text:
May 2013 • Volume 101 • Number 5 • Page 232
Thank you for viewing this Illinois Bar Journal article. Please join the ISBA to access all of our IBJ articles and archives.
Legal Technology
The Lawyer's iPad: Using Tablets in Your Practice
If you don't have a tablet, you're probably thinking about getting one. But can you really use one to practice more effectively? Tech experts say "yes" and tell you how to use mobile devices to increase productivity and gain an edge in the courtroom.
If you're not using a smartphone in your law practice, you're in the minority. Likewise if you aren't at least thinking about getting a tablet for tackling law-related tasks while you're away from the office. Lawyers, not known as early adopters of other technologies, have enthusiastically embraced mobile.
Smartphone use by lawyers today is nearly universal, according to the American Bar Association's 2012 Legal Technology Survey Report, in which 89 percent of attorneys surveyed reported using a smartphone for talking, emailing and other law-related tasks while away from their primary workplace. And 33 percent of lawyers reported using a tablet computer in 2012 as part of their practice, a jump from the 15 percent in 2011. In addition to Apple's popular iPad, there are Android tablets like Amazon's Kindle Fire, Samsung's Galaxy Tab, and the Nexus 7 by Google, to name a few.
"I think there's a gee-whiz factor, but I'm seeing more and more lawyers having a tablet of some kind," said lawyer Nerino J. Petro, Jr., practice management advisor for the Law Office Management Assistance program of the State Bar of Wisconsin and a member of the ISBA's Standing Committee on Legal Technology. "[Some are] not sure what to do with it. But others are using them in their practices on a daily basis." Aside from the gee-whiz factor, lawyers who don't leave the office without their tablet cite convenience as its main draw.
"Either a smartphone or a tablet helps the lawyer to be mobile, helps lawyers to conduct business while they're out of the office, to be able to serve their clients better, to be able to actually run their law practice when they're out of the office," said Dallas-based lawyer Tom Mighell, author of the ABA books iPad in One Hour for Lawyers, iPad Apps in One Hour for Lawyers, and iPad in One Hour for Litigators.
Mighell, a self-described "technology nut," is a senior consultant with Contoural, where he helps companies deal with records management and electronic discovery. In his blog iPad4Lawyers, a companion to his books, Mighell shares some of his latest tips and tricks on using the iPad and reviews apps that lawyers can use to increase productivity at work and elsewhere (see sidebar).
"A mobile device helps you carry on your practice whether you're on vacation, in court somewhere, or on the road somewhere," Mighell said. "It helps to be your office away from home."
Rockford attorney Aaron W. Brooks agrees that if you find yourself with two hours of downtime while out of the office, turning to a mobile device equipped with the right apps can make for a productive wait.
"That two hours can be productive if you have everything in front of you to bill two hours," said Brooks, a member of the ISBA Standing Committee on Legal Technology. "In the past, I'd have two hours, but all my stuff is in my office. It helps capture a lot of time in your life that would otherwise be unproductive, which leaves a lot of other time to do fun stuff. It's more about working when you want to, where you want. The only way to do that is to make sure all of your information is available where you are."
While laptops can give lawyers a measure of this connectedness, they don't do it as completely and effectively as tablets and smartphones (they don't call them "mobile devices" for nothing). And increasingly, organizations and other entities are acknowledging the burgeoning technology by allowing users to interact with them in a more mobile-friendly fashion. For example, the ISBA recently rolled out a mobile-optimized version of its website (see the sidebar on page 236 for more about viewing the IBJ on your mobile device).
Don't app for app's sake
So how can lawyers get the most value from these mobile tools that seem to be everywhere? Mighell's answer starts with a question: "As a lawyer, what do you want to be able to do when you're away from the office?"
"The first step is to figure out what is it in your particular practice that you want to be able to do on the road that you're either not getting done now or is not working the way you'd like it to."
The answer to that key question, Mighell said, can then lead lawyer tablet-user wannabes to the right applications to help accomplish those tasks.
That's what Brooks does when he looks for apps for the mobile devices he uses in his own practice at Holmstrom & Kennedy P.C. "I first define the problem I need to solve. I'm not looking for an app just to have an app," he said.
Brooks, who focuses his practice on the law of health care technology, offered this advice on finding apps that are right for you and your practice: "Define the parameters of what you want the app to do to solve that problem. Then go to look for those apps that have the most downloads with the highest ratings. Try three and stick with them for a while."
"A lot of people get addicted to finding that new silver bullet for productivity, so they jump from app to app and never settle into a system and grow it," Brooks said. "Find one that works really well and grow it, expand it. Really dig into it and don't abandon it for the next shiny object that comes along."
And, Brooks said, try to avoid "app overload." "If you have too many apps going at the same time, your information is going to get fragmented and you're going to get lost," Brooks said. "Use as few apps as possible, so that all your information is centralized."
No matter which sort of mobile tech tools you settle on, "To get the most out of your tablet you've got to learn how to use it," said Petro. He recommends New Orleans-based attorney Jeff Richardson's iPhoneJ.D. and Oklahoma City attorney Jeffrey Taylor's The Droid Lawyer as two of the many blogs on the subject, and he advises lawyers to spend some time on technology informational sites like MakeUseOf, which offers free user guides, as well as How-To Geek.
Naperville attorney Bryan M. Sims of Sims Law Firm, Ltd., who focuses his practice on commercial litigation and civil appeals, is an avid tablet user.
"I have an iPad and pretty much don't go anywhere where I'm going for work without it," Sims said. "It's got my email, calendar, contacts. I can also access all the documents in all my files from my iPad.
"We all think and work a little bit differently. Find an app that works the way you do, rather than force yourself to work another way," Sims said. "Generally, there's not just one app in any particular category."
For lawyer mobile device users, Sims said, "It's a real benefit if you make sure that your calendar, your email, your contacts are all synchronized with the information you have at the office, the information you have on your smartphone, so that information is the same on every device.
"I run into attorneys where that is not the case," Sims said. It's a simple thing to achieve and it really pays off. No matter what device you have, you can make a change, put an entry in, and it appears on all of your devices."
It's simple, Sims said, because with just a one-time set-up everything stays synchronized. He does this by using a hosted Exchange server, which is designed exactly for this purpose. "If you are not an Outlook fan, you can use Google Apps for business. It will accomplish the same thing," Sims said, noting that either of these solutions costs about $5 per email account per month.
Lawyer-worthy apps
Though there's more to smartphones and tablets than apps, apps are a key component of mobile's appeal. "The reality is, I do most of my research on my iPad rather than my computer," Sims said. "[That's] mostly because I find that the apps on my iPad are scaled down so you don't have a lot of clutter on the screen. I prefer that over what I'm seeing on the computer."
So what are some apps lawyers need? TranscriptPad is among Sims' favorites. "It's designed to allow you to read and annotate transcripts from depositions and trials. You read it on your iPad, you can mark it up, and when you're done, you can export it in a variety of different formats."
He uses the app Keynote, Apple's version of PowerPoint, to prepare presentations on his mobile device.
"I spend a lot of time away from my office because of the nature of my work," Sims said. "I'm in court waiting for cases to be called. There's time you could be working that you're otherwise not if you don't have a way of doing the work. I can take my iPad with me and do my work wherever."
He said he uses "a ton" of apps as part of his practice while out of the office, including rulebook, which allows users to download various court rules. With the rulebook app, which is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, lawyers can take all the rules they have downloaded anywhere they go and quickly access them without the need for an internet connection.
"I use that for Illinois Supreme Court rules and Illinois rules of ethics, federal rules of evidence, the code of civil procedure," Sims said. "It doesn't matter which court I'm going to.…If I need to look up one of those rules, it's right there without having to remember which book to carry with me, or carrying multiples. And it doesn't weigh any more. It's all in my iPad."
"There are a dozen different pdf apps out there," Sims said. "If I'm reading I'll use a particular app. If I'm annotating a case, marking it up, I'll use a different app."
In March, the Cook County Clerk's Office unveiled a mobile app designed to put court-related information at the user's fingertips. The Court Clerk Mobile Connect app, which is free, can be downloaded for use on an Android or iPhone, iPad I, II and III, and iPod touch. It offers a variety of features, including options to search the court's electronic docket for civil and traffic cases, search the court call roster, get updates on fee schedules, and locate and contact Cook County Court facilities.
Evernote is another one of those "really useful applications" for lawyers, Petro said.
"That's available for all the platforms and the data is shared across all the platforms," Petro said. "It's like an electronic binder. You can easily take notes and get information into it. It synchronizes between all your devices and desktop computer. If you save something from your tablet or phone in an Evernote note, when you get back to your office it's on your desktop as well."
Leveling the field for litigators
Trial lawyers in particular are putting tablets to work. Many had already traded clunky foam-core boards and paper files for laptop-centered presentations. But now lightweight, easy-to use tablets - and their assorted apps - are leveling the playing field for litigation technology.
Before mobile devices like the iPad came along, Mighell said, a lawyer who wanted to use technology to present evidence in court had to hire a technician or recruit a tech-savvy assistant or paralegal. "It's not very practical for a lawyer to try and run that technology from a laptop and run a case at the same time," Mighell said. Lawyers who were without the resources were "stuck with hauling boxes of paper to the courtroom, and watching as better-equipped lawyers across the aisle presented their cases effectively and efficiently using technology."
With a slim, easy-to-use tablet such as an iPad, Mighell said, "If you're a solo lawyer and want to go to trial and can't afford an assistant, it allows you to do these things by yourself with minimal technological knowledge."
Nowadays, Mighell said, "You can just walk into a courtroom with an iPad and try a case. Many lawyers are doing it very successfully today."
"An iPad is not ideal for every kind of case," Mighell said. "In some cases you've got so many documents that you're probably going to need to hire somebody to help present them. But for other cases, the iPad makes a lot of sense."
And the iPad is the leading tablet for trial practitioners, at least for now. "If you're planning on using a tablet in the courtroom, the iPad still has the most legal-specific apps," Petro said. "If you're going to be in court a lot and you're going to use it for trial, you'd probably want to go with an iPad still." But maybe not for long. "Some of the trial-based apps that are available on the iPad are now available for the new Windows 8 platform," Petro said.
From the very beginning of a case, when the client first walks through the door, Mighell said, "You can do client intake on an iPad and take notes on it when you're meeting, tally deadlines, review documents, review and take depositions, review transcripts, conduct jury selection. You've got a number of trial presentation apps to help you present evidence in the courtroom. You can have your entire law library on the iPad."
Tablets also offer mobility in the courtroom.
"You're so liberated," Mighell said. "Being able to present wirelessly really makes it easy to get around the courtroom, walk back and forth, and still be able to show things on the screen to the jury.
"You can walk to the podium with all your evidence, you can walk to the judge and show case law," Mighell said. "It just makes it easier to get around in the courtroom and show things that you couldn't do if you were using technology otherwise."
The gadgets can also have some influence on juries.
"Juries have started to have expectations about using technology," Mighell said. "There is a cool factor with the iPad and being able to demonstrate it. Juries have commented on that.
"You want to be most effective in showing them evidence. Showing documents by paper is becoming less and less effective and a less meaningful way of presenting evidence at trial. The iPad really shows that to a jury."
While he acknowledged that the world of apps is ever-changing, Mighell highlighted a few litigation apps for the iPad that he said are worth checking out, including TranscriptPad for reviewing and annotating transcripts, and TrialPad, "the number one evidence presentation app out there" because of its many easy-to-use features.
There's even an app, complete with avatars, that's designed to allow trial lawyers to use their tablets as a tool for jury selection.
"As you go through the voir dire process, you can make notes, create a diagram of the jury box.…You've got the information that's readily accessible on a tablet that you can take with you and study, instead of flipping through [paper] notes. It's an efficiency thing," Petro said.
Change is the constant
All of this is just a snapshot, of course. The world of mobile is constantly changing. Smartphones are available in bigger versions and tablets in smaller models, so that the two seem to be meeting in the middle. Ultraportable laptops are beginning to blend the power of traditional computers (think real keyboards and software like Word and Excel) with the simplicity of apps in a smaller, lighter package. Some content providers are abandoning native apps - the kind you download - in favor of mobile-friendly html that adjusts its display to the kind of device you're using.
But these are refinements of mobile, not replacements for it. The challenge for lawyers - and for courts, whose restrictions on smartphone use frustrate many lawyers - will be to keep up with developments and keep looking for the best ways to use mobile technology to serve their clients and their practices.
Maria Kantzavelos <email@example.com> is a Chicago-based freelance writer focusing on legal topics.
Two cheers for tablets
As tablets continue to grow in popularity and erode PC and laptops sales, skeptics point to what they regard as weaknesses for business users. Two stand out for lawyers.
First, tablets use virtual keyboards. "[A]lthough more people are warming to virtual keys, there are still many folks around the globe that like having the standard physical keyboard found in PCs," writes Don Reisinger in eWeek. "And why not? Typing on traditional keyboards with two hands is far more accurate and efficient." You can add physical keyboards to tablets, and many users do, but it costs extra.
Second, despite all the fancy apps available for tablets, in some key areas they don't have the functionality of PC/laptop standbys. "Nowhere is that more apparent than in the comparison of Office [notably Word] on mobile and PCs," Reisinger writes. Don't forget that laptops allow mobility, too, and ever-smaller versions are challenging the tablet on that front.
Reisinger's article, Tablets Still Cannot Replace Laptop, Desktop PCs: 10 Reasons Why, is at http://www.eweek.com/mobile/tablets-still-cannot-replace-laptop-desktop-pcs-10-reasons-why.
- Mark Mathewson
More top tablet apps for lawyers
In addition to those listed in the main article, our tech experts point to their favorite apps and related tools for the iPad and other tablets.
Must-have iPad apps. In his book iPad Apps in One Hour for Lawyers, Tom Mighell said he attempted to take the roughly 200,000 to 300,000 apps made especially for the iPad and distill them into a curated collection of recommended apps for lawyers in different categories - productivity, legal-specific, news and reading, reference and research, travel, and utilities.
In an interview with the IBJ, he shared some of his picks for apps that he calls "must haves."
"The first app anybody should have on a device is Good Reader," Mighell said. "It helps not only to read documents, but also to annotate and review documents. It also helps you manage the documents you have. I know a lot of lawyers who actually do all of their case management through this app."
For taking notes on an iPad, Mighell recommended Noteshelf. "I like it because it's simple to use, it provides you with a great note taking experience, and [lets you] save those notebooks in a pdf format," he said. Another helpful app for taking notes, Mighell said, is Notability, which lets you "record a meeting and take notes at the same time."
For working on documents, Documents To Go is a "solid app," Mighell said. And PDF Expert is his favorite for working in pdf files.
External keyboards. Whether they're using an Apple, Android, or Windows device, lawyers need an app that will not only open files but also allow highlighting and annotation, Nerino Petro said. "The idea behind that app is, wherever you are, you need a way to be able to read [a document] and make notes on it if you want to be able to share that with someone else or capture the information yourself at a later date," Petro said. For an Android, he said, RepliGo Reader or ExPDF are good options.
Petro said tablet users should also have a document storage app, "ideally one that integrates with the various apps on the iPad, [such as] Dropbox and Box.com. The nice thing about those is they work on your smart devices, your laptops, and they also have an internet component."
And, Petro said, "If you really want to be productive on these [tablets], you're going to need an external keyboard. "If you're really planning to work, having the keyboard is just easier," Petro said. "You're generally going to be faster than typing it on the screen of the device itself."
Apple and Logitech make popular keyboards for the iPad, both priced at or under $100.
Security. Security is key to a lawyer's use of mobile devices in the practice, experts said.
"You have a lot to consider when talking about security," Mighell said, "[whether] you're a solo lawyer trying to secure the iPad itself or at a firm and making sure you're keeping secure access to the files of the company."
At a minimum, Mighell said, lawyers should review the security settings on their iPad and make sure they set a security code of more than four digits. "Four digits is not a secure number," he said. "These days [you need] 10 to 12. Make sure you set a security code, make sure you set an option to erase all the data on your device if there've been 10 unsuccessful attempts to enter a password."
Petro recommends two-factor authentication apps designed to keep a user's account safe in the event of a compromised password. An example is the Google Authenticator app, which could be set up to work in conjunction with cloud-based document storage tools like Drop Box, he said.
On the subject of security, Aaron Brooks advises lawyers to use complex passwords on their smartphones, virus protection, and a set-up that allows a user to wipe or locate a device remotely. The Find My iPhone app can be installed on another iOS device to help users locate it on a map, play a sound, display a message, remotely lock the device, or erase all the data on it.
"Uploading your entire practice to the cloud is disastrous if you're not doing it in a secure manner," Brooks said.
It's also important to make sure all of your apps are cloud-based, Brooks said, so that "whenever you use it on your phone, it's syncing on all your devices."
- Maria Kantzavelos
Mobile-friendly ISBA website, tablet-ready IBJ
As more ISBA members view websites and publications on their smartphones and tablets, we've developed mobile-friendly versions to make that experience better.
Phone-friendly website and E-Clips. When you visit www.isba.org with your smartphone, you'll find an optimized, easy-to-read-and-navigate version of our site instead of the tiny text you too often encounter elsewhere on the web. A smartphone-friendly version of our popular E-Clips email, complete with links to news and case digests, should also be arriving in your inbox by the time you read this. You can also access the most current issue of E-Clips from your mobile device by going to www.isba.org/eclips/current and saving the icon to your home screen.
Tablet-friendly IBJ. For tablet users, there are two ways to view the IBJ, each with its advantages. If you have an Internet connection, the web version is a breeze to navigate, links to citations in Fastcase and other resources, allows you to comment on articles, and lets you browse IBJ content back to November 1998 by subject, author, and title. (You can even add the IBJ icon to your tablet or phone's homescreen and have handy access to the latest issue and other features.) If you're going offline, never fear - you can download the PDF version for viewing later. The PDF preserves the look and layout of the magazine. Use iBooks or a similar program and you can even flip the pages.
Both are available at www.isba.org/ibj.
Member Comments (1)
Great article! In my opinion, the greatest obstacle towards improving lawyer technology is the unwillingness of many court systems to get on board. For example, DuPage won't provide WiFi access to the private lawyers unless the bar pays $30,000. Of course, the judges, the clerks, the prosecutors and the public defenders all have internet access inside the courtrooms.
Another problem is the unwillingness of the judiciary to accept courtesy copies of documents on disc or other paperless methods, including email. Yet, the Supreme Court Rules suggest that the rest of us should start putting emails on our pleadings.
I remember when DuPage was the first in the state for almost every modern court project. I have tablets for my associates; we moved our documents to the cloud; heck we even have a VOIP system. Yet we can't get a WiFi signal in the darn courthouse! Ugh!


