text:
The BMW X4 won't come to market until 2014, but rumors around a potential M version of the compact Sports Activity Coupe are starting to pop-up. Built under the code F26, the X4 shares the same platform as the new X3, and will be positioned, price wise, below the X5. According to our sources, the X4 is 4.65 meters long (183 inches), same length as the F25 X3. The X4M, if approved, would take on the Porsche Macan, the new performance SUV based on the Cayenne model.
According to the usual BMW insider, Scott27, the BMW X4M is "being taken seriously as a concept in order to fulfill accessible performance for a Performance SUV and offer all-wheel-drive."
Here is the full rumor from the BMW insider (edited for grammar):
BMW X4 Rendering
With Porsche about to introduce a new performance niche based on the highly successful Cayenne Concept with the more compact and volume friendly Macan, BMW and BMW M are in the process of developing a significant competitor that when it comes to the market in 2015 it meets the Macan with a roar rather than a whimper.
Both the Macan and X4 are significant to their parent companies fortunes. The success of both the Cayenne in its two generations and the X6 has led to demand for smaller similar highly focused concepts embodying the style , image and similar performance level in a much more compact and price effective package.
The success of the BMW X6M has taken BMW by surprise which in some markets and in this case key strategic growth markets X6M outsells the M3 and M5. M considers the X6M as a "volume" model, although it does not sell in the usual quantities of BMW's volume models. The amounts of X6M models that have been sold globally are considered "volume" by M standards.
Given the market reaction to the BMW X6 and X6M, BMW has investigated the prospect of a further Sport Activity Concept in regards to the global market for the X6 which has surpassed initial expectations by tripling its sales projection since introduction in early 2008. The success of the X6 has also pushed other manufacturers into developing similar concepts by combining sporty dynamic looks with luxury and high performance. The next phase of the luxury market and further expansion of luxury SUV vehicles.
BMW got there first.
Investigation into an X4 concept was further buoyed when it was revealed that the pre-owned market for the X6 was also extremely buoyant especially in markets where the X6 reigned. The BMW X4 Concept was inevitable.
Given the progress of high performance SUV type vehicles and indeed the BMW X6M as a highly successful sales concept, the art of progress leads BMW to conform that in today's market- potentially an X4M has a) to be more successful than the X6M due to accessibility and b) to outsell the equivalent M3 Sedan in key strategic markets again like the X6M.
With the introduction of the Porsche Macan as the first high performance SUV concept in this segment development continues apace within BMW M's engineering division in Garching. Effectively dubbed internally as "an M3 on stilts," the X4M is being taken seriously as a concept in order to fulfill accessible performance for a Performance SUV and offer all-wheel-drive, a concept investigated and rejected for the current M5 and M3, and one of the decisions that led to the creation of the BMW M Performance brand.
With media reports disclosing the Macan Turbo using a 360 HP V6 before any subsequent Turbo S, and indeed like the Cayenne a GTS model, BMW are keen to make the point , that although X4M will have the advantage of the numbers game , the focus is on delivering that power in a dynamically competitive way that matches typical Porsche precision. The X4M will feature the same M3 in-line six-cylinder engine that is derived from an extensively reworked N55 with the latest in BMW's advanced induction and bi-vanos variable valve timing technology. This will drive all four wheels via an M-engineered torque sensing differential with the rear axle featuring a more advanced electronically controlled torque vectoring system from the rear wheels to improve cornering grip. BMW X4M will also benefit from specific springs, bushes and damping rates.
Chassis engineering will pay special attention to the cars dynamics, engineers focusing on providing the X4M with a more sporting and dynamic character with emphasis on traction, poise and grip by comprehensively retuning the donor X3's underpinnings.
The key to opening up the X4M to a wider audience is actually delivering a level of precision that matches that typical expectation of a BMW M car. Further developments inherited from the M3 will be the adoption of BMW M's electro-mechanical steering which has been specially developed and adapted for M cars to reflect pure driver-car communication. Given the situation of the market BMW only see need for the X4M to be available with a revised M-DCT transmission albeit with altered ratios to suit the car.
With X6M only available as an automatic and the next generation also benefiting from an M-DCT, BMW do not see the justification for a manual given the scope of potential X4M markets. As like the M3, the X4M will also intensively feature BMW EfficientDynamics technology such as engine stop-start, brake energy regeneration and on-demand operation of engine ancillaries.
The overall look of the X4 very much takes its appearance from its larger X6 brother and is basically in overall concept a shrunken down version. X4 continues the more dynamic appearance with a low-wide stance and sleek profile. Height difference between the (current) X6 and X4 shows the X4 to be 40mm lower than its sibling.
The appearance is derived from the X3 but updates the details in terms of headlight placement and the addition of a more contemporary connected three-dimensional twin kidney grille. The X4M inherits typical M aerodynamics with a more emphasis on sharper outlines to conform with the more chiseled X4 image. A deeper front bumper with large ducts for effective cooling for the engine and brakes with a more current M-type kidney grille , exterior mirrors , subtle rear boot lid spoiler , traditional quad exhausts and in between them a functioning diffuser. The sharper look may conform more to form than function but it is truly the opposite here.
One of the biggest additions to the X4M will be the option of a full CFRP roof , a first for an X M model but will also be available for the X6M to provide the lowest possible center of gravity. Other weight reduction enhancements also include an aluminum intensive chassis and body panels.
The interior of the X4 will receive a modern contemporary interior of current BMW standards including revised upper dashboard to incorporate a floating flat screen monitor. Seating will accommodate five passengers with optional seating for four.
As well as a Fully-fledged BMW X4M, BMW are also investigating two options for their M Performance brand based on the X4. The first uses a detuned version of the N57S found within the M50d models, expected to be designated as M40d and a vehicle created to appeal to tax conscious and efficiency driven European market.
The second is a forthcoming upgraded N55 which is previewed in the BMW Zagato Concept Car, with power of 400 hp and part of the latest EfficientDynamics family the model is expected to wear an M40i badge. This engine is expected to appear first in the M Performance BMW Z4 in 2013 after the LCi car is unveiled at the NAIAS in January.
The BMW X3 could also take advantage of the M Performance engines.[Source: GCF]


