hope we sober up soon.
"Community building talent is the most precious resource in the modern world". Peter Drucker, RIP.
Ronald Woperis invented the idea of attention as a product. A Twitter account is on sale at eBay from a guy who has amassed over 1500 followers. Is this the first indication of the monetary value of one's network of relationships? Can attention be bought by individuals in the same way advertisers buy eyeballs?


text:
Mir joins Forest on loan
Wolves forward Rafa Mir has joined Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season.
The Spanish under-21 international goalscorer first joined Wolves back in January 2018 from Valencia where he was handed the number nine shirt.
Since his arrival at Molineux, the 22-year-old made two appearances from the bench in Wolves' Championship-winning campaign of 2017/18, while making his first start for the team in a FA Cup third round replay with Swansea City.
Mir scored his first goal for the club during last pre-season, netting in a 2-1 win over Basel and a 4-0 drubbing of Young Boys as Nuno Espirito Santo's men secured the Uhrencup in Switzerland.
Despite his goalscoring start to 2018/19, the striker found himself moving away from Molineux during Wolves' first season back in the Premier League as he spent the year on loan at Spanish second division side UD Las Palmas.
During a season back in his homeland, Mir made 30 appearances in a Palmas shirt, scoring seven times – his first coming in just his third game for the team, recording the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Real Zaragoza.
Wolves would like to wish Rafa the best of luck during his loan spell at the City Ground.
#2019Transfers
Loan Watch | Taylor open to new opportunity
Perry revelling in goal scoring form
Loan Watch | Ronan targeting promotion on loan


At Wistia, we've found that looking good on camera is mostly about feeling comfortable. As a talent under those bright lights, it's best if you can forget about your appearance altogether and focus on being yourself. Next time you're shooting a video, consider the following six tips to make sure you or the subject you're shooting are looking (and feeling) good.
When it comes to dressing for a shoot, solid colors are always a good bet. In fact, in our office, we have a whole rack of solid-colored t-shirts in all different sizes, ready to be worn by anyone. Try to avoid big logos, wrinkled clothes, or tight patterns, as they can all be visually distracting to your viewer.
When choosing your look, be aware that a suit and tie will send a different message than a ripped t-shirt. Also remember that when you are comfortable, you look comfortable. There's no use in going over the top with your outfit if it means you can't breathe properly or get loose.
In the end, your look should stem from your brand and whatever message you're trying to convey in the video. There are no hard and fast rules.
When you begin your shoot, make sure your subject's jewelry isn't making noise. Metal bracelets can be a nightmare for audio!
If you're preparing to be a subject in a video, do whatever you'd normally do on an average day. In our humble opinion, the best makeup in videos is the makeup that viewers don't even notice. Getting in front of a camera is already pretty intimidating for a non-actor, and asking folks to put on special makeup for a video can add another layer of unfamiliarity.
For our company videos, we don't ask any of our subjects to wear makeup. But then again, if you're the one stepping into those bright lights, then it's up to you! If you'd feel more comfortable being in front of a camera after you've applied some powder and mascara, then by all means, go for it. The most important thing is that you feel like yourself. If you go with a look that's totally different from your day-to-day appearance, it'll be harder to feel genuine on camera.
We all know it can be hot under those lights. Blotting paper can help reduce oil and minimize shine.
You may have already learned this from years of selfies, but it's easy to forget when you're busy setting up a shoot.
Even if you're working with a taller subject, try to keep the lens just above their eyeline. This placement will help to prevent a double chin situation and will yield a much more flattering angle. This rule applies if you're shooting with your webcam too! Make sure to raise your laptop up off the table and angle it down toward your face, ensuring the camera is just above your eyeline.
Keep a stool or step in your studio, so raising a camera for a tall subject doesn't mean standing on your tiptoes for the entirety of the shoot.
When you're lighting a subject, try your best to remove all harsh shadows on their face.
If you're using video lights, make sure your lights are placed just in front of the camera and slightly above the talent's eyeline for the best results.
There's a reason we use a dark gray background in many of our company videos. We've found that muted blues and grays are universally flattering, whereas bright colors, like orange and red, will reflect color back onto the subject and affect the way the camera records skin color.
If you're not shooting in front of a paper backdrop, it's key to make sure there's nothing distracting behind the subject. You can also use a lower aperture from a prime lens, like a 50mm, to blur the background while keeping the subject tack sharp.
There's more where this came from. Our Library guide, "Choosing the Right Background for Your Video," explores this subject at length.
When you first jump in front of a camera, it can be a bit intimidating. Try your best to focus on owning each line. Take those hands out of your pockets, stand or sit up straight, and finish each line with gusto (just not too much gusto). Also keep in mind that when you're on camera, you're on the whole time, so make each moment count. Sure, you can edit out some things in post, but that bored face you make between your first two lines might just make it into the final cut.
If you've pulled an all-nighter or are getting sick, consider rescheduling the shoot. There's only so much you can do to look great if you don't feel great.
← Video on Digital – how long should it take to tell a story ?


