Death of the compact disc as iPod boom forces CD maker to end production

CDs

A high-end manufacturer said their customers had fast realised the limitations of CD players in the age of home networking

One of Britain's most prestigious hi-fi firms has signalled what could be the beginning of the end for CDs.

Linn Products, which has the Royal Warrant, is to stop manufacturing CD players as demand plummets because more and more people are downloading music online instead.

Founder Ivor Tiefenbrun, who set up the firm to sell turntables in 1972, said customers 'recognised the limitations of CD players'.

He added: 'People want better control of music and the ability to enjoy it in any room of their home.

'People are not buying new CD players. The success of the iPod means people are used to downloading music.'

Instead, the company is focusing on digital music streamers - wireless devices to connect your home computer and hi-fi system.

This allows music fans to play any tracks downloaded on the computer or MP3 throughout the home.

A Linn spokesman, which is based near Glasgow, said that these digital players outsold CD players this year for the first time.

But he added that although this spelled doom for home CD players, CDs themselves were still useful as a way of recording and storing music.

Tom Dunmore, of the gadget magazine Stuff, said other hi-fi firms would follow Linn's lead, adding: 'I think we will see a lot of other people following suit.'

It is almost 30 years since CDs began to be sold commercially, replacing vinyl records and cassette tapes as the music format of choice by the late Eighties.

The British Phonographic Industry trade body says 2009 is set to be a record year for single sales.

More than 117million tracks had been bought by the end of October, before the Christmas run has even begun. Of these 99 per cent were legal digital downloads.

For albums, CD sales are still the preferred option but experts say their market share is slumping.

In 2008, there were 137million album sales, made up of 123million CDs, 10.3million digital downloads, while vinyl records, cassettes and other formats accounted for around 300,000.

Just two years ago, there were 154million album sales, of which CDs accounted for 151million, and digital for 2.7million.

But in a final twist vinyl looks set to outlive the young pretender to its throne.

Top DJs prefer records, because of the flexibility of the format for mixing, while audiophiles enjoy its 'warm' higher quality of sound compression.

Demand is such that Scottish-based Linn, whose top systems cost more than £100,000 pounds, is continuing to make turntables. The CD is not the first technology to be made obsolete in the digital age.

Its little brother the DVD pushed stalwart VHS cassettes out of the living room and consigned bulky players to the dustbin.

And sales across the board have suffered as digital downloading has taken hold, with millions downloading movies and music for free, while paid for downloads are booming.

Adam Liversage, spokesman of the British Phonographic Industry, said the move could be significant.

He said: 'This is a very interesting development. Typically it is the high end audio manufacturers that do drive things forward in audio.

'There will always be early adopters who look to take up the latest technologies in the music scene.

'For example the introduction of multi-channel superaudio CDs at the millenium offered a higher level of quality, and they are popular with the higher end users. The fact they are playable on the Playstation 3 has made them more accessible.'

ref: mail online

Water load of rubbish! Drinking eight glasses a day does NOT make your skin glow, say nutrition experts

There's little evidence that drinking water improves your skin, says British Nutrition Foundation

Unfounded: A girl tops up her glass of water. Experts now says there's little evidence that water improves your skin

For years, women have been glugging down eight glasses of water a day in pursuit of a glowing complexion (or feeling guilty if they didn't).

Now experts say that a balanced diet and lots of sunscreen are far more important in keeping wrinkles at bay.

The finding will come as a relief to those who have found the drinking regime something of an ordeal.

The widely-held belief that we need eight cups of water a day to keep the skin and body healthy was investigated by the British Nutrition Foundation.

Its 'Food for the Skin' review concluded there is no firm evidence to back up the theory.

Or, as the BNF put it: 'There currently appears to be very little scientific evidence relating to the effects of water consumption on skin hydration, and whether drinking more or less water actually has any impact on skin appearance.'

Researcher Heather Yuregir said: 'Drinking water for the sake of drinking water really has no effect on improving the appearance of skin.'

But diet and sun exposure really do affect complexion, she said.

Vitamins A, B, C and E, contained in a range of fruit and vegetables, help keep the skin elastic, protect it from age-related damage and help with the growth of new skin.

Not eating enough of them can cause problems such as scurvy and dry, scaly skin.

It is also clear that sun-worshipping ages the skin, causing mottling, a leathery texture and deep wrinkles.

Mrs Yuregir, a nutrition scientist, said: 'The common belief that drinking plenty of water is required for healthy skin appearance is actually not backed up by scientific evidence.

'Fruit and veg can keep your skin functioning as it should and keep it looking healthy.

