text:
You love your animals, you love your parent's, and you love your t-shirt. Love is like a hat, you feel warm in it, and you like how it looks, but when it gets old, you throw it out, or when a new hat comes out, you want it.
From Taylor Swift and Joe Jonas to Miley Cyrus and Nick Jonas, these celebrities are even young adults and they supposedly 'loved' each other, but then why is it that it didn't last? Are we simply fooling ourselves over boredom and loneliness, or is love just a trend running through schools today?
And then you look in these magazines and on TV, do you know how many couples break up over work and cheating, the likely hood of getting married from teenage hood is low, and we just need to face reality.
In my opinion, we shouldn't be caring about whose dating who, and who's hot and whose not. We should be enjoying life, and being young. You only get to be a child once, and you shouldn't just give love away like an article of clothing.
Yes, young love has happened, and can be true. But you have to ask yourself, is your love puppy love or real love. Young love is running in our society today, and it is not always bad. But people need to start realizing that there are more important things in life, then dating the popular guy in high school, enjoy your childhood, because before you know it, you are going to be a adult, and you can't go back, it's not the end of the world, if you pay attention to your school grades and not on boys or girls. There's plenty of time to find true love, and teenagers are getting too caught up.
Maybe if teenagers today started focusing and loving themselves, they'd be a happier and more successful person. And eventually instead of them looking for love, true love will finally reach them.


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A lot has happened in the three and half years since the Nintendo DS made its UK debut.
We've seen a whole new generation of home consoles in the shape of the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.
Then there was the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) - a handheld that teamed superior on-the-go gaming performance with the ability to playback audio and video files too. And now we have game-toting multi-tasking iPhone and iPod touch.
So where does that leave the Nintendo DS?
The good stuff
At its UK launch in March 2005, the Nintendo DS had three great strengths:
1) It was truly portable. Its 133mm x 73.9mm x 21.5mm dimensions and light 218g weight meant you really could stick it in your shirt pocket.
2) It had some brilliantly innovative games and gaming features - the mind-melting tasks found in Professor Kawashima's Brain Training, or innovative use of the built-in microphone or Hotel Dusk: Room 215, for example.
3) Long playing times - up to 19 hours at minimum brightness setting.
Nintendo cleverly also made a virtue of the DS's compact size, with two colour displays - one in the lid, flanked by stereo speakers, for the visuals; and a second touchscreen in the base for certain gameplay controls which could be accessed using a stylus, or a finger.
Much of Nintendo DS Lite's success - it's chalked up 20 million sales in Europe since 2005 - is down to the quality of its games.
Compared to Sony's PSP (which arrived in September 2005), the Nintendo DS's games catalogue has been broader, more innovative and exciting.
It hasn't seem to matter than DS's graphics performance was sub-par, or that it relied on horrible chip music and reams of tiny on-screen text.
That's probably because, like the Wii, much of the DS's appeal lies with casual as well as hardcore gamers - just look at the range of titles obviously aimed at girls and young women, for example.
Where it's all gone wrong
Despite all of its innovative features and games, time hasn't been very kind to the Nintendo DS.
It's easily bested on spec by rivals like the PlayStation Portable and iPod touch, both of which have been revamped in the years since the DS made its debut.
One key differentiator is the size of the twin displays on the Nintendo compared to its rivals. The DS has two 7.62cm displays offering a non-widescreen 4:3 aspect ratio; the new iPod touch boasts an 8.9cm widescreen display; while the PSP packs a 10.9cm widescreen display.
What a waste
Sadly Nintendo could have easily added a bigger main display from the get-go. Even a casual glance at the DS reveals vast amounts of wasted real estate surround the main display - suggesting that Nintendo could have - should have - snuck in a widescreen version without increasing the DS's overall size.
No doubt this was due to the need to hit a £99.99 price point, but having such a small screen also means you squint a lot - not good.
Grim graphics
The small screen size also belies another increasingly painful failing of the Nintendo DS. Graphically it easily bested by the PlayStation Portable in late 2005, but even the Apple iPhone and iPod touch now give it graphical going over.
Just try comparing the graphics of Lego Star Wars titles on both the DS and the PSP and you'll realise what a huge gulf exists between the two. Crap graphics plus tiny display does not a great gaming experience make.
The Nintendo DS interface also looks rather inadequate compared to the iPhone.
While you wouldn't want to dispense with the DS's physical keypad and control buttons, adding motion sensors like those in the iPhone - or even the Wiimote come to that - would add a whole new dimension to gaming on the DS.
Finger tip control on the touchscreen, perhaps with haptic feedback, would also help bring the DS up to date.
So what should Nintendo do now?
Here are seven things we'd like to see in the next Nintendo DS:
1) A bigger, higher resolution display
2) Much better graphics performance
3) Bluetooth A2DP for wireless audio,
4) iPhone-like touch controls and motion sensing
5) World-class web-surfing and email capability via Wi-Fi
6) Better sound to match that bigger screen
7) The ability to sync games and other content to a Mac or PC

subset: commoncrawl


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The Game, "Jesus Piece" (Interscope Records)
The Game returns with a heavy dose of guest appearances on his fifth offering, including Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Jamie Foxx and 2 Chainz. But like his last album, "The R.E.D. Album," he isn't outshined by any of the features on "Jesus Piece."
With his hoarse delivery, Game's words are full of bravado, his topics are concise and his rhymes are easy to digest on these well-produced tracks. That's certainly evident on "Pray," featuring J. Cole and JMSN, where the Game tells a compelling story about being a "guardian angel" for a woman struggling with drug abuse.
On "Can't Get Right," featuring K. Roosevelt, Game is in confession mode. He raps about his struggles to avoid the fast life and envisions through a nightmare that his mentor, Dr. Dre, was shot as a gospel choir sings background.
Game is able to mesh his brash raps while talking about his trials of spiritual growth -- especially on "Heaven's Arms" and "See No Evil," with Kendrick Lamar and Tank.
But the album takes a wrong turn on "Hallelujah," where Game opens the song praising God with the use of profanity, rapping about the struggle to overcome his worldly desires during church services. Some have said the song is offensive, but don't let this particular track overshadow the rest of this quality album.
Check this out: "Jesus Piece" is an entertaining song with verses from Game and Common, and a hook from Kanye West.


text:
Upcoming Events
June 27-30, 2013
Chennai India
Chennai Trade Center
Event Website:
Click here to visit event site
Event Registration Page:
Click here to visit registration site
Not provided
Registration Deadline:
Not provided
The Tamilnadu Plastics Manufacturers' Association (TAPMA)
Attendence Limit:
Not provided
Event Format:
Not provided
Sponsorship opportunities:
Not provided
Event Frequency:
Not provided
Contact Information:
+91 44 2825 0107
+91 44 2823
Event Detail:
IPLEX, International Plastics Exposition, was conceived and nursed to promote the growth of plastics processing industries in South India, by all the four state level plastics manufacturers associations - Tamilnadu Plastics Manufacturers Association, Andhra Pradesh Plastics Manufacturers Association, Kerala Plastics Manufacturers association and Karnataka state Plastics Association, with the support and guidance from Plastindia Foundation. The apex body of the plastics industries association in India and CIPET, the autonomous institute under the aegis of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Government of India.
The successful conduct of the first three editions and the consequent growth of the plastic industry in South India is abundant proof for catalytic role played by the exhibitions and particularly organised by the industry itself. World over, expos have played a signicant role in the growth of the industry and in India particularly the Plastindia Exhibitions and Conferences are a standing testimony to the growing power of the latest developments in the technology of processing, choice of raw materials, additives, performance masterbatches etc.
Industry Events Home
More Events > Upcoming Events
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text:
THERE was snow on North East alps today as we enjoyed a brief reprieve from the record-breaking "dome of heat" that's engulfed the continent.
On a day when the zones of purple — representing 50-52 degrees — have disappeared from forecast charts, Mt Hotham confirmed that they received snow flurries – snow that falls but does not last on the ground – and the state's other peaks probably did as well, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
"Hotham Alpine Resort received snow flurries around 7am this morning with the temperature dropping to -3 windchill," said spokeswoman Gina Woodward. "Pretty incredible considering we're in the middle of a Dome of Heat."
Bureau senior forecaster Scott Williams said that Mt Hotham fell to -1 overnight, while Falls Creek and Mt Buller reached zero.
"I suspect if anywhere got snow it was Mt Baw Baw, where they may not have had anyone to see it."
Snow, while uncommon, does fall in summer in Victoria, he said. There was a light dusting of snow in early December on the Alps as temperatures plunged below zero.
"We literally have gone from one extreme to the other," said Mr Williams. "It's quite cold over the state today and the good thing is that it's pushed that very hot air we had over us a long way north, up to northern New South Wales.
"It's given us a couple of days respite from the heat."
Melbourne will reach 37 on Friday before falling to the mid-20s on the weekend.


text: The other day, I did a yoga class with a new instructor who was very keen on mindfulness. Very, very keen. So keen, in fact, that he had us spend what felt like an hour standing and thinking about how our toes felt pressing into our mats, how our fingertips felt brushing against our yoga pants, how our hair felt [...]Read more ›


text:
You've probably already downloaded the demo for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. But if for some reason you haven't, a new trailer offers interactive elements to give an approximation of playing the game. It's not quite the same, but it'll do in a pinch.
The trailer takes you into a battle, letting you choose options like what type of team to bring, or what to do with the aliens once they're on the run. Check it out below, or read our hands-on preview for more details.


