Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences used the same cloning method used to create Dolly the sheep to clone two long-tailed macaques for the first time.
In late November and early December, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Neuroscience witnessed something incredible: The birth of two genetically identical long-tailed macaques named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua—a nod to the term 'Zonghua,' meaning the Chinese people. These monkeys are the first primates to be cloned using a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), the same method that was used to create the first animal clone, Dolly the sheep, over 20 years ago.
The researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences are optimistic that the ability to produce genetically identical monkeys will allow unprecedented insights into human diseases, but the birth of Zhong and Hua is also a big deal for the science of cloning more generally. Primates have been notoriously resistant to cloning efforts over the past two decades due to the unique complexity of their cellular machinery. The birth of these macaque clones is a proof of concept that could lead to the cloning of other primates, and perhaps, eventually, humans.
"The technical barrier of cloning primate species, including humans, is now broken," Qiang Sun, the lead researcher on the project at the Chinese Academy of Sciences said during a press conference on Tuesday night. "In principle, it can be applied to humans. However, the reason we broke this barrier is to produce animal models that are useful for medicine and human health. There was no intention to apply this method to humans."
Somatic cell nuclear transfer is a type of reproductive cloning that involves taking the nucleus from any adult cell in the animal to be cloned and injecting it into the cell of a fertilized egg whose nucleus has been removed. In 1996, Dolly the sheep became the first animal to successfully be cloned using this method.
In the past two decades, 23 other species have also been cloned using SCNT, including cows, horses, cats, and pigs. The success of these experiments prompted fears that humanity was on the cusp of designer babies or the production of human clones for harvesting organs, which prompted President Clinton to issue a ban on the use of federal funds for human cloning research in 1997. As it turned out, however, making the jump from cloning sheep to cloning primates proved far more difficult than anticipated.
The first primate clone was technically a rhesus monkey named Tetra born in 1999. Tetra was produced by a process called embryo splitting, which is similar to how twins are born naturally. It involves dividing a two-cell embryo into two separate, identical embryos and allowing them to develop on their own. While this process is well documented and relatively straight forward, it limits the number of genetically identical offspring that can be produced from an embryo to a maximum of four. To get larger populations of clones, SCNT is necessary since it can use the nuclei from any number of adult cells of the animal to be cloned.
One of the main reasons why primates have been so resistant to SCNT cloning has to do with the way primate egg cells are structured. In unfertilized primate egg cells, proteins called mitotic spindles are clustered close to the cell's chromosomes, unlike most other mammalian embryos, where the spindles are spread around the cell. These spindles are responsible for guiding chromosomes to the right place during the cell division process that eventually results in a live primate.
Over the past decade, however, researchers have found that when the nucleus—and hence all the chromosomes—of a primate egg cell is removed, this can also damage or rearrange the mitotic spindles. This means that when a new nucleus is injected into the embryo, the spindles are unable to guide chromosomes to the correct place during cell division. So while researchers were able to successfully create primate embryos on a number of occasions, errors during cellular division meant none of these embryos would last more than a few weeks in a primate's womb.
"Numerous attempts have been made to clone nonhuman primate species," Sun said during a press conference on Tuesday evening. "They have all failed. This led to the idea that maybe the somatic nucleus of the primate species are unable to express the genes required for embryo development."
As detailed today in Cell, Sun and his colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Sciences surmounted this difficulty by optimizing the nuclear transfer process to minimize damage to the primate egg cell and adding some human RNA into the clone egg cell. This RNA essentially worked to turn on and off the genes that would otherwise inhibit the development of the primate embryo. It is, in Sun's words, "programming" the nucleus to express the genes that are required for embryo development.
Still, it took a while to get the programming right. According to the researchers, they tried using the nucleus from adult cells for clones in 42 monkeys, 22 of which became pregnant. Of these pregnancies, only two yielded live births, but both of the babies died a few hours after birth.
The researchers had better luck when they used the nucleus from connective tissue cells derived from an aborted monkey fetus, however. These clone cells were injected into 21 female macaques and resulted in four pregnancies. Of these, two pregnancies were aborted within two months, but the other two pregnancies resulted in the birth of two healthy, genetically identical long-tailed macaques. According to the researchers, the babies are still in excellent health almost two months later.
"We tried several different methods, but only one worked," Sun said in a statement. "There was much failure before we found a way to successfully clone a monkey."
According to Sun, the same method used to clone the macaques could be applied to humans, but he said it's highly unlikely that the government would allow its extension to human cells (besides the ethical controversy, the method also had a low success rates among the primate test subjects). Still, the SCNT method is a promising candidate for producing large populations of genetically identical primates, which Sun and his colleagues anticipate will be used to study human diseases while "greatly reducing" the number of animal subjects required to perform the studies.


text:
'Error 53' fury mounts as Apple software update threatens to kill your iPhone 6
It's the message that spells doom and will render your handset worthless if it's been repaired by a third party. But there's no warning and no fix
Miles Brignall
Fri 5 Feb 2016 01.59 EST Last modified on Tue 28 Nov 2017 22.01 EST
Happy days? The first customer of Apple's iPhone 6 … but users have since reported problems with the mysterious 'error 53' message. Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
Thousands of iPhone 6 users claim they have been left holding almost worthless phones because Apple's latest operating system permanently disables the handset if it detects that a repair has been carried out by a non-Apple technician.
Relatively few people outside the tech world are aware of the so-called "error 53" problem, but if it happens to you you'll know about it. And according to one specialist journalist, it "will kill your iPhone".
Apple says iPhone 'Error 53' is to protect customers' security
The issue appears to affect handsets where the home button, which has touch ID fingerprint recognition built-in, has been repaired by a "non-official" company or individual. It has also reportedly affected customers whose phone has been damaged but who have been able to carry on using it without the need for a repair.
But the problem only comes to light when the latest version of Apple's iPhone software, iOS 9, is installed. Indeed, the phone may have been working perfectly for weeks or months since a repair or being damaged.
After installation a growing number of people have watched in horror as their phone, which may well have cost them £500-plus, is rendered useless. Any photos or other data held on the handset is lost – and irretrievable.
Tech experts claim Apple knows all about the problem but has done nothing to warn users that their phone will be "bricked" (ie, rendered as technologically useful as a brick) if they install the iOS upgrade.
No choice: journalist Antonio Olmos dropped his iPhone while covering the refugee crisis and had to use a local repair shop
Freelance photographer and self-confessed Apple addict Antonio Olmos says this happened to his phone a few weeks ago after he upgraded his software. Olmos had previously had his handset repaired while on an assignment for the Guardian in Macedonia. "I was in the Balkans covering the refugee crisis in September when I dropped my phone. Because I desperately needed it for work I got it fixed at a local shop, as there are no Apple stores in Macedonia. They repaired the screen and home button, and it worked perfectly."
He says he thought no more about it, until he was sent the standard notification by Apple inviting him to install the latest software. He accepted the upgrade, but within seconds the phone was displaying "error 53" and was, in effect, dead.
When Olmos, who says he has spent thousands of pounds on Apple products over the years, took it to an Apple store in London, staff told him there was nothing they could do, and that his phone was now junk. He had to pay £270 for a replacement and is furious.
How can a company deliberately make its own product useless with an upgrade, and not warn customers about it?
Antonio Olmos
"The whole thing is extraordinary. How can a company deliberately make their own products useless with an upgrade and not warn their own customers about it? Outside of the big industrialised nations, Apple stores are few and far between, and damaged phones can only be brought back to life by small third-party repairers.
"I am not even sure these third-party outfits even know this is a potential problem," he says.
Olmos is far from the only one affected. If you Google "iPhone 6" and "error 53" you will find no shortage of people reporting that they have been left with a phone that now only functions as a very expensive paperweight.
Posting a message on an Apple Support Communities forum on 31 December, "Arjunthebuster" is typical. He/she says they bought their iPhone 6 in January 2015 in Dubai, and dropped it the following month causing a small amount of damage.
Be a smart phone user – follow our five steps to cheaper mobile bills
They carried on using the phone, but when they tried to install iOS 9 in November "error 53" popped up. "The error hasn't occurred because I broke my phone (it was working fine for 10 months). I lost all my data because of this error. I don't want Apple to fix my screen or anything! I just want them to fix the 'error 53' so I can use my phone, but they won't!"
Could Apple's move, which appears to be designed to squeeze out independent repairers, contravene competition rules? Car manufacturers, for example, are not allowed to insist that buyers only get their car serviced by them.
Apple charges £236 for a repair to the home button on an iPhone 6 in the UK, while an independent repairer would demand a fraction of that.
California-based tech expert Kyle Wiens, who runs the iFixit website, says this is a major issue. "The 'error 53' page on our website has had more than 183,000 hits, suggesting this is a big problem for Apple users," he told Guardian Money. "The problem occurs if the repairer changes the home button or the cable. Following the software upgrade the phone in effect checks to make sure it is still using the original components, and if it isn't, it simply locks out the phone. There is no warning, and there's no way that I know of to bring it back to life."
He says it is unclear whether this is a deliberate move to force anyone who drops their phone to use Apple for a repair. "All along, Apple's view is that it does not want third parties carrying out repairs to its products, and this looks like an obvious extension of that," he says. "What it should do is allow its customers to recalibrate their phone after a repair. Only when there is a huge outcry about this problem will it do something."
The Daily Dot website features an article by tech writer Mike Wehner headlined "Error 53 will kill your iPhone and no one knows what it is". He relates how his own iPhone 6 Plus was left "effectively dead to the world".
Only when there is a huge outcry about this problem will Apple do something
Kyle Wiens
Meanwhile, an article by tech writer Reuben Esparza, published in November by iCracked, a phone repair service, states: "When pressed for more information about the error, few, if any Apple employees could offer an explanation. There was no part they would replace, no software fix, and no way to access the phone's memory. The fix was a new iPhone." It continues: "Though still largely a mystery to most, we now know that error 53 is the result of a hardware failure somewhere within the home button assembly."
A spokeswoman for Apple told Money (get ready for a jargon overload): "We protect fingerprint data using a secure enclave, which is uniquely paired to the touch ID sensor. When iPhone is serviced by an authorised Apple service provider or Apple retail store for changes that affect the touch ID sensor, the pairing is re-validated. This check ensures the device and the iOS features related to touch ID remain secure. Without this unique pairing, a malicious touch ID sensor could be substituted, thereby gaining access to the secure enclave. When iOS detects that the pairing fails, touch ID, including Apple Pay, is disabled so the device remains secure."
She adds: "When an iPhone is serviced by an unauthorised repair provider, faulty screens or other invalid components that affect the touch ID sensor could cause the check to fail if the pairing cannot be validated. With a subsequent update or restore, additional security checks result in an 'error 53' being displayed … If a customer encounters an unrecoverable error 53, we recommend contacting Apple support."
An end to 'bill shock' as EU mobile roaming charges are slashed
New rules that slash roaming charges for using mobile phones in other European countries have come into effect
Recycling your mobile phone? Beware the empty price 'promise'
I'll admit it, I didn't read the small print. So I almost paid the price when a £26 offer was cut by more than two-thirds
Sim-swap fraud claims another mobile banking victim
Chris Sims' account emptied and loan for £8,000 taken out as fraudsters continue to exploit way banks use customers' mobiles
What to do if your child's mobile phone bill starts to ring alarm bells
They can run up huge charges, or someone else can if they lose the handset. Here's how to mitigate the risks
Mobile banking in the spotlight as fraudsters pull £6,000 sting
Switching mobile networks to be made easier
Mobile users face long wait for Ofcom to help with compensation for loss of signal