'And sun cream is recommended to prevent the signs of ageing because the majority of signs of ageing that appear on the skin are caused by sun damage.'

The BNF review follows research published last year which concluded that drinking water does not help slimmers lose weight.

The weight and waist size of more than 1,000 young women was compared with the amount of water they consumed each day - both from drinks and food.

The Japanese study found no link between water in drinks, including water itself, tea, coffee, soft drinks and fruit juices, and body shape.

But foods rich in water, such as fruit, vegetables, soups and casseroles, appeared to help in the battle of the bulge.

This may be because water-rich foods are also high in fibre, making people feel full faster and stopping them from over-eating.

Source: mail online

Airlines still offer fliers fine wine as a high-class amenity



Dan Berger, at the Dutton-Goldfield Winery in Sebastopol, Calif., tastes wines that are offered to airline passengers flying first class.


Most airlines have eliminated meals, free pillows and magazines. They've reduced snacks to a miniature bag of pretzels.

But there's one frill many refuse to skimp on in their cost-cutting drive to be profitable: wine.

LIST: What wine, champagne and port airlines offer
CHART: Expert Dan Berger rates airlines' wines
HOLIDAY TRAVEL: Fewer flights, more fees await fliers

The world's airlines annually buy about 4.3 million gallons of wine, and some spend at least $15 million on wine each year, the airlines and wine experts estimate. Some airlines pour wine that retails for $50 to $220 a bottle. And some employ consultants or sommeliers and require flight attendants to take courses to improve their wine knowledge.

"Service cutbacks and the recession have not affected airlines' wine-buying policies," says Lori Lynne Brundick, president of Intervine, an airline wine supplier in Napa, Calif. "They're buying quality wines and increasing the diversity of their wine lists."

Why hold onto an apparent extravagance in an age of low-cost, no-amenity flying? The airlines say the wines they serve uphold their reputations and instill brand loyalty in their highest-paying customers: first- and business-class passengers.

Premium passengers are served the better-quality wines for free. Coach passengers, however, usually receive lesser-quality wine and pay five or six times what the airline paid for it.

USA TODAY gathered the wine lists of 33 airlines with U.S. flights and asked wine expert Dan Berger to evaluate them. Berger is a syndicated wine columnist who judges wine competitions and has a website, www.vintageexperiences.com.

"I'm impressed with what many airlines are offering," says Berger, who evaluated all wines, champagnes and ports for October-through-December flights. "Their wine lists show creativity and forethought."

Berger says he's "astounded" by the wine lists of Qantas and Air New Zealand on flights to and from the USA. He ranks Qantas No. 1 and Air New Zealand No. 2 of the 33 airlines' wine lists.

"I can't even begin to tell you how exciting it would be to get some of this stuff off the wine cart in coach on a Qantas flight," he says.

Top-quality wines – provided free to coach passengers on Qantas – include 2008 Brokenwood Cricket Pitch Cabernet Merlot Shiraz and 2008 St Hallett Poacher's Blend Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Berger says.

Qantas' wine lists for premium-class passengers narrowly gave it the nod over Air New Zealand for first place.

Among choices in premium class, Qantas offers "an outstanding wine that consumers never see" – 2005 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay – and "an underrated, gorgeous wine," 2004 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz.

Berger calls Air New Zealand's list "the best I've ever seen in coach." Wines on the list include two "phenomenal" selections: 2008 Lake Chalice Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and 2008 Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

Berger says he "lost it" when he saw that Japan Air Lines' list for first-class passengers included 1997 Champagne Salon. Only 60,000 bottles of the French champagne were made.

"How can they afford that?" he asks. "The lowest retail price you'll find is $220 a bottle."

Impressive wine lists

Of U.S. airlines, Berger ranks American No. 1 and United No. 2. They score high because of their wine lists for premium-class passengers.

Most U.S. airlines sell "below-average" wines to coach passengers on domestic flights, but those served by American (AMR) and JetBlue are above average, he says. JetBlue (JBLU) offers only two wines – 2007 Hope Estate Verdelho and Shiraz – but gets high scores for quality wine that fliers are "unlikely to find in the air," Berger says.

Impressive wine lists are meaningless, he says, if an airline buys a limited amount of a wine or rarely has it on a flight. An airline may have 20 or 30 wines on its systemwide wine list but on a single flight offer only four or five to premium-class passengers.

Berger says it's a shame that coach passengers cannot drink many of the fine wines served to premium-class fliers. Next month, Japanese airline All Nippon Airways will begin selling coach passengers wines served in business class on international flights.

