Will.i.am unveils horribly overpriced punctuation-laden iPhone camera accessories

Will.i.am's V.4 iPhone keyboard camera accessory

Have you ever wanted to have a better camera on your iPhone? How about a physical keyboard? Sure, there are people that want those things. The camera on the iPhone has always been quite good for a smartphone, always leading with quality sensors and optics. But Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas thinks he can make it better, and he's unveiled his new line of "i.am+" accessories with the goal of doing such.


Mr. William James Adams's i.am+ line is a perplexing set of beasts, consisting of four "foto.sosho" cases that add considerable bulk to your iPhone while also adding new elements to the camera. All four add a grip to the right side of the landscape orientation, but sadly don't add do anything fancy with that grip like adding a reserve battery pack for the iPhone. They all also include a built-in flash purported to be of higher power than the single LED bulb on the iPhone, thought you've got to use the shutter button on the case to actuate it and the volume button on your phone.

So, there are four different versions of the foto.sosho? There are, and they come with even more unnecessary punctuation, as seems is the way of Will.i.am. The C.4 is intended for the iPhone 4/4S and has a "modern" look (it's all smooth and lacking in excess accoutrement) in black or white and includes a screw mount for the included standard, 0.67x wide macro, and 0.28x fisheye lens attachments.

If you're not into the modern look, then there's the V.4, which includes the same lenses and mount and adds a slide-out landscape keyboard that pairs with the iPhone via Bluetooth. The V.4 also has vintage styling, which you might think with a slide-out landscape keyboard means it's going to look like an HTC Touch Pro or some other pre-iPhone smartphone, but actually kicks the styling back several decades for something a little more retro chic. The i.am+ foto.sosho V.4 (the punctuation nightmare continues) comes in white/gold or black/silver color combinations.

Lastly, there are the V.5 and L.5 models, which really ratchet things up a notch. The aforementioned C.4 and V.4 only augment the iPhone 4/4S cameras by mounting an additional lens element over the existing hardware, whereas the x.5 models circumvent the iPhone camera hardware entirely by adding on a 14-megapixel sensor with a 5x zoom lens, but only for the iPhone 5. Will.i.am promises that the camera will provide better image quality than what the iPhone offers, but somehow we expect there will be tradeoffs to be made. The V.5 includes just the camera attachment, while the L.5 throws the slide-out keyboard as well. Both x.5 models are of the "vintage" look, with your choice of silver and brown leather, all white leather, or all black leather.

Will.i.am's V.4 iPhone keyboard camera accessory

If you're thinking this all sounds pretty ridiculous, you're entirely right. The benefit of the iPhone's camera is that it's not only quite good, but it's also slapped into a slim and light package that slips into your pocket or purse without a worry. There are plenty of existing attachments that allow you to add zoom, wide-angle, and other lenses to the iPhone, and they do it without the excessive bulk of the foto.sosho line. Sure, they don't add a flash, but if we're being honest here, the flash units on point-and-shoot cameras typically fall short of even barely adequate, let alone whatever flash unit is included on these accessories. Take the Olloclip, for example. It just slips on over the corner of your iPhone (a new model for the iPhone 5 is coming soon), and if you don't need it it's easy enough to pop off and leave in your pocket or bag. foto.sosho isn't going to be so quick-and-easy optional.

Aside from the extra weight and thickness of the foto.sosho line, there's also the pricing, which it turns out is the most ridiculous part of this whole exercise. The C.4 is retailing for a whopping ?199 and the V.4 for a galling ?299. If you're wanting to see those numbers in United States Dollars, that's $318 and $478, respectively. Yes, more than three hundred gorram dollars for an iPhone case with a mount for cheap screw-on lenses, a flash, and a bulk-adding grip. And another $160 if you want to add on a Bluetooth keyboard. Olloclip retails for seventy bucks and includes fisheye, wide-angle, and macro lenses.

Or you can pay ?199 to carry around a bulky iPhone with screw-on lens mount with only half of Will.i.am's name attached to it. The only thing saving us from this absurd punctuation.laden nonsense (besides the pricing, which should only appeal to those suffering from empty craniums), is that the foto.sosho will be available only at the three Selfridges stores in London, starting on December 6th. There's also a new i.am+ plus service launching alongside the foto.sosho that aims to needlessly replicate Instagram with basic photo editing and filters.

