Although investors remain hopeful for announcements of further economic stimulus by the Fed and the European Central Bank this week, The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,053.56) has pared its earlier gains and is currently off 22 points, or 0.2%. Elsewhere, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 18.03) is up 1.3 points, or 8%.
Here are a few noteworthy stats at midday:
The equity put/call volume ratio across all 10 options exchanges stands at 0.77, with 2.8 million calls crossing the tape so far today, versus 2.2 million puts.
Among the equities with heavy call activity is Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S - 4.40), which has added about 2% today. The wireless communications giant scored a price-target hike to $4 from $3 at Deutsche Bank earlier in the session.
The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX - 13.16) arrives at 0.31, with calls more than tripling puts.
The Nasdaq shows an advance/decline ratio of 0.61, indicating that the number of downward movers almost doubles the advancers.
Among the Nasdaq's major decliners is Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS - 73.13), which, despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Friday, has shed nearly 6% in intraday trading. The cloud computing firm announced that it will expand its North Carolina-based facility, a move the company says will accommodate its expected growth over the next several years.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Attack on Syria Opposition Town Kills Scores
BEIRUT—Syria's government, opposition and international diplomats traded blame Friday over a massacre that killed scores of people in a poor farming village, perhaps the deadliest in a string of attacks on the largely opposition-controlled countryside of central Syria.
All sides branded Thursday's daylong battle in the town of Treimseh a massacre. Yet clashing accounts of the number of dead, and who took part in the battle, underscored how the conflicting narratives of the country's battle remain hardened even when facts continue to emerge.
Tanks rained shells and machine-gun fire on the village of Treimseh for six hours Thursday before pro-government gunmen from neighboring villages moved in and attacked with guns and knives, said a resident of Treimseh and anti-regime activists from the city of Hama, about 10 miles away—a narrative that appeared to be confirmed in parts by video accounts.
Some activists who provided the first accounts of the day said as many as 200 people were killed in the farming village.
"I was deeply saddened and outraged to learn of reports of yet another massacre committed by the Syrian regime that has claimed the lives of over 200 men, women and children," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement Friday. "Credible reports indicate that this unconscionable act was carried out by artillery, tanks, and helicopters—indisputable evidence that the regime deliberately murdered innocent civilians."
Late Friday, though, surviving villagers continued to comb through peach orchards and collapsed homes for victims. The number of dead stood at 74 on Friday, according to two local activists' tallies of confirmed names. The activists said they expected the number to double as they continued to clean and count bodies piled at the local mosque.
The victims' nature also remains unclear. Treimseh has been active in protests since the start of the uprising last year. It was host to some 250 antiregime fighters associated with the rebel Free Syrian Army—some of whom recently relocated there with their families after fleeing attacks in nearby towns—who fought with government forces for hours before the military withdrew, the resident and local activists said. These people didn't say how many of the victims were fighters and how many civilians.
Mrs. Clinton's statement on the number and nature of the dead was based on credible reports and U.S. government reporting, a State Department official said.
In the Syrian government's account of what it called the massacre in Treimseh, it was terrorists—a blanket term that state media often uses to characterize antiregime forces—who stormed the village, killing more than 50 people, including three state security personnel. It described the attack "as a bid to manipulate public opinion against Syria and its people and to bring foreign intervention in Syria on the eve of a U.N. Security Council session."
The accounts from Treimseh broadly echoed those of killings earlier this summer that marked an increasingly sectarian phase of Syria's conflict. The government blamed opposition gunmen for carrying out previous large-scale killings—in May in Houla, and in June in Qubair—saying these regime opponents had attempted to pin the attacks on the government in a bid to provoke international intervention in the country's crisis.
Many Sunni residents there say neighboring Alawites—from the minority Shiite-linked sect that rules Syria—are carrying out what they call a government campaign to reclaim towns that have fallen out of regime control and to purge the area's largely Sunni opposition.
Violence from both sides in Syria's conflict has escalated since a May massacre in the village of Houla, derailing a United Nations-brokered cease-fire. The U.N. Security Council continued talks Friday on rival resolutions drafted by Russia and Western states on Syria—continuing a standoff in which the U.S. has called, to Russia's objection, for President Bashar al-Assad to leave power.
"The Security Council should put its full weight behind…an immediate cease-fire and a political transition," Mrs. Clinton said. "History will judge this Council."
The Council is also expected to debate whether to resume or extend the work of unarmed U.N. monitors, whose work has been frozen by the violence. The mission' Council mandate expires next week.
In Treimseh, home to nearly 10,000 people, the resident said he had witnessed Thursday's siege and bombardment and spent much of Friday helping to bury 40 bodies in a mass grave.
"Today, it is quiet, but we are devastated," said the 25-year-old man, reached by international cellphone. He identified himself as the village's representative for the Syrian Revolution General Commission, the broadest grass roots activist network. He and three activists in Hama gave nearly identical accounts of the attack.
At around 5 a.m., they said, tanks and armored vehicles surrounded Treimseh from four sides before starting to spray machine-gun fire and artillery into the village. The opposition fighters began to mobilize and fire at the troops, these activists said. The attack lasted until about 11 a.m., when tanks, soldiers and security forces moved into the village.
"It became a street war," the resident said. "The Free Syrian Army couldn't fight that much, because they didn't have so many weapons."
Military forces withdrew at around 8 p.m., he and other activists said. People ran out to help the injured get to a field hospital about three miles away.
"It was bodies, bodies everywhere. We gathered everyone—dead, alive, injured—in the big mosque," he said. Thirteen bodies were pulled out of the river, as well as two injured people who said they had been dumped there by the pro-government gunmen, he said.
Activists from Hama said the Treimseh resident was one of a handful of people in Treimseh to inform others of events there late Thursday.
"At 9 p.m., I got the first [text] message from him. He wrote: They have destroyed us, my brother. They destroyed Treimseh," said the spokesman for the same activist network in Hama.
