CSN: Sveum will put Cubs on edge

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--> February 8, 2012, 8:24 pm

Dale Sveum studied the way Joe Torre communicated in the dugout. He sensed that Tony La Russa was always thinking several innings ahead. He noticed how Jim Leyland was able to motivate.

As a player, Sveum pulled pieces from all those managers. He was once the hotshot prospect, an injury case, a fringe player, even sticking around ? after he was released ? as a bullpen catcher on the 1998 Yankees team that won the World Series.

Sveum played with future Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Paul Molitor in Milwaukee. He worked for Terry Francona and navigated the ?superstar culture? around the Red Sox. He watched Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun develop and get the Brewers back into the playoffs.

The guy nicknamed ?Nuts? believes that, deep down, ?99.9 percent of all players want to be looked in the face and told to get their crap together.?

That?s what Sveum told the media last November, after the Cubs introduced their 52nd manager in franchise history. Soon it will no doubt be the message in Arizona, where he will run his first big-league camp.

?When the guys aren?t hustling, you make them accountable for it,? Sveum said last month. ?I don?t really care how much money they?re making, or how many years they have in the big leagues. They?re still embarrassing the team and they?re embarrassing the organization.

?Everybody?s treated the same. I don?t care if you?re a rookie or a guy that has 15 years in the big leagues. If you?re doing something I don?t like or you?re embarrassing the organization, I?m going to say something to you. It might come to where you have to bench guys. That?s just the bottom line.?

Those applause lines were like throwing red meat to the diehards at the Cubs Convention. But will the players listen?

Pitchers and catchers officially report on Feb. 18. A group has already gathered at Fitch Park in Mesa, a short ride from Sveum?s offseason home. Even if the players don?t yet know their new manager all that well, several have done their research.

?From talking to players that (he?s worked with), they have nothing but great things to say,? pitcher Matt Garza said. ?He?s a players? guy. He?s been through the grind and he knows what it?s like and he knows what it?s gonna take to win. And that?s what I?m excited about.?

The players once lobbied for Mike Quade, another first-year manager who promised to drive home fundamental play (and didn?t last).

Sveum should benefit from the instant credibility that comes from playing 12 seasons in the big leagues. He was also able to have a voice in assembling his coaching staff. He won?t have to deal with Carlos Zambrano.

Perhaps most importantly, everyone knows that Theo Epstein picked Sveum to be the front man for this rebuilding project.

Sveum played for some great managers, but people have almost described him as an NFL coach with the countless hours spent breaking down video and obsessively charting plays. Brewers general manager Doug Melvin got used to showing up at his Miller Park office and finding Sveum already at work.

Sveum knows that information might yield an advantage only once a series. But all that adds up ? and certainly resonates with the Cubs president of baseball operations.

?(Sveum?s) somebody who believes in hard work, preparation, respecting the game, having your teammate?s back,? Epstein said. ?What?s really hard in today?s baseball for managers is to connect with players and win their respect and admiration without enabling them and coddling them. That?s a typical ?players? manager? that you hear sometimes. Basically, he lets the players do whatever they want.

?Often times, that becomes a popular manager, but it doesn?t necessarily create the type of discipline that you need. (But) Dale?s been the best of both worlds. Players get to know him in that he works so hard. (They) like him and they play so hard for him. At the same time, he holds them to really high standards.

?I guarantee you every single player is going to run as hard as they can, 90 feet, down to first base.?

That?s what the Cubs will be selling after a winter in which they passed on the big-ticket items. Right now, this team is mostly nameless and faceless in Chicago. But it won?t stay that way forever.

At the convention, a fan asked Sveum about Nyjer Morgan, an instigator for a Brewers team that wasn?t shy about talking trash or choreographing over-the-top celebrations. For an organization looking for an identity, the answer was revealing.

?You have to have some cockiness on the field,? Sveum said. ?You don?t want to take anything away from guys.?You have to throttle it. (But) when you do irritate the other team, (it) means you?re doing something (right).

?You never show the other team up. But when you come to play, your team should have some kind of identity ? (instead) of being a vanilla team (where) you?re just going out there and going through the motions. It makes a big difference to have some guys out there with personality and showing some emotion.?

Source: http://www.csnchicago.com/baseball-chicago-cubs/news/Dale-Sveum-will-put-the-Cubs-on-edge?blockID=647780&feedID=619

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Learning the write stuff: Mount Holyoke works with South Hadley ...

ETTA WALSH
Gazette Contributing Writer

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Photo: Learning the write stuff

GORDON DANIELS

Mount Holyoke College senior Ariel Lantz, 21, left, works in the high school library with South Hadley High School seniors, Jenna Pope, 17, center and Timothy LaRoche, 18, in a year-old writing program.

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Photo: Learning the write stuff

GORDON DANIELS

South Hadley High School seniors Jenna Pope, 17, and Timothy LaRoche, 18, work in the high school library on a writing project as Mount Holyoke College senior Ariel Lantz, 21, right, back to camera, looks on.

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Photo: Learning the write stuff

GORDON DANIELS

Mount Holyoke College senior Ariel Lantz, 21, left, works in the high school library with South Hadley High School seniors Jenna Pope, 17, center and Timothy LaRoche, 18, in a year-old writing program.

SOUTH HADLEY - Inspired by their experience learning to be better writers at Mount Holyoke College, Ariel Lantz and Julia Herman, both juniors, had a great idea. Why not adapt the college's Speaking, Arguing and Writing program into a writing center at nearby South Hadley High School?

