(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit has resigned, effective immediately, a shock change at the top of the bank just one day after surprisingly strong quarterly results.
A statement on Tuesday from Chairman Michael O'Neill said Michael Corbat, previously chief executive for Europe, Middle East and Africa, would succeed Pandit as CEO and as a board member.
Chief Operating Officer John Havens, a long-time associate of Pandit, also resigned.
Pandit's departure sent Citigroup's stock down nearly 2.5 percent in premarket trading as investors tried to figure out why he would leave now after keeping the bank afloat during the financial crisis and getting it back on a firmer footing.
"I would have expected he wanted to stay around and see some of the fruits of his labors there," said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer of Oakbrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.
Pandit's resignation comes after a series of high-profile defeats this year. In March the Federal Reserve rejected the bank's capital plans after a stress test; Pandit had led analysts and investors to believe the dividend-raising plans would be approved.
Last month, Pandit agreed to a low sale price for his bank's stake in the brokerage operated by Morgan Stanley. Citigroup had to take a $4.7 billion charge in the third quarter to write down the value of that stake.
Citigroup shares fell 90 cents to $35.76 in premarket trading. The stock rose sharply on Monday after the bank reported third-quarter results that were much better than analysts expected.
"What Pandit and Havens did was increase the uncertainty around Citi," said Matt McCormick, banking analyst and portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor in Cincinnati, Ohio. "There's a perpetual cloud of uncertainty surrounding Citigroup. There's always turmoil ... that's had to affect the stock price."
(Reporting by David Henry in New York; Additional reporting by Charles Mikolajczak and Phil Wahba; Writing by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by John Wallace)
Lakers forward Antawn Jamison (4) grabs a rebound in the first half of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers during a game last week at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE)
Antawn Jamison needed a job last summer. The Lakers needed to fill a vacancy for a veteran backup forward.
So, it seemed natural the Lakers would sign Jamison to a one-season, $1.3 million contract. But there was another reason Jamison decided to give the Lakers a try, and it wasn't only because he's in search of his first championship ring after 14 seasons.
"He was one of the reasons I wanted to come here," Jamison said.
"He" was not superstar guard Kobe Bryant, although it could have been just as easily the reason Jamison signed. Nor was it future Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash. Nor was it center Dwight Howard. Nor was it Pau Gasol. Nor was it Metta World Peace.
No, Jamison referred to Lakers coach Mike Brown.
"To me, it was a no-brainer," Jamison said of signing with the Lakers.
Jamison played for Brown for part of the 2009-10 season, Brown's last with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brown was fired after the LeBron James-led Cavaliers won 61 games during the regular season but failed to win an NBA title.
The Cavaliers operated as if on autopilot back then. Brown was in his fifth season, with James and a cast of young players sticking to a relatively simple game plan and winning with spectacular ease at times during the regular season.
There was little tinkering to be done with the Cavaliers.
Jamison, however, found Brown and circumstances changed dramatically when the Lakers began training camp Oct. 2. Brown
was constantly at work, stressing small details and leaving zero to chance as he began his second season with the Lakers.
"He has to put his stamp on what he wants us to do," Jamison said of Brown.
There is a new game plan, a variation of the free-flowing Princeton offense and a bunch of new players this season. There are talents to be blended, styles to be meshed and, ultimately, games to be won. The honeymoon period is over for Brown.
"He's not willing to let things go through the cracks now," Jamison said. "He's really on point. I think they had a comfort zone in Cleveland where they could kind of just go through the motions.
"He wants us to do things the correct way. It's good."
Brown has been intense, but he's also been willing to back off with players.
Because of the NBA lockout that delayed and then compressed training camp and the regular season, Brown pushed and pushed and pushed last season. The Lakers practiced or played games for 19 consecutive days before he gave the players a break.
He's slowed the pace dramatically during this training camp.
Sunday marked the Lakers' second day off in two weeks.
"He's the perfect fit for this type of situation," Jamison said when asked if Brown's experience made him the right man to guide this championship contender. "I don't know how many coaches could come in here and put their stamp on this team."
Quote, unquote
Brown on the state of the Lakers after three losses to begin the exhibition season:
"I kind of like where we are right now because there's lots of room to grow."
Quote, unquote, part II
World Peace on rookie center Robert Sacre:
"I really like this kid. He has a lot of tattoos."
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan says Wisconsin can "complete its journey" by electing Mitt Romney as president and putting former Gov. Tommy Thompson in the U.S. Senate.
Ryan spoke Sunday at a $250-per-couple fundraiser for Thompson at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee.
