What matters (and what doesn't) when buying a gaming desktop ...

Want to game on a PC? Buy a desktop. While notebooks have come a long way over the last decade, they are, to this day, an inherently compromised solution. Fast processors and video cards consume gobs of power and produce tons of heat, so mobile systems have to cut back on performance while packing on the pounds.

That leaves desktops to bear the weight of PC gaming. Even a modest system can put current consoles to shame and run today?s most demanding games at 1080p. Want more? You can have it. The most powerful gaming rigs are several times faster than the least powerful, and every gradation of performance between those extremes is available.

Yet, there?s more to the equation than raw horsepower. Upgradability, storage, and add-on cards also deserve thought. This guide will help you cut through the confusion and buy an amazing gaming desktop computer at a surprisingly low price.?

One size doesn?t fit all

Most gamers start with the hardware inside a computer. We?ll cover that soon enough, but, before we get there, let?s talk about the exterior.

Gaming computers now come in many shapes and sizes. There are small systems like the?Falcon Northwest Tiki, mid-size towers like the?Acer Predator,?and monoliths like the?Origin Genesis.

Small systems are, well, small. They are unobtrusive and fit where larger systems simply can?t. They?re ideal for gamers who lack a large desks or want to use the desktop in a home theater. Going small can limit future upgrade options, however, and some pint-sized PCs?make a lot of noise.

Mid towers are a good compromise and are ideal for most people. They?re small enough to fit under, on, or in a typical desk, yet large enough to offer upgradability and acceptable cooling. Flair, or lack thereof, is the only flaw. Most mid towers look like any other ho-hum desktop.

Finally, we come to the monoliths known as full towers. These are often so large that they won?t fit on top of a desk without hanging off the front or rear, and a few full towers are so tall they won?t even fit under a desk. A full tower system can also carry a slightly higher premium over a mid tower. However, full towers are easy to upgrade and can handle hardware that won?t fit in smaller PCs.

Some custom manufacturers, like Origin and CyberPower, offer a selection of cases during customization. We recommend the full tower if you can find room for it, but make sure you understand the size before buying. Otherwise, a mid tower is best. Smaller systems can be great, but are also a niche solution. You should only buy one if space is at a premium or you?re dead set on a small system for aesthetic reasons.

Start with the heart: The processor

When you buy a gaming desktop, be it a customized model from a boutique or a pre-made model from Dell or HP, the processor will be the first specification you see ? and for good reason. The processor determines how a system will perform in most software.

Your first choice will be between dual- or quad-core processors. We recommend a quad unless your budget is extremely low ($1,500 or less). A dual-core processor is often fine, but some modern games make use of additional cores and can be crippled by a dual-core CPU.

Gamers with a lot of money may be lured in by Intel?s six-core processors. These are priced at a premium and not worthwhile for gaming. We only recommend them to buyers who have absolutely no concern about a rig?s final price. The same can be said of Intel?s Extreme Edition processors.

Also, we suggest you avoid AMD. Though potentially competitive at a few price points, and boasting up to eight cores, all of the company?s processors fail to offer solid single-thread performance. That?s a problem for games because most place their heaviest load on just one or two cores.

A great GPU makes a great gaming PC

The video cards sit side-by-side with the processor in importance. This one component is entirely responsible for drawing the beautiful graphics you see onscreen. Faster video cards allow better, smoother graphics and a more immersive experience.

As a gamer, you?ll want to stay away from low-end cards. In Nvidia?s stable, this means you want to stay away from products that have a 20, 30, or 40 in their model number (like the GT 630). In AMD?s product line, you want to stay away from cards that have a 4, 5, or 6 as the second digit in the model number (like the Radeon 6670).

The price-performance sweet spot usually sits with mid-range cards like the Nvidia GTX 660 and AMD Radeon HD 7850. These can handle almost any game in 1080p with full detail. If you want to make sure that games run well, or you want to play at an even higher resolution, like 2560 x 1600, you should move up to an even more powerful card.

While shopping, you may sometimes find yourself with a choice between two cards that are similar but offer different memory. More memory does not have a significant impact on overall performance by itself, but more memory does allow a video card to handle more data before choking. We recommend at least 1GB of memory if you have a display below 1080p resolution, and at least 2GB of memory if your display is 1080p or above.

We don?t recommend multiple video cards. Though potentially quick, multi-card configurations often run into driver or game support issues that prevent them from unlocking their full potential. They?re also louder and hotter than a single card.

Don?t waste money on too much RAM

Our recent review of the?Acer Predator?provided the perfect example of how marketing is sometimes placed before performance. That system, which is relatively affordable, came to us with 32GB of RAM. Thirty-two! As in 30, and then two more.

That?s insane, yet not uncommon. Why? RAM is currently inexpensive, so adding more makes a system seem powerful to uneducated consumers at minimal cost. But, don?t fall for it. The majority of games sold today will run well on a computer with only 4GB of RAM (as we proved in our?Steam Box build). For a serious gaming rig, however, 8GB is our recommendation. Anything on top of that is effectively useless.

Additional memory doesn?t make a game run more quickly; it merely sits unused. Any money that might be spent on RAM beyond 8GB should instead be put towards a component that matters.

Solid-state drives are expensive, but useful

Most computers sold today come with at least a 500GB mechanical hard drive and, in most cases, a 750GB or 1TB model. More space is better, but unused space isn?t needed, so our recommendation is simple: buy as much space as you need.

Whether or not you should buy a computer with a solid-state drive is a more difficult question. SSDs are many times more expensive than mechanical drives when measured by gigabyte-per-dollar. They also have no impact on in-game performance. Still, we recommend that you buy an SSD if you can afford one that offers over 200GB of storage. Why?: load times.

A solid-state drive is many times quicker than a mechanical drive. For games, this means a level that could take 30 seconds to load on a normal drive instead loads in 5 to 10 seconds. Games with short load times may sometimes load almost instantly.

If you do choose a solid-state drive, make sure it?s also the drive that contains the operating system. You?ll gain the benefit of quick boot times and fast operation in day-to-day use. This is also why we don?t recommend an SSD with less than 200GB of space. With Windows installed, a small drive can only contain a handful of games.?

Don?t lose money on the kitchen sink

?

After you?ve nailed down the processor, video card, RAM and hard drive you?ll start to browse through a wide selection of extras including sound cards, Ethernet adapters, additional USB ports, and more.

These extras aren?t required. Today?s motherboards ship with a built-in sound card, Ethernet adapter, and gobs of connectivity. Some even come with standard Wi-Fi. These have made peripheral cards far less of a necessity.

That doesn?t mean they?re useless, but skip it if you don?t already?know?that you need a certain add-on card for a specific reason.

Conclusion

As you browse computers and choose custom hardware, you should always return to one question: ?Does this make games look and play better??

