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A Love/Hate star has been nicknamed Love/Snake because he's so well endowed.
The RTE show set has been plagued with gossip about the main man's anatomy after being tipped-off about his particular attribute.
A source said: "This guy is an impressive actor but it seems he has something else to boast about too.
"Once someone spotted his notable talent while working with him on another project it quickly became a hot talking point on the Love/Hate set and beyond."
It seems his rather large presence had gone unnoticed to this point because the wardrobe for actors in the hit crime drama is mostly baggy tracksuit bottoms.
The insider added: "On the Love/Hate set no one would be wearing tight-fitting costumes so you'd barely notice something like that.
"But someone discovered the news after working with him on another project and it certainly didn't stay quiet for too long.
"It's a size that most men would love to shout from the rooftops about."
It comes as Montrose bosses screen a double bill of Love/Hate this evening on RTE Two – as they play the series from the very start.
They are hoping this will lead to a whole new group of viewers – and potentially allow Love/Hate to overtake The Late Late Toy Show in the ratings.
A source said: "Already there's been absolutely massive ratings for each season and they keep going up and up each season.
"The hope now is the show could cement its position at the country's most-loved drama with the new season's finale becoming the most watched show of the year.
"It could get around 1.5million viewers – and given it got more than a million last year for the finale, it could definitely happen.
"There are still a lot of people that haven't seen Love/Hate in Ireland and producers think this could see
audiences explode again."
This week executive producer Suzanne McAuley hinted Nidge will be killed on the new series.
She revealed we could see a big name taking a bullet during season four – and Tom Vaughan Lawlor's character is the last major name remaining from the start of the series.


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I am totally in love with this beautiful painting by Caitlin Shearer. I have been following her blog for awhile now and have always loved her paintings. But this one has to be my all time favorite to date. I want it so bad!
Pretty Little Lady
Posted by Moorea Seal at 7:51 PM
Labels: art, artists, caitlin shearer, fashion, fashion illustration, girls, illustration, romantic, women illustration
4 comments:
- Heidi pumpkin pie said...
whoa! I just fell in love with her instantly! How am I supposed to get work done now that I'll be looking at her blog all day??
- April 1, 2010 at 6:12 AM
- Anna Joy said...
Beautiful! And thank you for your love on my blog...I love yours as well!
- April 1, 2010 at 7:19 AM
- Allie said...
Dear Moorea,
Yes! I will have dinner with you next week. Oh OHH!
- April 1, 2010 at 8:35 AM
- Amarettogirl said...
So jealous - want to do dinner too AND like Heidi - I just fell in love with a new artist too!! Thank you for sharing this delectable find with us!
- April 1, 2010 at 3:44 PM
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subset: commoncrawl


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Robert J. Semrad Receives Award for Work with Project HOODBy: James Paisley | Posted On: December 15, 2016
On December 12, Robert Semrad was honored by Chicago's Project HOOD, a local organization whose mission is to "empower people with the guidance and tools necessary to become peacemakers, problem solvers, leaders, and entrepreneurs in their communities," according to its founder Pastor Corey Brooks. The awards luncheon honored those who have made a significant impact to Project HOOD this year.
Semrad's work with low-income Chicagoans has inspired him to reach out to his community and offer assistance—financial and otherwise—to organizations that could have a direct impact on those with whom he works every day. Project HOOD is one such organization, aiming to end violence and build communities in neighborhoods across Chicago.
Two years ago, Semrad reached out to Pastor Brooks, inviting him to speak on the DebtStoppers radio show on a local Chicago station.
"Rob Semrad reached out and asked me if I'd like to be on the show every day for free. I thought there'd be strings attached, so I asked him what he wanted me to talk about on the air," Brooks said at the awards luncheon. "He said "All I want you to talk about is Project HOOD and what you're trying to do in the neighborhood.' So for two years, this gentleman paid for that show to be on the air every single day on 1390 and we were able to get exposure we otherwise never would have gotten."
Brooks then announced to the audience a pledge made by Semrad: For the next year, the Robert J. Semrad Foundation will match any monthly gift to Project HOOD, up to $5,000 per month.