Lantz said the high school writing center that she and Herman developed was inspired by an international writing-center conference they attended in 2010 in Baltimore. Lantz and Herman then worked with Mount Holyoke professors and South Hadley High School teachers to adapt Mount Holyoke's model for a high school setting. The Speaking, Arguing and Writing program, affectionately known as the SAW program, has a mission to empower student leaders who think critically and creatively, and who write and speak persuasively.

The high school writing center Lantz and Herman established last year has now worked with more than 100 students - with many of them coming around for help writing the all-important college application essay.

The Mount Holyoke students are not surprised the center has uncovered a need.

"I found that during high school I struggled with writing and had a lot of difficulty expressing my ideas on paper," said Herman in an email message from Copenhagen, where she is spending a semester studying.

"Working for Mount Holyoke's writing center helped me think about the writing process more critically and allowed me to become a better writer," she added.

"It seemed like a natural fit to me. Having someone to work with in high school on my writing could have made a huge difference in my high school experience and I decided that I would try to start one at a nearby high school," Herman said. "I talked to Ariel about the idea and she got excited about it immediately."

Lantz said, in a telephone interview, that when she and Herman first brought their idea to Mount Holyoke officials, they expected some resistance, even discouragement.

"We got the completely shocking answer that we could go ahead. They said, 'Write a proposal. Go ahead,'" she recalled.

Christine Overstreet, SAW's interim coordinator, and Alan Bloomgarden, coordinator of Community-Based Learning at Mount Holyoke College, "support the work undertaken by Ariel and Julia," a college spokesman said.

Teachers and administrators at the high school "have been very welcoming," Lantz said. "It's a partnership between the college and the high school."

Student mentors

The college students spent time discussing the idea with South Hadley High teachers and administrators, asking them for input into how the writing center could be structured at the school.

Then they did some outreach to students, Lantz said.

"We did a lot of workshops and visited classrooms, just to say hello," she said.

When the center started up in January 2011, only six students came to the first session, she said.

Now, more than a year later, the center has logged more than 80 sessions - sessions run two hours, twice a week - and is still going strong, with the assistance of Mount Holyoke sophomore Sarah Charbonneau, who has joined the effort, Lantz said.

"I didn't expect it to grow as quickly as it has," Lantz said.

South Hadley High junior Jenna Pope, 17, is one of the student mentors at South Hadley High's writing center. She was trained by Herman and Lantz to help other students. Pope said the experience has strengthened her writing abilities, also.

"I pay more attention to what I'm writing," Pope said. For example, she said, she sometimes reads her essays aloud, to determine if her writing is accurately conveying what she wants readers to understand.

"It was a pleasant surprise, because I learned about my own writing," she said.

The emphasis on critical thinking "doesn't just help in English, it helps in other things, too," she said recently during a break in studying calculus in the high school library.

Meanwhile, newcomer student mentors Timothy LaRoche, and Peter Lambert, both 18 and both seniors, say they bring their experience at the student newspaper, The Spotlight, to the writing center. LaRoche is the editorial page editor and Lambert is editor in chief.

LaRoche said he wants to get other students "to think about how and why you write."

"So far, it seems to be really worthwhile," he added.

"I thought I could do some good," Lambert said. "One of the most important things you can learn in high school, when both speaking and writing, is how to present yourself in a professional manner."

Other student mentors at South Hadley High include Lauren Hylemon, Meghan Kennedy, Alexandra Boulais, Gabrielle Bouyea and Cynthia Belanger.

'Lucky happenstance'

Assistant Principal Ted McCarthy said the creation of the writing center at the school "was a lucky happenstance," but one he is thrilled about.

"We had discussed establishing a writing center, but it was a staffing issue with us," he said. Although student response at first was "muted," McCarthy said it has now attracted more than 100 students.

"This year, it's been fantastic," he said, during an interview in his office. He maintains that the center "has been a good return on investment" for South Hadley High.

So far, the writing center has attracted half of its participants during the college-application period, when seniors were writing personal essays for their applications, Lantz said.

Now, the Mount Holyoke students hope to widen the writing center's appeal for all South Hadley High students, she said.

"That's something we're going to push for this semester," Lantz said. "Writing centers are a very unique place for writers of all abilities. That's our goal for the high school. We want to attract the entire high school population."

"My motivation to start the writing center has been to give high school students a space to work on their communication skills in a low-pressure way," Herman said. "It is my hope that South Hadley High School students will not only become better writers, but that they will also be able to express their ideas more confidently and clearly."

"Ariel and Julia are two of the most driven, passionate college students I've ever come across," McCarthy said. "They show up prepared and with ideas for expanding the center. This is something they are really dedicated to and they've been great to work with."

He said he hopes after they graduate that Mount Holyoke will get behind the writing center to keep it going: "It's only been a positive experience."

Source: http://www.gazettenet.com/2012/02/08/learning-the-write-stuff

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NASA satellites reveal colossal ice melt, greenhouse gasses blamed

Until now, satellite measurements from only selected places were used to extrapolate the overall ice loss outside Greenland and Antarctica.

The melt-off from the world's ice sheets, ice caps and glaciers over eight years of the past decade would have been enough to cover the United States in about 18 inches (46 centimeters) of water, according to new research based on the most-comprehensive analysis of satellite data yet.

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Data, collected for the years 2003 through 2010, indicates that melting ice raised sea levels worldwide by an average of 1.48 millimeters (0.06 inches) each year. The loss of ice from Greenland and Antarctica has already been measured using satellite data, but the new analysis revealed that melting ice elsewhere accounted for about 0.41 mm (0.016 inches) of the annual rise.