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ACTA Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected
from the debating-a-global-copyright-nanny-state dept
After fighting every step of the way to keep the ACTA secret, the USTR last week disengenuously proclaimed that it was finally time to make the international agreement public -- to "help the process of reaching a final agreement." Of course this proclamation of transparency and cooperation comes only after much of the agreement had been hashed out without substantive public input, after the European Parliament voted 633-to-13 to demand the release of ACTA's text, and after most of the agreement had already leaked to the press. Today the European Union finally released the full agreement (pdf) -- as well as a statement by EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht insisting that the release proves ACTA concerns have been unfounded (shockingly it turns out that's not true).
Most of what's in the agreement isn't a surprise given the leaks, and while the ACTA remains a bevy of awful policies, there are a few minor changes to degrees of said awfulness. While the leaked versions of the ACTA didn't explicity mandate ISP "three strikes" provisions, they did threaten to take away ISP safe harbor protections if ISPs didn't agree to police copyright, with the only real example of acceptable behavior being -- to employ three strikes provisions. This freshly-released version of the agreement gets rid of that language, instead simply insisting that ISPs can only retain safe harbor protections by adopting a "takedown" policy that will "address the unauthorized storage or transmission of materials protected by copyright."
That's of course simply taking our notoriously unreliable DMCA letter warning process and exporting it to Canada and elsewhere. Here in the States several major ISPs are already voluntarily taking this idea one step further -- by threatening users with disconnection for trading copyrighted files via BitTorrent (in some cases these threats, which no ISP is willing to transparently discuss, have been found to be a bluff). Some new language in the agreement also appears to take aim at softening European law, allowing countries to "terminate or prevent an infringement" and pass legislation "governing the removal or disabling of access to information." Meanwhile, Michael Geist notes that three strikes may not be dead yet given countries still need to hash out their differences:
"However, that does not mean that three strikes has disappeared from the draft entirely. The U.S. proposal for ISP liability is one of three options currently being considered. The European option preserves, but does not require, three strikes . . . The EU will argue this is consistent with the law in a few of its member states. If the approach is adopted, it will clearly keep three strikes on the table and could be used in other ACTA member countries to encourage its adoption."
Most of the language that critics have grown familiar with (making the bypassing of copy protection illegal even in cases of fair use, making copies of a large quality of content illegal even if no money is exchanged, mandating that ISPs become copyright nannies) remain at the heart of the ACTA. The agreement's central thrust continues to be to foist clearly dysfunctional, unreliable, and draconian U.S. DMCA-style copyright enforcement policies upon other countries. Other than that? Sure, ACTA concerns are "unfounded" with the release of this latest draft. Of course it can still get better (or worse) in time.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Trilogy is cruelty-free.
This brand has confirmed that it is truly cruelty-free. They don't test finished products or ingredients on animals, and neither do their suppliers or any third-parties. They also don't sell their products where animal testing is required by law.
When shopping through the links below, we may earn a small commission. There's no extra cost for you, and you're helping support Cruelty-Free Kitty.
Trilogy isn't certified by any official cruelty-free organizations.
About Trilogy
Trilogy is a mid-range brand that sells Hair Care and Skincare. Their products are available in or ship to Australia, Canada, International, UK/Europe and USA.


text:
we are currently running under a stealth coup-detet that was staged in over several decades.
ever notice that big money gets everything it wants? wall-street, the privately owned fed , the media all get everything they want at our expense. now it seems we have little to no say at all in the country policies.
in effect our government is now OWNED by insiders.
and it is only going to get worse.
the governments insane spending binges and giving away money to our enemy's can not go on forever when the nation is admittedly $17+ trillion in the hole. with government accounting the number could be far higher the debt could well be $60 trillion TODAY not 20 years away.
the poll for today is
if various members of the armed services decided "enough is enough" and decided to arrest the offending members of congress, the house and even the white house for their crimes against the united states of america, its people and the constitution .
clean house from top to bottom in the government in a coup-detat to counter the previous coup that installed all the thiefs and their friends.
then sort of re-start the country same laws , same constitution just new leadership in every position. installed two years later in a general election.
yes it sounds third-world. --though if something is not done soon the corruption will be so dug in it will be impossible to get rid of without even more drastic measures.
could a short term military take over be a good thing?
PS you can vote for more than ONE option.


text:
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text:
Dogs die from rat poison exposure in Columbus
Police: Child was exposed to rat poison
COLUMBUS, Wis. — Columbus Police Department said it's investigating the death of two dogs that are suspected to have died from ingesting rat poison.
Police said it's possible that someone is intentionally poisoning pets.
Both incidents happened a few houses apart on North Lewis Street in the city of Columbus, a few blocks from City Hall.
In these particular incidents, the dogs were seen playing with sticks that turned out to be a form of rat poison, according to Columbus police.
Three dogs ingested the poison. A 5-year-old yellow lab died last weekend. Another dog died Wednesday and the third dog, from the same house, is still being treated by veterinarians.
Police said the incidents are suspicious. Columbus Police Chief Daniel Meister said one of the homes has a fence, so the poison appears to have been thrown over the fence.
"The concerning thing about them is some of them, based upon the greenish color and these shapes, they look like these dog bones, these toys that dogs can chew on to help clean their teeth. So it's kind of hard to differentiate between what's a dog toy and what's something that's dangerous to them," Meister said.
Police said they can't say for sure whether the acts were intentional.
Police said they're worried about young children getting a hold of the poison blocks or sticks. Police said that in one of the cases, a small child found the stick in the yard and handled it.
Police said they are cautioning all residents to check their yards and properties for these poison sticks. If found, people should handle the sticks safely and place them in a paper bag.
In addition to keeping alert, police are also asking residents who have had sick pets or pets that have died suspiciously to come forward.
Poison manufacturers said the product is safe when used properly and directions are strictly followed.
Anyone with information should contact the Columbus Police Department at 920-623-5919.


text:
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
... oblings ...
For the missing two pattern examples I now have a description:LANCER: The Pattern is based on horizontal and vertical ridges forming oblings with rounded corners.
David, that sounds like the jug on eBay recently?
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text:
University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg Admissions Stats
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Many colleges put a great deal of weight on student ACT/SAT test scores when considering applications. College Greenlight can help you see how you rank compared to students who have been accepted to University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg
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Keep in mind that a lot of the facilities, much like the professors, are very outdated and old school. Sometimes this is frustrating and leads to question why this school is a good choice. Keep in mind that the walls of UPG have seen scholars born and many great discoveries and memories have been made here. If you keep a GPA of a 3.0 and complete 120 credits, the option to transfer to University of Pittsburgh is always available. If do you plan to come to Pitt-Greensburg, do not expect a school with wild parties every weekend. There is usually about one party every weekend and the same faces will be in attendance. The same old scene gets old, thus my friends and I made our own fun, whether it was crafting or watching Breaking Bad or catching up on homework (wait a second..that's not supposed to be fun. Oh!! We're also all biology majors, that explains it). I have learned to value quiet time for studying and preparing for my next week of classes, finding that I even enjoy it sometimes. It is also essential that you are knowledgeable on the requirements of your degree or field of study as the scheduling and advising staff is infamous for encouraging useless classes.Read More
You better know what your requirements are in your chosen field of study because the guidance office is not helpful whatsoever. I took many classes that I did not even need just because they told me I had to at the time.Read More
Don't be intimidated. Begin looking for what you want to do after graduation soon and make friends among the professors as this will help later.Read More
Get into main, and if you don't, go to Johnstown or Bradford, because here is just awful.Read More
Great school if you are looking for a quiet environment to study.Read More


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Secondary Piano Program
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The Secondary Piano Program of the IU School of music provides elective piano instruction for all students at IUB, and required piano classes for music majors.
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Secondary Piano Program faculty also oversee keyboard proficiency examinations for music majors.
DISCLAIMER: These documents are for information purposes only. Wherever they may conflict with the current Bulletin of the School of Music, or other official documentation, the Bulletin or department-approved documentation takes precedence.