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Every Pokémon game starts out the same - you are tasked with picking a single starting companion. Just one. Alola does not buck this trend, and, once again, you are tasked with a heart-wrenching decision. Your character LITERALLY just got in town not even a whole 24 hours ago, and you have to make a decision that affects the entire rest of the game. If Popplio weren't so darn adorable we might actually feel rushed.
The Pokémon Popplio Cosmic Splatter Ladies' Tee features Popplio in all its cuteness surrounded by blue paint splatters on a heather grey fitted tee. Now, we aren't going to say that Rowlet and Litten aren't cray-cray adorbs as well, but we all know who the real star of the show is. 100% cotton. Machine wash cold. Tumble dry low. Imported.


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In a statement by his spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a comprehensive effort to deal with the situation, about 1.8m people would be reached regularly starting from tomorrow when the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, launches the quarterly Special Relief Intervention plan costing about N8B, depending on current commodity prices.
He said in all, about 40,000 metric tonnes comprising Rice, Maize, Sorghum and Soya beans grown locally by Nigerian farmers would be distributed. Under the distribution model, the Federal Government which is paying for the grains will be giving each family about 50kg of grains per month.
He pointed out that one of the highlights of this new distribution plan is that it eliminates the undignified practice of long and often problematic queues, replacing it with door-to-door delivery to the IDPs using a pre-issued voucher-system that promotes transparency and accountability. The new plan is also expected to correct many of the lapses observed in delivering relief to the IDPS.
Akande stated "The food will be distributed by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, in partnership with State Emergency Management Agencies and developmental partners from the International Humanitarian agencies.
"Under the plan, the FG buys local grains from Nigerian farmers and the Nigerian Police, Nigerian Military including the Air Force, are actively involved providing essential and logistical support. The grains to be delivered quarterly would be transported mainly by road through 1032 trucks, while for locations difficult to reach, the Nigeria Air Force will provide air lift support.


Yup, that's right. Pizza-loving, pork-obsessed, barbecue-crazed me is going to try to scale a gustatory Mount Everest by sticking to a vegan diet this month. I am doing this for a number of reasons: to try to understand the world from a vegan's perspective; to lose some weight; just to see what it's like; and this might be most important—to prove to Kenji that I can do it. He is justifiably skeptical, as I said I would do it with him last year and I lasted three hours (a pathetic performance, I must admit). But this year is going to be different, I swear on a stack of vegan cookbooks.
I must admit to being a thoughtless vegan-basher in the past. I associated vegan food with tasteless health food, and I thought of vegans themselves as preachy, self-righteous ideologues. But after a careful read of Kenji's previous posts regarding his reasoning and rationale for going vegan for a month, I have to admit I was pre-judging veganism as both a philosophy and a lifestyle. I regard myself as an empathic, compassionate human being when it comes to humans and animals, and if that's the case it does beg the question of why I have been so cavalier about my meat-loving ways. One rationale is that when I can I try to buy meat that has been sustainably and humanely raised, but I'll admit that I find myself in many circumstances eating meat or fish whose provenance I know nothing about. So I hope that at the very least going vegan for a month will lead me to asking more questions about where my animal proteins come from, and to caring more about the answers. See, even deciding to embark on this adventure with Kenji has already opened my mind up in ways I never thought possible, and I'm only in week one!
One thing that makes it particularly difficult is that I am a serious eater and a good home cook, but I often go several days without cooking anything other than toast in the morning and pasta with jarred sauce in the evening. I try to cook one meal a week for my wife, usually on Sunday nights, but other than that, I buy and assemble or eat most of my meals out. So the challenges facing me as I begin my vegan month are in some ways greater than the challenges Kenji faces. I don't derive the same satisfaction from cooking that he does, and recipe development of any but the most rudimentary kind is simply not in my skill set. So eating out, at restaurants casual and not—as well as in other people's homes —is going to be a big part of my vegan month.
As the month was starting on Super Bowl weekend, I did ask Vegan Pope Kenji for a special dispensation or waiver to begin our vegan adventure a day later, but he turned me down flat—ice cold —or whatever else you want to call being given a vegan smackdown. So this is what I ate last weekend.
Friday, my last day before entering Vegan Land, I had excellent pizza for lunch from Prince Street Pizza, steak that was cut too thin for dinner, and an ice cream bar and a chocolate covered graham cracker for dessert. The clock struck midnight. I was trapped like a mouse in a vegan maze.
Saturday breakfast was tortilla chips that I was saving for the Super Bowl and a couple of Stoned Wheat Thins with unsweetened peanut butter. Lunch was a falafel sandwich from Maoz stuffed with tons of veggies and an order of their Belgian fries, which aren't all that good. I realized a couple of things: vegan, schmegan, there's no reason to eat mediocre french fries just because you can, and I can't just eat carbs 24-7, again, just because I can.
Dinner was with friends at Glasserie, a restaurant we have reviewed really favorably on Serious Eats. I ordered all the vegetables I could, with yogurt sauces and cheese on the side. I ended up eating a boatload of brussels sprouts, fried cauliflower, beets, and mushrooms. I did end up having two bites (loin and confited leg) of the justifiably famous rabbit dish. I had read Kenji's top ten tips for first-time vegans, and he talked about not beating yourself up if you have a bite of something non-vegan, and frankly I wanted to taste the rabbit to see what everyone, including Jamie, had raved about. Well, everyone else were right—that's some serious rabbit, and it's an important part of my job to taste things. Even though rabbit is definitely not vegan, it came with all kinds of vegan side dishes, which is mostly what I focused on. I had semi-fresh dates for dessert and a spoonful of cheffy chocolate pudding/pot de creme, again for the same reason. I actually felt good after the meal—full from all the vegetables and proud that I had gotten through the first day in pretty good shape, for me, at least.
On Super Bowl Sunday we went to an old friend's house for brunch. I brought bialys from Hot Bread Kitchen and vegetable tofu spread that according to the ingredient list had no sugar, which is forbidden during vegan month (interestingly, the scallion tofu spread did have sugar listed). So while everyone had strata and cranberry orange bread and quiche, I contented myself with bialys with tofu spread and fruit salad.
For Super Bowl eating I brought some tortilla chips, potato chips, salsa, guac, and popcorn for a small gathering I had. I contemplated cooking up some of Kenji's snacks, but I had too many other things to do. I went to Red Farm's Upper West Side location and ordered a vegan feast, pressing the manager to find out if the vegetable curry was indeed vegan. In the end we had mushroom and vegetable spring rolls; charred long beans, brussels sprouts, and fermented black beans; vegetable fried rice (no egg); vegetarian and peanut dumplings; Thai-style vegetable curry, and a mess of white rice. I drank Diet Coke throughout the dreadfully boring game (and I was rooting for Seattle).
So with the first two days out of the way, including my usual meat-filled Super Bowl and a serious restaurant meal, navigated fairly successfully, I was feeling cautiously optimistic. This week I'm going to work on limiting my potato chip and French fry consumption. Note to self: Just because they're vegan doesn't mean I have to eat them at every opportunity.
The first week has been challenging in unsurprising ways. A terrific New York chef, Alex Guarnaschelli, invited me to an intimate dinner party at her new restaurant in Midtown. I warned the publicist that invited me that I was eating vegan for the month, and the publicist assured me it was no problem. And for the most part it wasn't—there were plenty of vegetables and salads to fill up on. Alex does love her meat, though, so I was sitting in a sea of prime dry-aged bone-in rib steak, house-cured veal bacon, and creamy chicken liver toasts. But I managed to overcome the insane ribbing (pun intended) by some of my meat-obsessed tablemates, and in the end they admired my discipline.
On Tuesday night I accompanied my wife to a very formal dinner party where the gracious hostess was serving a crown roast of lamb. In the middle was some rice that looked mighty tasty—I thought was going to be my salvation, but it turned out to be studded with ground lamb. Even a neurosurgeon couldn't have picked around it. Oh yeah, there was chocolate mousse for dessert. So I moved the lamb and rice around my plate so that it looked like I had eaten some of it, and I tried to fill up on the broccoli and carrot accompaniments.
Wednesday dinner was some leftover Thai vegetable curry I had from lunch. Lunch around our office —in a neighborhood dominated by Asian restaurants and markets—has been pretty easy. Having a great falafel place, Taim, a few blocks away, is the cherry on top when it comes to my vegan lunch forays.
So the week has gone by surprisingly easily. I didn't have any pizza or barbecue or fried chicken or burger cravings, and I didn't feel deprived, so, so far so good for me. Finding and eating seriously delicious food is still my MO, but what I have found is that I can still do that on a vegan diet, and that's something of a revelation. Stay tuned for more.