"I wish everyone could see the work Corey Brooks does in our communities. People think they're hopeless. They're not. They're filled with people who are hopeful. But they're looking for the right leader, the right pioneer to come along," Semrad said. "And Corey Brooks is that pioneer. Corey Brooks has the vision, the courage and the tenacity to see things through. He saw one of the most dangerous places in the United States as the right place to build his church—New Beginnings. What a perfect name. I love great causes, but I put my resources into causes that can succeed. Pastor Brooks is all about doing whatever it takes to be successful. And I have no doubt that Project HOOD will continue to work miracles in Chicago."


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1 to of 1 Archival Collection shown
North Loop News collection of visual materials, ca. 1950-1970.
Primarily photographs of newsworthy events and people relating to Chicago's Loop commercial district and near North side. A large portion is comprised of individual and group portraits, approximately half of which are identified. Group portraits document political and organizational events; prese...


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Receipts during this time of year become increasingly more important as small business owners prepare for tax filing. If you have no receipts that prove your expenses then, you may be out of luck. But, some of the tax deductions for your small business will be at the hands of your accountant. Make sure your accountant knows and has all the documentation to give your small business the deductions it deserves.
For more about this and other news, follow the links below.
5 overlooked small-business tax deductions
Failing to claim all the small-business tax deductions you're entitled to is like flushing money down the toilet. Deductions are a legal way to reduce the amount of business income that is subject to tax.
—Failing to claim all the small-business tax deductions you're entitled to is like flushing money down the toilet. Deductions are a legal way to reduce the amount of business income that is subject to tax.Keeping good records is key to backing up the deductions, says Barbara Weltman, author of "J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes 2017."
"Keep receipts, invoices and other documentation," she says. "If you don't have the proof, you could be out of luck."
Small business owners are excited about the US economy – and they're giving Trump the credit
Small business leaders say they're more enthusiastic about the US economy, according to a new survey from JPMorgan.
The 2017 Business Leaders Outlook found that small business executives from across the US are more optimistic about the global and national economies and think that the Trump administration will be a positive for the country.
The bank surveyed roughly 1,400 executives, and 80% said they were optimistic about the national economy. That's up nearly 41 points from the 2016 edition of the survey.
About 68% said they were encouraged about the outlook for their local economies, an 18 point increase from the year before. Only 3% and 5% of these executives were pessimistic about the national and local economies respectively, according to JPMorgan.
Small-business optimism surging, surveys show
Small business owners' view of the economy is surging and giving them an incentive to hire.
That's the finding of surveys released last week by two advocacy groups, the National Small Business Association and the National Federation of Independent Business.
The number of owners who believe the economy is doing better than it was six months ago has virtually doubled from a survey released during the summer, according to the NSBA survey. Forty-three percent of the 1,426 owners questioned had a more upbeat assessment, compared to 22 percent in the summer.
The survey is in line with others showing owners more upbeat after the election and at the start of 2017.
Looking ahead, 54 percent expect the economy to grow during the next year, up from 29 percent.
The more upbeat view is a reason for owners to add jobs, a shift from the recession and its aftermath, when owners said hiring was too much of a risk. Forty-three percent of the owners surveyed by the NSBA said they expect to hire in the next 12 months, up from 33 percent.


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New search for Fiona Pender
A search could begin within days for the body of Fiona Pender after new information came to light following the arrest of the main suspect in relation to separate alleged offences.
The partner of the man is in protective custody in another jurisdiction and is believed to be able to shed light on a possible burial place of the missing Tullamore woman, who was seven-months pregnant when she disappeared in 1996.
The woman came forward after she had been threatened by the suspect recently. She told police in the country where she is now living that the man had warned her that he had killed Fiona Pender and would kill her too.
The suspect was arrested and faces charges in relation to threats against his partner. He has been released on bail.
The latest development has been described as the most hopeful to date.
It is understood the suspect has yet to be interviewed by gardai and has denied threatening to kill the woman. He has not been formally questioned about the disappearance of Fiona Pender.
A year after Ms Pender's disappearance, five people were arrested and interviewed by gardai but they were released without charge.
The unexplained disapperance sparked one of the largest garda operations in the midlands and resulted in large tracts of land being searched in Laois and Offaly, including areas in the Slieve Bloom mountains.