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text:
January 2, 2013
Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby said Wednesday that the United States is "headed down the road that Europe's already on."
"We're always wanting to spend and promise and spend and borrow, but not cut," the Republican lawmaker said on Fox News's "Fox & Friends." "We've got to get real about this. We're headed down the road that Europe's already on."
Shelby was one of eight members — who hailed from both sides of the aisle — to oppose the Senate's fiscal cliff offer earlier this week. He slammed the final deal for not tackling issues like entitlement reform. The agreement extended Bush-era tax cuts for families making under $450,000 a year and warded off sequestration for another two months but did not take serious action on the debt or entitlements.
Take advantage of one of nature's most hardworking nutrients with Vasobeet now at 40% off!


text:
Swords & Wizardry Light - Forum
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Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Reminder - Tavern Chat - 9 PM Eastern - Post NTRPG Con Report
Yep, it's a Wednesday night and that means tonight is
Tavern Chat
The Tavern's Discord Server
I missed it last week, as I was at
NTRPG Con
. I really need to find a way to do a con AND
Tavern Chat
simultaneously, as I'll be attending four conventions a year starting in 2019.
Anyhow, here's the link for tonight's chat:
Hope to see you all tonight.
Oh, and if you haven't seen the new
5e Humble Bundle
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text:
Defender CT Red
Defender CT is a carpet tile that functions as a secondary matting system, removing soil and absorbing any moisture that has not been dealt with by the primary matting.
It is also extremely effective in other high traffic areas in your building. Four primary colours sit perfectly with the five more understated shades, all with one common element; a black thread designed to scrape dirt from shoes. Made from 100% Econyl regenerated nylon, Defender CT protects both your buildings and the environment.
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text:
BACKGROUND IMAGE: iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
- FeatureSo long SAIT-1
- FeatureEMC cuts power with new Centera
- FeatureFast CAS facts
- FeatureBackup and archiving get closer together
- FeatureHow SANs aid backup
- FeatureStamp out NAS threats
- FeatureLet your fingers do the walking
- FeatureCommVault Galaxy, EMC Retrospect best of the backup apps
- FeatureProtect Exchange data
- FeatureNew role for tape libraries
- FeatureUnderstanding dedupe ratios
- FeatureBest Practices: Sorting out remote-office backup
- FeatureHot Spots: VMware opens door for next-gen backup apps
- FeatureStorage Bin: Shining the green spotlight on storage
iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
New role for tape libraries
Tape libraries are finally assuming the role they were designed for: longterm protection and preservation of data. But as disk assumes its new role as the initial target for backups and the source for restores, tape library vendors need to shore up their abilities to interact with disk libraries and provide users with some definitive answers on encryption.
- Jerome Wendt, DCIG Inc.
With disk systems taking on a more prominent role for backup operations, tape libraries are adding new features to become the medium of choice for long-term archiving.
Consolidations, centralized protection of remote-office data and longer data retention rates--coupled with 50% year-over-year data growth--are forcing organizations to use tape libraries in new or expanded roles. Tape library vendors are adding new features to their products to remain relevant in this era of cheap disk, where disk-to-disk-to-tape (D2D2T) and virtual tape libraries (VTLs) are taking on larger backup and recovery roles.
A maturing class of midrange tape libraries (see "What's a 'midrange' tape library?") fills the gap between auto tape-drive loaders and high-end tape libraries that support hundreds of tape drives and thousands of tapes. These new midrange tape libraries allow organizations to either consolidate multiple auto tape loaders or to start small and scale to accommodate growth.
Features found in this class of tape libraries include:
- Partitioning
- One-frame configurations with support for up to 24 tape drives and 1,000 tape slots
- Various licensing options to accommodate additional tape slots
- Support for multiple tape media types
Quantum Corp.'s Scalar i500 (originally from ADIC, which is now owned by Quantum) reflects how one vendor is responding to new user demands. The Scalar i500 scales from one to 18 LTO drives and 36 to 404 tape slots in a single frame, and includes partitioning as a default feature. Partitioning lets departments control specific physical resources within the i500 and treat them as if they were a separate tape library.
Partitioning makes chargebacks easier, too, with each user or department paying only for the tape drives, cartridges and slots they use even though they're all housed in the same physical tape library. Partitions let departments control how their tape library resources are used, and keep their data logically and physically separate from other departments' data. IBM Corp.'s TS3310, Qualstar Corp.'s TLS series and Sony Electronics Inc.'s CSM200 are other examples of libraries that include partitioning as a standard feature.
Tighter integration with virtual tape and support for mixed tape media are other ways tape vendors are trying to make their products easier to use and indispensable for long-term archiving. And with the advent of LTO-4 drives and tapes, data encryption can take place within the tape library, which some analysts say, for performance reasons, is the best place for encryption to take place..
Partitions and scaling
Responding to requirements such as tape library consolidation, ease of expansion, uncomplicated cost allocation and support for different backup apps, nearly every tape library vendor offers partitioning.
While there's no magic formula for determining how many partitions an administrator should create within a library, less is usually better. For instance, Qualstar recommends users keep its TLS series libraries in a single library configuration for a single host running a library-specific backup app. When multiple hosts are present, and each needs to run its own library-specific backup app, Qualstar suggests subdividing the TLS into as many as four smaller logical libraries.
Tape libraries vary in how they implement, scale and license partitioning. For all libraries, each partition must include at least one tape drive, and each tape drive may only be a member of one partition. Tape libraries like IBM's TS3310 support a partition for each tape drive in the library, up to its maximum of six tape drives. Others, like Quantum's PX720, offer more tape drives (20) than partitions (six), which gives users more flexibility to mix and match multiple tape drives and slots within a partition. Overland Storage Inc.'s NEO 8000 only permits a second partition if another partition controller card is added to the unit.
Partitions may include as few or as many tape slots as the administrator defines, but tape libraries differ significantly in how they deliver and license tape slots. Sun Microsystems Inc.'s StorageTek L1400M ships with all of the slots installed in the frame; Sun then sells customers access to the slots. The L1400M's default capacity of 200 slots is included in the base price of the library. Additional slots can be purchased in 100-slot increments, with a software key granting access to the slots. Spectra Logic's Spectra T950 library similarly delivers all of the tape slots in a single frame, but allows users to license additional slots in increments of 10.
Quantum uses an alternative approach with its Scalar i500. The Scalar i500 is available in three base configurations: 5U (control module with 36 slots), 14U (36, 82 or 128 slots) and 23U (82, 128, 174 or 220 slots). It's then physically scaled by adding 9U expansion modules above or below the base system, with all modules served by a single, continuous robotics system that eliminates the need for pass-through ports or elevator systems. Additional slots may be activated in 46-slot increments using a software license key.
|Midrange tape libraries' support for virtual tape
Hewlett-Packard EML E-Series and ESL E-Series integrate with disk-based HP StorageWorks 6000 Virtual Library Systems.
Spectra Logic is the only vendor to mix disk and tape in its midrange library. The Spectra T950 library uses Spectra Logic's proprietary RXT SabreDrive and SabreMedia disk drives, which have the same physical shape as an LTO tape drive and tape, and present an LTO image to backup apps. The SabreDrive uses an internal RAID controller to write to the SabreMedia module, which holds multiple SATA disks. SabreMedia offers the same portability as tape; users can specify the RAID level of the media when they order it. This approach also circumvents the issues with the bar codes normally associated with disk. The SabreMedia cartridge lets the tape library assign a bar code to it and treat it as any other tape cartridge.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) Co. and Sun are the only other vendors with tape libraries in this class that support the migration of virtual volumes to tape. But for users to gain this functionality from HP's Enterprise Systems Library/Enterprise Modular Library (ESL/EML) series or Sun's StorageTek L700e libraries, they'll first have to place one of these vendors' VTLs in front of their tape libraries. HP users will need HP's StorageWorks 6000 Virtual Library System (VLS), while Sun shops can use one of the firm's Virtual Storage Manager (VSM) virtual tape library systems in front of the StorageTek L700e.
|What's a "midrange" tape library?
The lines defining tape library categories are blurring and vendors disagree on where to draw those lines. For example, Hewlett-Packard Co., Qualstar Corp. and Sony Electronics Inc. call their respective ESL series, TLS series and CSM series tape libraries enterprise products, while comparable models from IBM Corp., Quantum Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc.'s StorageTek are considered midrange by those vendors.
Where should encryption reside?
With stories of lost tape media regularly making headlines, "encryption is the killer app for tape," says Dave Kenyon, Sun's director of enterprise tape automation. But questions remain about the role tape libraries should play in the management of encrypted data, or if they should play any role at all.
The need to encrypt data stored on tape is becoming a given, more for political rather than technical reasons. "There is no knowledge of where anyone has read data from a lost tape," says Molly Rector, Spectra Logic's director of technical marketing. "Yet publicly traded companies must make public announcements when a tape is lost. Encrypting data on the tape would prevent companies from having to make this announcement, thereby saving them face."
The two main questions in this debate are what device or application should do the encryption and how the keys should be managed. Tape library vendors mostly agree that encryption belongs in the tape drive. While backup software products like Symantec Corp.'s Veritas NetBackup offer encryption as an option, this approach unnecessarily locks users into a specific application and requires that application to be available before data can be decrypted and restored.
Allowing the tape drive to perform encryption has a number of benefits. It largely removes the potentially proprietary nature of encrypted data if the encryption is done by the backup software. Tape drives aren't proprietary to specific tape libraries; a tape encrypted by an LTO tape drive in a Quantum PX720 can be read by an LTO tape drive in a Scalar i500. And if the tape drive performs the encryption, it offloads the CPU overhead of encrypting the data from the backup server.
Spectra Logic offers an option to handle the CPU overhead created by the encryption process, which takes place outside of the tape library. The optional Quad Interface Processor (QIP) module for its Spectra T950 library acts as a switch between the SAN-attached Fibre Channel (FC) port and internal FC tape drive. This module handles the processing associated with encryption. Whether other tape library vendors will offer a similar module is questionable at this time. The Sun StorageTek Crypto-Ready T10000 encrypting tape drive relies on Sun's Crypto Key Management Station (KMS), an appliance built on a Sun workstation, for its key management.
While most tape library vendors agree that tape drives should manage the encryption, they have no solid answer for the larger question as to what application should manage the encryption keys. Whether this ends up being the responsibility of the backup software, some software provided by the tape library vendor or even a third-party application from a vendor like VeriSign Inc. remains to be seen.
Fading features
As features like encryption take center stage, other features, like multiple tape media support, high availability and large numbers of tape drives, are taking a back seat. A single library supporting multiple types of tape media/drives isn't as appealing to users as first thought. According to Gartner Inc., LTO tape drives captured as much as 77% of the market in 2004, effectively establishing LTO as the default standard for tape.
ADIC's (now owned by Quantum) and Overland Storage's sales numbers back Gartner's statistics, as each reports that more than 75% of its new tape library sales contain only LTO tape drives. Tape libraries that support mixed media remain relevant for those users who need to manage or consolidate old tapes, such as SAIT or SDLT tapes.
High availability and high tape-drive counts also lack some of the luster they used to have. With disk becoming the primary target for backups and restores, users are more tolerant of tape library downtime for repairs and upgrades. Similarly, the ability to support a large number of tape drives is less important because the latest LTO-4 drives support higher throughput (120MB/sec uncompressed) on higher capacity tape cartridges (800GB of uncompressed data). Again, with disk becoming the initial target, data can be streamed faster to a fewer number of tape drives and cartridges over longer periods of time.
Tape libraries are finally assuming the role they were originally designed for: the long-term protection and preservation of data. With varying degrees of flexibility in configuring partitions and the new de facto standard of LTO, tape libraries are well positioned to fill this role. But as disk assumes its new role as the initial target for backups and source for restores, tape library vendors need to shore up their abilities to interact with disk libraries and provide users with some definitive answers on encryption.
Dig Deeper on Tape backup and tape libraries
Quantum tape gets repackaged into turnkey ransomware defense
Backup hardware devices: 2017 Products of the Year finalists
Quantum refreshes Scalar tape library family with i3, i6 and AEL6
Quantum Scalar i6000 tape library expands for archiving


