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9.11: The Fallout Continues

October 1, 2001 · by Kerry Harding

Design and Construction forums and publications have been asking this question, seeking to better understand not if the terrorist attacks on America will affect their practices but how.

“What does this mean?” Since the last issue, design and construction forums and publications have been asking this question, seeking to better understand not if the terrorist attacks on America will affect their practices but how. In the aftermath, analysts and pundits alike have issued reports and predictions on the immediate and long-term effects on our business. To better understand where the trends are going, DI sifted through nearly a hundred of these to glean clarity and focus as to the key practice areas that will be most effected. It is not a pretty sight.

It's possible, but doubtful that the Twin Towers will be rebuilt as they were. Completed at a cost of $800 million, replacement estimates have varied widely from $3.5 billion to as high as $10 billion. In a recent poll, 67% of the Americans responding felt that the towers should be rebuilt, as they were, at least from the exterior.

Silverstein Properties, the New York developer which had just completed the $1 billion, 99-year master lease with the Port Authority in July, has committed to rebuild and, in fact, has already retained Skidmore Owings & Merrill's David Childs to advise him. Yet, while it's possible that, at least conceptually, planning can begin, cleanup of the site is months away. A more serious impediment is the fact that the Twin Towers themselves were used by Silverstein as collateral to finance the deal which could, depending on the scope of, and speed with which insurance claims are settled, hamper any attempts to actively begin construction.

The way tall buildings are constructed has been changed forever. Construction professionals are considering the development of a model code for supertall buildings which would improve emergency access and egress. Europe has already considered beefing up it structural codes to require buildings to resist progressive collapse, leaving the details up to the 15 European Union nations to fill in the details. Experts will also be looking at fire suppression. There is an aqueous film-forming foam used around aircraft to suppress fuel fires by cutting off air supply. Another idea is composites include fiber-reinforced plastics with fibers made of Kevlar, glass or carbon, bonded together in a matrix of plastic such as polyester or epoxy and coated with fire-resistant coatings. Among the leading proposals is one to envelope the columns and beams of new skyscrapers with special ceramic materials to increase their fire resistance. According to Jianne-Wen Ju, chairman of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at UCLA, steel columns resisted very high impacts and even penetrating missile attacks when they were clad in space-age ceramics reinforced with carbon fiber, or surrounded by layers of reinforced concrete. At the same time, windows strengthened with laminated polymer composites did not break and remained transparent. The cost of applying such techniques for civilian high-rise buildings would be approximately 20-30% higher for both the windows and strengthening steel core columns. Many new Asian high-rise towers, constructed after the World Trade Center, are made of new high-performance concrete which, in both stability and fire resistance, is greatly superior to steel.

Despite doomsayers, sky-scrapers as a building type are not dead. In their recent article, "The End of Tall Building," authors James Kuntsler and Nikos Salingaros wrote, "We are convinced that the age of skyscrapers is at an end. It must now be considered an experimental building typology that has failed. Who will ever again feel safe and comfortable working 110 stories above the ground? Or sixty stories? Or even twenty-seven? We predict that no new megatowers will be built, and existing ones are destined to be dismantled. This will lead to a radical transformation of city centers.”

Conversely, British Architect Lord Rogers has called for much of London and other cities to be knocked down and replaced with skyscrapers, saying, “It it wasn’t the World Trade Center it would have been a football stadium.” In England, plans are going forward to towers in seven major cities and the City of London currently has between 15 and 20 pending approval as part of its target that 60% of new building be on previously used land. One of the most prominent is Renzo Piano’s proposed 1,016 ft. tower at London Bridge.

The effect of the tragedy on such projects as Donald Trump’s new Trump Tower Chicago, Ellerbe Beckett’s Kingdom Centre in Saudi Arabia, and KPF's 1,500-plus feet-tall Mori Building in Shanghai, currently in schematic design, is currently unknown. John Harris of Houston-based developer Hines Interests, remarks, “Tenants the world over have indicated they are not cowed by the WTC attacks. We’ve talked to almost every major tenant in the world and the world is calm, normal--outside of Manhattan, we’re seeing absolutely no reaction, no stoppage--everything is going forward.” Everything, except one. Due to economic reasons, the Pritzker family has abandoned plans for Hyatt Center, the 1.25 million-square-foot-skyscraper on Chicago’s Wacker Drive, to have been designed by Lord Norman Foster.