Videos filmed by activists emerged hours later. One appears to show a tank firing in the direction of a cluster of small homes, each surrounded by a concrete gate. Another shows 19 bloodied and charred bodies, all but one apparently male, and most in colorful T-shirts and jeans, lined up in a room, piles of flesh scattered on and around their bodies. One man's face is partly burned off.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based opposition group that monitors events in Syria, said that at least 30 of 50 people it confirmed killed in Treimseh appeared to have been entirely burned.
In a third video, a young man leans weeping over a body, named by the video's narrator as that of Mahmoud Ahmad Delleh, wrapped in a blanket. "Get up, Dad, for God's sake," he says twice, the sound of firing going off in the background.
Many people were killed when homes collapsed on them, the resident said. Others were met by pro-regime thugs—who he identified as Alawites from a neighboring village—as they ran to peach orchards outside the village, where they were killed.
The local activists said they feared the initial death tolls of 200—reported late Thursday by activists calling into the pan-Arabchannel al-Jazeera—were frantic, confused reports that could discredit their accounts.
"We're facing a real war," said the Hama spokesman for the Revolutionary Commission. "We don't need to make up numbers."
Other activists said most of those killed were male rebel fighters from nearby villages, and accused the opposition of exaggerating accounts "to prove that the regime is bloodthirsty."
Mousab Alhamadee, an activist in Hama with another grass roots group, the Local Coordination Committees, disputed accounts that rebel fighters picked a fight with government forces, or that government forces were rooting out fighters from a rebel stronghold.
"This is just an excuse for a new massacre," Mr. Alhamadee said.
"In all Syrian cities and towns, we have defected soldiers. Some of them are just defectors coming home to their families, not joining the Free Syrian Army," he said. "The regime is committing massacre after massacre without being held accountable for that, so it is just moving from village to village."
—Sam Dagher in Beirut and Jay Solomon in Washington contributed to this article.
All sides branded Thursday's daylong battle in the town of Treimseh a massacre. Yet clashing accounts of the number of dead, and who took part in the battle, underscored how the conflicting narratives of the country's battle remain hardened even when facts continue to emerge.
Tanks rained shells and machine-gun fire on the village of Treimseh for six hours Thursday before pro-government gunmen from neighboring villages moved in and attacked with guns and knives, said a resident of Treimseh and anti-regime activists from the city of Hama, about 10 miles away—a narrative that appeared to be confirmed in parts by video accounts.
Some activists who provided the first accounts of the day said as many as 200 people were killed in the farming village.
"I was deeply saddened and outraged to learn of reports of yet another massacre committed by the Syrian regime that has claimed the lives of over 200 men, women and children," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement Friday. "Credible reports indicate that this unconscionable act was carried out by artillery, tanks, and helicopters—indisputable evidence that the regime deliberately murdered innocent civilians."
Late Friday, though, surviving villagers continued to comb through peach orchards and collapsed homes for victims. The number of dead stood at 74 on Friday, according to two local activists' tallies of confirmed names. The activists said they expected the number to double as they continued to clean and count bodies piled at the local mosque.
The victims' nature also remains unclear. Treimseh has been active in protests since the start of the uprising last year. It was host to some 250 antiregime fighters associated with the rebel Free Syrian Army—some of whom recently relocated there with their families after fleeing attacks in nearby towns—who fought with government forces for hours before the military withdrew, the resident and local activists said. These people didn't say how many of the victims were fighters and how many civilians.
Mrs. Clinton's statement on the number and nature of the dead was based on credible reports and U.S. government reporting, a State Department official said.
In the Syrian government's account of what it called the massacre in Treimseh, it was terrorists—a blanket term that state media often uses to characterize antiregime forces—who stormed the village, killing more than 50 people, including three state security personnel. It described the attack "as a bid to manipulate public opinion against Syria and its people and to bring foreign intervention in Syria on the eve of a U.N. Security Council session."
The accounts from Treimseh broadly echoed those of killings earlier this summer that marked an increasingly sectarian phase of Syria's conflict. The government blamed opposition gunmen for carrying out previous large-scale killings—in May in Houla, and in June in Qubair—saying these regime opponents had attempted to pin the attacks on the government in a bid to provoke international intervention in the country's crisis.
Many Sunni residents there say neighboring Alawites—from the minority Shiite-linked sect that rules Syria—are carrying out what they call a government campaign to reclaim towns that have fallen out of regime control and to purge the area's largely Sunni opposition.
Violence from both sides in Syria's conflict has escalated since a May massacre in the village of Houla, derailing a United Nations-brokered cease-fire. The U.N. Security Council continued talks Friday on rival resolutions drafted by Russia and Western states on Syria—continuing a standoff in which the U.S. has called, to Russia's objection, for President Bashar al-Assad to leave power.
"The Security Council should put its full weight behind…an immediate cease-fire and a political transition," Mrs. Clinton said. "History will judge this Council."
The Council is also expected to debate whether to resume or extend the work of unarmed U.N. monitors, whose work has been frozen by the violence. The mission' Council mandate expires next week.
In Treimseh, home to nearly 10,000 people, the resident said he had witnessed Thursday's siege and bombardment and spent much of Friday helping to bury 40 bodies in a mass grave.
"Today, it is quiet, but we are devastated," said the 25-year-old man, reached by international cellphone. He identified himself as the village's representative for the Syrian Revolution General Commission, the broadest grass roots activist network. He and three activists in Hama gave nearly identical accounts of the attack.
At around 5 a.m., they said, tanks and armored vehicles surrounded Treimseh from four sides before starting to spray machine-gun fire and artillery into the village. The opposition fighters began to mobilize and fire at the troops, these activists said. The attack lasted until about 11 a.m., when tanks, soldiers and security forces moved into the village.
"It became a street war," the resident said. "The Free Syrian Army couldn't fight that much, because they didn't have so many weapons."