text:
Chapter 12 - Jackpot!
354 – Snap Out of It!
by Brock Heasley on October 12th, 2011
SF »
Marc really blew me away with this one. I'm not sure I can quite say what it is that's so impressive. I think it's the camera angles and the way it paces the whole strip beautifully. I think choosing your angle is VITALLY important to comicking, but so few artists can do it well. I know I can't. Marc? No problem.
└ Tags: giant robot, jerry, spy gal
Nov 5, 06 33 – Why Walk When You Can Fly?
Jan 4, 10 Guest Strip by Marc Lapierre of "Spooky Doofus!"
Feb 22, 11 Pg. 4 "Ruined Her Show"
Apr 13, 11 307 – T-Magus
Oct 23, 13 SuperFogeys Q and A: 4 of 4
theasley
October 12, 2011 at 1:53 am	| # | Reply
Is this Jerry realizing he may have gone a little overboard? Or is this all part of the plan?
Brock Heasley
October 12, 2011 at 5:58 pm	| # | Reply
Well, it's all part of MY plan. How's that?
CartoonistWill
I'm with THeasley on this'n. This is Jerry realizing Dr. Rocket makes a darn good robot.
DR don't mess around!
This is going to get messy.
Also, way cool robot…would make a great action figure.
Couldn't agree more. This was Marc's first–and only–design for the robot. Nailed it on the first try.
I feel like I've been AWOL for commenting, but life's like that. I can't imagine Jerry would do all this planning just to let the robot ruin everything, so more than likely he's got it programmed to 'just miss' everyone. Although considering everyone thinks he's got no special powers I'm not sure how he plans to take it down without revealing his Third Man identity.
Meantime, let's all keep in mind that the robot is the last of everyone's worries. Y'know, massive vengeful alien invasion and all?
blackbeard's delight
October 12, 2011 at 12:14 pm	| # | Reply
Will be really interesting. Until recently Jerry has had the gift of future sight to guide his plans. Now that he is flying blind, his plans may not always work the way he wishes them to.
Alien invasion? Dang, I almost forgot about that! And that's a great observation, Blackbeard's Delight. Jerry is flying blind for the first time in a long, long time.
October 12, 2011 at 11:30 am	| # | Reply
I think Dr. Rocket has a plan of his own. Jerry just dumped his trunks in this strip (see panel 1).
We shall see…
I actually considered Dr. Rocket double crossing (single crossing?) Jerry as well.
Nick Perkins
I love the ominousness of the second panel….makes the zap in the 4th panel all the better.
Infamous Nefarious
Actually if you'll look more closely? The robot has them both stone cold and ready to fire. It's not ominous or building tension…. JERRY commissioned this robot. He more than likely made sure to have Nikola program it to NOT harm or kill Spy-gal, the woman he loves. The woman that this is partially all for. Wanting to make it as realistic as possible however? He PROBABLY didn't make the same request for himself. Hence Donut-tron fires immediately after she runs off and is clear of its line of fire. And I agree with the general consensus that Jerry there is having one of those "Holy #$%^" moments of hindsight. I also can't help but wonder if she doesn't know…. That's a VERY thoughtful look on her face in panel 4. I would love to debate this at length with ya Brock.
I don't think debating with ME would be all that productive since I actually KNOW what everyone is thinking. But feel free to have it out with everyone else!
I can't help but appreciate the irony of a giant robot whose torso looks amazingly like a giant CAMERA in Las Vegas. It looks like a camera on purpose right? I know it's actually some kind of projection array for a horrible super weapon…. But it's Jerry's camera. Jerry's camera that takes fatal shots instead of landscape shots. Also I bet it's perfectly powerful enough to handle landscapes…. or even panoramics.
I can't help but appreciate the irony of a giant robot whose torso looks amazingly like a giant CAMERA in Las Vegas. It looks like a camera on purpose right? Because no one in their right mind goes to Vegas and DOESN'T take a camera with them. I know it's actually some kind of projection array for a horrible super weapon…. But it's Jerry's camera. Jerry's camera that takes fatal shots instead of landscape shots. Also I bet it's perfectly powerful enough to handle landscapes…. or even panoramics.
This giant robot, like all giant robots, is simply misunderstood. I think you're right on the money. He just wants to take pretty pictures! But he's clumsy, so it looks like he's trying to kill people instead. Poor, poor robot.
Some of those places request that folk refrain from flash photography for a reason….. Donut-tron says '@#$%&* flash photography this!'
WATCHING STAR WARS WITH ELORA, Part Two
Last time, I explained how and why I decided to watch the new Star Wars Blu-rays with my 9-year-old daughter in a funky order: IV, V, I, II, III, VI. At the end of that blog, Elora and I had gotten halfway through the saga, having just finished Episode 1, The Phantom Menace. She dug everything she'd seen so far, but Episode II, Attack of the Clones would prove to be trying…
Back when Elora was very, very young and before her long term memory really kicked in, Attack of the Clones was her favorite of all the Star Wars films. It was released the year of her birth, 2002, so maybe that had something to do with it. The original Star Wars was released the year of my birth, 1977, and that one was always my favorite. Elora responded to 'Clones' this time right away and gasped at the big explosion that kills one of Padme's doubles.
A lot of the early politics were lost on her, but her suspicions about Chancellor Palpatine were raised. She didn't like the cut of his jib. I pointed out that he was Anakin's friend and seemed nice, but she wasn't buying it. There was something fishy about that guy. When Obi-Wan when off into his own little detective story, she was fascinated–though I had to put the pieces together for her.
The romance she had no patience for–so she said. Elora still hides her eyes when people kiss on screen, but she loves movies with romance. She just won't admit to actually liking the romance aspect of the movies. Of course, saying there's any real romance in 'Clones' is a bit of stretch. While I found myself really admiring the imagination and much of the action, the love story plays worse and worse each time you see it. That's just not how human beings fall in love. That's not even how aliens fall in love.
The end battle scenes were Elora's favorite part. Because that's what kind of a girl she is.
Revenge of the Sith made Elora nervous. She knew this was the PG-13 one and she knew this was the one where Anakin burns up and turns into Darth Vader. She did not want to see those parts. I assured her I'd mute the sound and tell her when to close her eyes.
The opening battle remains stunning, if confusing to look at. Elora wasn't terribly impressed with it. It was only once Anakin and Obi-Wan jumped out of their starfighters and took on Grievous's ship that she was in. She thought R2′s antics were hilarious. And the crash landing on Coruscant? Made her eyes pop out.
Her suspicions about Palpatine continued to be raised, though she couldn't quite figure out what his play was. She finally decided he was completely evil about five minutes before his big reveal and then was wowed by the revelation he had been Darth Sidious the entire time. It's funny because that wasn't a reveal that even seemed like much a reveal to me. It was always so obvious. But to her? It was extremely satisfying.
She didn't quite understand Anakin's turn to the dark side or why he would go so far so fast. It is abrupt and I did my best to explain, but I don't think she was ever completely satisfied. I know I'm not, so that's not surprising. When the big moment at the end of the big fight came, sure enough she hid her eyes.
The other big reveal for her was that Luke and Leia were twins. When Padme had TWO babies, it blew her mind. It was a lot of fun seeing her jaw drop like that, and, I think, much more satisfying than if I'd let her watch 'Jedi' first and find out the same time Luke does. That's one twist that's much improved watching the films in the order we did.
Finally, we reached the end and joined back up with the original trilogy with Episode VI, Return of the Jedi. I'll admit that the one drawback to watching them all in the order we did is that by the time you get to 'Jedi' you've kind of lost the plot of the original trilogy. Three movies is a loooooong flashback. However, we got caught back up rather quickly and I've got to say that 'Jedi' resonated in a whole new way with me. When you have all the history from the prequels swimming in your head and realize that, essentially, Luke and Leia are all that's left of what everyone was fighting for, it really gives the events of 'Jedi' a whole new weight. Plus, there's a lot of symmetry between 'Sith' and 'Jedi' and that plays really, really well when you watch them back-to-back. It was the most satisfying viewing of 'Jedi' I'd had in quite a while.
Jabba was gross, of course. But Elora loved all the interplay with C-3PO and R2-D2. It was like having old friends back. (Side note: I'm surprised the nudity in the scene where Jabba's slave dances for him wasn't edited out. On Blu-ray, you can see it much, much more clearly.)
Far and away the thing Elora loved most about 'Jedi' was the Ewoks. She thought they were HILARIOUS and cute and wonderful. She laughed and laughed at the idea that teddy bears could defeat stormtroopers. She stopped laughing once the Ewoks started dying. By then, she was attached and wasn't expecting that. Honestly, I get it. I've never hated the Ewoks and always thought they were really cool. That the Empire is defeated by a bunch of small teddy bears isn't stupid, it's fitting. Quintessentially American, even. I dug it when I was six, and I still dig it now.
To Elora's credit, even she noticed how odd it was for Anakin's ghost to look like Hayden Christensen when Obi-Wan and Yoda had to be old men.
Elora went nuts for Star Wars. It took us about a week and a half to get through them all and not a day went by that she didn't bed me to watch "just 10 minutes" if that was all we had time for. She's hooked, but she's spoiled. She can't even comprehend the amount of time I had to wait between movies.
Now, she's moved onto The Clone Wars. She's already watched the 2D short series that came out years ago and is working on the current, CG series right now. They're pretty fun, so I try to watch them with her as much as I can.
When was the last time you watched all the Star Wars movies? What order will you show them in to your kids? Will you show them the prequels and risk them loving Jar Jar? Love to know what you think!
└ Tags: anakin, attack of the clones, blu-ray, clone wars, darth vader, elora, ewoks, geek dad, general grievous, hayden christensen, jabba the hutt, jar jar, jar jar binks, obi wan kenobi, palpatine, parenting, phantom menace, prequels, r2 d2, return of the jedi, revenge of the sith, star wars, yoda
Aug 3, 2011 STUFF HAPPENS. ALWAYS.
Oct 11, 2011 WATCHING STAR WARS WITH ELORA, Part One
Feb 6, 2012 Brock and Marc do Tall Tale Radio!
Jun 21, 2013 The Jedi Are Pricks: How Star Wars VII-IX Can Make the Prequels Retroactively Better
Nov 25, 2011 And Now… A Great Moment in Parenting