Ryan says he, Gov. Scott Walker and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus are all prot?g?s of Thompson, who served 14 years as governor. Ryan says they are all part of what he called the Thompson "farm team."
Walker, Priebus and Thompson also all addressed the crowd of about 300.
Ryan spoke about Walker's successful win in June's recall election and Priebus' work as the head of the RNC after leading the Wisconsin state party, then said Wisconsin can complete its journey in November.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Although choreography by George Balanchine has been a part of the Carolina Ballet repertoire for all of its fourteen seasons, these performances continue to be a rare treat. Unlike the work in literature or on canvas of great artists, a dance is fleeting. On opening night of Carolina Ballet?s A Balanchine Celebration the dancers captured the clean and intricate lines, the fast footwork connected intimately to the music, and the moods, from sublime to playful, that make Balanchine?s work stand out above so many others.
Timour Bourtasenkov in Apollo
The show opened with Apollo, a dramatic portrayal of the Greek god with his muses. With the self-admiring, lute-playing god, this ballet might run the risk of appearing ridiculous less skillfully danced. Timour Bourtasenkov danced the part of Apollo with sensitively commanding and statuesque poise. Power seemed to alternate between?Bourtasenkov and the muses, Alicia Fabry, Lindsay Purrington, and Lilyan Vigo, whose smooth entanglements were mesmerizing.
?
Timour Bourtasenkov, Alicia Fabry, Linsay Purrington, and Lilan Vigo in Apollo
The fun and lively pas de deux Tarantella followed, with spritely Margaret Severin-Hansen and Pablo Javier Perez. Valse Fantaisie is everything that is good about a waltz with arms and long chiffon skirts whipping about and encircling the dancers like wisps of smoke. Jan Burkhard and Richard Krusch were classically vibrant, accented by a corps of four flowing in perfect unison.
Carolina Ballet?s Valse Fantaisie
Agon (Pas de Deux) is a visually strikingdance featuring the extension, focus and control of Lara O?Brien and Eugene Barnes. The pair was perfectly suited to the geometrically and musically challenging choreography. This is a piece of modern art with its pleasant but unemotional expressions and monochromatic aesthetic matched to the music of Igor Stravinsky.
Laura O?Brien and Eugene Barnes in Agon (Pas de deux)
Lara O?Brien and Eugene Barnes in Agon (Pas de deux)
The last piece, Who Cares? , is a whimsical ballet of fifteen short dances set to well-known George Gershwin tunes. Margaret Severin-Hansen and Gabor Kapin were masters of subtlety in the tender pas de deux The Man I Love, an intimate conversation between lovers. In Embraceable You Lilyan Vigo was exquisite, joining Kapin for an elegant uptown pas de deux. Jan Burkhard was full of youthful enthusiasm, exploding from the floor in the solo I?ll Build a Stairway to Paradise. The company came together for the finale, I Got Rhythm. Super-fast turns and jumps exposed flashes of pink from the bottom layers of the dancers? skirts designed by Steven Ruben.
Margaret Severin-Hansen and Gabor Kapin in Who Cares?
Randi Osetek?s ease of movement and high extensions were consistently eye-catching in Who Cares?, even with fourteen fast-moving dancers on stage. The live musical accompaniment provided by pianist Karl Moraski, drummer Scott Lane, and bassist Robbie Link kept the energy high. The genuine smiles throughout the ballet suggested the dance was as much a gift for the dancers as for the audience.
This is a sophisticated program, well suited to high-brow tastes. But children who like art in any form will also love these ballets. The dances are short, interesting and unexpected. The fast and playful ballets Who Cares? and Tarantella have the most obvious appeal for younger audiences, but all of them are bright and colorful, and musically and aesthetically interesting and intellectual. These dances might open the door for great conversations about the place of history and literature in art, and about a person using what he or she finds interesting in the world to create something of lasting impact.
You can see A Balanchine Celebration weekends through October 28. Get tickets and information here.
Review and photos by Denise Cerniglia
See more photos from the show at http://artsviewnc.wordpress.com/2012/10/14/a-balanchine-celebration/
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Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)
Carolina Ballet and the Gift of Balanchine, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating Tagged as: carolina ballet, Gabor Kapin, george balanchine, jan burkhard, Lilyan Vigo, Margaret Severin-Hansen, Robert Weiss, Timour Bourtasenkov
It?s two in the morning. A 15-year-old girl roams the streets of a rough council estate, wondering where to spend the night.? She climbs the stairs in one of the blocks of shabby, high-rise flats, and sits near the top. It?s cold and draughty in the stairwell, but better than being outside. She asks herself if going back home would be safer than staying out all night. Maybe it would be. Maybe it wouldn?t.