text:
A 17-year-old Milford boy is accused of sexually assaulting two girls since 2007.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new information from the Milford Police Department, which reports the charges related to sexual assaults committed against two girls, including one who was assaulted in separate incidents.
A 17-year-old Milford boy is accused of sexually assaulting two girls since 2007.
Milford Police spokesman Detective Dwight Young said officers have determined the boy forced an 8-year-old girl to repeatedly perform sexual acts with him at a home in the 400 block of North St. from 2007 to 2008, when he was 11 and 12.
The same boy also forced an 11-year-old girl to perform multiple sexual acts at a home in the 300 block of Northwest Second St. from 2010 to 2011, when he was 14 and 15, Young said.
In the most recent sexual assault, the boy reportedly forced one of the previous victims, now aged 14, to perform sexual acts with him at an apartment in the Brightway Commons apartment complex off of Church Street on Dec. 23.
The teen, whose name has not been released, is charged with one count of first-degree rape, two counts of second-degree rape and two counts of unlawful sexual contact.
He is being held at the Stevenson House Detention Center in Milford on a $50,000 cash bond, Young said.


text:
Several committees will spend the beginning of next year assessing two new texting and driving bills aimed at keeping Florida drivers safe.
"Well I believe that part of the reason that they came up with this idea is their concerned about folks driving all over the road as they're trying to text, the distraction" said State Senator Greg Evers.
Senators Nancy Detert and Maria Sachs are leading the bills in hopes of gaining support. Criminal justice chair senator Greg Evers says the bills will need to cover a variety of areas including the use of hands free devices.
"Actually at this point in time I'm for reading the bills and coming up with the proper language. If the language can be modified to where i don't feel that we're overstepping the bounds in the senate then i possibly could support the bill" said Evers.
Senator Evers says the two bills will go through several work committees including his own.
"Each bill will be heard separately in the committees and at some point they may be combined. It just depends on the senate body and how they feel about the bills."
If the bills have a workable draft and there is enough support they will then go in front of the next legislative session in March. Senator Evers says there's much work to be done and it's still too early to have many details on what the bills could include. There are several similar bills proposed in the house. Both the house and senate would have to pass identical versions of the same bill.


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Dana Cooper to perform at Java Jax
This is Dana Cooper's second visit to Java Jax to perform since last year.The first artist to perform at Java Jax's cozy set up corner stage last year during the Rattlesnake Round-Up was country/folk musician Buch Hancock of Lubbock. Since then there have been many other talented musicians to visit and entertain.Smith: When did you really start playing music and enjoy playing to an audience?Cooper: "I started at the age of 12 and was on the road by the age of 19. I've been playing music and performing for venues for over 30 years of my life now. I'm now 59 years old and still enjoy it!I live in Missouri, my wife's name is Linda and she is a full time graphic designer as well as artist, and writer.We don't have any kids, but we do have our wonderful dog named, Twiggy!" Smith:What brings you back to Sweetwater performing?Cooper: "Not only does my agent line me up on some great gigs. I was really treated nicely not only at Java Jax, but by the wonderful towns people . I had a great turnout."Smith: Where are your favorite places to perform?Cooper: " I have no favorite places really, I do enjoy house concerts. It's just a gift to play for a great audience who enjoys the music and have a good time!"Smith: You've had some performances with Lyle Lovett and a many other musicians. How did you and Lyle Lovett start working together?Cooper: "We've known each other since College Station days as good friends. He was an Aggie, so we just sort of connected ever since. We did some gigs in Kansas and St. Louis together."Smith: I noticed on your website it says you enjoy walking the streets of small towns, visiting churches, and cemeteries during the day? Why cemeteries?Cooper: "It's kind of a meditative thing for me, it not only helps me get in touch with me. It helps me see and feel the history of the place where I am performing."Smith: Do you have any other thoughts you might be able to tell me about your music and what you'd like to tell others about it?Cooper: "I just try to share and express uplifting music with a positive vibe to my audience. I have had my ups and downs like every musician out there, but in the end of it all it's all worth it when you see the enjoyment in the audiences faces having a good time. That is something I truly enjoy."Smith: What is your music really known as? I notice you have such an eclectic style. Cooper: "It is mostly known as Americana, which is specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles. I enjoy the classic rock feel though. My influences from the past have been, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Dillon, I think my favorite is Tom Petty."Smith: What is some advice you can give the younger musicians of today trying to make it out there?Cooper: "Just enjoy and love what you are doing. Do everything you can to succeed with you and your music, as long as it makes you happy." Smith: Where are you headed after Sweetwater?Cooper: "Next I'm headed to Lubbock, then back home in Missouri to do a few gigs. I will be back on the road and headed to Houston to do some more performances.Soon after that in March, I will be headed to Denmark, and Sweden to work with some other selected musicians who will have more electrical instruments. We will be doing some live performances their."


text:
Submission + - Supreme Court throws out human gene patents (yahoo.com)
thomst writes: The Associated Press reports The Supreme Court on Monday threw out a lower court ruling allowing human genes to be patented, a topic of enormous interest to cancer researchers, patients and drug makers. The court overturned patents belonging to Myriad Genetics Inc. of Salt Lake City on two genes linked to increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The justices' decision sends the case back down to the federal appeals court in Washington that handles patent cases. The high court said it sent the case back for rehearing because of its decision in another case last week saying that the laws of nature are unpatentable. In that case, the court unanimously threw out patents on a Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., test that could help doctors set drug doses for autoimmune diseases like Crohn's disease.


text:
DocBook 5 68
|DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide
|Norman Walsh
|O'Reilly in conjunction with XML Press
|Examines and catalogs the entirety of the DocBook specification.
This is a reference book, so the initial chapters (1-5) are short (70 pages) but full of clear explanations of how DocBook works, what it does, and how to use it. Part II is 400 pages, covering every element type in the language, with a detailed description of what it is for, how and where to use it, and how it interacts with everything else. Both for the beginner and the expert, these descriptions are the key to effective use, and Walsh's explanations are clear and comprehensive.
For those of you who have been using DocBook in earlier incarnations, the changes are not deal-breakers, and many of them are welcome rationalizations of the way things have grown organically over the years. It still walks like a duck and quacks like a duck (and the book still has a duck on the cover), so it immediately feels like the same format that you're used to — the changes to element types are relatively few. Chapter 1 (Getting Started) has a brief history, a summary of the changes, and an explanation of the namespace and availability.
If you've never used DocBook before, its structure will still be familiar: in Chapter 2 (Creating DocBook Documents) Walsh explains the division of reference material like books, articles, and manuals into chapters, sections, and subsections, with all the conventional features like lists, figures, tables, and references, as well as the technically-oriented features like equations, programming constructs, interface descriptions, and code samples.
There is help in Chapter 3 (Validation) for those who construct or generate DocBook documents without the use of an XML editor (or even with them: more on editors below). The most common problems with misplaced markup (and the error messages they create) are clearly explained with examples.
Chapter 4 (Publishing) very briefly explains the role of stylesheets (CSS, XSL, and XQuery) in displaying and transforming your documents to other formats, but as these all have their own books and manuals, this book doesn't go into them in any detail.
Customizing DocBook is fairly commonplace, either to avoid the need to commit tag abuse, or to extend its structure into other fields (I added a new element type for typographical examples for my book on LaTeX, and it only took a few minutes). Chapter 5 provides some rules and explanation of customization layers and modularity for those who design schemas and DTDs.
The five Appendixes cover Installation, Variants, Resources, Interchange, and the GNU Free Documentation License — yes, you can read the whole thing online at docbook.org, for which Tim, Norm, and many others are to be thanked. It is a rare publisher who groks the need to be able to point someone at a reference, or quote it in email or a tweet, where a paper copy doesn't cut the mustard.
There isn't anything here about actually using an XML editor or about how to choose one. Editors do of course all come with their own documentation (much of it written using DocBook) and editor selection can be a complex business. However, there is a list of some common tools in Appendix C (Resources). Editors are a minefield, as my own research into the usability of editing software for structured documents is showing, so I can understand the omission, but some pointers to editor resources would have been useful.
The chapter on Publishing is useful for those who haven't been in the publication process before, but it could have emphasized more the need for accuracy and consistency. Experienced technical authors know this, but many other writers don't see the need for it, assuming that the publisher (or some elf) will automagically heal everything before publication. DocBook 5 and this book will help enormously, but author-edited documents sometimes unwittingly misuse or abuse the markup, no matter how exhaustive the manuals.
If you write computer documentation, or anything related to it, from a conference paper to a thesis to a book, DocBook 5 is probably what you should use if you want the document to survive and to be usable and reusable; and this is the book to help you do it.
You can purchase DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.


text:
Acerca de
Melbourne based photographer & card maker that's been having an overt fling with his camera for years.
Passionate about travel, street art, land/urban scapes, flowers and bicycles.
For more information/images visit my website
where you'll also see a list of market venues if you feel like dropping by and saying hello.
All images © Ralph Haller-Trost.
All Rights Reserved. Copying, altering, displaying or redistribution of any of these images without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.


text:
Meridian, Miss. Several inmates have now been formally charged with instigating a riot at the Lauderdale County Jail Saturday night.
Charges were filed by the sheriff's department against: 18-year-old Jaquis Reed, 28-year-old Damion Collins, 21-year-old Devon Perry, 22-year-old Charles Brock, 22-year-old Montrell Croft, and 22-year-old Brad Johnson.
Police say they were the instigators and most aggressive participants.
Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie says, although as many as 90 inmates were released from their cells, the outbreak was contained to the C-pod of the jail.
Charges related to the incident include arson, escape, simple assault on a police officer and aiding escape.
Two who were very aggressive in their escape attempts were charged with escape, Reed and Perry. Brock was charged with arson. Croft and Johnson were charged with aiding escape. Collins was charged with simple assault on a police officer, a felony.
These charges add to the inmates' already long list of crime.
"These individuals are already here on felony charges," said Sollie. "These charges are added on to what they are currently being held for, to try for. So we do not anticipate these individuals being out of jail any time soon."
These inmates' records range from crimes of possession of stolen firearms, drive-by shootings and murder.
Sheriff Sollie says overcrowding within the facility played a big part in the incident.
The board of supervisors and county administrator are working to determine more long-term solutions.
Perry is facing charges in a pair of violent incidents over the last several months, including the murder of Rocderickus Bourdeaux, who was shot and killed last year outside a club. Perry was also one of seven people charged in a shooting outside an apartment complex earlier this year.
Croft was in jail awaiting trial in a high profile case. "G Money", as he's called, is one of two people charged in the 2012 shooting of a then 10-month-old baby and his mother. The mother was pushing a stroller outside an apartment complex last December. Both victims have recovered.
Reed was being held for possession of cocaine and accessory after-the-fact, and simple assault on an officer.
Brock was being held for possession of a stolen firearm and carrying a concealed weapon by a felon.
Johnson was held for possession of marijuana 2nd offense, shooting into a vehicle, and simple assault causing bodily injury.
Collins was being held for shooting into a dwelling, felony possession of a firearm, and contempt of court.