Military forces withdrew at around 8 p.m., he and other activists said. People ran out to help the injured get to a field hospital about three miles away.
"It was bodies, bodies everywhere. We gathered everyone—dead, alive, injured—in the big mosque," he said. Thirteen bodies were pulled out of the river, as well as two injured people who said they had been dumped there by the pro-government gunmen, he said.
Activists from Hama said the Treimseh resident was one of a handful of people in Treimseh to inform others of events there late Thursday.
"At 9 p.m., I got the first [text] message from him. He wrote: They have destroyed us, my brother. They destroyed Treimseh," said the spokesman for the same activist network in Hama.
Videos filmed by activists emerged hours later. One appears to show a tank firing in the direction of a cluster of small homes, each surrounded by a concrete gate. Another shows 19 bloodied and charred bodies, all but one apparently male, and most in colorful T-shirts and jeans, lined up in a room, piles of flesh scattered on and around their bodies. One man's face is partly burned off.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based opposition group that monitors events in Syria, said that at least 30 of 50 people it confirmed killed in Treimseh appeared to have been entirely burned.
In a third video, a young man leans weeping over a body, named by the video's narrator as that of Mahmoud Ahmad Delleh, wrapped in a blanket. "Get up, Dad, for God's sake," he says twice, the sound of firing going off in the background.
Many people were killed when homes collapsed on them, the resident said. Others were met by pro-regime thugs—who he identified as Alawites from a neighboring village—as they ran to peach orchards outside the village, where they were killed.
The local activists said they feared the initial death tolls of 200—reported late Thursday by activists calling into the pan-Arabchannel al-Jazeera—were frantic, confused reports that could discredit their accounts.
"We're facing a real war," said the Hama spokesman for the Revolutionary Commission. "We don't need to make up numbers."
Other activists said most of those killed were male rebel fighters from nearby villages, and accused the opposition of exaggerating accounts "to prove that the regime is bloodthirsty."
Mousab Alhamadee, an activist in Hama with another grass roots group, the Local Coordination Committees, disputed accounts that rebel fighters picked a fight with government forces, or that government forces were rooting out fighters from a rebel stronghold.
"This is just an excuse for a new massacre," Mr. Alhamadee said.
"In all Syrian cities and towns, we have defected soldiers. Some of them are just defectors coming home to their families, not joining the Free Syrian Army," he said. "The regime is committing massacre after massacre without being held accountable for that, so it is just moving from village to village."
—Sam Dagher in Beirut and Jay Solomon in Washington contributed to this article.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
AJ Allmendinger to bring own experts
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Suspended NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger has elected to bring his own experts to the testing of his "B" urine sample, The Associated Press has learned.Under NASCAR's drug testing policy, an individual can bring in experts for the second test and Allmendinger wants his own toxicologist and attorney present, two people familiar with the case told the AP on condition of anonymity Thursday because the process is confidential.
Eecause Allmendinger is bringing his own people, the test of the sample will not occur until next week. Allmendinger has the right to take the time needed to assemble his team of experts.
Allmendinger was suspended by NASCAR on Saturday for failing a random drug test taken June 29.
A statement released Wednesday by his business manager said Allmendinger tested positive for a stimulant that has not been revealed. Allmendinger has denied knowingly taking a banned substance, and said he is collecting his medications and supplements in an attempt to figure out what got him in trouble.
The 30-year-old Allmendinger is the second Sprint Cup Series driver to be suspended under the NASCAR drug policy implemented in 2009.
"Obviously I would never do anything to jeopardize my opportunity here at Penske Racing or to my fellow drivers. I am very conscious about my training and health and would never knowingly take a prohibited drug," he said in an earlier statement.
According to NASCAR's drug policy, a stimulant is defined as "amphetamine, methamphetamine, Ecstasy (MDMA), Eve (MDEA), MDA, PMA, Phentermine, and other amphetamine derivatives and related compounds."
Denny Hamlin, speaking at a golf tournament in Charlotte on Thursday, said NASCAR drivers have to be extremely careful with what they ingest and awareness was heightened following Jeremy Mayfield's 2009 suspension.
"They kind of set out from the beginning, NASCAR does, that when you're taking supplements you have to document it all," Hamlin said. "If you don't, you can find yourself in trouble. With the whole Mayfield situation that went on a few years ago, you would think NASCAR is 100 percent positive if they pulled someone out of the car. Hopefully for AJ's sake he has everything documented and he'll be fine."
Penske Racing will use Sam Hornish Jr. this weekend in the No. 22 Dodge at New Hampshire.
Mayfield, the first driver to be suspended under the policy, tested positive for methamphetamine. He has denied for more than three years that he ever took meth, and blamed the positive test on a mix of an over-the-counter allergy remedy and a prescription for attention deficit disorder.
Rather than go through NASCAR's recovery program, Mayfield fought in court to have his suspension overturned. He abandoned his bid earlier this year.
Allmendinger business manager Tara Ragan said Allmendinger is working through NASCAR's process to resolve the issue.
"AJ and all of us at Walldinger Racing respect NASCAR's testing program, and he has requested that his "B" sample be tested as part of the process of getting to the bottom of this," she said. "We will have the opportunity to review all of the scientific data surrounding the test following the "B" sample test, but our understanding is that AJ's test was slightly above the threshold."
Eecause Allmendinger is bringing his own people, the test of the sample will not occur until next week. Allmendinger has the right to take the time needed to assemble his team of experts.
Allmendinger was suspended by NASCAR on Saturday for failing a random drug test taken June 29.
A statement released Wednesday by his business manager said Allmendinger tested positive for a stimulant that has not been revealed. Allmendinger has denied knowingly taking a banned substance, and said he is collecting his medications and supplements in an attempt to figure out what got him in trouble.
The 30-year-old Allmendinger is the second Sprint Cup Series driver to be suspended under the NASCAR drug policy implemented in 2009.
