Logitech teases new Ultimate Ears lineup, says it's bringing 'power to the music' on August 29th

Logitech teases new Ultimate Ears lineup, says it's bringing 'Power to the Music' on August 29th

Having most recently introduced products like its water-friendly K310 washable keyboard and that TV Cam HD, Logitech's now apparently prepping a fresh Ultimate Ears portfolio for all sound lovers out there. Via its UE page on Zuck's social network, the company's teasing a plethora of products with some rather suppressive shots that don't quite tell us what's on the other end, though we can slightly see new headphones and speakers will be the focus of the main 'Power to the Music' event in a couple of days -- or August 29th, to be exact. For now, it looks like we'll have to keep wondering, but you can get a better hint for what to expect by tapping on the Facebook link below.

[Thanks, Khaled]

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/27/logitech-teases-new-ultimate-ears-lineup/

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High sustainability marks for Singapore real estate | Eco-Business.com

Bedok Mall and Bedok Residences are two of eight CapitaLand properties with a Platinum green building rating from BCA's Green Mark scheme. Image: CapitaLand.

Singapore real estate firm CapitaLand this year passed a new milestone on its path to sustainability, said senior managers at a Friday press briefing.

The firm, which officially started Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives in 2000, launched a review this month of its sustainability progress and policies.

Recent accomplishments include becoming one of only four Singapore-based firms to have its sustainability report verified by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the developer of the most widely used corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting framework.

GRI provides industry-specific guidelines for firms to voluntarily rate themselves on a range of ESG factors. Companies have the option of obtaining audits from independent sources and verification of their report rating by the GRI.

Deputy chief corporate officer Tan Seng Chai said the company, which has a ?B+? rating from GRI, would like to achieve the maximum ?A+? rating ? but not if it meant excluding parts of the firm?s international operations from its reports.

The GRI guidelines require data that is not readily available in some of the areas where CapitaLand operates, he explained. The firm plans to progressively improve all of its sites in the 20 countries where operates, and that process was more important than the GRI rating, he added.

According to a 2011 study from the non-profit organisation Singapore Compact, 79 out of 562 listed companies produced sustainability reports for that year. Only six of those firms had their reports externally audited and four obtained GRI verification.

The study found that sectors such as mining and agriculture, which face higher regulatory requirements, were more likely to produce sustainability reports than other sectors.

Singapore?s stock exchange introduced voluntary reporting guidance for its members last year to encourage more listed companies to report on their ESG performance.

Meanwhile, the national Building and Construction Agency (BCA) has been raising sustainability standards for the real estate sector since Singapore set a target in 2008 to bring 80 per cent of its buildings to green building standards by 2035.

The sector has improved its CSR performance tracking and reporting alongside its growing awareness of sustainable buildings.

The Singapore Compact study singled out Singapore-based property developers such as CapitaLand and City Developments Limited for their progress in CSR reporting and said they stood out for the quality of reporting in areas such as workforce figures, risk mitigation, environmental factors and Occupational Health and Safety.

In January, the two firms became the only Singaporean firms to make the Corporate Knights annual list of the ?Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations.

Both firms have committed to obtaining at least a GoldPlus rating from BCA?s green building scheme for new and refurbished ? or retrofitted ? properties. GoldPlus is the second highest green building rating and is two levels above the standard Green Mark.

CDL, which in July obtained a GRI verified ?A+? rating on its sustainability report for its Singapore operations, regularly shares its CSR reporting expertise with other companies at sustainability seminars and workshops to show the benefits of implementing and tracking CSR policies.

Certified green buildings saved the firm and its customers about S$19.7 million in electricity costs for each year between 2008 and 2011, according to CDL data for 37 of its buildings.

CDL managing director Kwek Leng Joo said in a statement at the report?s release that efforts to spread awareness of sustainability within the industry were paying off.

?We are heartened to see increased interest and acceptance from our business peers and industry stakeholders, cognisant of the need to address more than just financial performance,? he added.

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Source: http://www.eco-business.com/features/high-sustainability-marks-for-singapore-real-estate/

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Employers Wrestle Over Methodology For Obamacare-Mandated ...

(Photo illustration by Ed Fischer)

(Photo illustration by Ed Fischer)

?