The most recent search took place at Monicknew after a makeshift cross was discovered with writing indicating that Fiona Pender had been buried there in 1996. However, the search yielded nothing.


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Why Apple can't be too worried about Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets taking away iPad sales: Part 3
February 9th, 2011
The Honeycomb tablet
Daniel Eran Dilger
Listen to giddy Android enthusiasts and you might get the impression that the next tablet-centric version of Google's Android platform, named 3.0 Honeycomb, is about to destroy iPad sales. They're wrong, here's why, part three.
Part 3: The Honeycomb tablet
In the course of just over a year, Android has moved from a scrappy upstart known only amongst nerds to being a broadly licensed platform that a sizable percentage of the tech savvy population has heard of. This is something, but really only puts Android into the same bucket as Linux, Windows Mobile, Flash Lite, Java, and Symbian. Oh, and PlaysForSure.
Realistically looking at the future prospects for Honeycomb tablets requires uttering some additional, unpleasant memes that those who are hot to trot for Honeycomb are not going to like. Android in general, and the tablet-centric Honeycomb release in particular, share far more in common with three Microsoft platforms than anything from Apple. Those platforms are Tablet PC, Windows CE, and PlaysForSure. Honeycomb proponents get really angry when I point this out because the truth stings like a bee.
It is indisputable that Tablet PC, Windows CE, and PlaysForSure were all abject failures. It took many years for those who believed in them to accept this, because on the surface all three seemed like such good ideas. All three were widely-licensed platforms made available to any hardware makers who wanted to use them, and they all found wide enthusiastic adoption from the same hardware makers now touting Honeycomb tablets, including Motorola, Samsung, Toshiba, LG, Acer, and Asus.
Like Google's Honeycomb, Microsoft's Tablet PC, Windows CE and PlaysForSure all promised to unleash the creative strengths of individual hardware makers while providing a commonality that would attract buyers with its familiarity and branding. PlaysForSure in particular also supported the idea of "open" media stores, allowing users to buy music and video from multiple sources. The only real difference that Google offers is that its platform software offers fewer restrictions and doesn't cost anything. But it also delivers less to makers, who are expected to do more of their own platform integration work.
Android proponents keep repeating an "open choice" marketing line as an indisputable inevitability of the market as if Microsoft didn't already provide a decade and a half of concrete evidence to the contrary, first with Windows CE, then in the parallel and overlapping experiment of Tablet PC, and then with PlaysForSure, the culmination of Microsoft's attempts to focus Windows CE at a very specific market for media players, much like Android 3.0 is being focused to deliver tablets. If we need another example, we can rope in Windows Mobile, the primary destination of Windows CE. It too failed, despite trumpeting a very Android-like message about broadly licensed platforms in the smartphone world.
The Spectacular Failure of WinCE and Windows Mobile
Why Apple can't be too worried about Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets taking away iPad sales: Part 1
Why Apple can't be too worried about Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets taking away iPad sales: Part 2
Why Apple can't be too worried about Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets taking away iPad sales: Part 3
So you have to ask yourself why
As Android's previous versions clearly attest, manufacturers are not really all that excited about being turned into commodity hardware makers on one hand, and are also apparently inept at extending Android in unique ways that do not also create serious platform fractionalization problems or just poor products on the other. The only notable Android tablets to arrive have been Dell's Streak and Samsung's Galaxy Tab, both of which demonstrate how utterly lost these hardware makers are without Google telling them exactly what to do. This isn't without precedent in the worlds of Microsoft's broadly licensed platforms either.
Google faced the same frustrations with its Android herd of hardware makers in the smartphone business. Licensed Android phones with layers of divergent UI conventions and bundled junkware got so out of hand that Google created the Nexus One to demonstrate to phone makers how to build a phone that served Google's purposes most directly. While the Nexus One didn't even last for six months before being discontinued, it is still the only model during the Year of Android to manage to keep itself updated with the latest release of the OS in a prompt fashion. Remind you of anything? (Hint: Zune).
The messiness of Android is worse, not better, than the stricter licensing programs Microsoft managed in hopes of shepherding new generations of tablets, phones, and media players. One only has to look at the ultimate result of PlaysForSure to see the future of Honeycomb: Microsoft was so angry with what it saw as the incompetence of its store partners and hardware licensees that it abandoned both and began work on the Zune instead. Microsoft similarly tried to turn Windows Mobile into a Zune-like product not dependent upon partners and their foibles in delivering KIN, but that device fared even worse than the Zune or the Nexus One.