text:
Brad Birch, 55
Bradley Otteson Birch, 55, passed away Sunday June 29, 2014 at his home in the loving care of his daughter, Tiffany Dillon and his wife Carrie after a valiant battle with cancer.
He was born Feb. 23, 1959 to Paul Albert and Joyce Otteson Birch. His parents divorced and he and his mother lived with her parents at their farm at Moody Creek north of Rexburg, Idaho until age six when they moved to Idaho Falls where they lived until he married, eventually making his home in the Goshen area.
He graduated from Skyline High School in 1977 and continued his education at Ricks College and ISU. He took a break to work and start a family, later completing his bachelor's degree with University of Phoenix while working full time to support his large family.
He married Lisa Woodhouse and they were later divorced. To that union was born Tiffany, Christa, Bradley Max, Rachael, and Brennon. He then met and married the love of his life, Carrie Ricks. She brought to that union her children, Honey, Ben, Nathan and Jacob. Then together they had Dilan. Family was everything to him.
Brad worked for Ormond Construction, Roger Brothers, and the R.T. French Company for over 25 years as it changed owners to Pillsbury, and finally Basic American Foods where he ordered supplies and was active on the safety committee. He then worked at Idaho Treatment Group until the time of his death.
He enjoyed riding motorcycles especially his Harley, camping and traveling with family, old cars and food. He loved his family and was a very kind and gentle father. Brad lived frugally and taught work before play and often spent hours working overtime, shopping and planning ahead to make sure that Christmas and birthdays were memorable. He made lifelong friends everywhere he went. He was always able to lighten a tense situation with his quick wit and humor.
He is survived by his wife of 20 years, Carrie of Shelley; five children, Tiffany (Jason) Dillon of Rigby , Christa Labra, Rachael (Shane) Later and Brennon Birch, all of Idaho Falls, and Dilan Birch of Shelley; 15 grandchildren; four step-children, Honey (Phil) Bingham of Idaho Falls, Ben (Rachel) Singleton of Pocatello, Nathan (Amanda) Singleton, and Jacob Singleton of Idaho Falls. Also surviving are his stepmother Carol Birch of Phoenix; half siblings; Dal (Sheryl) Birch of Phoenix, Ariz.; Devin (Marcie Milner) Birch of San Diego, Calif.; Debi Birch and Denise Birch of Phoenix, Ariz.; and Darin(Kathy) Birch of Idaho Falls.
He was preceeded in death by a son, Bradley Max Birch; his mother, Joyce Elaine Otteson Birch; and his father, Paul Albert Birch.
Funeral services will be Wednesday, July 2, 2014 at 11 a.m. at the Goshen Ward LDS Chapel, 792 N. 1090 E. Shelley. The family will meet with friends Tuesday, July 1 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and on Wednesday from 10 to 10:40 a.m., both at the Goshen Ward LDS Church.
Burial will be in the Taylor Cemetery under the direction of Bert Flamm Mortuary.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.flammfh.com.


text:
Residents are still nervously waiting to find out if they'll be forced to move.
DAYTONA BEACH — Two weeks after a long-established mobile home park on Beach Street was sold to a new owner, residents are still nervously waiting to find out if they'll be forced to move.
"Nobody's talking to us," said Melinda Barrett, an unemployed resident who's pregnant and expecting to deliver next month.
Top officials with the company that now owns the Aloha Mobile Home Park, Magnolia Tax Deed 1 LLC, aren't sure themselves what's going to become of the small corner property at Madison Avenue and Beach Street, but say they're working to quickly figure that out.
"It's a very complicated situation," said Matthew Merdian, a consultant working for Magnolia Tax Deed 1.
The complications developed with the previous owner, Ali Darren Jafroodi of Apopka, who city officials say ignored their orders to fix everything from faulty plumbing to dilapidated roofs and racked up $315,000 in code violation fines.
Jafroodi also neglected to pay $53,000 worth of property taxes over the past few years, which triggered the March 5 tax deed sale that enabled the Maitland-based Magnolia Tax Deed 1 to pick up the property.
While the company got the land and a few dozen aging trailers for $75,000, it also took on the $315,000 code violation debt and inherited a problem with the zoning.
On the northern, Madison Avenue end of the property is business retail zoning, and on the southern end is medium density residential zoning. The trailer park is a nonconforming use for the current zoning there, and it was allowed to remain because it was grandfathered in when the zoning changed.
Now City Attorney Marie Hartman is researching whether the new owner can legally overhaul the property and continue to use it as a mobile home park.
On Friday, Hartman and a handful of top city officials sat down with two representatives of the new company to talk about the future of the land.
"We had a good discussion about their intentions," said Deputy City Manager Paul McKitrick.
The company that owns the property now typically doesn't hold land for a long time, and the venture might wind up flipping it, McKitrick said. One option the company is considering is removing the trailers and making it available for commercial redevelopment, he said.
It also could move in new trailers and then sell it at some point, he said.
The property is currently being assessed, and a plan is developing that could involve some trailers being repaired and others replaced with new units, Merdian said Tuesday.
It's possible the company will sell the trailer park, but now the focus is on "the need for working class housing," said Merdian, who's with Wholesale Premium Properties in Orlando.
For now, no one has been evicted and the residents are being allowed to remain in their trailers even though none of them have leases or are paying rent, he said. Many exercised their right to stop paying rent because a litany of problems have lingered despite their complaints, everything from sewage spilling onto the ground outside their trailers to holes in their units that allow rats and cockroaches to pour in.
"We're being sensitive to their situation," he said. "We have not attempted to collect rent."
He said he's not sure if any of the current residents will wind up with leases under the new owners. In about two weeks, the new management will probably impose new rules and regulations that could send some people packing, he said, but didn't elaborate on what those rules would be.
Rent requirements could kick in around April 1 along with possible month-to-month lease agreements.
Debbie Hallisky, an attorney with Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, said she's available to any of the residents who need advice or access to services that can help them. Hallisky has been working with residents since the code violation crackdown began in late 2011, and she's familiar with the details of the situation.
"The new owner absolutely can ask the current residents to leave," Hallisky said. "Nobody in there ... has a written lease that to my knowledge is more than a month-to-month arrangement."
Under Florida law, the new owner only has to give them 15 days written notice to move, she said.
"Right now the first priority is to do the repairs," Merdian said. "It's not an easy fix. It won't be repaired in a snap."
Magnolia Tax Deed 1 would like to get the $315,000 code violation bill significantly reduced, but the city is going to have to see some improvements before it considers a reduction, said Hector Garcia, the city's head of code enforcement.
"The city has no objections to them asking for a reduction, but we want to see a vast improvement," Garcia said. "We don't want to see the same thing over and over."
Barrett, the woman who's eight months pregnant, said she hasn't seen any repairs done yet. She still has no heat or air conditioning, her kitchen sink pipes still spill water onto her floor and she still has a bathroom covered with mold and mildew.
Barrett would like to move out, but says she has no place to go. She hopes the new owner can help her with financial assistance to move into an apartment.
"No one should be living like this," she said.


text:
Vincentine "Vinnie" Harries, 77, of Cape Coral, passed away Thursday, May 29, 2014, at Hope Hospice, Cape Coral. She was a member of St. Katharine Drexel Parish of Cape Coral. She was an active member of the Cape Coral Women's Bocce Association and served as past president. Her greatest joy was playing bocce and serving as a bocce coach for the Special Olympics. She enjoyed getting to know each and every player and was so proud of all of them.
She was also a member of the Elks and the Ladies of the Elks, B.P.O.E. Lodge #2596 of Cape Coral and a former member of the Red Hat Society.
She had a heart to serve others; she was a good friend and a loving mother.
Article Photos
Vincentine 'Vinnie' Harries
She was preceded in death by her husband, William Harries, and leaves behind to cherish her memory, her daughter, Theresa Buchanan and her faithful pet, Murphy. Visitation will be 4-7 p.m., Tuesday, June 3, at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home 1589 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 4, at St. Katherine Drexel Church, 1922 S.W. 20th Ave., Cape Coral. Entombment will follow in Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Cemetery.
A small reception will be held following the ceremony for family and friends.
If desired, memorials in her honor are suggested to Special Olympics Florida Lee County, Lee County Parks & Recreation, 3410 Palm Beach Blvd., Fort Myers, FL 33916. Online condolences and remembrances may be sent at www.fortmyersmemorial.com