"We see many customers doing wine-tastings on board as a way to pass the time, "says Jennifer Janzen, a spokeswoman for the German airline Lufthansa,

Lufthansa employs master of wine Markus Del Monego to make its selections. Serving excellent wines "is extremely important to Lufthansa – something we've built our reputation on," Janzen says.

Frequent flier Eric Thompson, who's been on about 100 flights this year, says the quality of wine offered to premium-class passengers by foreign airlines is "generally a notch above" those served by U.S. airlines.

Wine and spirits have long been important to airlines, which have offered alcoholic beverages to fliers since the 1930s, according to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

But the quality hasn't always been good.

"About 25 years ago, it was fair to say that airlines in general were seen by suppliers as a dumping ground for excess stocks and poor vintages," says Andrew Sparrow, a former British Airways wine buyer.

Today, Sparrow says, "Most full-service airlines take their wine selection very seriously and have a well-thought-out selection process that often involves outside consultants."

Jancis Robinson has been British Airways' wine consultant since 1995. She says she's wary of selecting "particularly subtle or tannic wines," because passengers' palates "dry up a bit in the air," and wines are served a little cooler in-flight than on the ground.

Flying is stressful and affects "sensory perception," which makes wine seem bitter in-flight, says master of wine Tim Hanni, who consulted for Finnair in the 1990s.

Robinson says, "Airlines tend to fall into two groups: those that really care about the quality of wine they offer and go to great lengths to maximize it, and those that just shrug their shoulders and offer something liquid and alcoholic."

Singapore Airlines is in the former group. It spends more than $16 million a year on wine, gives its flight attendants sommelier training and maintains a wine cellar in Singapore, says spokesman James Boyd.

The airline also has a pressurized chamber that can replicate the pressurization, temperature and humidity inside an aircraft flying at cruising altitude.

Bigger wineglasses

In March, American Airlines hired Ken Chase, a classically trained winemaker and viticulturist, to select wines for passengers.

American says it has since introduced on many long flights larger, tulip-shaped glasses that allow premium-class passengers "to more easily swirl the wine and enjoy its aromas."

Rival United Airlines' (UAUA) wine consultant is Doug Frost, one of only three people in the world with the titles master sommelier and master of wine, says United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski.

The airline plans to serve more than 1.1 million bottles of wine and champagne in its premium-class cabins next year.

Wine poses logistical problems for airlines.

"They often don't have a clear picture of what they'll be seeing in passenger traffic six months out," says Rick Lundstrom, editor-in-chief of PAX International, a trade magazine that covers travel catering. "They don't want to be sitting on inventory, particularly if it's a particular vintage."

Passengers originating in some cities drink more wine than others. For example, there are more wine drinkers in San Francisco than in Dallas, say wine expert Berger.

With such difficult logistics, passengers should appreciate the incredible wines that some airlines serve, Berger says.

He's ecstatic when he spots 2001 Château Lynch-Bages on the first-class wine list for Cathay Pacific's flights to and from the USA. "A Bordeaux like this is like finding gold," he says.

AIRLINE WINE RATINGS | Story
Wine expert Dan Berger used a 5-point scale to rate 33 airlines' wine lists in coach and premium classes on flights in this year's fourth quarter.
Scoring the lists 1 = excellent; 2 = very good; 3 = average; 4 = below average; 5 = poor; NA = not applicable
U.S. airlines
Coach, domestic flights
Premium, domestic flights
Coach, intl. flights
Premium, intl. flights

Foreign airlines
Coach, U.S. flights
Premium, U.S. flights
AirTran
5
5
5
5

Air France
3
1.5
Alaska
4
3
4
3

Air New Zealand
1
1
Allegiant
4
NA
NA
NA

All Nippon
2
2
American
2.5
2
2.5
1.5

British Airways
2
1
Continental
4
3
3
2.5

Cathay Pacific
3
2
Delta/ Northwest
4
3
3
1.5

El Al
3
3
Frontier
4
NA
4
NA

Finnair
2.5
2
Hawaiian
4
3.5
4
3

Japan
3
1
Horizon
3
NA
3
NA

Iberia
2.5
2.5
JetBlue
2.5
NA
2.5
NA

KLM
3
2
Midwest
3
NA
NA
NA

Lufthansa
2.5
1.5
Southwest
5
NA
NA
NA

OpenSkies
NA
2
Spirit
4
NA
4
NA

Qantas
1
1
United
3.5
2.5
3.5
1.5

Singapore
2.5
1.5
US Airways
4
4
4
3

Virgin Atlantic
3
2
Virgin America
4
4
NA
NA

WestJet
3
3
Source: Wine expert Dan Berger

The unromantic truth about why we kiss - to spread germs

It is an international symbol of love and romance. But the kiss may have evolved for reasons that are far more practical - and less alluring.