One has to think, if Google and Microsoft are both so bad at delivering controlled product packages like KIN, Zune, and Nexus, what qualifies them to manage the entire industry's products on a conceptual, platform level?
Microsoft frets Google's Nexus One will suffer Zune's failure
Pink Danger leaks from Microsoft's Windows Phone
Two more views on the matter
Conversely, we also have examples of pretty good products that vendors tried to turn into broadly licensed platforms with similarly drastic consequences. Apple's early 90s efforts to license the Mac OS and Newton OS were both flops, as were Palm's attempts to spread its Palm Pilot DNA across other hardware makers, such as its Clie partnership with Sony. One could also include BeOS and 3DO in this bucket of licensing failures.
Now take a look at things from a third perspective: companies with pretty good products who went down in flames after they began licensing other vendors' platforms. Sony is a stellar example, shifting from the definitive high end consumer electronics brand of the 80s into the failed licensee of Windows, Palm, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android, BeOS and PlaysForSure. Motorola, Samsung and Toshiba have all been similarly run over while trying to jump on the broadly licensed platform bandwagon, over and over again.
On the other hand, we have one good example of a broadly licensed platform that worked out well: Windows. It worked out well for Microsoft at least, leaving a series of dead PC brands in its wake as Microsoft skimmed off all the value of the top of the market: Amstrad, AT&T, Atari, Commodore, Compaq, Digital, Epson, Gateway, IBM, Kaypro, Motorola, NEC, Olivetti, RCA, Sanyo, Sharp, Tandy, TI, Xerox, and Zenith to name but a few failed licensees of Windows. Of the top five PC makers today, at least one has survived from the 80s having never licensed Windows, offering a counterpoint to the outlying data point backing the notion that broadly licensed platforms are inherently successful and fated to fall into place.
Newton Lessons for Apple's New Platform
The Egregious Incompetence of Palm
Origins: Why the iPhone is ARM, and isn't Symbian
Soon, Xoom = Zune
After experiencing the brutal kickback of firing off Nexus One, Google does not seem eager to launch its own tablet hardware in the model of Microsoft's PlaysForSure-killer Zune. Instead, it has been demonstrating Honeycomb on Motorola's curiously named Xoom, which is just too reminiscent of Microsoft's three generations of Zune failure to conceivably be intentional, yet too obvious to offer any explanation of how it could possibly have emerged from planning level discussions. Imagine Chevy launching a new car named the Edsal, or Pepsi having an epiphany to begin selling "New Pepsi" in a bid to woo young buyers.
Xoom isn't just a poorly considered moniker however. Everything about its design suggests that Motorola approached the product with the exact same thought process that Microsoft employed in delivering the Zune. Neither company looked at the market and contemplated what sort of device might cause consumers to throw their cash at them in trade; instead, both are clearly efforts to simply produce an Apple clone with one or two features Apple didn't include, and to subtract a few it did. Without, of course, giving much thought to how much value they were adding and subtracting by doing so.
The value of the iPad comes from its familiarity to iPhone balanced with its extra boost in sophistication delivered by its full screen and expanded user interface conventions. While initially derided as "just a big iPod touch," the iPad is really a rather complete rethinking about how to deliver an iPhone-like simplicity on a larger palette.
Apple intentionally left out complicating factors such as a split between apps and widgets. It minimized the "chrome" of the UI down to nearly nothing to create an operating environment where apps themselves steal the show. Without apps, the iPad is actually pretty boring, like a bank pad of paper waiting to be applied in some way with a pen or pencil.
The inside track on Apple's tablet: a history of tablet computing
Killer complexity
Google and Motorola happened upon this winning product and decided to make some serious changes. Instead of being a simple, almost blank canvas for third party apps, Google designed a complex user environment (perhaps derived in part from elements of the 3D BumpTop startup it acquired last spring and then scuttled) with two strips of standardized controls across the top and bottom, as if it were trying to be Windows and Mac OS X at once. Launching and moving between apps isn't a simple matter of touching icons, but rather something that can be accomplished in as many different ways as you can view Control Panels in Windows XP.