Airline losses will cancel or delay cosmetic-related renovations. In the case of MetroJet, U.S. Air’s now-defunct low cost carrier, all capital projects simply vanished overnight. Airport terminal construc-tion is not likely to be robust, offset perhaps by aggressive security enhancements. A controversial $12 billion, 12,000-page plan to expand Los Angeles International Airport must be redrawn to focus primarily on security and safety. A new airport proposed for the former El Toro Marine Air Station in Orange County, CA is being reevaluated. A proposed hotel complex linked to Denver's Elrey Jeppsen Terminal may not go forward and the operator of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is holding off on $371 mil-lion in improvements to the aging Lindbergh Terminal. Several key terminal renovations are being delayed at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. In Ohio, shipping giant DHL Worldwide Express, is slowing construction on a $270-million sorting facility at the Cincinnati International Airport. Perhaps of the biggest casualties in the troubled air travel industry may not even be in the United States. The $500 million Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) 3 in the Philippines could become a losing proposition if low passenger traffic trend persists. Located at the Villamor Air Base, with 16 aircraft stands and a capacity for 10 million passengers per year, NAIA 3 is slated to be com-pleted next year. Its proponent, the Philippine International Air Terminal Co. Inc. (PIATCO), is building the facility under a Build-Operate-Transfer agreement. PIATCO has already started paying the Philippine government P300 million under a guaranteed payment scheme which enabled it to clinch the bid for the ter-minal. How PIATCO can meet the payments under the present conditions, with international passenger traffic down by 25 percent and air terminal revenues projected to lose over P1 billion this year in the after-math of terrorist attacks in the U.S., remains a big question mark. After the September 11 attack, NAIA has been losing P1.5 million to P2 million a day in foregone terminal fees, parking and other charges. It is the international passenger terminals that are affected the most. Most outgoing traffic are destined for North America but passengers either postponing or canceling their flights.

Much of the temporary exodus from New York City will be permanent. Bethesda-based CoStar Group estimated that the attacks displaced about 650 tenants, 500 of which occupied less than 25,000 sq. feet of space each. While many occupants of the 30 million square feet displaced by the WTC's collapse have turned to Connecticut, New Jersey and the New York suburbs for office space, the Maryland city of Baltimore has become an unexpected destination. Deutsche Banc Alex Brown has transferred nearly 300 employees there, putting them up in area hotels. Local economic development officials have received inquiries from at least ten other companies, based largely on the gap between midtown Manhattan's lease rate of $68 sq. ft. compared to Baltimore's $18.75. Jim Seymour, a real estate analyst for TheStreet.com, says that, for the longer term, he is hearing a new commitment to disperse facilities, staff and systems for more widely that jumping across the harbor—jumping across and around, the country. Much of the financial industry, he believes, will be dispersed to other nascent financial centers -Atlanta, Denver and Cleveland, as well as smaller urban areas with good air connections. Look for smaller and suburban headquarters. Several smaller tenants of the Empire State Building have already said they might soon leave for offices for lower-profile locales. In addition to being less conspicuous, property in the suburbs is typically cheaper than in downtowns and more abundant, so buildings can be set back from the road. After the Oklahoma City bombing, the federal required now requires a 100-foot set-back for federal buildings. Also, large suburban sites offer the opportunity for detached parking garages, which, as the 1993 World Trade Center bombing revealed, can be an important safeguard. Mission critical facilities - data centers, call centers, telecommunication centers, etc., are locating their facilities far away from their headquarters and in multiple locations. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. had opened operations in Delaware, Florida and Texas.

Telecommuting will transform corporate real estate demand and distribution. For years, faced with traffic-laden commutes, employees have pleaded for the chance to work at home, with only moderate success. The recent terrorist attacks not only gave workers a more powerful argument when many businesses lost key people and documents concentrated in one location, but in the aftermath when workers had no choice but to work from home, proved that they could be equally productive and efficient. Already, employers have reported an upswing in interest from people working at home or nearby telecommuting centers. The Washington, DC area is already home to more than a dozen government-financed telework centers, where employees in the public or private sectors can rent a cubicle for computer-equipped office space for about $25 a day. AT&T, for example, saved $25 million in real estate costs last year by having 11% of its workforce work from home.

