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Source: http://podcasts.infoworld.com/slideshow/123467/10-old-school-it-principles-still-rule-228529?source=rss_infoworld_top_stories_Making her return to the West Coast, Emma Watson arrived at LAX International Airport in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (October 16).
The “Perks of Being a Wallflower” hottie looked cute and casual in a black jacket, grey sweater, dark trousers, and black leather booties as she strolled through the terminal and hopped in a chauffeured car.
Given that she’s still largely known for her role in the “Harry Potter” film franchise, Emma told press she’s not fretting over losing her teen star image.
“I’m prepared to wait it out. If it takes five years, it takes five years. If it takes more time . . . I’m here for the long haul.”
Watson also explained her love of meditation- “I’d be jet-lagged, and I’d have a lot of different things to think about... I just needed something to stop the noise. I’m a very heady person; I’m in my head a lot. So I just needed something to slow down my thought process and so everything gets a lot quieter. It’s really helped me.”
With few exceptions, the current crop of premium ultrabooks are all about the three Ps: Portability, Performance, and Pixels. The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus delivers on all three. The design is carried over from Samsung's proto-ultrabook, the Samsung Series 9, which helped define the new thin and light category, and it's bolstered with one of Intel's high-performance, highly efficient fourth-generation Core i5 processors and a speedy solid-state drive (SSD). And when it comes to pixels, the Book 9 Plus wins hands down, thanks to an impressive QHD+ 3200 by 1800 display that tops everything else in the category, making it our new Editors' Choice for premium ultrabooks.
Design
The obvious place to start discussing the Book 9 Plus is the display, since it so easily grabs your attention the moment you power on the laptop. The 13.3-inch display boasts a whopping 3200 by 1800 Quad HD+ touch screen. The high-resolution display isn't just better than HD, it's better than just about anything. The most immediate comparison to come to mind is the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Retina Display), with its Retina display, but there have also been a couple of premium laptops sold in recent months with higher than 1080p displays, like the Toshiba Kirabook, which ramped the display up to 2,560-by-1,440 resolution. Unlike Apple's Retina display, the ATIV Book 9 Plus also has 10-point touch, an essential feature for Windows 8.
While the display is comparable to the MacBook Pro with Retina, the more apt comparison for this svelte ultraportable is the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid 2013). Both share a similar sliver-thin design, a minimalist aesthetic, and an aluminum all-metal chassis; though Samsung largely eschews the bare metal look with a dark coat of paint and only a glint of metal along the edges of the chassis. The slim ultraportable measures 0.54 by 12.58 by 8.78 inches (HWD), which is about the same size as the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch, but just a bit heavier, weighing 3.06 pounds.
The ATIV Book 9 Plus has a full-size chiclet keyboard, complete with backlight. Joining the keyboard is a fairly large touchpad, measuring 4 inches wide and 2.7 inches high. The buttons are incorporated into the touch surface, and the touchpad also supports Windows 8 gestures.
To provide a firm backing for the touch screen, the laptop hinge opens smoothly to just past 90-degrees, and then requires more force to open further, similar to the dual-friction hinge used on the Editors' Choice Acer Aspire S7-392-6411. The result is a touch screen that holds firm against all of your poking and prodding while still opening and closing without issue. The one oddity of the ATIV Book 9 Lite is the decision to use a 180-degree hinge. This lets you open up the ultraportable to an extremely flat 180 degrees, but though you can, I can't for the life of me think of any circumstances in which you would actually want to.
Features
The narrow edges of the Book 9 Plus don't leave a lot of room for ports, but there's still a pretty good selection. On either side of the laptop is a full-size USB 3.0 for use with external drives and peripherals like mice and keyboards. On the right is a combination headphone and microphone jack, and a tiny connector that converts to full-size VGA with an accessory dongle ($39.99, not included). On the left, a microHDMI port lets you connect to a second monitor or HDTV, and a minuscule LAN port offers Gigabit Ethernet when using a different adapter dongle (also $39.99, but which is included with the laptop). Also on the left is an SD card slot, which is concealed by a spring loaded cover. However, unlike most port covers used on laptops, this one doesn't pull out, but instead swings in, revealing the card slot when in use and automatically protecting it as soon as the card is removed.