A gaming desktop is a balancing act. No one component should dominate without bringing the others up to par, and unnecessary hardware should be axed to keep the price down. For example, a system with 32GB of RAM and a dual-core processor doesn?t make sense. The money spent on memory could be far better spent on a fast quad-core.

Restraint is required to perfect the balance. When you buy a gaming desktop, you?ll be bombarded by ads, both on manufacturer websites and elsewhere, that insist what you?really?want is a fancy Ethernet card that allegedly improves multiplayer games, or a triple-GPU rig, or a computer the size of a cat.

As you browse computers and choose custom hardware, you should always return to one question: ?Does this make games look and play better?? The information in this guide will help you answer that question, and if the answer is no, you don?t need it.?

Source: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-buy-a-gaming-desktop/

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How to Believe in Yourself in the Face of Overwhelming Self-Doubt ...

?When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt.? ~Honore de Balzac

You know what that voice in your head says?

You can?t do it. You?ll never be good enough. You?re going to fail.

This voice taunts you whenever you set a goal. It criticizes you when life gets difficult. It beats you down when you struggle to stand up against its running commentary.

You know you shouldn?t let self-doubt bother you, but it?s a sneaky critter. Sometimes, you just can?t contain it and it slips past your barriers.

And self-doubt is greedy. When it?s loose, it devours your confidence, strips logic and reason from your mind, and steals happiness from your heart. In return, it leaves you with only fear and insecurity.

You try to remove self-doubt by forcing yourself to ?think positive,? which usually doesn?t work as well as you think it should.

The more you fight your self-doubt, the more it fights back.?However, with self-knowledge and understanding, you can use self-doubt for your?benefit.

A Story about Crushing Dreams and ?Being Realistic?

When I was a child, I was in love with drawing.?For me, drawing was as exciting as going to the playground.

At some point in my childhood, I decided I?d become an artist of some kind. But the critics in my life were quick to cut me down. I?ll bet you?ve heard the same kind of clich?s:

?Art is great but not a ?realistic? future goal. While it?s a nice?hobby?to have, you can?t really make a living out of it.?You?ll just be another starving artist.?

As children, we internalize these negative messages and parrot them back. If the adults say so, it must be true, right? By adulthood, every time we have a small hope, we?re the first to snuff it out:

?Drawing is nice but not necessary. I?ll never be as good as the real professionals anyway.?I don?t even have a degree from an accredited art school.?

For years, I stopped myself before I even tried. I did it because I was afraid.

I was afraid of what people would say. I was afraid everyone would hate my?art. I was afraid of failing as an artist.

When fear grabs you, your beloved goal forever feels out of reach. But it doesn?t just stop there, does it?

If left unchecked, the infectious bite of fear and self-doubt can spread. You unconsciously start questioning your knowledge and abilities in everything you do.?And if you?re like me, you desperately want to find a cure.

One fateful day, I realized that trying to beat out my self-doubt wouldn?t rebuild my confidence.

If I wanted to believe in myself, I needed to face my self-doubt and be willing to?take care?of it.

Before, I imagined self-doubt as a life-sucking monster. Now, I realize it?s actually a fearful, angry, and lost creature secretly crying for help.

Like fear, joy, and sadness, doubt is part of human nature, and it needs understanding. If you want to improve yourself, you need to tame your self-doubt, not fight with it.

That means paying attention to how you react to things, understanding the root of your insecurities, and taking steps to address your fears.

Now, I no longer tell myself, ?I?ll never be a good enough artist.? Instead, I?ask myself,??What can I do to become better?? And I take baby steps.

I went from drawing every few weeks, to every week, and now every two to three days. Re-framing self-doubt has also helped me cope with other challenges, like successfully starting a small business.

Self-doubt doesn?t have to be as monstrous as we make it out to be. It?s all about perspective. The following tips will help you manage your self-doubt.

Identify and ease your doubts.

Learning how to recognize when your self-talk takes a turn for the worse is crucial. When you hear yourself saying, ?I can?t,? or, ?I don?t know,? or, ?What if,? a red flag should go up.

Instead of telling yourself, ?I can?t do X,? say, ?I can?t do X,?yet.?But I?m working on it.?

Or if you start wondering, ?What if I fail?? you can respond by saying, ?Then I?ll try again.?

Doing this transforms a negative situation into an opportunity for growth. In the end, it?s about giving yourself a chance.

Stop listening to toxic people.

Toxic people are convinced that everything is impossible, and they are quick to shoot down ideas.?They?ll poison your mind into a state of hopelessness.

Don?t let them steal your energy just because they?ve lost theirs.

Instead, surround yourself with supportive and passionate people who can both inspire you and bring out the?best?in you. You can find them among friends, family, books, or blogs like Tiny Buddha.

They will lift you up when you feel down and help you see the bright side of your darkest fears and doubts.

Recall your successes.

This one is tough. When you?re down, you?ll more easily remember the bad instead of the good.?And oftentimes, the ?rah-rah? pep talk just doesn?t cut it.

So, I suggest writing a list. Grab a piece of paper or small notebook, or open a blank document. Now write down your successes, big or small.

If you?re a bit bashful about your achievements, ask someone you trust to tell you the great things they think you?ve done. It?s refreshing and a great confidence boost.

And finally, keep your list with you at all times. It will help you find your way back to yourself whenever you get lost.

Trust and love yourself.

You probably spend more time being your own worst enemy instead of being your own best friend.

But you deserve to treat yourself better. After all, you have the rest of your life to spend with yourself.

Think of it this way: Would you mentally abuse or condemn your loved ones? Would you let them suffer in their time of need? If not, then why would you do it to yourself?

So, be kind to yourself.?You are more capable and worthy than you give yourself credit for.

Give yourself permission to try?and try again.

Self-doubt never disappears. Over time, you just get better at dealing with it.

It will greet you every time you fall out of your comfort zone and whenever you strive to do something great.

But know that it?s not something you have to fear or resent. Your doubts are only thoughts, not your future.

Sure, something may go wrong. But if you never try, you?re losing an opportunity to improve your life.

Are you willing to risk that instead?

SOURCE: http://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-to-believe-in-yourself-in-the-face-of-overwhelming-self-doubt/

Source: http://brookeaddison.com/how-to-believe-in-yourself-in-the-face-of-overwhelming-self-doubt/

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Dangerous Easter No-No's With Pets In The House! ? 99.5 WYCD ...

If you have pets and plan to do some Easter stuff this week, remember that Easter decorations, candy and pets don?t mix!? Veterinarians say the shiny grass typically used to decorate Easter baskets shouldn?t be used because pets sometimes try to eat it and can?t digest it. The blades can get stuck internally and cause a blockage in the intestinal tract. Other things to keep out of reach of pets include?