New Urbanism as a planning concept gets a big boost. New Urbanism has gained popularity in planning circles as a reaction against the inadequacies of single-use, car-oriented urban and suburban planning. There are about 380 new urbanism projects planned or under construction nationally, with about 130 projects under way on undeveloped land or "greenfields." Should the focus of the city change from that of destination commerce, according to some planners, New Urbanism has some of the solutions that could reintroduce life into formerly dead urban environments.

The Boston Globe reported that a group of architects, planners and critics is promoting the idea of a post-skyscraper urban landscape that resembles Boston's Back Bay, inspired by New Urbanism and the ideas of Jane Jacobs. Alex Krieger, chairman of the department of urban design and planning at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, believes that what makes the most sense is buildings that are environmentally sound, harmonious with their surroundings and tied into public transportation systems.

The paragon is Norman Foster's design for the Commerzbank in Frankfurt, Germany, which has been called the "first ecological skyscraper." Washington Post architectural critic Ben Forgey says, "With its advanced environmental controls, it is a technical marvel; with its four-story office clusters and gardens, it is a model workplace; and with its fine finishes and unusual triangular shape, it is a stunning beauty. The hope is that tall buildings do have a significant role to play in our lives-not as solitary architectural master-pieces, but as parts of the vibrant great cities of the future.

Retailers have abandoned any hope of a rebound. A related casualty has been the newsstands, souvenir shops and other restaurants in airports, many operated by HMSHost. In addition to being shut down in their entirety for several days, not only has business been hurt by passenger reduction, but many objects have had to be removed from the shelves of gift shops that could be used as weapons. A bright spot continues to be Wal-Mart Stores which expects to open roughly 50 new discount stores in U.S., and 180 to 185 new Supercenters. 110 to 115 of the Supercenters will be relocations or expansion of existing discount stores. The company will also add 15 to 20 of its Neighborhood Market concept stores, 50 to 55 Sam's Club domestic clubs, half of which will be relocations or expansions. Wal-Mart International will open 120 to 130 units in existing markets. According to a company spokesman, the planned square footage growth for the coming year represents approxi-mately 46 million square feet of new retail space, which will be the largest square footage increase in the Company's history.

Non-profit projects' already pessimistic outlook worsens. It's one more ripple effect from the terrorist attacks: Not only are many people skittish with their cash as layoffs hit home -- they've also just reached deeply into their hearts and wallets to make donations to the victims of the attacks. Even though more than $500 million dollars has been raised for victim relief, nonprofit organizations could be facing their toughest fundraising era ever. For many, stock market fluctuations determine how generous people are going to be. If individual giving is down, corporate matching donations will follow. In addition, traditionally large gifts from major corporations will be nonexistent in many cases because of internal profit woes. A failure to meet, let alone exceed, operating revenue requirements will delay capital improvement and expansion projects for trade and professional organizations as well as humanitarian, civic and cultural organizations. One major project, Frank Gehry’s proposed $150 million expansion of Washington, DC's Corcoran Museum, is already in jeopardy because of gift reductions by major donors in the dot-com sector.

Hospitality work is injured but not dead. Shortly after the attack, the Kahla Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hawaii canceled ground-breaking for its beachfront restaurant and spa. A little over two weeks after the attack, Marriott put an indefinite hold on all new projects not yet under construction, and, in addition to service workers idled by convention cancellations, is prepared to furlough up to 2,000 from its headquarters staff. Hotelier Wyndham International, the Dallas-based operator of about 240 upscale hotels, is furloughing or laying off approximately 1,600 of its workers. The company has put capital projects on-hold, but will finish work on the Wyndham Newark Airport this year.

In Las Vegas, things have been so bad that comedian Jay Leno held a free show to encourage travel. In addition to being concerned because of financial uncertainty and the lingering fear of air travel, many Americans feel that the pleasure philosophy behind Las Vegas itself is inappropriate, given the mood of the country, and, in some way, disrespectful to those effected by the tragedy. Already, some of the larger destination casinos have had to lay off convention and banquet staff and close of large blocks of rooms to save operating costs.

