text:
Re: Spherical cow? really?
Calm down dear, it's only a codename.
Most codenames are for the amusement of the developers and hard-core users. When did you ever install Longhorn?
Fedora 18, Spherical Cow, is here. Finally. The Fedora Project has never been one for precision roadmaps, but previously it has managed to stay pretty close to its official May and October release schedule. Spherical Cow, however, proved to be a difficult beast - it is nearly three months late. The numerous delays can be …
Calm down dear, it's only a codename.
Most codenames are for the amusement of the developers and hard-core users. When did you ever install Longhorn?
It's only a name for an ongoing free product. It's not like they renamed RHEL to Furry Messy Tits is it?!
Famine, death, rape and murder in the world, losing it over the name of a piece of software should be way down the list of things that light a fire under someone! Ease back to decaff for a few days, eh?
engineer, mathematician, physicist.
optionally with a farmer who introduces the problem.
and sometimes with sheep rather than cows.
"It's only a name for an ongoing free product. It's not like they renamed RHEL to Furry Messy Tits is it?!"
Shame though.
Bit confused by this article to be honest. Right now, on my laptop I have Fedora 17 with GNOME 3 on it. Without any tweaking (because for me it worked right out of the box) when I click on the Activities button it automatically shows me all of my open windows. I stress, I haven't tweaked Fedora to do this, it has been doing this from the moment I installed it. This leads me to wonder what sort of background or past experience the writer has with Fedora.
The general feeling I get from this article is that the writer really didn't hold much hope for Fedora, and would rather be using Ubuntu or something with a bit more polish. By all means, if you want a Linux OS that looks lovely and pretty use Ubuntu or Mint. But, in my honest opinion, Fedora is aimed for the developer and/or system admin who isn't after screen candy.
Agreed, that nonsense about now showing open windows had me wondering if the author has ever used Fedora before and I lost all faith in what he was saying.
As for the "only experienced users need apply" comments, Fedora 17 works perfectly for my gf who was on Ubuntu untill they decided to turn it into spyware. She's had no problems with the transition and likes Gnome 3. Admitedly she had me to set it up for her but I didn't think it any harder than the Ubuntu or Win7 installers.
Agreed on what you said about your girlfriend. My girlfriend used my home machine (also Fedora 17) and once she knew where to go for the "Start menu", she was alright with it.
Those posts bring up visions in my mind of usability labs where developers bring in their girlfriends to do the testing.
So installing a new distro and learning a new desktop was easier than just turning off the Amazon thing in Ubuntu (about 5 buttons clicks)?. Who would have thought it.
"Those posts bring up visions in my mind of usability labs where developers bring in their girlfriends to do the testing."
Good idea. They could reduce the floorspace of the labs by at least 90% :)
I installed Fedora 18 on a VM just to see how it worked. I liked everything, although I didn't try to install optional software on it. But, the Unity like desktop of Gnome was just as irritating for me to use as Unity or for that matter the so called Metro of Windows 8.
On the plus side, I got to use Samba 4. It was great, and I wish other distros would upgrade to 4.
Just a few thoughts about 2 hours spent.
"Those posts bring up visions in my mind of usability labs where developers bring in their girlfriends to do the testing."
...with the validation team?
"Those posts bring up visions in my mind of usability labs where developers bring in their girlfriends to do the testing."
I could bring in my girlfriend, but she's a Ph.D. student working as a Linux developer in a lab that's doing computational modeling of the human brain, so that might not be the best possible test case...
@James Hughes 1
"So installing a new distro and learning a new desktop was easier than just turning off the Amazon thing in Ubuntu (about 5 buttons clicks)?. Who would have thought it."
Who said it was easier?
When Ubuntu started spying on it's users then a lot of them decided to leave it. Why should anyone believe an 'off button' actually does what it says?
Not easier.
More proactive. Which is what open source is all about.
It's like the people who buy locked down Amazon tablets because they think they are getting a fantastic deal with a lower price subsidised tab and the ability to hack a proper version of Android on it.
Not understanding that what they are really doing, is encouraging the sales of locked down company owned gear that will keep getting harder to hack as the years go by. When they could pay a few quid more for an ordinary tablet, or get one a few months later, and have the same power, but with an untarnished OS, and a wallet vote for user access..
It's about making choices. Not about making the easy choice.
Canonical is trying to monetise Ubuntu.. Not a problem. I wish them all the luck in the world. I really honestly have nothing against Ubuntu.
Canonical is trying to isolate Ubuntu users.. Problem.
Different desktop.. Slightly different file structure. Soon, more and more paid software that will be non transferable across OSs..
The question to ask yourself is..
Are you the frog that has noticed the funny metal puddle getting a little too toasty, or are you the one holding onto that frog's leg, because it isn't that hot yet.
Personally, I've had more than enough lockin products. So I go out of my way to avoid them these days.
Does anyone know if Fedora 18 works out of the box on Hyper-V? I personally found that I had to install a custom kernel to get Fedora 17 working (specifically the mouse and network cards).
a) I don't know.
b) From some workplace tinkering I came to the conclusion that Hyper-V is some paravirtualization joke that requires a custom kernel just to have network.
A virtualisation solution that won't run a mainstream Linux or FreeBSD out of the box is one I would avoid. Although I haven't tried with Fedora, I would guess that either qemu-kvm or virtualbox would do so without a whimper. With MS, although they are not agents of the devil, one always must wonder whether there is an unpublished agenda.
I've had no problems running up a virtual server with Ubuntu Server 12.04 on Hyper-V from scratch, and that just worked straight out of the box. A previous versions (10.04) needed a quick tweak once base install was done to get networking going, but with 12.04 there were no issues at all.
Im so happy MATE is included in the repos to start with, and is now officially supported. Its just great, simple desktop for people wanting to work on their machines in my opinion. I run MATE on my Ubuntu machine, im not bothered about the amazon stuff to be honest i turned it off when i first started running Ubuntu.
To me the interfaces mean nothing on a distro, that can be easily changed. Package manager is generally my biggest thought. I love apt-get, yum is great but i have get more dependency issues when installing RPM's i find.
Give Cinnamon a whirl before you make up your mind. And remember to check again in six months or so, because both Mate and Cinnamon are moving fast. A few months back when I tried Cinnamon it crashed far too often to be usable. Now it seems quite stable. Nice once again to have a choice of desk-tops that behave like desk-tops!
There's a keyboard shortcut for Applications (Super+A iirc), but usually the Overview search should be enough.
The search-as-you-type in Nautilus still exists and DOES NOT need any clicks to activate; it was just converted to actual search instead of "jump to first match". (If Tracker is installed, it now can search the entire ~, and unlike previous Tracker incarnations, it actually works now.)
The dual-pane view was removed because Shell itself has that Vista-like "two-pane" mode. Tabbed mode still exists.
I tried to upgrade my local server last night using the new "fedup" tool (appropriate name), since they've removed the old preupgrade method.
It downloaded over 3000 packages before prompting me to reboot to perform the upgrade. Rebooted, let the upgrade run (took about 2 hours) after which it rebooted, and then failed to boot properly. Freezes at some point fairly late in the boot process and becomes completely unresponsive.
Guess I'll be booting a live CD at the weekend to see if I can tell what happened from the logs and then do a clean install from DVD (something I've been putting off since around Fedora 10 as I didn't fancy re-configuring this machine from scratch).
Worth noting that if it's booting kernel-3.7.2-201 then a number of reports of boot hangs have come in.
3.7.2-204 appears to be the latest kernel and the problem has been fixed.
I really don't get this RPM bashing that comes up from time to time. I have always run Mandrake/Mandriva/Mageia and have never had any sort of issue at all with RPMs. The whole point is that the package manager takes care of it for you. The fact is that RPM is every bit as good as yum or deb or anything else, it's just different.
Well, yum and rpm are kinda connected.
"yum is an interactive, rpm based, package manager. It can automatically perform system updates, including dependency analysis and obsolete processing based on "repository" metadata. It can also perform installation of new packages, removal of old packages and perform queries on the installed and/or available packages among many other commands/services (see below). yum iis similar to other high level package managers like apt-get and smart."
"rpm is a powerful Package Manager, which can be used to build, install, query, verify, update, and erase individual software packages. A package consists of an archive of files and meta-data used to install and erase the archive files. The meta-data includes helper scripts, file attributes, and descriptive information about the package."
sure they're connected in that RH includes "yum" to provide installation of RPMs, just in the same way as Mageia includes "rpmdrake". Like the original poster I also have never had any problem with dependencies using Mageia (and its precursors), so perhaps RH devs are the source of the problem by incorrectly setting up the packages in their RPMs whereas Mageia devs are getting things right.
Oh no, the Designers from Metro School have gone all bauhaus on the poor Anaconda. WHY!
> Spherical Cow, however, proved to be a difficult beast - it is nearly three months late.
So what! Not frantic enough, is it? Have some ritalin.
And you wonder why Linux isn't penetrating the desktop market more?
I got fed up with gnome 3, I did run it for over a year, but I just found that it didn't have the slickness of Windows or the bare bones functionality of Gnome 2. I got a bit cheezed off with Fedora, it's not that it's too bleeding edge, I think it was the sheer volume of updates and new versions of the OS, it's quite hard to keep up. I use Ubuntu a bit, mainly for mythtv, but I find the differences between Debian and Red Hat derived linuxes annoying. I've learned Linux once, I don't expect to have to learn it twice. Also more recent versions of ubuntu have actually been retrograde steps in terms of supporting my hardware. So, as I use RHEL and Windows at work I'm running CentOS and Windows at home. I can't be arsed to try Mint, there isn't enough time in my life to try every new Linux when, like Ubunti, it'll most likely last for a few years before some other distro comes along as the defacto linux desktop. CentOS seems a stable and supported, professional OS, so I'm sticking with it.
I agree, Linux Mint is really the new Ubuntu... at least judging by the uptake. Every Ubuntu release seems to be driving away long term users, even if Unity is improving. I'm still torn between Mate and Cinnamon though.
The only thing I have strugged with Linux Mint on Cinnamon is getting VNC to work properly. It's nowhere near as simple as it is out of the box with Ubuntu, which is a matter of ticking a few boxes.
@ac 11:34
You hit the nail on the head, I couldn't agree more.
I ran the Live CD and what did I find YAVOL. Yet Another Version Of Linux.
If some of the Linux Distros developers could get together for once and design an "Outsanding User Interface" then I beleive that Linux would get adopted by the masses. Choice is good but not when it splits apart all of the talent.
I have never in 20 years seen a Linux interface that was "professional", and I don't mean the ability to apply DevArt skins.
The windows inteface might be boring, I don't have to re-learn it every three weeks (W8 not included folks), and all of the applications behave in the same manner ( almost). It's something called homegenity which Linux severly lacks and I believe that it is the one of the major hurdles in breaking through to the masses.
Microsoft have published an "Interface Design Guide" in MSDN for many years, it has helped to ensure that everything feels integrated.
Linux devs have simply done as they see fit which in the end means that there has been endless versions of the same damned thing but none of which ever seem completed or coherent......
The interface should "disappear" when we working, it is there to help us get things done, not to detract our attention...
Rather than make anymmore "bleeding edge" developments it would be nice if some of the big distros got together and developed guidelines which would improve the overall interfaces....
I have come to hate Gnome and KDE, they would rather add function X than improve that which truly needs improvement.
For me the best of all worlds would be to have the MS Windows Interface and a Linux Kernel.
"(W8 not included folks)"
Why should it not be? It is the newest version. Its certainly not outstanding, its a joke that they have implemented that on the server 2012. Want a professional desktop use gnome2.x or KDE, both are solid, very capable and just as good as the windows UI (win7).
Gnome3 and Unity I agree are a joke and catered to the masses.
@Khaptain -- "I have never in 20 years seen a Linux interface that was "professional", and I don't mean the ability to apply DevArt skins."
How many of those interfaces did you contribute code to? Seems like a bit of a pointless rant - I'm sure everyone here has their own likes/dislikes among the various DE's. I've been pleased with the professional integration & look of KDE since the mid 2000's, so I don't even personally find your major premise to be accurate.
ANY of these distros pre-installed on desktops/laptops with fair pricing would sell well! The year of Linux on the Desktop depends on when MS loses its iron-grip on the OEMs. Of course ANdroid is also poised.
Yes they would, and then they'd mostly be returned as people discover it doesn't run Call of Duty/Word/Excel/Lightroom/Photoshop - i.e. the stuff they're used to. People buy computers to run software, not to stare at the pretty interface. Nobody who wants photoshop is going to be satisifed with gimp, even if they can figure out that gimp is what they need to install, etc etc.
Andy, I didn't contribute to any of those interfaces, I am an end user not a Linux Interface Developer. I also didn't contribute to MS Windows or Mac OS interfaces both which I find extremely professiona, Android to a lesser extent, I honestly don't get the point of your question.
I have been running various Linux distros on and off for the last 15 years, I like Linux for some of what it can do but not all that it can do. My personal pet peeve is the user interface and I reserve the right to express my opinion.
Linux has made huge advances over the years, certainly in terms of hardware integration, but I "personally" feel that it has not managed to develop equally well in regards to the user interface.
If I can't rant on a forum, then what's the point of the forum if it's not to communicate ones thoughts and/