You can drop apps on the desktop as simple buttons, but you can also resort to a drop down menu or simply leave open applet-like widgets that take up a tiny portion of the screen. Switching between apps isn't managed by a Home button double click and swiping though icons graphically, but by pulling up mini-representations of each running app, a desktop-like convention Apple was certainly aware of how to accomplish, but specifically chose not to implement for the iOS. Was this just an effort by Apple to dumb down the interface to cater to people who couldn't be bothered to learn a sophisticated array of new interface conventions? Yes.
If the world wanted a complex maelstrom of interface sophistication, it would have embraced NeXTSTEP rather than the hokey simplicity of Windows 3.1. If mainstream users had clamored for shadows and translucency and the marvels of an undulating user interface, Mac OS X would have been far more popular than the Fisher Price UI of Windows XP. PC users certainly didn't respond appreciatively to Microsoft's efforts to make Windows Vista more glossy and busy than Mac OS X had been, much to Microsoft's surprise. Users also picked the iPod over the complexity of PlaysForSure and the Zune, the iPhone over Windows Mobile, and iPad over Tablet PCs, and before that, Palm Pilot over Newton.
We don't really have many examples of a complex user interface blowing away a simpler one that's easier to use. Our cars are designed to be driven by the most distracted of halfwits rather than looking like airplane cockpits. Google has already gotten a taste of how well its nerdy complexity will attract users with Google TV, which has not gotten a fraction of the love of simpler devices such as Tivo, which anyone can figure out how to use on a basic level in less than a minute.
In fact, the only place where complex, techie user interfaces are really popular are within video games aimed at a demographic of 13-25 year old boys. When you're selling $800 hardware appliances, you don't really want to target your product at young men whose disposable income is already dedicated to buying replacement Xbox 360s and upgrading their PC's video card and Android phone every three months. Sure, there are some affluent men between 25 and 30 who also enjoy this sort of thing, but they all work at Google already.
Apple doesn't design simple user interfaces because it lacks the brains to introduce sloppy layers of complexity, but because it has studied how people use things and wants to sell its products to the widest possible audience. Microsoft started to clue into this very slowly as it strived to copy the iPod and iPhone. Zune is simpler overall that Microsofts usual products, and Windows Phone 7 is so simplistic that its top licensee refers to it as being "boring."
Perhaps that's going to far on the simple meter. With iOS devices, Apple makes overall usability very simple, and leaves an open canvas available to its app developers. That results in a wide range of choices for consumers, who can decide for themselves if they want to stick with basic functionality or install a lot of complex apps.
Apple TV challenge from Google falls flat in 2010
LG: WP7 falls short as carriers tire of "too much Android"
The Big Screen Dilemma
Motorola can largely blame the Tron-like interface of Honeycomb upon Google. Like the newly remade movie, I think Honeycomb will be interesting for about 80% of two hours, then leave people wanting something a little more original with a point, rather than just a transient, pretty experience that bumps ahead a franchise a lot of people have warm feelings about. It's hard to regret a $15 ticket to Tron (maybe once you factor in the concessions), but I can't see how people are going to be satisfied with an $800 toy that has no apps. Perhaps I'll be wrong on that front, because I'm not always spot-on in knowing what people will like. I was also surprised the iPad sold as well as it did.
Motorola made some interesting decisions of its own on the Xoom, however, and I feel more qualified to talk about how wise those were. It has a screen slightly larger than the size of an iPad, making it the first major Android tablet that isn't in the 5 to 7 inch range that Steve Jobs said would be DOA on the market for being unable to deliver an interface that beats a smartphone in practical usability (because no tablet can beat a smartphone in portability, so they have to offer something more to make up for their bulk). It appears Motorola agrees with that sentiment. The problem, as Jobs also alluded to, is that using a full screen drives up the price.
An entry level price of $800 is very high for a non-Apple device. Remember that while Apple can sell its MacBooks starting at $1000, its competitors have no option but to begin selling their netbooks and notebooks at much lower prices in the sub-$500 range. Even Apple recognized that it couldn't sell the iPad unless it hit aggressively low pricing. Consumers know that prices are supposed to go down each year, not inflate by 60 percent via the wonders of free and open software. And so Jobs was right: Android tableteers are going to have to decide between trying to offer cheap devices that aren't big enough to be more than an oversized smartphone ("a big iPod touch" as they used to say) or full sized devices that are too expensive for the market.