text:
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You can help your doctor diagnose and treat
your condition by being ready to answer the following questions:
During a physical exam, your doctor will:
A complete medical history and
physical exam will help your doctor find the cause of your symptoms. It will
also help decide whether you need more tests.
The results of the medical history and physical
exam may mean that a person needs to begin routine testing for colorectal
cancer earlier than age 50 and have it more often. Your doctor may recommend earlier or more
frequent testing if you:
If your medical history and
physical exam lead your doctor to suspect colorectal cancer, you will need more
tests. These tests may include
fecal occult blood testing,
biopsy, and
complete blood count.
Complete the medical test information form (PDF)(What is a PDF document?) to help you prepare for this test.
Last Revised:
August 27, 2012
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Kenneth Bark, MD - Surgery, Colon and Rectal
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.


text:
Help Support the Forum! Check out the RatsRule Store! In association with zazzle.com. Proceeds support our expenses to run the community.
Cool set up Rebecca! Is that a Hot Wheels track in the "hen house"? lol
I have TONS of scraps. I need to go through and see what I can braid and what just needs to be cut up for some soft stuff to drag around and piddle on. I wish someone on here lived closer to me cause braiding those things just kills my hands.
And Drache, what's that thing in the second pic in the upper right hand corner? It looks fun, the woven colorful looking chew toy.
Quote from: myscratchcat on January 15, 2009, 01:12:38 PMCool set up Rebecca! Is that a Hot Wheels track in the "hen house"? lolI think so. It's like a car wash for toy cars. It's not hot wheels brand though.BTW, I picked up Henri. I am getting him neutered for you next week.
Drache - I LOVE YOUR ROOM!!!How come everybody on GM has beautiful walls? Eh? Ehhhh? I have dark purple on my walls, but no texture. I think I should add something else so it's less boring... like stripes, or sponging, like your walls. It's so dark in there... *makes mental note to repaint walls a light green and add texture*And I love the cage, too
Yep! Water Buddies. I have had them for ages. They are the best water bottles ever.