or ideas. There might be a developer somewhere that will take up the challenge to prove me wrong and eventually everyone will benefit.
And that's a perfectly fair approach, CentOS is effectively RHEL without the paid support.
FYI there are quite a few areas where the significant differences between Linux distros are being eliminated, particularly in terms of the file locations and methods for starting daemons etc. This has to overcome the old BSD/SVR4 differences that were perpetuated by the RH/Debian/Slackware versions over the years.
But then, if we wanted one Linux distro for all, then we might as well be running Windows.
To complete the distro-ology of the free Red-Hat flavour, you have to include Centos and Scientific Linux. These are both very close to the corresponding non-free RHEL version. Of the two, Centos tries very hard to be *exactly* the same as RHEL. Scientific Linux has a different kernel, but the differences are slight. Basically, if CERN needs it to do something that Red Hat don't support, then CERN patch their kernel.
As far as ordinary users are concerned, these are both almost identical to RHEL, and the most conservative option you can find. Rock-solid-stable, and still running Gnome-2. The latter is no bad thing, although I've made friends with Fedora + Cinnamon of late. I feel you can be more sure that SL will continue into the future than Centos, because CERN needs SL to stay working.
RHEL 7 is coming soon (months). It will be intersting to see whether CentOS ans/or SL are able to release their 7.0 within 2-3 months, or whether there will be more collateral damage as a result of Red Hat having to protect their commercial interests against Oracle.
BTW, for whoever was berating Fedora for not shipping with non-free software: Fedora is closely linked to Red Hat and therefore has to be VERY cautious when it comes to possible copyright infringement and lawsuits. There are repositories of all the non-free stuff that work well. You have to add them yourself, because Red Hat can't afford the risk even of shipping with them in place.
Nobody said you couldn't express your opinion.
But both the enterprise editions Red Hat 6 desktop and Ubuntu Desktop run gnome2 on the desktop, which gives a very stable and professional feel to the distro's. Given these are the enterprise versions that cost. But MATE which mentioned in the article is directly forked from gnome2. KDE also has been very good since its bug fixes in version 4. There are many desktop environments that offer stability with the professional feel to them.
What is it you don't find professional about them? They are full off features, especially KDE. And gnome2 is very stable along with KDE 4 fully patched (given it wasn't at the start). Why do these not feel professional?
@Khaptain - well, what is it you look for as far as "professionalism" then? Look at the KDE implementation by SUSE/opensuse since the mid-2000's - consistent UI elements among all major programs, whether it be Mozilla software, OpenOffice, native KDE apps, YAST2 control center - that's been a major project to implement a consistent, polished look across a DE. And look at some of the Mint implementations - their use of 3D desktop effects, brushed chrome color and texture, development of a new menu system that's been widely adopted and emulated - these Mint guys have some very advanced ideas about how to interact with a desktop.
In fact, one desktop that seems to have taken a step back (my opinion) is this new Windows 8 implementation - why do I want to go back to the early-90's look of sharp cornered boxes, no start menu on the desktop, full-screen default apps for reading mail or playing media - these design elements actually have a lot more in common with Windows 3.1 with its old Program Manager and MS-DOS full screen programs from my perspective. I got my wife a Win8 laptop for Christmas, and now I cringe when I have to sit down with it. I've offered to install the 3rd party apps to bring back the Win7 look, but she likes it so I guess MS knows their customers better than I do.
CoD?..... maybe, I've not tried it
Word - Wine.
Excel - Wine
Lightroom - Wine I believe
Photoshop - Wine (cs2 works at least, not tried with latest but if your a graphical designer you can afford to pay for windows anyway).
I prefer to run Linux instead of Windows. I use Wine to run Adobe's Creative Suite as there is no native release. I'm happy with the end results. I do however have to pull you up when you suggest Wine as a panacea for missing Windows applications though.
Lets use the installation of Adobe Illustrator CS6 as an example.
- First I have to create a Wine bottle to run the installer in.
- Then I have to install a bunch of proprietary stuff just to get the installer to run (msxml3, vcrun2008, vcrun2010, atmlib, gdiplus, allfonts). I only know about this stuff because other frustrated people at AppDB have discovered it by trial and error.
- I then run the installer which will promptly crash once you click 'install'.
- Using a task manager I watch the installation processes until they stop as this is the only way I know the installation is done.
- The installation isn't done though because although it's placed all the correct registry keys it has only installed half the files.
- This means I have to start up a VM with Win XP, install Illustrator CS6 and copy across the missing files.
- Illustrator finally works in Wine, though it's vector anti-aliasing isn't as good as Windows.
This is the recommended installation method for Illustrator CS6 in Wine. I'd happily recommend Xubuntu to my less computer literate friends, I'd never recommend they install something using Wine. It just isn't ready yet.
It is extremely difficult to be very precise about what I mean by professional because is can very quickly become a very subjective "sentiment".
Some of the aspects that I would consider as being "professional":
Simplicity - Only presenting that which is absolutely essential. Example: Keeping the number of buttons to a minimum. - I have seen interfaces where there are 4 buttons in the top left hand corner of a window - the 4th being a luxury not a necessity.
Consistency - When a window/application/dialog box is opened I the OK button should always be in the same place. The default button should always be designated. Tab order should always be defined in the same manner. The user shouldn't have to constantly scan the interface to find/or do common tasks.
Organization: Elements of a similar nature should be grouped within containers of some kind.. For example - Any and all tools that might control the Network details or material are held within the same folder/tab/toolbox.
Comprehension: The user should be capable of finding his way about the system without having to scratch their head finding hidden menus or interfaces (W8 is a nightmare for this). The user should not be required to having completed an IT Degree in order to understand where he is or what he is doing....
Assistance: A "useable " and "understandable" help system must be user friendly. The UX must provide easy access to the help system. Mouse Over Balloons can be extremely helpful in some cases...
Reactivity: The UX should be "extremely" reactive. If Skins are capable slowing it down then it needs rewritten....
Harmony: Does it look harmonious, does dragging a window feel correct. Do the little handles in the bottom left hand corner of the window convey the correct message......
The list could go on forever but I am not a good writer, nor very good at expressing my feeling in written word.
There is a final element which I feel to be the most important, "The Feeling - The Feedback". For me it is the mixture of all of the above elements, it is the harmony in which all of the elements work together.
I don't want to struggle with a UX, I should be at ease, it should feel as though the UX is a help not a hindrance. Do the icons and the Fonts convey a desire to continue or do they make the UX feel like a child's toy.. Does the UX feel like it was thrown together from a jumble of disparate ideas or does it feel as though it was carefully thought out........
Personally I feel that MS have succeeded in these tasks and unfortunately I feel that Linux has not. I have tried a multitude of Linux Windows Manager and seldom do I find the "harmony" between "all" of the elements that I cited. As I mentioned before I would love to see the MS Interface on a Linux kernel, it really would be the best of both worlds.
I read an article once that stated that MS have spent literally Billions studying interface concept and design, I can easily believe this. Windows 8 I consider an exception as it has been developed for platforms other than the good ol PC screen/keyboard/mouse.
Much of what I have mentioned is the responsibility of application programmers and not kernel developers or UX developers but Linux does not possess the restraints or conditions which would entice them to remain homogenous with other devs. It's a free system where people are free to choose from themselves, unfortunately this does not equal a positive outcome.
I don't skin my interfaces or modify them in any other way than selecting a non-distracting colour scheme. I usually try and get the Linux interfaces to match where possible the Linux interfaces.
On a daily basis I run XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8 running on 2 desktop machines and 1 VM. At home I run Windows 7, a Debian VM and my NAS which requires more CLI skills than mouse skills. in the past I have had the opportunity to work with many different UXs, Windows, a multitude of Linux UXs, Solaris, OS2, Mac OS, QNX, Android...... and if I had to remain on only one of these UXs it would be W7, which I feel adheres the most to what I imagine a UX should be.
I am not pro Microsoft but I definitely rate their UX as being far more "professional" than any of the others. I hate MACs but I would put their UX in 2nd place.
I also use rhel at work centos at home for servers, and like the words of a previous poster, i use mageia, for my desktop. This maybe the right linux desktop for you, especialy if you prefer kde.
Mageia actualy uses urpmi/e/q in place of yum, a command line much like yum.
"As far as ordinary users are concerned, these are both almost identical to RHEL, and the most conservative option you can find."
I would just add that CentOS/Scientific Linux 6.x has incremental updates and support until 2017. CentOS 6 is the XP of the Linux world.
And a mention for Springdale Linux (aka PUIAS Linux), another RHEL clone that has been around for a long time. Some of the maths specific repositories may be useful to some, and they separate out their additional packages to avoid overlap.
@Khaptain: I give you proper credit, so this might be too long. I find your response honest and despite your feelings, well written. 9 years ago, I would not only agree with what you say, but also feel it was absolutely correct. Do NOT take this the wrong way, but in a nutshell... DO NOT TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY!
The problem is you.
"It takes all types"
First, I think you'd agree that a graphic designer, sys. admin, and a secretary will have different tastes and needs. I think we can agree on that. And the rest of my post might be irrelevant if we can agree on that, because we then understand it takes all types.
"You can't teach an old dog new tricks, or to forget them."
Now, when you mentioned 4 buttons being in the top left, I assume you mean the window controls. For instance you are used to the popular 3... min, max, close. The first Linux desktop I used actually only had 2, blind and close. I never figured out how to change it due to the very poor help system. Several years after that, I ran one that had 5, I immediately got rid of 2 and was back to the popular 3. Now, today, I have 7..."Always on top", "Always on bottom", "On all desktops", "Blind", min, max, close. I have them, because I found them, I learned them, now they are part of the tools. Since I now know them, I understand you can't teach an old dog new tricks, or to forget them. BTW, who decided the popular 3 was all there was to the essentials?
"To whom it may concern"
When you mention the default dialog box, I thought well he is sort of correct. Remember though, that on windows all programs call from the same library, because windows only has one desktop. On Linux Desktops, many programs are written on many desktops, and need to be portable to others (mostly). Each desktop has to behave to each program to whom it may concern (QT, GTK, etc..). I don't want to say much more, but KDE is built on QT, in QT, you will not have this problem much. Well, you will, but just to the same extent on windows. Not all windows, err, in windows, have consistency. Some for instance share what is logical but still inconsistent, the behavior of basically defaulting to no where.
As far as the organization, well, understandably you haven't used a Linux desktop recently, but just know it is becoming too organized. Seriously, to the KDE folks, how many more things can you put under "System"! I'm waiting to see "lolcats" in there one day.
For the rest. You refer to Harmony, well almost all current Linux distros fit your description of this. Comprehension, well, you do have to use the system, it's not like the navigation around the system is given at birth. Assistance, it's there. Plenty of help if you don't for some reason can't get to the internet, but if you can...it's aplenty. Reactivity, this depends on your idea of a desktop. I mean, do you run Active Desktop on windows? You could, but...
Your comment about WIndows 7 is specific to you. I feel explorer.exe alone is too far gimped for my needs. For instance, the block select when using a mouse in details view...horrible!! You also have forgotten what Windows used to offer. For instance, have you ever read the "Help" dialog when you click on a .chm...WTF? Have you ever tried to search for all files that end in .xyz created on this date...how complicated is that now! And the classic, have you uninstalled that browser called Internet Explorer...if you never plan to use it, can you? Now keep in mind those few things, now try to find help on windows for them, GOOD LUCK!
We could go farther, but then it would be specific to my needs. But I'll sneak a few in. WTF is up with 22^2 parameters to so many winapi's? How come I can't find a list of _ALL_ system calls? Who at Microsoft said WINSOCK 2 was a good idea?
You're a windows person, just stick with Windows. But do know that if a day every comes where you want something else, it is being polished every day for you :-).
P.S. Yes, let's do leave WIndows 8 out of this :-).
No worries, I don't take tio the wrong way and I actually agree on most of the points that you make or at least I understand your point of view.
I am a Windows person ( with Linux on the side - currently Debian ) and I doubt that I will ever change unless Microsoft decides to add a new Distro, lol. Now that would be interesting....
It may have been released, but it's still a bit flakey.
So far I've only tested using VMware but some time during the beta phase something went seriously wrong with GNOME in that it fails to boot in to the logon session. Even now, using the official Live CD or the full ISO in a fresh install in a VM it won't complete the boot if GNOME is the chosen desktop - which is awkward since it's the default desktop. KDE or xfce install fine.
One other nit I came across. The official install uses kernel 3.6.10 but the already available patches will upgrade to 3.7.2. The kernel headers installed for 3.7.2 are missing some header files. For a VMware installation where you want to add the VMware tools, the lack of a version.h will stop VMware tools being installed.
To my mind they've got fixated on the fact that they were 3 months late according to their initial release date and pushed it out to just get it out there. It's still a work in progress.
Huh. Maybe that explains my upgrade problems. I don't use Gnome as the desktop, but GDM is the display manager being used.