Motorola Xoom featured in ad packed with Apple references
Motorola's history of tablets shows remarkable ignorance
Big Specs
At the core of the Xoom is the Nvidia Tegra 2, a chip that delivers great graphics, 1080p video, and offers a generational leap over last year's A4, Snapdragon and the original Tegra. We heard a lot about how Tegra was going to blow Apple away before, in connection with the Zune HD, a product nobody has talked about since a few months after its launch, just like the LG Prada, the BlackBerry Storm, the Palm Pre, HP Slate PC, WP7 and so on. In looking back across three decades of computing history, I can't recall any computing platform driven ahead by a fancy chip rather than a sufficient amount of software applications.
Xoom has a lot things the iPad has: an ambient light sensor, accelerometer, compass, 3G, WiFi and BlueTooth. It also has some things the iPhone 4 has but iPad lacks: a gyroscope, a front facing camera (that's better than iPhone 4's), a rear camera and a proximity sensor (so you can hold it up to your face, apparently).
It also has something unique: a barometer for sensing air pressure (hmm) and a HDMI port (something that's necessary to get HD video off the device for remote playback, if you don't have something like AirPlay to do so wirelessly). The Xoom also has a gigabyte of RAM, four times as much as iPad, and twice the amount in iPhone 4 and expected in iPad 2. That's necessary because Android doesn't manage available RAM as well as iOS.
These are all interesting decisions to make because Apple has already installed a certain bar of expectations, the most difficult of which to limbo under being the iPad's price. Motorola isn't still in 2009, safely protected from direct competition from Apple due to the technical differences of Verizon's network. It's not going to be exclusively backed by one of America's twin mega-carriers. And initially, it will be only available on Verizon, the company that is currently selling the iPad and is expected to get a Verizon-only iPad 2 version with integrated CDMA support.
The hardware decisions Motorola made on the Xoom do not seem to be reflecting the reality of the limited window of opportunity still open to iPad competitors, which simply stated, is very cheap or special purpose devices.
From OLED to Tegra: Five Myths of the Zune HD
Consumption Junction, What's Your Function?
One of the more desperate complaints invented against iPad was that it was purely a "consumption" device incapable of real manly productivity work. Never mind that iPad is the only tablet capable of running a real office suite (Microsoft's Tablet PC and Office divisions fought long and hard to avoid providing something similar a decade earlier), or that there's all manner of text editing, drawing, image editing, turntable spinning, keyboard playing apps for iPad that aren't around for any other tablet.
The whole "consumption" nonsense thrown at the iPad failed to stick, but how does the same complaints hit the Xoom, which uses a widescreen display aimed more at watching movies than actually serving as a more serious canvas for productivity apps? It seems as if critics of the iPad are still trying to suggest that it's not serious enough, while picking up more toylike devices and getting lost in wondrous amazement of how great they can play back movies.
In the smartphone world, Android began to start selling devices in late 2009, a year or two after Apple established the App Store. We were assured that the balance of developers' attentions would shift toward Android as its installed base grew. But that didn't happen and hasn't happened.
There's a few reasons, ranging from fragmentation (about half of all active Android users are not on the latest API level OS revision, and can't upgrade because carriers and makers aren't rolling out update packages and the "you can install your own updates because its an open OS" claim is proving to be an outright lie) to Google's poor stewardship of Android Market (a discouraging pile of junk similar to shopping at Ross) to the simple fact that people who are attracted to cheap phones are also unlikely to be interested in buying a lot of apps.
It's hard to see how Android 3.0 Honeycomb is going to change this situation for tablets. Rather than evolving Android apps into a bigger, more capable form factor, Google launched what is really a completely new API and experience, requiring more work from developers to make original tablet apps, and requiring smartphone users who are familiar with Android smartphones to adapt to an entirely new user environment. Even Microsoft knew better than to make its Tablet PCs a completely unfamiliar experience apart from Windows.