Undercover John came to a bad end, another cracking episode!!
Come on lads you all know the rules. It's the recommendations page, not the spoilers page hence GoT was taken out of here.
Still, considering the scratch team MU had out, it was some result. It could also be a bad one though, as it may actually make top-4 qualification a bit harder, if they now divide their concentration between the league, cup and CL. A result that surely guarantees the OGS will be in charge next season, which means that inside 24 months, MU fans will be wondering who the next manager is going to be.
As I pointed out after the PSG result.
Who knows, OGS may actually yet turn out to be the right man for the job. However, giving it to him on the (emotional) basis of a wretched VAR peno decision in Paris was never going to turn out good. He has shown no form for managing at the top level.
I'm clearly not a Man United fan, but I think every manager needs to be judged on their *own* decisions and let's face it OGS is dealing with a lot of dung left over from Mourinho. I would doubt the board, who will want results, will have selected him on popularity or emotion so the only way he can be truly judged is if he is given cash to make his own purchases and clear out a lot of the dead wood.
Everton too far back so 6th looks safe.
Only hope I can see now is that United concede one or two more against Everton, everything is suddenly in crisis, and then there is a massive point to prove against City, with the team pulling together in response. Wishful thinking perhaps!
Everybody relax, Ole's at the wheel.
Didn't get to see Munster game, but they were up against it. Leinster have it all to do tomorrow.
I see some absolute Muppet in full Munster supporter kit (jersey and suede loafers) went onto the pitch to remonstrate with Billy Vunipola. Billy should have knocked him into Row Z.
Opinions in lessons? Swinging ok atm but inconsistent and grip/swing off a bit, previously 14 handicapper but that was about 10 years ago. Lessons worth it?
I was at the driving range earlier and swung a club for the first time in 20+ years. First ball was straight and true off the driver. The next 39 were all over the place and the last 10 or so we're okay but I have a serious slice so I wouldn't expect to make much progress without seeing someone for lessons.
Can she not have been both?
I cant speak to veracity, but there us stuff out thrre thst says she was there as a protestor. Which makes the shooter even more inept.
You are 100% wrong. She was standing beside Leona O'Neill (also a journalist) when she was shot. Some hero obviously fired towards police lines and got her instead.
Journalist Lyra McKee. Another waste. These lads in Derry need to wise up.
General discussion / Re: Ni Equality Commission Report 2017 - How did they fair?
There is obviously going to be a geographical aspect to the distribution but where I believe there would be a genuine issue is if a company atmosphere and environment makes the minority feel left out or puts them off applying in the first place. I would hope such companies are rare these days.
Interestingly a very small number of places have more N.D. than either P or C.
Want to see another big Spurs performance in the league. I think Aguero was marginally offside but very close and obviously very harsh on City.


A Bitmoji of Swarm reporter Emma Wynkoop.
We've grown up reliant on the school system to teach us to talk, read, and solve basic problems in the world, but suddenly after senior year, we are thrown out of the nest and forced to fly on our own.
Thank the school system for teaching you the ABC's, formulating five paragraph essays, and stressing out about things that don't really matter.
Realize that you have learned valuable skills and can put them to use in life after the system, whether you're entering college or the workforce.
Set an alarm: No one gets anywhere in life, by sleeping through it. The alarm doesn't have to be before dawn, just having one before noon can help prevent you from losing quality time out of your day. Not being rushed in the morning allows you to ponder your life and get a calm head before going off to your daily activities.
GINGER TIP: Plan something in the morning that motivates you to get out of bed. For me, it's the overnight oats (yummy cold oatmeal) that gets my blood moving in the A.M, or knowing that I have leftover pancake batter in the fridge. Maybe for you it's doing morning yoga, watching a quick episode of Modern Family, or slowly sipping coffee.
Make a decision: gap year, college, work, etc. Remember that whichever choice you make, it can't be the wrong one. After a year or even 6 months, you can change your mind, drop out of college, apply for college, or change your job.
GINGER TIP: Think about the lifestyle you want to have, in the short and long term and which choice will get you there the quickest.
If you're going to college, get a summer job to save up money for the school year, so that you don't have to work during the year. The expenses will add up.
If you're taking a gap year, decide on what you are going to do and write out a gameplan. Yeah it's boring, and takes out the "I will just see where life takes me" vibe, but when it's winter break and all your friends come back with their funny college stories and all you can say is you worked at Taco Bell, you will thank yourself. Distractions happen, plans change, and fate sets in, but if you have at least a backbone of things to accomplish while taking a year off from school, it will make it easier to check things off your list.
GINGER TIP: Do something that excites you, scares you, or makes your heart beat a little faster. This could be interning for an intimidating company in the field you plan on studying in college, helping out families in a developing country, or working at a job to raise money for college and pursuing a passion at the same time.
If you're going straight into the workforce, choose wisely. Before applying for a job, do some in-depth research. Check the process of moving up the ranks. Make sure that it can lead to a position that will pay enough to afford your desired lifestyle, or will give you enough experience to move past an entry-level position.
GINGER TIP: Choose the one that makes it easier (it's never fully easy) to get out of bed in the morning. Maybe the job's great because the boss is chill, the coworkers are funny, the work is exciting, or the paycheck is thick.
Remember: "As you're growing up, they're growing old." Don't forget to get quality time in with your family because whether you move into the dorms or live in Uganda for a year, you will be seeing a lot less of your family.