text:
I found something important that it may have been overlooked...
The Raikage A belives that Kinkaku and Ginkaku ar related to the Sage of Six paths !
What we know about the ones that are related to the S06p are that they are from the Senju clan , Uchiha clan and distant relatives of the Senju... The Uzumaki clan
- They can't be from the Senju Clan because:
Kinkaku and Ginkaku are from Kumogakure and tsunade doesn't know about them...
- They can't be from the Uchiha Clan because:
LOL they don't have a sharingan !
- They can't be from the Uzumaki Clan
Moust of the Uzumaki clan had Red hair...and they used fuinjutsu... Kinkaku and Ginkaku used the weapons to seal.... they had no fuinjutsu or Red hair...
Conclusion: They must be from Another Clan that is related to the Sage of the Six Paths !

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Submit News
Early Windows Phone 7 Sales Reports Trickle In
Mark Kurlyandchik
November 10, 2010 8:11 AM
Recipient E-mail
Sender E-mail
(Source: Mobileshop.com)
WP7 either a "ringing success" that "didn't exactly make waves"
is reporting
that reports of first-day Windows Phone 7 sales have run the gamut of lackluster to impressive, depending on whom you ask.
The Seattle Times
deemed the new mobile OS from Microsoft a "
ringing success
." An AT&T spokeswoman told the news outlet: "We did have lines in some of our markets across the nation. There definitely was anticipation for the phone." She did not provide any sales figures, though.
At T-Mobile, the HTC HD7 was briefly sold out online, but is now back in stock.
The Times
reported that a store in Bellevue, Wash. had sold only three of the devices by noon of launch day.
On Twitter, the #wp7 hash-tag has provided some additional insight into user's experiences with the device. "Got lucky and snagged a Samsung Focus this morning before it sold out. Was too late at the MS store, but AT&T had 1 left. I need it!,"
wrote sirkirby
But first day sales numbers,
as reported by
The Street
, weren't exactly extraordinary. The financial news website said Windows Phone 7 "didn't exactly make waves" on launch day, selling "a mere 40,000 Windows 7 phones." In comparison, Apple's iPhone 4
sold 600,000 units in pre-orders
alone (coincidentally, that's
the same amount of Windows Mobile devices
Microsoft was able to sell in all of Q3 2010). Meanwhile,
The Street
has pinned Android's daily sales figures at 200,000 units per day.
"It's early in the game," a Nielsen telecom analyst told
The Street
. "Not every product surges right out of the starting blocks. The first Android phone [G1] was not a big seller at T-Mobile," adding that Black Friday and Christmas sales will be a better test of WP7's staying power. By then, Verizon, the nation's largest mobile carrier, will also be in the Microsoft mix, which should help boost sales figures.
"A politician stumbles over himself... Then they pick it out. They edit it. He runs the clip, and then he makes a funny face, and the whole audience has a Pavlovian response." -- Joe Scarborough on John Stewart over Jim Cramer
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text:
She was born Feb. 24, 1936, in Deer to John and Eady Milsaps Williams. Wilma was of the Pentecostal faith.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Odes Crowe; and four brothers and sisters, Hank Williams, Junior Williams, Vern Williams and Obie Garrison.
Survivors include her two sons and one daughter-in-law, Michael and Katy Crowe and Terry Crowe, all of Dover; four daughters and sons-in-law, Jeanie and Keith Yarber of Dover, Julia Rene Yousaf and husband, Neil Santiago of Sevierville, Tenn., Debra Crowe of Arlington, Texas, and Judy and Paul McGlaun of Greenbrier; two sisters, Wanda Riggs and Sue Riggs, both of Dover; one brother, Dean Williams of Dover; a brother-in-law, Louis Crowe of Pottsville; a sister-in-law Shirley Jamell of Russellville; 14 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and other family and friends.
The funeral service will be conducted at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012, at The Light House Pentecostal Church north of Dover under the direction of Broussard Funeral Home of Russellville.
The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
The online obituary and guestbook are available at www.broussardfuneral.com.
Paid obituary