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Black Friday is here and one comedy festival is giving you a way to pick up some laughs with a little something extra.
Officials with LaughFest say you can get a free t-shirt with the purchase of LaughFest badges.
All customers have to do is enter promo code "BLACK2018" in the shopping cart.
The deal works with any of the four badges being offered, but is only valid for Black Friday.
A bunch of big names are returning this year in the recently announced lineup for 2019, including Loni Love, Ed Asner, and more.
To purchase your badge, pick up a free t-shirt, or see the full lineup head to LaughFest.org.


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Appuntamento con la morte (One Way Street) è un film del 1950 diretto da Hugo Fregonese.

Trama
Il dottor Frank Matson, un medico della malavita, dopo aver salvato la vita ad uno degli scagnozzi del boss mafioso John Wheeler al quale avevano sparato, ruba un bottino di 200.000 dollari e fugge in Messico con la fidanzata del boss, Laura.

Dopo aver vissuto una vita decadente in clandestinità, decide di ritornare a Los Angeles, dove restituisce sia i soldi che Laura al gangster.

Produzione
Il film, durante la fase di produzione, era noto con il titolo di lavorazione Death on a Side Street e costituisce il primo film hollywoodiano diretto dal regista argentino Hugo Fregonese. Per le riprese, è stato costruito un intero villaggio messicano, con l'aiuto della consulenza del Vice Console Ernesto Romero. Rodolfo Acosta, Emma Roldan e Margarito Luna sono i soli attori messicani presenti nel cast. James Mason ha interpretato il protagonista Frank Matson, Dan Duryea ha recitato nel ruolo del boss John Wheeler, mentre Märta Torén ha interpretato Laura. Tra le comparse inoltre, è presente l'attore James Best, famoso per aver interpretato lo sceriffo Rosco P. Coltrane in Hazzard, che appare brevemente in un ruolo da autista, esordendo così nel mondo cinematografico.

Un articolo del quotidiano Hollywood Citizen-News ha riferito che lo sceneggiatore Louise Rousseau ha citato in giudizio la Universal per 150.000 dollari, sostenendo che il film ha rubato contenuti dalla sua sceneggiatura Haunted Heart. L'esito della vicenda non fu poi reso noto.

Distribuzione
La Universal Pictures ha distribuito il film nelle sale statunitensi a partire dal 1º aprile 1950.

Critica
Andrew Wickliffe sul sito di critica cinematografica The Stop Button ha giudicato «prevedibile» gran parte della trama, ritenendolo più un film drammatico B-movie che un film noir. Il critico statunitense ha bocciato la regia di Fregonese, esprimendo invece un commento positivo sulle interpretazioni di James Mason e Dan Duryea, mentre ha definito «mediocre» quella di Märta Torén.

Note

Collegamenti esterni

Film noir
Film drammatici
Film diretti da Hugo Fregonese

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Il doppio dell'Open de Moselle 2010 è stato un torneo di tennis facente parte dell'ATP World Tour 2010.

Colin Fleming e Ken Skupski erano i detentori del titolo, ma sono stati eliminati ai quarti di finale da Wesley Moodie e Dick Norman. Dustin Brown e Rogier Wassen hanno battuto in finale Marcelo Melo e Bruno Soares per 6–3, 6–3.

Teste di serie

 Wesley Moodie /  Dick Norman (semifinale)
 Marcelo Melo /  Bruno Soares (finale)

 Michael Kohlmann /  Jarkko Nieminen (primo turno)
 Johan Brunström /  Christopher Kas (primo turno)

Tabellone

Collegamenti esterni

Open de Moselle 2010
ATP World Tour 2010


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Former Basketball: Meeting Dion Brown turns writer into fan again
Kevin Foote, The Advertiser, March 3, 2018
UL Athletics Hall of Fame basketball player Dion Brown accepts applause honoring his career with the Cajuns from 1980-84, along with his family, at halftime of the Cajuns' overtime loss to Little Rock. On the far left is Brown's 6-11 son Jordan, who is a top 20 national recruit visiting UL this weekend. (Photo: SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network)
It's been a special season in the Cajundome for the UL Ragin' Cajuns.
Prior to Saturday's surprising overtime loss to Little Rock on Senior Night, coach Bob Marlin's team had won every home game on its way to securing the No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and regular season championship.
For this sports writer, though, the top moment of the season ironically came during the halftime ceremony when my favorite all-time Ragin' Cajun basketball player Dion Brown was recognized for his induction into the UL Athletics Hall of Fame last fall.
I've interviewed tons of athletes during my three-decade career in this business. Usually, it's merely another day at the office.
When you get to interview one of your favorite all-time athletes from the days before it was your profession, however, it's different.
As much as you attempt to stay completely professional, the fan part comes out.
Making it even better was Brown genuinely seemed to enjoy his return to Cajun Country as much as I relished the opportunity to interview him.
"When you sit back and think about it, this is great," Brown said. "It's a good thing they didn't play this game in Blackham; I probably would have cried. This is the first time I've been in here (the Cajundome), so it's not like I can look in here and go, 'Oh man, the memories, the memories.'
"It's so new, so it kept me intact, but then I saw Graylin (Warner) and (Kevin) Figaro and all them guys, man, and that was great. It's been very enjoyable."
Dion Brown, center, shows off Wolfpack Classic championship trophy with teammates Graylin Warner, left, and Dan Gay, right. during his junior season. Brown was recognized at halftime of Saturday's basketball game as a recent UL Hall of Famer, and his All-American son Jordan visited the Cajuns over the weekend. (Photo: Advertiser file photo)
It didn't take very long to discover Brown and I have one thing in common: We both love reliving the great moments of his playing days at then-USL from 1980-84.
"Yeah, I would have loved to play in this place, but Blackham was special," Brown said. "When I came on my visit, I watched Dion Rainey hit a deep corner jumper to win the game against my hometown team (UAB in NIT opener). I saw the way Blackham just rocked.
"Now that I think back, man, Blackham, it rocked. I don't know how many people were supposed to be in that gym that night, but I know it exceeded what it was supposed to be. I'm almost speechless just thinking about it. I'm thinking back and just picturing it. The people really supported us and I really appreciated it. I left it on the court every night."
Brown arrived in Lafayette in 1980 with fellow freshmen Graylin Warner and Alonza Allen under head coach Bobby Paschal. The team barely enjoyed a winning season in its first season at 15-13, but then Brown and Company finished out their careers 24-8 (NCAA automatic bid), 22-7 (NCAA at-large bid) and 23-10 in NIT Final Four in New York City.
"Coach Paschal was so great," Brown said. "He gave us the opportunity. He decided to go young when we came here as freshman and it turned it right for him, for the team."
The first game of Brown's sophomore season was a 70-61 win over No. 5-ranked and eventual national runner-up Georgetown with Patrick Ewing on their way to winning the Great Alaskan Shootout.
In his junior season, Brown and the Cajuns lost at national runner-up Phi Slamma Jamma Houston 79-78 with Akeem Olajuwon, just one Cajun jumper off the back iron at the buzzer away from beating the Cougars as well.
"My time here was great," Brown said. "I was just telling Graylin, 'I remember when we won the Great Alaskan Shootout when we were sophomores.' We were in the locker room and Graylin was standing there and I was standing and we kind of just looked at each other. It was like we both thought the same thing and we just grabbed each other and hugged each other, because we both knew at that moment we were in something great."
Expecting simply a courteous, yet business-like interview, Brown was so much more. He wasn't just saying the words, he felt the emotions of those great memories as he was relaying them.
"We knew we were about to start something fantastic for this program and that's what happened," Brown said. "The reception that we got coming back from the airport, man, that was so great (shaking his head in amazement). You can't write into words how that felt. Looking out at the people welcoming us back, it was great."
Although Brown had never returned until this weekend, he said he watches every nationally broadcasted UL game — regardless of the sport — that he can get his eyes on. He's never forgotten where he played.
These days, Brown is following his 6-foot-11 McDonald's All-American son Jordan Brown around the country. Jordan, who made his official visit to UL this weekend, is ranked by some as the No. 15 prospect in the nation.
"I must say, I tried to stay out of it," Brown said. "I've tried to make the focus totally on Jordan, but they always wanted to know my background. They would say, 'I could just tell you did something, you played somewhere.' When I'd say, 'the Ragin' Cajuns' everybody I'd say Ragin' Cajuns to, they know. They know of it. They're like 'Oh yeah.'
"For some of them, I have to say Andrew Toney went there, but more so it's the Ragin' Cajun thing. Hey man, it's all over the country from California to New York to the Deep South, that Ragin' Cajun thing is live."
According to 247 sports, he's visited Cal, St. John's and now UL with heavy interest also from Gonzaga and Nevada.
"One thing we meant, we were going to come here," Brown said. "Other colleges knew we were coming here regardless. People might question it, but they knew we were going to come visit 'U-S-L' (spoken slowly with a big smile on his face), the University of Louisiana at Lafayette."
Brown said he's been blown away by the facilities on UL's campus.
"The facilities are excellent, excellent," Brown said. "Back then, if we had all the amenities they got over here nowadays, we probably would have been national champions. We were skinny kids back then, but we were tough.
"We went on some visits, but I haven't seen anything better. I mean from the actual playing floor to the amenities to how they take care of the kids, they've got everything big-time colleges have. It made me proud. I told coach Marlin, 'Man, y'all killing me. Y'all are making it real hard.' But I'm loving it. It's great to be back."
When discussing his relationship with his son, Brown joked "there's a fine line between coach and dad" as he tries to mold his son into a finished product.
"He didn't see me play," Brown laughed. "It's almost like he's looking at me and thinking, 'Do you know what you're doing?' and I look at him and say, 'Jordan, I played.' People don't know me out here in California, but technically I'm probably the best basketball player in this whole area. They just don't know me."
Indeed, Brown finished his career at UL with 1,412 points and is still No. 5 on the school's all-time rebounding list with 926 boards. He shot 56.3 percent from the field for his career.
"He's 6-11, very skilled," Brown said. "He can do a lot of things I could do but didn't do. He's actually doing them on the court. He's got the left-hand, right-hand jump hooks — all the things you need.
"I told him I did the jump hook in college. He was a little reluctant at first, but I told him, 'You're going to need this when you're going against guys who are really tough. You've got to have a weapon that you can really turn to.' I did that when I played and he's mastered it."
Those at the Cajundome aware of the Brown family's visit might have been focusing squarely on Jordan during Saturday's game.
But the true joy for one old sports writer at least was reliving some precious memories with his dad.
Athletic Network Footnote by Dr. Ed Dugas.
Click here for the Athletic Network Profile of Dion Brown, which includes the Spotlight Feature by Bruce Brown posted on the Athletic Network during December, 2017.
Click here for the 1984 Men's Basketball Photo Gallery.