Pricing for the V.5 and L.5 hasn't been announced, but we wouldn't be surprised to find that it's least another ?100 for each level up, making the top-tier L.5 an appalling ?499/$798. At that price you've crossed over from point-and-shoot pocket camera range to entry-level DSLR territory. Sure, a Canon EOS Rebel T3i with an 18-55mm lens is quite a bit bulkier than any of the potential iPhone+foto.sosho combinations, but it also will take much better pictures - and it's priced at $699.99.

But, you know, there's always the need to show that you have more money and than sense. Common sense that is, because your style sense will be clearly evident as you walk around with your thick vintage-look iPhone camera thing. Or so we're told.

Source:?The Telegraph,?Engadget

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/_0Q8sMUhj_M/story01.htm

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Mitel UC360 | Armstrong Communications PLC

We have heard from so many customers about the troubles they have managing a remote workforce; setting up training sessions for people who work from home, out on the road, or in disparate branches; and helping teams collaborate when they are not based in the same location.

It?s a problem that is becoming widespread, largely due to the relatively recent modernisation of the workforce, which often means contacting employees on the go and bringing together the best talent from separate branches ? some of whom may never meet each other in person.

The internet and unified communications technology has made all of this possible and businesses are really seeing the cost and productivity benefits of working in a geographically-disparate way. But as with any major change in operations, remote working has led to problems with communication, close collaboration and even practical concerns like waiting for meeting rooms to become available.

Communications technology providers have been working hard to overcome these difficulties and we are particularly impressed with the Mitel UC360 model. This easy-to-use and low-cost solution is replacing old-fashioned conference hub systems in businesses across the country and when you list its capabilities, it?s easy to see why.

Benefit #1: No need for meeting rooms

Most companies have a selection of meeting rooms they use for conference calls, but with floor space both expensive and in short supply, this can mean waiting your turn to collaborate with remote workers and allowing work to fall behind schedule in the meantime. However, with the Mitel UC360, this problem disappears entirely. The small and transportable hub can be used in the workspace, with no need for the extra connections a meeting room traditionally has on offer.

Benefit #2: High quality sound and visuals

Another problem businesses combat every day is ensuring good communication continues despite quiet or low-quality audio on a conference call, or grainy footage on a video call. But as the Mitel UC360 uses high-definition technology, this difficulty is completely erased from the process and you can enjoy a meeting or training session that truly feels in-room.

Benefit #3: Escalate a phone call to a multimedia experience

Perhaps the limitation that holds businesses back the most when they decide to collaborate over wide distances is the difficulty in sharing documentation. Currently, many meetings take place over a conference call, with necessary documents shared via email before or during the event. However, with the Mitel UC360, the process of sharing documents has become much easier. It is possible to use Cloud solutions like Google Doc or Dropbox, USB devices and Micro SD cards can be plugged straight into the communications hub, and you can even tap into remote desktops.

Benefit #4: Little training needed

New technology normally benefits productivity, but not until it can be used at its full capacity ? that is, once staff are trained and accustomed to operating the technology they have been provided with. Mitel seem to have kept this limitation firmly in mind when designing their UC360 collaboration hub, installing an intuitive touchscreen that is so simple to use, a novice could pick it up with no difficulty. This cuts down on the need for training and the downtime that can occur due to confusion around new devices.

Benefit #5: So cost effective, even small businesses can use it

For years, remote collaboration and conferences have been the domain of larger businesses which can afford the technology and the meeting room space to bring remote workers together. But the Mitel UC360 finally gives small businesses the chance to take advantage of a modernised workforce. Cut spending on travel and on office space by allowing employees to conduct their duties from wherever they find it easiest and inexpensive to do so, while you patch the team together using the Mitel UC360 anywhere, anytime.

As our customers know, Armstrong Communications always tries to look to the future and provide the most forward-thinking, cost-effective and cutting edge solutions and support available. We?re so impressed with the Mitel UC360 we have added it to our handpicked supply of stock and we are ready to install it in your workplace. If you would like to know how the device could best help you and your company, give us a call for a no-obligation chat.

Armstrong Communications are a authorised?Mitel reseller and experts in Mitel Support and Installations.?To find out more?about the Mitel range call our dedicated team on 0845 345 0045 or get a FREE No Obligation Quote via our?contact page.

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Source: http://www.acplc.com/could-the-mitel-uc360-be-the-future-of-collaboration/

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Dan Kois? 15 Favorite Books of 2012

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Illustration by Lilli Carre.

Tuesday: Slate staffers pick their favorite books of 2012.
Wednesday: The overlooked books of 2012.
Thursday: Dan Kois? 15 favorite books.
Friday: The Slate Book Review Top 10.