text:
Nice Tweeters
2007 Toyota Tacoma
Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)
Very nice sounding Tweeters. Included parts for a variety of mounting options. Had to fabricate a mounting bracket, but not too difficult. A huge improvement over the stock tweeters for my Tacoma!
Pros: Nice sound, even with my stock head unit.
Cons: None.


text:
Gottlieb, William P., 1917-, photographer.
[Portrait of Harry Carney, Aquarium, New York, N.Y., ca. Nov. 1946]
1 negative : b&w ; 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.
Gottlieb Collection Assignment No. 038
Reference print available in Music Division, Library of Congress.
Purchase William P. Gottlieb
Forms part of: William P. Gottlieb Collection (Library of Congress).
Carney, Harry
Duke Ellington Orchestra
Jazz musicians–1940-1950.
Format: Portrait photographs–1940-1950.
Film negatives–1940-1950.
Rights Info: Mr. Gottlieb has dedicated these works to the public domain, but rights of privacy and publicity may apply. lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/gottlieb/gottlieb-copyrig…
Repository: (negative) Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Washington D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
(reference print) Library of Congress, Music Division, Washington D.C. 20540 USA, loc.gov/rr/perform/
Part Of: William P. Gottlieb Collection (DLC) 99-401005
General information about the Gottlieb Collection is available at lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/gottlieb/gottlieb-home.html
Persistent URL: hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/gottlieb.01071
Call Number: LC-GLB23- 0107


text: ^Not surprising given the way the endings were initially presented. I'd be interested to see how those percentages might have shifted after people have played though the extended cut. I'd be willing to bet the majority still goes with destroy--partly because of the breath scene--but I think the other three will have a larger share now. My gut tells me control would be an easy second.


text:
Soriano topped the AL in home runs (nine), multi-hit games (16), runs scored (26), hits (46), total bases (81), and grand slams (two) through April. In 27 games, the Yankees' leadoff hitter batted .371 with six stolen bases, 25 RBI, a .432 on-base percentage, and a .653 slugging percentage. Soriano, 25, began the season with an Opening Day grand slam at Toronto and hit his second grand slam on April 21 at Minnesota. He also assembled a career-high 15-game hitting streak from April 13-27. This marks the first time in his career that Soriano has received Player of the Month honors.
Loaiza went at least six innings without allowing more than two runs in each of his five April starts en route to becoming the first White Sox pitcher since 1994 to win five games in April. He held opponents to a Major League-best .151 average and his five wins tied Mike Mussina of the New York Yankees for the most in the Major Leagues. Loaiza allowed just 19 hits and walked five in 36.0 innings while striking out 35. He tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts in an 8-2 win vs. Kansas City on April 17.
Other players who received votes were Toronto's Carlos Delgado (.365, 8 HR, ML-best 28 RBI), Alex Rodriguez (.355, AL-best 9 HR, 23 RBI) of Texas, and Boston's Shea Hillenbrand (.333, 2 HR, 25 RBI). Pitchers named on the ballots included Mussina (5-0, 1.70, AL-best 42 SO), Runelvys Hernandez (4-0, 1.36) of the Royals, Anaheim's Brendan Donnelly (17.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 15 SO), and Baltimore's Jason Johnson (4-0, 2.12).
Soriano and Loaiza will each receive specially designed trophies as the American League Pepsi Player and Pitcher of the Month.