Until now, satellite measurements from only selected places were used to extrapolate the overall ice loss outside Greenland and Antarctica. [Stunning Photos of Antarctic Ice]

"The Earth is losing an incredible amount of ice to the oceans annually, and these new results will help us answer important questions in terms of both sea rise and how the planet's cold regions are responding to global change,"?study researcher John Wahr, a professor of physics at the University of Colorado, said in a press release issued by the Boulder campus.

Climate change, spurred by greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by humans, is?believed to be the culprit. Warming raises sea levels not only by melting ice ? the aspect examined in this study ? but ?by causing water to expand.

For the first time, the researchers used the satellite system called GRACE (for "Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment") to look at loss of ice by glaciers and ice caps around the world.

GRACE, operated by NASA and Germany, already had been used to study ice sheets on Antarctica, Greenland and other large ice-covered areas.

"But so far the data have not been analyzed simultaneously and consistently for all areas," Jonathan Bamber, of the Glaciology Centre at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, wrote in a commentary published along with the study in the Feb. 9 issue of the journal Nature.

The new data confirmed that most of the melting happened on?ice-covered Greenland?and Antarctica, where enough ice melted to raise sea levels by 1.06 millimeters (0.042 inches) ?per year between January 2003 and December 2010, the study period.

There are more than 160,000 glaciers and ice caps worldwide, but annual changes in mass have been directly measured for only 120 of them, and in most cases only within the last 30 years, according to Bamber.

GRACE?consists of two satellites?that travel around the Earth together, picking up on changes in the Earth's gravitational field, which are linked to changes in mass. The researchers devised a way to separate out the changes in mass for ice-covered regions around the globe. ?

Their results yielded two surprises: The melt rate for glaciers and ice caps outside Antarctica and Greenland made a smaller contribution to sea-level rise than had been estimated, and the melt rate in the Asian mountains, including the Himalayas, was dramatically lower: 4 billion tons annually versus up to 50 billion.?

In his commentary, Bamber notes that the study period was too brief to capture large fluctuations in melting from some areas, such as in the Gulf of Alaska and the high Asian mountains.

"Nonetheless, Jacob and colleagues have dramatically altered our understanding of recent global (glacier and ice cap) volume changes, and their?contribution to sea-level rise," Bamber wrote, referring to study researcher Thomas Jacob of Colorado-Boulder. "Now we need to work out what this means for estimating their future response."

You can follow?LiveScience?senior?writer Wynne Parry on Twitter?@Wynne_Parry.?Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter?@livescience?and on?Facebook.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/NnBIdN7-aGw/NASA-satellites-reveal-colossal-ice-melt-greenhouse-gasses-blamed

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Amazon streaming adds Comedy Central, VH1 and more

Amazon

By Rosa Golijan

While Netflix is doing all it can to just avoid losing any subscribers, Amazon appears to be focused on building partnerships in order to create a rather appealing video streaming service ? which could easily make things even more difficult for Netflix. Amazon's latest move??A deal with Viacom, which will add TV shows from MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Spike, VH1, BET, CMT and Logo to Amazon's Prime Instant Videos.

Prime Instant Videos is a service offered to members of Amazon Prime ??a $79/year membership program that includes benefits such as free two-day shipping???at no additional cost.?It allows Amazon Prime members to stream more than 15,000 movies and TV shows to?Kindle Fire devices, many Internet-connected TVs, Blu-ray players or computers.

And thanks to the new deal with Viacom?? as well as prior deals with?CBS, Fox, PBS, NBCUniversal, Sony, Warner Bros, Disney-ABC Television and others?? there's some pretty decent content from which to choose.?TV shows that?will be added over the next few months include "The Hills," "Jersey Shore," "The Hard Times of RJ Berger," "The Real World," "Chappelle's Show," "The Sarah Silverman Program," "iCarly," "Dora the Explorer," "SpongeBob SquarePants," "Yo Gabba Gabba" and more.

These new additions should be enough to make the folks at Netflix a bit nervous, but it's worth noting that that streaming service still has some advantages over Amazon Instant Videos. Netflix supports several devices which Amazon doesn't, including gaming consoles (such as Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PS3), for example. But that?? as well as some other differences?? might easily be overlooked as customers realize that Amazon's selection is growing.

After all, Amazon Prime Instant Videos is part of a membership that includes plenty of other perks?? and it still costs less per year than a Netflix subscription.

Related stories:

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts, or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/08/10352580-amazon-streaming-adds-comedy-central-vh1-and-more

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The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Fellowship, Darien (CT) Library ? GSLIS ...

An extraordinary opportunity for an extraordinary new Children?s Librarian.

Darien Library in Darien, CT is now accepting applications for the inaugural Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Fellowship.

Harold McGraw was an active supporter of Darien Library with a personal commitment to education and a belief in the important role a child?s library experiences play in the beginning of life-long literacy. The McGraw family has funded the formation of a Children?s Librarian Fellowship at Darien Library to honor his memory, through a two-year full-salaried position for a recent Master in Library Science graduate who:

demonstrates exemplary scholarship
possesses a passion for working with children and for the development of literacy
shows significant leadership promise
has strong personal qualities
demonstrates a penchant for technology

Selection Process
The Fellowship will be open to LIS graduates from an accredited Library School in the United States or Canada who will have received his or her diploma between December 1, 2011 and July 1, 2012.

Applications will be due March 30, 2012. After initial screening, interviews for finalists will be held at a mutually convenient time and place, and the finalist will be invited to visit Darien Library for a meeting with the Fellowship Committee prior to appointment.