The shiny grass in your child?s Easter basket may be especially tempting for pets if it?s packed with candy, which can lead to another big danger ? chocolate. Most adults know that it?s not good for cats and dogs, but experts said to make sure kids are warned not to share, too.

Another big danger, especially for cats is the Easter lily, which is extremely toxic if ingested by your cat. So be sure to keep any plants in the lily family out of reach from your pet. The last thing you want to do is spend your holiday in a veterinary emergency room!

I speak from experience when I say that you need to keep all alcohol out of your pets reach too. My oldest Yorkie Elvis nearly died when he was a little puppy, after taking a swig out of my girlfriends cocktail with Scotch in it at Christmas, and we spent Christmas eve in the vets ER room, while they gave him charcoal to soak up the liquor and sober him up!

What crazy thing did your dog or cat eat that made them super sick during the holidays?

?

Source: http://wycd.cbslocal.com/2013/03/27/dangerous-easter-no-nos-with-pets-in-the-house/

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Family breaks ground on first new home in Richmond Hill | Fox 59 ...

A neighborhood leveled by a deadly blast just a few months ago is slowly starting to rebuild.

A family broke ground Tuesday on the first new home in the Richmond Hill neighborhood.

Other owners have been able to rebuild on existing foundations but this was the first that?s being rebuilt with a new foundation.

More than 30 homes in the neighborhood were destroyed in the deadly November blast.

Source: http://fox59.com/2013/03/26/family-breaks-ground-on-first-new-home-in-richmond-hill/

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Oscar Pistorius' brother on trial for road death

VANDERBIJLPARK, South Africa (AP) ? The brother of double-amputee athlete Oscar Pistorius went on trial in a South African court Wednesday for the death of a woman in a road collision in 2008.

Carl Pistorius, who faces a charge of culpable homicide, or negligent killing, wore a dark suit and was accompanied by his sister, Aimee. Oscar Pistorius, who was charged with murdering his girlfriend on Feb. 14, was not present. The Olympian hasn't been seen in public since he was granted bail at Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Feb. 22. His lawyers plan to challenge his bail restrictions on Thursday.

Initial proceedings in Carl Pistorius' case at Vanderbijlpark Magistrate's Court in Johannesburg focused on a request by South Africa's national broadcaster, SABC, to show the trial proceedings live on national television or record them for later use.

Magistrate Buks du Plessis said reporters could attend the trial but turned down the SABC request, saying he wanted to guard against "emotional hype" and that any public interest in the trial stemmed only from the intense interest in the murder case against Oscar Pistorius. News photographers were not allowed to cover the trial while it was in session.

"He's not a celebrity in his own right," du Plessis said of Oscar's brother. Addressing Carl Pistorius, the magistrate then said: "Apologies to you, sir."

Carl Pistorius smiled and nodded.

Defense lawyer Kenneth Oldwadge said the legal team for Oscar Pistorius had been "overwhelmed by the media," and that similar press scrutiny would make it difficult to work in court during the older brother's case. Oldwadge cited a comment by the judge in Oscar Pistorius' bail hearing that the media treated the athlete like some kind of unusual "species" instead of a human being.

Prosecutors say Carl Pistorius was driving an SUV in March 2008 when he collided with a female motorcyclist. The woman, Marietjie Barnard, died in a hospital. Although the culpable homicide charge against Carl was initially dropped, it was reinstated this year because forensic evidence and reports from the accident scene became available, according to prosecutors.

The Pistorius family said last month that Carl deeply regretted the incident but insisted it was a "tragic accident." He was not under the influence of alcohol, the family said.

Oscar's legal team filed an appeal against some of his bail conditions on March 7, objecting to him being not allowed to travel outside of South Africa even though a magistrate said he was not a flight risk when granting him 1 million rand ($108,000) bail. They're also challenging an alcohol ban and a ruling that Pistorius cannot speak with residents at the gated estate where he shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead in the early hours of Valentine's Day.

The athlete denies murdering Steenkamp and says he shot her by mistake, fearing an intruder was in his home. Prosecutors say he killed her intentionally following an argument.

Oscar Pistorius must appear in court again on June 4.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-27-Pistorius-Shooting/id-9431f76d43c545dba772325cad622002

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Most Recent Grand Theft Auto Games

Violent video games promote, so as extended as men and women are ready to get them, people will be eager to make them, and as know-how retains receiving far better than the truth of online games and the violence included in them will keep obtaining much more real. Go to EA Sports' recreation house by hopping on your race car at its exhilarating mini racing sport or beating your buddies in a competitive sport of poker. Give it a shot and enable it rock you out! Major Video game Mini is one of the really effectively-identified Nintendo DSi game titles and it is a shooter that is actually difficult to set down for most men and women who make a decision to try out it out.

An individual who is a fantastic match developer can truly acquire their own game. With the functionality melting from working day to aid night time, you get the distinct perception of currently being in a hectic, rewarding city, not some thing that is merely created to support you get from A to B currently being a issue of comfort. You may well also will need an precise legal lawyer to handle the courtroom circumstance. With the GTA 5 launch date predicted in the initial quarter of 2013, a lot of video clip recreation lovers are anticipating this most up-to-date title from Rockstar Video games to strike the marketplace. On December twelve, 2011, Contemporary Warfare 3 officially de-throned the number a single motion picture of all time - Avatar, as the swiftest amusement media to achieve the $one billion mark.

Parental neglect is potentially the largest aspect in juvenile delinquency. If you have gotten oneself into financial debt with the casinos, no subject how far, it is achievable to get your money counter back to zero very rapidly. #2: Toyota Camry: Now in excess of 6 generations previous the Toyota Camry is a mid-dimensions auto assembled by Toyota. The controversy over the recreation resulted in it being subsequently pulled off the cabinets.

Generally referred to as go here by police departments, the act of stealing motor motor vehicles has quite a few motivations. Although it is very similar in composition to the past Grand Theft Auto sport, the San Andreas is more substantial than lifestyle in prospects. They need to turn out to be additional educated and go on that training so that regulation enforcement can get the needed assist to quit theft. I are unable to play that sport any more mainly because the reality of that reality is also genuine for me. Unfortunately even insurance plan is not often ample.

The term 'Grand Car Theft' caught my awareness as it is searched more than four million occasions for every thirty day period globally. They do nothing at all to quit the qualified thief who is aware how to bypass these systems. When you get bored from all the virtual sightseeing, you can constantly head to the themed video game areas delight in the mini-video games in saved for you. "Grand Theft Automobile: Vice Metropolis was at first launched to the Playstation 2 in 2002 and follows mobster Tommy Vercetti as he would make the transfer from Liberty Town to Vice City, which is centered on Miami, Florida. Criticized by a lot of all over the entire world for its violent material and potential to commit nearly any crime, GTA: San Andreas includes quite a few appealing strategies not observed by the normal player.