"Obviously I would never do anything to jeopardize my opportunity here at Penske Racing or to my fellow drivers. I am very conscious about my training and health and would never knowingly take a prohibited drug," he said in an earlier statement.
According to NASCAR's drug policy, a stimulant is defined as "amphetamine, methamphetamine, Ecstasy (MDMA), Eve (MDEA), MDA, PMA, Phentermine, and other amphetamine derivatives and related compounds."
Denny Hamlin, speaking at a golf tournament in Charlotte on Thursday, said NASCAR drivers have to be extremely careful with what they ingest and awareness was heightened following Jeremy Mayfield's 2009 suspension.
"They kind of set out from the beginning, NASCAR does, that when you're taking supplements you have to document it all," Hamlin said. "If you don't, you can find yourself in trouble. With the whole Mayfield situation that went on a few years ago, you would think NASCAR is 100 percent positive if they pulled someone out of the car. Hopefully for AJ's sake he has everything documented and he'll be fine."
Penske Racing will use Sam Hornish Jr. this weekend in the No. 22 Dodge at New Hampshire.
Mayfield, the first driver to be suspended under the policy, tested positive for methamphetamine. He has denied for more than three years that he ever took meth, and blamed the positive test on a mix of an over-the-counter allergy remedy and a prescription for attention deficit disorder.
Rather than go through NASCAR's recovery program, Mayfield fought in court to have his suspension overturned. He abandoned his bid earlier this year.
Allmendinger business manager Tara Ragan said Allmendinger is working through NASCAR's process to resolve the issue.
"AJ and all of us at Walldinger Racing respect NASCAR's testing program, and he has requested that his "B" sample be tested as part of the process of getting to the bottom of this," she said. "We will have the opportunity to review all of the scientific data surrounding the test following the "B" sample test, but our understanding is that AJ's test was slightly above the threshold."
Hubble Discovers New Moon Orbiting Pluto
Pluto may have had its planet status downgraded, but its four known moons have gained a fifth neighbor that NASA scientists discovered using the Hubble Telescope.
The new moon is estimated to be irregular in shape and 6 to 15 miles across, traveling around the icy dwarf planet in a 58,000-mile-diameter circular that is co-planar with the other satellites in the system.
"The moons form a series of neatly nested orbits, a bit like Russian dolls," said team lead Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif.
Hubble spotted the moon, whose short designation is "P5," with one of its wide-field cameras in nine images taken in late June and early July, according to Wired.
P5 is incredibly faint - half as bright as P4, and roughly one one-hundred-thousandth as bright as Pluto-and orbits relatively close to the dwarf planet, reports Scientific American.
The team of scientists studying Pluto were "intrigued" that such a complex collection of satellites orbits such a small planet. The new detection will help scientists navigate NASA's New Horizons spacecraft through the Pluto system in 2015, when it makes its long-awaited high-speed flyby of the distant world.
The discovery could also help scientists understand how Pluto was formed. The leading theory is that the moons surrounding Pluto are left over from a collision between the dwarf planet and another large object from the Kuiper belt - a region of small, icy objects in the outer solar system.
Pluto's largest moon, Charon, was discovered in 1978. Hubble observations in 2006 uncovered two additional small moons, Nix and Hydra, reports BBC News. In 2011, another moon, known as P4, was found by Hubble.
New Horizons, a NASA space probe, is on its way to Pluto and is scheduled to make a high-speed flyby in three years. It will return the first detailed images of the system, whose components are so small and distant that even Hubble can barely see the largest features on the dwarf planet's surface, according to The Los Angeles Times.
"I think there's a very good chance" that more Plutonian satellites await discovery, New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern told Scientific American. "Every time we look we see more. I expect New Horizons will see more that Hubble cannot see."
The new moon is estimated to be irregular in shape and 6 to 15 miles across, traveling around the icy dwarf planet in a 58,000-mile-diameter circular that is co-planar with the other satellites in the system.
"The moons form a series of neatly nested orbits, a bit like Russian dolls," said team lead Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif.
Hubble spotted the moon, whose short designation is "P5," with one of its wide-field cameras in nine images taken in late June and early July, according to Wired.
P5 is incredibly faint - half as bright as P4, and roughly one one-hundred-thousandth as bright as Pluto-and orbits relatively close to the dwarf planet, reports Scientific American.
The team of scientists studying Pluto were "intrigued" that such a complex collection of satellites orbits such a small planet. The new detection will help scientists navigate NASA's New Horizons spacecraft through the Pluto system in 2015, when it makes its long-awaited high-speed flyby of the distant world.
The discovery could also help scientists understand how Pluto was formed. The leading theory is that the moons surrounding Pluto are left over from a collision between the dwarf planet and another large object from the Kuiper belt - a region of small, icy objects in the outer solar system.
Pluto's largest moon, Charon, was discovered in 1978. Hubble observations in 2006 uncovered two additional small moons, Nix and Hydra, reports BBC News. In 2011, another moon, known as P4, was found by Hubble.
New Horizons, a NASA space probe, is on its way to Pluto and is scheduled to make a high-speed flyby in three years. It will return the first detailed images of the system, whose components are so small and distant that even Hubble can barely see the largest features on the dwarf planet's surface, according to The Los Angeles Times.
"I think there's a very good chance" that more Plutonian satellites await discovery, New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern told Scientific American. "Every time we look we see more. I expect New Horizons will see more that Hubble cannot see."