text:
Formatted for eBook and paperbackAuthor: Chris Sheldon
Buy the Book: Amazon
Always Wondering; Why? A new ebook, aimed at the angler that thinks about their sport… not about 'why we go fishing', but about 'why things work', and what to do when they don't.
Partly a memoir, partly instructional, but always thought provoking, this is a book that should inspire anglers to think differently about their fishing, and maybe try something different.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Adobe Experience Manager Authoring Fundamentals
Discover how you can use Adobe Experience Manager to create and manage the content of rich responsive web experiences. Software Required: Adobe Experience Manager.
What you'll learn
Discover how you can use Adobe Experience Manager to create rich responsive web experiences quickly and how to manage the content of your web experiences. In this course, AEM Authoring Fundamentals, you will first learn how to install and get started with an AEM Instance. Then, learn all there is to know about the AEM Touch UI, authoring in AEM, and finally how to manage and publish pages in AEM. By the end of this course, you'll have a strong fundamental knowledge of the AEM authoring experience. Software Required: Adobe Experience Manager.


text:
Written by C. Spike Trotman
Art by Drew Green, Reed Black, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Edited by Ari Yarwood
Published by Oni Press
Release Date: November 21, 2018
"Fair Deal"
The science fair is tomorrow, and Daisy hasn't started her project yet! All she wants is a ride to the library and a participation ribbon. But Brian has bigger plans for her: wind turbines, working replicas of Mount Vesuvius, human genome editing. Turns out Daisy's not the only one who procrastinated, and Joseph is out to force Christian and Christie to become the next science superstars. Can the kids get their presentations ready before the librarian kicks them all out for a no holds barred Dad-off?