Nor does it mean tha you need to have to get a new recreation console or up grade your PC's components just to engage in all the game titles. If that occurs, all bets are off and if it truly is a significant non-videogaming participant guiding it, you can count on to see EA truly having the gloves off, and this battle getting truly messy. Was this a excellent match for their kids? Just not too long ago I was working with Google's Cost-free Adword Device looking for key phrases bordering vehicle theft.

Nonetheless numerous international locations exhibit a declining trend in motor car or truck thefts. Even searches for 'auto' and 'car theft protection' get a paltry few hundred lookups for each thirty day period globally. The incident caused intercontinental uproar as violent films and online video video games were mainly deemed the culprits for raucous teenager behaviour. They ought to also have crafting capabilities since they will be the kinds making the story strains in addition coming up with the dialogue.

Source: http://proman-help.isys-informatik.ch/index.php/Benutzer%3ARadtkeSoloman164

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BlackBerry targeted by short sellers as market awaits results

By Euan Rocha

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry's share price has more than doubled over the last six months as buzz around its new smartphones has boosted investor confidence, but some traders are betting big that talk of a turnaround is over-hyped.

Nasdaq data released on Tuesday shows that short interest in the stock is at record levels and has more than doubled over the course of the last year.

With BlackBerry due to report quarterly results in two days, giving investors their first official clues on demand for its new Z10 touchscreen device, that buildup of bearish bets could send the stock price surging if the company delivers a positive surprise.

BlackBerry, a one-time pioneer in the smartphone market, hopes the device - powered by its new BlackBerry 10 operating system - and other devices soon to follow will turn its fortunes around and help it to win back market share in an ultra-competitive sector. But many traders are clearly unconvinced.

Short interest in BlackBerry's Nasdaq-listed stock has risen to more than 155 million shares, up from 136.5 million shares a month ago and 60 million at this time last year.

Traders who sell securities "short" borrow shares and then sell them in the hope that the price will fall, so they can buy them back more cheaply, return them to the lender and pocket the difference.

Markit, a financial information services company, said in a report last week that positive reviews around the Z10 have thus far failed to impress short sellers, with demand to borrow shares in BlackBerry hovering at record levels.

The firm, which collects data from custodian banks that run lending programs on behalf of investors who sometimes put their holdings into such programs, notes that roughly three-quarters of the BlackBerry shares that can be borrowed are already out on loan, meaning that it would be difficult and expensive to short any more of the company's shares at this time.

The number of short positions indicates that over 30 percent of BlackBerry's free float is currently being shorted, up from about 11 percent at this time last year.

The bearish data comes close on the heels of analysts' and media reports that the Z10 device had a rather muted launch in the United States last week.

SHORT SQUEEZE EYED

BlackBerry is hoping that the Z10 and other new devices powered by its new operating system will help it to regain ground ceded to rivals such as Apple Inc's iPhone, as well as Samsung Electronics Co's Galaxy line and other devices powered by Google Inc's market-leading Android operating system.

BlackBerry's results this week will, however, only provide investors with limited insight on demand for the Z10, which was on sale during just the final month of the latest quarter. And although the Z10 is now available in more than 25 countries, it initially went on sale only in the United Kingdom and Canada.

BlackBerry's volatile stock is nevertheless likely to swing wildly following the results on Thursday, as analysts and investors read into the numbers and extrapolate broader sales trends for the new device across the rest of the globe.

The company's stock, which closed at $14.46 on Tuesday on the Nasdaq, has already dropped roughly 10 percent since Friday after the reports of the Z10's lackluster U.S. launch.

The recent pullback in the stock ahead of results, however, may not be all bad news for those investors hoping for a big turnaround in the company's fortunes, as any positive outlook or data points from the company on Thursday would raise the prospects of a short squeeze in the stock.

In that scenario, bearish traders that sold the stock short would be forced to buy shares to avoid big losses on their positions - something that only serves to work against short sellers and push a stock higher.

Eric Jackson, the founder and managing partner of Ironfire Capital LLC, believes the size of the short position in the stock may serve as a big catalyst for BlackBerry's share price, if the company provides investors with an upbeat forecast.

"Even if they report a so-so quarter ... if they provide robust guidance for the current quarter, that could really light a fire under the stock," said Jackson, whose firm owns shares in BlackBerry.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blackberry-targeted-short-sellers-market-awaits-results-041509863--finance.html

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Yahoo buys startup run by British teen for millions

From wire services , NBC News ? ? ? 8 hrs.

One of Britain's youngest Internet entrepreneurs has hit the jackpot after selling his top-selling mobile application Summly to search giant Yahoo.

Seventeen-year-old Nick d'Aloisio, who dreamed up the idea for the content-shortening program when he was studying for his exams, said he was surprised by the deal. As with its other recent acquisitions, Yahoo didn't disclose how much it is paying for Summly, although British newspapers suggested the deal's value at several million dollars.

"I would have never imagined being in this position so suddenly," he wrote on his website, before thanking his family, his school ? and his venture capitalist backer Li Ka-Shing ? for supporting him.

Summly works by condensing content so readers can scroll through more information more quickly ? useful for the small screens of smartphones.

D'Aloisio said he was the majority owner of Summly and would now invest the money from the sale, though his age imposes legal limits for now on his access to it.

"I'm happy with that and working with my parents to go through that whole process," he said.

D'Aloisio, who lives in the prosperous London suburb of Wimbledon, highlights the support of family and school, which gave him time off, but also, critically, the ideas that came with enthusiastic financial backers.

He had first dreamt up the mobile software while revising for a history exam two years ago, going on to create a prototype of the app that distils news stories into chunks of text readable on small smartphone screens.

He was inspired, he said, by the frustrating experience of trawling through Google searches and separate websites to find information when revising for the test.

D'Aloisio taught himself to code at age 12 after Apple's App Store was launched, creating several apps including Facemood, a service which analysed sentiment to determine the moods of Facebook users, and music discovery service SongStumblr.

He has started A-levels - English final school exams - in maths, physics and philosophy, and plans to continue his studies while also working at Yahoo's offices in London. He aims to go to university to study humanities.

Although he has created an app worth millions, D'Aloisio says he is not a stereotyped computer geek.

"I like playing sport," he said. "I'm a bit of a design enthusiast, and like spending time with my girlfriend and mates."

The deal announced Monday is Yahoo's fifth small acquisition in the past five months. All of them have been part of CEO Marissa Mayer's effort to attract more engineers with expertise in building services for smartphones and tablet computers, an increasingly important area of technology that she believes the Internet company had been neglecting.