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Consumers eyeing Google's new Nexus 7 tablet now have another choice of retailer. Staples announced yesterday that it will carry both models of the new tablet -- the 8GB version for $199 and the 16GB edition for $249. The Nexus 7 is currently available for preorder through the Staples Web site, an offer good until July 11. Staples expects to ship the tablet between July 12 and July 17. Consumers can opt to have the tablet delivered to their homes or to their nearest Staples store. Either way, shipping is free. Potential buyers who'd like to play with the Nexus 7 first can wait until later this month when the tablet arrives on the shelves of Staples stores. "We are thrilled to offer early availability of this amazing new product," Mike Edwards, executive vice president of retail merchandising for Staples, said in a statement. "We invite customers to come in and experience a live demonstration of Nexus 7 at one of our U.S. locations or enjoy the convenience of free shipping when ordering on Staples.com." Staples joins Google itself and GameStop as the latest major outlet to offer the Nexus 7. Preorders are available through all three vendors. Google kicks in a charge for shipping, while Staples and GameStop both ship for free. Among the three, GameStop seems to offer the best deal since it also allows you to trade in used games and other products in exchange for a credit good toward the purchase of the tablet. Unveiled late last month at Google's I/O conference, the Nexus 7 comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, a 1,280x800 pixel HD display, an Nvidia Tegra Replace a 'dumb phone' with an iPhone now or wait until later?
It's that time in the iPhone life-cycle when Apple is expected to launch a new version of the popular smartphone in a couple of months, leaving many potential first-time iPhone fans wondering what they should do about getting a new phone.
In this edition of Ask Maggie, I lay out the options for a reader considering buying a used or refurbished iPhone now to replace her basic "dumb phone." I also explain to another reader the difference between a tablet and e-reader.
Where can I get a cheap iPhone?
Dear Maggie,
I think I'm one of the few remaining people without a smartphone. My "dumb phone" from Verizon Wireless just died this week, and I need a new one ASAP. I'm thinking that I'd like an iPhone. Unfortunately, I can't wait until the new iPhone comes out this fall (even though I think I'd rather have the newest one.) I use my cell phone for work, as well as, for my primary phone. But I am not eligible for an upgrade until October.
Do you know where I can get a reasonably priced iPhone now? Or do you have any other
advice for me if I want to get the new iPhone when it's available later this fall?
Thanks,
Cathy
Dear Cathy,
You are in a tough spot because if you could wait until you're eligible for an upgrade from Verizon, you'd likely be able to get the latest iPhone that's expected to be launched in September for about $200. And if Apple has done what it's done in the past, you'd then be able to get the year old iPhone 4S for $100. (Apple generally discounts the previous generation device by $100 when a new one is released.)
But you can't wait. You need a new phone now. Since you aren't eligible for an upgrade, and it sounds like you don't have replacement insurance for your device, you are going to have buy a new phone.
Here are your choices: You can either get a new iPhone at full price or buy a used or refurbished one, which will cost you less, but won't be as an inexpensive as buying an iPhone with a subsidy from a carrier. The other option is to get a new cheap phone now and use your upgrade in October to get the new iPhone when it comes out.
Whether you're buying an iPhone or some other phone, I think eBay is your best bet for getting a reasonably priced new, used, or refurbished device. Apple and Verizon will charge you $650 for a brand new 16 GB iPhone 4S. The older iPhone 4 is $550 brand new from Apple or Verizon Wireless.
iPhones hold their value pretty well, so even the refurbished and used iPhones are not cheap. A new iPhone will obviously cost you the most. A refurbished one will be a little less. And a used one will be your cheapest bet.
The difference between a used and refurbished phone is that the refurbished phones are tested by a third party to make sure they work. The device is wiped clean of any data from the previous owner and the settings are returned to the factory settings.
Used devices may not have been tested by a third party. And there's a chance that the device hasn't been wiped clean, which is actually more of an issue for the previous owner than it is for you. But it may be a bit of a hassle for you. At any rate, there is more risk involved with buying a used device that likely hasn't been tested as much as one that is refurbished.
If you can't wait of an iPhone and must have one now, keep in mind that the most recent iPhone is the iPhone 4S. It was introduced last fall. And it is understandably more expensive than older versions, i.e. the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and the original iPhone.
On eBay, you can get a new 16GB iPhone 4S for about $510. A used one is $369 and a refurbished one is $500. A brand new iPhone 4 is going for about $415 on eBay. You can get a used one for about $210 and a refurbished one for $330. But remember that this is the device that is now two years old.
In general, I don't recommend that people buy the older versions of the iPhone. Since you're a Verizon customer, you wouldn't be able to get the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, or original iPhone anyway. These devices only operate on AT&T's network and unlocked versions can operate on T-Mobile. But even if you could buy them and use them on Verizon, I wouldn't recommend these anyway since they are so old.
But even the iPhone 4 is looking a little long in the tooth these days compared to other smartphones on the market. I don't think that it's not really worth it for you to pay a couple of hundred dollars for a device that is already two generations old.
So here's what I'd recommend. Since you only have a few months until you are eligible for an upgrade, you should just buy another cheap feature phone. (You may even find a friend who has an old Verizon phone that he or she isn't using that you could use for a couple of months.) When you can upgrade and renew your Verizon contract, you can upgrade to a new iPhone. At that point you will likely be able to get the new iPhone, which will should cost $200 with a two-year contract, or you may be able to get last year's iPhone 4S for $100. (Getting a device that is one generation old is good way to save some money on the upfront cost of the device. But as I mentioned, earlier I wouldn't buy an iPhone that is two generations or more old.)
Verizon sells new and refurbished phones on its site. But as I noted earlier, I think eBay often offers the best deals. So if you're going to buy a cheap phone, I'd go to eBay first. A refurbished basic flip phone from Verizon is about $30 on eBay. And a new Samsung Intensity III quick messaging device with a full QWERTY keyboard is going for about $60 on eBay. On Verizon's site, the same phone is sold new for $280.
Good luck with your phone dilemma! I hope this advice was helpful.
Tablet confusion
Dear Maggie,
Maybe this question has been asked already, but I need a little help understanding something. I keep hearing about iPads, tablets and e-readers. I am interested in buying one of these products. But what's the difference between these devices? Is it just the price or the hardware?
Thank you, Mags.
Arnold
Dear Arnold,
The difference isn't all about price. The real difference has to do with software.