There are also a number of wireless options, with dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi providing 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz Internet connectivity that does better in crowded areas than 2.4GHz alone, and Bluetooth 4.0 + HS for use with smartphones and wireless peripherals. Finally, when you want to skip the dongles and cables, WiDi 4.1 lets you stream HD content wirelessly to WiDi-equipped TV or WiDi adapter.
The ATIV Book 9 Plus is equipped with a 128GB SSD, which helps keep the performance speedy and the boot times short, but doesn't provide a lot of local storage. If you tend to save images and video, you'll definitely want to pick up an external hard drive, preferably something that takes advantage of the USB 3.0 connections on the laptop.
Preinstalled on the hard drive are several programs and applications to accompany Windows 8, but two unique offerings from Samsung stand out. The first is Samsung SideSync, which lets you automatically sync files between the Book 9 Plus and several current Samsung Android smartphones, like the Editors' Choice Samsung Galaxy S4 (Verizon Wireless). When docked, files sync automatically and can be easily transferred back and forth from phone to PC, but the real magic comes in with goodies like the Virtual Phone, which puts your phone's screen on your laptop and lets you access the phone's functions (like text messaging) without leaving the desktop, and also lets you use your mouse and keyboard with the phone. Samsung also includes HomeSync Lite, which lets you use the PC as the central hub of a personal cloud, syncing files between multiple devices. While it skips the fees associated with paid cloud storage, it also is limited by the fact that it's tied to the laptop's local storage, which is still fairly small.
Other apps preinstalled on the ATIV Book 9 Plus include Skype, Netflix, iHeart Radio, Plants vs. Zombies, BitCasa, a 30-day trial of Norton Internet Security, and a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 11. Samsung covers the Book 9 Plus with a one-year warranty.
Performance
The Book 9 Plus is outfitted with 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U processor, the same fourth-generation processor seen in the Acer Aspire S7-392-6411 and the Sony VAIO Pro 13. As a result, the Book 9 Plus has strong performance in tests like PCMark 7 (4,907 points) and Cinebench (2.50 points), where it fell right in line with the similarly equipped Acer Aspire S7 and the Sony VAIO Pro 13. In multimedia tests, the Book 9 Plus finished Handbrake in 1 minute 23 seconds, and cranked through Photoshop in 5:51, edging ahead of the Acer Aspire S7 in Photoshop (6:01) and topping the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch, (3:15 Handbrake, 7:07 Photoshop).
The Book 9 Plus makes the most of Intel's integrated graphics solution (Intel HD Graphics 4400), squeezing out 3DMark 11 scores of 1,655 points (Entry) and 271 points (Extreme), just behind the Acer Aspire S7 and just ahead of the Sony VAIO Pro 13. While the performance in gaming tests doesn't indicate any sort of gaming aptitude--the Book 9 Plus could manage playable results at any settings--they do present an improvement over third-generation Intel integrated graphics.
With a 55Wh battery sealed in the chassis, the Book 9 Plus lasted 8 hours 15 minutes in our battery rundown test. This puts it right alongside the Acer Aspire S7, which lasted only 7 minutes longer (8:22), and well ahead of the Sony VAIO Pro 13 (6:23), but none of these hold a candle to the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid-2013), which nearly doubled the competition with 15:33 of battery life. Regardless, the Book 9 Plus still holds its own against other super-slim Windows ultraportables.
Conclusion
In terms of performance and battery life, the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus is in line with other premium ultrabooks, both in performance scores and pricing. What the Book 9 Plus offers that others do not, however, is a higher-than-HD screen that rivals Apple's Retina Display. About the only thing I can knock the Book 9 Plus for is the use of ports that require dongles, but that's not so uncommon on thinner ultrabooks. For the price, it matches the portability and performance of the Editors' Choice Acer Aspire S7 and offers the sort of resolution you'll prize when working with photos or enjoying movies. Add it all up, and the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus is the new Editors' Choice for premium ultrabooks.
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Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/16/235384253/michel-martins-movie-suggestions-for-politicians?ft=1&f=46House Republicans said Tuesday that they were planning their own bill to end the shutdown and raise the debt limit — one that makes changes to President Obama's health care law.