I?ve been thinking a lot lately about homeless young people. That girl on the stairs waiting for morning was me. But this isn?t about me. It?s about young people whose lives make the experiences that I had seem like a picnic. It?s about a social problem that exists today and it needs our urgent attention.
Are you aware that the UK today has a youth homelessness problem? A survey commissioned by the CSC (Consortium for Street Children) showed that while 61% of people thought street children were prevalent in Africa and Asia, only 13% saw it as a serious problem in the UK. An estimated 100,000 children run away in Britain each year, many of whom experience sleeping on the streets. As Sally Shire, Chief executive of the CSC says: ?Whether they are a runaway from Derby or a street child in Delhi the factors that drive children to the streets are similar.?
The true extent of youth homelessness is masked because only young people in contact with services are counted. The ?hidden homeless? include those living in temporary hostels or sofa surfing (staying for a night or two in different people?s houses and constantly moving on). These people often do sleep outside but not every night. Also affecting statistics are the different age limits on how organisations define youth.
Do you remember being a teenager? It?s often a time of trouble and turmoil, isn?t it? It can be difficult enough coping with being a teenager without the severe problems of homelessness added on. What would that do to self-esteem and developing a sense of identity?
There are many reasons why a teenager might become homeless: bullying, dysfunctional family relationships, violence, abuse, poverty and lack of affordable housing. Not all run away, some are ?kicked out? by their parents. Also, they might be the offspring of homeless adults, or those leaving care, having come of age and therefore no longer the responsibility of children?s services.
The most common reason why a young person might become homeless is relationship breakdown with parents, and this often involves physical, emotional and sexual abuse. A large number of this group are the adolescent ?runaways?, so called because they purposely leave family homes, or they run away from child protection services, psychiatric units or foster homes.
Many who run away are ?situational runaways? who leave after an argument with a parent or carer and then return a few days or weeks later. In some instances, particularly those where ongoing domestic abuse is intolerable, this pattern repeats itself but with increasingly longer periods of absence until these teenagers eventually become part of the chronic homeless population, sleeping rough or in hostels.
Of course homelessness is a serious matter whatever the age group, but if we can tackle this issue when people are young, we may, hopefully, prevent a future generation of long-term homeless people.
One of the ironies is that those who run away from abusive home environments face as much, if not more, of the same dangers on the streets that caused them to run away. Perhaps, despite this, they believe they have more control over their lives than remaining where they know they will continue to be abused.
Obviously the risks that being homeless brings are tremendous. These include the possibility of becoming physically and mentally ill due to exposure to cold, hunger, fear, sleeplessness, lack of hygiene facilities, constantly facing the danger of being assaulted, raped, and perhaps even murdered. Survival strategies on the streets include begging, stealing, and things that increase risks, such as prostitution and seeking temporary relief in drug or alcohol use.
So how does it feel to be a 13 year old girl sleeping in the rain at the back of Tesco?s? How does it feel to be young and homeless, trailing the streets looking for a place to sleep? Let?s think about it tonight when we?re in bed, safe and warm. And let?s try to imagine it now, how it might feel to sleep in doorways, in abandoned buildings, and on park benches in the dark. Do teenagers actually sleep in these situations? Maybe some of them do through sheer fatigue, but I?m sure others spend their nights too afraid to sleep. That?s why I?ve titled this post ?Waiting for Morning?.
Why don?t they get a job or go back home or seek help from charitable or statutory services? It?s a myth that most homeless teens could easily improve their situation. In these days of high unemployment, it?s almost impossible for young people to get a job who lack educational qualifications and experience, as well as having no fixed abode. Even if they do find some work or can obtain benefits (and of course that?s only those who are legally old enough), finding rented housing, affordable on a low income, often proves an insurmountable problem. Going home is not a feasible option if it means returning to more abuse.
Some of the homeless teens who approach charities in search of at least a temporary night shelter have to be turned away due to lack of facilities. This is especially likely now with the economic crisis and cuts in funding to charities. A strong fear that seeking help from statutory social services might result in being sent back to an abusive home keeps some teenagers lying low. We have to remember, too, that many of these kids have been badly treated and let down by every adult they?ve met, so their lack of trust is understandable.