A related sector which may suffer is the deluxe hotel-affiliated condo market nationwide. Delta Associates reports that there are currently 1,900 such condos in eight cities in the country with another 1,400 planned in 10 cities. With sales stalled at the new Residences at Ritz Carlton in Washington, DC, Millennium Partners, the project's developer, is seriously reconsidering its expansion plans. However, some individual properties in key markets are capitalizing on record low occupancy rates to aggressively push ahead with room renovations.

The effects on state and municipal design and construction budgets are just now being felt. Tax-driven institutional facilities such as schools, fire stations, libraries, corrections and recreational facilities are currently proceeding forward, funded by past tax revenues. Decreased travel is adversely affecting the lodging industry and convention-related business, which, in turn, is depressing a key source of revenue for cities and states. State governments already struggling with a slumping economy and budget shortfalls, are finding that the events of September 11 have pushed them into financial emergencies- prompting massive budget cuts and special legislative sessions. Tennessee has been forced to cut $100 million from state agencies; Illinois, $50 million; Iowa, $108 million and New York anticipates a record $1 billion budget shortfall next year. Florida and Washington, which does not have a state income tax, is dependent on sales taxes to generate much of its budget. With tourism diminished, the financial picture for those states has grown correspondingly bleaker and others will follow suit.

Federal facilities will incorporate long-term protection issues. Immediately following the attacks, site access control measures were put into place at all potential terrorist targets including the National Institutes of Health and the Center for Disease Control, as well as embassies and other federal buildings. Building security measures have been strengthen and access by non-employees- delivery people, custodians, facility consultants, etc-much more scrutinized. With a generous Congress giving The White House everything it has asked for, if not more, look for aggressive spending in beefing up federal facilities against terrorist attacks-particularly in locations with high visibility. One of the first items may be the just-awarded $600 million renovation contract for the remaining four wedges of The Pentagon, which, in addition to repairing the damaged suf-fered by the wedge which was just completed, will require additional reinforcement. Some experts predict that this could bump the contract's value to as high as $1 billion.

The biggest dilemma facing those who predict the future is that there are no prophets, only analysts. Companies such as CMD Group, Standard & Poors and McGraw-Hill, draw together the best and the brightest in the fields of design, construction, real estate and finance to, based on their experiences, look at how past circumstances have historically effected future outcomes. When looking to draw parallels to the events of September 11, the examples cited include the Great Chicago Fire, the San Francisco Earthquake and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. From a technology perspective, the United States and the world at large as changed so enormously since then that any lessons learned from those events are no longer relative. However, the events of September 11 put us, as the expression goes, in “uncharted waters.” As we try to project the various scenarios that could unfold during the months ahead, we are each giving “our best guess” estimate. Whether that will be adequate or not remains yet to be seen.

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How Firms Succeed 5.0

The Owners Dilemma

Disaster Tech Tip

As New York design firms found out, the events of, and subsequent to, September 11 resulted in extreme bursts of traffic to their Web sites and clients and employees tried to get updated information. The result? Overload and inaccessibility. According to InternetWeek, here are some suggestions to put in place before the next surge occurs:

  • Re-examine emergency plans to anticipate traffic levels as high as 10 times your all-time high
  • Establish methods for tapping server and bandwidth capacity from others: hosting vendors, caching vendors, other units
  • Be prepared to strip off graphics, advertising and personalization in favor of basic information, features
  • Develop strategies for handling emergency functions over the Web when phone reps are oversubscribed
  • Work with partners, competitors and government agencies to develop central sources for Web content during emergencies

    World’s Tallest Buildings

    The World Trade Center’s collapse has led to a debate among engineers about whether existing the world’s existing and proposed skyscrapers could be reinforced to avoid a similar fate.

  • Petronas Twin Towers 1,483 ft.
  • Sears Tower, Chicago 1,450 ft.
  • Jin Mao Building, Shanghai, 1,381 ft.
  • Citic Plaza, Guangzhou, China 1,283 ft.
  • Shun Hing Square, Shenzhen,Ch 1,260 ft.
  • Empire State Building, New York 1,250 ft.
  • Central Plaza, Hong Kong 1,227 ft.
  • Bank of China, Hong Kong 1,209 ft.
  • Emirates Tower One, U.A.E. 1,165 ft.
  • The Center, Hong Kong 1,148 ft.