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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
DAVID GREENE, HOST:
And I'm David Greene.
This morning began with the U.S. Senate appearing close to a deal that could solve two problems at once: end the government shutdown and prevent a default on U.S. debt. The solution would only be temporary, bringing another set of confrontations soon. There's bipartisan support for the deal in that chamber. The question was whether the Republican-led House would sign on. Well, the answer came a short while ago, with reports that House Republicans are pushing their own plan, one that changes the president's health care law, something the White House says is a non-starter. Let's bring in NPR's Tamara Keith, who joins us from the Capitol.
Tam, good morning.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Good morning.
GREENE: So, what exactly would this House version do to Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act?
KEITH: In terms of Obamacare, it makes changes to the Senate plan. So, instead of what the Senate was doing, it would delay the medical devices tax for two years. This is something that they've been targeting recently, and has some Democratic support. And it also includes something called the Vitter amendment, which would take away the employer match - which has sometimes been described as a taxpayer subsidy - from the health care that members of Congress and Executive Branch employees get. Notably, it does not take away the employer match from Hill staffers, which is something that, in the past, has been part of this amendment.
GREENE: But this is something that, if you take it away, Republicans who support taking it away said it would both save money and make things more fair, that these people would be treated like other Americans. But a lot of Democrats have said this is a political move by Republicans.
KEITH: And, in fact, have said it's the employer match. Why would you take that away?
GREENE: Well, health care provisions aside, Tamara, do these two bills - the one in the House and the one in the Senate - seek to do the same thing when it comes to the partial government shutdown and the debt ceiling deadline that's looming?
KEITH: Yes. They have the same date. So it would reopen the government through the middle of January. It would lift the debt ceiling through early February, though the House version would make that a hard stop and not allow the Treasury to use any extraordinary measures to extend it. And it also would set up a House-Senate conference committee to talk about larger budget issues and hopefully bring an end to all this back-and-forth fighting that we've had for years.
GREENE: Well, Speaker John Boehner and his leadership have had trouble getting the Tea Party conservatives in his party to go along with a number of bills this year. Do they think that this one that they've come up with this morning could pass the House?
KEITH: I can tell you that they are speaking right now, and I am quite certain that they are expressing confidence. However, as I stood outside of this closed-door meeting where they unveiled their plan to the rank-and-file, a number of House Republicans came out and said, oh, we don't really like this thing. It doesn't really do that much. Others came out and said they were confident. So it's a real mix. I asked Darrell Issa, who's a California Republican, whether there was unanimous support for this in the conference, and he said: We're Republicans. We don't do unanimous support.
GREENE: Wow, that - well, that's telling. So the ones who say it doesn't do enough, that they want more changes to the Affordable Care Act, probably.
KEITH: Exactly. They feel like this just does not - you're not doing this much, here. You're nibbling around the edges. These are folks who want the law to go away.
GREENE: And in the bit of time we have left, any word yet from the White House and Democrats as to whether they could swallow any of these types of changes to Obamacare that are being proposed?
KEITH: The White House issued a statement that was not very favorable, and Senate - or, House Democrats are going to be meeting at the White House with the president later today. One high-ranking Democrat put out a tweet saying that this is reckless.
GREENE: All right. NPR's Tamara Keith, joining us from Capitol. Tamara, thank you.
KEITH: You're welcome.
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Labels on bags of snack foods indicate they are non-GMO food products.
Labels on bags of snack foods indicate they are non-GMO food products.
I have a story on All Things Considered Wednesday (click on the audio link above to hear it) about the campaign to put labels on food containing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. The idea is gaining ground in the Northeast — Maine and Connecticut passed labeling laws this summer, though they won't take effect unless more states do the same. And GMO labeling is on the ballot this November in Washington state.
One aspect I didn't have room for in the radio story is the question of what might happen if the movement succeeds. In the U.S., something on the order of 70 percent of our food already contains at least some GMO ingredients, so the GMO label would suddenly become ubiquitous on most grocery shelves. How would consumers react?
The foes of genetic engineering hope America's experience will mirror Europe's. GMO food is legal, there, but it has to be labeled, and marketers are wary of consumer backlash. So GMO foods are rare.