text:
Rockies load up on college players on Day 2
By Joey Nowak / MLB.com
The Rockies feasted on experienced ballplayers in the first two days of the Draft, choosing 10 of their first 11 players from college programs.
"It makes a world of difference going out of college than high school," said Josh Rutledge, the Rockies' third-round pick out of Alabama. "I'm definitely way more mature, I've seen different arms from a hitting standpoint and I'm so much better defensively. It gives you a leg up on some of the younger guys."
Some players come from small colleges (Brett Tanos, 10th round, Santa Ana College) while others are playing in the NCAA Super Regionals for national powerhouses (Kyle Parker, first round, Clemson).
Regardless, those players say the years of experience against elite pitching, under veteran coaches and in front of large crowds is invaluable when drafted by a big league organization.
"It definitely helps," said Russell Wilson, Colorado's fourth-round pick who has played in front of large crowds at North Carolina State as quarterback on the football team, as well as on the diamond. "I was pretty mature out of high school, but I got a little bit stronger and a little bit faster."
Rutledge also said the players have an advantage, having played summer ball away from home, experiencing the life of a ballplayer living out of a suitcase. The Rockies' second-round pick, Texas Tech closer Chad Bettis, experienced that when traveling with Team USA last summer.
"It was a stepping stone to where I wanted to further my career with pro ball," Bettis said. "To get there, I think Team USA helped me a lot."
Then, there was one pick Tuesday that rewarded a prior Draft choice after another year of school while keeping it in the family. After being taken in the 49th round in 2009, Rockies manager Jim Tracy's son, Mark, was selected in the 22nd round by Colorado.
"I'm very proud of him," the big league skipper said before Tuesday's game. "He was drafted last year and very late and went back to school. At no point did he want to be viewed as a charity case. He's got a wonderful body. It's worth taking a chance to see where it can go."
Round 2, Chad Bettis, RHP, Texas Tech: Bettis, who has topped out at 98 mph on his fastball, calls himself a "flex pitcher," willing to throw in any role for the Rockies. His experience as closer for Team USA and a big arm with a power slider could help him move to the big leagues quickly.
Round 3, Josh Rutledge, SS, Alabama: Many reports indicate the shortstop, playing in the NCAA Super Regionals for the Crimson Tide, has the tools to remain at shortstop. He's an above-average fielder with the numbers at the plate to get it done.
Round 4, Russell Wilson, 2B, North Carolina State: The question on Wilson, an intense competitor, is his commitment to basketball and football. He pledged Tuesday to wanting to win an ACC title with the Wolfpack on the gridiron this fall but also said he plans to discuss baseball plans with the Rockies this summer.
Round 5, Joshua Slaats, RHP, Hawaii: Slaats is a big-bodied (6-foot-5, 225 pounds) right-hander who caught the attention of scouts in the Cape Cod League last summer pitching against quality competition.
Round 6, Jared Simon, LF, University of Tampa: A first-team all-Sunshine State Conference selection, Simon finished the year with a .361 batting average, a team-high 12 homers and team-high 66 RBIs.
Round 7, Kraig Sitton, LHP, Oregon State: Sitton, selected in the 17th round by the Red Sox in 2009, went 1-2 with a 3.89 ERA in his redshirt junior season with the Beavers. He had 30 strikeouts in 37 innings of work.
Round 8, McKenzie Dickerson, CF, Meridian (Miss.) Community College: The switch-hitting junior college prospect was selected by the Rockies in the 29th round of the First-Year Player Draft last year.
Round 9, Geoffrey Parker, RHP, Florida State: The hefty right-hander has appeared in 28 games for the Seminoles, who are playing in the school's 10th NCAA Super Regional this week.
Round 10, Brett Tanos, 3B, Santa Ana (Calif.) College: Tanos hit .313 with a .638 slugging percentage and 29 RBIs this season at Santa Ana.
Round 11, Juan Rosado, 1B, Barbe (La.) High School: The second player from his high school team this season taken in this year's Draft.
Round 12, Matthew Crocker, LHP, Texas-San Antonio: The lefty had a 2-3 record with a 5.17 ERA in eight appearances this season.
Round 13, Joshua Mueller, RHP, Eastern Illinois: He was named a second-team ABCA All-Mideast Region as a sophomore in 2009.
Round 14, John Reid, RHP, St. Mary's (Calif.): He went 0-1 with a 0.71 ERA in 12 2/3 innings for the Gaels this season.
Round 15, William Swanner, C, La Costa (Calif.) Canyon High School: He has a bat that is projected for average and power and has strong skills behind the plate.
Round 16, Jayson Langfels, 3B, Eastern Kentucky: A two-time first-team Ohio Valley Conference selection, Langfels hit .353 this year with 52 RBIs and 16 homers.
Round 17, Ryan Casteel, C, Cleveland State Community College: He tallied 65 hits, 14 homers and 58 RBIs in the 2010 campaign.
Round 18, Juan Perez, RHP, Bethune Cookman (Fla.) College: He notched 10 saves in 23 appearances (5.40 ERA) for the conference champs this season.
Round 19, Ryan Eades, RHP, Northshore (La.) High School: Drafted as a pitcher, he was batting .400 with 39 RBIs and six homers for the defending 5A state champions.
Round 20, Blake McDade, 1B, Middle Tennessee State: He was a force at the plate for the Blue Raiders this season with a .399 average, 47 RBIs and 63 runs scored.
Round 21, Chris Giovinazzo, OF, UCLA: He was batting .279 with 31 hits and 26 runs this season for the Bruins, who have advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals.
Round 22, Mark Tracy, C, Duquesne: Tracy, who was selected in the 49th round by the Rockies last season, is the son of Colorado manager Jim Tracy.
Round 23, Bruce Kern, RHP, St. John's (NY): He went 7-5 with a 6.23 ERA in 17 appearances this year with 75 strikeouts.
Round 24, Christian Bergman, RHP, University of California-Irvine: He tied for the team lead in wins with nine this season and finished with a 3.72 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 101 2/3 innings.
Round 25, Kenneth Roberts, LHP, Middle Tennessee State: As a junior in 2009, he posted a 11-1 record with a 3.04 ERA. He went 4-6 in 15 appearances this season, including a team-high 55 strikeouts.
Round 26, Jacob Tanis, 3B, Mercer: He posted a .388 batting average for the Bears while leading the team with 104 hits and 22 homers.
Round 27, Blake Keitzman, LHP, Western Oregon: He led the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with eight complete games in 12 starts and struck out 76 batters in 75 innings.
Round 28, Joseph Rizzotti, RHP, James Martin Senior (Texas) High School: He hit .438 in the 2009-10 campaign.
Round 29, Marco Gonzales, LHP, Rocky Mountain (Colo.) High School: Gonzales has played on four straight 5A state championship teams for Rocky Mountain High School.
Round 30, Jeffrey Ames, RHP, Lower Columbia (Wash.) College: Ames helped lead the Red Devils to the program's 10th NWAACC championship this week.
Joey Nowak is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
Peyton, who has run as an independent the last two election cycles decided to run this time as a Republican.
"I chose to be a Republican because the party system has failed us and the way they have is by developing an election process that favors the two parties and discriminates against Independents or anybody outside the parties," she said in a phone interview.
She chose the weakest party, she said, to try and gain more insight into the disconnect between Democrats and Republicans in Vermont. She said Republicans in the state think all liberals want higher taxes, which Peyton said no one really wants. Also, Peyton said she feels there is a belief amongst Republicans that they work harder than Democrats, which she said again is not true.
Other than a party system that excludes smaller parties and Independents, Peyton feels that the largest problem facing Vermont is how money circulates through the economy.
"It's [money] not circulating appropriately through the economy, through all branches, creating that flow of value so everybody can partake," she said.
Along with the flow of capital, Vermont has problems facing both education in the state and health care. Peyton said costs can be lowered with more local control and freeing up the state from federal mandates. By creating a template for communities to use, if they so choose, she said, costs can be lowered and some of the issues that increase funding - like special education - can be reduced. By freeing up creativity and fostering the uniqueness of all children, she said, costs per pupil would drop.
"Instead of going down a road of homogenizing with the rest of the country through common core instead I would go exactly the opposite direction," she said.
With healthcare, Peyton would drop single payer in it's entirety. Instead, she said she would take the money that has already been used in website development and bring it directly to the people. With $84 million, she said she would open a clinic in every town in Vermont, with a nurse practitioner and a general practitioner, give them a competitive salary, as well as an operating budget. Along with this direct care system, Peyton said the stressors causing high health care costs need to be examined.
"In order to have high health and not have high healthcare costs we must not defile our air and water and we have to have a food supply that is whole without additives and preservatives," she said.
Peyton said, if elected, she would also support legalizing both hemp and marijuana. She said with agricultural hemp, she would purchase a portion of seeds and other hemp materials, give it to the universities in the state and have experts come in and teach students all the different ways it can be used, creating new entrepreneurs. As for marijuana, she would slowly phase in its legalization, first through cultivation and then sale, while regulating the sale of products like edibles.
Steve Berry is another Republican in the race. The marketing professional from Wolcott called himself a Ronald Reagan Republican in a phone interview. He decided to run for Governor when Andy Brock decided not to.
"Shumlin and the Democrats are spending two times as much as is coming in," he said. "I know they're not handling their own checking accounts like they're handling the state of Vermont's checking account."
Berry said Vermont has become nothing but a "welfare state" and "a playground for the rich."
He said Vermont's problems started when family farms were bought out by the state. He said the strength of the country and the state were family farms.
"We're slowly slipping into socialism where the average person believes the government knows best," he said.
He called the current healthcare discussion a train wreck and said free market principles would be the fix. Socialized medicine does not work, he said and single payer won't work either.
Competition should also be involved in fixing problems facing education. Common Core, he said, takes responsibility in education away from parents and gives it to bureaucrats. Common Core, he said was pure socialism. Local control and school choice will solve any education spending issue.
Finally, H. Brooke Paige is running not only as a Democrat for Governor but also for Attorney General. In 2012, he ran as a Republican against John McGovern in the primary for U.S. Senate. Paige said this time around he's running as a Democrat because no one was running against Shumlin that had a chance of winning.
"I sincerely believe I can beat Mr. Shumlin," he said in an interview.
He is also running for attorney general because he said he does not think Bill Sorrell, the current attorney general, is worried about the real issues. He mentioned when Sorrell announced his candidacy to seek reelection, he did not mention the state's drug problem, which Paige found problematic.
Health care is what Paige said is the biggest problem currently facing the state. He said if "Shumlin care" continues moving forward, Shumlin will be the first to bankrupt a state.
"There is no problem with healthcare in the state, we just have a financing issue," he said. "Why did we go through all this? Because Mr. Shumlin desires to have Senator Pat Leahy's job."
He said instead of single payer, the state should reinstate Catamount Care, keep Dr. Dynosaur for children and put VACE, the chamber of commerce insurance company for small businesses back in place. All this can be done to help insure the people that need insurance. Paige said the number of about 30,000 Vermonters who were uninsured was really closed to half that. The other 15,000, he said, were young people who did not want insurance and the wealthy who didn't want to pay insurance premiums.
Paige would also implement a plan that has three components to help keep healthcare costs down. He said he would reform certificates of need, because it is controlled by big hospitals and prevents smaller hospitals from increasing their size. He would also implement tort reform and would allow out of state insurance companies into the marketplace to help draw prices down.
Paige said the state wants to control healthcare and the same goes with education.
"They want to see this control of school [as a way] to payback to their union friends for supporting them," he said.
He said the state has already told everyone there should not be any savings as a result of school consolidation. He said he is a supporter of local control and thinks there is great importance for communities and families to have control of their school systems. A way to bring costs down, he said, would be to have state and federal mandates, like some special education programs, come with funding.
"I have no problem spending what's necessary," he said.
Teaching not just Common Core and preparing students for work is not the only function of education, he said. Vermont should also be educating good citizens and voters.
The primary election is Tuesday Aug. 26.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.


text:
The car: Peugeot 208 1.2 Active
The price: $18,490 plus on-road and dealer costs
Vital statistics: 1.2-litre 3-cyl petrol; 60kW/118Nm; 5-sp man; 4.7L/100km and 109g/km CO2; FWD.
The tester: Stephen Ottley
Why we're driving it:
The French brand has launched its new city car, the 208. We're driving the entry-level model that comes with a three-cylinder engine.
Engine has good pulling power at low speeds and sounds good, too. Gearbox has a nice, direct action. Fun to drive. Steering is light and direct. Ride is comfortable around town. Clever design makes the best use of space; good legroom for front and rear occupants. Standard equipment includes a seven-inch full-colour touchscreen plus Bluetooth and cruise control.
Engine runs out of puff pretty quickly, especially on hills. You need to keep working the gearbox to get best out of engine. No auto option with three-cylinder. Touchscreen navigation is counter-intuitive at times. No CD player. Lack of small-item storage. No reversing camera. Steel wheels with plastic hubcaps look cheap. It isn't cheap.
Would I buy one?
It's likeable but expensive. I'd save money and consider a Ford Fiesta or Honda Jazz. If I wanted a European city car I'd opt for a VW Polo.