text:
Could you save £400 on your energy bills?
You could save by switching to a better deal
Melanie Wright
Published: April 30, 2020 at 12:13 pm
If you're on your energy supplier's standard or default tariff, you could save as much as around £400 a year by switching to a better deal.
The energy regulator Ofgen caps the amount suppliers can charge for their standard tariffs, with this cap currently standing at £1,127 a year. However, there are plenty of deals available which only will only set you back between £700 and £800 a year for a typical household, so it's well worth seeing if you can cut costs.
Switch your energy provider today
Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at comparison site Uswitch, said: "Households are using more energy than usual, with the extra heating and electricity used while people are staying at home predicted to add £195 a year to bills.
"Our data shows that some households on suppliers' default tariffs could save up to £404, with the gap between the price cap and the cheapest deal the highest it has been for seven months."
Finding the right tariff
Current best buy fixed dual fuel energy deals according to Uswitch include the Outfox the Market Fix'D 20 10.0 deal, costing an average of £758 a year, and Tonik Energy's Green Super Power v2 deal which costs an average of £776 a year for a typical household.
Remember though that the best deal for you will depend on where you live and how much energy you use, so it's worth using comparison sites such as comparethemarket, MoneySuperMarket, Energyhelpline or Uswitch to see which tariffs are available to you. You might also want to look into collective energy switching schemes, whereby you join forces with other people to negotiate a cheap group deal.
Even if you're not on a standard tariff, it's important to check when your current energy deal ends, as you'll automatically move onto the default tariff when it finishes. According to MoneySuperMarket.com, there are 58 fixed energy tariffs ending at the end of May, so if yours is one of them, you should consider starting your search for your next tariff soon.
More protection for switchers
The switching process usually takes no longer than three weeks to complete, but from May 1, customers will receive compensation if there is any delay.
The energy regulator Ofgem is introducing a new requirement for customers to be given a £30 automatic payment if their switch takes longer than 15 working days, if their energy supplier is switched by mistake, or if their final bill from supplier they've moved from doesn't arrive within six weeks.
Mary Starks, executive director for consumers and markets at Ofgem, said: "More customers are switching than ever, with a record 6.4 million changing supplier in 2019. But we also know that a minority can still experience problems when they switch."
"As part of our commitment to protecting consumers and enabling competition, we are introducing these new standards to give customers further peace of mind, and to challenge suppliers to get it right the first time."
Reader offer
Switch your energy provider today and you could save up to £461* Click here


text:
Zero unplanned downtime
Company: Evolution Mining
Location: West Wyalong, NSW Australia
Evolution Mining, West Wyalong, NSW Australia
In the space of 5 years, Evolution Mining has become the second largest gold mining company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, with six wholly owned operations spanning the east and west coasts of Australia and holding an economic interest in a seventh operation. Evolution Mining produced an astounding 804,000 ounces of gold in the financial year of 2016 and, despite the divestment of a seventh wholly owned operation in September 2016, with the recently acquired economic interest, Evolution is extending its commitment to the Australian mining industry, forecasting a production high of 860,000 ounces of gold in FY 2017.
467km west of Sydney lies a small town known for its gold discovery heritage, dating back to 1893- West Wyalong NSW. This is where Evolution's flagship site - Cowal gold mine is located. Where it produces a staggering 240,000 ounces of gold per year, equating to about 30% of Evolution's total gold output. This impressive amount of gold production places the Cowal operations, as one of the largest open pit gold mines in Australia and one of the core operations for the business.
Cowal's mining and processing
The mining operation produces from a number of different faces within the single pit. Its benches are 9m in height and are mined as 3m x 3m flitches. Ore is then hauled by truck from the pit face to either a stockpile area or directly fed into the primary crusher, which forms the start of the gold processing plant. Commissioned in 2006, the Cowal gold processing plant consists of crushing, two stage grinding, sulphide flotation, regrind and Carbon In Leach (CIL) recovery. The gold processing plant currently processes an impressive 7.5 Mtpa and in June 2016 approximately 2.7 million ounces of gold had been produced as a result.
Since 2006, Cowal has continuously optimised their process automation system, increasing their production output by a staggering 220%.
The gold process plant control system
The complete gold processing plant from the primary crusher through to the gold refinery is controlled and monitored using an incredible array of distributed control system technology. More specifically using Yokogawa's CENTUM VP DCS, designing in 9x high availability CPU's pairs (18 CPU's in total) which processes in excess of 4200 hardwired IO points. Not including a surplus of 20 CENTUM VP communication modules talking to a mix of Profibus DP, Ethernet/IP, Modbus TCP and Serial (RS-485) protocols that allow external peripheral field devices and switchgear to be brought into the CENTUM VP eco system. The plant system is fully visualized over 6 CENTUM Human Interface Stations, allowing operators a complete insight into day to day operations. In addition, remote monitoring of the complete process control system is achieved using CENTUM VP HIS-TSE, accessible by both fixed and mobile devices.
If the Australian Government's Bureau of Statistics are a measure to go by, Australia ranked as the second largest gold producer in the world. Taking this into consideration, Yokogawa's CENTUM VP Distributed Control System is
currently being used to process over 30% to Australia's total gold output, placing it in the enviable position as the control system standard for gold processing.
"The unprecedented reliability and availability of the system, ensured zero unplanned downtime, since the site was commissioned 10 years ago.
This allowed our site engineers to focus on continuously enhancing the system and ensure the maximum can be extracted from the process plant. Which directly contributed to the year on year increase in production"
Andrew Harland
Senior Electrical Engineer, Evolution Mining


While installing Composer to XAMPP, I got some errors. My system OS was Windows 7, how can I solve this and install Composer?
(If that doesn't work out, simple download the Composer PHAR via your browser.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged ssl xampp composer-php or ask your own question.