text:
Nigeria's Tertiary Institutions Cannot be rated Internationally
Provost of Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, AOCOED says Nigeria's tertiary institutions cannot be rated internationally.
The authorities of the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Ijanikin, on Thursday said that Nigeria's tertiary institutions could not scale through international rating because of their irregular academic calendars. Mr Wasiu Bashorun, the Provost, AOCOED, Ijanikin, told newsmen in Lagos, on the sidelines of the send forth for the college's former registrar, Mr Bola Disu.
"If you look at the institutions of higher learning in the country, students' union leaders, the authorities and government are all getting it wrong.
"Each and everyone of us is supposed to know the rules and guidelines of our institutions. "So, what I am talking about now is that we need to know the dictates, rules, ethics and confines of the institution, and work within them.
"And these are parts of the problems we have been having in our tertiary institutions, not necessarily AOCOED, because I can speak of tertiary institutions in Lagos State. "The union leaders do not know their limits, and the school authorities are not forceful enough in enforcing them.
"It took me a long time to realise that beyond AOCOED, it is high time that the government supports the school authorities in decision-making.
"Especially decisions to ensure that academic activities are not disrupted as a result of unionism, students' unrest and so on.
"This is the most obvious reason for the irregular academic calendar, and we need to ensure that it is limited,'' the provost said. He said, however, that anyone who had gone beyond his or her confines to contribute meaningfully to the development of the society should be appreciated and rewarded. According to him, Disu contributed meaningfully to the growth of the institution and put in over two decades of meritorious service to the institution.
He said that just as people were being rewarded for meritorious service, so also should there be sanctions on defaulters, to strike a balance.
Disu said on the occasion that those personnel in the tertiary institutions, whether as a vice-chancellor, provost, lecturer or student, all had sacrosanct duties to perform. "It is must be done to the best of our abilities, because it is not by chance that we were given the opportunities.
"We have to mould the children, the future of the country; we cannot afford to toy with them, we must put in our best,'' he said.
Disu said that the incoming government had been given a historic duty to perform, and should give education a priority. "Education is not an industry to be treated like any other industry. "As far back as the `50s and `60s, Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo of the defunct Western Region put 50 per cent of the budgetary allocation into education. "If today we are celebrating 10, eight or 13 per cent of the budgetary allocation to education, then we need to do more.
"UNESCO has said 26 per cent; but for us in the tertiary institutions, it should be more than that. "Because if you get it right in education, you get it right in any other sector. But if you get it wrong in education, then forget about other sectors. "The new government must endeavour to systematically increase the budgetary allocation in education,'' the former registrar said. According to him, education is expensive and may not get the result in a short while, but will definitely reap a good fruit.
"A Yoruba adage says that if you build bridges and structures and you do not build children, the children will grow up to destroy the bridges and structures,'' he said. Disu, however, chastised the school authorities on how they utilised their allocations. "It is now left for us in the industry to be mindful of how we spend the allocation. "To whom much is given, much is expected; so, whether a vice-chancellor, provost, registrar, please ensure you carry out your duty because it is a sacred duty,'' he said.
Similar Posts:
The former registrar said that with good education, there will be no terrorist attacks. "Our children in the North-East will realise that they have a stake in the country; thus the need for their protection," Disu added. (Vanguard)


text:
Dear Bird Folks,
Over the years we've had Winter Wrens, House Wrens and Carolina Wrens in our yard. Someday I would like to add Marsh Wren to that list. Do you think that is possible even though I don't live near a marsh? And if it's not possible, where would be a good place for me to go to see one?
– Harry, Dennis Port, MA
Get some scissors, Harry,
I've become aware that quite a few people cutout this column and send it to others. They do it to either share the information with friends or just to annoy them. Either reason is fine with me. If fact, I do the same thing. I often cut items out of the paper. I have to do it quickly, though. The guy who owns the newsstand gets mad if he catches me. I don't see the big deal. It's not like I'm taking the whole paper. Anyhow, you should cutout this column and put it with your 2010 Red Sox schedule, because now is not the best time to look for Marsh Wrens. However, it will be time to see them once the Red Sox start playing again. I'm not sure what the correlation between the two is, but who am I to question the ways of nature?
As their name implies, Marsh Wrens are birds of wetlands; so unless your house happens to be a muskrat lodge you aren't likely to have them on your property. The good news is they are fairly easy birds to find, but actually seeing one is another story. They are shy birds, which is quite the opposite of their showy cousins, the House Wrens. House Wrens are exhibitionists. They often sing from an exposed branch or a fence post and they don't care who sees them. By comparison the Marsh Wrens are agoraphophic. Oh sure, they like to sing, too, but they don't want anyone watching them doing it. Marsh Wrens spend their entire lives hiding amongst reeds and cattails and rarely venture away from them.
Historically the most reliable location to find a Marsh Wren on Cape Cod is the wetlands area off of Bells Neck Road in West Harwich (MA). If the thought of walking through gooey wetlands creeps you out, you can relax. These birds can be heard right from the road. Starting in late April (just after the Red Sox play their home opener) the male wrens return from the south and immediately start singing to announce their territories. By far the best way to locate this wren is to learn its song. The males sing a rapid assortment of harsh, mechanical chips that sound to some ears like a Geiger counter. That's helpful if you happen to know what a Geiger counter sounds like, but to me the birds sound like an angry red squirrel played at a high speed. I think we've all heard that before. Another good thing to know about these birds is that you won't have to get up early to hear them. During the breeding season they almost never shut up. Even after dark they'll often continue to sing. Remember we are talking about wrens, and like all wrens Marsh Wrens are bursting with energy. The excessive behavior of these birds isn't confined only to singing; it translates to their nest building, also. While the average bird has all it can do to build one nest each breeding season, the male Marsh Wren is like a grandmother who can't stop knitting sweaters. Each year he may build as many as twenty (that's right, twenty) elaborate domed nests in his territory and not even work up a sweat. I think we should forget the Wind Farm. If we really want to find a reliable source of clean power, we should harness a couple of Marsh Wrens and we'll have enough energy to light half the country.
The reason they build so many nests isn't clear, but one theory has to do with predator avoidance. Snakes have been observed investigating empty nest after empty nest without ever finding a nest containing the babies. I couldn't agree more with that theory. If I knew a snake was looking for me, I'd build 200 extra houses. The Marsh Wren's manic behavior also has a dark side. It will destroy any other bird's eggs or nestlings that it finds within its territory. More than one Red-winged Blackbird family has discovered just how psycho these birds can be. The reason for this aggression is thought to have to do with food protection. If the wrens can keep the area free of other birds they'll have more food for themselves. Are they kidding? Wrens are insect eaters and they live in a marsh. When has there ever been a shortage of insects in a marsh? I think the birds are just nuts.
You aren't likely to see a Marsh Wren in your yard, Harry, but come spring they'll be returning to the nearby town of Harwich. After you watch the Red Sox home opener take a drive over to the Harwich conservation area and listen for their singing. If you don't hear the birds right away you can use the extra time to think about all the bonehead trades the Red Sox made during the winter. I'm sure they'll be plenty of them to think about.


