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Saturday, April 9, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Chris Brown, "F.A.M.E"
The title of Chris Brown's latest album, "F.A.M.E.," stands for "Forgiving All My Enemies." But the R&B singer doesn't directly address his "enemies" on the highly anticipated set. Instead, he delivers an album full of emotional stories over a diverse mix of hip-hop, R&B, electro and dance beats. "No BS" is a lullaby about a casual sexcapade, while "Wet the Bed" finds Brown helping his woman reach her sexual peak over the tick-tock of a clock. The 21-year-old croons about matters of the heart on "Up to You," a piano-based song about lusting for a young lady, and "Deuces" finds him bidding a bitter goodbye to a toxic relationship. Brown also gets experimental with songs like the electro-heavy "Oh My Love" and dance track "Beautiful People." The easier-but not exactly wiser-route for Brown would've been to take jabs at those who turned their backs on him, but his tactic here seems to give listeners a solid album. And what better way to quiet naysayers than doing just that?
Jason Derulo Takes Off With 'Whatcha Say' Single
While other grade school kids were carving their names on lunchroom tables, Jason Derulo was busy writing music; the Florida native penned his first track, "Crush On You," when he was eight years old.
The singer/songwriter, who has been performing since the age of four, met his manager when he was 12 and has been putting pen to paper for the likes of Lil Wayne, Keyshia Cole and Cassie, since the age of 16. In 2006, the same year he landed his first major placement, Derulo won the grand prize on the season finale of the TV show "Showtime at the Apollo."
"I told my mom, 'Ma, I'm going to be better than Michael Jackson,'' says the 20-year-old. "When I saw him [Michael Jackson] for the first time was when I knew that's what I wanted to do. From then on, my goal in life was to express myself through song and to showcase it to the world."
Today, Derulo, who also dabbles in dancing, acting and producing (he was enrolled in a performing arts school where he studied music, classical voice, jazz, ballet, opera and theater), is signed to Warner Brothers by way of a joint venture with producer J.R. Rotem's Beluga Heights label (Sean Kingston) and is prepping the early 2010 release of his as-yet-titled debut.
His lead single, "Whatcha Say," which samples Imogen Heap's song, "Hide and Seek," debuted at No. 54 on the Hot 100 and currently sits at No. 5. The song, which he originally wrote for Kingston, is also No. 2 on Hot Digital Songs with 775,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
"Our chemistry is amazing," Derulo says about signing to Rotem, who discovered Derulo's knack for singing when he flew Derulo out to L.A. to write music. "We recorded six songs that night and even though other labels were putting their offers on the table, the music was so compelling that I didn't leave without signing a deal with J.R."
Other songs slated to make the album, which was produced entirely by Rotem and written by Derulo with the exception of one song, include "What If," "about meeting someone for the first time and wondering what the future holds;" "My Bed," co-written by Claude Kelly (Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus); "Around The World," which finds Derulo "searching around the world for the right one;" and "Riding Solo," which samples The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony."
To roll out the album, Derulo is currently on a promotional tour and will star in the MTV Films flick, "Turn the Beat Around," early next year.
"I never wanted to be a songwriter -- it just kind of fell on my lap. I love writing, but I always wanted to be the voice not just the pen," says Derulo about his newfound singing career. "I always yearned to sing my own song, and now, here I am doing just that."
Sara Evans, "Stronger"
"Stronger," Sara Evans' first studio album in six years, is proof that some things are worth waiting for. Evans co-wrote six of the 10 tunes, including the chilling ballad "What That Drink Cost Me," a song about a woman who loses her husband to alcohol. Elsewhere, "Alone" is another compelling ballad about a challenging relationship. Evans also excels on livelier fare like the upbeat anthem "Anywhere" and the cleverly written "Ticket to Ride." And she delivers an achingly vulnerable cover of Rod Stewart's "My Heart Can't Tell You No," while wrapping up the set with a new bluegrass-flavored treatment of her 2000 hit "Born to Fly." The album's lead single, "A Little Bit Stronger," is in the top 20 of the country chart, proving that a remarkable singer with a great song can always write a new chapter.
Steve Martin announces new album with celebrity pals
Multi-talented Grammy® and Emmy winning actor/comedian/musician and bestselling author Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers have announced the release of their second Bluegrass album in June. They will be touring the UK in July doing 3 dates
Rare Bird Alert (Rounder) is a follow-up to his Grammy®-winning 2009 release, The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo (Rounder) and will be released on June 13th.
Steve Martin will do three shows in July where he will be joined by the Steep Canyon Rangers, who also toured extensively with Martin over the last year and are featured on the new album.
Rare Bird Alert features 13 new Martin-penned tracks, and was produced by Tony Trischka. Sir Paul McCartney and The Dixie Chicks also make special guest vocal appearances on the album. Martin co-wrote two of the CD's songs with the Steep Canyon Rangers. Titles such as "Atheists Don't Have No Songs" and the infamous 'King Tut' show that Steve has taken a step further combining, his zany ideas into more vocals appearing on the upcoming album, alongside some very tight bluegrass instrumentals.
Speaking about his recording experience Steve Martin said the following:
'I came in as an outsider, so I didn't know what the reception would be like, but it was very warm. We reached a lot of bluegrass people, and I think we reached a lot of non-bluegrass people, too' - Billboard Magazine, March 12, 2011
UK Tour Dates;
8th July ' London HMV Hammersmith Apollo
9th July ' Manchester O2 Apollo
10th July ' Glasgow Clyde Cultural Hall
Pigeon Detectives O2 Academy Liverpool
The Pigeon Detectives (PD) honoured the O2 Academy with an amazing performance as part of their 2011 tour, promoting their new album ‘Up, Guards And At’Em!’released 4th April. Considering the bands last full EP release was ‘Emergency’ back in 2008, tonight's gig (like many on the tour) was a sell-out and packed with a mixture of anxious fans eagerly awaiting the main performers. Supporting acts ‘Club Smith’ and the ‘The Heartbreaks’ warmed the crowd up nicely, the Heartbreaks with their rockabilly sound and latest single ‘Jealous, Don’t you Know’.
The PD boys; Matt (Vocals), Jimmi (Drums), Oliver (Guitar), Dave (Bass) and Ryan (Guitar) have had moderate success over the years and from the crowds reaction to the bands first track ’Done In Secret’ off of the upcoming album they have plenty more coming their way.
Okay, for the record, let me just say that as a front man, Matt Bowman gave the gig his all and plenty of beans. Not only was he jumping around the stage like a kid hyped up on sugar but his performance got the crowd literally jumping for joy and he fed off that energy and vice versa. I was slightly disappointed that the boys didn’t play more material from 2007’s ‘Wait For Me’ or 2008’s ‘Emergency’ but the crowd loved the new stuff and I think they redeemed themselves by playing some of the songs that made the fans fall in love them. The Pigeon Detectives have always stuck to their strong indie-rock sound and appear to be sticking with what works with regards to their new album.
Fist-pumping tracks that really psyched the crowd up included ‘This Is An Emergency’ and ‘I Found Out’. Emergency whipped the crowd into a state of frenzy with screams, whistles and a mass of arms punching the air in unison as they belted out the chorus. I Found Out had a similar affect on the crowd, Matt sang one part and the crowd sang the response, really getting them involved with the music.
The rest of the gig was a mixture of old and new with the likes of the slower track ‘Keep On Your Dress’ being a particular crowd pleaser and ‘I’m Not Gonna Take This’ causing a mosh pit in the centre of the crowd (right by me!) Album tracks ‘Say It Like You Mean It’ and ‘Take Her Back’ also gained favourable cheers from the crowd suggesting the band can do no wrong.
The crowed erupted into chants of “we want more! we want more”, proving how entertaining the boys are and how much they are loved by the fans. Of course they obliged and treated the audience to an encore of ‘What You Gonna Do’, a track from their upcoming album.
I honestly have to say that this gig is in my top ten and it’s going to take something inspiring to knock it off. Everything was incredible, the crowd, the atmosphere, the music and the experience.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Angry Birds Seasons
The idea behind Angry Birds Seasons--Rovio's follow-up to the massively popular Angry Birds game--is to introduce new levels for different seasons and holidays. Four incremental updates have come out already, so you have over 85 new levels to play. Although you won't find any new birds to shoot, each theme brings new obstacles and nicely designed landscapes through which to fling your feathered fliers.
Angry Birds Seasons debuted with a Halloween theme, complete with pumpkins, bats, dangling lanterns, a full moon, and spooky trees; this installment offered 45 levels. Soon afterward, the "Season's Greetings" Christmas-themed pack added 25 more. Even though the inclusion of snow and presents everywhere was nice, I found the physics for the Season's Greetings pack to be a bit lacking.
While it's certainly fun to have more levels, after flinging hundreds of birds the gameplay starts to get a bit repetitive. You find yourself yearning for new, vastly different birds that can do new things.
Another issue is the number of ads. Now, I am a big proponent of developers' getting paid for their hard work, and I think both the paid-app and ad-based models are good, but in this title it feels as if Rovio is taking things a bit far. At the start of every turn, a small banner ad displays in the upper left. That seems a little much to me, but it isn't over the top. What does feel like too much, though, is that every four turns or so a full-screen video ad displays, interrupting your game. You can skip past it, but it's still somewhat annoying.
Overall, Angry Birds Seasons is a fun game, as the original Angry Birds was, and I appreciate having more levels. However, more levels is all it really offers. I'd like to see some more innovation from the Rovio team for the next release.
Amazon MP3
Amazon MP3, an app often pre-installed on Android devices, allows you to browse through Amazon's ever growing DRM-free MP3 library and legally purchase music on your phone. With its most recent update, the app can now stream music that has been uploaded to your Amazon Cloud Drive as well as play files stored locally on an SD card.
While Amazon's music library may not be as robust as Apple's iTunes, I found it a bit easier to navigate on the mobile app. When you find a song you want to buy, you are given an option to either save it locally to your device, or to your Cloud Drive. If you save the file to your Cloud Drive, you can later download it onto your device or your computer at no extra cost. Amazon MP3 purchases that are saved directly to the Cloud Drive do not count against your storage quota.