British scientists believe it developed to spread germs.

They say that the uniquely human habit allows a bug that is dangerous in pregnancy to be passed from man to woman to give her time to build up immunity.


Pucker up: Kissing the same person for about six months provides optimum protection from potentially deadly germs, says Dr Colin Hendrie

Cytomegalovirus, which lurks in saliva, normally causes no problems. But it can be extremely dangerous if caught while pregnant and can kill unborn babies or cause birth defects.

These can include problems ranging from deafness to cerebral palsy.


Writing in the journal Medical Hypotheses, researcher Dr Colin Hendrie from the University of Leeds said: 'Female inoculation with a specific male's cytomegalovirus is most efficiently achieved through mouth-to-mouth contact and saliva exchange, particularly where the flow of saliva is from the male to the typically shorter female.'

Kissing the same person for about six months provides optimum protection, he added.

During a relatively chaste first kiss, just a small amount of virus is passed to the woman, cutting her odds of becoming ill.


Don't fancy yours much: The cytomegalovirus up close

As the relationships progresses and the kisses become more passionate, her immunity builds up.

By the time she becomes pregnant, the odds of her unborn baby becoming infected are much lower.

Previously scientists have claimed that kissing acts as a form of evolutionary quality control, with saliva holding clues to fertility, health and genes.

But the psychologists from Leeds and the University of Central Lancashire said these things can be judged without getting quite so intimate.

Dr Hendrie said: 'Information concerning body tone, smell, reproductive condition, disease state and, of course, personal physical and oral hygiene can all be gained solely from close physical proximity.'

'The small amount of additional information from kissing is an unlikely pressure for its development.'

Ref: mail online

Building an Online Bulwark to Fend Off Identity Fraud

A clotheshorse racked up thousands of dollars in mystery charges on a friend’s credit card. Phantoms emptied your uncle’s bank account. Someone took out a car loan in your colleague’s name and stuck her with the bill.

Identity fraud has been on the rise, as criminal cunning may be mixing with desperation during the downturn. Schemes seem to multiply daily, as scammers often half a world away dream up new ways to steal data to enrich themselves. According to Javelin Strategy and Research, 9.9 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2008, up from 8.1 million in 2007.

With all kinds of private information residing in all kinds of places, vigilance can be difficult. Using caution when surfing the Internet and keeping antivirus software up to date are vital steps, experts say, but they are not enough. And most tools for fighting identity fraud — credit-monitoring services, fraud alerts and credit freezes — are reactive, not proactive, and they primarily address abuse of financial accounts, not other types of identity fraud.

But a new breed of products is tackling the trickier matter of preventing identity theft. New approaches include scouring the Internet in search of signs that criminals have your information, so you can move to block them. Others focus on keeping your data away from criminals in the first place, locking it down while you bank, shop or do other personal tasks online. Here are some ways to keep your information yours.

ASSESSING RISK The Internet is awash in personal data, which means yours may never be found. Several services look for signs of sticky fingers, to know when data reaches the hands of criminals so people can act quickly.

With the help of partners like the United States Postal Service, Discover Card and companies that perform background checks, LifeLock monitors change-of-address filings and applications for credit cards and jobs made in the names of its customers, so it can alert them. TrustedID, a LifeLock competitor, recently introduced a service that analyzes both public and proprietary data to assess a person’s risk of identity theft — for example, the risk would increase if a person’s Social Security number was found to be associated with a different address — and recommends actions to lower your risk score.

LifeLock and CardCops, among others, scour the Internet and hacker chat rooms and warn customers if their data is spotted. LifeLock, for one, also tries to infiltrate hacker communities.

Perhaps the most interesting new arrival in this space is StolenIDsearch.com, a site operated by TrustedID, which uses a database created by Colin Holder, a 30-year veteran of Scotland Yard, that contains stolen records gathered from longtime, trusted informants.

The database holds about 138 million records tied to an estimated 54 million people, about 98 percent of whom live in the United States, and searching it is free. “It shows you who the bad guys are looking for: the rich Americans,” said Scott Mitic, TrustedID’s chief.

If any personal information — e-mail address and password, credit card number, Social Security number, bank account login details — is there, the site will describe, generically, what it has. It costs $15 to see the records, which Mr. Holder says covers administrative costs and helps ensure that only people entitled to the information receive it. (He also provides the data to banks and law enforcement agencies.)