text:
Canon A3300 IS Review
|Basic Specifications
|Full model name:
|Canon PowerShot A3300 IS
|16.00 Megapixels
|Sensor size:
|1/2.3 inch
(6.2mm x 4.6mm)
5.00x zoom
(28-140mm eq.)
|Extended ISO:
|80 - 6400
|1/1600 - 15 sec
|Max Aperture:
3.7 x 2.2 x 0.9 in.
(95 x 57 x 24 mm)
5.2 oz
(148 g)
includes batteries
|Full specs:
|Canon A3300 IS specifications
Your purchases support this site
Buy the Canon A3300 IS
A3300 IS Summary
The Canon PowerShot A3300 fits the needs of the casual snapshooter to a tee, with a good wide-angle to fairly long telephoto reach and smart features that make getting quality photos easy. It's worth a closer look.Imaging Resource rating
4.5 out of 5.0
Canon PowerShot A3300 IS
by Mike Pasini and Stephanie Boozer
Review Posted: 04/28/2011
The Canon PowerShot A3300 is based around a 16-megapixel, CCD image sensor coupled to a 5x optically-stabilized zoom lens that offers focal lengths ranging from a useful 28mm wide-angle to a moderate 140mm telephoto. Maximum aperture varies from f/2.8 to f/5.9 across the zoom range. Images on the Canon A3300 IS must be framed and reviewed on its 3-inch LCD panel, as there's no true optical viewfinder on this camera. The A3300 display has a resolution of 230,000 dots (~76,800 pixels, with three dots per pixel).
The Canon A3300's sensor allows sensitivities ranging from ISO 80 to ISO 1,600 equivalents, which extends to ISO 6,400 in Low Light mode. Exposures are determined using Evaluative, Center-weighted Average or Spot metering, and direct control of shutter speed or aperture isn't possible on this camera (except for a "Long Shutter" mode which lets you choose shutter speeds between 1 and 15 seconds). 2.0EV of exposure compensation is available, in 1/3EV increments. Seven white balance modes are available on the Canon A3300 IS - Auto, Manual, or five presets. The PowerShot A3300 IS's built-in flash strobe has a range of 13 feet at wide-angle, dropping to 6.6 feet at telephoto, and recharges in ten seconds or less.
The PowerShot A3300 offers Canon's Smart Auto mode, which intelligently selects optimal settings automatically for you, based on 32 predefined shooting situations. Ten manually selected scene modes are also available, and the camera includes Creative Filters such as Fish-eye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect, Monochrome, Super Vivid and Poster Effect. A new Discreet mode disables the camera's sound, flash and AF assist beam for shooting in quiet situations.
As well as still images, the PowerShot A3300 IS can capture video clips at 720p HD resolution (1,280x720 pixels) at 30 frames-per-second, a first for the Canon A-series. VGA (640x480) and QVGA (320x240) resolutions are also available. Miniature Effect is available during moves, which drops the frame rate to as low as 1.5 fps. The Canon PowerShot A3300 IS stores images on SD / SDHC / SDXC / MMC / MMC Plus / HC MMC Plus cards, and draws power from a proprietary NB-8L rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. Battery life is rated at 230 shots on a charge, to CIPA testing standards. Connectivity options include USB 2.0 high-speed data and NTSC / PAL standard definition video.
The Canon PowerShot A3300 IS began shipping from late February 2011, priced at around US$180. Available colors are grey, red, blue, silver, and pink.
Canon PowerShot A3300
User Report
by Mike Pasini
It's been nearly a year since we mourned the demise of the Canon A Series digicam. You know, the PASM modes with the AA batteries in a chunky plastic box you were nearly embarrassed to pull out at a party. Except it took great pictures. And taught you the craft.
So we're over it. Really.
But when we pulled the Canon A3300 IS out of the box and turned it on, we wondered if we had really recovered. It's so small it should be sold as a keychain, but its controls are not for the arthritic and never mind modes helpful for learning photography.
Then we looked at the Canon A3300's images. It was as if we'd just bought new specs. We hadn't realized what we'd been missing. Vivid, crisp shots. Nothing at all like the texture-less things we saw from the Panasonic ZS10.
An epiphany dropped into our lap. Canon is onto something, we thought. They've attacked the cellphone dictatorship with the passive resistance of a tiny camera with big quality. History has spoken. Put your cellphone down. Pick up an A-Series camera and have some quality fun. It's easy.
Well, except for one thing.
Look and Feel. No kidding, it should come with a key ring. The Canon A3300 fits in your pocket or purse, smaller than a wallet. But it doesn't give up the big screen.
And for those of you comparing it to last year's model, the Canon A3300 has the advantage of a Zoom ring around the Shutter button, rather than a Zoom toggle on the back panel.
The controls are way too stiff for my taste. And they don't seem to break in. The good news is that the Mode dial's stiffness keeps it from easily changing while the Canon A3300 rides in a pocket. But if you hand this to a friend or relative to take your picture, I guarantee you they will press the Mode dial to trip the shutter three times before you tell them the Shutter button is further to the left.
There is no grip to speak of on the Canon A3300 (apart from three small thumb bumps on the back), but let me ask you if you've ever bothered about a grip on your cellphone? Didn't think so.
I have to say the Canon A3300 is an attractively sculpted camera. And you can get it in red, black, blue, silver, or pink.
Controls. The Canon A3300's two-tone design helps organize the controls into a hierarchy of their own. But they don't break down into black and silver (or color) controls. They break down, instead, into controls that draw your attention because they contrast with their setting and those that don't.
So within the Canon A3300's black trim on top, you have the nearly invisible Zoom ring (you feel that and don't have to look for it), the invisible Power button (which you don't need to see either), and the black Mode dial, which is large enough to notice but doesn't distract you. The contrasting control within the black trim is the Shutter button, the one thing you do want to keep an eye on.
Same scheme on the back panel where the four-way navigator arrows are black and everything else is, like the panel, silver. This is a very smart arrangement that highlights the controls you are most likely to need while keeping handy ones you expect to look for.
So what are the controls? Let's take the tour.
On top from left to right, there is a very tiny one-hole microphone just under the second three in the model name, a three-hole speaker, the slightly-recessed Power button, the Shutter button surrounded by the Zoom lever, and the Mode dial.
On the Canon A3300's back panel to the right of the 230K-pixel, 3.0-inch LCD is the four-way navigator surrounded the Function/Set button with arrows doing double duty: Up handles Rotate/EV, Right cycles through the Flash modes, Down is Delete/Self-Timer, and Left is Focus modes (Macro, Normal, Infinity).
Above the navigator are the Face Select button to cycle through the recognized faces, selecting one to focus on, and the Playback button, which functions as a Power on/off control as well (without extending the lens).
Below the navigator are the Display button to cycle through the simple display options and the Menu button. Display is also used in Smart Shutter Scene mode to select between Smile, Wink, and Face self-timer triggers. Between the navigator and the Display button there is a small green status LED.
On the right panel above the unusual but functional eyelet for the wrist strap, there's a flap covering the AV/USB port. Canon provides only a standard video out cable with the A3300.
Lens. The 5x optical zoom in the Canon A3300 ranges from 28 to 140mm in 35mm equivalents, including a good wide-angle that can capture a room and an adequate telephoto for distant landmarks. It's extended by a 4x digital zoom for a total 20x zoom range. And that range is optically stabilized as well.
That's a bump up from the 4x A3100 lens, and although it's a bit shorter than that camera's 140mm telephoto equivalent, wide-angle is more generous than the A3100's 35mm.
Focusing Range extends from 1.2 inches to infinity at wide-angle to 3.0 feet to infinity at telephoto. In Macro mode, according to Canon, wide-angle gets as close as 1.2 inches and telephoto 1.6 feet. In Smart Auto, Macro mode is one of the recognized scenes.
Maximum aperture at wide-angle is f/2.8 and f/5.9 at telephoto.
Shutter speeds range from 15 to 1/1,600 seconds, depending on the mode (Long Shutter taps into 15 seconds, otherwise it's 1.0 second). ISO ranges from 80 to 1,600 with a Low Light Scene mode ranging from 400 to 6,400.
Our lens quality tests show the Canon A3300's lens to be slightly soft in the corners at both wide-angle and telephoto, with very mild barrel distortion at wide-angle, which becomes barely perceptible at telephoto. Some moderate chromatic aberration is visible at both wide-angle and telephoto.
Modes. For a simple camera, the Canon A3300 provides quite a few modes. They are all variations on automatic shooting, though, so experimenting with them won't cost you the shot.
Program mode provides the most control over the Canon A3300. You can't adjust the shutter speed or aperture, but you have some control over white balance, ISO, and other options.
Live mode uses sliders to adjust Brightness, Color and Tone as you view the image on the LCD. Just press the Function/Set button to see the sliders and use the arrow buttons to select a slider and change its value. The LCD will instantly show you the effect.
Smart Auto analyzes the scene before setting up the camera for the shot. This is where you'll find Scenes that aren't in Scene modes (like Sunset). An icon appears in the corner of the screen to indicate the situation the camera has recognized. It does it quickly and is a boon if you are switching between normal and macro focus modes frequently, as it'll detect object distance and make the change for you. But you don't have the control over exposure you do in Program mode. Fortunately, you can still select between 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios.
In Easy mode, which functions both in Record and Playback modes, the Canon A3300 displays instructions on the screen. In Record, for example, you just press the Shutter button (although you can turn the flash on or off, too). In Playback, pressing the Function/Set button starts a slide show.
Scene mode automatically optimizes camera settings for special situations. Scene modes include Portrait, Landscape, Kids & Pets, Smart Shutter, Low Light, Beach, Foliage, Snow, Fireworks, and Long Shutter.
Creative Filters adds special effects to your stills. Creative filters include Fish-eye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect (Holga vignetting), Monochrome, Super Vivid, and Poster Effect.
Discreet mode disables the flash, camera sounds and autofocus assist light. Spy mode, in short.
Menu System. Canon fans will be instantly familiar with the company's traditional menu system. And new Canon owners won't take long to figure out the two basic rules:
- Use the Menu button to make changes to general camera behavior for Recording, Setup, Playback and Printing.
- Use the Function/Set button to make changes to exposure settings.
In addition, the four-way navigator arrow buttons provide a few handy shortcuts as explained in the Controls section above.
Storage & Battery. The Canon A3300 includes no built-in memory for image storage, relying entirely on the SD card in the memory card compartment. The A3300 supports SD/SDHC/SDXC, MultiMediaCard, MMCplus Card, and HC MMCplus cards. Choose at least a Class 4 card for HD video capture.
A 4GB card will hold about 935 Large Fine JPEGs and 22 min. 5 sec. of 1,280 x 720 30 fps video.
The Canon A3300 is powered by a compact, 3.6 volt, 740 mAh lithium-ion battery. Canon estimates about 230 shots or five hours using CIPA testing standards. I had no issues with battery life. The included charger has folded plugs so you don't need a cable or cord, perfect for travel. A $70 AC adapter kit (ACK-DC60) is also available.
Image Quality. It's gotten to the point that when I see a 14-megapixel camera, I think I'm not going to have any fun reviewing the thing. In low natural light I'm either going to get unacceptable levels of noise or Impressionist-like noise reduction that wipes out any detail.
So when I saw the A3300 with its 16-megapixel sensor, I thought of taking my first vacation in 12 years. To some place without electricity.
But surprise! I really liked the images the A3300 brought home. They had a level of detail I could just rub my nose in. Or, less dramatically, just pixel peep. It's not perfect, because the Canon A3300 does struggle to balance noise suppression against detail, but it does a better job than most of its higher-priced competition. But as a CCD sensor, it's not a surprise to see it doing better than most CMOS designs.