D'Aloisio is younger than Yahoo, which was incorporated in March 1995.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/2a010717/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Cyahoo0Ebuys0Estartup0Erun0Ebritish0Eteen0Emillions0E1C90A75778/story01.htm

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Holly Madison: How Will She Lose the Baby Weight?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/holly-madison-how-will-she-lose-the-baby-weight/

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Kardashians Bound & Gagged in Trunk of Ford For Car Ad (PHOTO)

Ford Khloe Kardashian Kim Kardashian Kourtney Kardashian Paris Hilton

6:32 pm, March 24th, 2013

(Ads of the World)

Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian were bound, gagged, and stuffed into the trunk of a car?? as Paris Hilton happily sat in the driver?s seat ? in?an ad for Ford.

The cartoon, which featured the reality TV rivals, was thought up by an ad agency in India that produces the campaigns there for the Ford Figo.

The tagline of the ad read,??Leave your?worries behind with Figo?s extra-large boot.?

And while the ad was never used in paid media ? and subsequently yanked for a website on which it was posted ? it?s still alive and well on the Internet.

WPP, the parent group of the Indian ad agency, issued an apology that read, ?We deeply regret the publishing of posters that were distasteful and contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within WPP Group. These were never intended for paid publication and should never have been created, let alone uploaded to the internet.?

Ford also said it was sorry.

The car company told Business Insider, ?We deeply regret this incident and agree with our agency partners that it should have never happened. The posters are contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within Ford and our agency partners.?

What do you think of the pulled ad?

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Source: http://www.gossipcop.com/kardashians-stuffed-trunk-bound-gagged-ford-car-ad-cartoon-apology-statement-photo/

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Animal Trackers Train Set

All kids run away at least once. But usually just to the garage, not the circus.

Poor naive kid. Doesn't he know that if you're gonna run away, you shouldn't leave a trail behind? Or in this case, 12' of flexible train track.

When I was 9, my mom wouldn't let me go camping with my friends, so I ran away to the tool shed out back. After awhile, I got bored and went back inside.

You see, I didn't have 269 cute, colorful and fun pieces of circus animals, bridges, tunnels and more to play with. I had some old rags covered in axle grease and a couple garden hoes. So I lasted just under two hours.

I could tell that my mom had been worried sick, as demonstrated by how she was passed out on the couch with a copy of Better Homes and Gardens. I knew that if I had stayed even five minutes later, she would have called in the calvary to hunt me down.

Luckily, I don't have to do that with my kid. I know exactly where he is. I just followed the rumbling sounds of the motion-sensitive mountain tunnel and the battery-powered locomotive until I found him sleeping in the crawl space under the stairs, still clutching his circus tent cut-outs. Pssh. Amateur.

Source: http://kids.woot.com/blog/post/animal-trackers-train-set

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BenQ W1070

In some ways, the DLP-based BenQ W1070 is simply a brighter, more expensive version of the BenQ EP5920 ($835 street, 3.5 stars). In particular, both are home entertainment projectors, as opposed to home theater projectors. The differences between the two are that the W1070 offers a slightly higher brightness rating, full 1080p 3D support, and much better video image quality.

Home theater projectors, like the 2D Editors' Choice Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8350, are meant for theater-dark lighting, where too bright an image can be uncomfortable to look at. Home entertainment projectors are meant for living rooms or family rooms, as a replacement for an HDTV or as a supplement to one for watching movies and sports. Given their intended location, they have to be much brighter than home theater projectors, so they can stand up to ambient light.

The rule of thumb for theater dark lighting, based on recommendations of The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), it to shoot for 16 foot-lamberts (fL) as the brightness for the screen. For the W1070's rated 2,000 lumens, using a 1.0 gain screen at 1080p's 16:9 aspect ratio, that would work out to screen size of more than 200 inches diagonally.

If you need to, you can lower the brightness level to make the projector more appropriate for a smaller screen size by switching to the lamp's eco mode, using one of the projector's lower brightness presets, or both. However, the argument for getting this bright a projector in the first place is that you can use it with the lights on. With moderate ambient light, the more appropriate screen brightness for 2,000 lumens would be in the range of 40 fL, for a screen size of about 130 inches.

Basics and Setup
Surprisingly small and light for a 1080p 3D projector, the W1070 measures 4.1 by 12.3 by 9.6 inches and weighs just 5.8 pounds. If you don't want to install it permanently, it's easy to store it away when you're not using it, move it from room to room, or even bring it with you to a friend's house.

The back panel offers two HDMI ports, making it easy to connect to two 1080p sources, plus S-video, a set of three RCA connectors for component video, and the usual VGA and composite video ports. Both HDMI ports are 1.4a, which means they support 3D as well 2D for connections to Blu-ray players, cable and FIOS boxes, and the like.

Setup is standard, with the 1.3x manual zoom giving you reasonably good flexibility in how far you can put the projector from the screen for a given size image. An even more welcome touch is the vertical lens shift adjustment that lets you move the image up or down by about 5 percent of the screen height from its center position.

That's not a lot compared with some other projectors. The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8350, for example, can move almost a full screen up or down from center position. However, it's unusual to have the feature at all at this price, and any lens shift helps make setup a little easier, giving you some flexibility in the vertical placement of the projector relative to the screen without having to worry about keystone distortion.

Brightness, Image Quality, and Rainbows
With its 2000 lumen rating, the W1070 is easily bright enough to throw a reasonably large image that's bright enough to stand up to a moderate level of ambient light. And note that I measured its color brightness at roughly 80 percent of its white brightness in both its brightest and best color modes. That high a percentage means there's very little difference between the perceived brightness with a color image versus a solid white screen. It also tends to go hand-in-hand with good color quality.

Along with a bright image, the W1070 delivers image quality that's just short of excellent. In my tests, the projector did swimmingly with most of the clips that we use to highlight problems. I saw a mild loss of shadow detail (details based on shading in dark areas) in one scene, but it was little enough that I wouldn't have noticed it if I didn't know what the scene should look like.

I also saw some annoyingly obvious noise in solid dark areas in night scenes, with the noise not improving at all when I set noise reduction at its maximum. In brighter scenes, however, which would include most video you're likely to look at, the noise was generally minimal, as is typical for home entertainment projectors in this price class.

Very much on the plus side, color quality was excellent, the projector handled skin tones well, and I didn't see any motion artifacts or posterization (colors changing suddenly where they should change gradually), even in clips that tend to bring out these problems.

One potential issue, as with any single-chip DLP projector, is rainbow artifacts, with light areas breaking up into little red-green-blue rainbows. I tend to see these artifacts easily. With the W1070, I saw them more often than with most projectors I've tested and in scenes that I've rarely, if ever, seen them in with other projectors. Depending on how easily you?or anyone you watch with?sees them, you may or may not consider this a problem.

3D and Other Issues

As I've already mentioned, the W1070 can plug directly into a Blu-ray player, cable box, or the equivalent to show 3D images. However, it doesn't ship with any glasses, so you'll have to buy them separately ($99.00 direct from BenQ). According to BenQ, the projector should work with any DLP-link glasses that support 144Hz. However, it won't work with older DLP-link glasses that support 120Hz only.