Homeless teens on a downward spiral who find their way into the psychiatric services may end up with a stigmatising diagnosis, and the effects of damaging treatment, to add to their problems. Diagnoses such as schizophrenia or personality disorder are often used to describe what are really reactions to ongoing traumatic experiences, such as homelessness, preceded by the trauma of childhood abuse. My work for a mental health charity includes supporting people whose post traumatic stress disorder has been compounded, if not solely caused, by their experiences of the psychiatric services. I think that teenagers who feel it?s safer to trade their bed in a psychiatric unit for a bench in the park may not be entirely wrong.
So what is being done? To answer this question I thought about what is available in my own locality, Leeds. The largest youth homelessness charity in the UK is Depaul UK which, along with Barnardo?s Future Project, runs Leeds Nightstop. This is a scheme providing emergency accommodation to homeless teens within the homes of approved volunteers. It?s an attempt to break the cycle of youth homelessness by giving the young person a safe place to stay for a few nights, whilst trained staff work with them to try to sort out a long-term solution. Family mediation is also offered, which is appropriate for at least some young people.
Nightstop is just one example of the kind of help that might be offered in Leeds and other cities. Charities like this one do enable some young people to get off the streets if a place is available and if a longer term solution can then be found.
You may have found much of this post depressing, and not without a touch of my own cynicism. But I?m passionate about the need to raise awareness of the complicated issues of youth homelessness, without sugaring the pill. It?s not all bad. Many homeless charities can cite success stories from teenagers they?ve helped.
In early spring, a night of frost, rain, wind and hailstones bombarded my garden. What a pathetic sight the morning brought. The recently-opened daffodils that lived in a tub in my garden looked beyond hope, their heads drooping low. But the sun came out and gently warmed them. Gradually, over time, they not only survived but turned into the loveliest daffodils you could see.
Who?d have thought that those wilting plants had the potential to live, grow and bloom, given the right help and circumstances? Do you believe that our homeless youth have such potential, too? YES, they do. I know it.
When Virginia Novine-Whittaker was choosing an instrument to pursue, her reason for choosing the saxophone was a bit unorthodox.
?When I first had to choose an instrument, I thought, ?What can I play that?s involved in the most groups so I could be in everything??? Whittaker said. ??What would be kind of cool?? And (the saxophone) is it.?
Now, Whittaker ? an adjunct instructor of music at Elon University ? is passing on her love for the saxophone through private instruction with students of all levels of expertise. Outside of her lessons with music majors, Whittaker said she is happy to take on students who have never played an instrument before.
?There?s a lot of opportunities for students on campus to get involved in the music department if they?re not majors,? Whittaker said. ?I had a student last semester [who] just always thought saxophone was cool and she wanted to take something that was different.?I taught her how to read music. In one semester, we went from her not ever blowing a note on an instrument or reading music, to being able to play some intermediate jazz lines that sounded really good.?
Of course, Whittaker also offers private instruction to advanced music majors, and many of her students have gone on to procure jobs in the professional industry. A number of Elon graduates are now working as band directors and studio musicians. One particular alumnus is now teaching saxophone students in the military, she said.
You have to live a life that has meaning. You have to live life large, and then you just play it large. ?Virginia Novine-Whittaker, adjunct instructor of music
For Whittaker, though, the study of music has never been about career success. Rather, it is about the passion and the expression.
?Musicians have a means of expression that goes beyond words, and people who don?t have that wish for it,? she said. ?That?s what grabs me.?And I love all the different emotions you can play, and all the colors and all the different roles you can take on.?
Whittaker said many students are not used to wearing their hearts on their sleeves, which is practically required of musicians. But with some instruction, she said she believes anyone can learn how to express themselves.
?You have to live a life that has meaning,? Whittaker said. ?You have to live life large, and then you just play it large. I want to be able to share that and teach students how they can get in touch with that part of themselves.?
Whittaker?s most sincere example of student transformation comes from several years ago, when a down-and-out high school student, who had run away from home, was still attending her saxophone lessons despite living on the streets.
?I just hung in there with her, I kept teaching her,? Whittaker said. ?It was the one thread that held her from falling off. For some [students], this is what they do. We?ve got to let them do it. It?s so important.?
Whittaker said the importance of arts education is what drives her to keep teaching.
?It is important on so many levels for someone to study this,? she said. ?It?s one of the few things that we do that has delayed gratification.?It teaches the concept of how wonderful it is to achieve something after you?ve worked so hard and so long for it.?
Department of Music, Elon University Saxophone Studio, featured, saxophone, Virginia Novine-Whittaker
About Rebecca Iannucci
Rebecca Iannucci is the Arts & Entertainment Editor for The Pendulum. She is a print and online journalism major from Nutley, N.J. She has previously worked with the organization as a Copy Editor and reporter.