But America isn't Europe. For one thing, Americans have been eating GMO foods since 1996, without strange side effects. Critics say GMOs haven't been tested enough, but the verdict of mainstream science is that they're safe to eat. Just last month, Scientific American ran an editorial emphasizing this point and decrying "unfounded fears."
Even Michael Pollan agrees on that front. "I haven't seen any evidence that's persuaded me that there's any danger to health," says the food journalist, who's become a kind of hero for the organic and local-food movements. He doesn't like GMOs, and he's quick to add that he thinks they need more testing. But he says arguments about possible health effects miss the larger point.
"I don't think this is a fight about science, he says. "I think it's a fight about transparency — people who want to know where their food comes from should have this information."
And one other thing to keep in mind is that the U.S. already has a de facto "Non-GMO" label: organic. Organic foods may not contain any genetically modified organisms. It may turn out that the consumers who would avoid GMO labels have already taken their business to Whole Foods.
Proponents of mandatory labeling say that's not enough. Andrew Stout, founder of Full Circle farm, an organic produce company outside Seattle, says people who don't have access to organic food — or can't afford it — still deserve to know whether they're eating GMOs.
"It's no different than just having sodium, salt, artificial flavors and artificial colors, country of origin," Stout says. "Consumers look for that kind of information and make their own individual choices."
But genetic engineering is different. It's not an ingredient — it's a technique. Genetic modifications can change plants and animals in any number of ways: Corn modified to resist a certain weed killer is not the same as rice that's been reprogrammed to contain more vitamin A. They're beneficial — or risky — in completely different ways. Mandatory labels might mislead consumers to lump all GMOs together.
That's one of the main arguments presented by the anti-labeling campaigns. The other is the potential increase in production costs. That's the concern of former Washington state agriculture director and full-time farmer Dan Newhouse. As a farmer who grows some GMO and some non-GMO, he says it's going to be hard work keeping them separate. He imagines moving a harvester from a field of one kind of corn to the other.
"I'd have to be able to clean that harvester so well, that there's not one kernel of [GMO] corn on that machine," Newhouse says. "So I would not be able to guarantee that there's no commingling."
Opponents of mandatory labeling say the extra effort would increase the price of food by an average of $450 a year, for a family of four. While an independent study by the Washington State Academy of Sciences agreed that labeling would come with a cost, it noted that it's impossible to calculate how much that cost would be.
Given the prevalence of GMO ingredients in American food, some manufacturers may skip the cost of keeping things segregated, and simply slap a GMO label on everything. That option may become especially attractive if it turns out consumers aren't put off by the label. (You know those err-on-the-side-of-safety warnings about candy bars that are made in a facility that also processes nuts? Just substitute "GMO" for nuts, and you see where this might go.)
"The psychological research ... suggests that when you give people choice over risk, they're less afraid of it," says David Ropeik, a writer who specializes in how people assess risk. "Assuming that [the label] was something short of a skull and crossbones, it's likely that many people would accept it and say, 'Fine, I'll buy it!' "
If you doubt it, he says, then think about all the other things that come with scary labels — things you end up buying anyway.
HOUSTON, TX -- The UFC apparently dodged a bullet.
Ahead of his UFC 166 rubber match against Cain Velasquez, former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos showed up at Wednesday's open workouts sporting a small vertical scar above his right eyebrow.
According to dos Santos, he suffered a cut three weeks ago which required stitches.
"It was in the training (camp), and it was accidental," dos Santos admitted. "But not too [bad]. I'm okay already."
UFC officials encountered a similar situation earlier this year when Alexander Gustafsson suffered a facial cut late in training camp, which ultimately led to his last-second withdrawal from a UFC on FUEL TV 9 slot within his native Sweden. With virtually no time to scrounge up a replacement, the UFC signed then-unknown light heavyweight Ilir Latifi to fight Gegard Mousasi.
Luckily for UFC officials, this time around dos Santos' cut occurred early enough for the healing process to begin working its magic.
Still, while dos Santos claims to be "100-percent," the scar appeared fresh enough to where it could become a potential wild card if Velasquez targets and reopens it during the pair's trilogy match, which takes place October 19, 2013, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