    Source: Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Lehigh University

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    • MIT Researchers Develop 10-Material 3D Printer Capable of "Smart" Printing | ArchDaily ow.ly/RDvtf
      6 minutes ago by @dinet
    • NCARB Names 13 US Architecture Schools for Integrated Licensure Initiative | ArchDaily ow.ly/RBBsO
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Microwave tuna special for two

Source URL: http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/recipes/main-dishes/microwave-tuna-special-for-two/

Preparation time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 15 minutes.

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add noodles and cook until tender, about 8–10 minutes. Drain noodles well, and place in a small mixing bowl. In a small wire strainer, rinse tuna under cool water to remove some of the sodium. Drain well by pressing on the tuna with a fork or spatula. Combine tuna, soup, peas, teriyaki sauce, black pepper, and water chestnuts with noodles, stirring with a spoon. Spray a small microwave-safe casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon mixture into dish evenly. Heat in microwave on high for about 4 minutes until hot. Remove from oven and sprinkle top with rice noodles.

Yield: 2 servings. Serving size: 2 cups.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:
Calories: 350, Carbohydrates: 55 g, Protein: 21 g, Fat: 5 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 24 mg, Sodium: 791 mg, Fiber: 9 g

Exchanges per serving: 3 1/2 starch, 2 lean meat. Carbohydrate choices: 3 1/2.

Kathleen Stanley is a Diabetes Educator at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Figure 2.

Predominant acinar adenocarcinoma with adjacent normal alveoli. A H & E (original magnification x100). B The cytoplasm and membrane of the tumor cells were stained strongly with L858-specific antibody. In contrast, the adjacent normal alveolar epithelial cells were completely negative (original magnification x100).

Xiong et al. Diagnostic Pathology 2013 8:27   doi:10.1186/1746-1596-8-27
Download authors' original image


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Graduate Student Symposium

The goal of the Diagrams 2012 Graduate Symposium is twofold. Firstly, the Symposium will provide senior graduate students and recent graduates with the opportunity to present their research and receive feedback from established researchers who will provide comments on each of the presentations. Secondly, the Symposium will provide students with an opportunity to network with each other as future colleagues. There will be a faculty talk from the coordinator of the symposium on how to prepare for a successful academic career.

Graduate students who have papers accepted at the Symposium will be asked to give a presentation. Students attending the Symposium who have posters in the general conference will have a poster in the general conference and will also be asked to give a presentation at the Symposium. Students who present long or short papers in the main conference will not present at the Symposium, however all students who receive student funding from Diagrams 2012 will be required to attend the Symposium.

Program: The Graduate Symposuim will be held on the afternoon of Thursday 5 July 2012

Graduate Symposium Session 1

  • 13:00-13:40 Opening Remarks - Lisa Best, University of New Brunswick
  • 13:40-14:00 What Makes an Effective Euler Diagram? - Andrew Blake, University of Brighton
  • 14:00-14:20 Towards a Visual Compositional Relational Programming Methodology - Görkem  Paçaci, Uppsala University
  • 14:20-14:40 The Serial Area (SEAR) Profile - Luke MacNeill, University of New Brunswick
  • 14:40-15:00 A Sketch Recogniser as a Virtual Machine - Alistair Stead, University of Cambridge

15:00-15:30 Break

Graduate Symposium Session 2

  • 15:30-15:50 The Efficacy of Diagrams in Syllogistic Reasoning: A Case of Linear Diagrams - Yuri Sato, Keio University
  • 15:50-16:10 Classification Tree Diagrams in Health Informatics Applications - Farrukh Arslan, Purdue University
  • 16:10-16:30 Enhanced Vector Diagrams for Illustrating Elementary Mechanics - Peter Vivian, Coventry University
  • 16:30-16:50 Work in Progress: Annotating Gestures in Communication Through Graphs - Ozge Alacam, Middle East Technical University
  • 16:50-17:10 The Use of Diagrams in Science: An Examination of Trends in Articles Published in Science between 1880 and 2010 - Lilly Fanjoy, University of New Brunswick
  • 17:10-17:30 Notes About the London Underground Map as an Iconic Artifact - Breno Bitarello, State University of Rio de Janeiro

The Graduate Symposium Symposium Chair is Lisa Best.