In any case, BenQ provided its own glasses for my tests, and I can confirm that the 3D works as promised. Image quality was generally good with suitable color quality, despite an occasional rainbow artifact. I didn't see any crosstalk, even in scenes that tend to cause the problem.

One other feature that helps define the W1070 as a home entertainment projector is that it includes a speaker. You simply can't cram a sound system suitable for a traditional home theater into a projector case, so projectors meant for home theaters generally don't include one.

The W1070's 10-watt speaker doesn't offer particularly high quality sound, which means you'll probably want to connect to an external sound system if you have one available. However, it does let you move the projector to another room to set it up temporarily, for a Super Bowl party, for example, and have sound without needing to move an external audio system also.

Anyone who sees rainbow artifacts easily, or worries that someone else may be bothered by them, is well advised to stay away from the BenQ W1070 and focus on LCD projectors, like the 2D Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8350 or the more expensive 3D Editors' Choice Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3020e instead. If the rainbow effect isn't an issue for you, however, the BenQ W1070 has a lot to recommend it, from its low price to its high quality image for both 2D and 3D. If you need a bright projector for a room with moderate ambient light, the BenQ W1070 is certainly worth considering, and can be a good fit.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/EhO3Myyi-WE/0,2817,2416874,00.asp

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Peach genome offers insights into breeding strategies for biofuels crops

Public release date: 24-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Gilbert
degilbert@lbl.gov
925-296-5643
DOE/Joint Genome Institute

Rapidly growing trees like poplars and willows are candidate "biofuel crops" from which it is expected that cellulosic ethanol and higher energy content fuels can be efficiently extracted. Domesticating these as crops requires a deep understanding of the physiology and genetics of trees, and scientists are turning to long-domesticated fruit trees for hints. The relationship between a peach and a poplar may not be obvious at first glance, but to botanists both trees are part of the rosid superfamily, which includes not only fruit crops like apples, strawberries, cherries, and almonds, but many other plants as well, including rose that gives the superfamily its name.

"The close relationship between peach and poplar trees is evident from their DNA sequence," said Jeremy Schmutz, head of the Plant Program at the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI).

In the March 24 edition of Nature Genetics, Schmutz and several colleagues were part of the International Peach Genome Initiative (IPGI) that published the 265-million base genome of the Lovell variety of Prunus persica.

"Using comparative genomics approaches, characterization of the peach sequence can be exploited not only for the improvement and sustainability of peach and other important tree species, but also to enhance our understanding of the basic biology of trees," the team wrote. They compared 141 peach gene families to those of six other fully sequenced diverse plant species to unravel unique metabolic pathways, for instance, those that lead to lignin biosynthesisthe molecular "glue" that holds the plant cells togetherand a key barrier to deconstructing biomass into fuels.

For bioenergy researchers, the size of the peach genome makes it ideal to serve as a plant model for studying genes found in related genomes, such as poplar, one of the DOE JGI's Plant Flagship Genomes (http://bit.ly/JGI-Plants), and develop methods for improving plant biomass yield for biofuels.

"One gene we're interested in is the so-called "evergreen" locus in peaches, which extends the growing season," said Daniel Rokhsar, DOE JGI Eukaryotic Program head under whose leadership sequencing of the peach genome began back in 2007. "In theory, it could be manipulated in poplar to increase the accumulation of biomass."

The publication comes three years after the International Peach Genome Consortium publicly released the draft assembly of the annotated peach genome on the DOE JGI Plant portal Phytozome.net and on other websites. The decision to sequence the peach genome was first announced during the 2007 Plant and Animal Genome XI Conference. Learn more about poplar and DOE JGI Plant Flagship Genomes at http://genome.jgi.doe.gov/programs/plants/flagship_genomes.jsf.

In the United States, the Initiative was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and led by researchers at the DOE JGI, The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Clemson University, North Carolina State University, and Washington State University. Additional support was contributed by U.S. Department of Agriculture and by the Energy Biosciences Institute, of the University of California, Berkeley, who supported senior author Therese Mitros. The Italian government also supported this international effort, including the work of first author Ignazio Verde of the Fruit Tree Research Centre/Agricultural Research Council in Rome, Italy. Contributions were also made from research institutes in Chile, Spain, and France.

###

The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, supported by the DOE Office of Science, is committed to advancing genomics in support of DOE missions related to clean energy generation and environmental characterization and cleanup. DOE JGI, headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., provides integrated high-throughput sequencing and computational analysis that enable systems-based scientific approaches to these challenges. Follow @doe_jgi on Twitter.

DOE's Office of Science is the largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 24-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Gilbert
degilbert@lbl.gov
925-296-5643
DOE/Joint Genome Institute

Rapidly growing trees like poplars and willows are candidate "biofuel crops" from which it is expected that cellulosic ethanol and higher energy content fuels can be efficiently extracted. Domesticating these as crops requires a deep understanding of the physiology and genetics of trees, and scientists are turning to long-domesticated fruit trees for hints. The relationship between a peach and a poplar may not be obvious at first glance, but to botanists both trees are part of the rosid superfamily, which includes not only fruit crops like apples, strawberries, cherries, and almonds, but many other plants as well, including rose that gives the superfamily its name.

"The close relationship between peach and poplar trees is evident from their DNA sequence," said Jeremy Schmutz, head of the Plant Program at the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI).

In the March 24 edition of Nature Genetics, Schmutz and several colleagues were part of the International Peach Genome Initiative (IPGI) that published the 265-million base genome of the Lovell variety of Prunus persica.

"Using comparative genomics approaches, characterization of the peach sequence can be exploited not only for the improvement and sustainability of peach and other important tree species, but also to enhance our understanding of the basic biology of trees," the team wrote. They compared 141 peach gene families to those of six other fully sequenced diverse plant species to unravel unique metabolic pathways, for instance, those that lead to lignin biosynthesisthe molecular "glue" that holds the plant cells togetherand a key barrier to deconstructing biomass into fuels.

For bioenergy researchers, the size of the peach genome makes it ideal to serve as a plant model for studying genes found in related genomes, such as poplar, one of the DOE JGI's Plant Flagship Genomes (http://bit.ly/JGI-Plants), and develop methods for improving plant biomass yield for biofuels.

"One gene we're interested in is the so-called "evergreen" locus in peaches, which extends the growing season," said Daniel Rokhsar, DOE JGI Eukaryotic Program head under whose leadership sequencing of the peach genome began back in 2007. "In theory, it could be manipulated in poplar to increase the accumulation of biomass."

The publication comes three years after the International Peach Genome Consortium publicly released the draft assembly of the annotated peach genome on the DOE JGI Plant portal Phytozome.net and on other websites. The decision to sequence the peach genome was first announced during the 2007 Plant and Animal Genome XI Conference. Learn more about poplar and DOE JGI Plant Flagship Genomes at http://genome.jgi.doe.gov/programs/plants/flagship_genomes.jsf.