View all posts by Rebecca Iannucci ?
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As being an avid retro-gamer, for quite a long time I am particularly excited about the background of online games. To get more specific, individual that i?m very interested in is ?Which Aneityum 8434 Vanuatu the main computer game ever produced??? So, I started the full investigation about this subject (and which makes this article lower your expenses inside of a number of articles that will cover in greater detail all video game history).
The question was: Which has been the 1st computer game ever produced?
The right formula: Well, as a lot of matters in life, there is absolutely no simple respond to that question. You should consider all by yourself concept of the thought of ?video game?. Including: Once you look at ?the first video game?, will you mean the initial video game which was commercially-made, or even the first console game, or maybe the first digitally programmed game? Due to this, I produced a variety of 4-5 computer games that within a way an additional were the beginners of your video gaming industry. You will see that the very first video games just weren?t manufactured with the very thought of getting any benefit from them (back in those decades there was no Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Sega, Atari, or some other video game company around). Really, the only real understanding of a ?video game? or an digital camera which was only suitable for ?playing games inside them for hours fun? was higher than the imagination of more than 99% of the population instruction online those days. But owing to this small group of geniuses who walked the 1st steps into the gambling revolution, we are able to delight in endless fun and entertainment today (keeping aside the roll-out of scores of jobs in the past Five decades). Without further ado, here? present the ?first computer game nominees?:
1940s: Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device
This is certainly considered (with official documentation) as the first electronic game device available. It had become manufactured by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann. The experience was assembled within the 1940s and submitted for an US Patent in January 1947. The patent was granted December 1948, that causes it to become the initial electronic game device to ever be handed a patent (US Patent 2,455,992). As described while in the patent, it was really an analog circuit device installed with knobs utilized to go a dot that appeared from the cathode ray tube show. Mafia wars was inspired because when missiles appeared in WWII radars, plus the object of the game was simply controlling a ?missile? to be able to hit a target. Inside the 1940s it was really extremely hard (for not saying impossible) to indicate graphics within a Cathode Ray Tube show. For that reason, merely the actual ?missile? appeared over the show. The prospective and any other graphics were showed on the watch?s screen overlays manually place on the show. It was said by many people that Atari?s well-known computer game ?Missile Command? appeared then gaming device.
1951: NIMROD
NIMROD was the be sure you computer device from the 50s decade. The creators of this computer were the engineers connected with an UK-based company as Ferranti, with the thought of showing this device with the 1951 Festival of england (and then it had become also showed in Berlin).
NIM can be a two-player numerical bet on strategy, that?s regarded an come originally through the ancient China. The foundations of NIM are simple: You can find a certain range of groups (or ?heaps?), as well as every group sports a certain number of objects (a standard starting range of NIM is 3 heaps containing 3, 4, and 5 objects respectively). Each player alternate removing objects on the heaps, but all removed objects must be from one heap and at least one object is taken off. Small leaguer for taking last object on the last heap loses, but there is a variation from the game where the player for taking last object on the last heap wins.
NIMROD used a lights panel to be a show and was plotted making it together with the unique intent behind playing the action of NIM, making it the main digital computer device to get specifically suitable for playing a personal game (even so the main thought was showing and illustrating the fact that digital computer works, as an alternative to to entertain and delight in by it). Because it doesn?t have ?raster video equipment? to be a show (a Telly, monitor, etc.) it is really not considered by a lot of as being a real ?video game? (are just looking for game, yes? youtube videos game, no?). But, when again, promoted is dependent upon your viewpoint while you talk about a ?video game?.
1952: OXO (?Noughts and Crosses?)
This is an electric version of ?Tic-Tac-Toe?, intended for an EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) computer. It absolutely was made by Alexander S. Douglas within the University of Cambridge, and another longer it wasn?t suitable for entertainment, it had become a part of his PhD Thesis on ?Interactions between human and computer?.
The foundations of the game are the ones of the regular Tic-Tac-Toe game, player up against the computer (no 2-player option was available). The input method became a rotary dial (such as ones in ancient telephones). The output was showed in a 35?16-pixel cathode-ray tube show. Farmville never was seriously well loved for the reason that EDSAC computer was only offered by the University of Cambridge, there was no approach to set it up and participate in it in other regions (until quite a few years later when an EDSAC emulator was designed available, and this period several brilliant games where available likewise?).