text:
|Active Topics Memberlist Calendar Search Help
|Register Login Old Forum
|Prophets Muhammad
|IslamiCity Forum - Islamic Discussion Forum : Religion - Islam : Prophets Muhammad
|Topic: You Should Know this Man
Senior Member
Joined: 10 August 2006
Location: Japan
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 159
| Topic: You Should Know this Man
Posted: 06 September 2007 at 9:19pm
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA confirms:
.... A mass of detail in the early sources show that he was an honest and upright man
who had gained the respect and loyalty
of others who were like-wise honest
and upright men." (Vol. 12)
(Sir George Bernard Shaw in 'The Genuine Islam,' Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936.)
He ranked Mohammed first in the list, who contributed towards the benefit and uplift of mankind:
only man in history who was supremely
successful on both the religious
and secular levels."
(M.H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF
IN HISTORY, New York, 1978, p. 33)
Prof. Ramakrishna Rao says:
"The personality of Muhammad, it is most difficult to get into the whole truth of it. Only a glimpse of it I can catch. What a dramatic succession of picturesque scenes! There is Muhammad, the Prophet. There is Muhammad, the Warrior; Muhammad, the Businessman; Muhammad, the Statesman; Muhammad, the Orator; Muhammad, the Reformer; Muhammad, the Refuge of Orphans; Muhammad, the Protector of Slaves; Muhammad, the Emancipator of Women; Muhammad, the Judge; Muhammad, the Saint. All in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is alike a hero."
The famous poetess of India, SAROJINI NAIDU says:
(S.Naidu, IDEALS OF ISLAM, vide Speeches & Writings, Madras, 1918, p. 169)
"How one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two
In his HEROES AND HEROWORSHIP, was simply amazed as to:
The renowned historian:
If greatness of purpose,
smallness of means and
astounding results are
the three criteria of human genius,
who could dare to compare
any great man in modern history
with Muhammad?
His endless prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his death and his triumph after death;
All these attest not to an imposture but to a firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma.
"Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images;
The founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is MUHAMMAD.
As regards all the standards by which Human Greatness may be measured, we may well ask,
(Alphonse de Lamar tine, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE,
Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp 276-277)
DIWAN CHAND SHARMA wrote:
"Muhammad was the soul of kindness,
and his influence was felt and never
(D.C. Sharma, THE PROPHETS OF THE EAST, Calcutta, 1935, pp. 12)
Annie Besant
"But do you mean to tell me that the man who in the full flush of youthful vigour, a young man of four and twenty (24), married a woman much his senior, and remained faithful to her for six and twenty years (26), at fifty years of age when the passions are dying married for lust and sexual passion? Not thus are men's lives to be judged. And you look at the women whom he married, you will find that by every one of them an alliance was made for his people, or something was gained for his followers, or the woman was in sore need of protection."
(Dr Annie Besant (Dr. Annie Besant in 'The Life and Teachings of Mohammad,' Madras, 1932)
EDWARD GIBBON and SIMON OCKLEY
speaking on the profession of ISLAM:
I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, AND MAHOMET, AN APOSTLE OF GOD is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honor of the Prophet has never
disciples within the bounds of reason and religion
(HISTORY OF THE SARACEN EMPIRES, London, 1870, p. 54)
In the words of PROF. HURGRONJE
"The league of nations founded by the prophet of Islam put the principle of international unity and human brotherhood on such universal foundations as to show candle to other nations.
He continues: "The fact is that no nation of the world can show a parallel to what Islam has done towards the realization of the idea of the League of Nations."
He did it
May Peace of God Be Upon Him (pbuh)
O Prophet (Muhammad)! Verily, We have sent you as witness, and a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner
To share the message with whole humanity. Glad tidings about the eternal wisdom and Heaven. Warn about the hell fire in life after death for who deny
Now please relax for a moment
The least YOU could do as a thinking and concerned human being is to stop for
And supposing they really are true and
or hear about him, isn't it time you responded to this tremendous challenge and put in some effort to know him?
He was born in Arabia in the year 570, started his mission of preaching the religion, submission to One God at the age of forty and departed from this world at the age of sixty-three.
During this short period of 23 years of his Prophet hood, he changed the complete Arabian peninsula
Human history has never known such a complete transformation of
a society or a place before or since and IMAGINE all these unbelievable wonders in JUST OVER TWO DECADES.
His Mission
Thank you
With prayers
Adab with Allah is the proper fruit of obedience - Habib Ali Jifri
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text:
Hi Guys,
I'm after a new leather jacket I've spotted a couple of leather jackets I like (very similar to each other) online here:
Brick by Brick
Ralph Lauren, H&M, Samsoe & Samsoe //"BLACK BLACK BALCK " by Jordan Henrion // LOOKBOOK.nu
but I can't find anything very similar available at present. The all saints jackets are nice but I find them a bit too worn and prefer the cleaner look.
Any pointers would be great,


text:
Giants sign first round pick Tyler Beede
By / MLB.com
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - The San Francisco Giants have signed right-handed pitcher Tyler Beede, their first round selection (14th overall) in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft, the club announced today.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound right-hander out of Vanderbilt University, posted an 8-8 record with a 4.05 ERA (51er, 113.1ip) and 116 strikeouts in 19 starts this season while helping the Commodores win their first national championship, defeating Virginia two-games-to-one in the College World Series.
During his sophomore season, Beede led NCAA Division I with a school-record 14 victories and was one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award. He was named a first team All-American according to the NCBWA, a second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, ABCA, Perfect Game and Baseball America.
As a Freshman, the Massachusetts native earned SEC All-Freshman team honors, as he went 1-5 with a 4.52 ERA (36er, 71.2ip).
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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In 2005 we planned to spend a night in Baker, Montana. We didn't. It was the location of the start of our 49 State ride to Hyder, Alaska. A problem with Voni's bike back then delayed our arrival at Baker by one day. Since weather was threatening from the west and our route was east, we didn't delay our start and spent just two hours in Baker.
We spent last night in Baker, Montana. We are going to spend tonight in Baker, Montana too. We left Melanie's house in Ankeny, Iowa after watching it rain and thunderstorm there several days in a row. Since Ankeny we have not encountered any rain. That appears to be because it has been too windy to rain. First it was so windy in Iowa that we almost turned around and went back. But we turned north instead of west instead. This gave us a tail wind. Voni's motorcycle computer said she was getting 109 miles per gallon for a while. We BOTH wound up about 80 mpg for that tank. We stopped when it was time to turn west again and the south winds hadn't dropped. Crosswinds of 35 or 40, gusting to 55 is not particularly fun on a light-weight motorcycle.
So far we have gone north when I planned to go west, and west when I planned to go north, and for a while south when I was trying to go west due to dire warnings about "avoid this road" and "seek alternate route" on large flashing DOT message signs. The last two times we ignored such warnings we regretted it so didn't ignore the signs this time.
So we are in Baker, Montana.
And the forecast for tomorrow is clear, sunny, warm, and winds about 10 mpg compared to today which is cool and winds 30 to 40, gusting maybe to 50 in eastern Montana. So we are staying in Baker, Montana tonight too. Besides, U.S. 12 which we had planned to take west from Forsyth is under water from flooding at two locations. Montana DOT says the road is open but has water flowing over the road. It might be open for trucks and cars but we are not sure about the wisdom of calling it open for motorcycles. But that is tomorrow. Today we explore the sights and sounds of metropolitan Baker, Montana.
Since leaving home on May 9 we have spent some time at Mike's in Lawrence and at Melanie's in Ankeny. We attended track and field day at Noah's and Brody's school, and picked them up with the motorcycles their last day of school. We rode half-way to Gina's BMW in Iowa City for their open house but bailed on the trip when Voni's electric jacket stopped heating in the 40 degree rain. But we did go to Gina's mid-week to say hello and buy some stuff. Then we headed south to Kansas City for the Engle Motors spring open house where Paul received his 700,000 mile award from BMW. Some workshop time at Mike's in Lawrence solved a minor oil seepage/gasket problem on Voni's bike and we are spending two nights in Baker, Montana.
We're headed to Canada and maybe Hyder, Alaska. Then, Seattle, suburban Los Angeles, Bloomsburg Pennsylvania, British Columbia again, and New Mexico form the backbone of the plan. There are a few firm dates on the schedule but most of the plan is loose. Which is why we are not in Wyoming and are spending two nights in Baker, Montana.
Because we can.
Pictures here:
45 years ago, we promised each other to love honor and cherish.


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It's been more than eight years since Rebecca Romijn and John Stamos divorced, and some fans still aren't over it. But the King & Maxwell actress, 41, has moved on, marrying actor Jerry O'Connell in July 2007 and welcoming twin daughters Dolly and Charlie with O'Connell in December 2008.
PHOTOS: Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell's wedding and other celebrity nuptials
Romijn attended the 2nd Annual Baby2Baby Gala in Culver City, Calif. on Nov. 9 where she talked to Us Weekly about her daughters and revealed they won't be getting any new siblings.
"No I am done having kids," she told Us. "Two was always the goal, and we got that and here we are."
PHOTOS: Rebecca Romijn and other celebrity moms talk motherhood
"They are very good friends," Romijn said of her daughters. "They are each other's best play dates. They keep each other such great company and they play so well but they also fight and it turns on a dime. I'm constantly admiring them and then breaking up fights but they are each other's best company."
PHOTOS: Rebecca Romijn and other celebs without makeup
As for her famous ex, Romijn has no opinions on Stamos' love life. In fact, these two don't stay in touch anymore.
"I have no idea what is going on with him these days," she revealed.
This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Rebecca Romijn Has "No Idea" What's Going on With John Stamos, Says She's Done Having Kids


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COURSE: 24-240 Business Calculus (3)
This course covers concepts in applied calculus. We will explore functions and linear models, derivatives, techniques of differentiation, logarithm functions, the integral, functions of several variables, and trigonometric models. The main goal of this course is to make calculus relevant and interesting to the business student applying real data/cases with interesting examples and exercises. Prerequisite: Three years of high school mathematics including trigonometry.