SIDESTEPPING MALWARE Other products focus on outmaneuvering malicious programs that infiltrate PCs. Such malware has mushroomed recently, and antivirus companies have struggled to catch every new attack. SafeCentral ($40 for up to three computers; Windows only), a product from the security software company Authentium, protects users even if there’s malware on the computer. It includes a stripped-down and secure browser to use when banking, trading stocks, viewing health information or shopping online.

When a user visits such a site, SafeCentral asks if the user wants to proceed securely. If the answer is yes, a background resembling armor plating appears. In this safe room of sorts, certain Windows features regularly abused by attackers have been disabled.

Computer programming interfaces known as A.P.I.’s, which game makers can use to turn keyboards into controllers, for example, are turned off because “keylogger” programs use them to capture information. SafeCentral also turns screenshots of Web pages blank to defeat these programs. Also off are A.P.I.’s that programmers use for browser plug-ins. This stops malicious plug-ins that monitor encrypted Web sessions — the ones where the URL changes from “http” to “https” — in case credit card numbers are transmitted.

And because so-called phishing scams use fake Web sites to collect username and password information, SafeCentral takes an extra step to verify the authenticity of the sites it visits.

GIVE OUT NOTHING Another alternative is to avoid sharing information online in the first place. Kemesa, a software company, has created a shopping-safety product called Shop Shield that starts with a familiar browser-based tool for managing passwords and auto-filling Web forms — which helps defend against keyloggers (which can record every keystroke made on a keyboard). In addition, Shop Shield users can give online merchants anonymous personal data, like single-use credit card numbers and specialized e-mail addresses.

Of course, you have to trust Kemesa with your personal information. “They become a target. They’re very tempting now,” Mr. Vamosi of Javelin said.

Kemesa says it has created a “digital fortress.” To start, the product (which uses an add-on for the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers and a Web site), puts an encrypted token on the computer, which makes it extremely difficult for a remote attacker to gain access to personal records. This also means the user must authorize each computer to run the program.

At Kemesa, customer information is not just encrypted, it’s broken up into tiny pieces that are then stored in different databases on different networks, making reassembly by an attacker grueling. It also monitors for intrusions, regularly tests its defenses, keeps its physical location in lockdown and otherwise sticks to Defense Department security standards.

Shop Shield offers three pricing plans: a scaled-back service that’s free if payments to merchants are tied to a checking account; one that charges $2 each time you use a credit card and small fees for other features; and an unlimited, full-service plan for $10 a month or $99 a year. Kemesa also profits from interchange fees that credit card companies collect on purchases.

Shop Shield is “a phenomenal concept,” said Jay Foley, co-founder of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. He brought up the case of theft involving a DSW Shoe Warehouse database in 2005, in which hackers obtained 1.4 million credit card numbers and the names on those accounts. “Imagine if with DSW, all the data that they had was from Shop Shield: one-time-use credit card numbers, no home addresses, no phone numbers.”

The chief executive of Kemesa, Steve Bachenheimer, would agree. “Thieves can’t steal what isn’t there,” he said.

Source: nytimes.com

Talk to the Hand

You know it as BlackBerry Thumb - that dull pain in your wrists that results from your dependence on handheld tech.

You know it as BlackBerry Thumb - that dull pain in your wrists that results from your dependence on handheld tech. But in its more advanced stages, De Quervain's tendonitis can lead to swelling, tenderness, and even difficulty grasping a mug. To avoid a full-blown injury, try this:

1. Connect your laptop to a docking system so you can use an ergonomically correct mouse.

2. Stretch and flex your fingers and thumbs for a couple of minutes, three times a day.

3. For every 50 minutes spent e-mailing or scanning blogs, stop for 10. Ditto for Guitar Hero.

Find this article at: realbeauty.com

Eat Your Way to Better Sex

Studies show that certain vitamins and minerals can boost hormone levels, increase nerve sensitivity, and make sex sizzle in all sorts of subtle yet noticeable ways. The next time you're wondering why you're feeling so amorous over dinner, see if one of these foods may be to blame...and maybe you'll want to give it a permanent spot on your grocery list. Bon appétit!
Strawberries

Sure, these plump, cute little berries are pretty sexy-looking already. But on top of that, they contain antioxidants and improve circulation, which up your chances of having a hot- blooded encounter.



Eggs

Hard-boiled, scrambled, sunny-side up, down, or sideways, eggs are full of vitamin B6, which help your body balance hormone levels and cope with stress. Is your psycho boss or mother-in-law cramping your lovemaking mojo? Order an omelet to set things right, or try other foods that are rich in B6 (spinach, carrots, peas, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, or fish).