One of the great things about Amazon MP3 is that you can stream your music to any Android device running 1.6 or higher with the app installed onto it. The only real issue I encountered when streaming over 3G was that higher bit rate files (audio files of a higher quality) would need to constantly buffer. That was not a problem when streaming over 4G or Wi-Fi, but if you don't have a 4G phone then it is kind of a moot point.
Playing music off of an SD card went off without a hitch, though the app only accepts AAC and MP3 formats (sorry FLAC fans). I preferred the Amazon music player over the bland stock Android one mainly because of its tight integration with the Amazon MP3 store. Instead of having to exit the app, an arrow at the top of the screen allows you to switch between the music player and the store on the fly.
Amazon MP3 is great for those of us with massive music collections, but lack the storage to carry it all with us. Even if you don't want to stream music, the Amazon media player is still far better than the default one found on some Android devices. It's free and definitely worth checking out, especially if you use your phone as your main music device.
While Amazon's music library may not be as robust as Apple's iTunes, I found it a bit easier to navigate on the mobile app. When you find a song you want to buy, you are given an option to either save it locally to your device, or to your Cloud Drive. If you save the file to your Cloud Drive, you can later download it onto your device or your computer at no extra cost. Amazon MP3 purchases that are saved directly to the Cloud Drive do not count against your storage quota.
One of the great things about Amazon MP3 is that you can stream your music to any Android device running 1.6 or higher with the app installed onto it. The only real issue I encountered when streaming over 3G was that higher bit rate files (audio files of a higher quality) would need to constantly buffer. That was not a problem when streaming over 4G or Wi-Fi, but if you don't have a 4G phone then it is kind of a moot point.
Playing music off of an SD card went off without a hitch, though the app only accepts AAC and MP3 formats (sorry FLAC fans). I preferred the Amazon music player over the bland stock Android one mainly because of its tight integration with the Amazon MP3 store. Instead of having to exit the app, an arrow at the top of the screen allows you to switch between the music player and the store on the fly.
Amazon MP3 is great for those of us with massive music collections, but lack the storage to carry it all with us. Even if you don't want to stream music, the Amazon media player is still far better than the default one found on some Android devices. It's free and definitely worth checking out, especially if you use your phone as your main music device.
Corel VideoStudio Pro X4 Video Editing Software Offers Speed Improvements
When it comes to video editing, nothing ever happens quickly enough, no matter how powerful your computer. Corel's VideoStudio Pro X4 video editing software ($100, $80 upgrade, as of 3/28/11) tries to speed things up. It's one of the first applications--not to mention video editing applications--to take specific advantage of Intel's new Sandy Bridge CPUs and AMD's Fusion CPUs (recently released or forthcoming); it also supports the GPU acceleration provided by certain Nvidia graphics processors.
Corel says that the enhancements might gain you 100 percent to 200 percent speed improvements in certain operations--for example, converting imported AVCHD video to an MPEG-2 output file--but didn't have more-specific numbers. That could be pretty impressive, though even if those numbers hold true, they won't come close to the exponential speed gains offered by Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 on a PC with a high-end graphics card.
Corel also says that the version I tested had some optimizations for Intel and AMD chips, but that it would be releasing additional "accelerator patches" after Intel and AMD released their own updates, so I did not run performance tests of my own. But I did notice that, even without those patches, VideoStudio ran very smoothly on the systems I tested it with, including a dual-Xeon-based workstation and a Core i7-based laptop; it previewed high-definition footage with no hiccups, its interface operated snappily, and it rendered output files relatively quickly (meaning, relative to how quickly I thought it should output, and relative to how quickly competitor Pinnacle Studio HD 15 rendered files). I experienced no crashes, and I never got the sense that I was overtaxing the application, even with high-definition content. That said, VideoStudio Pro X4 remains a native 32-bit application, so none of its speed gains come from that angle.
VideoStudio Pro X4 remains the only video editing application to offer a proxy editing mode, in which you can work on high-definition video in a low-resolution mode, thereby allowing you to use an underpowered computer. When you're done editing, VideoStudio applies your edits to the high-definition version while you're off having coffee (or sleeping).
Interface: Pretty and Functional
VideoStudio Pro X4 has a nicely revised workspace, too. You can grab the edge of screen elements such as the timeline, sources, and monitor windows and expand their size to meet your needs, and you can arrange them nearly anywhere you want. Drag a window to the the edge of a screen where you'll see small boxes, let go of the window, and it will dock automatically. You can undock windows, too--so that, for example, you can show your preview window on a second monitor, as large as you want it to be. This workspace is similar in function to that of Adobe Premiere Elements 9, but it's also a little simpler to use, because it has fewer options. As with Premiere Elements, you can save custom layouts and load them when you want.
Still, I found two things I didn't like in the interface. As with many consumer video editing applications, you do much of your customization work in dialog boxes with small windows to show the effects of your work, rather than showing your preview in the larger monitor window. Second, to access the help menus, you have to click a button at the top of the window that opens the Corel Guide, a secondary interface that gives you access to extra (free and paid) content, instructional videos, and messages that I assume are marketing communications. From there, you must click on a Launch Help link that then causes an online help system to appear--one that lives on Corel's Website. But I'd just bookmark the site in my browser and skip the button in VideoStudio.
As with Avid's Pinnacle Studio HD 15, VideoStudio Pro X4's keyframing features are rudimentary at best. (Keyframing is the ability to set points at which effects start or stop, and at what intensity.) You must set keyframes in a dialog box with a small preview window, and you can't see the keyframes in your timeline, so you have to open up the dialog box every time you want to change how they are applied. You can't adjust anything between those keyframes, either, as you can in Premiere Elements 9. For example, you can't change how quickly an effect accelerates before and after a keyframe, so their onset and dissipation are totally linear.
Now in 3D
VideoStudio Pro X4 is only the second video editing application to offer conversion to 3D video output (Sony Vegas Pro 10 was the first; I fully expect other video editing applications to add this feature in their next iterations). Unlike Vegas Pro 10, VideoStudio Pro X4 doesn't give you much control over how the 3D output looks. You click the application's Share button, click a file format (YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, or one of several disc formats), then choose anaglyph output or side-by-side output and adjust a 3D depth setting, but with no preview. Because 3D rendering is extremely processor-intensive, you might wait a long time before you can determine whether you had the right settings. Even so, I was able to output a pretty good 720p 3D video to YouTube, with obvious 3D effects; YouTube recognized that it was a 3D file and showed several 3D viewing options.
You can now make stop-motion animations with VideoStudio Pro X4, thanks to a new set of features in the application's Capture mode. You can capture shots manually, by clicking a button, or you can set it to take shots automatically on a regular interval (so you can create a movie of a sunset, or a flower opening, for example). However, once you import the stop-motion movie into a timeline, you can't adjust the duration or the speed of the composition, unless you split it back into individual photos; and if you do that, you lose any effects you've applied to the composition. You can adjust all of the photos' duration at once, but if you want to add an effect, you have to add it to all of your photos. Or you could recombine all the photos--but what if you want to adjust the duration again?
Another new feature lets you create an effective strobe effect by setting VideoStudio to capture every tenth frame, and slow down the overall video at the same time, so it will look like a time-lapse movie. This is very easy to set up, and it creates really neat-looking video, albeit with the same limitations of stop-motion movies.
Other enhancements: You can now place title text in overlay tracks (in addition to your main video track), and you can now export VideoStudio Pro X4 projects so that you can copy them to other computers to work on them there.
Speed Thrills
VideoStudio Pro X4 performs well on a wide range of computers, from the underpowered PCs of yesteryear (using its proxy mode) to more recent models to units with the most cutting-edge CPUs, and Corel is doing a good job of offering the new features that people want in a video editor. It doesn't provide nearly the same level of control as Adobe Premiere Elements 9 does, but it has a few advantages over that application (for example, an easier-to-see interface, and a less-confusing media browser), so I'd recommend it as a worthy alternative for some people.
Google Reader
The Google Reader app for Android has all of the functionality you could hope for. You can choose to look at all new posts or just posts from one site at a time. You can even play most videos right from the app (usually requires Adobe Flash Player). Everything you do on the app syncs with your Web-based Google Reader account, pretty much instantly.
If I've been away for a while and I have hundreds of new posts waiting, I actually prefer to use this app over the Web version. I find it so easy just to scroll through the headlines only, star the ones I want to read later, and press 'Mark all as read' to eliminate the clutter instantly. Later I can go to my desktop to read the starred items on a full-size screen.
This app is a great implementation of something that is normally Web-based. It's fast, it's intuitive, and it's nicely laid out. If you do a lot of online reading, you definitely want an app that works with Google Reader. That said, other choices are out there, such as FeedR and Pulse, which some people would argue offer more features. In fact, if the Google Reader app allowed users to download feeds (with images) in the background to an SD Card and then read them later offline, it would be nice. Some other readers let you do that, and I'm hoping Google adds such an option.
If I've been away for a while and I have hundreds of new posts waiting, I actually prefer to use this app over the Web version. I find it so easy just to scroll through the headlines only, star the ones I want to read later, and press 'Mark all as read' to eliminate the clutter instantly. Later I can go to my desktop to read the starred items on a full-size screen.
This app is a great implementation of something that is normally Web-based. It's fast, it's intuitive, and it's nicely laid out. If you do a lot of online reading, you definitely want an app that works with Google Reader. That said, other choices are out there, such as FeedR and Pulse, which some people would argue offer more features. In fact, if the Google Reader app allowed users to download feeds (with images) in the background to an SD Card and then read them later offline, it would be nice. Some other readers let you do that, and I'm hoping Google adds such an option.
Hands On With Firefox 4
A lot has changed in the browser universe since Firefox 3.0 launched in June 2008. Google Chrome burst onto the scene, and has undergone frequent updates since then. Microsoft released IE 8 and IE 9. Safari advanced from version 3 then to version 5 now.
While Mozilla made some improvements in Firefox 3.5 and 3.6 that improved performance and bolstered the feature set, Firefox started to feel like it was falling behind the curve. Firefox 4 makes Firefox competitive again, with its updated interface and improved performance.