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Diamond (Mines) For Sale

Dec 2, 2011 1:34 AM   By Avi Krawitz
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RAPAPORT... When it comes to diamond mines, particularly ones that yield consistent and good quality production, there should generally be a buyer. This is especially true given the supply-demand outlook that the diamond industry enjoys. A simple analysis of mining company results reveals that historically, mining has been the most profitable of sectors within the industry and 2011 has been no different.

Indeed, Petra Diamonds has showed its willingness to pay top dollar for what once was the bulk of De Beers South Africa portfolio, and Anglo American expressed its confidence in the industry by more than doubling its stake in De Beers to 85 percent.

However, it was with little fanfare that two profitable mines came to market this week. BHP Billiton announced its intention to sell the Ekati mine in Canada, along with its other diamond asset, the Chidliak joint-venture exploration project, and Gem Diamonds said that it is reviewing its options regarding the Ellendale mine.

Both prospective sales make sense in the context of their respective realities. However, the companies may have a hard time finding appropriate buyers. While both mines have good high-quality production, they also have limited lifespans, making them risky investments.

To be quite frank, from BHP’s point of view, — barring any unlikely takeover of for example De Beers or ALROSA — the company was never going to grow its diamond business. Not for lack of trying, mind you, as the company has explored for diamonds in Angola and Canada during its tenure. But its announcement this week came with little surprise as the market has been awash with rumors for years and an exit was inevitable.

BHP explained that its strategy is to invest in large, long life, upstream and expandable assets. As industry analyst Des Kilalea of RBC Capital told Rapaport News, diamonds no longer fitted any of those requirements, at least not by BHP’s standards.

The move, Kilalea stressed, should therefore not be seen as BHP’s rejection of the industry. Rather, it is an acknowledgement by the company that further exploration and investment will not yield a BHP-size asset. BHP’s diamond unit is just simply not up to BHP’s scale.

Furthermore, the unit’s contribution to the company’s bottom line continues to diminish. BHP’s diamond revenues grew 12 percent year on year to $1.01 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011. However, diamonds accounted for just 1.4 percent of the group’s total, down from a 1.7 percent contribution made in the previous year. Similarly, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) accrued by the diamond unit rose 15 percent to $537 million but accounted for 1.7 percent of the group’s total, down from a 2.4 percent contribution in fiscal 2010.

That’s not to say that Ekati hasn’t been a profitable operation, which it has been over the years, as the aforementioned numbers show. But its production is declining and, most importantly, it has a limited lifespan that is expected to expire in 2018, some 20 years after production was launched.

Already, output has been completed at the Panda pit, which bore the highest grade diamonds of the four pipes that make up Ekati. In May, BHP approved a $323 million investment to resume operations at the Misery pit and production there is expected to resume in October 2017. For now, production consists of a mix from the Fox open-pit and Koala underground pipe. Ekati’s total production fell 18 percent to 2.5 million carats in fiscal 2011.

Kilalea explains that potential investors will value Ekati according to one of two criteria: the attraction of the remaining five to seven years of its lifespan, and the exploration potential that the surrounding ore bodies provide, which may or may not be suitable for a smaller company.

But it is improbable that the top producers will be interested for varying reasons.

Despite reports in October that ALROSA’s management may, or should, be interested in Ekati, Vadim Astapovich, an analyst at VTB Capital, a Russia-based bank and research group, told Rapaport News that an ALROSA acquisition is unlikely. Besides the fact that ALROSA denied the claim, he noted that ALROSA shareholders are focused on the company’s Russian portfolio to drive up value ahead of its proposed initial public offering (IPO).