A tablet is just a general category for a mobile device that has a touch screen and has a browser that allows people to access the Internet either via Wi-Fi or on a carrier's 3G or 4G network. eReaders may have browsers, but they are mostly used for reading books and periodicals, and they may or may not have a touch screen. Many of them use "e-ink," which makes the page look like paper. It's much easier on the eyes than the backlit screen of a tablet.
Current generations of tablets use operating systems that are more similar to a smartphone OS than a computer's OS. This means tablets don't do the same kind of heavy computing that you'd expect from a full blown PC or Mac. Lots of companies make "tablets." And they come in different sizes. There are the larger 10-inch to 11-inch tablets and the smaller 7-inch category. E-readers are generally smaller and lighter since they're meant to be used mostly for reading.
The most common operating systems used for tablets today are Google Android, Apple iOS, BlackBerry's OS for the Playbook, and the soon-to-be-released Windows 8 from Microsoft.
An iPad is a specific kind of tablet that is made by Apple. It uses the iOS operating system, which is also used on other Apple products, such as the iPhone and iPod Touch. People who own the iPad can buy apps from Apple's App store via iTunes. And they can also access music and videos from iTunes. If you've already invested in apps and other media content like music and videos from Apple, the iPad is a great choice. Currently, it comes in one screen size, which is the bigger tablet size. But because it's the most popular tablet on the market, there are many more apps available specifically for the iPad than any of the other tablet operating systems.
As I mentioned above, e-readers are devices that are typically designed for reading books, newspapers, and magazines. Amazon and Barnes & Noble sell the the most popular e-readers on the market, which are the Kindle and Nook families of devices. But these companies have also branched out to the tablet market. And now Amazon offers the Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble has the Nook Tablet. Each of these devices have full browsers that support Web browsing. They can also access apps and games, as well as movies, TV shows, and music.
In summary, "tablet" is the catch-all phrase for mobile touch-screen devices that can surf the Web, download apps and games, and play video and music. An e-reader may offer some browsing and audio capability, but it's mostly used for reading books and periodicals. And the iPad is a specific type of tablet.
I hope this helps explain the difference. Good luck!
Ask Maggie is an advice column that answers readers' wireless and broadband questions. The column now appears twice a week on CNET offering readers a double dosage of Ask Maggie's advice. If you have a question, I'd love to hear from you. Please send me an e-mail at maggie dot reardon at cbs dot com. And please put "Ask Maggie" in the subject header. You can also follow me on Facebook on my Ask Maggie page.
In this edition of Ask Maggie, I lay out the options for a reader considering buying a used or refurbished iPhone now to replace her basic "dumb phone." I also explain to another reader the difference between a tablet and e-reader.
Where can I get a cheap iPhone?
Dear Maggie,
I think I'm one of the few remaining people without a smartphone. My "dumb phone" from Verizon Wireless just died this week, and I need a new one ASAP. I'm thinking that I'd like an iPhone. Unfortunately, I can't wait until the new iPhone comes out this fall (even though I think I'd rather have the newest one.) I use my cell phone for work, as well as, for my primary phone. But I am not eligible for an upgrade until October.
Do you know where I can get a reasonably priced iPhone now? Or do you have any other
advice for me if I want to get the new iPhone when it's available later this fall?
Thanks,
Cathy
Dear Cathy,
You are in a tough spot because if you could wait until you're eligible for an upgrade from Verizon, you'd likely be able to get the latest iPhone that's expected to be launched in September for about $200. And if Apple has done what it's done in the past, you'd then be able to get the year old iPhone 4S for $100. (Apple generally discounts the previous generation device by $100 when a new one is released.)
But you can't wait. You need a new phone now. Since you aren't eligible for an upgrade, and it sounds like you don't have replacement insurance for your device, you are going to have buy a new phone.
Here are your choices: You can either get a new iPhone at full price or buy a used or refurbished one, which will cost you less, but won't be as an inexpensive as buying an iPhone with a subsidy from a carrier. The other option is to get a new cheap phone now and use your upgrade in October to get the new iPhone when it comes out.
Whether you're buying an iPhone or some other phone, I think eBay is your best bet for getting a reasonably priced new, used, or refurbished device. Apple and Verizon will charge you $650 for a brand new 16 GB iPhone 4S. The older iPhone 4 is $550 brand new from Apple or Verizon Wireless.
iPhones hold their value pretty well, so even the refurbished and used iPhones are not cheap. A new iPhone will obviously cost you the most. A refurbished one will be a little less. And a used one will be your cheapest bet.
The difference between a used and refurbished phone is that the refurbished phones are tested by a third party to make sure they work. The device is wiped clean of any data from the previous owner and the settings are returned to the factory settings.
Used devices may not have been tested by a third party. And there's a chance that the device hasn't been wiped clean, which is actually more of an issue for the previous owner than it is for you. But it may be a bit of a hassle for you. At any rate, there is more risk involved with buying a used device that likely hasn't been tested as much as one that is refurbished.
If you can't wait of an iPhone and must have one now, keep in mind that the most recent iPhone is the iPhone 4S. It was introduced last fall. And it is understandably more expensive than older versions, i.e. the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and the original iPhone.
On eBay, you can get a new 16GB iPhone 4S for about $510. A used one is $369 and a refurbished one is $500. A brand new iPhone 4 is going for about $415 on eBay. You can get a used one for about $210 and a refurbished one for $330. But remember that this is the device that is now two years old.
In general, I don't recommend that people buy the older versions of the iPhone. Since you're a Verizon customer, you wouldn't be able to get the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, or original iPhone anyway. These devices only operate on AT&T's network and unlocked versions can operate on T-Mobile. But even if you could buy them and use them on Verizon, I wouldn't recommend these anyway since they are so old.
But even the iPhone 4 is looking a little long in the tooth these days compared to other smartphones on the market. I don't think that it's not really worth it for you to pay a couple of hundred dollars for a device that is already two generations old.