1958: Tennis for 2
?Tennis for Two? appeared by William Higinbotham, a physicist working with the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Bingo is made as an simple way of entertainment, so laboratory visitors had something amusing to undertake throughout their wait on ?visitors day? (finally!? a slidemovie game that has been made ?just for fun??) . The game was pretty well devised for its era: the ball behavior was modified by several factors like gravity, wind velocity, position and angle of contact, etc.; this is to avoid the internet like in real tennis, many other considerations. The playback quality game hardware included two ?joysticks? (two controllers which includes a rotational knob plus a push button each) linked with an analog console, as well as oscilloscope as being a show.
?Tennis for Two? is viewed by many people the primary gaming ever made. In case again, lots of others stand out from that thought stating that ?it would have been a film, not only a video game? or ?the output show was an oscilloscope, not only a ?raster? video show? in order that it isn?t going to become qualified as a video game?. But well? you simply can?t please everyone?
It is usually rumored that ?Tennis for Two? was the muse for Atari?s mega hit ?Pong?, but, this rumor has been strongly denied? for obvious reasons.
1961: Spacewar!
?Spacewar!? video gaming was designed by Stephen Russell, by using J. Martin Graetz, Peter Samson, Alan Kotok, Wayne Witanen and Dan Edwards from MIT. By way of the 1960s, MIT was ?the right choice? when you wished to do computer research and development. So this six of innovative guys took benefit of a brand-new computer was ordered and likely to arrive campus soon (a DEC PDP-1) and commenced wondering about how much hardware testing programs could well be made. Every time they learned that a ?Precision CRT Show? would be installed to the system, they instantly chose that ?some kind of visual/interactive game? would be the demonstration software preferred by the PDP-1. After some discussion, it had become soon made a choice to be a space battle game or something similar. After that choice, all other thoughts arrived on the scene pretty quick: like rules with the game, designing concepts, programming thoughts, and many others.
So after about 200 man/hours of work, the very first version of the adventure was at last all set to be tested. The experience contains two spaceships (affectively named by players ?pencil? and ?wedge?) shooting missiles at one another having a star part way through the show (which ?pulls? both spaceships because of its gravitational force). A collection of control switches was used to manage each spaceship (for rotation, speed, missiles, and ?hyperspace?). Each spaceship have a limited volume of fuel and weapons, as well as the hyperspace option was similar to a ?panic button?, just in case you cannot find any other another option (it could possibly either ?save you or break you?).
The laptop game was an instant success between MIT students and programmers, and shortly they started making his or her changes on the game program (like real star charts for background, star/no star option, background disable option, angular momentum option, a few). The sport code was ported to many other computer platforms (ever since the game required a movie show, a hard to seek out option in 1960s systems, it had become mostly ported to newer/cheaper DEC systems similar to the PDP-10 and PDP-11).
Spacewar! is not merely considered by many people because first ?real? computer game (because game gives you a video show), it are already demonstrated that they are the real predecessor of the original arcade game, in addition to being the muse of countless other video gaming, consoles, and gambling companies (can you say ?Atari???). That is another tale, arcade games along with console video gaming were printed in an alternative page in the status for online games (so stay tuned in for future articles on these subjects).
Out of your tender read the full info here they can be, the ?First Video Game? nominees. What design do you reckon could be the first xbox game available?? To my advice, I do believe most of these games were revolutionary for the era, and will be credited all together for the reason that beginners in the video game revolution. Rather then interested in the one that was the earliest video game, what exactly is crucial is really because are manufactured, period. As the read more?. of ?Spacewar!?, Stephen Rusell, once said: ?If I hadn?t accomplished it, someone will have done something equally exciting a beachside lounge chair yearly six months. I simply happened to get there first?.
Today, technology and commerce go together, making it almost impossible to thrive in the business sector without an online presence. Internet marketing has the capability to be the decisive factor in your firm?s success or failure. This choice of handpicked internet marketing tricks and tips, will give your campaign a business advantage.
Keep up on your email list upkeep. To be successful in e-mail marketing, your e-mail list needs to be as clean and strategic as possible. Look for mails that have bounced repeated times and remove them. Mark the emails of purchasers who have been dedicated purchasers of your products so that you can send them emails aimed specifically at them. You will find your e-mail selling will be more successful with a clean list.
If you are trying to grow your business?s internet presence by utilizing a blog, keep your updates short and efficient. Your regular updates should be about 300 to five hundred words in length; if you have a special feature you can extend this out to one thousand words. Any longer and you?ll likely lose the reader?s interest before the end.