Term
The successful applicant will be employed at Darien Library for two years, commencing approximately July 1, 2012, with a final employment date of June 30, 2014.

Compensation
The Fellow will be paid initially at the Connecticut Library Association MLS minimum salary for entry-level positions (for 2012: $50,700) with full benefits, paid membership in CLA and ALA, and funding for attendance at the American Library Association Annual Meeting and other meetings as appropriate.

Position Parameters
The Fellow will work as a member of the Children?s Services team, providing reference and reader?s advisory services in addition to creating and conducting programs for children and families. The Fellow will be given specific, defined, high-stakes projects and responsibilities that will be determined by the successful candidate?s skills and interests. The Fellowship will provide experience, growth, and challenges in the following areas:

? Children?s materials collection development
? Program development, implementation, and evaluation
? Outreach to defined areas of the community
? Continuing education, professional development, and support
? Access to the latest technology

This Fellowship is an opportunity to work on real-world, significant projects and gain experience in close coordination with very strong staff. The Fellow will receive direct mentoring from Gretchen Caserotti, Assistant Director for Public Services.

More information about the Fellowship and application process is available at darienlibrary.org/mcgrawfellowship

This entry was posted on February 6, 2012, 5:35 pm and is filed under Professional Job Listings in New England. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Source: http://alanis.simmons.edu/blogs/jobs/2012/02/06/the-harold-w-mcgraw-jr-fellowship-darien-ct-library/

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 review (global edition) -- Engadget

Within an 11-day period last fall, Engadget published reviews of two different Samsung Galaxy tablets. At the time, we felt the company was turning into a caricature of itself, with slates in every conceivable size, including 10.1, 8.9 and 7 inches. Mostly, though, if we sounded exasperated with Sammy's "see what sticks" strategy, it was because the outfit unveiled not one, but two 7-inchers over the course of a month. One of these, the 7.0 Plus, went on sale in the US back in November, with mid-range specs and a mid-range price to match its in-between size. But that tablet always felt like a consolation prize next to our second contender, the Galaxy Tab 7.7, which brings a brushed metal back, 10-hour battery and Super AMOLED Plus, 1280 x 800 display. Even on paper, it always seemed promising. Special.

Maddeningly, though, those of us here in the states still can't buy one through the likes of Best Buy and Amazon, and though Verizon Wireless plans to sell an LTE-enabled version, we know scant few details about when it will arrive, how much it will cost or whether there will be an off-contract option. Luckily for us, our friends over at Negri Electronics hooked us up with an international model, one with 16GB of internal storage and WiFi, HSPA+ and EDGE / GPRS radios -- a doozy of a tablet that would cost you $668.50 if you were to import it to the US. (You can buy it domestically if you live in select markets like the UK.) So is the product novel enough to warrant that novelty price? Find the answer to that question and more after the break.


Hardware


If you were to compare our last few reviews of Galaxy tablets, you might find the design paragraphs tend to bleed together. Thin, lightweight. Well-made, but plasticky. Wash, rinse, repeat. But the 7.7 feels like more than just a rehashed device re-tooled to accommodate an odd screen size: it's a clear step up from the original Galaxy Tab, along with the 10.1, 8.9 and 7.0 Plus that have followed since. With this device, Samsung trades the tried-and-true plastic backing for a brushed metal lid with plastic strips on either end, allowing for optimal antennae reception -- a design choice that brings to mind the Flyer and other HTC-made devices. Like the 10.1, there's a thin metal ring around the front surface, though it's a thinner, more subtle band than before. So far as we can tell, the bezels are the same width as the ones you'll find on the 7.0 Plus which is to say they're reasonably narrow. And that's not even mentioning that stunner of a Super AMOLED Plus screen. What more can we say, then? It doesn't take a loyal Samsung fan to tell this is simply a higher-quality piece of kit.
At least as far as the industrial design, those of you who impatiently bought the 7.0 Plus needn't feel too jealous: at 335g (.74 pounds) and 7.89mm (.31 inches) thick, it doesn't feel much thinner or lighter than its smaller sibling, which weighs 345g (.76 pounds) and measures 9.96mm (0.39 inches thick). In any case, both devices are exceptionally slim compared to other 7-inch tablets. Also, while the casing here is made of metal, those flimsy door covers have carried over from earlier models. So to anyone making do with an older Samsung tab, we can assure you the build quality hasn't improved drastically. Both the 7.7 and 7.0 Plus feel solid, save for those skimpy port covers; it's just that the 7.7 looks nicer, and feels more pleasing in hand.

Interestingly, Samsung has placed the 2-megapixel front-facing camera on one of the shorter, portrait ends -- just like on the 7.0 Plus. If you remember, though, the Galaxy Tab 8.9, has a landscape-oriented front camera, suggesting that larger tablet was intended to be used primarily in landscape, not portrait mode. It's clear, then, that whatever that magical cut-off set by Samsung's design team, it's larger than 7.7 inches, but smaller than 8.9. Which makes sense to us, given that the 7.7's 16:10 aspect ratio makes it far easier to type in portrait mode. Depending on the size of your hands, you might be able to swing landscape too, though if you have smaller fingers like some of us, you might want to consider installing SwiftKey X as an alternate 'board.