So here's what I'd recommend. Since you only have a few months until you are eligible for an upgrade, you should just buy another cheap feature phone. (You may even find a friend who has an old Verizon phone that he or she isn't using that you could use for a couple of months.) When you can upgrade and renew your Verizon contract, you can upgrade to a new iPhone. At that point you will likely be able to get the new iPhone, which will should cost $200 with a two-year contract, or you may be able to get last year's iPhone 4S for $100. (Getting a device that is one generation old is good way to save some money on the upfront cost of the device. But as I mentioned, earlier I wouldn't buy an iPhone that is two generations or more old.)
Verizon sells new and refurbished phones on its site. But as I noted earlier, I think eBay often offers the best deals. So if you're going to buy a cheap phone, I'd go to eBay first. A refurbished basic flip phone from Verizon is about $30 on eBay. And a new Samsung Intensity III quick messaging device with a full QWERTY keyboard is going for about $60 on eBay. On Verizon's site, the same phone is sold new for $280.
Good luck with your phone dilemma! I hope this advice was helpful.
Tablet confusion
Dear Maggie,
Maybe this question has been asked already, but I need a little help understanding something. I keep hearing about iPads, tablets and e-readers. I am interested in buying one of these products. But what's the difference between these devices? Is it just the price or the hardware?
Thank you, Mags.
Arnold
Dear Arnold,
The difference isn't all about price. The real difference has to do with software.
A tablet is just a general category for a mobile device that has a touch screen and has a browser that allows people to access the Internet either via Wi-Fi or on a carrier's 3G or 4G network. eReaders may have browsers, but they are mostly used for reading books and periodicals, and they may or may not have a touch screen. Many of them use "e-ink," which makes the page look like paper. It's much easier on the eyes than the backlit screen of a tablet.
Current generations of tablets use operating systems that are more similar to a smartphone OS than a computer's OS. This means tablets don't do the same kind of heavy computing that you'd expect from a full blown PC or Mac. Lots of companies make "tablets." And they come in different sizes. There are the larger 10-inch to 11-inch tablets and the smaller 7-inch category. E-readers are generally smaller and lighter since they're meant to be used mostly for reading.
The most common operating systems used for tablets today are Google Android, Apple iOS, BlackBerry's OS for the Playbook, and the soon-to-be-released Windows 8 from Microsoft.
An iPad is a specific kind of tablet that is made by Apple. It uses the iOS operating system, which is also used on other Apple products, such as the iPhone and iPod Touch. People who own the iPad can buy apps from Apple's App store via iTunes. And they can also access music and videos from iTunes. If you've already invested in apps and other media content like music and videos from Apple, the iPad is a great choice. Currently, it comes in one screen size, which is the bigger tablet size. But because it's the most popular tablet on the market, there are many more apps available specifically for the iPad than any of the other tablet operating systems.
As I mentioned above, e-readers are devices that are typically designed for reading books, newspapers, and magazines. Amazon and Barnes & Noble sell the the most popular e-readers on the market, which are the Kindle and Nook families of devices. But these companies have also branched out to the tablet market. And now Amazon offers the Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble has the Nook Tablet. Each of these devices have full browsers that support Web browsing. They can also access apps and games, as well as movies, TV shows, and music.
In summary, "tablet" is the catch-all phrase for mobile touch-screen devices that can surf the Web, download apps and games, and play video and music. An e-reader may offer some browsing and audio capability, but it's mostly used for reading books and periodicals. And the iPad is a specific type of tablet.
I hope this helps explain the difference. Good luck!
Ask Maggie is an advice column that answers readers' wireless and broadband questions. The column now appears twice a week on CNET offering readers a double dosage of Ask Maggie's advice. If you have a question, I'd love to hear from you. Please send me an e-mail at maggie dot reardon at cbs dot com. And please put "Ask Maggie" in the subject header. You can also follow me on Facebook on my Ask Maggie page.
Spirit jet diverts to Houston with unruly traveler The Associated Press
HOUSTON —
Police say an 86-year-old partially blind man who cannot speak English became unruly
onboard a Spirit Airlines flight to Florida, compelling the pilot to divert to Houston.
Spirit Airlines says Flight 310 from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., landed at George
Bush Intercontinental Airport early Sunday due to a "disruptive customer."
Police spokesman Kese (KEES) Smith said Monday the man apparently spoke only French and was
traveling alone. Smith said he became frightened and swung at other passengers. Police
found an interpreter and contacted the man's son, who flew to Houston and accompanied his
father to Florida.
Smith did not provide the man's name.
Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson says the other passengers were assigned to a new flight on
Sunday and that they will be refunded for the inconvenience.
Police say an 86-year-old partially blind man who cannot speak English became unruly
onboard a Spirit Airlines flight to Florida, compelling the pilot to divert to Houston.
Spirit Airlines says Flight 310 from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., landed at George
Bush Intercontinental Airport early Sunday due to a "disruptive customer."
Police spokesman Kese (KEES) Smith said Monday the man apparently spoke only French and was
traveling alone. Smith said he became frightened and swung at other passengers. Police
found an interpreter and contacted the man's son, who flew to Houston and accompanied his
father to Florida.
Smith did not provide the man's name.
Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson says the other passengers were assigned to a new flight on
Sunday and that they will be refunded for the inconvenience.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Kangna, the ‘Ottoman’ queen in JJ Valaya’s ‘empire’
Grand Bazaar of Istanbul becomes the ramp: To recreate a 'sultanesque' era of the Ottoman Empire on the fashion runway is a feat many designers would express apprehension in trying a hand at. The massive Grand Bazaar of Istanbul that first opened in the year 1461 and covered innumerable streets attracting thousands of visitors every day was constructed in all regalia on the runway. An effort to make the viewer walk through the lanes of centuries old culture-scape of a decadent empire was commendable. With human montages seated at the aisle of the ramp busy sewing carpets, locals waking up to a lazy morning, an artist playing the 'Darbuka' at the middle of the stage and residents peeking out from their balconies to catch its glimpse, painted an image that led us into a make-believe world, leaving us enamoured.