You need to use social media to your advantage. Try joining appropriate social media groups and communities. You won?t only encounter like-minded individuals but you can lead more visitors to your site who may eventually become your future clients. Make sure you keep it friendly and professional in order that you can be regarded seriously.
Use the internet to your benefit. Form an internet community for people having an interest in your product or industry. People who become involved with the bulletin board, conversation list or chat-room will feel compelled to return constantly to your internet site to chat with others. This may also be used to supply free promotional offers like courses.
Build a signature for your e-mails that promotes both of your internet site and your social media. If you?re like many business owners, you send out many e-mails everyday. It?s the perfect vehicle to remind your e-mail recipients of many ways that they can enjoy your brand across the web.
Rather than allowing your company to get left behind in the shift towards ecommerce, use the guidance in this piece to make better, efficient online marketing tools. Doing so will create endless chances for better consumer reply, customer commitment, increased site traffic, and most importantly, better sales volume of your products and services.
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There was a lot of drama on the season premiere of "The X Factor" on Wednesday night, especially when a singer from Britney Spears' past - Don Philip - hit the stage.Don, who dueted with the singer on "I Will Still Love You," off Britney's debut album, "... Baby One More Time," was reduced to tears after he was told he wouldn't carry on by the panel - including Spears who said his voice wasn't "up to the bar of the standards of 'The X Factor."On Thursday, however, Philip told Access Hollywood more than just seeing Spears again, there was another reason for his emotional backstage moment.
Windows: More often than not, the touchpads on Windows laptops frankly suck. They tend to be unresponsive and clumsy. TwoFingerScroll greatly improves the Windows touchpad experience, with new features such as three-finger swiping and horizontal scrolling and, most importantly, smoother performance.
We've mentioned this utility before when talking about getting Mac-like scrolling and gestures on a Windows laptop. TabletPC Review user MacHater added a more recent unofficial mod of the original utility, which hasn't been updated since 2009. MacHater's build adds a lot of useful features, including:
Palm detection feature for scrolling and tapping
Double-tap with one finger and drag with another
Horizontal two-finger scrolling
Three-finger gestures to bring up Aero Flip or Alt+Tab
The utility works with Synaptics touchpads, which almost every Windows laptop comes with. After you install it, TwoFingerScroll will just start working and you should notice much smoother scrolling. I was surprised at how much of a difference it made on my Windows 7 laptop. Look for the icon in your system tray to customize the settings (or, if you want, turn the utility off).
There may be some configuration issues if you're using Windows 8 or certain laptop builds. If you're having trouble, see the TabletPC Review thread below for user comments.
Here's the download link on MediaFire. (I and others have scanned the file on VirusTotal.) Enjoy the new touchpad functionality.
If you were miffed at having to pay $29 to adapt your existing iPhone accessories to the iPhone 5's newfangled Lightning connector, fear not: Apple will throw in the first adapter, gratis. Extras will still run the aforementioned sum, which Cupertino has justified by saying the units will include chips to enable features like analog and USB audio along with syncing and charging. There's also a $39 cable version available, but neither format will let you output HDMI or VGA video -- there's more (as yet unpriced) adapters coming for that.
Update: Well, the plot thickens. We're now hearing reports that the above wording is a mistake, and that the adapter isn't included after all. The information comes via a reader of The Next Web, who advises Apple sales support informed them it was an error. Of course, we're reaching out to get the final word on the matter. However, that won't be much consolation to those who made a purchase based on incorrect info.
Update 2: The above wording is now nowhere to be found on Apple's site, suggesting that it was indeed an error. We'll keep you posted if we hear anything more.
Update 3: Well, we've just received word from Apple confirming that the iPhone 5 will not ship with a 30-pin to Lightning adapter, which is a bit of a bummer. But, it does come with a Lightning to USB adapter, so if your current accessories have a USB port, all hope is not lost. Sadly, the specific iPod out functionality found in BMWs and Minis is not supported. The full comment is below.
The Lightning to 30-pin adapter does not come in the box with iPhone 5. It is sold separately. However, the Lightning to USB cable does come with iPhone 5 for connection to AC chargers and other devices... The Lightning to 30 Pin adapter supports analog audio output, USB audio, as well as syncing and charging. Lightning to VGA and Lightning to HDMI cables will be available in the coming months.
ScienceDaily (Sep. 12, 2012) ? NASA's Mars Curiosity team has almost finished robotic arm tests in preparation for the rover to touch and examine its first Martian rock.