Steak

Carnivores rejoice! Beef and dark-meat poultry can help curb the body's production of prolactin, a hormone that at high levels can dampen your doing-it drive. Don't worry, veggie lovers, you can get the same passion-pumping perks from brown rice, whole-grain bread, leafy green vegetables, and crumbly cheeses like Cheshire or Lancashire.



Garlic

Granted, your breath is a veritable weapon of mass destruction for hours afterward, but get past that minor downside, and this pungent seasoning will spice up your sex life by dilating blood vessels and improving circulation throughout your nether regions.

Chocolate

There's a reason this cocoa confection is the drug of choice for the majority of womankind. It contains a compound called methylxanthine, which triggers the release of dopamine in the body. This, in turn, can leave you woozy with pleasure and make you melt in his arms.



Oranges

Foods high in vitamin C don't just fight colds, they also may prompt a tumble or two. That's because vitamin C ups your body's levels of oxytocin, a hormone that encourages you to bond in the most straightforward way we humans know — by cuddling.


Oatmeal

This breakfast cereal might not look sexy, but studies show that oats increase testosterone levels in your blood (morning sex, anyone?).


Ginger

Whether you take it in tea or on top of your sushi, this Eastern relish revs your metabolism, which can get your whole body humming with renewed sexual energy.



Walnuts

This snack is chock-full of fatty acids, which are a major component in sex hormones. So go ahead and toss some on your salad or in your brownie mix to get your sexy back by tonight.



Honey

Take sugar in your tea? Switch to this gooey alternative. It contains boron, a mineral that can increase your body's levels of the libido-boosting hormone testosterone.

ref: realbeauty.com

Meditation can cut the risk of heart attacks by up to 47%, a new study shows

A relaxation technique beloved by 1960s hippies can have a beneficial effect on heart disease and stress, a study has shown.

Transcendental meditation techniques that were all the rage during the Summer of Love can halve the rate of heart attacks and strokes in patients with cardiovascular disease.

Meditation

A new study shows that meditating can reduce the risk of having a heart attack

The relaxation therapy - whose advocates include former Beatles as well as film directors Clint Eastwood and David Lynch - also dramatically cut premature deaths in a nine-year study.

The study involved 201 African-American men and women with an average age of 59 who suffered from narrowing of arteries in their hearts.

They were randomly assigned to either practise transcendental meditation or take health education classes providing dietary and exercise advice.

Those in the first group were asked to spend at least 20 minutes twice a day meditating while sitting with their eyes closed.

Heart attacks, strokes,and deaths fell by 47 per cent in the meditation group.

Dr Robert Schneider, of the Maharishi University of Management in Iowa, said: 'This is the first controlled clinical trial to show that long-term practice of this particular stress reduction programme reduces the incidence of clinical cardiovascular events, that is heart attacks, strokes and mortality.'

ref: dailymail.co.uk

UK's first WiFi town: Swindon to offer free wireless internet access to all

Until now it has been a town probably best known for its innovative approach to roundabouts.

But Swindon has unveiled plans which could make it a technological front runner by giving wireless internet access to every single one of its residents - for free.

The £1million project to build a 'WiFi Mesh' aims to provide blanket wi-fi coverage using a network of 'internet access points' at 1,400 locations.

magic roundabout

Swindon, known for its 'magic' roundabout, may soon be viewed as an internet pioneer

Enlarge graphic about wifi

The Wiltshire town's 186,000 residents are currently responsible for more internet broadband usage per capita than anywhere else in the UK.

Providing the service for free will be funded by a mixture of public and private money, with a view to eventually making a profit when residents go on to subscribe to faster, paid-for access.

Most of the 1,400 access points, which are the size of burglar alarms and weigh 2kg (4.4lbs) will be fitted to the top of lamp posts around Swindon borough.

They will be similar to internet routers used in homes 'but with a much higher performance' and multi-linked to each other so that if one breaks down or stops working, the connection is not broken.

Line rental will be free and there is no connection charge for the service which could also provide households with information on home electricity usage and air quality monitoring.

The mesh has the potential to provide free internet phone-calls which could lead to savings for health care professionals.

There will also be pay-as-you-go options so visitors to the town can also use the network.

The WiFi project will be run by Digital City UK Ltd, of which Swindon Borough Council has a 35 per cent share. It will work on similar roll-outs of the technology in other towns and cities across the UK.

Chief Executive of Digital City UK, Rikki Hunt said they had no health concerns about the wireless technology.

'The radio masts are fastened to the top of lampposts,' he told the Mail Online.

'These 'speak' to each other creating a sort of mesh or dome. When a resident taps into this dome they are exposed to less radiation than when they press a mobile to their ear.'