By? John Ostapkovich

?

CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) ? A facet of federal health care reform may result in more money in your pocket.

Larger group health insurance plans which didn?t meet the Obamacare threshold of spending 85 percent of premiums on patient care have to refund the difference.

Christine Lloyd, executive director of human resources at Widener University, is trying to find an equitable way to do that for the approximately 500 covered employees at Widener qualifying for a refund.

?Employers have the choice of either giving a ?premium holiday,? where the employees would not have to pay the premiums for that certain time; to reimburse employees directly; or to apply the difference to the next plan-year?s premiums,? Lloyd explains.

She says the work is complicated by people who change plans or jobs ? meaning there?s no one-size-fits-all formula ? and a lack of guidance on how fast to make this happen.

(She?s leaning toward ?ASAP.?)

?

Source: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/08/27/employers-wrestle-over-methodology-for-obamacare-mandated-insurance-rebates/

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Working moms spend less time daily on kids' diet, exercise

ScienceDaily (Aug. 27, 2012) ? When it comes to cooking, grocery shopping and playing with children, American moms with full-time jobs spend roughly three-and-half fewer hours per day on these and other chores related to their children's diet and exercise compared to stay-at-home and unemployed mothers, reports a new paper by a Cornell University health economist.

Male partners do little to make up the deficit: Employed fathers devote just 13 minutes daily to such activities and non-working fathers contribute 41 minutes, finds the study, which will be printed in the December issue of Economics and Human Biology.

The findings are consistent across socio-economic lines measured by the mothers' education, family income, race and ethnicity.

To make up for this time deficit, working mothers are significantly more likely to spend time purchasing prepared foods -- takeout from restaurants or prepackaged, ready-to-eat meals from grocery stores -- which are generally less nutritious than home-cooked meals.

"It's inaccurate to pin rising childhood obesity rates on women, given that husbands pick up so little of the slack," cautioned lead author John Cawley, professor of policy analysis and management and of economics at Cornell's College of Human Ecology.

The study does not prove that employment alone drives the way mothers spends their time. "For example, mothers who choose to work might be those who enjoy cooking less and who would cook less whether working or not," Cawley said.

He added that working mothers produce additional benefits for children such as more money to provide for family needs.

"It's important to remember that we can take steps to enhance childhood nutrition and physical activity without advocating that women exit the workforce," Cawley said. For instance, the authors argue, parents should be better educated about the nutritional content of restaurant and prepackaged foods. "In order to make more informed decisions, consumers need to have nutrition and calorie information available where they buy their food," said Cawley, who noted that federal health care reform rules will soon require chain and fast-food restaurants nationwide to post calorie counts of the foods they sell.

Cawley noted that schools shoulder a greater burden for supporting healthy lifestyles.

"Our findings underscore the importance of schools offering high-quality foods and physical education classes," he said. "In general, the Institute of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging comprehensive changes in school environments to promote healthy eating and active living."

The research was funded by the Cornell University College of Human Ecology's Institute for Health Economics, Health Behaviors and Disparities and by the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Cornell University, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. John Cawley, Feng Liu. Maternal employment and childhood obesity: A search for mechanisms in time use data. Economics & Human Biology, 2012; 10 (4): 352 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2012.04.009

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/consumer_behavior/~3/QYJOBL78J9w/120827162011.htm

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Safety tips for livestock, pets - WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge ...

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -

Baton Rouge - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued guidance for residents in states who have livestock and pets that might be affected by Tropical Storm Isaac.? USDA is offering these tips to help residents protect the health of these animals in the event of power outages, flooding and other?issues that can be associated with strong storms.
Follow?the direction of?state?and?local officials?and stay tuned to?your local Emergency Alert System television or ra?dio stations, and fire, police and other local emergency response organizations?for relevant emergency information.

Livestock Safety

Make sure barns and structures where live?stock can be sheltered are in good repair. If more space is needed for your stock, make arrangements for the use of other sheltering facilities in close proximity to your facilities.
Calculate the feed and water requirements to maintain livestock and poultry during an emergency.
Make preparations for protecting feed and water supplies and providing emergency electrical power if necessary.
If possible, cover feed and forage stored outdoors with a tarp or plastic sheeting. Routinely cover open water supplies, such as troughs and stock tanks.