Continuing our tour around the device, you'll find the mic slit directly to the left of that front-facing camera, with the 3.5mm headphone jack sitting on the top edge of the device, just behind it. The opposite side (read: the other portrait end) is home to twin speakers, along with the proprietary docking connector Samsung has used on all of its Galaxy tabs, which you can use to charge the device via USB or the included AC adapter. As with the 7.0 Plus, you won't find an USB socket on the device itself; any tethering to your PC must also happen by way of that special connector. Turn the device around so that the front camera is on your left, and you'll see that long edge on top houses the power / lock button, along with a volume rocker. On the side opposite that, you'll find the SIM and microSD slots.

Inside, the tablet packs the usual array of radios and sensors, including 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, an accelerometer, digital compass and gyroscope, along with proximity and ambient light sensors. Interestingly, Samsung decided not to include an IR emitter -- something it built into the Verizon Wireless-bound 7.7 and the lower-end 7.0 Plus and paired with Peel's universal remote app. Additionally, A-GPS and GLONASS are on board, as well as EDGE / GPRS (850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz) and 21Mbps-capable HSPA+ (850, 900, 1900 and 2100 MHz) radios. Naturally, the US version headed to Verizon Wireless will instead offer LTE and CDMA connectivity.

Voice calls

You can place a call with the tablet pressed against your ear, though we only recommend doing this once, for comic effect.

We wouldn't go so far as to call this hulking thing a phone, but Samsung did go out of its way to bundle a calling application so you don't have to wonder if Skype and other apps will play nice with this particular device. Sammy's touting a so-called Receiver Mode that allows you to avoid broadcasting the call to others -- even if you're not wearing a Bluetooth headset. Indeed, you can place a call with the tablet pressed against your ear, though we only recommend doing this once, for comic effect. Suffice to say, you'll probably want to plug in headphones or pair the tablet with a Bluetooth earpiece.

To be clear, you'll need a SIM in order to place calls from the app, even if you have a WiFi connection. At that point, you can place VoIP calls, or turn off HSPA+ and WiFi for a more old-fashioned sort of connection. As you'd expect, when you use the app your friends will see an incoming call from whatever number is associated with the SIM. All told, callers often had trouble hearing us, and either asked us to repeat ourselves or answered our questions with non-sequiturs after misinterpreting our side of the conversation. At worst, friends said we sounded muffled, and that they could only follow along if they happened to be parked in quiet areas. At best, we were told the call quality was clear but distant. For our part, calls sounded a bit less natural with headphones, though that's obviously a more ergonomically sensible solution than holding the tablet to your ear. We also placed some calls over the speaker, which proved sufficiently loud -- if we happened to be calling from a quiet room.

And what an intuitive app you have to place all those calls. Once you sign into your Google account -- a key step in setting up your new tablet -- the 7.7 will silently copy any existing Google contacts, so that your favorites and friends' numbers will appear as they do on whatever Android handset you already happen to own. (Whatever contacts you have stored on the SIM card will show up too, unless you un-check that option in the settings.) Conveniently, the dial pad also includes large, finger-friendly shortcuts for starting a video call or sending a message, which can take the form of a simple SMS or an MMS with a photo, video, sound clip, location, sketch, contact, calendar event or memo attached.

Display and sound

The contrast here is so deep, and the viewing angles so wide, that other tablets' screens look washed-out in comparison.

Remember how we said 7.0 Plus owners shouldn't feel too resentful of the 7.7's build quality? Yeah, well, that statement didn't include the 7.7's 1280 x 800, 197 pixel-per-inch screen. As it happens, this is the first Galaxy Tab to rock a non-pentile, Super AMOLED Plus display, and man, is it a winner. We could tell you it's vibrant, stunning and breathtaking, but even that wouldn't quite do it justice. The contrast here is so deep, and the viewing angles so wide, that other tablets' screens look washed-out in comparison. By itself, for instance, the 7.0 Plus' display is plenty bright and pleasant to look at, but place it next to the 7.7 and the transition is about as jarring as moving from the Transformer Prime to the Ainovo Novo7 (check out our comparison gallery toward the end if you think we're exaggerating). The Super AMOLED Plus panel represents a clear step up from most other tablet displays, which sadly haven't received the same level of tender lovin' care as their smartphone cousins.

And, at the risk of getting ahead of ourselves, the 7.7 also has phenomenal battery life, so the gorgeous display makes an especially excellent foil for that 5,100mAh juicepack. After all, if your tablet's capable of a 12-hour movie marathon, it may as well have a striking display to match, right? Also, because the runtime on this thing is so fantastic, we had no qualms about cranking the brightness while using the tablet outside, which made the screen easy to make out in direct sunlight.

If you like, you can also choose from one of three color modes, including standard, dynamic and movie. And, on a note unrelated to the beauty of the display, the panel used here offers some excellent palm rejection. Not only that, but we were also able to grip the tablet in one hand without accidentally opening apps or disturbing the onscreen menus.

The 7.7 won't be the exceptional tablet with good enough sound to replace a dedicated set of speakers, but for what it is, the sound is loud, and the audio quality relatively balanced. We only noticed a smidgen of tinniness while listening to The White Stripes, though we did catch some distortion while blasting Gorillaz at top volume. It's worth repeating, too, that both speakers are on the same side of the device, which means you won't enjoy stereo sound if you watch a movie in landscape mode.

Performance
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 T-Mobile Springboard Toshiba Thrive 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus
Quadrant 1,947 1,871 Would not run 2,700
Linpack single-thread (MFLOPS) 53.76 46.22 31.37 28.98
Linpack multi-thread (MFLOPS) 81.07 58.81 57.08 69.47
NenaMark 1 (fps) 59.5 43.2 43.1 59.3
NenaMark 2 (fps) 37.9 27.9 19.2 41.8
Vellamo 1,220 1,161 1,045 1,198
SunSpider 9.1 (ms, lower numbers are better) 1,488 2,471 2,303 1,679

The 7.7 is the longest-lasting tablet we've ever seen. Not the longest-lasting 7-incher, but the longest-lasting tablet.