Look, of course Katherine Boo?s Behind the Beautiful Forevers was amazing. It was the best book of the year or maybe the decade. But we can?t spend our entire December just praising Katherine Boo! Here are 15 other titles from 2012 that moved me, made me laugh, astonished me, and pleasantly confused me.

At the Mouth of the River of Bees by Kij Johnson. Wondrously strange and sinister stories of other worlds, future times, and everyday life gone haywire. Plus: A cat walks 100 miles through Heian-era Japan in the loveliest short story I read all year.

Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos. A slim and comic debut novel from a Mexican writer written in the voice of a young boy growing up in the most absurd of circumstances: Tochtli, son of a drug baron, who just wants a pygmy hippo for his private zoo.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe. As his extraordinary mother lives through end-stage cancer, a lifelong reader discusses books with her every week. Touching and rigorously honest, this memoir is wise about the role reading plays in our lives and deaths.

Everything We Miss by Luke Pearson. A short, haunting comic about what happens when we?re not looking? the evil, the sadness, the anger, the despair. Gorgeously drawn and impeccably bleak.

Familiar by J. Robert Lennon. A spooky novel of lives never led in which a woman finds herself transformed, all at once, into a version of herself whose son never died.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. ?It?s not a cancer book, because cancer books suck,? explains 16-year-old Hazel about her favorite novel, whose author she?s desperate to meet. Though Hazel, the heroine of Green?s smart and funny YA novel, has cancer, this isn?t a cancer book either. It?s a romance and an adventure and a battle, and it?s great.

Jim Henson?s Tale of Sand by Ram?n K. P?rez. Forty years ago, Jim Henson wrote a fantastical screenplay about a man lost in a world of dreams. In this zippy, elegant book, cartoonist P?rez brings it to life with boundless energy and invention.

Lonesome Animals by Bruce Holbert. In the Okanogan Montains along the Canada-Washington border, a dangerous lawman hunts a more dangerous serial killer. This debut novel calls to mind early Cormac McCarthy in its relentless violence and frontier philosophy.

Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer. Up in space, a troubled genius builds the robots that will colonize the moon; on earth, his wife and autistic son struggle to achieve normalcy. The story seems familiar but this novel?s writing? vivid and unusual ? makes it fresh.

Son by Lois Lowry. The gorgeous, heartbreaking, and essential conclusion to the Giver quartet, this YA novel looks back at that original story?s dystopian community and a birthmother who goes in search of the son she lost.

Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren F. Winner. Beaten down by loss, and failure, Winner struggles with whether religious faith still makes sense in her life. A serious but witty book of days that will be fascinating to anyone, Christian or not, interested in the life of the soul.

Swimming Studies by Leanne Shapton. An elliptical, well-wrought memoir of a life spent in pools by a talented illustrator, who once dreamed of Olympic gold and still feels most at home in the water.

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon. Oh, did you forget that Michael Chabon, whose sentences are intricate and long and beautiful and hilarious, wrote a terrific novel about gentrification and soul music and race and love and a parrot? We should be counting our blessings.

Wolf Story by William McCleery. First published in 1947 and resurrected by the New York Review children?s collection, this ridiculously charming book is about a wolf, and a chicken, and a farmer, but really it?s about an exasperated, loving father in midcentury New York telling his very opinionated son a story.

Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye. A sublimely creepy novel set in a village in Germany. It reads like the Brothers Grimm with historical resonance and a higher body count.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=e0f7f9a0f0b5d9a5435c5cc7f910ba54

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Timely Assistance From Property Management Companies

Working with a property management and maintenance company can be a great resource for people who own real estate of all varieties. Just like management in any other business, a decent property management firm can monitor what needs to be accounted, monitored, and cared for with any form of real estate. We will work to locate long-term tenants who respect and care for the property and always pay promptly. We will act as a mediator between the owner and the tenant easing the responsibility of owners who already have busy lives. Selecting a responsible property manager can make the real estate process a breeze. Our company have the skills and know-how to make your ownership experience easy and painless. Take comfort in the knowledge that we will treat your property as if we own it ourselves. Frisco Property Management

Source: http://savetheknoll.org/timely-assistance-from-property-management-companies/

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Biden leads tribute to late Sen. Warren Rudman

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday led a tribute on Capitol Hill to the late GOP Sen. Warren Rudman of New Hampshire, recalling him as "forthright, frugal and fair."