Pet Safety
If you have not been ordered to evacuate, make sure you have enough pet food and water on hand to feed your pets during an emergency.?
If you have been ordered to evacuate by state or local authorities, take your pets with you when you go.? If you need assistance, such as persons relying on public transportation or with medical special needs, contact your emergency management agency for instructions.
An emergency pet shelter might be available near the human emergency shelter, check with your local emergency management agency to find the nearest emergency pet shelter to you. Do not stay behind with your pet if state or local officials order you to evacuate.
Pet owners should be prepared to provide the following information to pet shelter workers if possible: name; species and breed; sex; color; distinctive markings; age; microchip identification number; vaccination records; health conditions and required medication.

Other useful items to bring to a shelter are:

???????????a clear and current photo of you with your pet

??????????an extra collar, leash, and/or harness that fits

??????????favorite toys

??????????any medications and special diets for their pets

??????????information on feeding schedules, medical conditions, behavior problems, and the name and number of your veterinarian in case you have to foster or board your pets

??????????a pet carrier/kennel large enough for your pet to sleep in comfortably

More information about pet preparedness is available at:
http://www.ready.gov/animals
http://www.avma.org/disaster/
Additional information and updates about USDA's hurricane relief efforts are posted at?www.usda.gov/disaster.? And information about the U.S. Government's response efforts is available at?www.ready.gov.

Source: http://www.wafb.com/story/19387337/safety-tips-for-livestock-pets

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British police call off search for supposed lion

LONDON (AP) ? So, were the locals lying about the lion?

Police said Monday that they've found no evidence to support area residents' claims that they'd spotted a big cat prowling the countryside near the idyllic village of St. Osyth, in the southeastern English county of Essex.

Sunday's reported sightings alarmed many of the village's 4,000 people, and authorities sent about 40 officers, tranquilizer-toting zoo experts, and a pair of heat-seeking helicopters to the area in an effort to find the beast.

But a police spokeswoman said that, after an extensive search, "we've found no evidence" of a lion. The creature spotted Sunday night may have been a large domestic cat or a wildcat, she added.

So does that mean there never was any lion?

The official, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, demurred, noting that the people interviewed by police were convinced they'd spotted a lion. That aside, she said, "we've stopped searching for it."

It seems the mysterious "Essex Lion" will join a number of other mythical beasts that at times appear and then disappear into Britain's forests and seaside ? particularly in the dead of summer, when journalists struggle to fill papers and news bulletins.

In 2011, there was the Hampshire White Tiger, whose alleged appearance near a sports field stopped a cricket game and led to a police alert (the tiger turned out to be a stuffed toy). And in 2007, the British media went wild over a man who claimed to have photographed a great white shark off the coast of Cornwall, in southwestern England.

The man, a bouncer, later admitted that the pictures were actually taken while on vacation in South Africa, adding that he couldn't believe anyone had been foolish enough to take the hoax seriously.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/british-police-call-off-search-supposed-lion-144522043.html

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Credit Card Ratings And Credit Card Secrets | personal finance ...

A bad credit rating is sure to have negative consequences in a number of fields. For instance, you will be charged a higher interest rate when taking a loan since the institution giving you credit will always fear non-repayment. If you wish to take any insurance, your bad credit history will discourage the insurer and hence will charge you a higher premium amount to secure against any default payments. Also, if you wish to apply for a job in the financial industry, then there are high chances for the job to get disapproved if your credit score doesn?t meet the requirements of the job.

In a recent development that should please a number of people and businesses, Cybersource and NetSuite have finally decided to join hands and hence integrate their companies and specializations to help fight the ever rising online card frauds, especially for e-commerce organisations. NetSuite is known for its ordering and financial tracking services, while CyberSource is known to specialize in fraud management solutions. Hence a merger of these two companies should really benefit the customers and businesses as the two companies believe that if integrated into an organization?s network, their solutions can now screen orders against 200 common fraud detections.

MasterCard has recently expanded its operations in the global prepaid debit card market by acquiring the debit card management unit of Travelex. Travelex is commonly known to frequent travelers as it has been running successful currency conversion units in airports across the globe. Travelex came out with the concept of a stored value debit card to ease the consumer?s hassle of paying for exchange expenses during their trips abroad. Since these cards have started gathering quite a lot of interest from consumers, MasterCard has acquired the business and plans to build on this base and expand their reach through online and retail channels.