In the United States, the Initiative was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and led by researchers at the DOE JGI, The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Clemson University, North Carolina State University, and Washington State University. Additional support was contributed by U.S. Department of Agriculture and by the Energy Biosciences Institute, of the University of California, Berkeley, who supported senior author Therese Mitros. The Italian government also supported this international effort, including the work of first author Ignazio Verde of the Fruit Tree Research Centre/Agricultural Research Council in Rome, Italy. Contributions were also made from research institutes in Chile, Spain, and France.

###

The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, supported by the DOE Office of Science, is committed to advancing genomics in support of DOE missions related to clean energy generation and environmental characterization and cleanup. DOE JGI, headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., provides integrated high-throughput sequencing and computational analysis that enable systems-based scientific approaches to these challenges. Follow @doe_jgi on Twitter.

DOE's Office of Science is the largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/dgi-pgo032013.php

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Tough laws, reduced ranks _ what next for unions?

From a sprawling United Auto Workers hall outside Detroit, John Zimmick has seen factories close and grown men cry when their jobs disappear. Through all the economic uncertainties of life in auto country, there has been one constant: the union.

In its nearly 80-year history, Zimmick's UAW Local 174 has been tested by bitter strikes, foreign competition and tenacious opponents. Now comes a new reason for anxiety.

On Thursday, Michigan's right-to-work law takes effect, a stunning shift in this symbolic capital of organized labor. The historic change is just the latest sign of turmoil in the union movement that has seen its nationwide membership shrink to its lowest levels since at least the 1930s ? a paltry 6.6 percent in the private sector.

With 14.4 million members, unions still can be a potent political force at the ballot box. But protests in recent years over the passage of right-to-work laws in Michigan and Indiana, clashes over collective bargaining in Wisconsin and Ohio and a sharp drop in union elections across the US have raised larger questions: Where do unions go from here? How they do mend their battered image? Can they recruit new members? And is organized labor even a movement any longer?

Zimmick looks for answers in a union hall steeped in history. It's filled with photos, meeting minutes and other memorabilia belonging to Local 174's first president, Walter Reuther ? even a phone used by the legendary leader who transformed the UAW into an economic and political powerhouse. Modern-day realities are far different: With layoffs and some 30 plants closing in the last five years, the local's ranks have dropped by more than a third, to about 5,000.

There could be even more losses with right-to-work, signed into law last December by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. Though employees won't have to make mandatory payments to unions that represent them in collective bargaining agreements, Zimmick isn't expecting the measure to have a major impact. "It's going to weaken us," he says, "but it's not going to kill us."

Still, Zimmick worries not just about his local ? but the fate of all unions.

"It weighs on me every single night before I go to bed," he says. "Unions don't have the leverage and power that we used to. It doesn't mean we won't regain it. The unions, in my opinion, will come roaring back. ... But the image is terrible right now. The media spins us as hurting business and the non-union workers ? there's animosity and jealousy toward us."

Unions still have influence in blue-state strongholds, but the days are long gone when labor leaders were household names and generous contracts were virtually assured. Even in friendly terrain, there are both die-hard supporters and workers who've abandoned the movement.

John Consentino paid his first union dues at 18, following his father on the Ford assembly line in Ohio; now 39 years later, he credits the UAW with lifelong security. When friends who don't belong to unions tell him they're doing OK, he says he warns them: "Wait until the hiccup, when things aren't going fine. You're going to wish you had a union."

Don McGough lost his job as a union steelworker. He found a new position and a decade later, he voted no when the machinists' union tried to organize workers at his company, JWF Industries, in Pennsylvania. "There are so many companies that just closed their doors because the union wouldn't budge," he says.

So, are unions to blame for their dwindling numbers? Yes and no, according to Gary Chaison, an industrial relations professor at Clark University in Massachusetts. He says unions haven't been nimble dealing with globalization and an increasingly mobile workforce.

"I think there still is a labor movement," he says, "but it's having a very difficult time finding its relevancy. It's not sure what to do or how best to serve its members. ... They're sort of wallowing around without direction. They still have a power in their presence. They don't have a power in their mission."

But unions, he says, have been buffeted by forces beyond their control: Improved productivity and technology have reduced the number of workers needed. Non-union employers have expanded in right-to-work-states. Companies have waged aggressive, successful campaigns to keep unions out. Plant closings make it almost impossible to replenish the number of union members lost.

Also, potential recruits are wary. "For most workers, joining a union is a risky deal and it has very little payback," Chaison says. "Most unions have not put their hearts and treasuries into organizing. It's so difficult and the payoff is minimal."

Zimmick knows firsthand. His local tried to organize workers at an auto supplier two years ago. The company, he says, responded by giving employees raises. "They said, 'Don't talk to those union guys. We're going to take care of you.'" The campaign didn't get to the vote stage.

The number of elections to certify unions has dropped dramatically. In fiscal year 2012, there were about 1,200 with more than 83,000 eligible voters, according to the National Labor Relations Board. In 1971, there were more than 7,500 with nearly 550,000 eligible voters.

The silver lining for union organizers: Approval rates have been near or above 60 percent since 2006. In contrast, they were just half in 1990. In the heyday of unions in 1950, though, three of four workers voting wanted to sign on.

Union membership declined to 11.3 percent of the workforce last year from 11.8 percent in 2011, according to federal statistics. Especially notable was a loss in the private sector, even as the economy created 1.8 million jobs.

"I chuckle every time I hear the words Big Labor? 6.6 percent is not big," says Jefferson Cowie, a Cornell University labor historian, referring to the share of private-sector workers in unions.

And yet, unions still have considerable muscle, capable of raising tens of millions of dollars for political campaigns ? largely for Democrats ? and getting out the vote. Last fall, the AFL-CIO announced it had registered more than 450,000 new voters from union households in the previous 18 months.

The union vote was considered critical to President Barack Obama's victory in states such as Ohio.

While unions representing U.S. manufacturing might ? auto and steel ? have become smaller, the emphasis in recruiting new members has shifted to the service sector.

The Service Employees International Union, which represents nurses and lower-wage service employees including janitors, security, hospital, home health and child care workers, has doubled in size since 1996, to 2.1 million workers. It says it has added 50,000 workers annually in the last decade.

The union recently organized about 3,000 security officers in Philadelphia commercial office buildings, hospitals and universities, winning a three-year contract that provides salary increases, health care for full-time workers and sick days.

Kevin Upshaw, a 46-year-old Army veteran and security officer at the University of Pennsylvania, says the contract will eventually boost his hourly wage from about $13 to about $15. Just an importantly, he says it'll also reduce medical expenses for his asthmatic wife, which have cost them about $11,000 over the past three years. "That's taking a big load off our shoulders," he says.