'Azrak': A theatrical fashion show: Performances that included a belly dance to the rhythm of Turkish tunes, Christian Jose Vare's playing 'kemenche' along with another artist juggling crystal-like balls in the air invited remarks of appreciation by all. The collection bearing an exotic name 'Azrak,' meaning 'rare and uncommon' was divided into four distinct phases- ceramic, leather, paper and wood to display the fashion fabric of an era forgotten.
Royal calligraphy on designs: Dramatic weaves of the Sultan's robes, exotic birds and graphic calligraphy done on his signature Alika jackets and kaftans brought back flashes of the royal age. Amid weedy smell of hookahs in the air and tapping beats of tambourine, models dressed in ethnic wear of contemporary design walked down the corridors of the Istanbul marketplace. Handcrafted designs in uncut diamonds and polki converted into enviable neckpieces accompanying the Ottoman wardrobe.
Colours and style: Beginning on a sedate note with a monochromatic palette in ivories and black, the collection gradually delved into the colour territory in forms such as Mother of pearl inlay, Turkish miniatures and Iznik ceramics. Tulle dresses with jackets in quilted avatars paired with breeches and custom print leggings unfolded the first collection subsequently followed by other prints in accents of Valaya embroideries. Jackets with piping details, one-shoulder ivory jersey gown, short cocoon dress with tonal resham embroidery and Nehru jackets made the apparel look stylish. Fusion coordinates were visible in shaded saree gown and stitch- up saree with miniature print detail, brocade achkan highlighted in fine embroidery and voluminous salwars.
Unconventional denims: Denims made a guest appearance too but with a twist. Bandhgalas with geometric applique detailing and breeches teamed with digitally printed shirts displayed an unpredictable denim avatar.
Kangna, fash fraternity showstop: Surprises greeted us one after the other when we saw the fashion fraternity walking down the ramp in gorgeous silhouettes. Designer Suneet Varma and Rohit Bal got the spectators whistling as they dazzled in brocade achkan and detailed piped jackets. Looking stunning in an ivory, finely embroidered gown and dark brown and gold brocade jacket, embellished with gem-studded necklace and earrings, actor, Kangna Ranaut, was a true show stealer. Kangna Ranaut, who was the designer's face two years back at the Couture Week, admitted that the costume she was donning was one of the "best I've ever worn. It makes me feel special," she added.
Designer's speak: Completing 20 years in fashion on the WIFW 2012 platform, JJ Valaya, referring to his collection said, "Reflections of couture are visible in my creation which is reminiscent of an era that had a sense of style quite distinct and unique. A ready-to-wear collection, the theme achieves a culmination of time and colour."
Front row glitterati: Being a finale of the country's much awaited fashion event, the show area brimmed with guests and buying clientele. Besides the fashion fraternity, that marked its presence on the ramp, others spotted were actor Nafisa Ali, fashion writer Vinod Nair and designer Varun Bahl among others.
'Azrak': A theatrical fashion show: Performances that included a belly dance to the rhythm of Turkish tunes, Christian Jose Vare's playing 'kemenche' along with another artist juggling crystal-like balls in the air invited remarks of appreciation by all. The collection bearing an exotic name 'Azrak,' meaning 'rare and uncommon' was divided into four distinct phases- ceramic, leather, paper and wood to display the fashion fabric of an era forgotten.
Royal calligraphy on designs: Dramatic weaves of the Sultan's robes, exotic birds and graphic calligraphy done on his signature Alika jackets and kaftans brought back flashes of the royal age. Amid weedy smell of hookahs in the air and tapping beats of tambourine, models dressed in ethnic wear of contemporary design walked down the corridors of the Istanbul marketplace. Handcrafted designs in uncut diamonds and polki converted into enviable neckpieces accompanying the Ottoman wardrobe.
Colours and style: Beginning on a sedate note with a monochromatic palette in ivories and black, the collection gradually delved into the colour territory in forms such as Mother of pearl inlay, Turkish miniatures and Iznik ceramics. Tulle dresses with jackets in quilted avatars paired with breeches and custom print leggings unfolded the first collection subsequently followed by other prints in accents of Valaya embroideries. Jackets with piping details, one-shoulder ivory jersey gown, short cocoon dress with tonal resham embroidery and Nehru jackets made the apparel look stylish. Fusion coordinates were visible in shaded saree gown and stitch- up saree with miniature print detail, brocade achkan highlighted in fine embroidery and voluminous salwars.
Unconventional denims: Denims made a guest appearance too but with a twist. Bandhgalas with geometric applique detailing and breeches teamed with digitally printed shirts displayed an unpredictable denim avatar.
Kangna, fash fraternity showstop: Surprises greeted us one after the other when we saw the fashion fraternity walking down the ramp in gorgeous silhouettes. Designer Suneet Varma and Rohit Bal got the spectators whistling as they dazzled in brocade achkan and detailed piped jackets. Looking stunning in an ivory, finely embroidered gown and dark brown and gold brocade jacket, embellished with gem-studded necklace and earrings, actor, Kangna Ranaut, was a true show stealer. Kangna Ranaut, who was the designer's face two years back at the Couture Week, admitted that the costume she was donning was one of the "best I've ever worn. It makes me feel special," she added.
Designer's speak: Completing 20 years in fashion on the WIFW 2012 platform, JJ Valaya, referring to his collection said, "Reflections of couture are visible in my creation which is reminiscent of an era that had a sense of style quite distinct and unique. A ready-to-wear collection, the theme achieves a culmination of time and colour."
Front row glitterati: Being a finale of the country's much awaited fashion event, the show area brimmed with guests and buying clientele. Besides the fashion fraternity, that marked its presence on the ramp, others spotted were actor Nafisa Ali, fashion writer Vinod Nair and designer Varun Bahl among others.
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