text:
California Sees Two-Day Record of Coronavirus Deaths
California's death toll since the start of the pandemic rose to 28,045.
By Don Thompson and Christopher Weber	• Published January 7, 2021 • Updated on January 7, 2021 at 6:07 pm
California health authorities reported Thursday a record two-day total of 1,042 coronavirus deaths as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads.
The state Department of Public Health's website listed 583 new deaths, a day after 459 deaths. The previous two-day record total was 1,013 deaths at the end of December.
Nature Jan 7
The First Egg of 2021 Arrives for the Big Bear Bald Eagles
Capitol Riot Jan 7
Photos: Cleanup Efforts Begin After Violence Shakes the Capitol
Business Jan 7
Covid Updates: UK Strain Confirmed in More States; U.S. Hospitalizations Top 132,000
The state's hospitals are trying to prepare for the possibility that they may have to ration care for lack of staff and beds — and hoping they don't have to make that choice.
The state avoided surging cases for months, but now the virus is raging out of control there and across the nation in the wake of Thanksgiving holiday gatherings that authorities say vastly spread infections. Only Arizona tops California in cases per resident.
The state this week ordered hospitals in the hardest-hit areas to delay many elective surgeries in order to free up space.
In Los Angeles County, Methodist Hospital of Southern California convened an in-house triage team that makes daily evaluations "about the severity of critically ill patients that allows us to distribute resources to those who need it the most," chief strategy officer Cliff Daniels said.
The hospital isn't rationing care "and we hope we don't get there," Daniels said.
However, guidelines posted on the hospital's website warn: "If a patient becomes extremely ill and very unlikely to survive their illness (even with life-saving treatment), then certain resources ... may be allocated to another patient who is more likely to survive."
Los Angeles County, the nation's most populous with 10 million residents, is one of nearly two dozen in Southern California and the agricultural Central Valley that have essentially run out of intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients.
Health officials warned Wednesday that hospitalizations will continue for at least the next three weeks as people who ignored social distancing rules to gather for Christmas and New Year's Eve fall ill.
How Coronavirus Has Grown in Each State — in 1 Chart
This chart shows the cumulative number of cases per state by number of days since the 50th case.
Source: The COVID Tracking Project
Credit: Amy O'Kruk/NBC
Hospitals statewide with room have been told to accept patients from others that have exhausted their ICU beds but in fact most of the state is reporting struggling to provide ICU beds, with non-COVID-19 patients spilling into corridors, tents and cafeterias.
To the north, officials in Santa Clara County, with about 2 million residents, say 100 infected people a day are winding up in hospitals.
"And as awful as it is, it could get worse," said Dr. Ahmad Kamal, the county's director of Healthcare System Preparedness. "We haven't had a situation where two people are out of breath and one person gets a ventilator. We could get there."
Scuffles broke out in multiple parts of the city. As seen on NBC4 News on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.
More than a quarter-million new weekly cases portended a continued overwhelming crush.
Vaccinations being administered at what Gov. Gavin Newsom has said is too slow a pace will take weeks or months to slow the spread.
About 12% of people who test positive for COVID-19 eventually are likely to need hospital care, authorities have estimated.
LA Mayor says four new vaccination sites are opening in the city. Patrick Healy reported on NBC4 News on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.
"The numbers are extraordinary,″ said Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association. "We're not going to dodge this math. We need the state's help."
State officials also should override decisions by many county health officers that prevent recovering coronavirus patients from being released to skilled nursing facilities, despite fears that they could spread the virus, Coyle said.
"Focus on nothing other than saving lives for the next few weeks," Coyle said.
L.A. County, which is recording more than 200 deaths a day, has seen a rate of new COVID-19 cases nearly double that of December, health officials said.
More than 8,000 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 — with a fifth of them in intensive care — and more than a third of adult hospital beds are occupied by virus patients, said Barbara Ferrer, the county public health director.
"This is a health crisis of epic proportions," Ferrer said.
Los AngelesCaliforniacoronavirus pandemic


STANDARDS FOR EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS All electrical installations shall comply with the requirements of the Regulations. Relevant DEWA's. the DEWA may be sought to obtain specific advice. short. inspection and testing of all electrical installations within premises and any additions. de. 4 Jun DEWA's requirements for electric installations in order to safeguard persons and property from hazards arising from the use of electricity.
A closed passageway formed underground or in a installatins and intended to receive one or more cables which may be drawn in. Cable trays installed in outdoor locations, wherein the cables are exposed to the sun shall be provide with sun-shade covers, secured to the trays, with adequate ventilation and as recommended by the manufacturers.
The type and material or the cable trays shall be selected appropriately to suit individual site locations, and complying with Regulations specified in clause 4.
The circuit wires of individual categories such as lighting, power, emergency, etc. You will receive a link to create a new password. Operation Maintenance Electrical Electdical.
The vector sum of the instantaneous values of current flowing through all live conductors of a circuit at a point in the electrical installation. Cables shall e fastened securely by purpose-made clips, cleats or saddles at spacing as recommended inAppendix Generally all apparatus, circuit breakers, isolators, bus bars, removable lid section of elsctrical bar-trunking, etc.
For stationary appliance and equipment including air-conditioners, the actual load of each appliance and equipment shall be considered load.
A circuit connected directly to current-using equipment, or to a socket-outlet or socketoutlets or other outlet points for the connection or such equipment. A mechanical device capable of making, carrying and breaking current under normal circuit conditions, which may include specified operating overload conditions, and also of carrying current for a specified abnormal circuit conditions such as those of short-circuit.
A conductor used for some measures of protection against electric shock and intended elextrical connecting together any of the following parts. Draw-in boxes shall be provided in all straight conduit runs exceeding 15 meters.
All electrical switch-rooms and operational areas shall be provided with adequate number of emergency light fittings. Suitable non-conductive material enclosing, surrounding or supporting a conductor.
When motor starting gear is energized from an auxiliary circuit, the circuit shall also isolated during maintenance. Any influence external to an electrical installation which affects the design and safe operation of that installation.
All the terminal and intermediate ends of the PVC conduits shall be firmly secured with suitable adhesives as recommended by the manufacturer. PVC as insulation or sheath of cable: A consumer's leectrical is not allowed to eelctrical deviations of the voltage characteristics other than those allowed in European Standard ENNov.
All circuit wires shall be colour identified as specified in Regulation 4. The current carrying capacity of conductors that connect capacitor to the terminals of motor or to motor circuit conductors shall not be less elcetrical one third of the current carrying capacity of the motor circuit conductors and in no case less than 1. This may result from an insulation failure or abridging of insulation. An overcurrent resulting from a fault of negligible impedence between live conductors having a difference in potential under normal operating conditions.
Suitable expansion couplers shall be provided in all trunking and conduit runs at the expansion joints in the building structure and at regular intervals in all runs exceeding 7 meters in length or as recommended by the manufacturer. Careful attention shall be paid to the mechanical execution of the work in connection with any electrical installation.
All the trunking and conduit runs shall be free from sharp edges and burs throughout their lengths. The enclosure of busways shall be securely supported at intervals not exceeding 1.
The main Earthing Terminal. The requirement of earth continuity conductor ECC and equipotential bonding shall be as specified in Section — 5 of the Regulations. A part providing protection of equipment against certain external influences and in any direction protection against direct contact. Sufficient space shall be provided and maintained around cable tray to permit adequate access fro installing and maintaining the cables.
A zone of accessibility to touch, extending from any point on a surface where persons usually stand or move about to the limits which a person can reach with a hand in any direction without assistance. Three CLTs shall be provided for each metering. The cooking appliance shall incorporate an integral earthing terminal. Single Line Diagram, showing the L.
The circuit wires of different voltage grades shall be segregated with barriers in trunking runs or installed in separate conduits. The neutral bar shall be of the same cross section as the phase bus bar. Apparatus forming part of the assembly shall have clearances, creepage distances and isolating distances complying with BS ENmaintained during the normal and relevant service conditions.
Means shall be installed to isolate each capacitor, capacitor bank, or capacitor installation from all sources of voltage and to remove from service as unit. Electrical Installations in Buildings. Cable trays shall not be used in locations where they will be subjected to severe physical damage. Consumer shall, before commencement of building construction, obtain confirmation from DEWA on availability of power supply.
Light fittings used with tungsten filament and halogen lamp shall be suitably segregated and supported from the PVC conduits and terminals outlet boxes electrocal prevent deterioration due to associated high temperature. An assembly of associated electrical equipment supplied from reegulations common origin to fulfill a specific purpose and having certain co-ordinate characteristics. Normally not exceeding 50V a.
An assembly of main and auxiliary switching apparatus for operation, regulation, protection or other control of an electrical installation. Instqllations assembly of switch gear with or without instruments, but the term does not apply to groups electricwl local switches in final circuits. An operation intended to remove, as quickly as possible, danger, which may have occurred unexpectedly.
The minimum current rating shall be 5 A. The circuit breaker accessories, etc. Size px x x x x The components of the assembly may be electromechanical or electronic. Removable links of adequate length shall be provided in the bus bar of each phase to enable easy maintenance and replacement of CTs. The trays shall be provided with upstands on both sides.