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The Turbo train once took riders between Toronto and Montreal in less than 4 hours. Now all we have left are these incredible promotional videos.
High-speed rail between Toronto and Montreal might sound like a dream to most Canadians. But turns out, it was once a reality.
Today, a ride on Canada's VIA Rail will get you between the cities in about five hours, about as long as it would take you to drive. In 1968 however, the Canadian National Railway Company developed "Turbo," a train that could go as fast as 170 mph but, because it used pre-existing railroads, typically reached about 95 mph (Amtrak's Acela, in comparison, can go as fast as 150 mph, but averages about 80 mph).
The result was a four-hour trip, an impressive first step to truly high-speed service. With infrastructure improvements, planners hoped to eventually shrink the trip to two and a half hours. But while Turbo generated buzz, it didn't capture the hearts of passengers or politicians.
A late 1960s promotional video for the Turbo. The top and average speed estimates announced in the video are lower than the train's actual speed capabilities.
The Turbo was originally planned to debut in time for Expo '67, held in Montreal. While it was not complete in time for the event, it hit the tracks a year later. Off to an ominous start, it collided with a meat truck in Kingston during a demonstration run. As Monte Paulsen wrote in the Walrus in 2009, "The hapless meat man survived. Canada's efforts to develop modern passenger rail service did not."
Turbo continued to run until 1982, originally surviving the transfer of passenger service from CN to VIA Rail in 1978 only to eventually be replaced by traditional diesel-electric locomotives. Turbo's ride time was never as short as hoped, continuing to share rail with freight trains. The aforementioned accident in Kingston and technical issues that led to a temporary shutdown in 1969 didn't help. Even today, feasibility studies continue to suggest a high speed rail link between the two cities could be successful but there's little momentum to build it.
The Turbo cars have all been destroyed, none even left to serve as a source of nostalgia inside a museum. Thanks to the internet though, below is a 24-minute video from 1970 promoting the new service.
Pan-Am inspired hostesses, clunky microwave ovens, and psychedelic nightclub scenes aside, the video demonstrates a progressive vision of high speed rail as essential to the megacities of the future, a vision that has seemingly dissolved 40 years later. Unaware of the country's eventual lack of interest in better rail transit, the video's narrator excitedly states:
Turbo is a positive expression of this fast-paced era; a symbol of man's ability to employ creative technology to serve the needs of a mobile society. The Toronto-Montreal corridior experiment could be the basis for a new level of service between other close yet heavily populated areas.
Turbo itself is considered a first step, not a final solution. Tomorrow could be wheels will be the next to go and passengers will travel on a cushion of air. Whatever the answer is, Turbo is helping to bring it closer.
Author's note: A previous version of this article stated that VIA Rail is a private corporation. It is a Crown Corporation, meaning it is still publicly owned.


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Rosenthal strains groin, but not worried
By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
JUPITER, Fla. -- Trevor Rosenthal stopped his live batting-practice session a few pitches early due to a right groin strain on Tuesday, but he said afterward that he does not expect the issue to sideline him for long.
Rosenthal called trainer Greg Hauck and manager Mike Matheny over near the end of his throwing session to alert them to the discomfort. Rosenthal said he wanted to make the staff aware, because he had never before experienced tightness in that area.
"If it was during the season, I feel like it would be something not worth stopping [for]," Rosenthal said. "With the situation being now, I just thought I would say something. I felt it once, so I said something as soon as I could."
He had been scheduled to throw 25 pitches and did come close to that number before leaving the field with Hauck. Rosenthal spent time in the trainer's room to ice an area of his leg that he described as "the meat of the muscle" and to undergo treatment.
"Our approach right now is going to be day to day," general manager John Mozeliak said. "I do feel like this is caught early enough that it probably avoided anything more serious."
The Cardinals had not announced when Rosenthal, who has already been tapped as the team's closer, is scheduled to make his first Grapefruit League start. Even if this were to keep the right-hander off the mound for a few days, he still has plenty of time to get his necessary innings in before the regular season opens.
Rosenthal did offer an encouraging report on his arm, however, noting that "everything felt great."
"It's a progression," he said, "so it felt better than last time."
Cards, Garcia seek second opinion on lefty's shoulder
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Cardinals are delaying comment on the results of Jaime Garcia's exam with team physician George Paletta until after the left-hander visits orthopedist James Andrews for a second opinion on Wednesday.
Garcia, who underwent an MRI on his left shoulder in St. Louis on Monday, requested the additional consultation with Andrews before seeing Paletta. General manager John Mozeliak was briefed by Paletta about the results of Monday's exam, and while he declined to share details, Mozeliak did note that "early indications have been encouraging."
"Rather than say one thing today and change tomorrow, I'd rather get both reports and then go from there and decide after we have time to also meet with Jaime and decide what the next step is," Mozeliak said. "Based on the MRI and everything, we feel good. But I would like to see what the other doctor has to say and go from there."
Garcia has met with Andrews twice before for shoulder discomfort. In October 2012, Andrews suggested that Garcia address the issue with a rest and rehab program. The following May, Andrews recommended surgery to repair a tear to the rotator cuff and labrum.
Garcia took Andrews' advice in both instances, which led him to having a season-ending procedure last May. His rehab work went without a hitch, and Garcia reported to Spring Training encouraged by how well he felt. That relief lasted only three bullpen sessions, however, as Garcia then notified the staff of shoulder soreness and subsequently shut his throwing program down one week ago.
The Cardinals, regardless of the recommended course of action for Garcia, are moving forward with the expectation that Garcia will not be available for the season opener. What Wednesday's consultation should do, however, is help clarify how long Garcia's absence could be.
"I think right now his situation is first to determine health and then you can worry about the next step as far as what this camp means to him," Mozeliak said. "The good news is that we have options, and we certainly feel we have enough depth to handle this if we have to."
Worth noting
• Willie McGee, a special assistant to Mozeliak, has arrived in Florida and spent Tuesday in uniform as a guest instructor for the Cardinals. Though his 18-year playing career ended in 1999, McGee has remained a regular presence in Jupiter, Fla., each spring.
• Matheny said that he expects to announce his early spring rotation plans on Wednesday. Matheny has only confirmed that Carlos Martinez and Tyler Lyons will pitch in Friday's Grapefruit League opener.
• Carson Kelly has made enough progress in his conversion from third baseman to catcher that the Cardinals are not ruling out giving him an opportunity to appear in a Grapefruit League game. Kelly, 19, was invited to Major League camp so that he could get additional instruction -- particularly from Matheny and veteran catcher Yadier Molina -- and has opened eyes in the process.
"The camp has been a success for him already with the things that he has been able to do," Matheny said of Kelly, who began the position tranisition in September. "What's probably been as impressive as anything is his willingness to go and learn. He follows Yadi like they're attached at the hip, and that's something that he wanted to do and was endorsed by Yadi. How can you put a price tag on what that means to a young catcher?"
Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, By Gosh, It's Langosch, and follow her on Twitter @LangoschMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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The Corvette on the other hand still has a pushrod V8 with port injection and a good old manual transmission. More grunt and brute force than technological savvy. Hey, it's also almost half the the price though. Head 2 Head says the Vette feels like it is from another century with a slow transmisison, audible body flex, and horribly outdated navigation. Why is a guy with a British accent reviewing an American icon if he doesn't get what the Vette is about?
We do not really learn much of anything new from this episode and comparison. Ok, we get the Corvette is not as polished. Ok, we get the 991 is mildly upgraded and a bit more refined. The reviewer seems to feel the 911 is a little too detached compared to how it used to be. The Corvette in this respect is truer to its roots and seemingly more exciting. It is also nice to see the PDK embraced and stated to be superior to the manual, which, in every way except for one it is.
The reviewer picks the 911 but not for the right reasons. How can he claim the 991 is the best 911 ever if the steering does not have the same level of feedback as previous models? Since when is being more composed being more exciting? Sometimes the girl in the top and short-skirt with the smeared make-up taking shots instead of the one with perfectly styled hair analyzing her Chardonnay while wearing her pantsuit is the girl that is more fun to ride. Just not what you want for every day. That is the main difference here as both deliver in their own fashion. The 911 is most definitely not twice the sports car and that is something that should leave Corvette fans smiling. The 911 is worth the premium however, and that should put a smile on 991 owner's faces as well.