The comparison above is a little unfair because the Panasonic ZS10 is shot in partial sun while the A3300 is shot in full sunlight, increasing the overall contrast. But you can still get the idea of the difference between the two when you see the ZS10's more brushstroke-like rendering of the grass in the distance--low contrast detail--compared to the Canon A3300's rendering, which looks more like a photograph than a painting. Remember that the Canon A3300 costs $220 less than the Panasonic ZS10 and has two-million more--and therefore smaller--pixels, so it's clear that the A3300's CCD is better able to control detail despite its higher resolution.
Shooting. OK, it isn't really small enough to be a keychain, but the Canon A3300 is compact enough to fit somewhere anytime you leave the house. And because it packs such wonderful image quality along, you won't want to leave it behind.
I shot with the Canon A3300 in a variety of situations: indoors, outdoors, sun, shade, into the sun, sunset store windows at night, black and white, flowers in macro. It handled everything with ease.
As usual, I stuck with Program but I tried Live and used Smart Auto quite a bit (once I realized it would slip into Macro mode for me).
But what I didn't do, for the most part, was any EV adjustment or ISO fiddling. I left that to the Canon A3300 and it handled it very well.
There is a series of gallery shots taken at -0.3 EV but that's a modest change in what were unusual circumstances. It saved me darkening them a bit in image editing software, however.
And the one Low Light shot in the gallery may not be a great shot but color was accurate (not washed out) and detail sufficient if not sharp. I wouldn't hesitate to shift into Low Light.
The image stabilizer, though, means you don't have to resort to that unless there's practically no light. There are two handheld 1/30 second shots in the Gallery, one at night of a store window and one of an interior, that are sharp at low ISOs. That shutter speed may not seem impressive, but with such a light, small camera, I'd expect problems (from my own shooting) under 1/60 second.
Under ideal lighting, you really can enjoy the detail this 16-megapixel sensor captures. Two examples in the gallery stand out. The first is the row of logs, particularly in comparison to the Panasonic ZS10 capture. And the second is the macro shot of a seed pod.
Canon claims the A-Series is now the Fun and Easy camera line-up. And it was both of those for me.
But the A-Series used to be the one to pick if you had ambitions to be a photographer and needed an inexpensive student model. Canon stuffed the previous year's technology into a nice affordable bundle and gave you complete control over it. The Canon A3300 isn't that A-Series.
This is the A-Series that will make you forget your cellphone. It takes much better pictures just as easily (and without buying camera apps).
So what's the "one thing" I warned about in the introduction?
It's still easier to share your images and video with a cellphone than with a digicam like the Canon A3300. There's no Share button on the A3300 as there is with some Kodak cameras.
But there's a better solution to that problem than a Kodak. It's a WiFi Eye-Fi SD card, which instantly turns the Canon A3300 into an image and video sharing monster, assuming you can tap into a WiFi router.
Attractive, simple, and inexpensive, the Canon A3300 has a good quality 16-megapixel sensor, a 5x lens, and turns out good quality images, and we had a good time with it. Be sure to look over the lens and image quality data below and our Pro/Con and Conclusion below!
Canon PowerShot A3300 IS Lens Quality
Wide: Sharp at center
Wide: Soft at upper left
Tele: Sharp at center
Tele: Mild blurring, upper left corner
Sharpness: The wide-angle end of the Canon PowerShot A3300 IS' zoom shows a moderate amount of blurring in the top corners of the frame (strongest at top left) compared to what we see at center, though blurring doesn't extend far into the image area. At telephoto, the difference in sharpness between center and the corners isn't as strong, though the mild blurring that is present extends fairly far into the main image area.
Wide: Low barrel distortion; hardly noticeable
Tele: A tiny amount of barrel distortion, though barely visible
Geometric Distortion: There is actually only a little barrel distortion at wide-angle (0.3%), and almost no perceptible distortion (0.1% barrel) at telephoto. The PowerShot A3300 IS' processor is definitely at work here to eliminate geometric distortion.
Wide: Moderate but bright
Tele: High, less bright
Chromatic Aberration: Chromatic aberration at wide-angle is moderate in terms of pixel count, though pixels are fairly bright. Telephoto, however, shows the opposite, with more visible pixels but less bright coloration.
Macro with Flash
Macro: The Canon PowerShot A3300's Macro mode captures a fairly sharp image with strong detail, though blurring is strong around the corners and edges of the frame (a common limitation among consumer digital cameras in macro mode). Minimum coverage area is 1.69 x 1.27 inches (43 x 32mm), which is good. The camera's flash produced an uneven exposure, with a strong hot spot in the upper left and a dark shadow at lower right from the lens. So stick to external lighting for your closest macro shots.
Canon PowerShot A3300 IS Viewfinder Accuracy
Wide: LCD Monitor
Tele: LCD Monitor
Viewfinder Accuracy: The Canon PowerShot A3300's LCD monitor showed about 100% coverage accuracy at wide-angle and at telephoto, which is excellent.
Canon PowerShot A3300 IS Image Quality
Color: The Canon PowerShot A3300 IS produced very good color, with only a small amount of oversaturation in bright reds, some greens, and some bright blues. Yellows are undersaturated just a tad, but overall saturation looks natural and pleasing. In terms of hue accuracy, the A3300 IS also performs better than average, though cyans are pushed toward blue, and bright yellows are nudged toward green. Both dark and light skintones are fairly accurate. Overall, very good performance.
Auto WB:
Good, though slightly red
Incandescent WB:
Too pink
Manual WB:
Very good
Incandescent: Manual white balance handled our incandescent lighting best overall, though the Auto setting also produced better results than average (though just the littlest bit red). The Incandescent setting came out quite pink.
Horizontal: 2,000~2,100 lines
Vertical: 2,000 lines
Resolution: Our laboratory resolution chart revealed sharp, distinct line patterns down to about 2,000, arguably 2,100, lines per picture height horizontally, and to about 2,000 lines vertically. Extinction of the pattern occurred at around 2,800 lines per picture height.
Wide: Fairly bright
Tele: Good
Auto Flash
Flash: Our manufacturer-specified testing (shown at right) shows fairly bright results at the rated distance of 13 feet, though the A3300 IS raised ISO to 400 to achieve this. The telephoto test came out pretty good at 6.5 feet, though ISO was again increased to 400.
Auto flash produced bright results in our indoor portrait scene, retaining some of the ambient light by using a slower shutter speed of 1/15 second, and raising ISO to 250. The Canon PowerShot A3300 IS' image stabilization should help with the slower shutter speed, but any movement of the subject could be problematic at this shutter speed. Shot taken at ~5 feet (~1.5m) on a stable tripod.
ISO: Noise and Detail: Detail is already soft at ISO 80, due to some visible luminance and chroma noise pixels. Softness increases from there, with noise pixels becoming more pronounced. By ISO 1,600 fine detail is all but gone. See Printed Results below for more on how this affects printed images.
ISO 80 and 100 shots print well at 13x19 inches, but they're too soft for 16x24 and 20x30. At 13x19, low-contrast areas are still somewhat soft, especially among reds, thanks to noise suppression, but it's pretty good for a $180 digital camera.
ISO 200 shots are too soft for 13x19, but look better at 11x14.
ISO 400 images are again far too soft for 11x14, but are good at 8x10, except for those low-contrast red areas, which are quite blurry.
ISO 800 images are actually usable at 8x10 but sharpen up at 5x7.
ISO 1,600 shots are also pretty good at 5x7, but most will be happier with 4x6.
Overall it's a good performance for a low-cost pocket camera, but don't be too impressed by the 16-megapixel number, because thanks to the necessary anti-noise processing, it's only about as good as a 12-megapixel camera.
Canon PowerShot A3300 IS Performance
Startup Time: The Canon A3300 takes 2.2 seconds to power on and take a shot. That's on the fast side of average for its class.
Shutter Lag: Full autofocus shutter lag is average, at 0.55 second at wide-angle and 0.59 second at full telephoto. Prefocused shutter lag is 0.081 second, not the fastest out there, but still pretty quick.
Cycle Time: Cycle time is sluggish, capturing a frame every 2.92 seconds in single-shot mode. Canon rates the A3300's full-resolution continuous mode at 0.8 frames per second, also slow.
Flash Recycle: The Canon PowerShot A3300 IS' flash recycles in about 7.6 seconds after a full-power discharge, on the slow side.
Low Light AF: The camera's AF system was able to focus down to just above the 1/8 foot-candle light level without AF assist enabled, though the camera was able to focus in complete darkness with the AF assist lamp enabled.
USB Transfer Speed: Connected to a computer or printer with USB 2.0, the Canon PowerShot A3300's download speeds are moderately fast. We measured 6,102 KBytes/sec.
In the Box
The retail box for the A3300 includes:
- PowerShot A3300 IS camera
- Battery pack (NB-8L)
- Battery charger (CB-2LA)
- Wrist strap (WS-800)
- AV cable (AVC-400)
- USB cable (IFC-400PCU)
- Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM
Recommended Accessories
- Extra battery pack for extended outings
- Protective case
- Large capacity, high-speed SDHC/SDXC memory card. 4 to 8GB is a good tradeoff between cost and capacity.
Canon PowerShot A3300 Conclusion
The Canon PowerShot A3300 is one of those cameras your expert buddy (um, like me) would lead you right past at the camera counter of the BigBuy Store. It's not that it's unattractive (it's nicely sculpted, actually), but it's simple. Just a lens with a Shutter button, a Mode dial, controls and an LCD.
In fact, all the interesting things about the Canon A3300 are inside. A decent zoom range for the good 16-megapixel images, optical stabilization, 720p HD video, an intelligent Auto mode, a Live view of exposure adjustments, and fun creative filters.
I wish the controls were not as stiff but I got used to them. What I didn't get used to was the gorgeous images. The little Canon A3300 captures good quality images with better detail than most digital cameras of this resolution deliver, with accurate color. Print quality was good at 13x19 inches from ISO 80 and 100 images, which is considerably larger than most Canon A3300 buyers will ever print, so I think we're safe saying that though 16-megapixels doesn't mean as much as it would seem, it's still enough to produce pretty big prints, and good quality 4x6-inch prints from every ISO offered. We have no qualms giving the Canon A3300 a Dave's Pick.
Buy the Canon A3300 IS
Your purchases support this site
Buy the Canon A3300 IS
$189.00 (100% more)
2 MP (20% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
Similar size
1x zoom (50% more)
$166.98 (100% more)
2 MP (20% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
13% smaller
8x zoom (37% more)
$128.00 (100% more)
20.1 MP (20% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
18% smaller
8x zoom (37% more)
$386.95 (100% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
40% larger
5x zoom
$232.95 (100% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
42% larger
5x zoom
$156.95 (100% more)
13.2 MP (21% less)
Also lacks viewfinder
54% larger
3x zoom (67% less)
$269.00 (100% more)
20.2 MP (21% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
Similar size
12x zoom (58% more)
$136.95 (100% more)
20.1 MP (20% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
15% smaller
8x zoom (37% more)
$319.00 (100% more)
20.2 MP (21% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
16% larger
25x zoom (80% more)
$288.00 (100% more)
18.2 MP (12% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
Similar size
2x zoom (75% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
42% larger
5x zoom
$168.50 (100% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
8% smaller
4x zoom (25% less)
$336.95 (100% more)
20.2 MP (21% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
50% larger
5x zoom
$119.00 (100% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
40% larger
5x zoom
$109.00 (100% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
40% larger
5x zoom
$229.00 (100% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
40% larger
5x zoom
$531.32 (100% more)
20.1 MP (20% more)
Has viewfinder
59% larger
1x zoom (50% more)
$797.95 (100% more)
20.2 MP (21% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
50% larger
5x zoom
$348.00 (100% more)
18.2 MP (12% more)
Also lacks viewfinder
39% larger
3x zoom (83% more)
$948.50 (100% more)
20.1 MP (20% more)
Has viewfinder
49% larger
8x zoom (37% more)