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http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/windows-8-consumer-preview-call-common-sense-142476 [winsupersite.com]
Also, try to spend a few minutes learning shortcuts etc. before dissing the experience. It's not a SP for Windows 7, it's a new OS.
http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2012/02/getting-starte [arstechnica.com]...
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/03/windows-8-tricks-tips-and-s [kotaku.com.au]...
And it will enable many devices like these that don't exist now:
Idea Pad Yoga: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz2R9y9ZvkA&hd=1 [youtube.com]
Samsung x86 Tablet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8-K1ELv6DE&hd=1 [youtube.com]
Try doing that with an iPad.(There are iPad-like ARM Windows 8 tablets too that won't run x86 apps but which will have Office).
83inch displays: http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/29/2833173/windows-8-82-inch- [theverge.com]...
All these form factors tied in the with the vast Win32 ecosystem(except ARM tablets) and a single Touch-first Metro ecosystem.
It's interesting how the comments on Apple/iPad/Post-PC articles, financials of Apple/Dell/HP etc. state that "MS is dying in the Post-PC" era, but now when they come out with a solution to make a OS run on different form factors and to have tablets that are not just consumption devices, the comments on here are skewed towards "Why change something that works?". If PCs are really dying, why not attempt to fix that instead of standing by with their head in the sand(like RIMM)?
There will always be people unhappy with anything you build or change. They should just go with their vision of what they think is right and that's what they did. They envision that with Windows 8, most new monitors will be touch enabled because of the demand so that for some functions(like clicking on links), people can use touch.
You may disagree with the vision, but you can't disagree that there is a method behind the madness.
Let's see; I work on two 22 inch monitors. I can move from the far left edge to the far right edge with a three inch movement of my mouse. Now you want me to have to lean toward the monitors and move my arm over three feet to accomplish the same thing. How ergonomic! How NEW! How efficient!
I can move from the far left edge to the far right edge with a three inch movement of my mouse. Now you want me to have to lean toward the monitors and move my arm over three feet to accomplish the same thing.
Or, you know, you could just use the mouse in Metro.
It's actually designed to operate slightly differently on a device with a mouse compared to touch-only ones like tablets. For example, in touch-only mode, most gestures are done by swiping from beyond the edge of the screen, Playbook style. With mouse, same gestures are available by placing mouse cursor into one of the screen corners.
Agreed, there is too much of hot air from people who expect it to be similar to the transition from Windows 95 to Windows 98. It's not, it's a complete rethinking like from Windows 3.11(for Workgroups!) to Windows 95.
Summary says:
The best strategy Microsoft could take would be to introduce users to Metro via its included apps and through tablets, while prominently offering the option to maintain the Desktop environment. Power users who choose to use the classic UI for desktops and laptops can still be exposed to Metro via tablets and applications without being forced to wade through it on their way to do something important."
That is exactly the strategy behind making iPad a consumption only device, and will exclude many nice form factors like the Transformer, Samsung Slate or the where you just take a tablet with you, and get a full powered device when you attach a keyboard/mouse to it. Or when you ta
Disabling Metro on the desktop will lower the demand for touch monitors as well.
You've missed the point. Why do Microsoft believe that people want or need touch monitors? Why do Microsoft believe large-dimension touch interfaces are better interface than a mouse?
Disabling Metro on the desktop will lower the demand for touch monitors as well.
You've missed the point. Why do Microsoft believe that people want or need touch monitors? Why do Microsoft believe large-dimension touch interfaces are better interface than a mouse?
They're just giving people the choice. Remember, a billion people use Windows. A significant percentage of them might want to use touch monitors. The rest can ignore that and move on. Did they remove the mouse support in Windows and I didn't get the memo?
A significant percentage of them might want to use touch monitors.
Unlikely. The full sized touch monitor has always been relegated to niche uses. For example, we see them in Point of Sale, ATM and various forms of vending or other kiosk like setups. All of these devices, regardless of their internal components, are configured to run a single specialized application from which the user cannot, at least by design, deviate. Furthermore, these devices are almost always encountered in public places and are used by many different users for specific and time limited operations in that context. Compare that with more typical home or work use patterns where sessions are longer and the keyboard is generally kept within easy reach of the fingertips with the mouse in close proximity. This is an efficient setup for general computing use, whereas reaching across the desk to touch the screen repeatedly is not. Touch works in the hand-held and portable format because the use cases and ergonomics are almost completely different from those of the more traditional desktop. Will some people want to use touch screens as their desktop display(s)? Perhaps. Will those people represent a majority or even just a substantial minority of users? Almost certainly not.
The rest can ignore that and move on.
Based upon the reviews of the preview release, it's not that simple. The interface is designed to emphasize Metro, imposing itself at the expense of the traditional desktop and forcing users to wrestle with it in order to get their work done. This is particularly irksome in the desktop usage scenarios because few people would prefer a touch-based interface with a single full screen app at a time over the more traditional windowing system common in modern desktop operating systems. Indeed, the windowing systems now present in Windows 7, OSX and the various Linux distros represent decades of accumulated experience and feedback from professional, business, scientific and home users. A radical departure from this well defined and honed interface, ala Metro, is the height of hubris and foolishness. The traditional desktop users, who're still Microsoft's bread and butter, will punish them severely for missteps or other nonsense as they did with Vista (which was itself a less radical departure than Metro).
Microsoft would be well advised to tread cautiously here. It's alright to pursue new markets with new concepts. However, this must NOT be done at the expense of existing users, especially those with professional needs. If the new concepts have merit, they will stand on their own without forced attempts to get people into using them. Finally, to anyone from Microsoft reading this: Heed the warnings of the Win 8 / Metro reviewers and don't ignore them. Remember the lessons of Vista: users will NOT accept software that gets in their way and doesn't work how they want to work, no matter how innovative or cool you think it is. The desktop and mobile touch worlds are DIFFERENT and ought to be treated as such. Don't screw this up.
Did they remove the mouse support in Windows and I didn't get the memo?
They might as well have with the new gestures. They're really quite fiddly, and I'm a veteran FPS player. Swipe into the hot corner - and it's a pretty narrow hotspot, you've basically got to 'overshoot' to hit it; then swipe up or down in a straight line into the middle-ish to bring up either the running apps sidebar, or the charms sidebar. Slide too far off line? Disappears. Not far enough, or too far? Disappears. Move off the 'start' hot corner by a few pixels, to try and click that popup metro that appears? Disappears and you end up lauching the far-left icon on the taskbar instead. It usually takes me two or three goes to bring up the charm bar, and I've been testing the CP since it came out, and the DP before that.
Also - have two displays? run in a virtual machine or RDP session in a window on another host? Now you can't 'overrun' into the corner, you have to hit it absolutely precisely and stay there; trying to swipe down and stay in the narrow accepted line? Rediculously hard. I'm familiar with windows from 3.1 up to current, OSX and its predecessors, KDE 2, 3 and 4 for years, gnome for the last few, now unity, CDE and XFCE and BEOS and god knows how many other UIs have been and gone. None of them have made me want to throw my mouse through the screen at the UI. But windows 8? God-damn it's awful.
Couple of pop quizzes - how do you shut down? Not in the metro window. No icons, shortcuts or squares. It's under the charms bar, settings, then there's a little power icon at the bottom. Log off? Ctrl-alt-del, or goto metro and click your name picture. While we're on charms/settings; half the stuff you need has moved there into a new arrangement; half of it hasn't. Finding which bits are still under control panel, and which are under metro is basically guesswork, especially as some app stuff is not under charms, it's right click on a blank area and get a new options bar at the bottom. On the Metro mail program, you have a little bit at the bottom of the accounts side-bar to add a new account, with a close button. Click that close, and there's no way to bring it back. If you right click and then click accounts, it brings up the accounts side bar, but not the button. You now need to go into charms, and do it via settings - but only when you're in the mail app full screen, there's no other way to get to it.
It is a mess, it's completely illogical and it feels like you've got the old and new interface half-bodged together glued together with gestures that don't make sense on a pc, especially if it's not a full-single-screen pc. Dual screen isn't that uncommon - all our teaching classrooms are setup as dual screen with one on the desk, and the 2nd being the projector - they drag windows to which one they want to display on, so they can put something up for the pupils while having a private desktop for reference while they're at the board or desk. Doing precise mouse gestures at the edge of the screen without wavering, possibly while standing and leaning over the desk? It's ludicrous. I cannot possibly see deploying windows 8 anywhere on our network to replace 7. I'd get lynched.
I'm not even going to start on the insanity of the same interface with tricky gestures for VM-hosted or RDP-managed server 8 boxes; and while the remote admin-tools from a client box work for say, AD operations and file management, they don't work for 3rd party apps that use a local management app on a server, of which we have several.
And no, you can't turn it off. The registry hack and file replacement methods have been removed in the current versions. Now you need to fake it with something like Stardocks software, but there's nothing native to revert to windows 7/2008r2 behaviour.
Metro in and of itself is ok, if a little sparse; I'd actually quite like it as an OSX dashboard equivalent available on a hotkey/gesture for an over-view of various live tiles; I could even live with it as a start menu replacement if it handled a
Dude a 17 inch touch is $300, a 24 inch non touch is $130, do you honestly think MSFT is gonna magically change those figures? Last time I was looking around I read that adding touch to a laptop added around $60-$80 to the cost depending on the screen size, do you think the OEMs are gonna eat that cost? or that users are gonna turn down a more full featured laptop with better specs for one that can touch?
Lets call a spade a spade, this is a Hail Mary by MSFT who has got such a woody to be Apple since Ballmer took over it ain't even funny, but its not gonna work. they have already missed the boat, both Google and Apple completely pimp smack them in mobile and Win 8 won't change that. The way I see it they have TWO choices, 1.- Accept they are the new IBM and accept their place is desktops/laptops and Office, along with gaming, or 2.-Spin off the mobile division so they can live or die on their own terms without having to drag along the desktop.
they are gonna have to do one or the other, because the market has so little confidence in Ballmer when MSFT had its best quarter ever a little while back their stock didn't even twitch which tells me nobody believes Ballmer has got what it takes and this giant failwhale after Vista failing so soon is gonna be all the proof the market needs. spin off mobile, put the office guys in charge of the desktop, and continue to support gaming and the living room by making windows and Xbox seamlessly work together. this is just a giant disaster.
Why do Microsoft believe that people want or need touch monitors? Why do Microsoft believe large-dimension touch interfaces are better interface than a mouse?
Probably because of their (patented) work on Surface, among other things. Whereas right now they're using a common pointing device everyone's free to utilize without paying Microsoft a license fee.
You're missing the point. The iPad's UI is significantly different to desktop Mac OS, exactly because apple managed to realise one simple thing. The traditional desktop metaphor UI doesn't work when you hold it in your hand and touch it.
The reason past tablets weren't successful was because they tried to cram a destop UI onto a tablet.
Microsoft are making the exact same mistake again, only this time in reverse. They're trying to cram a perfectly acceptable tablet UI onto a desktop platform. Worse, they're doing it in a way that only half deprecates the old way of doing things. The result is that they have a tablet UI that doesn't work well because you're not using a tablet; and that when you actually try to do anything, you immediately get shifted into a different UI paradigm, because the apps haven't all been recoded.
It's a complete UI disaster, and perfectly sums up microsoft –copy the trend, do something that they claim is new, and don't update anything at all to integrate well into it. The result –a cludge.
Can't agree more. This new UI has to be the most unintuitive GUI i've used on a desktop. Although I'm sure it's fine on a touch screen, it was painful to use with a mouse, took me 20 minutes just to find common items, a few mins to find the login options, etc.
This from a geek. I can't imagine what my folks would do with this, other than to turn ape like, beat not he screen and make lots of jarring screeches in frustration.
So If I had the option to change the interface on the OSX would be a bad OS?
You just don't like change, and assume MS is going to be bad.
I've used it. I like it. I also use OSX and iOS. I like them as well.
Now, what I don't like is what they did you it on the xBox. Used it to shove ads at you in the squares.
Maybe the entire problem is that MS is introducing something radically new when the current OS is still new. It feels like just change for the sake of change. They really should have a Windows Tablet versus Windows for Real People and keep them separated. Integrating them is silly, and will result in silly things like people wanting to get touch monitors.
The big fallacy people seem to make on this topic is that newer = better. This is not always the case. It's great that a new class of device has revolutionized certain tasks, but forcing their interface onto existing systems that cover the rather large corner cases for them REDUCES choice for those who need/prefer these other systems. This is being done completely for marketing reasons. There is no benefit to the consumer at all.
Have a touch based tuned environment for touch devices, and a traditional desktop environment for desktops.. make it an install and/or control panel option as it is something you'd know up front you want (you are installing on a tablet or a full PC). what ms is doing is forcing touch environments on traditional desktops by having the traditional desktop buried as a metro app that forces you to go back to it to select new applications. making application launch, task switching, and window management visually disruptive moves on a phone might make sense, but not on a desktop with a 23" monitor. tacking mouse support into this 'fullscreen start menu' doesn't help its case either.
Finally, I dont' consider giving touch platforms 'a boost' at the expense of desktops a good thing.. they should both sink or swim on their own merits as they serve different needs as surely as a hummer H1 and F1 mclaren do. (there's your car analogy!)
I travel a lot, all over Europe, North America and Asia, and I've come to realize that tablets are basically a myth. While there is a lot of hype around them, and many have been sold, almost nobody actually uses them!
During my travels, I see people using cell phones. I see people using smart phones. I see people using laptops. I see people using netbooks. I see people using desktops. But it's extremely rare to see anyone using tablets. I see literally thousands of other people using smart phones for every tablet user I see.
I visit all sorts of environments, from huge corporate offices, to parks, to restaurants, to planes, to universities and colleges, to airports, to train stations, to city squares, to government offices, to subways, to cafes, to so many other places. Given the amount of traveling I do and the huge number of people I see in any given day, and given how much we hear about tablets, I should be constantly seeing people use tablets. But I just don't.
I think that they're the kind of device that somebody buys because of the marketing hype or because they sound like they might be useful, but then in practice they turn out to be feeble and impractical. Then they sit there on a bookshelf or table top, completely unused, until they're all but forgotten about.
I'm sure a bunch of people are going to reply to this saying how they find tablets useful in some very niche situation, but these are indeed very niche cases. The widespread usage of tablets just isn't there, like it is with smart phones or even netbooks. The popularity of tablets is a marketing myth, I suspect, rather than a reality.
Proving the value of anecdotal evidence, I have had the exact opposite experience. I take flights weekly, and I have not been on a flight without a few tablet users in a long time.
As a tablet owner myself, I find I rarely take the effort to drag it out of my bag when I can just reach for my phone.
I pretty much only see people with e-book readers on planes, not "tablets" per se. There's a big difference between the two, even though it's quite possible to make an e-book reader work like a tablet; the use cases are quite different. Ebook readers are great for reading (esp. with the e-ink screens), but that's about it.
I pretty much only see people with e-book readers on planes, not "tablets" per se. [...] Ebook readers are great for reading (esp. with the e-ink screens), but that's about it.
Whereas people using iPads on an airplane are composing music, writing the next Great American Novel, or curing cancer?
I see iPads on airplanes. People use them to read books, watch movies, or play games. I see people using the small Samsung Tablets or Nooks doing the same thing.
Actually, not a single niche –many many many niches. The same is true of computers –they suck if you go "hey, what's the killer app", but are great if you realise that they're useful for hundreds of useful little things.
Several of my friends are now considering them, simply because each time they're round the phrase "could you pass the iPad over" gets uttered a couple of times. Be it to check wikipedia, look up some random cat video someone mentioned, display the rules of the game we're playing,
All of these individually are trivialities... but they add up to a really fucking useful device.
I travel a lot, all over Europe, North America and Asia, and I've come to realize that tablets are basically a myth. While there is a lot of hype around them, and many have been sold, almost nobody actually uses them!
Maybe that's because most tablets suck for getting any work done, and thanks to the corporate hostile takeover of all of our lives, people have to work a lot more than they used to. Thus, the tablet stays at home and the phone or the laptop comes out on the train, at lunch, etc etc.
If there were reasonably-priced tablets that could be used to do actual work, you'd see a lot more of them. On a plane, on a train, bus, etc standard laptops can be very clumsy. You end up needing quite a bit of space to use them.
I watched the video of the Lenovo Yoga, and while there are things about it that don't look so great, it's a start toward a tablet-style form factor that can actually be used to accomplish something besides consumption. It's a step in the right direction to create functional tablets that provide keyboards for the few billion people who would rather key input than anything else.
I'm sorry, but Siri-style voice commands are not going to be anything but a novelty until they can be used with sub-vocal sounds. I really don't want to be anywhere near a plane or train where everybody is talking to their computer. I can type faster than I can talk to Siri, anyway.
Now, I won't buy Windows 8 because I won't give Microsoft money (for reasons that don't have anything to do with the quality or lack thereof regarding their products. It's political. But I'm glad to see that somebody is thinking about computer interfaces that can be used to make something, not just buy something. Apple doesn't seem to be doing it, but they're apparently too busy being the richest company in the world by making products that are for consumption-only. That's not a knock on them. I just need tools more than I need home shopping network on steroids.
I am replying on a tablet and can tell you that their biggest selling point is you can easily read them on the crapper. This post would be longer but I'm done and its time to flush.
Travel more. Tablets are all over Korea. I see tons every day. Coffee shops, subway, bus, etc.
yes, lots of smart phones, but its easier to whip out a smart phone than to pull the tablet out of your bag. Just because someone has a smart phone in their hand doesn't mean the don't have a tablet in their bag that they're going to use when they get into a more comfortable place.
Having recently finished backpacking across Europe and South America for 6 months, my experience of wifi users in hostels is
(a) iPads are more commonly owned US travellers than other nationalities. More hipsters?
(b) It's rare to see Android tablets
(c) Netbooks are more common than full size laptops by a factor of 3:1 - portability
(d) Netbooks outnumber iPads by 10:1.
(d) smartphone users check a couple of things but jump on a full sized desktop whenever a machine becomes free.
So netbooks are still popular with the traveller. Keyboards haven't gone the way of the dinosaur for those that want to type lengthy messages to folks back home. Netbooks predating the iPad craze and the cost of choosing a new machine is also a factor, obviously.
The future, for Apple competitors, is to reinvent the netbook as Asus have done with the Transformer. Tablet AND lightweight laptop in one device. Stick Win 8 on these things and MS have a touchscreen tablet that runs Word and Excel when docked.
The gap in the price of capacitive touchscreens over regular netbook displays just narrowed with the new iPad's retina display. As soon as MS have Office ready on ARM, it's game over for the Atom as Transformer-like devices running Win8 retail at netbook prices ~ $US300.
So MS is releasing this preview for x86 desktops but the real prize is claiming a share of the tablet+keyboard market from Android and wooing business customers that a Win8 tablet can run Office when you need to 'get real work done'.
tablets are being used to turn the computer from a content creation & consumption device. to just a consumption device no different then a tv or radio.
It's interesting how the comments on Apple/iPad/Post-PC articles, financials of Apple/Dell/HP etc. state that "MS is dying in the Post-PC" era, but now when they come out with a solution to make a OS run on different form factors and to have tablets that are not just consumption devices,
Tablets don't have to be just for consumption - people are already using iPads and the like for creative purposes. But, when you think about it, most of what the typical person uses even a full-blown computer for tends to be mainly consumption and communication - Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, email, chat, etc. Even for work, the most content creation they do involves making a Word document or an Excel spreadsheet.
As far as that "vast Win32 ecosystem" goes... remember that Windows tablets aren't exactly a new idea. Microsoft has tried - and failed - to leverage that vast ecosystem to make Windows-based phones and tablets a success before. Time will tell regarding Metro, of course; but while you seem to think their success is a foregone conclusion, recent history shows otherwise. It comes down to whether or not Microsoft learned from their previous failures, which is something I, for one, am not convinced of.
I don't agree with Thurrot's analysis that "the desktop is just an app." Oh really? The desktop is still there, with Explorer, the taskbar, the system tray, and every other feature the desktop has ever had, and Thurrot wants us to believe this is somehow just some little "app" that's running inside of Metro? Hardly. The desktop is still the desktop. It is Windows.