Find out about cards from IMB and NAB.

There are a number of so-called secrets that you could try to make your card more useful. One such secret is that it is in fact possible to negotiate your interests for certain cards. Your issuer will probably never tell you this, but it is something you could keep in mind and try it in the future. Hence it is advisable to contact your issuer and ask for the rate to be lowered. If your credit track record isn?t too good, and you have been late in paying off your balances in recent times, then unlikely the issuer will agree to negotiate, however it is always worth a try!

There are times when the due date for your balance payments is arriving and hence causing you a lot of stress. However, what a lot of consumers do not know is that you can ask your issuer for a different due date. Yes, you can actually request for this. For example, if your due date lies in the beginning of the month, but you get your salary only towards the latter part of the month, you could ask the issuer to move your due date to the 3rd or 4th week of the month. Issuers might not always agree to do so, but there surely have been instances when they have.

About the Author

Credit cards are serious business. Make sure to get the best deals. Visit IMB and NAB on CreditCardOffers.com.au

Source: http://www.factent.com/archives/634

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Capturing movements of actors and athletes in real time with conventional video cameras

ScienceDaily (Aug. 28, 2012) ? Within milliseconds, and just with the help of mathematics, computing power and conventional video cameras, computer scientists at the Max-Planck-Institute for Informatics in Saarbr?cken can automatically capture the movements of several people. The new approach helps not only animation specialists in Hollywood movies but also medical scientists and athletes.

In the computer graphics (CG) animated comedy "Ted," which is running now in the cinemas, Ted is a teddy bear who came to life as the result of a childhood wish of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) and has refused to leave his side ever since. CG Animated characters like "Ted" have become a standard of Hollywood's movie productions since the blockbuster "Avatar" with its blue-skinned computer-animated characters won three Oscars and brought in three billion US dollars, digital animated characters have become a standard of Hollywood's movie productions.

While movies like "Pirates of the Caribbean" or "Ted" still combined real actors with digital counterparts, the well-known director Steven Spielberg focused entirely on virtual actors in "The Adventures of Tintin." He used the so-called motion capture approach, which also animated Ted. Motion capture means that an actor wears a suit with special markers attached. These reflect infrared light sent and received by a camera system installed in a studio. In this way, the system captures the movements of the actor. Specialists use this as input to transfer exactly the same movements to the virtual character.

"The real actors dislike wearing these suits, as they constrain their movements," explains Christian Theobalt, professor of computer science at Saarland University and head of the research group "Graphics, Vision & Video" at the Max-Planck-Institute for Informatics (MPI). Theobalt points out that this has not changed since animating "Gollum" in the trilogy "Lord of the Rings." Hence, together with his MPI-colleagues Nils Hasler, Carsten Stoll and J?rgen Gall of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Theobalt developed a new approach that both works without markers and captures motions in realtime. "The part which is scientifically new is the way in which we represent and compute the filmed scene. It enables new speed in capturing and visualizing the movements with normal video cameras," Theobalt explains.

Implemented, it looks like this: The video cameras record a researcher turning cartwheels. The computer gets the camera footage as input and computes the skeleton motion of the actor so quickly that you cannot perceive any delay between the movement and its overlay, a red skeleton. According to Theobalt, the new computing approach also works if the movements of several persons have to be captured, or if they are obscured by objects in the studio and against a noisy background.

"Therefore we are convinced that our approach even enables motion capture outdoors, for example in the Olympic stadium," Theobalt points out. Athletes could use it to run faster, to jump higher or to throw the spear farther. Spectators in the stadium or in front of the TV could use the technology to tell the difference between first and second place. Besides entertainment, medical science could also benefit from the new approach, for example by helping doctors to check healing after operations on joints.

In the next months his MPI colleagues Nils Hasler and Carsten Stoll will found a company to transform the software prototype into a real product. "They've already had some meetings with representatives sent by companies in Hollywood," Theobalt says.