Microsoft may have gone too far in trying to shoehorn Windows conventions into its mobile products (looking at you, WiMo Start Menu), but it doesn't seem that Microsoft's failure with Windows CE, Tablet PC and PlaysForSure was due to the lack of a radially new interface. Instead, those platforms all died due to integration issues between the hardware and software vendor, a lack of practical applications, high prices, and poor design decisions regarding feature sets. What Apple has gotten right with the iPad is its tight overall integration, a focus on third party apps, simple usability, very competitive pricing, and a design aimed at practical features (battery life, sufficient screen real estate, fluid performance) at the expense of frilly nonsense.
It's not just Motorola that doesn't seem to grasp what people really want. Toshiba is making what appears to be a Xoom-clone, and we have promises from Samsung, Asus and Acer, and other makers to build what appear to be functionally identical devices designed to run Android 3.0 Honeycomb. The core problem is that none of these are undercutting the iPad on price, matching its performance, or providing extremely attractive features that might make consumers want to pay half again as much for a device that has no apps and runs a first generation software revision that can only be more buggy than Android on smartphones (and don't be fooled, Android is a frustratingly buggy experience on smartphones, even after two years of updates).
Those who believe Google is keeping Apple on its toes and keeping it competitive may be giving the search giant too much credit. When Google sucks it up and delivers an Android 3.x release that works on half the hardware requirements of the iPad, enabling far cheaper devices with compelling features and spawning a real market for apps that are exclusive to the platform, then Apple will have some competitive threat to drive it to lower prices and offer new functionality. We're certainly not any where near there yet.


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This app was removed from the App Store.
Sick of Being Sick
Mac OS Education
What else is a little girl to do, when she becomes sick of being sick? Let your child's imagination run wild in this beautifully illustrated story about a little girl with unlimited potential.
- Original Never-Before-Seen Artwork
- A Live Orchestra Musical Soundtrack
- Includes Animated Illustrations
- Explore an interactive Guide for Navigation
- Read Alone OR Tap to Hear the Story Read to You
Thank You,
What's New
- New navigation tools added
- Custom swipe for magic mouse and trackpad


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It appears that Ford was instructed to do this by the National Consumer Commission.— Gia Nicolaides, EWN
It was frustrating, because Ford dodged a lot of the questions asked of them.— Wendy Knowler
Resale values are down – what is Ford going to do about that? The press conference raised more questions than it answered.— Wendy Knowler
Dealers on the ground appear to not have known.— Wendy Knowler
Ford South Africa CEO Jeff Nemeth says that a voluntary safety recall for all 1.6l Kuga vehicles has been issued.
Owners must take their vehicles to a dealer as soon as possible.
The safety recall is limited to vehicles sold between December 2012 and February 2014.
He says that, to date, 39 incidents of the vehicle catching fire have been reported to Ford.
The CEO says the cars which have caught alight have been extremely unfortunate and the safety of their customers is their number one priority.
At the same time, Ebrahim Mohamed of the National Consumer Commission says recalling Ford Kuga vehicles is in the best interest of all consumers.
Cape Talk's John Maytham interviewed EWN's Gia Nicolaides and famed Consumer Journalist Wendy Knowler.
For more detail listen to the interviews in the audio below.
This article first appeared on CapeTalk : Ford recalls Kuga (take yours to a dealership ASAP!)


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Platform beds - Mattress ready - No metal bed frame - No box foundation
The Queen Berkley (twin pictured) Platform bed provide better value than a metal bed frame, box foundation and basic head board. Platform beds can use Under Bed Chests or a twin Trundle. Slats are included, This platform bed has a center support with two legs. Space under the side rail is 11.3" providing generous drawer space and allowing up to a 9" mattress for the trundle bed. Under bed drawers and trundle sold seperatley.
The dark espresso is almost black. The Berkley bed is also available in twin and in a pecan finish.
We personnaly deliver to Louisville and the surrounding areas for $64.99 We will bring all your furniture (no matter how many pieces) to your front door for $64.99.
*If you would like us to build it, please contact the store and we will let you know if there is an additional fee.*Live far from Louisville? We can still get it to you for an additional fee, contact us for more info.