What Windows 8 has done is given us this new launcher application, called Metro, which accepts plug-ins, called apps, and which will now launch automatically when you login to the system and again every time you push the Start button. Metro feels like the ultimate terminate-and-stay-resident program from the 80s, where every time you push the hotkey it takes over your entire screen.
Also, try to spend a few minutes learning shortcuts etc. before dissing the experience. It's not a SP for Windows 7, it's a new OS.
No, it isn't. It really isn't. Keyboard shortcuts do not make an "OS." The fact that the device drivers for every weird hardware device on my laptops carried over from Windows 7 to Windows 8 without a hitch demonstrates that the two are essentially the same OS.
What Microsoft has done with Windows 8 is it has taken a UI that works and put a big curtain in front of it (Metro) so that every time you want to use the OS the way you're accustomed to doing, you have to push the curtain aside. And as soon as you push the wrong button (the Windows key) or you want to launch a new application, the curtain drops down again.
They envision that with Windows 8, most new monitors will be touch enabled because of the demand so that for some functions(like clicking on links), people can use touch.
Just because I can use touch doesn't mean I will want to. I am not going to be reaching across my desk to click on links when there's a mouse sitting in my right hand. I don't need a new repeat strain injury [infoworld.com] and I don't want to smear my monitor with fingerprints. Poking around in midair with your fingers looks cool in movies, but in practice what we do now is more efficient, which makes it preferable. It's not logical to get rid of the more efficient way of doing things for the sake of something that looks cool.
You may disagree with the vision, but you can't disagree that there is a method behind the madness.
I don't disagree that there's a method. But that doesn't mean it's not madness. When your friend guns his engine and says, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing -- we can make it across the canyon," it's time to get out of the car.
Parenthetically, why don't you ever see in Star Trek someone cleaning the fingerprints and accumulated grunge off all those touch screen displays? There must be a janitorial service just to do that.
Oh, because it's fiction, that's why.
Now that I think of it, that might make the basis of a story. A janitor forgets to lock out the navigation console, juices up his rag, and sends the ship Where No One Wants To Go.
Where's the menu bar? Why would you want me to work without a menu bar?!
Also, try to spend a few minutes learning shortcuts etc.
And Windows users accuse the *nix crowd of being arrogant because we say "rtfm" too often for their tastes.
A lot of people are flippin' lost without visual cues. 8 has taken visual cues and turned them invisible and put them in hot corners and stupid shit like that.
Metro on the desktop is a goddamned failure. Microsoft is doing this simply because they can, and there is almost a cult-like movement within Microsoft about metro that if you don't like it, then there is something wrong with you. This is exemplified by your statement here.
"Try doing that with an iPad."
there was nothing in the video you can't do with an iPad.
"Try doing that with an iPad."
there was nothing in the video you can't do with an iPad.
You can also make an octopus by nailing more legs to a dog, but it will be a very shitty octupus.
You can also make an octopus by nailing more legs to a dog, but it will be a very shitty octupus.
I don't think... I mean... the... what?!
You may disagree with the vision, but you can't disagree that there is a method behind the madness.
The problem with Microsoft, and a lot of us have been around long enough to see it repeatedly, is that when they decide that something is shiny and new, they drop all ongoing development of everything else like it doesn't even exist any more, even if the new thing is not a suitable replacement for the old thing.
When Microsoft decided that XAML was the "Way Forward" for rich web applications, they moved all but one guy off the IE team and into the Visual Studio and Expression teams to develop things like the improved XML editor, the designers, etc... Now, as a developer, I find those improvements very useful, but meanwhile there was one guy left of the IE 'team' doing just security fixes for years. This is why there was such a huge gap between IE6 and IE7, and why IE7 was such a small improvement compared to the progress made by Firefox and WebKit in the same time period.
Now, if you're a XAML-only programmer, then Microsoft was being innovative and moving forward. To HTML-based web application programmers they were being stupid and counter-productive, dragging the entire Internet down to the lowest common denominator that was IE6. That made a lot of people very upset with them, and rightly so. There was no way XAML could ever replace HTML, because it was tied to the
With Windows 8, Microsoft is doing the exact same thing again. If you're a phone or tablet programmer, then Microsoft is innovative and moving forward. For desktop users -- Microsoft's biggest market -- they are being stupid and counter-productive, dragging the entire Desktop world down to a lowest common denominator with limited devices that don't have keyboards and mice. The walled garden of WinRT applications can never replace desktop applications, because the APIs are deliberately limited to suit the tablet environment. They have to be, otherwise apps would kill battery life or introduce vulnerabilities. A new framework has to be more than just a Tablet API or GUI, but that won't stop Microsoft from ignoring "classic" Windows applications for the next half a decade.
It's not just the GUI, Microsoft's other technologies have been suffering too from a lack of newness an shinyness. For example, their C++ standards compliance is woeful: the next release amounts to little more than some additional header files -- basically whatever one of their interns could whip up in a month, instead of a real revamp of the core compiler technology to have significantly new features. This is because they were too busy coming up with yet another bastardised non-standard version of C++ so that they can call WinRT APIs efficiently. Don't even think of asking for C99 support!
Sure, nobody is being forced to use WinRT, or tiles, or tablets, but if you're not using them, then you're using APIs and systems that will basically stop dead in the water, which in the computer world is the same as going backwards. Microsoft is atrocious at "seeing things through", because of their short attention span. For example, did you know that both Vista and Windows 7 natively support higher color depths than 24-bit, and GUI scaling? Had Microsoft kept going with that, our desktops could have had "double resolution" just like tablets, 36-bit deep color, wider gamuts, 200 DPI, and a bunch of things by now. But nooo... it was shiny then for a couple of years, and then Microsoft got bored and dropped all ongoing development of that as a feature. They even have a JPG-like image format that supports all of those better color features, but they never had more than some demo code written. Meanwhile, Apple demonstrated the value of technology that Microsoft had been sitting on for years, and suddenly everybody wants an iPad 3 with a Retina Display. Sigh...
Apple and Microsoft have both failed to fully realize the technology needed for high-DPI displays. Apple isn't really doing the complicated scaling in iOS that OS X and Windows have been capable of. They're just doubling the pixels. Sure Apple has the first high-DPI displays, but they're going the easy route of simple doubling.
I don't blame Apple or Microsoft for not following through on the development of scalable UIs either. High-DPI displays haven't caught on because 1080p panels became incredibly cheap.
I hope Win8's Metro is better than the sucky "ribbon" interface in office. I just started using it last week, and today I couldn't even figure out how to "undo" a mistake I made in Excel. I'm looking at it right now, and all I see in front of me is a confusing mess of heiroglyphics. Grrr. If I wanted my computer menu to look like the wall of an Egyptian pyramid, I would have imported it from there.
I never thought I'd ever say this... but the Commodore GEOS was actually easier to use. I've hated Micros
I hope Win8's Metro is better than the sucky "ribbon" interface in office. I just started using it last week, and today I couldn't even figure out how to "undo" a mistake I made in Excel.
Ctrl-Z, just like always.
Problem is they fucked up the setup on the desktop. On an embedded device, Metro is everything. Makes sense, it is the embedded GUI, and they can't run PC apps. So you fire up the device, Metro is what you get.
However on a PC, the desktop should be what you get, Metro should be something you open in it. That way you can run Metro apps if you want, which is cool, but on the terms of a desktop. You can let them run full screen, or not, put them in a window. It'll seem "full screen" to them, they'll just be told that window is their screen.
The reason is the multi-window paradigm is what works for desktop computing. It is an efficient way to work with multiple programs, which is what almost everyone does. Even non tech types. It is efficient to be able to open up multiple things, arrange them as you like, switch between them easily, and so on.
The smart phone idea is not an efficient way to work, it is just a necessary one given the limitations of the platform. Trying to force it on the desktop is rather stupid.
I can see the benefits of sharing a codebase, but the fundamental interface is going to need to remain different.
However on a PC, the desktop should be what you get, Metro should be something you open in it. That way you can run Metro apps if you want, which is cool, but on the terms of a desktop. You can let them run full screen, or not, put them in a window. It'll seem "full screen" to them, they'll just be told that window is their screen.
While it can't do it out of the box, it seems that it can be hacked into working that way. Have you seen Stardock's Start8 [stardock.com]? There was a story about it the other day. What it does is bring back the Start button, but it doesn't pop up the traditional Win7-style Start menu. Instead, it shows [addictivetips.com] the new Metro home screen - except it does that inside a popup window that's about as big as the old Start menu was.
The next logical step for them would be to do just what you say - let people run Metro apps in movable, re
Yep, Metro apps being full screen is a deal breaker for anyone with large screens. I'm really not sure what they were thinking.
Back when computing started, all apps were full screen apps. The *instant* technology allowed it, we moved towards a windowed paradigm, because it's nice to be able to do and look at multiple things at once. Since then, displays have gotten larger with higher pixel density, making the windowed paradigm more and more useful.
And now we're going backwards to mandatory full screen apps?
Failed web "designers" are ruining GUI applications left and right. It doesn't matter if they're open-source apps or if they're closed-source commercial apps. These self-labeled "UI designers" and "usability experts" get involved with a popular project that had a usable UI, and they completely trash it.
This has happened to GNOME. This has happened to Firefox. This is now apparently even happening to Windows!
Somehow, these "designers" have managed to create UIs that are far worse than even non-artistic programmers came up with. Firefox is a perfect example of this. The earlier releases had very usable UIs. Then came Firefox 4, and the entire UI was shit upon. Each subsequent release has fucked up the UI more and more. Now we don't have menus by default, we don't have a status bar by default, and Firefox is damn near unusable without heavy tweaking to re-enable such basic UI elements!
The only appropriate thing to do is to shun these people. It doesn't matter which project it is, or what sort of application is being developed. Refuse their contributions. Refuse their ideas. Shoot down their suggestions in mailing list discussions. Don't allow them direct commit access to any source code. Ensure that bugs are logged regarding their horrible designs, especially when usability is impacted.
We need to go back to software developers creating UIs. Maybe they're not artists, and maybe the UIs they built weren't "pretty" (a.k.a full of curved corners and gradients), but at least they were intuitive and we could use them to get real work done efficiently. We can't do that any longer, now that "designers" are trashing every UI they come into contact with.
Failed web "designers" are ruining GUI applications left and right. It doesn't matter if they're open-source apps or if they're closed-source commercial apps. These self-labeled "UI designers" and "usability experts" get involved with a popular project that had a usable UI, and they completely trash it.
This has happened to GNOME. This has happened to Firefox. This is now apparently even happening to Windows!
I used to think that about Gnome, until I installed it and started using it.
True, I installed a couple extensions to help me out, but after spending some time with Gnome Shell, it does a really good job of just staying out of the way.
I'm very much a keyboard kinda guy though. To me, too much mouse use gets in the way.
A lot of the time, developers are so intimately familiar with the product and code that it is difficult to discern when something isn't intuitive to a novice user.
Perhaps you didn't quite mean this, but it's a very one sided statement. There are novices and experts, and UIs shouldn't just be designed for novices. In fact, for software that gets used a lot, a user stays a novice only a small amount of time, before transitioning to advanced status. So a UI should be designed primarily for advanced users and experts first, and novices second, provided that doesn't interfere with advanced use too much.
The trouble with outside UI designers is that they think like novices, which they often are when they initially join a project. So their priorities are all wrong, and must be fought. Alternatively, they should prove that they already understand advance usage inside out, and then argue that a change is going to improve novice usage without worsening advanced usage.
If there are no on screen visuals I'm lost. I rarely use keyboard shortcuts and I can see that increasing when there isn't a keyboard.
The problem I have with Metro is that it's so hard to organize things. I have over 1000 shortcuts currently on my Windows 7 machine, where are they supposed to fit in Metro. I'd need to scroll for a week to find what I'm looking for. "Oh, but you can just type the name of what you are looking for. " but I don't remember the name just what the icon looks like. Keep your Metro, give me a start menu and we can both be happy.
If there are no on screen visuals I'm lost.
This is very true. It's a problem with a lot of touch-centric UIs: There are no onscreen hints or anything to explain to you how to use the UI.
Anyone who has ever used a word processor can sit down with Microsoft Word and write a letter. There will probably be things you don't know how to do, so you'll end up searching the Ribbon to find them. But that's just it -- you can find them. There will be icons there and the icons will have labels that say things like "Insert Date/Time."
Metro, on the other hand, has a few clever icons, but they don't necessarily mean anything to someone who has never seen them before. Some of the other functions involve gestures or moving the cursor to just the right part of the screen to activate a feature. I found I had to stumble around awhile before I knew how some of the most basic navigational controls worked.
Note: I didn't say search around, as you'd have to do with the Ribbon. I said stumble around, meaning I had to try mouse movements and push icons without knowing what they were actually going to do. Inevitably that meant I'd end up activating controls I hadn't meant to. I might luck out and find the thing I want, or I might immediately think "Undo, Undo, Undo"
... Apart from Metro only being useful if you have a laptop/tablet/smartphone (touch screen Desktop/TV never worked!)
Was that both GUI's weren't linked, they were in essence 2 separate desktops.
So if i opened IE (or any other program) on Metro and had to switch to the "other" desktop, If I opened IE there it was a totally new session. (I'd think it would be better, or nice, to ask the user if he wanted to pull the session from metro.)
i gave it a week of use, then wiped it.
Face it, nobody likes it.
Any time you find yourself explaining Why People Should Like Your Stuff if they Only Used It Right, it means you have failed Marketing 101 and need to turn in your diploma, because you obviously weren't paying attention in class.
(my first degree was in Marketing, fwiw)
An article that everyone (including plenty Slashdotters) see when they open Microsoft Visual Studio today:
Create your first Metro style app using C++
[This documentation is preliminary and is subject to change.]
A WindowsMetro style app is tailored for the user experience that's introduced in Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Every great Metro style app follows certain design principles that make it look more beautiful, feel more responsive, and behave more intuitively than a traditional desktop app. Before you start creating a Metro style app, we recommend that you read about the design philosophy of the new model. You can find more info at Designing Metro style apps.
Here, we introduce essential code and concepts to help you use C++ to develop a Metro style app that has a UI that's defined in Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML).
If you'd rather use another programming language, see:
Create your first Metro style app using JavaScript
Create your first Metro style app using C# or Visual Basic
Before we start coding, let's look at some of the features and design principles that you can use to build a Metro style app with C++. It will also be helpful to look at how Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Express Beta for Windows 8 supports the design and development work. And it's important to understand how and when to use the Visual C++ component extensions (C++/CX) to simplify the work of coding against the Windows Runtime. Our example app is a blog reader that downloads and displays data from an RSS 2.0 or Atom 1.0 feed.
This article is designed so that you can follow the steps to create the app yourself. By the time you complete this tutorial, you'll be prepared to build your own Metro style app by using XAML and C++.
Comparing C++ desktop apps to Metro style apps
If you're coming from a background in Windows desktop programming with C++, you'll probably find some aspects of Metro style app programming to be very familiar, and other aspects that require some learning.
What's the same?
You're still coding in C++, and you can access the STL, the CRT, and any other C++ libraries, except that you can't invoke certain functions directly, such as those related to file I/O.
If you're used to visual designers, you can still use them. If you're used to coding UI by hand, you can hand-code your XAML.
You're still creating apps that use Windows operating system types and your own custom types.
You're still using the Visual Studio debugger, profiler, and other development tools.
You're still creating apps that are compiled to native machine code by the Visual C++ compiler. Metro style apps in C++ don't execute in a managed runtime environment.
What's new?
The design principles for Metro style apps are very different from those for desktop apps. Window borders, labels, dialog boxes, and so on, are de-emphasized. Content is foremost. Great Metro style apps incorporate these principles from the very beginning of the planning stage. For more info, see Planning Your App.
You're using XAML to define the entire UI. The separation between UI and core program logic is much clearer in a Metro style app than in an MFC or Win32 app. Other people can work on the appearance of the UI in the XAML file while you're working on the behavior in the code file.
You're primarily programming against a new, easy-to-navigate, object-oriented API, the Windows Runtime, although Win32 is still available for some functionality.
When you use Windows Runtime objects, you're (typically) using C++/CX, which provides special syntax to create and access Windows Runtime objects in a way that enables C++ exception handling, delegates, events, and automatic reference counting of dynamically created objects. When you use C++/CX, the details of the underlying COM and Windows architecture are almost completely hidden from your app code. But if you prefer, you can program directly against the COM interfaces by using the Windows Runtime C++ Temp
Why are all my computer interfaces being transformed into children's toys?
Why are my menu bars, tables, and text boxes being replaced by coloured icons dancing around the screen. Am I expected to just intuitively "feel" where all the programs and options are now?
This isn't just an OS problem. It happening across the program spectrum and I blame the influence of smartphones and similar touch oriented devices.Speaking as someone who has never owed a smart phone I have always found them restrictive and confusing. Using one is like navigating a theme park without a map. Eventually you'll want to just find a place to sit down but you'll only get more lost among the theme rides and hot dog stands.
If this nonsense gets rolled out onto computers that people are supposed to be working on, it will either precipitate a recession or an injunction by employers groups. Either way, I'm sticking to menubars.
OK, I resist change just like everyone else. But that's not what is going on here.
Monitors are getting bigger. I'm doing more things at once. I want better ways of managing that. But Metro just gives me one thing at a time. Sorry, that's not a solution to the problem. That's going back to the original Macintosh.
Apple isn't perfect, but at least they've been trying some new ideas. I don't think the new ideas on screen management have been all that successful, but at least they're attacking the right problem.
At the moment, nobody has a better idea for a smart phone or a tablet than to show one app at a time. The only way W8 makes sense is if they're adding a piece for portable devices, and said "while we're at it, let's let desktop guys use it too." Fine. But only if they realize that the desktop systems still need new ideas as well. And if I were doing a ground-up redesign, I'd consider whether we might be ready for a better approach with tablets as well. The new iPad has more pixels than many monitors. I'm not sure one app at a time should be the only way to use it.
..and absolutely great
At my job I'm already working with Win8 a little, and I don't think it's so damned great. It holds your hand like you're a silly child and hides even more from you than any version of Windows I've ever seen. I suppose if you're looking for the OS for the most dumbed-down generation ever then it's great, but for those of us who want something functional and powerful, I think it's a huge flop.
I'm really trying to work with this. Other than Metro, Windows 8 isn't bad. It's actually a marked improvement over Windows 7. The biggest change is the number of windows I can manage and keep open with 4 gigs of RAM. Memory seems to be cycling by itself with no third party software, registry hacks, or manual optimization. Silverlight is better on my 2gb Gforce card. Netflix is clean, and looking great. On Windows 7, the picture was muddier. So in terms of the things I care about (lots of open windows and netflix) Windows 8 is a boom.
What I'm not impressed with is the way Metro is locked down. I downloaded Visual Studio 11 beta so I could start writing Metro apps, and was immediately reminded that Microsoft will be approving any and all Metro apps, but they're letting me run my own stuff out of the kindness of their ever loving little hearts. That annoyed me, and it made me question my motivation for wanting to write Metro apps in the first place.
I mean, I can write an Android app today, compile it into an APK, and it'll run on any Android device within the scheme I compile for. Google doesn't and shouldn't care about the apps I write, and I like it that way. I don't really see the point of building something in the first place when someone who has nothing to do with anything can control my ability to publish it. If there's any chance of rejection at all, why should I bother to begin with?
I'm not learning new platforms because I like new platforms (well, I am, kina), I'm doing it because I want to have viable programs that I can do things with.
Screwing with my ability to publish my work is not a way to launch a new product.
I'm sorry. It's totally unacceptable.
What I don't get is the obsession for "search" in new desktops. Must I now use search to find my apps too?
I never use the file search tools either, as my files are nicely enough organized in directories. Well, maybe the unix "find" command is nice sometimes.
It's not the UI.
It's the way MS treats its users. The main difference between MS (who couldn't get rid of the "Start" menu for close to 15 years even though their final user testing prior to launching windows 95 revealed that it was a horrible, broken idea) and Apple (who can seemingly come up with a new paradigm for the iPhone/iPad and have it accepted) is in how they think.
MS thinks like developers. So when they have an idea they like, they force it on the users. And if the users don't accept it, they force it some more.
Apple thinks like designers. If they have an idea, they test it out and refine it until the users love it.
And that's why this would have worked if the one Steve had come up with the idea, but it'll be an epic fail in the hands of the other Steve.
Logic is the chastity belt of the mind!