Firefox Gets a Makeover
The first thing you'll notice is that Firefox 4 has a new look. Like many other modern browsers, Firefox 4 is designed to be as streamlined and as simple as possible. The Mozilla designers did a good job at simplifying the browser while maintaining the flexibility that Firefox is known for.
By default, Firefox 4 shows the address bar, a search field, the typical back/forward/reload/home buttons, the tab bar, and an orange "Firefox" button in the upper-left corner. There is no menu bar by default: Clicking the orange Firefox button brings up a single, well laid-out menu that contains most--if not all--of the menu items you're accustomed to using in older Firefox versions. I was a little thrown off by this button, though; most new browsers have their tools menus on the far-right edge of the toolbar, whereas the Firefox button is on the upper-left, but I was able to adjust fairly quickly.
If you're a Firefox power user--or just prefer the old way--you can bring back the classic menu bar by clicking the Firefox button, mousing over "Options," then selecting "Menu Bar" from the drop-down.
Pinning Web Apps
Another Chrome-inspired feature in Firefox 4 is the ability to "pin" Web apps to the tab bar. Open up any Web app (or any Web page, really) in a new tab, right click the tab, then select "Pin as App Tab." This will add a tab showing only that page's icon to the far left edge of the tab bar.
When you close then re-open Firefox, the pinned tabs will remain there. Whenever something in the Web app you pin updates--say, you get a new message in your Gmail inbox--the pinned tab will turn blue to notify you (again, very similar to Google Chrome).
These additions are great if you use lots of Web apps, but they're features that Chrome already has, so it does feel a bit like Firefox is playing catch-up here.
Stop Following Me!
Like IE9, Firefox now includes a feature to prevent sites from being able to track what you do online. This is a welcome addition, but it isn't without its problems. For one, it's an all-or-nothing feature--it's either on or off; there's no way to let some sites through and block others. And it isn't really universal yet: When you enable tracking protection in Firefox, it'll use what are called HTTP headers to tell the site that you don't want to be tracked. A simplified way of putting it is that when you visit a Website, Firefox will send a message to the site that you don't want to be tracked.
The problem is that Websites don't have to honor this request, thus rendering the tracking protection feature useless. Mozilla is working to make this feature an industry standard, so hopefully things will improve in time.
Speed
Firefox 4 also sports a number of new features designed to improve page loading and rendering performance. Firefox 4 can take better advantage of your graphics card than Firefox 3.x could; using it to play videos, for example. Firefox 4 also includes an updated JavaScript engine that should improve performance of Web apps and certain elements of Web pages.
We haven't done any in-depth speed testing of Firefox 4, but we did test its JavaScript performance using the SunSpider 0.91 benchmark. Firefox 3.6 completed the test in 1103 milliseconds (ms) on average, which was the slowest among the major browsers (Safari, IE9, Chrome, Firefox, Opera). Firefox 4 completes the test in 363 ms on average, making it competitive with other current browsers (In my testing, all browsers averaged between 329 and 439 ms.)
Granted, your mileage may vary based on your hardware, operating system, and other factors, but there's no denying the fact that Firefox 4 is much faster at handling JavaScript than Firefox 3.6.
Stay in Sync
New in Firefox 4 is Firefox Sync, which lets you sync your bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, and other data with your other computers running Firefox. (This was previously available via an extension called Mozilla Weave.).
To use Firefox Sync, go to the Options Pane (open the Firefox menu and click Options,) then select Sync from the toolbar. From there, you can create a new Firefox Sync account. Setting up an account is fairly easy--it'll ask you to enter your e-mail address and create a password--but things get a little more complicated after that.
Firefox will give you an alphanumeric "Sync Key" that you'll need to write down, save to your disk, or print to keep safe. You'll need this key to be able to access your Firefox Sync account on another PC or smartphone, and if you lose it, you're out of luck--it can't be recovered.
Setting up a second device (PC, smartphone, etc…) to work with Firefox Sync also requires you to jump through some security hoops as well. For example, if you've already set up a Sync account and you want to set up Firefox Sync on your laptop so it stays in sync with what you have on your desktop, you'll need to go back to your desktop and enter in an authentication code.
If you don't have access to your desktop PC at the moment--say it's at home and you're traveling with your laptop--you'll need to enter the aforementioned Sync Key. If you left your Sync Key at home, you can't access your account. This sort of two-factor authentication is a bit of a double-edged sword; it's more secure than a password alone, but it can be a hassle.
Once you get Sync all set up though, it's easy to use. Everything is handled automatically and in the background, so you won't have to manually re-sync periodically.
A Worthy Upgrade
Firefox 4 is a must-have upgrade if you're running Firefox 3.x. If you've switched from Firefox to Chrome, however, Firefox 4 may not offer quite enough to lure you back, as many of the new features--at least on the user interface end--are clearly influenced by Chrome. But no matter what, it may be worth downloading and taking for a spin.
While Mozilla made some improvements in Firefox 3.5 and 3.6 that improved performance and bolstered the feature set, Firefox started to feel like it was falling behind the curve. Firefox 4 makes Firefox competitive again, with its updated interface and improved performance.
Firefox Gets a Makeover
The first thing you'll notice is that Firefox 4 has a new look. Like many other modern browsers, Firefox 4 is designed to be as streamlined and as simple as possible. The Mozilla designers did a good job at simplifying the browser while maintaining the flexibility that Firefox is known for.
By default, Firefox 4 shows the address bar, a search field, the typical back/forward/reload/home buttons, the tab bar, and an orange "Firefox" button in the upper-left corner. There is no menu bar by default: Clicking the orange Firefox button brings up a single, well laid-out menu that contains most--if not all--of the menu items you're accustomed to using in older Firefox versions. I was a little thrown off by this button, though; most new browsers have their tools menus on the far-right edge of the toolbar, whereas the Firefox button is on the upper-left, but I was able to adjust fairly quickly.
If you're a Firefox power user--or just prefer the old way--you can bring back the classic menu bar by clicking the Firefox button, mousing over "Options," then selecting "Menu Bar" from the drop-down.
Pinning Web Apps
Another Chrome-inspired feature in Firefox 4 is the ability to "pin" Web apps to the tab bar. Open up any Web app (or any Web page, really) in a new tab, right click the tab, then select "Pin as App Tab." This will add a tab showing only that page's icon to the far left edge of the tab bar.
When you close then re-open Firefox, the pinned tabs will remain there. Whenever something in the Web app you pin updates--say, you get a new message in your Gmail inbox--the pinned tab will turn blue to notify you (again, very similar to Google Chrome).
These additions are great if you use lots of Web apps, but they're features that Chrome already has, so it does feel a bit like Firefox is playing catch-up here.
Stop Following Me!
Like IE9, Firefox now includes a feature to prevent sites from being able to track what you do online. This is a welcome addition, but it isn't without its problems. For one, it's an all-or-nothing feature--it's either on or off; there's no way to let some sites through and block others. And it isn't really universal yet: When you enable tracking protection in Firefox, it'll use what are called HTTP headers to tell the site that you don't want to be tracked. A simplified way of putting it is that when you visit a Website, Firefox will send a message to the site that you don't want to be tracked.
The problem is that Websites don't have to honor this request, thus rendering the tracking protection feature useless. Mozilla is working to make this feature an industry standard, so hopefully things will improve in time.
Speed
Firefox 4 also sports a number of new features designed to improve page loading and rendering performance. Firefox 4 can take better advantage of your graphics card than Firefox 3.x could; using it to play videos, for example. Firefox 4 also includes an updated JavaScript engine that should improve performance of Web apps and certain elements of Web pages.
We haven't done any in-depth speed testing of Firefox 4, but we did test its JavaScript performance using the SunSpider 0.91 benchmark. Firefox 3.6 completed the test in 1103 milliseconds (ms) on average, which was the slowest among the major browsers (Safari, IE9, Chrome, Firefox, Opera). Firefox 4 completes the test in 363 ms on average, making it competitive with other current browsers (In my testing, all browsers averaged between 329 and 439 ms.)
Granted, your mileage may vary based on your hardware, operating system, and other factors, but there's no denying the fact that Firefox 4 is much faster at handling JavaScript than Firefox 3.6.
Stay in Sync
New in Firefox 4 is Firefox Sync, which lets you sync your bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, and other data with your other computers running Firefox. (This was previously available via an extension called Mozilla Weave.).
To use Firefox Sync, go to the Options Pane (open the Firefox menu and click Options,) then select Sync from the toolbar. From there, you can create a new Firefox Sync account. Setting up an account is fairly easy--it'll ask you to enter your e-mail address and create a password--but things get a little more complicated after that.
Firefox will give you an alphanumeric "Sync Key" that you'll need to write down, save to your disk, or print to keep safe. You'll need this key to be able to access your Firefox Sync account on another PC or smartphone, and if you lose it, you're out of luck--it can't be recovered.
Setting up a second device (PC, smartphone, etc…) to work with Firefox Sync also requires you to jump through some security hoops as well. For example, if you've already set up a Sync account and you want to set up Firefox Sync on your laptop so it stays in sync with what you have on your desktop, you'll need to go back to your desktop and enter in an authentication code.
If you don't have access to your desktop PC at the moment--say it's at home and you're traveling with your laptop--you'll need to enter the aforementioned Sync Key. If you left your Sync Key at home, you can't access your account. This sort of two-factor authentication is a bit of a double-edged sword; it's more secure than a password alone, but it can be a hassle.
Once you get Sync all set up though, it's easy to use. Everything is handled automatically and in the background, so you won't have to manually re-sync periodically.
A Worthy Upgrade
Firefox 4 is a must-have upgrade if you're running Firefox 3.x. If you've switched from Firefox to Chrome, however, Firefox 4 may not offer quite enough to lure you back, as many of the new features--at least on the user interface end--are clearly influenced by Chrome. But no matter what, it may be worth downloading and taking for a spin.
Asus G73SW: A High-End Gaming Laptop Without the High-End Price
At first glance the Asus G73SW desktop replacement laptop seems to get its inspiration from the F-117 Nighthawk stealth bomber. It's all angles, with a matte-black finish that looks both understated and killer at the same time.