text:
Daily hits back at call for readers to stop submitting photos after job cuts
by David Sharman Published 30 Apr 2019
A regional daily has urged its readers to carry on contributing photographs after a plea for them to stop doing so for free in the wake of staff cutbacks.
As reported by HTFP earlier this month, a picture editor and deputy features editor role have been axed at the Oxford Mail as part of a round of cuts affecting Newsquest's Oxfordshire and Berkshire operations.
Anne-Elise Hansen, a member of the Oxford branch of the National Union of Journalists, has since shared a post calling on people to stop submitting pictures to the Oxford Mail following the newspaper's decision to make picture editor Ed Nix redundant.
But the Mail has hit back in an appeal to members of its amateur photography camera club, saying that letting Ed go had been a "tough decision" and adding that it is "not looking to exploit anyone" by publishing club members' photos.
In a post shared on the Oxford Community Facebook group, Anne-Elise mentioned both Ed and Mail deputy features editor Katherine McAlister were set for redundancy.
Wrote Anne-Elise: "We call on our members, friends and supporters to stand with our colleagues. Please do not provide free content, stories, reports, reviews, photographs or videos to The Oxford Mail, The Oxford Times, The Witney Gazette, The Abingdon/Didcot Herald or the Bicester Advertiser.
"If you give away your work to these Newsquest titles without insisting on a decent rate of payment, you are undermining your NUJ colleagues, some of whom are under threat of losing their jobs and livelihoods. Please help us stand together in support of quality and fairly paid journalism."
In reply, the Mail's official Facebook account published a response on the camera club's group on the social media site, which has more than 1,000 members, in which it made clear Ed would continue to work for the paper on a freelance basis while also running his own wedding business.
Addressing camera club members, the Mail wrote: "Unfortunately, we are struggling against decreasing revenues and we simply can't afford to operate the way we used to. The simple fact is that not enough people, unlike you guys, value what we do. They don't see our work as worth paying for and they expect all of our content for free.
"We believe in open democracy and the importance of the local press. We think it would be a dangerous world without it. And so regretfully, we have to make tough decisions. Otherwise there will be no local newspapers and our sense of community would be lost.
"We know that lots of people dislike us, or like to pick faults in what we do, but by the standards, and considering the small staff we have, we think we provide a really good news service. Our team go above and beyond to do this job, often receiving abuse for it."
The Mail added: "We are not looking to exploit anyone and we genuinely love seeing your photographs, they make our day." Newsquest has declined to comment further.
Four jobs at risk as publisher makes cutbacks in neighbouring counties
Useful Photojournalism Links
Association of Photographers
British Institute of Professional Photography
Picture Research Association
Disgruntled Toggy
The NUJ should be doing this for EVERY newspaper that has decimated it's Picture Desk/Photographic Department! Many photographers, me included, are hanging on by our fingertips!
Like this comment (50)
regionalhack
Just imagine…"Here at the Oxford Mail, we know we have a very intelligent demographic, Unfortunately, we are struggling against decreasing revenues and we simply can't afford to operate the way we used to. So why not join our amateur management club, and come run a newspaper!! Then we can make a tough decision and make some management redundant, saving thousands!! Just be clear, this is entirely voluntary, you won't be paid for being in the club, but we will give you a credit in the Newsquest annual report! So have fun running Your newspaper! Sign up today!!"
And staff going, then coming back working freelance? Isn't that the little problem the BBC has with the Inland Revenue?
lensman
Certainly makes the accountant's day when there's a big fat Zero in the photography budget!
"We are not looking to exploit anyone and we genuinely love seeing your photographs"
Then pay a fixed price to the public for every photo published on any of their media platforms, it will still represent a considerable cost saving if penny pinching ,irrespective of quality, is the driving force here.
In fact you're not that far from the truth @Regionalhack,with the public submitting news pieces,iPhone camera pix, local social media sites providing the leads and in some cases quotes and almost complete copy, PR agencies able to get almost anything they want published, with the public preferring to send in advertising via the websites or over the phone as opposed to a visit from a field ad rep and with some adverts knocked up for or pence via a 'design' base in Asia the industry has become pretty much externally run.
Time to let go of the many chiefs and managers who, due to the the lack of FTEs employed in the business,have made themselves wholly surplus to requirements.
Every cloud as they say…..
Employee X
The point about a decreasing number of FTEs yet still the same level of managers is a good and valid point. When staff numbers justified it there was a need for managers, now the numbers are greatly reduced there isn't, couple that with the huge cost tied up in non productive managerial posts and an obvious and instant cost saving area is identified, does anyone know if any group is tackling this matter?
Kevin Ward
Newsquest says… 'The simple fact is that not enough people … value what we do. They don't see our work as worth paying for and they expect all of our content for free.'
The simple fact, of course, is that Newsquest along with almost all newspaper publishers decided years ago that content would be free to access online. People 'expect all of our content for free' because that's what the regional newspaper industry has told them to expect.
Cost has value – that's basic economics.
The regional newspaper industry is to blame for its precarious state, not the readers.
RUSS. with you all the way. I'd suggest a nominal minimum £10 a picture used in paper and online (that's £20 for both Mr Bean Counter) and £5 for every re-use.
Just as a gesture. After all they do say: "We are not looking to exploit anyone and we genuinely love seeing your photographs"
Fine words sincerely meant no doubt. But put your money where your mouth is Newsquest. Think of the money you have ditching talented people.
add "saved" after "have" in final line, Apologies.
Well done to the Oxford branch of the NUJ for making this stand. It's long overdue.
Of course, it could – and should – have been done at national level by the NUJ five years ago, when the decimation started.