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Phoenix Temple
series: Life On Fire
air date: 1/23/13 9:00 PM
Around the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua, life has struggled for thousands of years to re-emerge from the ashes. Underground, vampire and other bat species have colonized the miles of tunnels created by hot flowing magma. In the crater, parakeets and vultures have made nests on cliffs exposed to toxic gases. On the flanks of this still active mountain, the vegetation has been burnt away by lava flows leaving barren stretches that are recolonized over hundreds of years. At the foot of the volcano, fields, pastures and towns have grown over the oldest lava flows. In this harsh environment, nature struggles to conquer ash and lava before the next eruption erases its efforts ... and the phoenix must rise again.
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After appealing to sack Union Law Minister,Mr Veerappa Moily on the grounds of him being a "Kannadiga", Mr Bal Thackery has taken a step forward and has appealed for the sacking of following "Kannadigas" from Mumbai viz:
1>Former Maharasthra Governor, Mr S.M.Krishna
2>Bollywood Reigning Queen,Ms Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
3>Deepika Padukone.
Mr "Talk"rey addressed the press conference held yesterday in Mumbai. He was seen in his regular saffron attire and was found fuming. He said,"After sacking Union Minister,Mr Veerappa Moily,who is a Kannadiga and who is currently handling Maharasthra-Karnataka border issues, we are sacking Mr S.M Krishna,Aishwarya Rai and Deepika Padukone too from Mumbai". Aishwarya Rai and Deepika Padukone are also Kannadigas and they dont have any right to continue acting in our Mumbai soil when we are having border issues with Karnataka". Mr S.M Krishna who was our former Governor should also return back to Karnataka as he is a Kannadiga.
He continued," I have written to the Hindi Film Chamber appealing for immediate removal of Aishwarya Rai and Deepika Padukone from the Hindi Film industry". Their movies should be stopped screening. If our sena catches any Mumbaiker watching and supporting movies of Ash or Deepika, we will teach them a lesson. Also the products endorsed by Ash and Deepika like Nakshatra jewellery,pepsi,coke,vivel soap,loreal etc should be banned immediately.
We have also written a letter to Mr Amitji and Abhishekji appealing in "vinambrata" to send Ash back to Karnataka as she is a Kannadiga." Our Sainiks will be vacating Deepika's Mumbai house shortly and that will be utilised to provide shelter for deprived people in Mumbai. We wish Deepika all the best with her badminton racquet and Ash with her "plastic smile". We are also planning to ban plastic in Mumbai,so we started with Aishwarya Rai".
"We are True Mumbaikars and we strive for the welfare of Mumbai and Mumbaikars." If our "Mission Karnataka" is successful, we will subsequently launch "Mission North India" shortly!!"