Technical background

The new approach requires technology which is quite cheap. You need no special cameras, but their recording has to be synchronized. According to the MPI researcher, five cameras are enough that the approach works. But they used twelve cameras for the published results. The way they present the scene to the computer and let it compute makes the difference. Hence, they built a three-dimensional model of the actor whose motions should be captured. The result is a motion skeleton with 58 joints. They model the proportions of the body as so-called sums of three dimensional Gaussians, whose visualisation looks like a ball. The radius of the ball varies according to the dimensions of the real person. The resulting three-dimensional model resembles the mascot of a famous tire manufacturer.

The images of the video cameras are presented as two-dimensional Gaussians that cover image blobs that are consistent in color. To capture the person's movement, the software continuously computes the best way that the 2D and 3D Gaussians can overlay each other while fitting accurately. The Saarbr?cken computer scientists are able to compute these model-to-image similarities in a very efficient way. Therefore, they can capture the filmed motion and visualize it in real-time. All they need is just a few cameras, some computing power and mathematics.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University Saarland, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/wRWILlsqYdM/120828093139.htm

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Best Buy's founder allowed to pursue buyout

(AP) ? Best Buy Co. Inc. and its founder and former chairman Richard Schulze say they have an agreement that will allow Schulze to pursue his plan to try to buy the nation's largest consumer electronics chain.

The news sent Best Buy shares up 5.4 percent to $18.24 in midday trading Monday.

Best Buy said the agreement will allow Schulze to get access to confidential financial statements and allow him to form an investment group with private equity sponsors to make the bid. He already owns 20 percent of the company's stock.

The agreement is the first step toward Schulze making an official bid for the company, as Best Buy tries to turnaround results and adjust to a new CEO. Earlier this month, Schulze suggested he could pay $24 to $26 per share for the chain. Best Buy had said it was considering the overture. The talks stalled a week ago, with the two going back and forth in public exchanges.

The retailer says the agreement establishes a non-exclusive orderly process for a bid while protecting the interests of all shareholders. Schulze says the agreement will allow him to examine the company's books in detail.

Under the agreement disclosed Monday, Schulze and his potential partners will then have 60 days to present a fully financed proposal.

Analysts say the agreement is a step in the right direction for Schulze.

"(Schulze) had a zero probability of raising equity without due diligence, and now that zero is up to a 15 or 20 percent chance," said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. "Private equity firms want to understand their investment and return, and in order to understand that you have to be able to look at the books."

If Best Buy's board reject's Schulze's proposal, they will have until January 2013 to present a second proposal. Best Buy's board would have 30 days to review the second proposal before Schulze can take the offer directly to shareholders at the company's annual meeting or a special meeting. If the second offer is turned down by both the board and Best Buy's shareholders, he would have to wait one year before offering another proposal.

Best Buy's public fight over its future comes as it has been engulfed in mounting controversy since April when former CEO Brian Dunn resigned amid a company investigation into an "improper relationship" with a 29-year-old female employee. Schulze resigned as chairman a month later after the probe found that he knew about the relationship and failed to alert the board or human resources.

The series of bad news that has followed is happening as Best Buy fights to reverse a decline in its business due to a weak global economy and consumers' changing shopping habits. Best Buy's stores are becoming unprofitable as customers increasingly use them to browse for electronics, then buy them cheaper online or elsewhere. On top of that, shoppers are no longer snapping up big TVs and computers at a fast clip like they used to, instead opting for smaller gadgets like cell phones and tablets.

Last Monday, the day after talks with Schulze stalled, Best Buy announced it had tapped Hubert Joly, the former head of global hospitality company Carlson and a turnaround expert, as the new CEO and president. Investors, looking for a replacement with prior retail experience, didn't like the choice. Consequently, shares fell more than 10 percent.

The latest quarterly results, announced a day later, underscored the company's challenges. Best Buy withdrew its full-year earnings guidance after reporting a 90-percent drop in net income during the second quarter, dragged down by restructuring charges and weak sales.

During the period ended Aug. 4, U.S. sales growth in tablets, mobile phones, appliances and e-readers helped offset declines in gaming, digital imaging, televisions and notebook computers. Best Buy said the international business was dragged down by lower revenue in China, Canada and increased competition in Europe.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-08-27-Best%20Buy-Buyout/id-6190369928f84f67a691868755e095e0

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