text:
Nearest Town: Coeur d'AleneSite Size:
Highlights: Raptors, Shorebirds, Songbirds, Upland Birds, Waterbirds, Waterfowl
Access: Year-round. Admission Fee. Handicapped Access free of charge
Directions: COUGAR BAY (MAP N21): I-90 Exit #12 in Coeur d'Alene (CDA); US 95 S for ~2 mi; preserve entrance sign on L (E) side of rd. NORTH IDAHO COLLEGE (NIC) BEACH: In CDA, S on Lincoln Ave; cross rr tracks; R (W) on River Ave; go 0.1 mi to Rosenberry Dr; L (S) on Rosenberry to beach. INDEPENDENCE POINT: from NIC beach, at end of dike (rd turns into
Lakeshore Dr), L (N) onto Park Dr for 0.2 mi; R (E) on Mullan; R (SE) on Northwest Blvd; go one block; R into Independence Point parking lot. TUBBS HILL: from Independence Point parking lot, R (E) 2 blocks to Second St; R (S) for one block; curve left (E); rd becomes Front St; pass resort; immediate R (S) turn into free parking lot at the base of Tubbs Hill. HIGGINS POINT/CENTENNIAL TRAIL: from Tubbs Hill parking, L (W) onto Front St; R (N) onto Second St; R (E) on Sherman Ave; R (S) on E Coeur d'Alene Lake Dr; follow signs. FERNAN LAKE WEST END: return to Sherman Ave; continue E to Fernan Lake; pass under I-90 overpass; Forest Service Ranger Station on R; make first R turn after Ranger Station; straight at stop sign; pass though gates to parking lot. FERNAN LAKE EAST END: continue E on Fernan Lake Rd.
Description: COUGAR BAY: This site attracts migrating and nesting waterfowl, shorebirds and songbirds. Western Tanager,
Cassin's Vireo, Winter Wren, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and teal can be found. INDEPENDENCE BEACH AND NIC BEACH: This IBA hosts a large number of gulls (California, Ring-billed, Herring) and waterfowl (Ring-necked Duck, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Common Merganser) in winter. Pygmy Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Townsend's Solitaire, and Townsend's and MacGillivray's Warblers can be found. TUBBS HILL: Osprey can be found April though Sept on N side of Hill. Pygmy Nuthatch are common in the ponderosa pines. Woodpeckers are often seen. MacGillivray's and Nashville Warblers first arrive on the north and northeast side by April. Winter Wren are resident. SILVER BEACH AND HIGGINS POINT: A variety of waterfowl and waterbirds can be seen year-round at this site. Osprey prevalent during the summer. Spectacular concentrations of Bald Eagle in Dec and early Jan when lake salmon spawn. Hillsides behind lake are ponderosa pine forest with variety of songbirds during summer months. Rock Wren have been heard above boat launch. Pygmy Nuthatch nest on Higgins Point. Good for Common Loon, Red-necked Grebe, and Spotted Sandpiper in spring/ summer. FERNAN LAKE: Great Blue Heron rookery on west end across from docks. Birds return by March. Young can be observed by May. Bald Eagle nest on east end, south side. Many Red-necked Grebes all year. Virginia Rail and Sora in summer. Common Loon migrate during late spring.
More Information: Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce (208) 667-9338Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce 1-877-782-9232 thewhistler.com/tubbshill/index.htm
General Services:
Handicapped Services:What do these icons mean?
Select a species from the list to view other sites on the Idaho Birding Trail Sites this species may be observed.


text:
California Electronics Firm Hosts U.S. Envoy, Community Leaders, Congresswoman Jane Harman, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Amb.Anne W. Patterson,
Torrance, Calif., March 25 - U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W. Patterson, and Rep. Jane Harman from California's 36th District on March 5 joined a group of about 20 prominent Southern California Pakistani-American community leaders in a gather
March 26, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Torrance, Calif., March 25 - U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W. Patterson, and Rep. Jane Harman from California's 36th District on March 5 joined a group of about 20 prominent Southern California Pakistani-American community leaders in a gathering to discuss U.S.-Pakistan bilateral relations and issues relating to trade, education and health.
Pervaiz Lodhie, president and founder of LEDtronics, Inc., hosted the meeting at his Torrance company and moderated the two-panel discussions. A pioneer in the design and manufacture of light-emitting diodes, LED lamps, indicators and other lighting products for varied markets for 26 years, the firm has become an industry leader in the booming energy-efficient lighting technology sphere. But it was in his capacity as humanitarian activist and philanthropist that Lodhie undertook the initiative, together with Shoaib Kothawala, president and CEO of International Textile & Apparel, Inc.
"We have to do everything we possibly can, all of us together, to ensure that we maintain true democracy in Pakistan and give the elected government the chance to succeed," Ambassador Patterson told the select group of Southland expatriates. The attendees included distinguished members from academia, medicine, banking, the media, and electronics, technology and textiles industries. She urged them to be "more active in the political situation in Pakistan," noting that no civilian government has ever finished its term in the history of the country.
Mr. Lodhie inquired the ambassador as to the role Pakistani Americans could play to improve prospects for the government and ordinary citizens in the embattled country.
"Key to Pakistan's turnaround is Pakistanis bringing money back and investing it there," said Amb. Patterson, who was acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in 2005 and has served as U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan since May 2007.
Elaborating on comments made by other participants, Mr. Lodhie bemoaned the lack of organized political advocacy on the part of the Pakistani American community and the need for joint effort and fund-raising. "Being here 50 years, this community is really at the beginning stage of realizing that when it comes to a collective need, that we have to be heard in Washington, D.C., through people such as Congresswoman Jane Harman," he said.
In the segment devoted to education and health, Amb. Patterson pointed out the dichotomy between Pakistan's development of advanced weaponry and the inadequacy of resources devoted to the most basic of social needs. "It's the lowest percentage of education and health expenditure on the planet," she remarked. Mr. Lodhie concurred. "Unless you have the masses get basic education... children from these villages that have never gotten the opportunity to go to school will never become the scientists, the pioneers and the entrepreneurs that the country desperately needs," he said, emphasizing the need to establish a top-down foundation of education from kindergarten to higher education.
For almost 10 years, Mr. Lohdie has been going back to his ancestral homeland, where he has established educational projects, donated solar panels, water pumps and low-energy LED lighting to remote villages as well as the 2005 earthquake survivors. In 2003, the California businessman and engineer initiated a philanthropic program for the socio-economic development of Pakistanis who live below the poverty line.
Also in attendance were Congresswoman Harman's chief of staff, John Hess, and ex-Congressman Jim Moody, along with Salim Adaya, Danish Gajiani, Sattar Abbasi, Aiesha Ghauri, Aitezzaz (Bob) Din, Adnan Khan, Fiza Shah, Shezad Rokerya, Tariq Chaudhary, Arif Mansuri, Ghazala Khan, Salman Naqvi, Yousuf Shaikh, Hasan Shirazi, Salim Iqbal and Asim Ashray.
Founded in 1983, LEDtronics is a leader in designing, manufacturing and packaging state-of-the-art LEDs to meet the world's constantly changing lighting needs. The product line encompasses an array of direct incandescent lamp replacement based LEDs; low-cost, snap-in and relampable panel mount LEDs; high-intensity, sunlight-visible discrete LEDs; PCB LEDs; circuit board status indicators; surface-mount diodes, SMT LEDs, full-spectrum RGB LEDs, and Infrared (IR) LEDs. www.LEDtronics.com
Categories: Foreign Government
Tags: Amb.Anne W. Patterson, Congresswoman, Jane Harman, LEDtronics, pakistan, U.S. Ambassador