Four years in the planning, the scheme was yesterday described by Swindon Borough Council leader Rod Bluh as 'groundbreaking'.

He said: 'A lot of work has been going on to bring this plan to fruition. It's important because both residents and businesses can benefit.

'Swindon is the first town in the country to be delivering this and we are also the highest town in the country for broadband usage.

'This is the icing on the cake and really brings us to another level. We are immensely proud of what we are able to achieve.

'This is the future of England we are talking about and we are getting in on the front foot.'


Other interesting facts about Swindon...

1. Liam Gallagher named his band Oasis after the leisure centre in Swindon

2. Diana Dors and Billie Piper were born here

3. When character Dave Lister was asked what death was like in the TV series Red Dwarf he replied: 'Have you ever been to Swindon?'

4. Swindon station had the first railway refreshment rooms in 1842

5. The Magic Roundabout consists of five mini-roundabouts in a circle. It is one of the most feared junctions in Britain according to several surveys

Installation will begin in the Highworth area early next month and it is hoped the whole town will benefit from wi-fi by the end of April next year.

Swindon residents today welcomed the planned introduction of free wi-fi to the town.

Amy Morris, 24, who works as a purchaser for a high street store, said: 'I use the internet every day and always check my e-mails.

'It's great we are taking the lead. We will have to wait and see how fast it is, but even if it is slow you can't complain because it's free.'

Graham Philips, 53, said: 'It's obviously a pretty good deal for everybody.

'There's a lot of computer use in Swindon - even my father has one so it will certainly be good for him.'

ref: dailymail.co.uk

Travel travails? Social media are your friend


Though still the exception, more travelers are finding that social media outlets can be effective ways to get companies' attention — and responses.

When a visa snafu marooned honeymooners Bethany Thomas and Dmitri Zagidulin in Frankfurt en route to St. Petersburg last week, their journey had all the makings of a disaster: a tepid response from their travel agency, Expedia, a closed consulate and luggage that had gone on to Russia without them.

Alerted by a blog post from Thomas (a fantasy writer in Peaks Island, Maine, who goes by the name Catherynne M. Valente), the author's supporters launched a volley of calls and online missives to Expedia. And less than 24 hours after the duo's drama began, they were headed to Russia with a promised refund of their $2,000 trip, reimbursement for last-minute visas and other expenses in Frankfurt, plus a $3,000 credit for future travel — thanks to the power of Twitter and Facebook.

Their happy ending is "a huge triumph for social networking," says Thomas, who met her Ukraine-born computer programmer husband online in 2003. "Without it, we'd still be stranded in Frankfurt."

Expedia spokesman Adam Anderson says the agency should have directed the couple to the U.S. State Department's site instead of reassuring them that they didn't need visas. Adds Expedia customer service senior director Thomas Seibert, "Social media played an important role in alerting us to our error."

The horror honeymoon-turned-fairy tale is another example of how travelers are using social media to help solve problems. Writes IndependentTraveler.com's Ed Hewitt: "Calling the 800 number and sitting on hold for 45 minutes waiting for your complaint to be heard isn't your only option anymore."

This summer, months after baggage handlers at United Airlines broke Dave Carroll's guitar and United refused to pay for the $1,200 repair, the Canadian singer fought back with a music video titled United Breaks Guitars that has been viewed about 6 million times on YouTube. United now uses the incident in training baggage handlers and customer-service representatives — and made more news by losing Carroll's luggage on a recent flight from Saskatchewan to Denver.

Also on the airline front, six JetBlue staffers monitor missives from the company's 1.4 million Twitter followers. In one incident, a JetBlue passenger tweeted about not being able to get a seat assignment next to his child; the airline responded while the passenger was still in the boarding area.

Southwest, which has about 853,000 Twitter followers, is adding about 3,000 new followers a month. Notes spokeswoman Christi Day: "Twitter is a great place to have your voice heard, but not the best place for solving complex issues. If someone reaches out to us with a customer service issue on Twitter, we usually take the conversation to a channel where we can really get the full story (such as an email or phone call)."

And, in some cases, travelers are getting a dose of their own medicine. Last month, an Annapolis, Md. woman blogged and tweeted about being separated from her child while undergoing a search at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint in Atlanta. Early the following morning, the TSA tweeted the news that it had posted a video of the incident on its own blog that, the TSA said, "clearly shows (the) individual was never separated from her baby."

For now, says Susan Black of travel consulting firm The Black & Wright Group, all tweets and Facebook status updates are not created equal: "Size really does matter, and someone with a few followers on Twitter won't bubble up to the top. For every botched honeymoon that gets resolved, there are thousands of tweeted or posted complaints that are ignored."