text: Junior Canadian Rangers ages 12 to 18 from several Nunavut communities travelled to Whitehorse to participate in the Summer Enhanced Training Session in August. Basic, advanced and leadership level courses were offered, each lasting about five days. Activities included canoeing, water rescue, rock climbing, marksmanship, navigation, problem solving, traditional crafts and sports.


text:
When you bought your last cell phone did you buy any accessories from the cell phone provider? If so then you probably spent too much.
I have a Blackberry phone that I got from T-mobile. Right now the only accessories I own for it are the the charger and corded headset that came with the phone. I wanted to get a couple more accessories for it so I went straight to Amazon.com to shop around. I went to Amazon rather than T-mobile cause the accessories that I've seen at T-mobile shop have been over priced.
To illustrate how over priced the phone accessories sold by cell phone carriers can be I did a little comparison shopping.
Here are some examples:
A micro-USB cable on Amazon was about $3 including shipping. T-mobile charges $14.99 for such a cable. AT&T has one for $9.99 Amazon is 70% or 80% cheaper.
The Blackberry brand car charger is $9 on Amazon. The cheapest car charger at T-mobile is $29.99 or at AT&T you can get one for $17.99 Amazon is 45% or 70% cheaper.
Motorola HK210 Bluetooth Headset is $22.99 at Amazon and at Tmobile its $39.99. Amazon is 25% less.
Motorola H730 Bluetooth Headset runs $29.99 at Amazon but it costs $59.99 at T-mobile. Amazon is 33% less.
The accessories at Amazon are 25-80% cheaper than the T-mobile store.
Lets say you wanted a spare data cable, car charger and a basic HK210 bluetooth headset. If you bought these 3 items at Amazon you'd be paying about $42. If you bought them at the T-mobile store then it would run you almost $85. You'd be spending over twice as much at the T-mobile store.
Of course this is just a random sample as an example. But it proves the point that the cell phone carriers (at least T-mobile and AT&T) do have a higher profit margin on their accessories. Amazon is just an example and they too may not be the cheapest. If want to save money on cell phone accessories you should shop around.
-This article may contain referral links which pay this site a commission for purchases made at the sites.
November 8, 2011
Don't Buy Cell Phone Accessories from Cell Phone Company
When you bought your last cell phone did you buy any accessories from the cell phone provider? If so then you probably spent too much.


text:
Insights / Research / The True Value of Sports Rights – Insight is the Key
Research / 7th February 2018
When it comes to sports TV rights, it is certainly an interesting time . Headline deals for the Premier League in the UK and the NFL in the US have brought the inflated costs of sports rights to the forefront of media discourse. However, the jury is very much still out on whether the levels of viewing and exposure that these services provide justify the amount of money broadcasters are willing to part with for the rights. It is also important to question to what extent some sports are over-valued, and others are overlooked in their importance to sports subscription services such as Sky Sports and BT Sport.
This is of course a multi-faceted conversation influenced by a number of different factors and we mustn't underestimate the importance of digital media in the growing costs of sports rights. However, as specialists in the analysis of BARB data we can use TV ratings to evaluate the relative popularity of various sports, and use insight to hypothesise on their relative importance to subscription based packages.
It's a Big Deal
In recent months much has been made of deals involving a number of major sports rights holders. There are new deals in place for Formula 1, the ECB and Darts and the conversation on the next Premier League deal continues to loom.
There is also the impact of new entrants into the market to consider, with Amazon acquiring the rights to broadcast the ATP tour from 2019 onwards for a fee thought to be in the region of £10m a year. We know what the impact has been of BT's emergence as a sports content provider, what could the impact be if online giants like Amazon were to put their name in the hat for the UK premier league rights?
These questions are as of yet conjectural so let's move on to something we know quite a bit about.
Sports Viewing
On Sky Sports the Premier League is king; it has the widest appeal, provides the channels with the highest number of viewers and now has its own dedicated channel on Sky. In the 2016/17 season viewing to the Premier League equated to just short of 371m viewer hours, which is 202% more than the next most viewed rights (ECB). It is undoubtedly the most valuable commodity that Sky Sports (and perhaps Sky as a whole) has to offer, which is reflected in the sizeable amount of money that Sky are willing to pay to retain the rights.
However, can we use BARB data to question whether this investment translates into value for money? If we were to use the ECB as a comparison we can see the interesting way in which the two rights packages convert money spent into viewing.
The ECB does not achieve the level of viewing that is experienced by the Premier League, but does come at a much lower price. In the 2016/17 season the Premier League delivered approximately 271k viewer hours for every million pounds spent on the rights. Over the same period the ECB was able to deliver approximately 1.6m viewer hours per million spent, that is 504% more viewer time per million pounds (arguably much better value for money). It is therefore no surprise that the ECB have recently struck a deal with Sky that more than doubles the amount Sky will be paying per year for the rights to show ECB content from 2020-2024.
Of course, the fundamental factor that this comparison fails to address is how important these figures are when considering subscription based business models. Fortunately, there are ways in which BARB data can be used to address the importance of particular sports to subscription holders. These processes have has become even more effective following Sky's move to re-brand many of its channels as sport specific.
One such method would be to analyse unique reach, which is a metric that establishes how many viewers tuned into one channel, but not another. This provides us with an indication of how many subscribers predominantly use their subscription packages to watch one particular channel or sport.
This analysis delivers a slightly different picture to the ones based on total levels of viewing. Formula 1 is a particularly interesting case study as it drives high levels of unique reach to the sports channels. In fact, 38% of Sky Sports' total reach from Aug 17 – Dec 17 was provided by those who tuned into Sky Sports F1 and no other Sky Sports channel (excl main event, news and mix). That is a huge subscriber base that Sky Sports is reliant on F1 to deliver, and it is one that it will continue to deliver now they have secured exclusive rights to F1 content from 2019.
Viewership Overlap
The table below also provides some enlightening insight into how viewership to the Sky Sports channel overlaps. Much of the viewing overlap between the channels is driven by the popularity of the football and premier league channels. Interestingly, these channels are viewed by a particularly large proportion of Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Golf viewers, F1 fans by comparison seem more resistant to the lure of the Premier League. It is also interesting that there is relatively high levels of duplication between the non-sports specific channels Arena and Action as well as relatively high overlap between Golf and Cricket viewers.
These kinds of analyses are key in understanding the way in which people use their sports subscription packages and perhaps more importantly, why people purchase sports packages.
Fundamentally, it is important for sports rights holders to make sure insight is at the heart of their business, because it is only through research and insight that they can fully understand the commercial potential of what they are selling. And whilst there are a huge number of factors that go into the valuation of sports rights, we are keen to display that unearthing insight using BARB data can make a serious contribution to understanding their true value – we have only so far scratched the surface of what insight can deliver.
Matt Ross, Insight Analyst
Digital i
Speak to an expert to find out how our intelligence platform will revolutionise your TV reporting & SVOD research


text:
Friendly advice for busy families
Place your trust in us to find the best fit for your home and auto coverage
Home & Auto Insurance
Our speciality
Agents that work for you
Not the insurance company
We love to help! Our team of agents knows how to find the coverage you need at the best possible value. The goal is to make getting great insurance easy. We shop for you from the leading insurance carriers and recommend the program that fits best. Our service doesn't stop there. Each year will review your coverage regularly to make sure you get a consistently good value.
The coverage you need from a quality company at the best possible price.
We're here for you!
-Mahatma Gandhi
Curated articles, videos, and more for a more informed you.
You need protection for you, your car, and your livelihood at a price that makes sense.
Homeowners insurance products can help you protect your home and belongings should disaster strike.
Get important protection and peace of mind for your family that is surprisingly affordable.
You have worked hard to build it, let's make sure it is properly protected.
Is your family prepared to handle a house fire? Do you know the steps to prevent one? Do you have a go-plan to keep your family safe in the event of a fire emergency in your home? If not, our free ebook can help. Sign up below to receive your copy of "Stop, Drop, and Go: 12 Essential Steps To Keep Your Family Safe from Fire."


text:
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue
In 2013, we started using OneFile – and it's completely revolutionised how we deliver training across 29 fire stations in Nottinghamshire. Everyone at OneFile should be very proud of their software, as it's been a game changer for us. I would definitely recommend OneFile!
I've worked for the fire and rescue service for 18 years now, and over the last 9 years I've been involved in the training and assessment of new firefighters and incident commanders. When I did my NVQ all those years ago, I remember collecting evidence and printing it out – I wasn't sure how relevant the evidence would be, as it was always tough to identify the outcomes as they were never to hand. I kept all my evidence in two lever arch files, which became so full that I eventually had to put a belt around it to keep it all together.
OneFile has completely changed us
Assessors used to have to traipse from station to station to collect evidence, but OneFile has completely changed this. Now, they can collect all their evidence remotely, as the firefighters and crew managers can upload their evidence straight into OneFile, and the assessors are notified when their work has been submitted. Of course, assessors still visit for observations, but their time with learners is now spent much more productively.
When our processes were paper-based, the files used to be left at the station, so they could only complete work there as it was a pain to take home and remember to bring it back. Now, our trainees are so engaged – and their eportfolios are so easily accessible – they continue to work on their assessments at home. This would never have happened before! They're really motivated by seeing their progress increase in OneFile when they complete their work.
Improving quality of assessments
OneFile enables us to be much more efficient. On paper, the write-up and cross-referencing of an observation of a crew manager debrief would have taken well over an hour. Now, with OneFile, it can take as little as 15 minutes – saving 75% of the time! It's so convenient, and all the criteria are available to us within a couple of clicks, so we can clearly see other areas that may have been covered, too. After the assessment, the IQA can give feedback, which is invaluable, especially for trainee assessors. This makes the quality of assessments so much better.
Some of the older crew managers or firefighters can be a little reluctant to use technology, but once I explain how it used to be on paper, they all give OneFile a go. It's so straightforward that they don't take long to get to grips with it, and the younger ones absolutely love it straight away.
We're now 50% quicker at training firefighters!
On paper, it could take 18 months for someone to complete their Watch Manager NVQ – on OneFile, it takes between 9 and 12 months, so our firefighters and managers are being trained up to 50% more quickly.
Everyone at OneFile should be very proud of their software, as it's been a game changer for us. I would definitely recommend OneFile!
This article includes research and opinion sourced by OneFile at the time of publication. Things may have changed since then,
so this research is to be used at the reader's discretion. OneFile is not liable for any action taken based on this research.