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a close Rudman friend from New Hampshire, were among many friends and former colleagues from both parties at the memorial event.

Rudman, who died Nov. 19 at 82, co-authored a ground-breaking budget balancing law, championed ethics and led a commission that predicted the danger of homeland terrorist attacks before 9/11.

The feisty former New Hampshire attorney general went to the Senate in 1981 with a reputation as a tough prosecutor, and was called on by Senate leaders, and later by presidents of both parties, to tackle tough assignments.

"His honesty could be searing," Biden said, but Rudman also showed deep compassion and faith in the dignity and wisdom of ordinary Americans.

McCain praised Rudman's character, his lack of pretense and his willingness to buck his party when he felt Republicans were wrong.

"Besides being gruff, irascible, blunt and impatient ... Warren Rudman, first and last, was a man of integrity."

Souter saluted the independence and courage of Rudman, a combat veteran of the Korean War.

"There was no one on the face of the earth he was afraid of," Souter said.

Rudman, at the same time, never hated those he disagreed with, said Souter.

"What he'd do instead is stick his hand out," Souter said.

Reid said Rudman, who was Jewish, learned to be tough at an early age battling bigots, but added "his rough exterior belied such a soft manner."

"When I think of him, the word irrepressible comes to mind," said Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/biden-leads-tribute-sen-warren-rudman-000635235.html

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China investment levels excessive, risks are rising: IMF research

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's economy relies on an excessively high level of investment and risks a potentially destabilizing increase if the government aims to keep growth around current levels for years to come, new International Monetary Fund research suggests.

Already running high as measured by a theory used by economists to assess capital-to-output ratios, investment accelerated between 2007 and 2011 to counter the effects of the global financial crisis, IMF staff wrote in a research paper on China's soaring investment levels.

"Depending on precise assumptions, over this period, China may have been over-investing by between 12 and 20 percent of gross domestic product relative to its steady-state desirable value," the report said.

"Even allowing for elevated investment levels associated with most economic take-offs, the econometric evidence suggests that China is over-investing," it said. "China's predicted investment norm over the last 30 years has ranged between 33-43 percent of GDP. In reality, it has fluctuated in a much broader band of 35-49 percent of GDP."

The IMF says its working papers do not necessarily represent the organization's policy, and that the reports describe research in progress that is published to spur debate.

The potential for severe internal economic imbalances in China stemming from an extended period of investment-driven growth, plus the risk that the excess capacity it creates spills into the global economy, are a recurring theme of IMF research.

A rise in fixed asset investment spending has helped underpin a rebound in China's economic growth in recent months, after seven successive quarters of slowing expansion - the worst run since the depths of the global financial crisis.

China officially targets GDP growth of 7.5 percent this year and analysts broadly believe the government has had an informal annual target of 8 percent or more for years - a level regarded until now as necessary to create enough jobs for the country's 1.3-billion strong population.

In a report earlier this year that Beijing sanctioned, the World Bank - the IMF's sister organization - assumed that China could maintain growth of 6-7 percent a year until 2030 with the right mix of structural economic reforms.

Average annual growth of around 10 percent for most of the last 30 years since China began a landmark program of economic reform, has seen the country transformed from impoverished laggard to the world's second-biggest economy - and likely to take top spot from the U.S. before the end of the next decade.

Beijing said in September that it had given fast-track approval to infrastructure projects worth $157 billion, a move analysts say has been key to cementing a fourth quarter bounce in GDP.

Total planned investment in newly started projects, a leading indicator of fixed asset investment, accelerated to 35.2 percent year-on-year in October from 31.3 percent in September, according to Ting Lu, chief China economist at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

MORE INVESTMENT, LESS GROWTH

The IMF stressed there were limitations to the model it was using and the assumptions it made, adding that on some simple metrics, the efficiency of China's return on investment was broadly in line with emerging market economies.

But the report added that by its calculations, a sustained period of over-investment meant that China now required ever higher investment to generate the same amount of growth, forecasting that investment's share of GDP could soar to 60-70 percent from current levels around 50 percent.

"Under such a strategy, vulnerabilities will likely grow in the form of hidden deadweight that will have to be paid in future in one form or another. The cost of financing such an elevated level of investment could undermine overall economic stability," it added.

Whether those vulnerabilities would eventually erupt into a full-blown funding crisis was far from clear, the IMF research said, particularly given China's heavy use of household savings, rather than external financing, for investment spending.