Like the Galaxy Note, which was announced on the same day, the 7.7 packs a Samsung-made, dual-core 1.4GHz Exynos processor, along with 1GB of RAM. And though the Note and 7.7's numbers are too disparate for us to call this an encore performance, it's safe to say this is one of the fastest Android tablets on the market, especially in that sub-category of 7-inchers. As you can see, it faces its stiffest competition in the 7.0 Plus, which also has 1GB of RAM, along with a slightly slower 1.2GHz dual-core CPU. (We'll take the 7.0 Plus' astronomical Quadrant score with a grain of salt, as the test favors devices with lower-res screens, but suffice to say, its graphics scores in Nenamark are impressive.) Aside from that, the 7.7 established a wide lead over competing tablets like the T-Mobile Springboard and the Toshiba Thrive 7". By all metrics, this thing is speedy.

For the most part, the 7.7 backs up its stellar benchmark scores with fluid performance. In particular, we were impressed with how smoothly the screen responds to pinch-to-zoom, and how nimbly websites and other pages re-scaled. The tab's quick to launch apps and respond to all manner of taps and swipes, though it's not completely immune from the sort of mundane sluggishness we've observed in other Honeycomb tablets. Occasionally, the 7.7 paused when we moved to minimize an app. Once, too, we noticed some stuttering while scrolling in the browser, though this ultimately proved to be the exception, not the rule. The accelerometer is also quick -- almost too quick -- to detect changes in orientation, so much so that we often had to tilt the tablet to change the orientation back again. Again, though, these are small blemishes on an otherwise spotless experience.

Battery life

Tablet
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 12:01
Apple iPad 2 10:26
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime 10:17
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 9:55
Apple iPad 9:33
Motorola Xoom 2 8:57
HP TouchPad 8:33
Lenovo IdeaPad K1 8:20
Motorola Xoom 8:20
T-Mobile G-Slate 8:18
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 8:09
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 8:00
Archos 101 7:20
Archos 80 G9 7:06
RIM BlackBerry PlayBook 7:01
Acer Iconia Tab A500 6:55
Sony Tablet P 6:50
T-Mobile Springboard (Huawei MediaPad) 6:34
Toshiba Thrive 6:25
Samsung Galaxy Tab 6:09
Motorola Xyboard 8.2 5:25
Velocity Micro Cruz T408 5:10
Acer Iconia Tab A100 4:54
Toshiba Thrive 7" 4:42

The 7.7's 5,100mAh battery is rated for up to 10 hours of video, but in a rare twist, we managed to squeeze out more runtime than that. Much more. All told, it lasted a staggering 12 hours on our video looping test, even with WiFi on and the brightness fixed at 50 percent (3G was disabled). That makes it the longest-lasting tablet we've ever seen. Not the longest-lasting 7-incher, mind you, but the longest-lasting tablet -- one with enough juice to trample the iPad 2's long-standing record by an hour and a half. The 7.7 also has a battery-saving mode, so presumably you could push past that 12-hour-mark -- you know, in case you need your tablet to stay alive through more than just a roundtrip flight from New York to LA.

What's insane, of course, is that this tablet also happens to be one of the thinnest we've seen. If Samsung can build a tablet this slim without skimping on battery life, what's Toshiba's excuse? Or Motorola's? In a way, the 7.7 reminds us of the Droid RAZR Maxx, a phone we reviewed just last week: we recommend it in its own right, but we also like to think it could be a harbinger of other long-lasting devices to come.


Camera

Though other 7-inchers offer a bump in resolution, the 7.7's 3-megapixel / 720p camera nonetheless captures an impressive amount of detail, staying faithful to the grease on a plate of hash browns, and the rough texture of concrete walls. We were also generally pleased by the balanced, not-too-saturated colors, though twice during our testing the tablet spat back images splashed with a blue overcast. In the case of this photo, at least, we were able to achieve more natural results on our second try, but even then the background appeared washed-out. In a few other sample pictures, too, details like clouds and the blueness of the sky simply get lost in translation.

And, in a neat touch, you can zoom in on photos by pressing a thumb onto either end of the screen and titling the tablet back and forth. Thanks to the flash, we were able to eke out some clear shots in a restaurant, though as you see in the gallery, most of our shots taken in the dimly lit bar are peppered with noise particles.

Software

As you'd expect, the Tab 7.7 goes the way of every other recent Galaxy Tab and comes loaded with Samsung's own TouchWiz UX layered on top of Android. For now, that would be Honeycomb (version 3.2, to be exact), though the company has said an update to Ice Cream Sandwich is coming... eventually.

We won't spend too much time rehashing the ins and outs of the user interface, as this is ground we've tread many times before. Suffice to say, Samsung has tinkered with almost every aspect of the experience, including the calendar, among other key apps. Also on board: Game Hub; Social Hub; Readers Hub; custom file, task and download managers; and a feature that allows you to take a screenshot anywhere in the OS and then share or doodle on it. All told, these customizations aren't terribly intrusive, but not every single tweak registers as an improvement over stock Honeycomb, and fans of vanilla Android might resent it on principle.