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Nerf N-Strike for the Wii is a shooting game that ships with a Hasbro Nerf Blaster that can be configured to hold the nerf-darts that come with the gun or to hold the Wii controller. What this means is a real gunslinger feel as you play the game. As a person who spent many hours as a kid fantasizing about being a cowboy, I have to confess I loved the feel of pointing and shooting at the screen.
The things you shoot are not people I am never happy with shooting even digital humans. With Nerf N-Strike you shoot objects such as blocks and spheres, and you shoot machines. The educational value of these games for young children is sometimes missed by adults. What to an adult is an inane exercise to shoot only certain robots in certain colors teaches identification skills that are developmentally important. And being wrong means the robots shoot the bejeesus out of you. It's fun at the same time that it's frustrating to get creamed.
Getting shot, however, is non-threatening. Instead, you see the suction-cup end of a nerf dart as if it has plastered itself onto the other side of your screen. It makes a squish sound, hangs around for a second or two, and then falls away. That is not to say that when a barrage of darts comes at you, you don't feel overwhelmed sometimes.
I like my games pretty simple to play. I have never really liked having to learn complex button-pushing to get the best score. I prefer to build skills of speed and accuracy than arcane secret handshakes with the controller to win. The Nerf N-Strike is just that kind of play.
You can choose between Free Play and Mission Mode in the game. Free Play offers you seven skill sets to master. There are a variety of blaster choices that make it either easy or hard to win at a given skill set, so it is a good way to learn about the difference between power and speed, accuracy and firepower.
The first thing that happens in Free Play mode is that you have to choose your character. I didn't notice any real difference between my skill sets with the different characters, but maybe I haven't played it methodically enough to notice. The five characters to choose from are Shane, Komodo, Jackal, Raven, and Tango. Raven is the only girl.
Blocks: With blocks, on the first two levels, Blockade and Blockade Elite, you have to destroy blocks to discover the target block and shoot it or knock it out of bounds before time runs out. The basic mode is pretty easy. Elite level difficulty really depends on your weapon. if you use the Hydra gun that sprays seven bullets per shot, you can demolish pretty much anything. Piece of cake. But a single shot gun takes some skill, especially since you cannot control your angle and there are obstacles often in the way. With the next two levels, Pummel and Pummel Elite, you must remove all the blocks except the goal blocks. Here, a weapon with too much firepower or a spray of bullets will make it impossible to win. So each round has its tests of skill that go up in very satisfying increments.
Revolt: This one duplicates the first half of the Mission Mode play. You move through the robot world shooting robots until you reach a certain boss battle moment, and then you get thrown out of the game. To progress beyond that point, you must play through the four levels of Mission Mode for the final battle. This has two levels, regular and elite, for you to practice your combat skills.
Onslaught: Here, wave after wave of robots come at you as you try to stay alive long enough to shoot the goal block when it appears. Here, the less often you have to reload the better. There are four levels and each one raises your adrenaline more and more as the robots keep coming at you.
Range: Play this to practice your aim. There is no time limit. You shoot objects as they pass by and can reset the targets when you have blasted them all or change position to shoot from near or far. There are no levels here, just shoot until you feel done.
Sniper: Sniper is the only category where the higher 2 levels of play are nothing like the lower levels. At the StandOff levels, you pick off certain robots while leaving others. Shoot the wrong color robot and you get pummeled. At the 2 LookAlive levels, you go through the labyrinth of rooms like you do in the Revolt of the Machines levels, only this time you must shoot the robots without hitting Bob, your robot mentor, even though he is often in the way. If you shoot Bob, he annihilates you with nerf bullets. The reason for this is more clear at the end of the Mission Mode game, when the story comes together and Bob...well, no spoiler. Play it yourself.
Draw: Here you have to hit the robots in a shooting gallery before time runs out. The first two levels are all about speed. The second involve speed and recognition. Shoot the wrong color of robot and they barrage you back.
Spheres:Here you have to shoot balls on a surface. Sometimes you must blast them and sometimes herd them with bullets into pockets. I don't really understand the skill here. I guess since the balls roll, you have to be good with your aim, or use a multi-shot blaster. I found this the least challenging of the levels.
One annoying thing in Free Play mode is that once you finish a level, you are thrown all the way out to the main menu. If you want to do the next level of that challenge, you have to pick a character and choose Free Play mode and go to the challenge menu again.
In Mission Mode, you are put into the character of Shane and are selected by a robot mentor to become defeat the other four contestants to become the N-Strike Elite fighter. At each stage of the battle, you enter a chamber with seven doors. Behind each door is a challenge from the Free Play mode. You have a target score of your opponent to beat. As you enter each chamber you learn the back story of each of the other characters.
I have to say that I found the storyline in the Mission Mode to be quite dark. Each of the challengers has a troubled past. I was particularly disturbed by Raven's story, as it looked like she was going to shoot a bully in revenge. It turns out her gun is a nerf gun and she shoots near him not at him as a warning shot. But still, I had a moment's pause given the history of teenagers and guns in this country. However, if you are going to allow there to be games with guns in your life, you probably feel the gulf between fantasy and reality is far enough for a healthy kid to distinguish. And the storyline in the end shows that Bob, or some person behind Bob, is in fact taking advantage of their anger and rage for purposes of his own.
Each of the four levels gets progressively harder to win. Occasionally, a new blaster is offered in a stage, and if you win using it, the weapon becomes part of your arsenal. This can be cool, but some of the guns are not the most effective for winning that particular challenge, and so you have to choose between going forward or winning.
The Mission ends on an open-ended note, suggesting that evil is not totally destroyed and may return. I have not found a way to that level in this game yet. Perhaps it is here. Perhaps it is waiting in the next game. I suspect there are more levels because I'm sure there are some weapons that I have not yet unlocked. It's hard to know for sure because not all the l the weapons in your arsenal are available all the time. I found that irksome. Once I had won the weapon, I wanted it to be always available to me.
One thing that suggests there are secrets yet to discover in the game is that there is a codes tab in the main menu. I tried guessing codes with no luck. The screen just informs me that it is an unknown code. So there are secrets to this game I have not yet unlocked. To a certain degree, I don't care. I like the heft of the blaster and the arcade-feel fun of actually shooting at the targets. This is a good game for kids and for older players like me who are not into the realistic warlike fighting games but like picking off the targets in the age old tradition of Space Invaders.
Nerf N-Strike website
NERF N-Strike for the Wii
comes bundled with the NERF SWITCH SHOT EX-3 blaster
MSRP of $59.99.
Additional blasters for multiplayer games - $14.99.
Rated "Everyone 10+" by the ESRB