Under the hood lurks a quad-core Intel Core i7 2630QM processor that has a base clock frequency of 2GHz but can push to 2.93GHz in Turbo Boost mode. Toss in 8GB of fast DDR3-1333 RAM plus an Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M discrete GPU with a dedicated 1.5GB frame buffer, and you have the guts of a dandy gaming system. The unit also benefits from a 17.3-inch, LED-backlit LCD offering 1920-by-1080-pixel HD resolution.
All that CPU and GPU horsepower won't be too much of a burden on already tight budgets. Our model, with a Blu-ray drive and a pair of Seagate 7200-rpm, 500GB hard drives, costs around $1650 (as of March 25, 2011). On the other hand, while your wallet may not feel the strain, your back and shoulders might if you lug this laptop around regularly. Without the 150W power brick, the G73SW weighs 8 pounds, 11 ounces--not terrible for a laptop in this class. That 150W power supply, however, adds a full 2 pounds to the load. Sure, the battery life is decent for this laptop category at nearly 3.5 hours; but if you plan on extended gaming sessions, you'll want to keep the power brick handy.
Overall gaming performance was a pleasant surprise. I was worried that the GTX 460M might be a little underpowered. Instead, the system chewed through our most demanding Far Cry 2 test, reaching over 56 frames per second. At the "high" setting, F1 2010 ran at 65 fps. Just Cause 2 took the system down a notch at ultrahigh settings, as the laptop eked out only 16 fps, but that game has a large number of settings that you can gradually dial down without causing a substantial reduction in visual quality. The G73SW also performed well on standard desktop applications, powering through our WorldBench 6 benchmark with a superb score of 128.
We found a few niggling shortcomings, however. The G73SW ships with a Blu-ray player, but the Roxio CinePlayer BD application's image quality seemed a little on the soft side; the program would occasionally crash on exit, too. Audio quality is good, provided you ensure that the included Creative THX TruStudio processing software is enabled. If you leave it disabled, the overall audio volume and sound quality are pretty weak. With TruStudio on, the sound quality and volume levels are much more pleasing.
The G73SW ships with plenty of ports, including four USB (two on each side; one of the right side ports is USB 3.0 capable). You'll also find HDMI and VGA video outputs, plus an SD Card slot. The Blu-ray disc-loading tray pops out on the left side, but two USB ports straddle the optical-drive bay. Ethernet and audio jacks also live on the left side.
The Asus design team did a great job of building in good ventilation to keep the unit cooled without generating disturbingly high noise levels. Yes, you can hear the cooling fans spin up under a heavy game load, but the effect is not as objectionable as it is on some other gaming laptops I've lived with. And if you're wearing a headset, you may not hear the fans at all.
The keyboard offers good tactile feedback, but the depth of key presses seems shallow compared with the feel of other gaming keyboards I've used. The spacing between keys is very good, and my overall impression is positive.
The storage configuration on our test unit seemed a little bizarre, however. The G73SW-A1 unit we tested arrived with a pair of Seagate 7200-rpm, 500GB hard drives. That is all well and good, but each drive shipped with two separate partitions, which results in four total partitions you need to manage. In a dual-drive system, I'd much prefer either two drives each with one big partition, or even a RAID 1 configuration for a little added data security.
Overall, the Asus G73SW offers good performance at a reasonable price. It isn't exactly svelte, but it isn't too much of a problem to carry around. Given the overall performance, that's not too big a burden at all.
Lenovo ThinkPad X220: A Best-of-Breed Ultraportable
The Lenovo ThinkPad X220 ultraportable laptop, which replaces the X201, is sure to be a hit with ThinkPad fans--as well as most everyone else. It's fast and light, it has a great 12.5-inch display, and it continues the company's tradition of superb input ergonomics, offering an innovative buttonless touchpad and a long-stroke keyboard. It also provides excellent battery life that you can stretch to a whopping 23 hours with a bottom-mounted battery slice. The downside? Not much, really. The laptop's boxy, businesslike appearance and somewhat cluttered keyboard deck might lack the sex appeal some users are looking for.
Exact prices for the various ThinkPad X220 configurations are unavailable at this time: The starting price should be $979, with additional costs for better CPUs, solid-state drives instead of standard hard drives, and more RAM. CPUs range from an Intel Core i3 to a Core i7, the unit accepts up to 8GB of system memory, and storage options start with a 160GB hard drive and end with a 160GB SSD. The aforementioned 12.5-inch, 1366-by-768-pixel display is available in two flavors: one with an IPS panel for wider viewing angles, and one without.
Our $1299 (as of March 25, 2011) test model--with its 2.5GHz Core i5-2520M processor, 4GB of DDR3 system memory, and 7200-rpm, 320GB hard drive--turned in an outstanding WorldBench 6 score of 122. Not only that, but its integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU actually managed playable frame rates in some of our lighter gaming tests, reaching 41 frames per second at 1024 by 768 in Unreal Tournament 3 with medium detail, and 32.5 fps with high detail. And 1080p movies, even the high-bit-rate variety, play as smoothly as you could wish. Performance for any task outside of enthusiast gaming and high-end 3D workstation applications is of no concern with the X220.
Some of the keys are a tad odd on the ThinkPad X220, such as the extralarge Esc and Delete keys above the main alphabetical keys. However, unlike other vendors' keyboard quirks, they help, not hinder your typing. As usual for Lenovo, the long-throw feel of the keyboard is nothing short of excellent. The touchpad is a buttonless design--you press down on the left or right front edge to click, which makes it easier to use than standard buttons when you're using the thumb and forefinger of one hand. Two normal buttons sit above the touchpad, and Lenovo's TrackPoint eraserhead pointing device is also in attendance. Mute buttons for the dual microphones and the 720p Webcam join the volume rocker and ThinkVantage (toolbox) buttons at the top of the keyboard deck.
The X220's battery life is outstanding, and you can enhance it with options. Our test machine, with its six-cell battery, ran for a cool 7 hours, 15 minutes. You may also opt for three-cell and nine-cell main batteries, for less weight or longer run times respectively, and add a bottom-mounted $179 battery slice. The slide adds 0.4 inch of thickness but nearly doubles battery life to over 14.5 hours. For world travelers, the extra 1.6 pounds of weight and bulk will be an acceptable trade-off.
The ports and connectivity on the X220 are top-notch. The system has three USB ports, one of which is powered (for charging cell phones and the like) even when the laptop isn't turned on. Optionally, with the i7 CPU, one port can be USB 3.0. You'll also find an ExpressCard slot, an SD Card slot, a Wi-Fi switch, a VGA port, and a gigabit ethernet port. A dock is available with a multiformat burner, Bluetooth is on board, and the Wi-Fi is dual-band 802.11n (2.4GHz and 5GHz). Our test laptop arrived with IBM's biometric finger-swipe sensor to facilitate security.
If there's anything you should be wary of with the X220, it's the number of "value-added" applications and unnecessary background processes. The Windows 7 Professional operating system has just about every software feature you need for a laptop, yet on our machine a quick glance at the Windows Task Manager revealed nearly 90 processes running and almost 30 percent memory usage--without one user application running. One or two of the background apps are worthwhile, such as the Bluetooth manager or the tool that shuts down the hard drive in case of a fall, but additional battery meters and Wi-Fi handlers are generally useless. A trial version of Norton Internet Security and Microsoft Office 2010 Starter are bundled.
ThinkPad users won't find anything mind-blowingly different about this latest addition to the X2xx series, but the improvements are noticeable and all enhance the usability of the system. If you're not looking for a supersexy laptop, or if you're trying to get away on the cheap, the Lenovo ThinkPad X220 is the best thing going in an ultraportable.
Exact prices for the various ThinkPad X220 configurations are unavailable at this time: The starting price should be $979, with additional costs for better CPUs, solid-state drives instead of standard hard drives, and more RAM. CPUs range from an Intel Core i3 to a Core i7, the unit accepts up to 8GB of system memory, and storage options start with a 160GB hard drive and end with a 160GB SSD. The aforementioned 12.5-inch, 1366-by-768-pixel display is available in two flavors: one with an IPS panel for wider viewing angles, and one without.
Our $1299 (as of March 25, 2011) test model--with its 2.5GHz Core i5-2520M processor, 4GB of DDR3 system memory, and 7200-rpm, 320GB hard drive--turned in an outstanding WorldBench 6 score of 122. Not only that, but its integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU actually managed playable frame rates in some of our lighter gaming tests, reaching 41 frames per second at 1024 by 768 in Unreal Tournament 3 with medium detail, and 32.5 fps with high detail. And 1080p movies, even the high-bit-rate variety, play as smoothly as you could wish. Performance for any task outside of enthusiast gaming and high-end 3D workstation applications is of no concern with the X220.
Some of the keys are a tad odd on the ThinkPad X220, such as the extralarge Esc and Delete keys above the main alphabetical keys. However, unlike other vendors' keyboard quirks, they help, not hinder your typing. As usual for Lenovo, the long-throw feel of the keyboard is nothing short of excellent. The touchpad is a buttonless design--you press down on the left or right front edge to click, which makes it easier to use than standard buttons when you're using the thumb and forefinger of one hand. Two normal buttons sit above the touchpad, and Lenovo's TrackPoint eraserhead pointing device is also in attendance. Mute buttons for the dual microphones and the 720p Webcam join the volume rocker and ThinkVantage (toolbox) buttons at the top of the keyboard deck.
The X220's battery life is outstanding, and you can enhance it with options. Our test machine, with its six-cell battery, ran for a cool 7 hours, 15 minutes. You may also opt for three-cell and nine-cell main batteries, for less weight or longer run times respectively, and add a bottom-mounted $179 battery slice. The slide adds 0.4 inch of thickness but nearly doubles battery life to over 14.5 hours. For world travelers, the extra 1.6 pounds of weight and bulk will be an acceptable trade-off.
The ports and connectivity on the X220 are top-notch. The system has three USB ports, one of which is powered (for charging cell phones and the like) even when the laptop isn't turned on. Optionally, with the i7 CPU, one port can be USB 3.0. You'll also find an ExpressCard slot, an SD Card slot, a Wi-Fi switch, a VGA port, and a gigabit ethernet port. A dock is available with a multiformat burner, Bluetooth is on board, and the Wi-Fi is dual-band 802.11n (2.4GHz and 5GHz). Our test laptop arrived with IBM's biometric finger-swipe sensor to facilitate security.