That funding model in itself has added strain which impeded the transition the government has said it wants to achieve in rebalancing growth towards domestic consumption and more dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

"In China, a large burden of the financing of over-investment is borne by households, estimated at close to 4 percent of GDP per year, while SMEs are paying a higher price of capital because of the funding priority given to larger corporations," the IMF report said.

(Reporting by Nick Edwards; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-investment-levels-excessive-risks-rising-imf-research-100845051--sector.html

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Can Zodiac Sign Compatibility Develop Your Relationship?

Zodiac sign compatibility is dependent on the premise that our birth charts not just certify our personality, but also improve our connections with others. You've presumably met folks you get along with quickly, while with others, there's tension and challenge from the beginning. Although instant likes and dislikes may have to do with many things, they're regularly a role of zodiac sign compatibility.
You might discover that the same issues product up with certain individuals over and over. This regularly needs to do with distinctive qualities of every sign. At instance, assuming that you are a Sagittarius wedded to a Cancer; you undoubtedly esteem your flexibility and have a tendency to live footloose and free. Your Cancer mate, then again, may esteem home, family and steadiness.

Zodiac sign compatibility can tell you how your qualities work with those of your mate. While certain signs are more perfect than others, there's no explanation to stay away from those with signs that are stated to be contrary with your particular. The key to harmony, untruths is in being conscious of what's vital to the different individual & then after that respecting their perspective. Zodiac sign compatibility can advise you how to appreciate your mate's needs and esteem while still being accurate to your particular.

For unmarried couples who are ready to get married, a zodiac sign compatibility preceding the wedding can give a richness of knowledge regarding the potential flow of the relationship. Remember that the relationship with numerous interruptions is not indispensably destined from the beginning. Difficulties overcome within a partnership can give a level of satisfaction and closeness not acceptable involved with effortless compatibility. How hard is it true that you are eager to work to be with the one you adore? Zodiac sign compatibility can lay out the difficulties to assist you take an updated choice before you make a lifelong duty.

Zodiac sign compatibility makes it more straightforward to operate an existence as a single unit. A Taurus or Capricorn will esteem economic security, although a Leo will tend in the direction of luxury. Instead of giving a Leo wife obligation regarding the family savings, it could make more sense to let a Capricorn husband be in charge. Zodiac sign compatibility is not only for beloveds. In any association with somebody you cherish or with a companion, it may be support you to uncover what's essential to your friends and family or companions without sacrificing what's essential to you.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Can-Zodiac-Sign-Compatibility-Develop-Your-Relationship-/4294382

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Botswana to ban big game hunting by 2014

GABORONE, Botswana (AP) ? Botswana says it will ban hunting by 2014 because of fears that the nation is losing its wildlife.

The nation's Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism made the announcement Thursday, saying the decision comes after President Ian Khama said hunting must be stopped to save the nation's big game animals. The ministry said that, left unchecked, rampant hunting would be a "genuine threat" to the country's wildlife.

The ministry said hunts by local communities and with special hunting licenses would still be allowed.

Botswana, a nation in southern Africa of 581,730 square kilometers (224,610 square miles), is home to the massive Kalahari Desert and large national parks. It has elephants, lions, giraffes and many other wild animals, making it a popular destination for big game hunters.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/botswana-ban-big-game-hunting-2014-144522186.html

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Doug DeCinces indicted in insider trading case

By GREG RISLING

Associated Press

Associated Press Sports

updated 6:19 p.m. ET Nov. 28, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Former Baltimore Orioles third baseman Doug DeCinces and three others have been indicted on insider trading charges for allegedly profiting from information prior to the takeover of a Southern California medical device company.

DeCinces was charged Wednesday with 42 counts of securities fraud and one count of money laundering. He is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 17.

Prosecutors say DeCinces received information from an official at Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. regarding a takeover offer by Abbott Laboratories. Authorities say DeCinces made about $1.3 million after he bought stock in Advanced Medical Optics and sold it soon after Abbott's tender offer was publicly announced.

DeCinces last year agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a civil lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It wasn't immediately known if DeCinces had retained an attorney.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50002480/ns/sports-baseball/

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Amazon Launches 'Profoundly Disruptive' Data Warehouse

Amazon Web Services on Wednesday launched RedShift, an on-demand data warehouse service that is optimized for the analysis of huge sets of data. RedShift is "profoundly disruptive," said Merv Adrian, research vice president of information management at Gartner. Its success will move the economic boundary between on-premise and cloud usage and "data will seek its lowest-cost home more rapidly than before."

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/2619871a/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C767240Bhtml/story01.htm

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