"The union gives us a lot more stability," Upshaw says. "It's making this job a career and it's taking us out of poverty."

Upshaw says he had some doubts at first about unions, but the more he heard, the more he liked. "Some people think they're only out to take our money," he says. "But like anything in life, you've got to pay for any service that's provided."

Gabe Morgan, president of the SEIU Pennsylvania State Council, says the yearlong campaign succeeded because it wasn't directed at a single company and workers had a common purpose.

"You have folks who live in the same neighborhoods, who may or may not know each other, doing the same job at different places," he says. "That kind of gives each other the strength to persevere. ... Ironically, it also made the employers more comfortable. It was easier for them to agree to something when they know their competitor was doing the same thing. No one was individually at risk."

Morgan also says the union label still is appealing in working-class communities where organized labor already has a foothold.

"If you're a low-wage worker living on the north side of Philadelphia or the West Side of Chicago, the only person who owns a house or has a lawn mower ... the only person making a decent living is someone with a union job," he says.

Though some unions have been forced to make concessions to save jobs in recent years, wages still can be very attractive.

Michael Bronson, who's starting an apprenticeship next month at Ironworkers Local 55 in northwest Ohio, expects to someday nearly triple the salary he's earned as an auto mechanic.

"For 10 years, I thought it was as good as it was going to get," says the 28-year-old Bronson. "I was just settling for whatever was offered. I was making $11 an hour and I had no health benefits. That was my future. ... You're expendable. They can pick up another guy at $8.50 and fire you."

Bronson began looking for a union job after noticing his in-laws ? including a pipefitter ? didn't share his financial pressures. "I knew they didn't live like I did, paycheck to paycheck, wondering what's going to happen next month," he says. "That's what persuaded me."

When he completes a four-year apprenticeship, Bronson expects an hourly wage of about $30. "Middle class to me is heaven," he says. "I've been $10,000 below poverty the last 10 years."

Six months ago, Bronson knew nothing about unions. Now he's a convert.

"It's kind of like a religion," he says. "Once you realize what a good union can do for you, you'll live it the rest of your life and you'll push it on everybody."

That attitude isn't universally shared. Approval of unions hovered around 60 percent through 2008, but it's now 52 percent, according to a 2012 Gallup poll. There's great political disparity: The favorability rate among Democrats is 74 percent; among Republicans, it's 31 percent.

Gallup also found slightly more than half those surveyed predict unions will become weaker, with only about one in five thinking they'll be stronger in the future.

Nowadays, fewer people have family roots in organized labor, and that colors the perception of unions. "The image goes back and forth between non-existent and the boogeyman," says Cowie, the Cornell historian.

The image in recent years has been shaped by skirmishes in the public arena, where union membership is nearly 36 percent. Massive protests in two industrial Midwest states in 2011 ended with opposite results.

In Ohio, voters overwhelmingly rejected a sweeping law that placed restrictions on public employee unions ? a huge victory for labor. But in Wisconsin, the GOP-controlled Legislature approved Gov. Scott Walker's proposal that effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers ? a move that sparked an unsuccessful gubernatorial recall.

The Wisconsin law may have long-term ramifications. The number of unionized public workers there fell by about 48,000 in 2012 ? about a quarter of the total, according to an analysis by Barry Hirsch, a labor economist at Georgia State University.

That suggests the incentive for being in one of those unions is now much weaker, Hirsch says, but it's too early to tell if that will be a trend.

Meanwhile, organized labor is fighting to extend its reach in the private sector, including in the South, generally hostile turf for unions.

The UAW has lost two bids to organize workers at the Nissan Motor Co. auto plant in Smyrna, Tenn. The union is now trying to get the Japanese automaker to allow it in the plant to make its case to workers in Canton, Miss.

Black ministers, college students, the NAACP and political leaders, with an assist from actor Danny Glover, have formed an alliance, staging press conferences, holding rallies and making TV appearances, casting the campaign as a civil rights battle.

Everlyn Cage, a Nissan worker, wants UAW representation. "A union," she says, "would help us have a voice at the plant. It would help us sit down and negotiate our safety."

Cage says Nissan has used "fear tactics," including roundtables with company officials suggesting the plant will close if workers unionize. Similar complaints have come from some Smyrna workers. Many colleagues, she says, tell her they'd support a union "but they don't want to come out publicly. They say, 'We have families and children and we need our jobs.'"

Nissan says accusations of intimidation are "simply false." It also notes the company didn't lay off any U.S. workers during the recession when demand dropped and workers shifted to non-production jobs without getting pay cuts.

Kimberly Ragsdale, a Nissan worker in Canton, says her job helped finance two of her kids' college educations ? something that would have been impossible in her previous $10-an-hour position driving a forklift.

She thinks unions are pointless. "Why," she asks, "would you pay somebody to talk for you when you have the freedom to voice your own opinion?"

Her message for union supporters: "If they're not satisfied with Nissan, they should leave and leave us alone. If it was that bad here, why have you been here all these years?"

It's no surprise the UAW faces an uphill battle in red-state Mississippi, where unions represent a small fraction of workers.

But last fall in Pennsylvania, workers at JWF Industries, a metal manufacturer for the defense, oil and gas industries in Johnstown, voted 194-38 against joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

Bill Polacek, company CEO and son of a union steelworker, appealed to his workers, saying he could point in every direction to unionized companies that were vacant or torn down. "If the union can promise you job security, why are all these companies not here anymore?" he says he told them. "A union can't promise you anything. All they can do is promise you union dues."

Still, he insists he's not anti-union.

"I think they have a purpose," he says. "There are companies that don't treat their employees right." But in his case, he adds:, "If the union had come in, it would have been a failure on my part. I wouldn't have been doing the right thing."

Don McGough, an 11-year veteran at JWF, rejected the machinists' bid. A former member of the steelworkers union, he lost his job at a machine shop when staff was cut after a 15-week strike.

That experience, he says, taught him a lesson about union leaders and negotiators. "They're worried about themselves," he says. "They're not worried about us. ... You're really putting your future in the hands of people you don't really know, compared to here. I know the owner really well and trust him."

In Michigan, Zimmick, the UAW man, says if unions don't like their leaders, they can vote them out. He says he knows his members and they aren't happy when he has to deliver painful messages about concessions or higher health care costs, but are pretty accepting.

Now the union faces new pressures with right-to-work, but he says it's a temporary setback. He expects the law will be a major issue in the state's 2014 elections ? and his side will rebound.

"Unions will come back," he says. "I don't know when, but they will. They're here for a reason."

___

Sharon Cohen is a Chicago-based national writer. She can be reached at scohen(at)ap.org

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tough-laws-reduced-ranks-next-152210631.html

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