Otherwise, the list of third-party apps is limited, with Polaris Office and Pulse as the major stand-outs. Beyond that, it's Google-made apps, such as Places, and all the little pieces that make TouchWiz TouchWiz.


Configurations and pricing

We can't remember ever seeing a tablet this size that was so carefully designed.

Though we tested the lowest-end model with 16GB of internal storage, it's also available in 32GB and 64GB flavors. Of course, it's also headed stateside, where Verizon Wireless will sell a variant with LTE and CDMA radios inside. Unfortunately, though, the company hasn't announced pricing and availability, and we also don't know if it will be possible to buy the tablet off-contract and buy pay-as-you-go data packages as needed. So, US friends, if you like what you see here and you gotta have it now, it's time to call an importer.

Since, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 hasn't hit Verizon yet and isn't on sale in places like Amazon US, folks here in the states will have to import it from places like Negri -- not exactly a cheap option, with the 16GB WiFi-and-3G version going for $668.50. (The 16GB WiFi-only model costs a still-pricey $592.50 through Negri.)

Then again, even in markets where you can purchase it domestically, you'll pay dearly for that sliver-thin design, long battery life and Super AMOLED Plus display. A quick perusal of Amazon UK, for instance, shows that the 16GB model with an HSPA+ radio costs ?808.48, while the 16GB, 3G-enabled 7.0 Plus can be had for ?521.24. Obviously, we don't know domestic US pricing yet, but if the 16GB 7.0 Plus costs $350 here, the entry-level 7.7 is going to be expensive for a 7-inch tablet. Point is, this is not for the faint of heart or folks who are just in it for the YouTube videos.


The competition

If you're looking for something as thin, light, beautiful, fast and long-lasting as the Galaxy Tab 7.7, you won't find it -- not in the 7-inch category, anyway. The question, then, should be, how much are you willing to pay for near-perfection? If you're reading this section as a primer for your own comparison shopping, we're going to go out on a limb and assume you're well aware of the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet, but decided not to take the sub-$300 bait. Indeed, while these products offer a compelling set of features for the money (along with surprisingly decent screens), you'll find the battery life mediocre and the overall performance lacking, especially compared to a powerhouse like the 7.7.

Even in the middle tier, though, many of the options are unsuitable, thanks to short battery life, thick, chintzy designs or sometimes both (we're looking at you, Toshiba Thrive 7"). There are a couple compelling options, though -- namely, the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus and the T-Mobile Springboard (also known as the Huawei MediaPad outside the US). The 7.0 Plus, in particular, is thinner and lighter, with faster performance and two hours more runtime than what the Springboard is capable of. Still, despite some middling battery life, the Springboard is attractively designed, well-made, decently fast and sports a lovely IPS display. If you go for that, though, skip T-Mobile's two-year agreement and pay a little extra for an off-contract device for which you can buy HSPA+ data packages as needed.

Wrap-up

As crowded as the market for Android tablets has become, the impossibly long-lasting Galaxy Tab 7.7 belongs in an elite echelon of memorable devices -- a fraternity that's home to the likes of the older Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the ASUS Transformer Prime (GPS issues not withstanding). Putting it bluntly, the 7.7 is the best 7-inch tablet money can buy: it performs well, offers a stunning screen and manages to deliver twice the battery life of other small tablets, despite being markedly thinner. In fact, we can't remember ever seeing a tablet this size that was so carefully designed. But here it is, and it presents the same level of quality that the 10.1, iPad 2 and Transformer Prime offer in the 10-inch category.

Really, our biggest caveat is that it's expensive, even compared to mid-range models like the $350 7.0 Plus. The 7.7 isn't a plaything for mainstream consumers, but people who care deeply about laying claim to the latest and greatest gadgets, and are willing to pay dearly for the privilege. As any early adopter would tell you, getting burned on price is just one trade-off to scoring bragging rights. Indeed, such enthusiasts might well decide that nearly $250 premium over mid-range tablets is worth the long battery life, brisk performance and brilliant display. So is that you? Do you need the best that badly? We'll let you do some soul-searching and chew on that for a bit.

Update: Though the global HSPA+ model we reviewed has no IR emitter, the LTE / CDMA version headed to Verizon Wireless does have one.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/07/samsung-galaxy-tab-7-7-review-international-edition/

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8?8 Celebrates 25 Years of Communications Innovation and ...

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 6, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) ? 8?8, Inc. (Nasdaq:EGHT), provider of innovative cloud communications and computing solutions, today announced that it is celebrating 25 years as a communications technology innovator in Silicon Valley. Over the past quarter of a century, 8?8 has spearheaded the evolution of voice, video and mobile communications technologies through inventions that have been awarded 79 patents and achievements that have laid the groundwork for the company?s existing business model as a provider of cloud-based business services.

?Being in the fast-paced competitive Silicon Valley tech environment has fueled our innovation the past 25 years,? said Bryan Martin, 8?8 Chairman and CEO, who has been with 8?8 since 1990 and has seen firsthand the company?s growth. ?While so many companies have come and gone, we?ve managed to leverage our internally developed technologies to create new business opportunities ranging from supplying our proprietary vision processor chip to AT&T for its next generation Picturephone to licensing our service creation software to Lucent Technologies to launching one of the first VoIP phone services.?

8?8 was founded in 1987 by Dr. Chi-Shin Wang and Dr. Y.W. Sing under the name Integrated Information Technology. Initially focused on developing multimedia semiconductors, embedded firmware and software, Integrated Information Technology changed its name to 8?8 in 1996 to reflect a new emphasis on programmable solutions for the videoconferencing market. (The ?8?8? name refers to the number of video pixels, or dots of light, that are used as the basic building block in many image compression and video transformation functions.). The company firmly established itself as both a pioneer and trailblazer, paving the way in the technological development of VoIP phone service, hosting solutions, video conferencing and unified communications.