text:
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Is the Pixel Perfect? We ponder the new Pixel by Google
By Glen Neil - Client Service Manager on Tuesday, 11 October 2016
Votes: 2 Score: 2
Did you know Google launched a new smartphone device last week?
It was a surprise on the day, but now you can't miss it.
The new Pixel Phone by Google has arrived and it means business.
Set to replace their Nexus range of products, Pixel is "the first phone built by Google inside and out".
Regular readers will know that we at iASP Central are difficult to please.
We aren't the types to jump ship to the latest gear, only to the greatest gear.
In the past we've liked the Apple iPhone 6, loved the Apple iPhone 6S, laughed at the Apple iWatch, and didn't even review the iPhone 7.
So let's find out if the Google Pixel will stick, or if it looks to be a dead Pixel.
Just like the Apple iPhone, the Google Pixel is available in two sizes - The Pixel and the Pixel XL - with the Pixel XL being the iPhone Plus equivalent.
And on paper, the new Google Pixel defeats the Apple iPhone 7 hands down.
Just the presence of a headphone jack will be enough for some to consider the argument over, but there are more important things to consider.
When you compare the two side by side, the Google Pixel is always slightly better than the Apple iPhone. Not surprising really.
This means the biggest differentiator will be between the operating systems and their ease-of-use.
As you know, Apple's iOS has won the global market in terms of usability.
The simplicity in learning how to use an iPhone for the first time is the root of the iPhone's success.
And while the Android OS has been available on several different devices (most notably the Samsung Galaxy), Android devices still haven't reached the benchmark set by the iPhone.
Nobody is walking around saying "I want it to be as simple to use as an Android".
Google's latest phone might just change this perception however.
And as always, it's the little-big differences.
For example, the Pixel is the first phone that has Google Assistant built into it.
And when you look at it, this could be a game changer.
Google Assistant is more than just a voice activated bot that you give commands to.
Imagine Siri, but with AI learning capabilities that enable it to remember past conversations, and understand you better each time you use it.
Plus, Google Assistant can be used in everything from your smartwatch, to your smartphone, to your car, to your home. It isn't just limited to one or two devices like Siri or Cortana. So you can ask Google Assistant to turn on your TV and start playing a Youtube video, from your car as you're pulling into the driveway.
Apple doesn't appear to have anything close to this capability... yet.
As Google's chief executive said during the launch, "Our goal is build a personal Google for each and every user."
This might be a little spooky for some people, but it does seem to be the future we are heading towards.
And what might just be the final nail-in-the-coffin, is the Quick Switch Adapter that comes standard with every Pixel phone.
One long-standing excuse for iPhone users to stay with iPhone was the excruciating task of transferring "everything" from an iPhone to an Android device.
The Quick Switch Adapter allows you to transfer just about everything from any device running Android 5.0 and up, and iOS 8 and up, across to the Pixel phone.
And it doesn't involve any great depth of geek knowledge to do it.
The new Pixel Phone by Google is definitely a new challenger in the smartphone market. With features and functionality that is on-par with the Apple iPhone, the line that once clearly separated the iPhones from the Androids is becoming blurry.
If you do have an iPhone 6 or an iPhone 7, you won't find much reason to go out and get yourself a new Google Pixel today.
And if you aren't across all of Google's latest technologies (you're still a way off buying your first smart car, and building your first smart home), you probably won't get much more out of a Google Pixel phone than you would from an Apple iPhone.
But if your smartphone is getting on in years, and it's time to upgrade, you might want to give the Google Pixel a test run.
The Google Pixel is very comparable to the latest Apple iPhone.
The differences between the two for the average person will come down to your personal preferences.
Smartphone users now need to start considering the other smart-devices they use, and put device compatibility at the forefront of their buying decisions.
You'll either be an Apple user, or a Microsoft user, or now perhaps, a Google user.
What do you think about Google's new phone? Let us know on the iASP Central Facebook Page, or Get in Touch.
We Review Two iPhone 6's
By iASPCentral on Monday, 21 September 2015
The Apple iPhone 6s (and 6s Plus) were released last week, along with the highly unexpected Apple Pencil and new Smart Keyboard for iPad Pro.
The initial response has been largely positive from both the tech industry and the ever-faithful iFollowers.
I invested in an iPhone 6 last year, so I thought I'd compare the pair to see what extra features and benefits I would now be enjoying if I had waited for the iPhone 6s.
To cut to the chase, in my opinion both models are more or less the same but for a handful of small improvements. So while I won't rushing out to replace my iPhone 6, there is a case to justify the investment. Jump to the bottom to see why.
According to the Apple website: the only thing that's changed in the new iPhone 6s is "everything".
At face value however, the iPhone 6s it looks strikingly similar (in fact identical) to it's predecessor, which you may recall "everything" was also the only thing was changed when the original iPhone 6 hit the streets!
Before we look at the new features of the iPhone 6s in more detail, let's start with a straight comparison to the iPhone 6.
Capacity: Both models are available with 16GB and 64GB of storage capacity. The iPhone 6s also has a 128GB option for those that can't fit enough Youtube on their current model.
Display: The original iPhone 6 has a 4.7" LED-backlit widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology, 1334-by-750-pixel resolution at 326 ppi, 1400:1 contrast ratio (typical), 500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical), Full sRGB standard, Dual-domain pixels for wide viewing angles, Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating, Support for displaying multiple languages and characters simultaneously, Display Zoom aaaannnnddd Reachability...whatever that means!
The new iPhone 6s comes with all of that PLUS: next-generation Multi-Touch display with IPS technology and Taptic Engine!
What is a Taptic Engine? It's a new form of feedback from the screen in the form of subtle taps.
That's right, you don't tap iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s taps you! Cool.
Weight & Dimensions: A real let-down for the iPhone 6s is it's size and weight compared to the iPhone 6.
The iPhone 6s is 0.2mm taller, 0.1mm wider and 0.2mm thicker! And it's significantly heavier. A good 14g heavier than the iPhone 6.
Processor (Chip): As with most new model releases by Apple, the new iPhone model comes with the latest A chip - the A9 chip - Embedded with the M9 motion coprocessor, it's a step up from the A8 chip that only has the M8 motion coprocessor (and it isn't even embedded).
Cellular & Wireless: In this category, both models are almost exactly the same.
You have your usual UMTS/HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, CDMA EV-DO Rev. A, GPS and GLONASS, VoLTE and NFC.
The iPhone 6s takes a small step forward however, as it comes with 4G LTE Advanced (over iPhone 6's plain 4G LTE), Bluetooth 4.2 (over iPhone's Bluetooth 4.0) and 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi with MIMO (over iPhone's MIMO-less 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi).
Touch ID: The iPhone 6 brought a brand new feature to the table with it's Touch ID finger print sensor built right into the home button that allows users to spend minutes trying to get their thumbprint to match correctly so they could unlock their smartphone rather than the excruciating seconds it took before to tap in 4 digits.
The iPhone 6s ups the ante however, with it's Second-Generation fingerprint sensor, also built right into the home button.
iSight Camera: The camera is where the iPhone 6s starts to shine over it's former model. Again, we see only slight improvements in most of the camera's features, but the iPhone 6s is improved by a 12-megapixel iSight camera with 1.22µ pixels (formerly 8-megapixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels).
Video Recording: Video enthusiasts will be happy to find that the new iPhone 6s comes with 4K video recording (3840 by 2160) at 30 fps (something the old model doesn't have at all), as well as Slow-motion video support for 1080p at 120 fps, and 720p at 240 fps, and playback zoom! Everything else is the same.
FaceTime Camera: Apart from the higher megapixel photos and Retina Flash, the FaceTime Camera on both models are exactly the same.
Everything Else: Everything else that the iPhone has - Battery Life, Audio Playback, Video Playback, Siri even the headphones... they're all the same across both models.
The New Features
The new iPhone 6s does come with new features that the iPhone 6 does not have.
New Aluminium: The new iPhone 6s is made from a new aluminium alloy, the same grade used in the aerospace industry, so it's fit for re-entry into the atmosphere.
Fun Fact: Compare the Australian Apple website to the US website - it says aluminum on the US site, and aluminium on the Aussie version - now that's catering for your local audience!
New Colour: With this new aluminium alloys comes a new aluminium colour: Rose Gold, which I think looks more like sunset salmon copper, but that's just my opinion.
3D Touch: 3D Touch is a flash way of saying that the iPhone 6s screen, like it's little brother the iWatch, now has pressure sensors and behaves different according to "how deeply you press the display".
3D Touch now allows you to Peek and Pop - the next dimension in functionality - that also provides you with feedback so you can feel what you've done.
Here's a prediction: iHipsters will now rank and file based upon how many alerts they can "peek" at before tapping too hard and "popping" instead.
Live Photos: The stand out new feature on the iPhone 6s, without doubt, is Live Photos.
Touted as "An entirely new way to bring your still photos to life."
I won't try to explain it any better than Apple already have - "At the heart of a Live Photo is a beautiful 12-megapixel photo. But together with that photo are the moments just before and after it was taken, captured with movement and sound." - OK, maybe I can explain it better: it's a 3 second video...
The Final Review
The iPhone 6s is, without a doubt, exactly what the iPhone 6 should have been when it was released... There is still reason why I suggest you strongly consider the iPhone 6s however.
It's not because I'm a rabid iFollower that upgrades to every model the week it is released.
No, I suggest you buy this model so you can get into the 2-year s-model rotation instead of the regular model rotation.
Then, instead of waiting weeks for your new iPhone 7 to ship after it's predicted September 2016 release, 12 months later you'll breeze into your local Apple store and grab a new phone with all the features lacking in the previous model!
Genius or what?
The Shocking Truth: Are Tablets a "Mobile Device"?
By Tony Bartlett and Glen Neil on Friday, 24 April 2015
As we addressed in our last blog article, there's confusion over what Google considers to be a "mobile-friendly" format (as we highlighted, it's not just limited to "responsive design", as some so called experts would have you believe). Likewise, we've discovered debate and confusion over what is considered to be a "mobile" device.
There are now so many gadgets that allow us to browse the Internet - not only personal computers, laptops and notebooks; but also tablets, phablets, smart-phones, e-Readers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA's), gaming consoles, hand-held gaming devices, televisions, even fridges - but which of these devices fall under the category of a mobile device?
Wikipedia defines a mobile device as "a small computing device, typically small enough to be hand-held... having a display screen with touch input and/or miniature keyboard and weighing less than 1kg".
W3Schools, a trusted industry reference, simplifies the definition even further, stating: "A mobile device is a pocket-sized computing device."
Therefore we can agree that to be classified as "mobile" device, the device must be small and light. This clearly rules out personal computers, gaming consoles, televisions and fridges.
And it seems that being "portable" is not the same as being "mobile". Laptop / notebook computers are certainly portable, but not small enough to be pocket-sized, or light enough to fall into the mobile device category.