But, she adds, "the tide is changing" — not only because social-media participation continues to grow, but because search engines Google and Bing now index tweets and status updates on the first page of their search results.

If a travel company "ignores something and it goes viral," Black says, "they're doomed."

Some strategies for making your voice heard through social media:

•Build your base. Once you've joined Twitter and Facebook, "friend" and follow everyone in your address book who also belong to these sites, "and then start talking," suggests consumer columnist Christopher Elliott of Elliott.org. "Remember, it's a numbers game. A travel company is likelier to pay attention to someone with 10,000 followers than a lone wolf with just a handful of contacts." Looking for like-minded travel twitterers? Try Wanderlisting.com, which sorts accounts into such categories as airlines, deals and families.

•Reachout to travel companies that are active in social media and actively respond to customer problems. "This is a very new area," says travel consultant Susan Black, with most suppliers still geared to promoting deals rather than addressing real-time concerns. Among the exceptions, says Black: JetBlue, Southwest, and Virgin America airlines, and smaller hotels.

•Pick your battles, but don't give up. While many issues can be resolved by phone or e-mail, the immediacy of social media can be a major plus. And, writes Ed Hewitt of IndependentTraveler.com, while "it still helps if you have a fair number of readers on your blog, Twitter feed or YouTube channel, with an increasing number of service providers monitoring these outlets in real time, you can get heard not only by the right person, but in time for them to do something about it."

Follow reporter Laura Bly at twitter.com/laurably and twitter.com/usatodaytravel.

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Root Beer

No soft drink incites the passions the way root beer does. People dissect them and analyze them. They debate the merits. In a recent tasting, the panel found that the best root beers, which can be made with all sorts of ingredients, in varying proportions, were the ones whose flavors integrated seamlessly — and those in which sweetness didn't dominate.



REF: nytimes.com

How To Find The Girl Or Guy Of Your Dreams On The Internet

If you’re the typical “wallflower” who is to shy to approach other people directly or is a “late bloomer”, chances are your social skills haven’t yet fully developed. You may either try your hand at meeting new people by going to bars and parties but if you’re not ready for such a bold move or is still quite clueless on what you’re going to do while you’re “out there” then you may want to join the growing pool of online dating singles.

Online dating is actually quite easy and very convenient. You need not have a common friend to introduce you to other people anymore nor do you need to spend so much on dates with people that you’ve been set up with even though you have nothing in common with them. Honestly, it is really very easy to search for love dating online. There are many available adult dating services, free online dating services and other various types of online dating services. All you really need to look for is the kind of online dating service that appeals to your personality and to what you are really looking for in a potential mate. Online dating services and adult dating services of course should not be confused with those who are offering free sex sites.

Aside from the convenience that can be brought about by these online dating services, the chances that you will be able to find someone that you might really like is also very high. These online dating sites actually have a very large database wherein you will mostly be able to meet so many potential mates.

All you really have to do is just sign up on one of these online dating sites and start filling out your profile. Filling out your profile is quite easy, just think of it as an autograph book like the ones you had when you were a kid. All you really have to do is fill out some simple details about you and your life, like your name, age, occupation, relationship status, birthday etc. Although there are some other there are some other added, fun details wherein you can talk about your hobbies (favorite books, favorite movies, and favorite music). It really depends on how you want to introduce (promote) yourself to those others who are in search of love dating online. Also, since you are already “promoting” yourself in the world of online dating, you should also provide your most recent – real picture so that other people who are also looking to engage in dating online will get at least a glimpse of what you look like.

Always remember that when it comes to online dating, even if it gives you the “confidence” of approaching just about anyone, it doesn’t mean that you can cheat yourself into a date. You must provide accurate information about yourself so as to not to lead other people on. Don’t be embarrassed about putting your real job in fear that you would be instantly rejected by those that you try to approach. But if you really don’t feel comfortable about putting it in, then just leave some of the parts blank but if your prospect asks you about it then that’s the time that you have to let the truth out.

Online dating services have not been put up just to make stalkers and serial pretenders out of people. In fact, these various online dating services – which are usually just free online dating services, have been put up to make the dating scene seem less scary and complicated as opposed to what we may all think.

In spite of some “horror stories” that have sprung from adult dating online, that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth giving it a shot, all it means that while that “perfect stranger” is trying to sweep you off your feet – never let your guard down until you really know the person. Online dating services are great because they also help you meet people that you would have probably never seen nor at least get to know on a personal basis if you weren’t checking them out online.

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