If there's anything you should be wary of with the X220, it's the number of "value-added" applications and unnecessary background processes. The Windows 7 Professional operating system has just about every software feature you need for a laptop, yet on our machine a quick glance at the Windows Task Manager revealed nearly 90 processes running and almost 30 percent memory usage--without one user application running. One or two of the background apps are worthwhile, such as the Bluetooth manager or the tool that shuts down the hard drive in case of a fall, but additional battery meters and Wi-Fi handlers are generally useless. A trial version of Norton Internet Security and Microsoft Office 2010 Starter are bundled.
ThinkPad users won't find anything mind-blowingly different about this latest addition to the X2xx series, but the improvements are noticeable and all enhance the usability of the system. If you're not looking for a supersexy laptop, or if you're trying to get away on the cheap, the Lenovo ThinkPad X220 is the best thing going in an ultraportable.
HP All in One 200
Touchscreens are a fairly big deal in the all-in-one desktop category, and when we come across models like HP's All-in-One 200 that lacks such a screen, we tend to get a bit antsy. Apple's offerings have proven that you don't need a touch-friendly display to excel on our chart of the Best Big Screen All-in-One PCs (screen sizes over 20 inches). Still, most models in the category these days offer multitouch, and you just can't help but want to reach out and touch a screen this attractive.
Despite the lack of touch functionality, the 21-inch HP All-in-One 200 ($780, as of 5/1/2010) makes a compelling package (check out our video review). Armed with a 2.7GHz Pentium E5400 processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), the All-in-One 200 earned a score of 104 on our WorldBench 6 test suite.
By comparison, Sony's Vaio L117FX/B and Gateway's One ZX6810-01 offered up a score 105. While these all pale in comparison with Apple's Core-i7 powered, 27-inch behemoth (it scored 128), the All-in-One 200 finds itself in very good company. For storage, HP included a 500GB hard drive--a generous amount, but the rest of the category has moved up to the 1TB range.
While general performance was on a par with the category's leaders, the All-in-One is saddled with integrated rather than discrete graphics, and as a result could not deliver playable frame rates on our Unreal Tournament 3 benchmark, at any resolution or quality setting.
The All-in-One 200 offers a fairly standard complement of interface connections. A pair of USB ports and a multiformat card reader are on the left side of the chassis, with five more USB ports on the rear. On the right side of the machine are the DVD burner and the brightness controls--a rather handy addition.
Missing are advanced connections like eSATA or FireWire, and extras such as an HDMI port would have been nice. The machine does offer 7.1-channel surround sound, which should make it easier to slide into your home theater setup. The audio quality of the built-in speaker bar isn't bad. While the sound might not fill an entire room, it is suitable for smaller spaces. If you're looking for proper bass, you'll still want to pick up a serious pair of speakers, but as it stands the audio quality is good enough.
The most important feature of any all-in-one PC is, of course, its display, and HP here offers a strong contender, with a native resolution of 1920-by-1080 pixels, making it just right for 1080p high-definition content. Video playback was stutter-free, with no motion blur noticeable on action-oriented test content.
Color reproduction on the LED backlit screen is nice, and details are preserved pretty well, without fuzziness or distortion, as we saw in a test image of white flowers arrayed against a white background, for example. The screen remains viewable from all but the most extreme angles, with no noticeable screen glare under standard fluorescent lighting.
As far as extras go, the All-in-One 200 has no real surprises. The bundled mouse is comfortable, but plain. The keyboard is standard HP fare, and comfortable enough to type on. It offers media playback controls by way of a function key, and has dedicated volume buttons. Both peripherals are wireless, which is always appreciated in the space-conscious all-in-one category.
The All-in-One 200's Webcam is less impressive, and likely won't be adequate for users looking beyond YouTube's standards. During our testing the microphone picked up quite a bit of background noise, and the video itself--even at the best quality settings--was fairly grainy.
There's a lot to like here: an attractive, space-saving chassis, strong performance, and a good 21-inch display. It might lack some of the features of comparable 23- and 24-inch models, but extras like a 1TB hard drive and a Blu-ray player would likely have pushed this machine well it out of its sub-$1000 price range. As it stands, if you're still not sold on Windows 7's touch functionality and want a fairly spacious screen (without paying a bundle for Apple's offerings), HP's All-in-One 200 is a great value.
The new Macbook Pro
Apple has been really thinking as of late. It came out with not one but two iPads in a relatively short amount of time. The iPhone 4 is causing the Apple community to buy, buy, and buy some more. I think that the best achievement of Apple is its new MacBook Pro with its sleek design and amazingly fast processors and graphics.
The MacBook Pro is held together with a single piece of crafted aluminum with redistributes the heat that is created when the computer is on. This advancement allows the computer to last longer than plastic-cased computers. With is new screen and HD FaceTime camera, this amazing computer has fast graphics and the ability to chat with friends and family with extremely bright and vivid colors. The MacBook Pro has a multi-touch pad and a compact design that allows users to take it anywhere and work faster with more options to choose from. It has processors and graphics that are 2x faster than regular PC computers and the long-lasting battery allows long hours of operation even when the Mac is running on battery power.
The performance is amazing with the Mac’s Core i7 drive and its HD screen which allows for perfected photo forming or Web site creation. It is now more economically and environmentally friendly with its long battery life and power management software. Fewer toxins and a body that allows for increased recycling tells the user that Apple is dedicated to the environment. The smaller box that is used to package the computer is completely recyclable and smaller, which saves trees and dollars in your wallet.
I would definitely recommend the MacBook Pro for all small and large businesses, home businesses, graphics projects, and other operations because with new software advances that are sure to come out in the future it is best to buy and buy big.
The MacBook Pro is held together with a single piece of crafted aluminum with redistributes the heat that is created when the computer is on. This advancement allows the computer to last longer than plastic-cased computers. With is new screen and HD FaceTime camera, this amazing computer has fast graphics and the ability to chat with friends and family with extremely bright and vivid colors. The MacBook Pro has a multi-touch pad and a compact design that allows users to take it anywhere and work faster with more options to choose from. It has processors and graphics that are 2x faster than regular PC computers and the long-lasting battery allows long hours of operation even when the Mac is running on battery power.
The performance is amazing with the Mac’s Core i7 drive and its HD screen which allows for perfected photo forming or Web site creation. It is now more economically and environmentally friendly with its long battery life and power management software. Fewer toxins and a body that allows for increased recycling tells the user that Apple is dedicated to the environment. The smaller box that is used to package the computer is completely recyclable and smaller, which saves trees and dollars in your wallet.
I would definitely recommend the MacBook Pro for all small and large businesses, home businesses, graphics projects, and other operations because with new software advances that are sure to come out in the future it is best to buy and buy big.
The Tigers Wife by Tea Obreth
The Tiger's Wife is set in an unnamed Balkan country after a civil war. Natalia is a doctor who travels across the new border to inoculate orphans. While there, locals dig up a vineyard looking for a dead relative. Her visit also coincides with her grandfather's death. She knew he was dying of cancer, but she doesn't understand why he traveled to a remote village to die alone. While trying to resolve this mystery, she remembers two of the tales he used to tell her. The first was a "deathless man," who never seemed to grow old. The other was about a tiger that escaped from a zoo during the Nazi invasion. It found a home in the forest outside the village. The villagers feared the tiger, except for two: an abused, deaf-mute woman, and a young boy who would become her grandfather. Tea Obreht's debut novel has received positive reviews with the New York Times saying, "Ms. Obreht has not only made a precocious debut, but she has also written a richly textured and searing novel." 
Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
In Sing You Home, Max and Zoe Baxter's marriage collapses under the strain of infertility, leaving behind three frozen embryos from in-vitro fertilization attempts. Zoe's life leads in a new direction, an attraction to a woman named Vanessa and a faux marriage in a bowling alley. Max turns to drink and moves in with his religious brother and his wife. Eventually, he comes under the influence of an ultraconservative preacher. Zoe wants to pursue starting a family with Vanessa, so she asks Max for his consent to use the frozen embryos. Spurred on by his new pastor, Max sues Zoe to have the embryos given to his brother and his wife instead. Jodi Picoult's novel has received positive reviews with BookReporter.com saying, "Regardless of where you stand on the issue of same-sex marriage and the ability of these couples to raise children, you cannot help but be compelled by the desires of Zoe, Max and Vanessa. The court case and its outcome is continuously unpredictable and will have readers glued to their chairs right up to the startling conclusion."
Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson
With Started Early, Took My Dog, Kate Atkinson brings back private investigator Jackson Brodie for the fourth time. He's been hired by an adoptee to find her birth parents, but he's also enjoying his time in rural parts of England. When he encounters a man abusing his dog, he attacks the man and takes the dog. Retired police officer Tracy Waterhouse sees a prostitute abusing a four-year-old girl, and in a moment of frustration and madness, buys the girl. Witnessing this transaction is Tilly, a soap opera actress suffering from moments of dementia. All their stories apparently are connected to a murder and missing child case from the 1970s. Kate Atkinson's novel has received positive reviews with the St. Petersburg Times saying, "She layers plots and time periods with consummate skill, creating novels that work like elegant jazz improvisations, taking us onto amazing yet believable paths that eventually weave together into an even more astonishing result. Each separate plot in Started Early, Took My Dog plays in its own way with the same themes: lost children, lost parents, found families. Themes as old as storytelling, but Atkinson, as always, brings something fresh to them."
Say Her Name by Fransisco Goldman
Say Her Name is Francisco Goldman's fictional memoir of his romance and short marriage to the much younger Aura Estrada. Two years after they were married, Aura died in a body surfing accident. This novel not only chronicles her life and their short time together, but the depths of his grief and his desire to keep her memory alive. Goldman revels in telling her story, and questions his role in her accidental death. Say Her Name has received positive reviews with the Boston Globe saying, "To call Francisco Goldman's book about the death of his young Mexican wife an elegy hardly represents it. Lament is closer, but insufficient. It is a chain of eruptions, a meteor shower; not just telling but bombarding us in a loss that glitters. With the power and fine temper of its writing, it is as much poem as prose." 