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Hot Topics in Equine Reproduction
- Apr 8, 2013
- Topics:
While equine artificial insemination isn't a new concept, researchers are continually making advancements that improve the practice.
Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse
Assisted reproduction has opened a whole new world to some horse breeders. A Kentucky mare who's never left her home farm, for instance, could produce a foal from a European sire who's competing at the top of his sport. And while artificial insemination isn't a new concept, researchers are continually making advancements that improve the practice.
At the 2013 Western Veterinary Conference, held Feb. 17-21 in Las Vegas, Nev., Heath King, DVM, Dipl. ACT, an assistant clinical professor at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, reviewed some current hot topics in assisted equine reproduction with veterinary attendees.
Testicle Processing for Sperm Recovery
The death of a stallion with a bright stud career ahead of him can have a devastating economic impact on his owner. Fortunately, veterinarians and researchers have learned to recover sperm from recently deceased stallions' epididymis (the duct that stores sperm as it matures).
Some veterinarians routinely freeze semen and have experience extracting epididymal sperm, but many prefer to harvest the stallion's testicles and ship them to another facility for processing. While immediate sperm collection and processing is generally preferred, King noted that one study showed no change in motility of sperm harvested from testicles immediately and after 24 hours refrigeration in six of nine stallions.
According to King, there are several important steps practitioners should take during testicle processing:
- Castrate the stallion either prior to or immediately after euthanasia or death;
- Double ligate (bind or tie off) the spermatic cord—the combined structure extending from the groin area to the testes, through which the vas deferens (sperm's transport conduit from the testes to the urethra) and a number of vessels and nerves run—as close to the groin as possible before cutting it;
- Once the testicles have been removed, ligate the vas deferens and rinse the testicles with sterile saline; and
- Wrap the testicles in paper towels and seal them in separate plastic bags.
If sending the testicles elsewhere, practitioners should ship them overnight in a cooling device commonly used to transport semen, King said.
King noted that pregnancy rates in mares inseminated with frozen epididymal sperm are generally lower than in mares inseminated with frozen semen; however, the reason behind this difference remains unknown.
Low Dose, Deep Uterine Horn Insemination
Veterinarians generally use 200 million to 500 million progressively motile sperm to impregnate a mare using conventional (uterine body) artificial insemination. But using deep uterine horn insemination (which involves placing semen directly into the uterine horn adjacent to the ovary containing the follicle), some veterinarians have successfully used as few as 1 million sperm, King said.
He explained that veterinarians use deep horn insemination in a variety of scenarios, such as with frozen semen known to have limited progressively motile sperm numbers and when managing subfertile stallions that ejaculate low sperm numbers.
He noted that scientists have reported conflicting results on mare pregnancy rates when bred with uterine body insemination and deep uterine horn insemination.
Cushioned Semen Centrifugation
Moving forward, King described the use of a cushion media during semen centrifugation, a measure he says can improve sperm recovery rates.
"Semen is routinely centrifuged at a force of 400 to 600G for 10 to 15 minutes," he explained. "Increasing the gravitational force will increase recovery rate, but can injure sperm."
To protect the sperm from injury when the gravitational force increases, he said, veterinarians can add a commercially available cushion media to the semen prior to centrifugation. After centrifugation, he noted, most of the cushion media should be removed via aspiration.
Heparinized Semen
King then reviewed how adding the anticoagulant drug heparin to sperm prior to insemination could help increase pregnancy rates when breeding mares that have already ovulated. Veterinarians breeding mares with cooled, shipped semen might have a shipment arrive after the mare has ovulated. Fertility declines as the oocyte ages, and after the oocyte is 12-18 hours old (post-ovulation) few mares conceive. Furthermore, sperm cannot fertilize a mare's oocyte until they've undergone a process in the mare's reproductive tract called capacitation—a series of changes on the sperm's surface that allows for the first step of the fertilization process. Researchers aren't sure exactly how long it takes for sperm to undergo capacitation, but believe it is approximately seven to eight hours.
"Heparin has been used to induce capacitation of sperm," King said, explaining that the drug increases the "fertility window" after ovulation.
He cited one study that showed a significant increase in pregnancy rates when mares were bred post-ovulation with heparinized semen (100%) compared to non-heparinized semen (43%).
King said veterinarians should add heparin to semen at a rate of 1.2 units per milliliter of semen before incubating the combination at 37°C (98.7°F) for about 30 minutes.
Chemical-Induced Ejaculation
Finally, King reviewed the use of a combination of drugs to induce ejaculation in stallions, a procedure that can be used to collect semen from horses no longer able to mount mares or dummy mounts.
King explained the horse's "sympathetic nervous system controls erection, emission, and ejaculation through the stimulation of alpha adrenergic receptors," and that veterinarians often use a tricyclic antidepressant called imipramine combined with ?-2 agonist to induce ejaculation. He said administering oral imipramine two hours prior to an intravenous dose of xylazine produce the most consistent results (with 50% or more of stallions ejaculating).
"The ejaculate produced by the imipramine/xylazine protocol is typically low in volume, but highly concentrated," he said.
About the Author
Erica Larson, News Editor
Erica Larson, news editor, holds a degree in journalism with an external specialty in equine science from Michigan State University in East Lansing. A Massachusetts native, she grew up in the saddle and has dabbled in a variety of disciplines including foxhunting, saddle seat, and mounted games. Currently, Erica competes in eventing with her OTTB, Dorado.
Related Content
Stallion Fertility
Breeding Soundness Exams for Stallions
Stored Semen Processing Method Evaluated
Study: Pentoxifylline's Effect on Semen Quantity and Quality
Harness Racing's Effect on Fertility
Vaccinating Pregnant Mares for Equine Viral Arteritis
Male Horses: A Role in Early-Term Abortion?
Subfertile Breeding Stallions: Management Strategies (AAEP 2010)
Assisted Reproduction in Horses: Practical Usage (AAEP 2010)
EVA Confirmed in Great Britain


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OCEAN CITY- The outlook for 2010 is projected to be on a mild upswing after a bleak 2009 in the tourism industry, even though many local leaders continue to point out that the resort community fared much better than most.
Ocean City hosted the annual Maryland Tourism and Travel Summit last week at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center and welcomed a number of speakers who, as expected, went into great detail about how much the lagging economy played into 2009 being less than a stellar year in the world of tourism.
Yet, many local leaders left with a lot of positives and new ideas for 2010, and one of the ideas could be kick-started into the development stages as soon as next week, according to Ocean City Hotel Motel Restaurant Association Executive Director Susan Jones.
"A couple of the speakers talked about the shift in the market from prestige to value, and said that the Starbucks mentality, as they called it, is over for the time being and people want value the most," said Jones. "Next year, they are projecting a moderate improvement in the tourism world and that's a positive thing."
The other thing that Jones took from the summit, in addition to receiving the Tourism Person of the Year Award, was the need for the town to come up with a good branding idea in order to build off solid advertising campaigns in the past few years.
"We've had campaign after campaign, and we've had some good ones mind you," said Jones. "But we haven't had a true brand in Ocean City since probably 1996 when 'Let Yourself Go' was used."
Jones said that next week, she and tourism director Deb Turk, as well as several other members of the tourism community will be meeting with MGH Advertising President Andy Malis to talk about ideas to improve the town's brand, or more accurately, to create a new one.
Although MGH Advertising's 'More Fun Here' campaign had hoped to become a brand for the town several years ago, it was abandoned and changed to the current Rodney campaign, which tells people to get to "OC-ASAP," but as Mayor Rick Meehan pointed out, the campaign is supposed to draw people towards the town and its brand.
"The ad campaign is really only to focus and drive people to the destination and your brand, so even though we've had some brands in the past, we need to come up with one that is direct and to the point, but still gets the desired message across all in one little catchphrase," he said.
The common consensus with many in the town of Ocean City is that any brand created for the town needs to incorporate the word 'family' into the mix, as the town has prided itself on being a family friendly resort for decades.
Meehan says however, that finding the right message that caters to not only the nostalgic traditional visitors and the modern visitor looking for cutting edge amenities is a slippery slope to try and maneuver.
"We have to try to find a niche that says it all for the town of Ocean City, and we have to realize that what we come up with is probably not going to please everyone," he said. "Sometimes you lean toward tradition and you lose the newer audience and vice versa, so we have to walk that line while still differentiating ourselves from our competition. It's a lot of work for a few words but I think we can find the right ones."
Meehan said that if he leaves a convention with one or two memorable thoughts to ponder, he considers it a success, and he noted that he left with a handful of good ideas for the future.
"One of the speakers said that we needed to make sure that our website was mobile-friendly as more people are accessing the Internet through their phones, and that makes perfect sense for them to utilize our website while they are on vacation and they are on their Iphones or blackberries," said Meehan.
Ironically, when the Dispatch spoke to Andy Malis after MGH won the recent advertising agency review, he said that one of the new ideas for the upcoming season was to essentially develop an "app" for mobile phone users to access and use the town's new website while they are in town, maximizing all the cross marketing techniques used on www.ococean.com.
Governor Martin O'Malley spoke at last week's tourism conference, handing out several awards and called the state 'America in Miniature,' pointing out that Maryland offers so much for visitors to enjoy.
"We know that when it comes to growing smarter and more sustainable as a state, our choices are all connected," said O'Malley. "So as we work toward a more sustainable future, we can extend these principles to our travel and tourism industry."
O'Malley also touched on the state's new Maryland Green Travel Program, which is a voluntary program to help businesses find better ways to run a more environmentally sound operation.
In the end, most thought the conference was a success, but in the short term, the idea to better brand the town of Ocean City, or rather, what the brand should be, might be the most debated topic in the near future amongst local tourism heads and elected officials.


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A Doncaster dad has died after punching a car window on his way home from the pub.
Carl Thorpe, 27, had just left an Askern pub in the early hours of Sunday when the incident took place in Instone Terrace.
South Yorkshire Police confirmed that Mr Thorpe suffered a serious bleed from an extremely deep cut to his arm.
Paramedics attended the scene shortly after.
Superintendent Eddie Murphy said the response from the ambulance service had been very prompt.
He described the incident as a 'truly tragic set of circumstances'.
Mr Thorpe leaves behind partner Shelly Sockett, 34, and their three children: seven-year-old Leighton Thorpe, Freya Thorpe, five, and Jaxon Thorpe, three.
Mr Thorpe's funeral will be held on Monday, August 4, at Askern St Peter's Church at 10.45am, moving on to Rose Hill Crematorium at midday.
Details of his wake have yet to be confirmed.
Friends of Mr Thorpe have organised an all day event this Saturday in his memory.
The event will take place at Askern Miners' Welfare Club,in Manor Way, between 10am and 4pm.
Activities on the day will include a bouncy castle, face painting, a children's sports day, a football tournament as well as a raffle with a selection of prizes donated by businesses.
There will also be hot food and cold drink available throughout the day.
All proceeds raised on the fundraising day will be donated to the family of Mr Thorpe.