?8?8 has operated at the speed of technology, constantly keeping pace with the online and digital age we live and work in,? said Martin. ?We?ve not only been able to create innovative products such as our Virtual Office hosted PBX phone service, we?ve also been able to continuously update those offerings with adjunct services like Virtual Office Mobile and Virtual Room video conferencing to keep our customers on the cutting edge of technology as it moves into the cloud.?

In recent years, 8?8 has made several key acquisitions cementing the company?s leadership into the cloud. In 2010, 8?8 acquired server hosting company, Central Host, allowing 8?8 to offer managed hosting services and cloud-based computing solutions to business customers. 2011 saw two more acquisitions beginning with Zerigo, which expanded the hosting portfolio with cloud servers, virtual private servers, geographically aware DNS and full IPvS support. This was followed by the acquisition of Contactual, a cloud-based call center interaction management solutions company.

25 years and more than 25,000 businesses subscribing to its services, 8?8 continues to innovate as a leader in cloud-based voice and video communications with no sign of slowing down. ?We?ve seen a lot in 25 years,? said Martin. ?Smartphones, the modern Internet and social media weren?t even around when we began. We saw the dot com boom, survived the dot com bust and have emerged from the Great Recession with our stock up significantly. Now we?re bringing SMB?s, enterprises and government agencies into the cloud. As the next 25 years get underway, the sky?s the limit for 8?8.?

8?8 Highlights and Milestones:

1987 ? 8?8 founded under the name Integrated Information Technology
1990 ? Company establishes itself as a leading manufacturer of semiconductors used in
?embedded videoconferencing and videophone products
1990 ? Bryan Martin hired as ?Member of Technical Staff? and ultimately becomes
?CEO in 2002
1992 ? Patented Vision Processor Chip chosen by AT&T for use in next generation
?Picturephone videophone
1994 ? Developed the Video Compression Processor (VCP) chip which obtained 90%
?share of the videoconferencing market
1996 ? Developed and marketed its first consumer videophone for regular phone lines
?under the ViaTV brand name
1997 ? 8?8 goes public and shortly after develops a family of Voice over Internet
?Protocol (VoIP) chips and software
2002 ? 8?8 begins offering VoIP service direct to consumers under the Packet 8 Brand
name, and quickly grows to become the second largest standalone VoIP services
provider in the industry
2004?? 8?8 launches the first VoIP E-911 service; introduces DV326 Desktop Consumer
VideoPhone and 8?8 Virtual Office hosted PBX phone system
2007 ? 8?8 Virtual Office ranked #1 hosted VoIP phone system choice by U.S. based
small and medium sized businesses by telecom research firm AMI Partners
2009 ? 8?8 expands business telephony offerings into unified communications and
introduces 8?8 Virtual Meeting web conferencing service
2010 ? 8?8 launches Virtual Office Mobile iPhone app and Virtual Office Pro unified
communications solution for businesses; acquires managed hosting service
provider Central Host
2011 ? Reaches milestone of over 25,000 business subscribers; acquires cloud hosting
service provider Zerigo and cloud contact center provider Contactual; introduces
flat-rate Virtual Room cloud videoconferencing solution with Polycom
2012 ? Announces record quarterly revenue of $23.3 million (31% year over year
increase) and net income of $2.6 million (73% year over year increase)

More at www.8?8.com

Source: http://www.telecomreseller.com/2012/02/06/8x8-celebrates-25-years-of-communications-innovation-and-leadership/

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Tips On Locating The Optimal Insurance Site | Scrantonnorsemen

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Source: http://www.scrantonnorsemen.org/?p=304

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How To Make Your Company Entertainment Event A ... - Humor Blog

The majority of the event managers hire a corporate entertainer after appraising their past performances and abilities. The type of entertainer hired by an organization also relies upon the character of the event or occasion. Nonetheless there are a number of factors that will have an impact on making the occasion a hit. In addition to hiring an experienced entertainer, you also have to focus on some additional aspects.

The professional comedy artists typically select the topics and scripts based mostly on the nature and composition of the spectators. Often a particular kind of joke or some other act may offend or insult the sentiment of your guests. Therefore, you should spend a while in explaining the corporate entertainer about the anticipated mode and systems of entertainment.

The timing of the comedy show will also impact on leaving an impression on the minds of the crowd. When you program the performance at the beginning or end of the event, it?s going to be effective in keeping people relaxed and entertained. On the other hand, if the performance is booked during dinner it may not keep the spectators interested. Therefore, you should schedule the performance before dinner or after desserts.

It is also extremely vital for a company event director to make sure that the audiences aren?t bored. Occasionally longer performance of the corporate entertainer may not hold the attention of the guests. It is usually possible to ask the artist to keep his performance short to make people need more jokes and entertainment.

A guest can enjoy the comedy show in an exact manner, when his attention isn?t diverted. Further, the crowd also need to pay due attention to the speech and action of the artist. That explains why you must consider allowing some time to the guests for a bio break. The break will assist in holding their complete attention and augmenting their delight and fun.

Richard Barker has been performing stage hypnosis for a number of years. He also has a comedy training course available!

Tags: Comedy training, corporate entertainer, stage hypnosis

Source: http://humor.stofje.org/how-to-make-your-company-entertainment-event-a-big-hit/732/

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