Emily, Alone
In Emily, Alone, Emily Maxwell is an elderly widow living a mostly isolated life. Her children don't visit enough and she's outlived many of her friends. She has a few rituals, one of them being accompanying her sister-in-law Arlene to a two-for-one breakfast buffet. When Arlene collapses at the buffet, Emily is forced to do something she hasn't done in decades, drive a car. This simple change to her life brings a freedom and independence to her life that she hadn't realized she had missed. In many ways, though, Emily's life stays rooted in the past while life moves on all around her. Stewart O'Nan's novel has received positive reviews with the Boston Globe saying, "This quiet novel unfolds in chapters that feel like short stories, with a pause inviting reflection at the end of each. The effect is one of richness and insight. At times, Emily feels that death would be a welcome caller, and while preparing her children for that eventuality, the novel ends with the sense that she's reluctant to go. The reader is equally reluctant to see her story end." 
Just Five More Minutes
While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground.
“That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide.
“He’s a fine looking boy” the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.”
Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. “What do you say we go, Melissa?”
Melissa pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes.”
The man nodded and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart’s content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. “Time to go now?”
Again Melissa pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.”
The man smiled and said, “OK.”
“My, you certainly are a patient father,” the woman responded.
The man smiled and then said, “Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa.
She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get Five more minutes to watch her play.”
Life is all about making priorities, what are your priorities?
Give someone you love 5 more minutes of your time today!
“That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide.
“He’s a fine looking boy” the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.”
Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. “What do you say we go, Melissa?”
Melissa pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes.”
The man nodded and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart’s content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. “Time to go now?”
Again Melissa pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.”
The man smiled and said, “OK.”
“My, you certainly are a patient father,” the woman responded.
The man smiled and then said, “Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa.
She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get Five more minutes to watch her play.”
Life is all about making priorities, what are your priorities?
Give someone you love 5 more minutes of your time today!
Trees That Wood
Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."
Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."
Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter" ... and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.
At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree so I'll take this one", and he cut it down.
When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.
Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.
The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.
Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."
Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter" ... and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.
At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree so I'll take this one", and he cut it down.
When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.
Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.
The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth: Back Together?!?
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth... take 27?
A couple days after the singer told an Australian newspaper that she has a boyfriend, sources have identified that love interest as none other than Liam Hemsworth, the actor who has been off and on with Miley for years.
"They've been hanging out a lot," a friend of Liam's tells E! News. "They've been trying to do it away from the cameras."
Hemsworth will be reportedly accompany Cyrus to his native land, as she stops by Australia during her Gypsy Heart tour on June 21.
So, can we count on another long run for Miam? An insider simply says the two are "taking it slow and just enjoying each other's company." Naked company, that is!
Tags: Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth, Celebrity Couples
A couple days after the singer told an Australian newspaper that she has a boyfriend, sources have identified that love interest as none other than Liam Hemsworth, the actor who has been off and on with Miley for years.
"They've been hanging out a lot," a friend of Liam's tells E! News. "They've been trying to do it away from the cameras."
Hemsworth will be reportedly accompany Cyrus to his native land, as she stops by Australia during her Gypsy Heart tour on June 21.
So, can we count on another long run for Miam? An insider simply says the two are "taking it slow and just enjoying each other's company." Naked company, that is!
Tags: Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth, Celebrity Couples
Justin Bieber Serenades Mom With Birthday Cake, Momentarily Sets Her Hair on Fire
Justin Bieber’s mom got quite the a birthday surprise this weekend.
While on tour in Madrid, Spain, the teen pop star brought his stunned mom on stage where he had a cake waiting. “Mom, where are you?” he asked fans.
A genuinely shocked Pattie Mallette Bieber stumbled on stage in front of thousands of screaming 'tweens, mouthing to her son, “Oh my god! Thank you!”
“This is for you, and I need everyone to sing happy birthday,” Justin Bieber said, as the audience sang in unison. Then things almost went very wrong ...As Pattie blew out the candles, unbeknownst to her, a bit of her hair quickly caught on fire. Luckily, J came to her aid. He is perfect, after all. Immaculate.
While on tour in Madrid, Spain, the teen pop star brought his stunned mom on stage where he had a cake waiting. “Mom, where are you?” he asked fans.
A genuinely shocked Pattie Mallette Bieber stumbled on stage in front of thousands of screaming 'tweens, mouthing to her son, “Oh my god! Thank you!”
“This is for you, and I need everyone to sing happy birthday,” Justin Bieber said, as the audience sang in unison. Then things almost went very wrong ...As Pattie blew out the candles, unbeknownst to her, a bit of her hair quickly caught on fire. Luckily, J came to her aid. He is perfect, after all. Immaculate.
Ryan Murphy Makes Up with Kings of Leon
Elton John recently referred to Kings of Leon as "assholes" and told them to "chill out" over their refusal to allow Glee to cover their single "Use Somebody" on an episode.
But series creator Ryan Murphy no longer has such harsh words for the band.
A few months after the producer and drummer Nathan Followill got really personal (the latter made a few digs at Murphy's sexuality), Murphy has released the following statement:
I support artists and what they choose to do... I think Kings of Leon are cool as shit. The Foo Fighters are brilliant. We'd love to do one [of] their songs, if they were ever interested. But if it's not their thing, then OK. I personally wish them luck, will still listen to their music.
I'm really proud of the fact that we can introduce songs to younger kids or their parents because I'm the biggest music fan. The show is about the love of performing and arts education - things I think are very special.
Are Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart on a Break?
Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon presented Sunday night at the Academy of Country Music Awards and looked adorable while doing it.
But is there an ugly story behind this event? According to Great Britain's The Daily Mirror, Kristen Stewart was originally scheduled to accompany Robert to the ceremony. However, she did not show up because the couple is "on a break."
While Stewart, Pattinson and the Twilight Saga cast are filming Breaking Dawn in Vancouver, Rob is often away from set in order to promote Water for Elephants. Their lack of time together has caused a rift, an insider claims:
“The excuses why they couldn’t meet up basically got weaker and weaker, and Rob figured they should officially cool things off and have some time to figure out what they each want.
"There have been a few tears but the pair remain friendly. Kristen is hopeful of a reconciliation once Rob has finished promotion for his latest movie. But as things stand, they’re on a break and just mates.”
Then again, the couple was spotted together on a date just a few weeks ago. So we'll leave it up to readers whether or not they wish to believe this latest rumor.
But is there an ugly story behind this event? According to Great Britain's The Daily Mirror, Kristen Stewart was originally scheduled to accompany Robert to the ceremony. However, she did not show up because the couple is "on a break."
“The excuses why they couldn’t meet up basically got weaker and weaker, and Rob figured they should officially cool things off and have some time to figure out what they each want.
"There have been a few tears but the pair remain friendly. Kristen is hopeful of a reconciliation once Rob has finished promotion for his latest movie. But as things stand, they’re on a break and just mates.”
Then again, the couple was spotted together on a date just a few weeks ago. So we'll leave it up to readers whether or not they wish to believe this latest rumor.
Angelina Jolie to Adopt Seventh Child? New Tattoo Prompts Speculation
Is Angelina Jolie ready to adopt once again?
During her U.N. goodwill trip to the Tunisia-Libya border this week, the actress was photographed showing a tattoo of a new set of map coordinates on her arm.
The coordinates, as you probably know, mark the birthplaces of her six children - the first three adopted, the next three biological with partner Brad Pitt.
So is #7 on the way?
It's unclear, although the numbers are there. The coordinates are hard to read, but the North African region Jolie is visiting would be an appropriate choice.
A source close to Jolie warns not to read too much into her skin art, but you have to wonder. It does fit the pattern of the other SIX TATTOOS right there.
Those coordinates mark the births of:
Maddox, 9, from Cambodia
Pax, 7, from Vietnam
Zahara, 6, from Ethiopia
Shiloh, 4, born in Namibia
Vivienne and Knox, 2 born in France
What do you think? Is a Libyan refugee about to join the family? Is there any celebrity cooler than Angelina Jolie? Sound off in the comments below.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Norton Antivirus 2011
Whether you love it or hate it, you know the Norton name. Symantec has been in the business so long it must be tough to come up with a new version each year, right? Well, you wouldn't know it looking at Norton AntiVirus 2011 ($39.99 direct). The product's appearance continues to evolve, and it includes some interesting new features. It scored very well in my tests, though not always at the very top.
Installs in Minutes
Installation is extremely quick and simple. A few minutes after you click "Agree and Install" you're ready to activate and register the product. Yes, it needs a definition update for peak protection, but it normally performs that update during idle time. Naturally I forced a full update before running my tests.
More than half of my malware-infested test systems requested a reboot soon after installation to finish removing active threats. When Norton wouldn't start correctly on one system, the One Click Support screen appeared automatically with a recommendation to fix the problem; it worked.
A full scan of my standard clean system took almost 50 minutes, twice as long as the average. However, by first running an application ratings scan to identify known good programs I cut the scan time down to barely over two minutes—that's fast! Normally this scan for known good programs would happen automatically during idle time.;
New in the 2011 edition, the Norton Insight Network window displays up-to-the-minute statistics on how many files have been identified as good or bad using input from the Norton community. Along the same lines, the new reputation scan examines all files on your disk and reports on three significant stats: trust level, age, and prevalence. Older and more widespread files are naturally considered safer than very new or very uncommon files.
High Scores from the Labs
For years, Norton has consistently received the VB100% award from Virus Bulletin. Both ICSA Labs and West Coast Labs certify Norton technology for virus detection and removal; West Coast adds several additional checkmark certifications. AV-Comparatives rated Norton ADVANCED+ (the top rating) for on-demand malware removal and ADVANCED for proactive detection of new malware. That parallels my own tests, in which Norton outscored the rest for removal but not for blocking.
Both AV-Comparatives and AV-Test ran special real-world tests last year. In the dynamic test by AV-Comparatives only Norton and Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 ($79.95, ) received an ADVANCED+ rating. AV-Test challenged a dozen security products to protect test systems from real-world current threats over a period of two months. Norton detected the most threats, but PC Tools Internet Security 2010 ($49.95, ) edged it into second place for most thorough protection.