text:
Brooklyn Heights Apartment Reports Rapid Leasing
In another example of the strong demand for new apartments in New York City, 184 Joralemon, which began leasing only this summer, is now more than half leased, according to Ideal Properties Group, with rents ranging from $4,260 to $5,600 per month.
D.C. Stribling
New York—In another example of the strong demand for new apartments in New York City, 184 Joralemon, which began leasing only this summer, is now more than half leased, according to Ideal Properties Group, with rents ranging from $4,260 to $5,600 per month. The property is in the well-to-do Brooklyn Heights district of Brooklyn.
The building itself is not new. Originally developed in 1911, the landmarked structure exhibits a range of architectural details typical of the period's beaux arts style. United American Land acquired the building from Brooklyn Law School in 2011 for about $10.7 million and renovated into a multifamily rental property with 24 units.
Earlier plans by a different developer to take the building condo fell through. For the three decades or so before its conversion into apartments, 184 Joralemon was a dormitory for the law school. Before that, it was an office building.
DiGuiseppe Architect did the renovation design. The building's two-bedroom residences feature loft-like spaces and high-end appliances, such as Bertazzoni stoves, Viking microwaves and Liebherr refrigerators, as well as wide-plank hardwood flooring. The building is near the historic Brooklyn Heights Promenade, with panoramic views of the East River and Manhattan from the upper floors.
Ideal Properties is the leasing agent for 184 Joralemon. The company is no stranger to Brooklyn Heights, where it also has leased 161 Columbia Heights and 50 Orange Street, both of which were former Jehovah's Witness buildings.
184 Joralemon
DiGuiseppe Architect
Boston Multifamily Report – Fall 2019
Mesirow Financial Reduces Boston Footprint in $102M Sale
$63M Refi for 145 Front in Boston


We specialize in electrical installation, service and troubleshooting. Our company chooses to work in an environment which is clean, safe, and green minded. This is accomplished by an organized work environment, clear thought process, and a recycle/reuse preference. Yes, not always the fastest to accomplish but the most satisfying for us, making us crave coming to work each day!
© Copyright Steglitz Power 2018. All Rights Reserved.