Tests with the 7-foot (2.1-meter) arm have allowed the mission team to gain confidence in the arm's precise maneuvering in Martian temperature and gravity conditions. During these activities, Curiosity has remained at a site it reached by its most recent drive on Sept. 5. The team will resume driving the rover this week and use its cameras to seek the first rock to touch with instruments on the arm.
"We're about to drive some more and try to find the right rock to begin doing contact science with the arm," said Jennifer Trosper, Curiosity mission manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
Two science instruments -- a camera called Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) that can take close-up, color images and a tool called Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) that determines the elemental composition of a target rock -- have passed preparatory tests at the rover's current location. The instruments are mounted on a turret at the end of the arm and can be placed in contact with target rocks.
Curiosity's Canadian-made APXS had taken atmospheric readings earlier, but its first use on a solid target on Mars was this week on a calibration target brought from Earth. X-ray detectors work best cold, but even the daytime APXS tests produced clean data for identifying elements in the target.
"The spectrum peaks are so narrow, we're getting excellent resolution, just as good as we saw in tests on Earth under ideal conditions," said APXS principal investigator Ralf Gellert of the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada. "The good news is that we can now make high-resolution measurements even at high noon to support quick decisions about whether a sample is worthwhile for further investigations."
The adjustable-focus MAHLI camera this week has produced sharp images of objects near and far.
"Honestly, seeing those images with Curiosity's wheels in the foreground and Mount Sharp in the background simply makes me cry," said MAHLI principal investigator Ken Edgett of Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. "I know we're just getting started, but it's already been an incredible journey."
MAHLI is also aiding evaluation of the arm's ability to position its tools and instruments. Curiosity moved the arm to predetermined "teach points" on Sept. 11, including points above each of three inlet ports where it will later drop samples of soil and powdered rock into analytical instruments inside the rover. Images from the MAHLI camera confirmed the placements. Photos taken before and after opening the inlet cover for the chemistry and mineralogy (CheMin) analytical instrument also confirmed good operation of the cover.
"Seeing that inlet cover open heightens our anticipation of getting the first solid sample into CheMin in the coming weeks," said CheMin principal investigator David Blake of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.
A test last week that checked X-rays passing through an empty sample cell in CheMin worked well. It confirmed the instrument beneath the inlet opening is ready to start analyzing soil and rock samples.
Curiosity is five weeks into a 2-year prime mission on Mars. It will use 10 science instruments to assess whether the selected field site inside Gale Crater has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.
For more about Curiosity, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl . You can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity .
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Are you aware that the UK today has a youth homelessness problem? A survey commissioned by the CSC (Consortium for Street Children) showed that while 61% of people thought street children were prevalent in Africa and Asia, only 13% saw it as a serious problem in the UK. An estimated 100,000 children run away in Britain each year, many of whom experience sleeping on the streets. As Sally Shire, Chief executive of the CSC says: ?Whether they are a runaway from Derby or a street child in Delhi the factors that drive children to the streets are similar.?
There are many reasons why a teenager might become homeless: bullying, dysfunctional family relationships, violence, abuse, poverty and lack of affordable housing. Not all run away, some are ?kicked out? by their parents. Also, they might be the offspring of homeless adults, or those leaving care, having come of age and therefore no longer the responsibility of children?s services.
Homeless teens on a downward spiral who find their way into the psychiatric services may end up with a stigmatising diagnosis, and the effects of damaging treatment, to add to their problems. Diagnoses such as schizophrenia or personality disorder are often used to describe what are really reactions to ongoing traumatic experiences, such as homelessness, preceded by the trauma of childhood abuse. My work for a mental health charity includes supporting people whose post traumatic stress disorder has been compounded, if not solely caused, by their experiences of the psychiatric services. I think that teenagers who feel it?s safer to trade their bed in a psychiatric unit for a bench in the park may not be entirely wrong.
In early spring, a night of frost, rain, wind and hailstones bombarded my garden. What a pathetic sight the morning brought. The recently-opened daffodils that lived in a tub in my garden looked beyond hope, their heads drooping low. But the sun came out and gently warmed them. Gradually, over time, they not only survived but turned into the loveliest daffodils you could see.
Rebecca Iannucci is the Arts & Entertainment Editor for The Pendulum. She is a print and online journalism major from Nutley, N.J. She has previously worked with the organization as a Copy Editor and reporter.
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Windows: More often than not, the touchpads on Windows laptops frankly suck. They tend to be unresponsive and clumsy. TwoFingerScroll greatly improves the Windows touchpad experience, with new features such as three-finger swiping and horizontal scrolling and, most importantly, smoother performance. 