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Staff file
Everything goes better with bacon, right? That certainly goes for San Jose, so I hope the city makes efforts to welcome more events like this holiday weekend's San Jose Bacon Festival of America.
Whether it's last month's SubZERO Festival on South First Street, the outdoor World Cup viewing parties downtown or even a Zombie Crawl, San Jose needs these off-the-wall events to stay engaging for a growing population of tech-savvy, fun-seeking residents. But it's worrying to hear that it's not easy to stage these kinds of events in San Jose, and in some cases it would be cheaper to hold them in other communities, including San Francisco.
A recent article in the Metro weekly detailed the troubles that Ryan Sebastian, who started the bacon festival last year, has had in getting his brigade of food trucks in line with rules that are stricter — and ultimately costlier — in San Jose than elsewhere. I talked to him on Thursday as he was preparing for 10,000 people to attend the bacon festival over two days, and he said that San Jose may be the toughest large city to have a food-truck event.
Pointing to costs that are already around $50,000, he said, "There's no way you could do this event without it being hinged on admission and alcohol the way the city has it set up."
We shouldn't relax our standards when it comes to safety guidelines, but there should be consistency at least within Santa Clara County on how they're applied. And costs clearly have had an adverse effect on other festivals and events that have disappeared, from the Holiday Parade and the Tapestry Arts Festival to the San Jose America Festival that used to take place in Discovery Meadow over Fourth of July. While stalwarts like the San Jose Jazz Festival, Cinequest and Christmas in the Park are still very popular, a steady stream of low-cost, creative events would certainly help lure young professionals to downtown.
Sebastian — a San Jose booster who also produces weekly Moveable Feast foodtruck events, last month's San Jose Taco Festival of Innovation and an upcoming Siracha festival — says more pop-up retail and food could be an answer for downtown areas filled with empty storefronts like Second Street. "Bringing that type of activity to Second Street through temporary use could really turn that area around," he said. "We've seen examples of that working in places like downtown Oakland."
Pop-up music is even a possibility, as anyone who experienced the Silicon Valley Music Festival — pop-up shows at various venues for a week at the end of June — can attest. And more creative events like that should be encouraged not just downtown but in other neighborhoods, too, like Willow Glen and Santana Row.
With a massive football stadium and other developments rising in Santa Clara, San Jose should be concerned about the South Bay's cultural focus shifting elsewhere. And that includes all that sizzling bacon.
THE TOUGHEST SUPERVISOR: I'm not sure if you were being as lazy as I was last Saturday morning, but I'll bet you weren't doing anything as hard as Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, who took part in the Gladiator Rock'n Run at Joseph D. Grant Regional Park.
The 6-kilometer event included crawling through mud, climbing up walls and even carrying logs. In his first mud run, Yeager finished in 1 hour, 8 minutes, just 25 minutes after the winner and 281st out of the 2,641 competitors.
"I was a bit surprised how well I did," said the San Jose supervisor. "It was my first mud run. I plan to do more."
None of this should be a surprise since Yeager is one of the valley's more fitness-conscious politicians. After all, he inaugurated the City Hall stair challenge, an 18-story climb, when he was a San Jose councilman. I'm just glad he didn't ask for a media escort.
JAZZ AT THE CALIFORNIA: One of the aftershocks of the San Jose Rep's collapse has hit the schedule of the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, which has used the Blue Box theater in downtown San Jose as a stage for a few years now. The Rep's bankruptcy makes the venue unavailable for the time being, so San Jose Jazz will be moving some of its acts to the grandeur of the California Theater on South First Street.
The move actually makes the festival's footprint a little tighter (and festival goers' footsteps a little easier), and producer Bruce Labadie says he's staged plenty of acts at the spacious California before and thinks it'll be a top-notch stage. Personally, I like any opportunity to introduce more people to that jewel of an auditorium.
The 25th annual festival runs Aug. 8-10, and you can check out this year's lineup at www.sanjosejazz.org.
FRONTIER VILLAGE MEMORIES: South Bay natives of a certain age remember Frontier Village, the Western-themed amusement park in San Jose that was open from 1961 until 1980. The annual picnic reunion of former employees and park visitors, spearheaded by Shaughnessy McGehee, took place June 28 at the park's former site — now known as Edenvale Park.
Filmmaker Jenn Jacobson created "Frontier Village Remembered," a 15-minute mini-documentary at the picnic that's chock full of interviews and memories from Indian Island to the Fall Guys (anyone remember Cactus Kong?). You can watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93KX63numfs, and you can also share your own memories at a Facebook group dedicated to the park called "Remembering Frontier Village."
ANNIVERSARY GRANT: It's been 40 years since Dorothy Bogen Farrington established a trust with the donation of her Willow Glen home, and the Farrington Historical Foundation is celebrating the anniversary with a special 40th anniversary grant that will provide a total of $40,000 of funding for special, one-time projects by Santa Clara County nonprofits.
The grant application period is open until Aug. 18 and funds will be awarded near the end of September. The grant guidelines are available online at www.farringtonfoundation.org/grants/approach, but Farrington Historical Foundation Executive Director Pam Bliss encourages applicants to attend an orientation at the Kirk-Farrington House at 10 a.m. July 14 to learn more about the grant process. RSVPs are required by calling 408-264-8258.
Contact Sal Pizarro at email@example.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/spizarro.


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Software quality suffers as application size increases. We've known that since the 1970s but still haven't solved the problem. The National Institute of Standards and Technology found in a 2002 study that more than 60% of manufacturing companies reported major defects in software they bought, with just under 80% reporting minor defects.
Part of the problem involves how and what you measure. A common approach is the lines-of-code metric (referred to as KLOC, for thousands of lines of code), but it ignores important stages of the software development life cycle such as requirements and design. IBM dealt with this shortcoming back in the '70s by developing two metrics to gauge software quality: defect potentials and defect removal efficiency. Both are still highly relevant today and have had the greatest impact on software quality, costs, and schedules of any measures.
Defect potentials are the probable numbers of defects that will be found in various stages of development, including requirements, design, coding, documentation, and "bad fixes" (new bugs introduced when repairing older ones). Defect removal efficiency is the percentage of the defect potentials that will be removed before an application is delivered to users.
Defect potentials can be measured with function points, units of measurement that express the amount of business functionality an information system provides to users. Function points don't measure the number of lines of code because most serious defects aren't found in the code but instead occur in the application's requirements and design (see the sidebar "A Better Gauge of Quality").
The range of defect potentials typically scales from just less than two per function point to about 10. Defect potential correlates to application size: As size increases, defect potential rises. It also varies with the type of software, CMMI levels, development methodology, and other factors.
Function Points: A Better Gauge Of Quality
Function points express the amount of business functionality an information system provides to users. The advantage of this approach over the defects per thousands-of-lines-of-code metric, or KLOC,is that it can measure defects in requirements and design as well as in code. More important, KLOC penalizes modern high-level programming languages when measuring quality and productivity because they can use fewer lines of code to achieve the same results as older languages.
To illustrate, assume an application written in Java requires 1,000 Java code statements and has 10 coding bugs, equal to 10 bugs per KLOC. If the same app written in C requires 3,000 C statements and contains 30 coding bugs, it also has 10 bugs per KLOC. The Java version has better quality since it delivers the app with only a third as many bugs as the C version. But when measured using lines of code, the Java and C versions appear to be identical in terms of quality at 10 per KLOC.
When these apps are measured with function points,we assume that they're both 10 function points in size. The Java version contains one coding bug per function point, while the C version has three. In other words, function points match standard economic definitions for measuring productivity, and they measure quality without omitting requirements and design bugs, and without penalizing modern high-level languages.
Comparing the quality from different software methodologies is complicated. However, if the applications being compared are of similar size and if they use the same programming languages, then it's possible to compare quality, productivity, schedules, and other areas. Table 1 compares the defect potentials and removal efficiencies of several software development methodologies.
Table 1: Defect Potentials vs.Removal Efficiency.
The examples shown here are based on a combination of the C and C++ programming languages. Although the actual sizes varied, the sizes were converted mathematically to exactly 1,000 function points or 75,000 logical code statements.
The "defect potentials" are the total numbers of defects found in five sources:
- Requirements
- Design
- Source code
- User documents
- Bad fixes or bugs in defect repairs
The "high severity" defects are those ranked as #1 and #2 using the classic IBM Defect Severity Scale:
- Severity 1 indicates total stoppage of the application; software does not operate at all.
- Severity 2 indicates that major features cannot be used; disabled or incorrect.
- Severity 3 indicates minor features are disabled or incorrect.
- Severity 4 indicates cosmetic error that does not affect operation in significant ways. .
The "defect removal efficiency" was the total number of defects found and eliminated before the software applications reached clients. After 90 days of usage, client-reported defects were added to internal defects in order to calculate the percentage of defects eliminated prior to release. (There will of course be more defects found after 90 days, but a standard time interval is necessary to have consistent calculations.)
Compared to the poor results associated with CMMI level 1, all of the other methods listed in Table 1 demonstrate significant improvements. With larger samples there would be somewhat different results, but the basic concept of measuring defect potentials and defect removal efficiency levels would remain the same.
Based on studies of about 13,000 applications the approximate average for defect removal efficiency in the U.S. is only about 85%. Therefore all of the methods that top 85% can be viewed as being better than average.
The upper limit of measured defect removal efficiency is only about 99%. Projects that top 95% tend to use sophisticated combinations of inspections, static analysis, and multiple test stages. Projects that achieve only 85% or less in defect removal efficiency typically use only testing, and are also low in test coverage.
If you have a scientific calculator handy, take the size of the application in function points and raise it to the 1.25 power. The result is the approximate number of defects that will occur. Try this for 10, 100, 1000, and 10,000 function points, and you can see that as code gets bigger, you get dramatically more functional defects. (While you have your calculator out, raise the size to the 1.2 power to see how many test cases you'll need. If you raise size to the 0.4 power, you get the number of months it will take. Divide size by 150, and you get how many people are needed on the development team.)