Just this August, AV-Test evaluated a collection of security products and rated them on ease of use, success at repairing malware infestations, and overall protection. Kaspersky, Norton and Panda Internet Security 2010 ($49.95, ) shared the top score, with 5 or 5.5 points in each category.
Thorought Malware Cleanup
Norton's full antivirus scan went smoothly on all thirteen of my malware-infested test systems. In most cases, Norton took care of all the threats it found and simply reported on its success at the end—I like that. For low-risk threats or threats whose removal might force closing active programs, Norton asked for permission first. Most of the systems needed a reboot after scan to complete the cleanup process.
At the bottom of the results screen there's a little note: "If you think there are still risks, click here." Doing so takes you to the download page for Norton Power Eraser. This tool performs a more aggressive scan than Norton AntiVirus alone. That means it can remove more threats, but there's also a chance it will flag a valid file as malicious. Symantec points out that any false positives will be uncommon files, since Norton Insight whitelists known good files that are widely used. For testing, though, I just used Norton AntiVirus without piling on Norton Power Eraser.
Norton detected 89 percent of the assorted threats, matching Panda Antivirus Pro 2011 ($50.95, ) and Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2010 ($39.95, ). However, Norton was significantly more effective than the other two at removing what it found. It cleaned up almost every trace for nearly half of the threats it found and achieved a malware removal score of 7.9, the highest yet with my current malware collection.
Norton detected 78 percent of the scareware (rogue antivirus) threats. Four other products detected more, but Norton's removal was very effective. With 7.8 points, it came very close to the top scareware removers Ad-Aware Pro Internet Security 8.3 ($29.95, ) and Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46 (Free, ), both of which got 8.1 points.
In a separate test using commercial keyloggers in place of malware Norton again scored well but not at the top. It detected 86 percent of the threats while Webroot AntiVirus with Spy Sweeper 2011 ($39.95, ) and Spyware Doctor caught 93 percent. Webroot definitely won this test with 7.8 points compared to Norton's 6.9.
Installs in Minutes
Installation is extremely quick and simple. A few minutes after you click "Agree and Install" you're ready to activate and register the product. Yes, it needs a definition update for peak protection, but it normally performs that update during idle time. Naturally I forced a full update before running my tests.
More than half of my malware-infested test systems requested a reboot soon after installation to finish removing active threats. When Norton wouldn't start correctly on one system, the One Click Support screen appeared automatically with a recommendation to fix the problem; it worked.
A full scan of my standard clean system took almost 50 minutes, twice as long as the average. However, by first running an application ratings scan to identify known good programs I cut the scan time down to barely over two minutes—that's fast! Normally this scan for known good programs would happen automatically during idle time.;
New in the 2011 edition, the Norton Insight Network window displays up-to-the-minute statistics on how many files have been identified as good or bad using input from the Norton community. Along the same lines, the new reputation scan examines all files on your disk and reports on three significant stats: trust level, age, and prevalence. Older and more widespread files are naturally considered safer than very new or very uncommon files.
High Scores from the Labs
For years, Norton has consistently received the VB100% award from Virus Bulletin. Both ICSA Labs and West Coast Labs certify Norton technology for virus detection and removal; West Coast adds several additional checkmark certifications. AV-Comparatives rated Norton ADVANCED+ (the top rating) for on-demand malware removal and ADVANCED for proactive detection of new malware. That parallels my own tests, in which Norton outscored the rest for removal but not for blocking.
Both AV-Comparatives and AV-Test ran special real-world tests last year. In the dynamic test by AV-Comparatives only Norton and Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 ($79.95, ) received an ADVANCED+ rating. AV-Test challenged a dozen security products to protect test systems from real-world current threats over a period of two months. Norton detected the most threats, but PC Tools Internet Security 2010 ($49.95, ) edged it into second place for most thorough protection.
Just this August, AV-Test evaluated a collection of security products and rated them on ease of use, success at repairing malware infestations, and overall protection. Kaspersky, Norton and Panda Internet Security 2010 ($49.95, ) shared the top score, with 5 or 5.5 points in each category.
Thorought Malware Cleanup
Norton's full antivirus scan went smoothly on all thirteen of my malware-infested test systems. In most cases, Norton took care of all the threats it found and simply reported on its success at the end—I like that. For low-risk threats or threats whose removal might force closing active programs, Norton asked for permission first. Most of the systems needed a reboot after scan to complete the cleanup process.
At the bottom of the results screen there's a little note: "If you think there are still risks, click here." Doing so takes you to the download page for Norton Power Eraser. This tool performs a more aggressive scan than Norton AntiVirus alone. That means it can remove more threats, but there's also a chance it will flag a valid file as malicious. Symantec points out that any false positives will be uncommon files, since Norton Insight whitelists known good files that are widely used. For testing, though, I just used Norton AntiVirus without piling on Norton Power Eraser.
Norton detected 89 percent of the assorted threats, matching Panda Antivirus Pro 2011 ($50.95, ) and Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2010 ($39.95, ). However, Norton was significantly more effective than the other two at removing what it found. It cleaned up almost every trace for nearly half of the threats it found and achieved a malware removal score of 7.9, the highest yet with my current malware collection.
Norton detected 78 percent of the scareware (rogue antivirus) threats. Four other products detected more, but Norton's removal was very effective. With 7.8 points, it came very close to the top scareware removers Ad-Aware Pro Internet Security 8.3 ($29.95, ) and Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46 (Free, ), both of which got 8.1 points.
In a separate test using commercial keyloggers in place of malware Norton again scored well but not at the top. It detected 86 percent of the threats while Webroot AntiVirus with Spy Sweeper 2011 ($39.95, ) and Spyware Doctor caught 93 percent. Webroot definitely won this test with 7.8 points compared to Norton's 6.9.
Don't Give Up Easily!
"Ingatlah selalu akan Dia, yang tekun menanggung bantahan yang sehebat itu terhadap diri-Nya dari pihak orang-orang berdosa, supaya jangan kamu menjadi lemah dan putus asa."
Ibrani 12:3
One day I was ongoing to church I see a noodle seller with his gerobak. Because there is someone that will order he directly prepare his chicken noodle. There is no diffrent in his grobak with the other grobak, but suddenly there is something that was very interesting. In that grobak there is word "MIE AYAM PANTANG MENYERAH" with red colour. We don't know what incident that happen in the noodle seller so the noodle named the grobak like that. It can be that the noodle seller often get his noodle not buyed and he named his gerobak like that so it can motivated him.
From here, we can see that that noodle seller has that kind of thinking, so how about us, God children?. In life every of us must had bad experience. But it's not the important thing. The important thing is how could we can survive, even rise to search way out from our problem.
Ibrani 12:3
One day I was ongoing to church I see a noodle seller with his gerobak. Because there is someone that will order he directly prepare his chicken noodle. There is no diffrent in his grobak with the other grobak, but suddenly there is something that was very interesting. In that grobak there is word "MIE AYAM PANTANG MENYERAH" with red colour. We don't know what incident that happen in the noodle seller so the noodle named the grobak like that. It can be that the noodle seller often get his noodle not buyed and he named his gerobak like that so it can motivated him.
From here, we can see that that noodle seller has that kind of thinking, so how about us, God children?. In life every of us must had bad experience. But it's not the important thing. The important thing is how could we can survive, even rise to search way out from our problem.
Kasih Yang Ikut Merasakan
"Sebab Imam Besar yang kita punya, bukanlah imam besar yang tidak dapat turut merasakan kelemahan-kelemahan kita, sebaliknhya sama dengan kita, Ia telah dicobai, hanya tidak berbuat dosa."
Ibrani 4:15
There was a little boy that come to a pet shop with many animal from cat, dog, etc. This children bring some of his money and ask the owner of the shop, what animal that can he buy with his money. And then the owner answer that his money just can afford a puppy. The owner of that shop bring that little child to cage that filled with many cute puppy. This little boy take a look for a while at those puppy. Suddenly that little boy quiet for a while and smile. He picked a puppy that he want. But the owner of that shop don't allow him to buy the puppy because the puppy is lame and will cannot accompany him to play with him. But the child keep picking that puppy. Finally the shop owner allow him to buy that puppy because the little boy keep picking that puppy. When the little boy go home and bring his puppy, The owner get shocked because he just realize that that boy is lame too.
This boy know what is the problem of the puppy and because of that he very love that puppy.It was same as Jesus, he knows and can feel all of our problem. So, If we in all condition, belief that we are not alone, because there is God that care and really love us.
Ibrani 4:15
There was a little boy that come to a pet shop with many animal from cat, dog, etc. This children bring some of his money and ask the owner of the shop, what animal that can he buy with his money. And then the owner answer that his money just can afford a puppy. The owner of that shop bring that little child to cage that filled with many cute puppy. This little boy take a look for a while at those puppy. Suddenly that little boy quiet for a while and smile. He picked a puppy that he want. But the owner of that shop don't allow him to buy the puppy because the puppy is lame and will cannot accompany him to play with him. But the child keep picking that puppy. Finally the shop owner allow him to buy that puppy because the little boy keep picking that puppy. When the little boy go home and bring his puppy, The owner get shocked because he just realize that that boy is lame too.
This boy know what is the problem of the puppy and because of that he very love that puppy.It was same as Jesus, he knows and can feel all of our problem. So, If we in all condition, belief that we are not alone, because there is God that care and really love us.
Every Cloud has a Silver Lining
"dan ketekunan menimbulkan tahan uji dan tahan uji menimbulkan pengharapan"
Roma 5:4
Have not you see the clouds around it there is a silver line? the sun behind the clouds, causing a cloud of silver-striped. Try perhatiin, if the sky was cloudy and the sun obscured by clouds, usually appear on the silver lining around the cloud is beautiful. The title above is a proverb in English, which means that in every issue (cloud) there is hope (the sun).
In a new book of Romans we read, it is said that suffering brings perseverance. Why can? Yes, of course, with problems that come, we will be more diligent in the Lord, pray diligently, diligently read the bible, correct or not? and then after that, persistence will be triggered disqualified. Just as gold is purified. So if gold is tested, the results would be very good. Purification previously passed is painful but the results are very good, right? Gold becomes pure and expensive. Then stand the test it would lead to the hope of Christ.