text: Nascar Speedpark's thematic focus is go-kart racing, but really, you should expect a borderline theme park experience. In addition to five go-kart tracks, the Speedpark offers mini golf, laser tag, rock climbing, bumper boats, a playground and dozens of smaller rides and arcade games. Events and birthday parties are a particular specialty: The birthday packages start around $15 per child and — subject to availability — feature an appearance by "Sparkie," the Nascar Speedpark mascot. If you just drop in for a visit, expect to pay for individual rides. But the more cost-effective choice will probably be a daily unlimited wristband; purchase one at a slight discount online with day passes at $15-$20 or an unlimited monthly pass at $31.99. Of course, your level of fun may depend on the weather but even if the outdoor options are closed, you're only missing out on golf, bumper boats and three of the go-kart tracks.


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Goražde, land of organic fruits and vegetables, is one of the most beautiful cities in Podrinje. The first traces of settlements take us back to the Stone Age. In 1725, Goražde was completely destroyed in a fire. The construction of roads, schools and hospitals took place during the Austro-Hungarian rule. Mountain heights of Kriva draga, Ruda glava, Crni rajski vrh, Klek, Borovac and Grebak offer an image of slightly wild, free and well-preserved environment. A valuable religious monument from the Ottoman period is the mosque in Kreča that was built in 1553. Wonderful Drina River offers in Goražde the possibility to flote with the typical wood boat (called splavanije) a real attraction of Goražde.
This small city is surprisingly rich with culture. A traditional, 10-day Friendship Festival attracts various artists from around the globe.


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Apprentice winner 'mortified' by cake labelling errors
Apprentice winner Alana Spencer was, in her own words, "totally mortified" when Food Standards Agency officials ordered her to recall cakes and bars over labelling inaccuracies earlier this week.
In her first interview since the FSA issued its health warning, Ms Spencer, from Ceredigion, tells how she has coped with the crisis and what her mentor and business partner Lord Sugar had to say about it.
"It's been a hell of a week," Ms Spencer says with a heavy sigh.
"I feel terrible because I know I have let my customers down, I've let Lord Sugar down and, worst of all, I've let myself down."
She is sitting in her publicist's office in central London, while 200 miles down the M4, in Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire, 45,000 of her products are rolling off the production line each week under her Ridiculously Rich by Alana brand.
Ms Spencer's business has come a long way since this time last year when she and her boyfriend were baking cakes in her mother's kitchen in Aberystwyth to sell from market stalls at weekends.
Success for her enterprise seemed assured when, in December 2016, she won the 12th series of BBC reality show The Apprentice, which came with a £250,000 investment and a 50/50 business partnership with Lord Sugar.
But an email from her local Trading Standards officer threatened to bring it all crashing down.
"I was at home early in the morning reading emails and there was one from this Trading Standards officer telling me he'd bought a box of my products online and there was a labelling issue which needed to be corrected right away," said Ms Spencer.
The matter was reported to the FSA who immediately issued a health warning on seven of the eight products sold by her company throughout the UK.
The warning related to allergens not listed on food labelling and others "not correctly declared".
Ms Spencer insists the inaccurate labelling only applied to products sold online, but the FSA website makes no such distinction.
But, she added: "No excuses, this was 100% a mistake. It should never have happened and I am truly sorry that it did. I'm totally mortified."
But how did she break the news to the sometimes volcanic Lord Sugar?
"He was not happy, obviously, but if you're honest with him, tell him what's gone wrong and what you're doing to ensure it doesn't happen again, he will support you.
"Initially, I sent him an email to explain but he phoned me straight away and asked, 'Is it sorted?'.
"Then he gave me a list of things I needed to do and at the end of the conversation, he said, 'Ok Alana, do not let it happen again. Now move on.'
"The labels are all correct now and we're recruiting a food technologist to take care of this side of the business in the future."
This new recruit will be only the fourth member of staff at her company, joining Ms Spencer, her boyfriend and a close friend who are currently the only members of staff.
"We've outsourced our production in Carmarthenshire, Lord Sugar's team handle accounts and us three take care of the rest at our base in Ceredigion," she said.
"In two or three years that will change because I hope to bring production back in-house. I've hardly touched the £250,000 I won because that will be needed then to buy equipment.
"It's been a whirlwind year and lots of hard work, but I've enjoyed every single second of it. Almost."


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