We can also conclude, that to be a true mobile device, it must be hand-held with a touch-screen (to use fingers or a tool such as a stylus) or mini-keyboard so the device can be used effectively while moving about.
So smart-phones, e-Readers and PDA's can confidently be added to the list of "mobile" devices (and let's be clear that we are only referring to the e-Readers and PDA's that allow you to connect to and browse the World Wide Web.
But what about tablets and phablets?.
On the one hand, tablets/phablets are small and light enough to be hand-held, they have a display screen with touch input, and a miniature keyboard.
On the other hand, they are used very differently to a smart-phone or an e-Reader.
In fact, research shows that the majority of tablet use is at home, workplace or other fixed location, which gives a clear distinction from a smart-phone or PDA, and also a clear distinction between "mobile" and "portable".
A "mobile" device is used while you are mobile, on the go, and needs to be convenient to use while you are moving about.
A tablet isn't convenient to use while on the go (as anyone who has tried would attest). A tablet is just a smaller, compact version of a laptop computer. So from an industry point of view, tablets in fact fall into the desktop category.
Phablets on the other hand - well they're just inconveniently big smart-phones. Too small to be useful as a laptop computer, and some would say too big to be useful as a phone. But, because of the way that they are used - on the go - these technological anomalies fall into the mobile category.
Wow! So the term "mobile" doesn't relate to the device being wireless, or being physically connected to anything, the term "mobile" refers to the mobility of the user when using the device - or to put it another way, the classification depends on user context.
This is an important distinction, because it now changes the way we should think about "mobile" device, and also the way we think about the term "mobile-friendly".
"Mobile-friendly" isn't just making a website display well on a mobile-device, it's about making the end-goal of the mobile user far simpler on a mobile device, taking into account the facts that mobile users are mobile - moving about, time-poor, often with distractions about and lacking the same tools that desktop devices available to use.
The iASP™ platform has been publishing simultaneously desktop "mobile" device friendly websites since 2006 and the majority of our clients will benefit from Google's changes as their non-mobile-friendly competition pay the price for their lack of foresight.
The good news is it's not too late to invest in a mobile friendly website so if you would like to know more please contact us for a confidential discussion.
Stop Calling iPads 'Mobile' Devices
The Real Reason Why Google Is Dropping The Tablet vs. Desktop Distinction?
Thinking of making your website more mobile-friendly? What do you think it involves? Let us know on the iASP Central Facebook Page, or Get in Touch.
The Apple, the Watch and the Wardrobe
By Glen Neil - Client Service Manager on Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Earlier this month, Apple launched the latest version of the iPhone. Alongside the new iPhone, Apple also launched the newest of their products, the highly anticipated Apple Watch.
Will the latest Apple gadget follow in the footsteps of it's world-changing ancestors: break the competition and dominate the market? A week after the launch (but months before it actually hits the streets) and the Jury is still out.
Forgetting and dismissing all of the rumours of what the Apple Watch would come with, lets look at the base specs, and then find the nearest competitor to compare against.
To begin with, the Apple Watch comes in 3 versions - The Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Sport, and the Apple Watch Edition.
The difference between the 3 models is: The material of the casing, the material protecting the display, and the band (which is interchangeable on the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition).
The Apple Watch is cased in polished stainless steel or space black stainless steel, with sapphire crystal over the display.
The Apple Watch Sport case is made from anodized aluminium in silver and space grey (think Mac Book look), making this model much lighter than the other two, and has Ion-X glass over the display.
The Apple Watch Edition case is crafted from 18-carat gold (available in yellow or rose gold), and the display is protected by sapphire crystal as well.
While the Apple Watch Sport lucks out with choice of bands (only the sports bands is available, but in a range of colours), the other two models have a selection of different bands to choose from that will suit most everyone.
Apart from this, the 3 models are identical in features and technology.
The Apple Watch will allow you to receive notifications, as well as send and receive messages, phone calls and e-mail all through the device's User Interface. A new level of communication is added through the new Digital Touch feature, which allows you to share a sketch, a tap, or a heart-beat with another Apple Watch user - which they can view or feel (as is the case for a tap or heart-beat). The Apple Watch also features an integrated fitness tracker to monitor your movements and activity (or lack thereof), and can help you to set and achieve your fitness goals.
The Apple Watch, as we've come to expect from Apple, has been designed to be intuitive and easy to use. The face of the watch is touch-screen that functions just like touch-navigation on other Apple devices, but also has new ways to get around. On the side is the "Digital Crown", which allows you to control the zoom of the display and doubles as the home button. On the bottom of the watch is the recharge contact point, as well as sensors that can detect your pulse, and a vibration unit that allows the watch to let you know when something needs your attention...and you can use Apple's voice command platform: Siri.
From our perspective one of the most exciting features of the Apple Watch is Apple Pay, a new generation of tap-and-go payment technology. Apple Pay is part of iOS 8, and is also on the iPhone 6, but having an Apple Watch will not only save you the need to carry credit cards, it will also save you having to even get your phone out! The system launches in the US first and we expect it here in Australia some time later in 2015 - as one of Australia's leading providers of e-commerce and m-commerce systems, here at Hub Com Digital we can't wait for it!
Perhaps what lets the Apple Watch down however is that the device must apparently be tethered to an iPhone 5 or 6. Everything the Apple Watch requires from GPS or Internet is provided by the iPhone, which apparently improves the battery life. This might seem trivial now, since every smart watch available at the moment has this same requirement; but the Samsung Gear S, which was unveiled in Berlin recently and is set for release shortly after Apple Watch, will come with its own SIM Card to remove this dependence. When you take into account everything that both devices offer and had to sacrifice, only time will tell how damaging this exclusion will be.
The Apple Watch also drew criticism from some who claimed it could not be used by Left Handers. As has since been found however, the watch does have a left-handed mode, and the crown does flip the User Interface around; so "Mollydookers" need not despair!
The only competitor that is markedly comparable to the Apple Watch at present seems to be the Samsung Gear 2, however Samsung will be releasing the latest version of the Gear - the Gear S - very soon. For the sake of the argument, we'll only compare the latest from Apple with the latest from Samsung, keeping in mind that both will become available to buy around about the same time, and both are keeping very mum about the finer details.
The Samsung Galaxy S has a 2" (51mm) curved AMOLED screen, a dual core 1.0GHz processor with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal memory, and comes with WiFi, BlueTooth and USB 2.0 connectivity. Compared to the Apple Watch, with a screen that is 42mm or 38mm (give or take a millimetre) and an industry first computer-on-a-chip. Processor speed, RAM and internal memory are not mentioned anywhere yet, but the S1 chip in the Apple Watch is said to be comparable to the new A8 chip in the iPhone 6.
Both smart watches come with a heart-rate sensor, and accelerometer. The Samsung Gear S kicks it up a notch by also coming with a gyroscope, a compass, light and UV sensors and a barometer (for when you're outside and want to know if a storm is coming).
Both smart watches go at lengths to show how customisable their device is, allowing you to change this part and that part to suit your style. On both, you can change the band of the watch, the clock face, probably even more. So no real notable differences on that front.
The only notable exclusion with the Samsung Gear S is an Apple Pay equivalent, but it is safe to assume that there'll be an app for that soon enough.
It seems that what the Apple Watch lacks, the Samsung Gear S makes up for; and what the Samsung Gear S lacks, the Apple Watch makes up for. The final decision is really going to come down to what smart phone you already use (or are willing to change to). Despite being able to use the Samsung Gear S on the go without needing to be within cooee of your phone, chances are that you're going to have your phone with you most times anyway to cover the gap between what the phone provides and what the watch doesn't (games, apps, video, etc). But it would be nice to duck out for a walk or a run without needing to have your phone strapped to you somewhere.
If you have an iPhone, you'll love the Apple Watch and won't miss the features that the Samsung range will offer. If you have a Samsung Galaxy, you'll love the Samsung Gear S, and will be willing to overlook the clunkiness that Apple seems to remove from their products.
Having said all of this, rumour has it that Microsoft are working on their own smart watch, that will be compatible with Windows, Android and Apple devices, just to make the choice even more difficult.
What are your thoughts? Watch the (very impressive) films of the Apple Watch. Let me know if you found it just as difficult to not be swept up in the awe. What is your first impression of the Apple Watch? Does it compare to the Samsung Gear? Let us know on the iASP Central Facebook Page, or Get in Touch.
Apple Launches Biggest Advancement in History.. of iPhone.
By Glen Neil - Client Service Manager on Monday, 15 September 2014
Many Apple fans around the world despaired as Apple's servers crashed under the global embrace during their new product launch event on September 9th.
As much as I planned to resist, I too was taken in by the innovation and overall fabulousness of the 2 new Apple iPhone 6 models: the 4.7" iPhone 6 and 5.5" iPhone 6 Plus.
You can compare iPhone 6 and iPhone 5 models together on the iPhone model comparison page of the Apple website.
The boss has already pre-ordered his new iPhone 6 - he's upgrading from an iPhone 5, and after using that phone for a couple of years and having a large-screen Galaxy Note II as his back-up, he reckons the new 4.7" version with 64Gb of storage will suit him perfectly...the 5.5" version is just that little too big, and he carries a full size tablet most places, so really had no need for a "phablet".
I too will be in the queue to get the new iPhone from the 19th (and reckon since I'm still sporting the now doubly-redundant iPhone 4, I should get priority).
Along with the 2 new iPhone 6 models (and the Apple Watch, which we'll look at next time), Apple also announced the release of the next generation of their mobile operating system: IOS8, which will open the door to a new level of innovations from the App Development community, along with the US introduction of Apple Pay - a technology that turns Apple devices into a virtual credit card - that has the potential to finally replace the fundamentally flawed "plastic" cards we now use as virtual currency.
Our US payment gateway partner Authorize.Net announced integration with Apple Pay within 24 hours of it's launch and we expect our local payment gateway partners to all over this exciting new innovation. Watch this space!
Rather than rewrite what has already been written over 9000 times across the Internet, instead, we will save you the search and list the best resources about Apple's latest offering to the Gods..
A moment by moment keynote stream of the Apple launch event this morning.
A fantastic run-down of the iPhone 6 - The Differences Between The New Apple iPhones
Another run-down of the iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch with an Australian flavour - iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch release date, price and features
Got an opinion? What do you think about the new iPhone range? Does it stack up to the competition? Let us know on the iASP Central Facebook Page, or Get in Touch.
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