text:
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Standalone - Savage Men #1
Release - September 21, 2017
Genre - Dark Romance
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat - 4.5 out of 5
Length - 507 pages
They call me savage. An untamed beast.
I was born in the cage. Born to fight. Born to carry its name.
Locked away, I've spent years waiting for my mate.
I'm pent up with need. Brimming with desire.
All I want is her... That beautiful girl from the picture on my prison wall.
Now she's finally here, sharing a cell.
So close. So hard to resist.
But one thing's for sure…
Even if she doesn't know it yet, she's already mine.
This book contains both CAGED and UNCAGED, originally meant as a duet.
Note: This STANDALONE novel contains disturbing content that may be offensive to some readers.
Find your copy of Caged here:Cage was like a little boy in a grown and sexy man-body. He was incredibly naive. He didn't understand what most of us consider normal expressions or colloquialisms. He wasn't socialized, he had never even been outside. He didn't understand the world around him because he wasn't a part of the world. He lived in a caged environment and the only thing he knew was to fight… to the death. He had never had a friend and he had never known affection, however, when given the chance to meet someone, to have someone of his very own, he chose Ella. But when Ella is taken and wakes up to her new life in the cage, will she ever be able to forgive and love Cage the same way that he loves her?
Goodreads | Amazon
FREE with Kindle Unlimited
The ARC copy I received had both Caged and Uncaged. I personally thought this was awesome because I didn't have to wait to continue this story and it read like one book. I did think it was going to be a dark read, and while it may be uncomfortable for some, it really wasn't that dark at all. However, I'm a huge fan of the dark and twisted, so my opinion may be a little off. Both Cage and Ella are prisoners of a man who sees them as nothing but profit. Cage really doesn't know any better and Ella has a hard time adapting to the life of a captive. Somehow, amidst the chaos, pain and devastation, a strange sort of love starts to bloom between the two and Ella vows to stop at nothing to allow them both a taste of freedom. The freedom to live and the freedom to love.
While I very much enjoyed Caged, I felt that some parts were dragging in Uncaged. I also wasn't very happy with the events that surrounded Caged. He was an unfortunate victim of circumstance, but instead of being treated as a victim, he was criticized, ridiculed and vilified as a monster. And because he didn't know any better, he believed that he was unworthy. I loved this character so much and wanted better for him. I also wanted Ella to be a better person overall. I wasn't a huge fan of hers but I was definitely a fan of their love. I recommend this story to those who enjoy romantic suspense with a touch of the dark side.


text:
Tue 28 May at 5.00pm - Fri 27 Sep at 5.00pm
|Entries mailed to the ANSTO Discovery Centre
New Illawarra Road, Lucas Heights NSW 2234
Shorebirds Competition 2019
Enter ANSTO's Shorebirds Competition by creating a public awareness poster for a threatened shorebird in Australia and go into the running to win over $3000 in prizes for schools and students.
Open to students in Years 3 to 6 in the Greater Sydney/Illawarra and Melbourne areas, this competition aims to help raise awareness of the plight of shorebirds and inspire a younger generation of environmentalists.
Shorebirds or waders are rapidly declining in numbers and several species are now threatened with extinction. In Australia and elsewhere their shoreline habitats are being permanently affected by human activity or are disappearing altogether.
Following the success of the 2018 Shorebirds Competition, which focussed on suburbs near Botany Bay in Sydney, the competition has now been expanded to include Greater Sydney/Illawarra and Greater Melbourne.
This is a fantastic opportunity for teachers to highlight a contemporary environmental issue and provide cross-curriculum teaching in science, geography and art.
Competition Closes: Friday 23 August 2019
Winners announced: World Shorebirds Day, Friday 6 September
Display of top entries at Australian Synchrotron Open Day, Sunday 20 October
Shorebirds Information and Threatened Shorebirds
Competition results 2019
Thank you to our participating schools (in alphabetical order): Artarmon Public School, Austinmer Public School, Ballam Park Primary School, Belrose Public School, Berwick Lodge Primary School, Brentwood Park Primary School, Caringbah Public School, Como West Public School, Corpus Christi Primary School, Danebank Anglican School for Girls, Donburn Primary School, Doncaster Gardens Primary School, Erskineville Public School, Glen Waverley Public School, Holsworthy Public School, Hume Anglican Grammar, Kurnell Public School, Lane Cove West Public School, Manly Village Public School, Milgate Primary School, Mt Martha Primary School, Northmead Public School, Oxford Falls Grammar School, Oyster Bay Public School, Peakhurst South Public School, Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School, Southmoor Primary School, St Bernadette's Primary School, St Mary Magdalen's Parish School, Waverley Christian College, Wheelers Hill Primary School, Xavier College - Kostka Hall, Yarrawarrah Public School.
We also gratefully acknowledge the adult art initiative, The Overwintering Project, as the source of inspiration for this competition and for their continued support. This important project raises awareness of our migratory shorebirds and their habits across Australia.
If you would like to provide feedback or register your interest for next year's Shorebirds Competition or other competitions, please contact the ANSTO Education Team:
First and Second Place Winners:
Years 5/6
1st Place, Sydney: Lily C., 6W, Austinmer Public School
1st Place, Melbourne: Atiya A., 5A, Donburn Primary School
2nd Place, Sydney: Cordelia X., 6EA, Artarmon Public School
2nd Place, Melbourne: Gaviru A., 6A, Glen Waverley Primary School
Years 3/4
1st Place, Sydney: Sylvie C., Y3, Erskineville Public School
1st Place - equal, Melb: Katie C., 4H, Donburn Primary School
1st Place - equal, Melb: Charlotte L., Y4, Home Educated (student prize only)
2nd Place, Sydney: Callum G., 3/4G, Oxford Falls Grammar School
2nd Place, Melbourne: Raphael L., 3M, Berwick Lodge Primary School
First place entries win $500 of educational resources for their school and a $100 voucher for themselves. Second place entries win $250 of educational resources for their school and a $50 voucher for themselves.
Highly Commended entries.
These students will be issued with a certificate and a small token prize.
Years 5/6
Chloe F., 5A, Donburn Primary School
Isaac G., 6MS, Artarmon Public School
Jayda T., 6B, Glen Waverley Primary School
Lavanya J., 6JA, Brentwood Park Primary School
Rehansa M., 6C, Glen Waverley Primary School
Shaelen R, 6I, Manly Village Public School
Sophie Y., 6MS, Artarmon Public School
Sophie X., 6O, Danebank Anglican School for Girls
Taylor P., 5CA, Danebank Anglican School for Girls
Zachary C., 6VB, Wheelers Hill Primary School
Years 3/4
Annabel M., 3/4M, Peakhurst South Public School
James F., 4C, Lane Cove West Public School
Jasmine Y., 3/4C, Holsworthy Public School
Lami L., 4O, Donburn Primary School
Lucy M., 3/4M, Peakhurst South Public School
Tanvi N., 4O Donburn Primary School
Zachary W., 3C, Waverley Christian College
These students will be issued with a certificate.
Years 5/6
Angelina C., 6O, Danebank Anglican School for Girls
Anqi D., 6E, Glen Waverley Primary School
Bailey B., 5R, Kurnell Public School
Bonnie M., 5CS, Milgate Primary School
Channing P., 5O, Yarrawarrah Public School
Daisy Z., 6JA, Brentwood Park Primary School
Emily L., 6EA, Artarmon Public School
Finn C., 6E, Mt Martha Primary School
Jasmine M., 6SV, Manly Village Primary School
Keira C., 5R, Kurnell Public School
Melody K., 5F, St Mary Magdalen's Parish School Chadstone
Mia V., Y6, St Bernadette's Primary Dundas Valley
Rachel L., 5C, Berwick Lodge Primary School
Ruby P., 5C, Manly Village Public School
Una S., 6I, Manly Village Public School
Sayuri R., 6E, Glen Waverley Primary School
Vedang D., 6D, Glen Waverley Primary School
Vihaan G., 6C, Glen Waverley Primary School
ZiAo Z., 6MS, Artarmon Public School
Years 3/4
Alan Z., 3A, Doncaster Gardens Primary School
Angelina F., 4B, Danebank Anglican School for Girls
Cailyn O., 3K, Belrose Public School
Darby, 3C, Mt Martha Primary School
Emilio T.,Y4, Xavier College – Kostka Hall Campus
Eva D., 3A, Doncaster Gardens Primary School
Grace T., 3B, Mt Martha Primary School
Hamish, 3C, Mt Martha Primary School
Ivy S., 3C, Kurnell Public School
Jordan Y., 4KA, Artarmon Public School
Max R., 3D, Mt Martha Primary School
Miley T., 3A, Doncaster Gardens Primary School
Renee H., 4B, Como West Public School
Shlah-Blu, 3C, Mt Martha Primary School
Shirley F., 3K, Danebank Anglican School for Girls
Tommy L., 4Y, Penleigh and Essendon Grammar
Veer M., 3HW, Southmoor Primary School


text:
Russia will begin negotiations with other countries to restart international flights from July 15, deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova said Friday.
Flights will be permitted to countries where cases of the coronavirus do not exceed 40 per 100,000 people, where the average daily increase in new cases over the last 14 days is no higher than 1% and where the current rate of transmission is less than one.
Russia cancelled international flights on March 27, and only a handful of special repatriation flights have been taking passengers to and from Russia over the past three months.
Golikova said reopening of flight routes would be based on the principle of reciprocity — meaning Russia will need to strike an agreement with each government to resume air travel.
Those arriving in Russia will need to have proof that they have tested negative for the coronavirus in the last 72 hours to be allowed entry, she added.
The EU, which reopened its borders on July 1 to visitors to 15 countries, is still officially closed to Russians.
No specific countries were proposed to be included in the first phase of reopening. Golikova instructed various government departments to draw up a list of eligible countries and to start negotiations on reopening flights.