So, if we're to face whatever the problem, small or large, be glad because we have hope in Christ. Although the clouds in front of our big problems at all so that we can not see the bright sun, always remember that behind the cloud, there must be the sun that always shines. As you face, there is always Jesus who became our hope.
Roma 5:4
Have not you see the clouds around it there is a silver line? the sun behind the clouds, causing a cloud of silver-striped. Try perhatiin, if the sky was cloudy and the sun obscured by clouds, usually appear on the silver lining around the cloud is beautiful. The title above is a proverb in English, which means that in every issue (cloud) there is hope (the sun).
In a new book of Romans we read, it is said that suffering brings perseverance. Why can? Yes, of course, with problems that come, we will be more diligent in the Lord, pray diligently, diligently read the bible, correct or not? and then after that, persistence will be triggered disqualified. Just as gold is purified. So if gold is tested, the results would be very good. Purification previously passed is painful but the results are very good, right? Gold becomes pure and expensive. Then stand the test it would lead to the hope of Christ.
So, if we're to face whatever the problem, small or large, be glad because we have hope in Christ. Although the clouds in front of our big problems at all so that we can not see the bright sun, always remember that behind the cloud, there must be the sun that always shines. As you face, there is always Jesus who became our hope.
The Cliffs of Moher
The Cliffs of Moher (Irish: Aillte an Mhothair, lit. cliffs of the ruin, also known as the Cliffs of Mohair) are located in the parish of Liscannor at the south-western edge of the Burren area near Doolin, which is located in County Clare, Ireland.
The cliffs rise 120 meters (394 ft) above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag's Head (Irish: Ceann na Cailleach), and reach their maximum height of 214 meters (702 ft) just north of O'Brien's Tower, eight kilometres away. The views from the cliffs attract close to one million visitors per year. On a clear day, the Aran Islands are visible in Galway Bay, as are the valleys and hills of Connemara.
O'Brien's Tower is a round stone tower at the approximate midpoint of the cliffs. It was built by Sir Cornelius O'Brien, a descendant of Ireland's High King Brian Boru, in order to impress female visitors. From atop that watchtower, visitors can view the Aran Islands and Galway Bay, the Maum Turk Mountains and the Twelve Pins to the north in Connemara, and Loop Head to the south.
The cliffs rise 120 meters (394 ft) above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag's Head (Irish: Ceann na Cailleach), and reach their maximum height of 214 meters (702 ft) just north of O'Brien's Tower, eight kilometres away. The views from the cliffs attract close to one million visitors per year. On a clear day, the Aran Islands are visible in Galway Bay, as are the valleys and hills of Connemara.
O'Brien's Tower is a round stone tower at the approximate midpoint of the cliffs. It was built by Sir Cornelius O'Brien, a descendant of Ireland's High King Brian Boru, in order to impress female visitors. From atop that watchtower, visitors can view the Aran Islands and Galway Bay, the Maum Turk Mountains and the Twelve Pins to the north in Connemara, and Loop Head to the south.
The Grand Canyon
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. The extended Times Square area, also called the Theatre District, consists of the blocks between Sixth and Eighth Avenues from east to west, and West 40th and West 53rd Streets from south to north, making up the western part of the commercial area of Midtown Manhattan.
Formerly named Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building, which is now called One Times Square and is the site of the annual ball drop on New Year's Eve. Times Square, nicknamed "The Crossroads of the World" and "The Great White Way," has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and is a symbol of New York City and the United States.[1]
The northern triangle of Times Square is technically Duffy Square dedicated in 1937 to Chaplain Francis P. Duffy of New York City's "Fighting 69th" Infantry Regiment; a memorial to Duffy is located there, along with a statue of George M. Cohan, and the TKTS discount theatre tickets booth. The stepped red roof of the the TKTS booth also provides seating for various events. The Duffy Statue and the square were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Formerly named Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building, which is now called One Times Square and is the site of the annual ball drop on New Year's Eve. Times Square, nicknamed "The Crossroads of the World" and "The Great White Way," has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and is a symbol of New York City and the United States.[1]
The northern triangle of Times Square is technically Duffy Square dedicated in 1937 to Chaplain Francis P. Duffy of New York City's "Fighting 69th" Infantry Regiment; a memorial to Duffy is located there, along with a statue of George M. Cohan, and the TKTS discount theatre tickets booth. The stepped red roof of the the TKTS booth also provides seating for various events. The Duffy Statue and the square were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The Niagara Falls
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. The extended Times Square area, also called the Theatre District, consists of the blocks between Sixth and Eighth Avenues from east to west, and West 40th and West 53rd Streets from south to north, making up the western part of the commercial area of Midtown Manhattan.
Formerly named Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building, which is now called One Times Square and is the site of the annual ball drop on New Year's Eve. Times Square, nicknamed "The Crossroads of the World" and "The Great White Way," has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and is a symbol of New York City and the United States.
The northern triangle of Times Square is technically Duffy Square dedicated in 1937 to Chaplain Francis P. Duffy of New York City's "Fighting 69th" Infantry Regiment; a memorial to Duffy is located there, along with a statue of George M. Cohan, and the TKTS discount theatre tickets booth. The stepped red roof of the the TKTS booth also provides seating for various events. The Duffy Statue and the square were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Formerly named Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building, which is now called One Times Square and is the site of the annual ball drop on New Year's Eve. Times Square, nicknamed "The Crossroads of the World" and "The Great White Way," has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and is a symbol of New York City and the United States.
The northern triangle of Times Square is technically Duffy Square dedicated in 1937 to Chaplain Francis P. Duffy of New York City's "Fighting 69th" Infantry Regiment; a memorial to Duffy is located there, along with a statue of George M. Cohan, and the TKTS discount theatre tickets booth. The stepped red roof of the the TKTS booth also provides seating for various events. The Duffy Statue and the square were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. The extended Times Square area, also called the Theatre District, consists of the blocks between Sixth and Eighth Avenues from east to west, and West 40th and West 53rd Streets from south to north, making up the western part of the commercial area of Midtown Manhattan.
Formerly named Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building, which is now called One Times Square and is the site of the annual ball drop on New Year's Eve. Times Square, nicknamed "The Crossroads of the World" and "The Great White Way," has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and is a symbol of New York City and the United States.
The northern triangle of Times Square is technically Duffy Square dedicated in 1937 to Chaplain Francis P. Duffy of New York City's "Fighting 69th" Infantry Regiment; a memorial to Duffy is located there, along with a statue of George M. Cohan, and the TKTS discount theatre tickets booth. The stepped red roof of the the TKTS booth also provides seating for various events. The Duffy Statue and the square were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Formerly named Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building, which is now called One Times Square and is the site of the annual ball drop on New Year's Eve. Times Square, nicknamed "The Crossroads of the World" and "The Great White Way," has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and is a symbol of New York City and the United States.
The northern triangle of Times Square is technically Duffy Square dedicated in 1937 to Chaplain Francis P. Duffy of New York City's "Fighting 69th" Infantry Regiment; a memorial to Duffy is located there, along with a statue of George M. Cohan, and the TKTS discount theatre tickets booth. The stepped red roof of the the TKTS booth also provides seating for various events. The Duffy Statue and the square were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Petra, Jordan
Petra is the treasure of ancient world, hidden behind an almost impenetrable barrier of rugged mountains, boasting incomparable scenes that make it the most majestic and imposing ancient site still-standing nowadays.. It has been said "perhaps there is nothing in the world that resembles it", actually, for sure, there is nothing in the world that resembles it. The rock-carved rose-red city of Petra is full of mysterious charm, it was "designed to strike wonder into all who entered it".
Petra is considered the most famous and gorgeous site in Jordan located about 262 km south of Amman and 133 km north of Aqaba. It is the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in southern Jordan more than 2000 years ago. Admired then for its refined culture, massive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels, Petra is now a UNESCO world heritage site and one of The New 7 Wonders of the World that enchants visitors from all corners of the globe.
The approach through a kilometer long, cool, and gloom chasm (or Siq) a long narrow gorge whose steeply rising sides all but obliterate the sun, provides a dramatic contrast with the magic to come. Suddenly the gorge opens into a natural square dominated by Petra's most famous monument, The Treasury (El-Khazneh), whose intricately carved facade glows in the dazzling sun.
The Lincoln Lawyer
Directed by Brad Furman from a screenplay by John Romano, based on the novel by Michael Connelly, the cast also includes Marisa Tomei, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Frances Fisher, Bob Gunton, Laurence Mason, with Bryan Cranston and William H. Macy. Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment present a Lakeshore Entertainment Lionsgate production in association with Sidney Kimmel Entertainment Stone Village Pictures.
Limitless
Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro star in Limitless, a paranoia-fueled action thriller about an unpublished writer whose life is transformed by a top-secret “smart drug” that allows him to use 100% of his brain and become a perfect version of himself. His enhanced abilities soon attract shadowy forces that threaten his new life in this darkly comic and provocative film.
Aspiring author Eddie Morra (Cooper) is suffering from chronic writer’s block, but his life changes instantly when an old friend introduces him to NZT, a revolutionary new pharmaceutical that allows him to tap his full potential. With every synapse crackling, Eddie can recall everything he has ever read, seen or heard, learn any language in a day, comprehend complex equations and beguile anyone he meets—as long as he keeps taking the untested drug.
Soon Eddie takes Wall Street by storm, parlaying a small stake into millions. His accomplishments catch the eye of mega-mogul Carl Van Loon (De Niro), who invites him to help broker the largest merger in corporate history. But they also bring Eddie to the attention of people willing to do anything to get their hands on his stash of NZT. With his life in jeopardy and the drug’s brutal side effects grinding him down, Eddie dodges mysterious stalkers, a vicious gangster and an intense police investigation as he attempts to hang on to his dwindling supply long enough to outwit his enemies.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
"Transformers 3" features Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) taking his first tenuous steps into adulthood while remaining a reluctant human ally of Optimus Prime. The film centers around the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the USA, suggesting there was a hidden Transformers role in it all that remains one of the planet's most dangerous secrets. The villain of the third film will be Shockwave.
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