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Resolume Arena 4.1.8
Resolume 4 comes in 2 editions. Avenue is the VJ software you know and love, Arena has all the features of Avenue plus features you'd expect from a media server, soft edging, screen warping, DMX input and SMPTE timecode input.
Screen Warping & Video Mapping (Arena)
In the advanced output window you can now create as many slices from your composition and position and transform them to your liking. This is perfect for projection mapping on many surfaces. Your surfaces do not have to be rectangular anymore either, you can warp your video onto curved screens with the advanced bezier transformations.
Soft Edge (Arena)
With soft edging you can seamlessly project 1 widescreen image with 2 or more projectors. It can even wrap around the composition for 360 degrees seamless projection.
SMPTE Timecode Input (Arena)
With SMPTE Timecode input you can run you clips in sync with anything you want. Lights, lasers, even fireworks! Just not the go-go dancers, but we're working on that.
DMX Input (Arena)
You can control Arena from a lighting desk using DMX. It works similar to MIDI so it's very easy to configure. Input can be done via ArtNet or an Enttec DMX USB Pro.
Other New Features in Resolume 4
• You configure every layer to automatically start the first clip when the composition has loaded. This is very handy for installations where Resolume needs to start playing clips automatically in combination with the Auto Pilot.
• Ignore Column Trigger, prevents clip from being triggered when the column triggers are used.
• Scale to Fit button for clip now cycles through 4 modes, first it will scale taking into account ratio and fill to the hight or the width, then it will just match the composition size and the fourth time it's back to default, this also works when multiple clips are selected.
• Recent compositions menu for quick access to last opened compositions.
• New version of DXV Codec (2.2) compresses files faster by utilizing multiple processors.
• Invert checkbox for mouse mapped controls.
• Type ahead selection in File,Effect and Composition browser.
• Position of windowed output is remembered.
• Windowed output position can be changed with the arrow keys.
• Show Display Info (option in the menu to identify the different displays).
• Global Clip Start offset to compensate for clip trigger latency via MIDI or OSC.
• Tailored MIDI support for Akai APC Midi controller.
• Invert option for masks.
• Value editor popup for parameters.
• Ease in-out for all parameters.
• Drop effect directly on layer thumbnail.
• Drag file on video or audio track zone in clip properties panel to replace video or audio track without resetting parameters.
• Property panel sizes and layout is remembered.
Resolume 4 Enhancements
• Smaller composition files for quicker loading of decks.
• Great reduction of memory usage.
• Effect presets are stored in separate files, this makes it easier to import and share user presets.
• Improved recording performance.
• Preview panel checkerboard backdrop for better transparency viewing.
• Faster OSC input.
• Flash text field transparency fix on Windows.
• Better FFGL Syphon support.
• Much faster thumbnailing and analysis of audio clips.
• ArtNet DMX fixes.
• Improved rendering of odd sized files.
Home Page -Resolume Arena 4.1.8 Final-DVT : 386.8 MBCode:
Only the registered members can see the download links/content. please Register to gain full access.
Only the registered members can see the download links/content. please Register to gain full access.Code:
Only the registered members can see the download links/content. please Register to gain full access.


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Italian bicycles have a long history in the world of bicycle racing (and in transportation and work). The names of Bianchi, Cinelli, Colnago, De Rosa, Masi, Pinarello and Wilier-Triestina are all very familiar to us.
Less familiar, are the smaller, artisan, framebuilders that today as in the past produce frames of the highest quality in Italy. So, how about a Facebook LIKE for such a framebuilder from the Veneto region, Sarto Cycles at www.facebook.com/SartoCycles.
The Sarto workshop:
Give a LIKE at www.facebook.com/SartoCycles for a small company working in the Italian tradition.
Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN or receive an email when new content is added using the "Follow by Email" button on the right side column.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at email@example.com. There are now more than 2,700 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
How About a Facebook LIKE for Small Italian Framebuilder?
3 comments:
Enjoyed the video (and music). They are lovely bikes. A guy caught up with me the other day and when he passed I saw his Bottecchia 8avio, which I understand is built by Sarto. Very distinctive frame.ReplyDelete
See: http://www.sartocycles.com/en_US/sarto-antonio-custom-bike-frames-builder.htmlReplyDelete
ANYONE building frames in Italy with their own hands (not just Torelli) is a hero to us! Buon lavoro! Larry thinks the pendulum will swing back a bit from having everything made in China at the lowest possible cost along with all the issues that come with it.ReplyDelete
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We primarily print mostly on canvas since the quality is more like the actual oil paintings, they are called Giclee on canvas prints. They are always framed without glass. Since the canvas prints don't require glass to protect them, they look more like the actual painting they were produced from.
Paper prints are also available and require glass and paper mattes around the prints. The paper prints can vary in price depending on the size and how they are framed.
Both paper and canvas prints are signed and numbered.
Kevin Dodds Gallery
47 John St. North,
Arnprior, Ontario
Canada K7S 2N1
Gallery: (613) 623-9820
Copyright © 2005 - 2013 Kevin Dodds Art. All rights reserved.


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Normally, car carriers are meant to protect cars from the dangers of the road during transport. However, if the guy driving the truck is one of the unlucky few who gets his trailer nailed by a train, well, I don't have to tell you how much protection that offers.
Unfortunately, a truck carrying this antique Rolls Royce limo zigged when it should have zagged, and got nailed by a passing train while the truck's trailer was high-centered over a track crossing. The truck's driver called 911, but authorities weren't able to get in touch with the train's engineer in time to stop the train. And because it can take a while to slow down a freight train, what's done was done.
Roll on, Rolls; it's been nice knowin' ya. (Hat tip to Alan505!)
Photo credit: Houston Chronicle via Facebook


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Welcome to my homepage, here you will find much information about the Goosen family.
When my father died in 1995 I took over the quest for Goosen's, my father ended with our Dutch branch in Schokland.
When I started my quest the internet was not very known to people so I wrote hundreds of emails to different people I found on the web. I got numerous responses and started my foreign quest.
My biggest achievement is the Jean Baptiste part of the tree where I joined about 8 different families to one tree.
The use of Wikipedia is a great help for the website, explaining a lot of things you never knew! I use the English part. The links found in a document mostly redirect to the Wiki page or an other document regarding this subject.
If you want to contact me, use the contact form, if you want to share information with the Goosen community please use my guestbook.
I'm not constant updating my website. I collect the emails and if I have the time I answer or process them. Please take a note of that.
All the information you find on these pages is free of copyrights... If you use any of my information please name the source.