text:
Love Long Beach 2017 is the 4th edition of the annual two day festival, spreading the magic of all that is Long Beach. Record attendance of over 15,000 people last year! DJs, music, arts and crafts, food court, vendors, yoga, sound healing and much more! Kid and family friendly, all ages are welcome! Mega fun for everyone. To […]Read More ›
Subtract returns to Queens Wharf with a serious line-up of house and techno. We welcome Berlin-based label Keinemusik, and its best-kept secret David Mayer. Without a doubt, this man is responsible for some of our biggest tracks of the last 5 years! Joining him is an epic crew of homegrown talent. David Mayer Keinemusik • […]Read More ›
RSVP ► subtractmusic.com/arp RSVP via text: ARP to (323) 378-3399 $15 all-night w/ RSVP [$20 at the door] In what is quickly becoming a tradition, we're gathering a day after full moon, with some of LA's favorite underground DJs. Deep in the heart of Downtown LA, lies The Belasco Basement, where we return, armed with […]Read More ›
Deep inside the heart of Downtown LA, buried under the ground is The Basement of Belasco Theater. In our usual fashion, we will be filling its cozy confines with a powerful sound system, and some of the best techno DJs LA has ever seen, in what is appropriately dubbed The Bassment! Next to The Bassment […]Read More ›
Like our ancestors have done from the beginning of time, we honor the cycles and the seasons that remind us of the ever-changing flow of life that we are a part of. Continuing on our simple mission of precision curated line-ups, audiophile sound and unique outdoor locations, we come together as a community. We dance, […]Read More ›
Two stages jam-packed with top international and local talent, easily the best line-up we've ever assembled. We welcome two of the latest additions to Subtract Music record label: Pezzner and Clint Stewart, both of whom will be releasing some proper dance-floor bombs soon. Joining them will be none other than Dave DK, the man that […]Read More ›
An expansive gathering of conscious souls, bathing in the mind-bending sounds of LA's underground. Let's usher in the new season together, as we ignite and unite under the sun and the stars. Warm sand running through our hands, cool breeze putting our minds at ease! Responsible freedom of expression in all its forms is highly […]Read More ›
Subtract Music teams up with Moontribe Collective to give you just what you need: dark, deep and filthy beats…lots of em! With a stellar line-up that closely resembles a top notch music festival and a monster sound system, we guarantee you'll be shaking your booty non-stop. This year is the 10th anniversary of the festival, […]Read More ›


text:
Guatemala: Will President Molina's Crackdown on Drug Cartels Work?
On the day after his inauguration, Guatemala's new president Otto Perez Molina announced that he is going to use the military to neutralize organized crime.
The promise of cracking down on the country's crime and violence with an iron fist propelled the ex-general to victory during the November presidential elections. Part of this task will include the overhaul of the criminal justice system and part will rely on using the army to fight drug cartels.
For the latter, Molina is taking a page from Mexican President Felipe Calderon's book. After his election in 2006, Calderon consolidated the armed forces and sent tens of thousands of troops into the country's most dangerous regions. The effort has led to a number of important arrests and seizures, but has also coincided with an escalation of territorial battles between cartels and therefore death.
Mexico and Guatemala are connected by drugs. Not only is Molina looking at Calderon's controversial system for guidance, but Mexico's powerful cartels have a significant presence in the country's southeastern neighbor, using Guatemala as a transit hub for the movement of narcotics from South America into Mexico and the United States. In fact, the Los Zetas cartel, which was founded by former members of the Kaibiles, Guatemala's elite Special Forces unit, is especially active south of the Mexican border.
Cocaine (and now ingredients for synthetic drugs) flows in by air, land and sea and from there into Mexico en route to the U.S., the International Crisis Group said in a report on Guatemala's drug violence.
Cool highlands are an ideal climate for poppy cultivation. Weapons, given lenient gun laws and a long history of arms smuggling, are plentiful. An impoverished, under-employed population is a ready source of recruits.
While Mexico's cartels have become some of the richest and most powerful paramilitary organizations in the world, Calderon's crackdown instantly exacerbated violence at home. After five years, 50,000 people have been killed from drug-related violence and many Mexicans are fed up with the carnage. Calderon's program has become the source of significant public ire -- manifested by large protests -- and is the main political discussion in the 2012 presidential elections in the country.
But the murder rate in Guatemala already surpasses Mexico, and at seventh in the world it sits behind only other Latin American countries like Honduras, El Salvador and Venezuela. There are about 40 homicides per 100,000 people in Guatemala per year, as of 2010. That figure is double what it was ten years ago, thanks largely to the drug cartels, but also to the general state of political and institutional degradation of the country.
In a nation that is already in crisis, a concerted push against drug violence may be exactly what's needed.
(The murder rate in Mexico, even in the years since Calderon's war on drugs started, is about 20th in the world with 18 murders per 100,000 people. However, in Mexico's most dangerous states, the homicide rates exceed 100 murders per 100,000 people.)
But more troubling, the proposed militarization of the battle against drug trafficking in Guatemala has already brought back nightmarish memories for some of those who lived through the country's civil war. With a former general at the helm, Guatemalans are wary of a re-militarization of a country where 200,000 civilians were killed over three decades of ceaseless, government-sponsored violence agianst leftist guerrillas.
In an article titled Guatemala's Legacy of Violence Follows New Leader to Power, NPR's The Two Way blog explains that Molina carries the burden of a complicated history into a new struggle against violence.
This kind of confirmed -- or gives reason to be concerned -- that this marks a return to a kind of militarization strategy that characterized the wartime period, Anita Isaacs, a Latin American studies professor at Haverford College in Philadelphia, who specializes in Guatemala, told the news site.
This is a new war. And it's being perceived as a new war that necessitates a military response.
Still, a real, comprehensive effort to combat drug violence may be what Guatemala needs, at least for restoring ties with the United States. Twenty-one years after the U.S. stopped sending military aid to Guatemala, Molina would like to re-establish a relationship that was damaged by the civil war.
The U.S. already helped Guatemala purchase helicopters in 2007 because they were to be used to fight drug trafficking, but any other military aid has yet to flow again and won't until six conditions are met, including significant drug arrests and the release of files and documents on possible human rights violations committed during the civil war.
Again, Molina is taking a page from his northern neighbors in Mexico. Although the results have been unpredictable at times, the United States has been supporting Mexico in combating cartels and has been providing resources, intelligence and funding to Calderon.
Using a system that could be adopted by Molina, Calderon is responsible for dismantling the cartels by force while the U.S. works on trafficking prevention. If the U.S. is willing to put some funding behind him, Molina will probably not have a problem sending troops where they are needed.
© Copyright IBTimes 2023. All rights reserved.
'A Place Of Fear': Hong Kong Activist Recalls Years Of Repression
Ukraine Sees Drones As Crucial To Battlefield Success
Google Looks To Take Generative AI Lead With Gemini
'Defense In Depth Approach' Crucial For AI Integration In Calamity-Prone Philippines' Disaster Management
UK Announces New Sanctions Targeting 'Putin's War Machine' In Ukraine
High Speed Rail Between LA And Las Vegas Gets $3B Boost
'Turn Tragedy Into Change': Italy Mourns Femicide Victim
Climate Change By Numbers
White House Warns Aid Rupture Will 'Kneecap' Ukraine
Saudi Arabia Says 'Absolutely Not' To Oil Phaseout At COP28
Hard To Bear: UK's Only Pandas Return To China


text:
How to install SQL Server 2014.
This article will guide you on how to perform a new SQL Server 2014 standalone installation.
An evaluation copy of SQL Server 2014 can be downloaded from
about supported upgrade scenarios
This screen shows the types of installation available. Let's select the
first type available "New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to
an existing installation".
Alternatively, you can opt to turn off Windows Firewall if you are installing
SQL Server for personal use. You can go to Control Panel and turn it off as
shown below:
If you performed adjustments in your PC, as explained on the paragraphs
above, you may want to run again the rules and verify if you can leave behind
the warnings. Please click on the "Re-run" button, and click on the Next button
if the computer now passes all the rules, as shown below.
Whether you create a local user or a domain user account, the password you use
to create the account must be a strong password since SQL Server setup will
required it on this "Server Configuration" page.
To provide a local Windows account or a domain account as service account,
please follow the steps shown in the images below.
You will get the error "Missing system administrator account. To continue, provide at least one Windows account to provision ...", if you fail to provide SQL Server administrators and try to continue with the next page of Setup. The error message "There are validation errors on this page ..." will also appear. Click the buttons "AddCurrent User" or "Add ..." to provide at least one account that will have unrestricted access to the SQL Server instance.
Select "Allow remote clients to have streaming access to FILESTREAM data" to
allow remote clients to access this FileStream data on this server.
Please provide also a user account that will be an Analysis Services
If you cannot see it on the Start Menu is maybe because you did not select to install the "Management Tools" feature of SQL Server or because you just installed SQL Server 2014 Express Edition and not a licensed edition of SQL Server. However, you still can download and install SQL Server 2014 Management Studio Express from Microsoft Downloads.
The following splash screen may appear while SSMS is opening.
.Send mail to
firstname.lastname@example.com with
questions or comments about this web site.


text:
William M. Paxton
- Also known as
- William McGregor Paxton
- William Paxton
- W. M. Paxton
- Born
- Baltimore, Maryland, United States
- Died
- Newton, Massachusetts, United States
- Active in
- Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Nationalities
- American
Painter. Paxton painted the leisured class. Considered old-fashioned by some modernists, he was a prominent genre and portrait painter in the Beaux Arts style.
Joan Stahl American Artists in Photographic Portraits from the Peter A. Juley & Son Collection (Washington, D.C. and Mineola, New York: National Museum of American Art and Dover Publications, Inc., 1995)
The women in Paxton's finely detailed interiors, from dowagers and schoolgirls to servants, helped define idealized female roles for upper-class New Englanders at the turn of the century. Calm, introspective, and bathed in quiet light, Paxton's figures provide a striking contrast to the working-class female subjects of New York's Ashcan School. Whereas the well-to-do Boston women read, drink tea, and regard fine things in their quiet homes (while their servants quietly keep house), New York women are seen promenading down bustling streets, flirting openly, and readily catching the eye of passing strangers. Both, however, demand the attention of the viewer: Paxton's women project a compelling but reserved, sensual languor; Ashcan women are depicted as open and engaging.
As an image maker, Paxton was keenly aware of the social conventions of upper-class Boston, even though he was raised in less privileged circumstances. The son of a suburban caterer, he attended the Cowles Art School on scholarship before making the pilgrimage to Paris to study at the École des Beaux-Arts (with Gérôme) and the Académie Julian. Like so many of his Boston School colleagues, Paxton was able to use his artistic ability and finely tuned social antennae to achieve a prominence in New England cultural circles that belies his middle-class origins.
William H. Truettner and Roger B. Stein, editors, with contributions by Dona Brown, Thomas Andrew Denenberg, Judith K. Maxwell, Stephen Nissenbaum, Bruce Robertson, Roger B. Stein, and William H. Truettner Picturing Old New England: Image and Memory (Washington, D.C.; New Haven, Conn; and London: National Museum of American Art with Yale University Press, 1999)


text:
This past week, Bill from Pathways came for a visit and brought a few friends from the counsel to see what's new in Antigua. They spent a couple of days looking at more possibilities for the ministry and brainstorming for new team traffic. The great highlight for the week for me was the participation in a Bible distribution with the National Police.
After just receiving Bibles to distribute on Tuesday, Valor and Service (the Chaplain's minsitry for the Police) invited us to participate in a distribution. This particular group includes retired officers from Zone 6 in Guatemala City.
In the photo below is Bill, Mike, Norma Hasburn (Mike's Chaplain Boss) from the NPC, Al Fernandez from the Florida Baptist Association and Agent Mendoza Cabrera.