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Blanton Channels Halladay In Complete Game Shut-Out
Since Roy Halladay was unable to perform like Roy Halladay on Wednesday night, Joe Blanton decided to step in and give it a try. Blanton did such a great Halladay impersonation that he managed to shut-out the Braves in a 3-hit complete game for a 4-0 Phillies win.
But maybe Blanton was not channeling the spirit of an ace pitcher at all; maybe this is just who Blanton is when he is actually healthy. Either that, or maybe Blanton just needs to take every other year off and only play baseball during even-numbered years?
After a few tough years, Blanton has finally gone from an average Joe to an ace. And after the previous night's 11-inning 15-13 disaster that blew out both team's bullpens, the Phillies pitchers really needed the boost from Blanton's complete game.
The offense provide just enough offense to sneak out of Atlanta with a series win, 2 games to 1. Shane Victorino and Laynce Nix both homered in the game and Hunter Pence added a sac fly.
The Phillies begin a 3-game series with the first place (gulp!) Nationals on Friday night. Stephen Strasburg will pitch against Phillies fill-in extraordinaire, Kyle Kendrick (double gulp!). Game time is 7:05pm…let the fun begin!
"LIKE" us on Facebook for more updates & photos!
Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography


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ST. CHARLES – Inland Real Estate bought Randall Square Shopping Center, 1460-1596 S. Randall Road, Geneva, as part of a purchase of 13 shopping centers, company officials in Oak Brook said.
Inland's purchase was a $121 million cash buyout of a pension fund partner, the New York State Teachers' Retirement System, for 2.3 million square feet of gross leasable space, officials said in a statement. Randall Square, which is 216,485 square feet, houses Marshall's, Bed, Bath and Beyond, PetSmart, Michael's, Party City and Old Navy.
The opportunity to acquire the pension fund's interest advances the company's strategic goals to increase the size and quality of its consolidated portfolio, simplify ownership structure and strengthen its balance sheet, Mark Zalatoris, president and chief executive officer, said in the statement.
Radco completes purchase of Covington Court
Geneva-based ShoDeen sold its apartment complex Covington Court in St. Charles to an Atlanta company for $19.2 million, officials said.
Radco Companies, a real estate development and investment company, will rename the 226-unit apartment complex Ashford at St. Charles. Radco bought another ShoDeen apartment complex, Brittany Court, 390 Brittany Court, Geneva, in February for about $27 million, Radco owner Norman Radow said.
Radow said the company owns about 4,000 apartments in Illinois, Georgia and Indiana.