Analysts at Liberum Capital Mining noted possible synergies between the Diavik mine, owned by Rio Tinto and Harry Winston, and Ekati given their proximity to each other. But while an acquisition would help Rio diversify its portfolio, Liberum’s analysts believe Rio is more focused on its iron ore, copper, coal and aluminium business units. Kilalea dismissed the possibility of a merger, and the potential synergies, between the two mines given the remoteness of the area. “There’s an ice road that lasts for six weeks of the year but for the most part there are no roads there,” he said. “So there may be some synergies but they’re not that great and I’m sure the two companies have explored them before.”

Most agree that De Beers has its hands full with the recent Anglo takeover to embark on such an acquisition. Besides, if anything, De Beers has been streamlining its own portfolio rather than adding to it. Petra Diamonds is invested in extending the life of the Finsch and Cullinan mines it recently bought from De Beers, and in any case, Petra has in the past divested from any exploration activities, which is required at Ekati.

It is equally unlikely that these companies will buy Gem’s Ellendale mine, especially since it faces similar challenges. It also operates in a relatively inaccessible, remote area in North Western Australia, requiring diesel power generation, and, according to Kilalea, also has just a few good years left in it.

Gem recently explained that the resource extension and development programs conducted at Ellendale yielded “nothing of significance” and that at current diamond prices, the life of mine at the active higher value E9 pipe remains at 3 years.

The company has met considerable production challenges at Ellendale since its acquisition just four years ago. It has kept the E4 pipe on care and maintenance since the 2008 financial crisis, while production at E9 fell 33 percent year on year to a “disappointing” 84,997 carats in the first nine months of 2011. Still, sales continue to rise along with the per carat dollar average value of Ellendale’s production, particularly for its fancy yellow production, which it sells to Tiffany & Co., which itself may be a potential buyer.

Neither is Gem’s potential sale of Ellendale surprising given the $280 million investment required to expand its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, which was approved this week, and given its development of the Gaghoo mine in Botswana. The more attractive it became to focus its resources on Letšeng, the less attractive any possible extension programs at Ellendale became.

Neither BHP’s nor Gem’s respective diamond mine sales will make or break either company. Both are focused on other assets, albeit different ones on different scale. However, the fact that they may find it tough to sell should be seen as a reflection of the assets on offer and not the state of the industry.

It’s not that they’re bad mines but they are risky with just short-term potential and there are few buyers for any risky assets out there today. While the industry outlook is positive for the long term, its short term vulnerabilities don’t help.

Companies viewing Ekati and Ellendale will surely bear this in mind and assess the assets in the context of their own development, as BHP Billiton and Gem Diamonds have. They will know that diamond mining is a costly, but potentially profitable business, and one that offers primarily long-term dividends. Then again, the negatives might force a bargain price for the mines in question.

The writer can be contacted at

This article is an excerpt from a market report that is sent to Rapaport members on a weekly basis. To subscribe, go to or contact your local Rapaport office.

Copyright © 2011 by Martin Rapaport. All rights reserved. Rapaport USA Inc., Suite 100 133 E. Warm Springs Rd., Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. +1.702.893.9400.

Disclaimer: This Rapaport Weekly Market Report is provided solely for your personal reading pleasure. Nothing published by The Rapaport Group of Companies and contained in this report should be deemed to be considered personalized industry or market advice. Any investment or purchase decisions should only be made after obtaining expert advice. All opinions and estimates contained in this report constitute Rapaport`s considered judgment as of the date of this report, are subject to change without notice and are provided in good faith but without legal responsibility. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property rights.

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Tags: Avi Krawitz, BHP Billiton, diamonds, ekati, Ellendale, Gem Diamonds, Rapaport
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Old 09-26-2011, 12:18 PM   #381
el's mama
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,069
Re: Asked not to nurse my son at church b/c...