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Throughout the championship, Spassky had a team of people looking after him.
When the Spassky match was set to begin, everyone went to Iceland.
From Spassky I went to Uspensky by motor-car, and spent three days there with the foreman of the mine and his family.
I had another most interesting experience before leaving Spassky and the Akmolinsk Steppes.


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UVM Farmer Training Graduation Celebrated on Oct. 31
Eighteen students receive certificate in sustainable farming
- 11-14-2012
- By Alexandra Nicole Tursi
The University of Vermont Continuing Education hosted its 2012 Farmer Training Program graduation on Oct. 31, 2012. After successful completion of the six-month hands-on program, each of the 18 graduates received a Certificate in Sustainable Farming. Now completing its second year, the UVM Farmer Training Program provides students with a skill-based education in sustainable farming with the unique opportunity to manage their own growing site, take classes from professors and expert farmers, and rotate as learners on successful, diverse farms in the Burlington area.
This year's graduates come from across the country and Canada.
Family and friends gathered at the John Dewey Lounge in UVM's Old Mill building, where the graduates received words of inspiration, hope and reflection from Cynthia Belliveau, dean of UVM Continuing Education, the academic unit that launched and manages the program; Corie Pierce, a local farmer and program partner, who manages Bread & Butter Farm in Shelburne, Vt.; and Susie Walsh Daloz, director of the UVM Farmer Training Program. And, of course, there was no lack of local foods to fete the students.
Dean Belliveau delivered the graduation address.
She said: "This is an important moment – for you, and for our world. For you, it's the beginning you have worked toward over the past six months. You have rolled up your sleeves and gotten to know our earth by cultivating, digging, weeding, harvesting, washing, packing, delivering, eating – and, most importantly, learning – learning how to grow and nurture a sustainable future. John Dewey, one of the university's great thinkers, believed that to learn, we must do something in the world. You have done so."
She recalled the students' impressive projects, which included a weekly farmstand on campus and a partnership with Sodexo to provide fresh produce in the university's dining halls.
Certificates were awarded by Susie Walsh Daloz, director; Laura Williams, program coordinator and farm manager; and Michael Meehan, assistant farm educator with the Farmer Training Program.
Williams noted that during the program, among other accomplishments, the students:
- Planted 153 varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs.
- Met with 50+ farmers, agricultural specialists, professors and extension agents.
- Generated $19, 980 in sales through the Farmer Training Program CSA, Farm Stand, and wholesale accounts.
- Donated 4,535 pounds of food to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf.
"It was an incredible six months. Though this cohort of students came to Vermont with a wide range of backgrounds and skill sets, they shared a common passion and commitment to immersing themselves in sustainable farming," said Walsh Daloz. "The learning environment was dynamic and rich, and I have no doubt this group will stay deeply connected as they take their next steps in creating a resilient food system across the country. We celebrate them, their accomplishments, and the change we know they will inspire."
UVM Continuing Education is currently accepting applications for the 2013 Farmer Training Program, which will take place May 2-Oct. 31, 2013. Learn more at the Farmer Training Program Website, or email email@example.com.
The Farmer Training Program is a 6-month intensive, full-time program for aspiring farmers and food systems advocates. Participants leave with a Certificate in Sustainable Farming, a deeper understanding of agricultural management and small-scale farming, and the entrepreneurial skills to start their own operation.
About University of Vermont Continuing Education
Continuing Education (CE) helps thousands of non-traditional students continue their education at the University of Vermont. Through collaborations with the various colleges and schools, CE offers courses and programs to help students explore their options to advance or change their careers. Visit us online http://learn.uvm.edu/.


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The highest quality infrastructure and a helping hand, from startup to enterprise level.
The support offered by iWeb was crucial to choosing them over another data center. We discussed the design for several days before the project, as well as during the deployment of the servers, and without the support of the iWeb team we would not have had the same success.Gustavo Nobrega, eSapiens, BrazilRead case study