Originally Posted by JennTheMomma View Post
I'd inform the pastor that that is the male's problem not yours. Maybe he should seek some counseling.
In with my DH, crunchy, attached Mama to 4. Homeschooling, long term breastfeeding, CD'ing, babywearing, homebirthing. Could I BE anymore addicted to cloth?!
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Thread: BGE worth the $
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Old 10-10-2012, 11:02 PM   #28
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Catbutt Diapers
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Re: BGE worth the $

Originally Posted by gerolami19 View Post
Any pics to help me figure out exactly where you cut? I am terrified of ruining a diaper or adding holes that weren't there! But I love the idea of having it less "thick" where it's all attached.
I can upload some tomorrow morning, Lulu finally went to sleep and I don't want to dig around for a dipe and wake her. It was super easy to detach, and now everything just works so much better, the soaker lays nice and flat
Mommy to a miracle baby, Louise.
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Old 02-06-2013, 07:52 AM   #26
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Originally Posted by shweebies View Post
My high $ vaccum died 4 years ago. I was/am too cheap to buy a dyson so I went the used route. I found a used Kirby online for $20. That things weighs a bloody ton, it gives you a workout when you vacuum but it is a sucking machine. About a year after I bought that I ended up at an estate sale. There was an elecotrolux cannister vacuum from the 70s for $7. I bought it in case one goes down. I love them both. We have dogs and cats and live on a gravel road, so we have plenty of dust and hair.
I looooove my mom's kirbys.
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Power From Components

Siemens supplying Algeria power plant with turbines, generators

Posted on June 14, 2013

Siemens will supply power plant components, including six F-class gas turbines, for the Ras Djinet and Ain Arnat combined cycle power plants (CCPP) in Algeria.

The clients are Daewoo E&C Co., Ltd. and Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd., Korean companies that are building the two power plants for Sociéte Algérienne de Production de l’Electricité (SPE), the state-run energy provider in Algeria. Together, the two power plants will have an installed electrical capacity of more than 2000 MW and will supply power to more than five million households on Algeria’s Mediterranean coast.

The Ras Djinet power plant is located 100 km east of the Algerian capital Algiers. Ain Arnat sits 260 km east of Algiers. Siemens scope of supply includes six SGT5-4000F gas turbines, six SST5-3000 steam turbines, and six SGen5-2000H generators.

In addition, Siemens will provide technical support and services for the construction and commissioning of the six power trains. A framework agreement was additionally concluded for the delivery of spare parts for the plant in Ras Djinet for a 10-year period.


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Adidas: Live Online Interactive Competition

Sat, Jul 25, 2009
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Adidas 12th man of the FC Bayern Munich
Scholz & Volkmer are launching a new campaign for Adidas where they are staging a live “interactive” online competition from this Sunday (26th July) for 5 days where fans will be able to control everything a German actor (who wants to become the 12th man of FC Bayern) is required to do online. Users will be able to set tasks for him to complete, control what he can or can’t do or even provide information to help complete objectives! The entire event can be experienced live here.

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1 Movies Review

I Love You, Man

I Love You, Man
Director: John Hamburg
Screenwriters: John Hamburg, Larry Levin
Starring: (interview) Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones
Running time: 105 mins
Certificate: 15

Thanks to Judd Apatow and a stream of comedy hits from The 40-Year-Old Virgin to Pineapple Express, it seems that Hollywood has warmed to the idea of men sharing their feelings and (gulp) being vulnerable on the big screen. Of course it was always an undercurrent of macho cop movies where at least brandishing a gun compensates for the mushiness. But the horrible tension that comes with male intimacy is also fertile ground for laughs. Paul Rudd (hitherto a supporting player for the likes of Will Ferrell et al) makes the most of it in I Love You, Man as a timid estate agent who attempts to woo the burly Jason Segel (who shared the screen with him in Forgetting Sarah Marshall) into friendship.

Peter Klaven (Rudd) appears to have all his ducks in a row when he proposes marriage to long-time girlfriend Zooey (Rashida Jones). She happily accepts but when Peter has trouble figuring out who his best man should be, Zooey suggests that he's missed out on a vital part of his emotional development; a meaningful friendship with a man. Director John Hamburg, who came to prominence with Ben Stiller vehicles like Meet The Parents and Along Came Polly, takes the rom-com approach to Peter's friendship dilemma. He goes on 'man dates' and quickly becomes disillusioned when he's mistaken for gay and gets a mouthful of man-tongue.

Like the image Peter projects, the jokes can seem cheap and easy, squarely aimed at the obvious soft spot. Peter isn't homophobic - the script underlines this by giving him a 'cool' gay brother (Andy Samberg) - but he is unnerved by the hazy protocol surrounding male friendship. The fumbling over phone calls and casual repartee echo a classic Seinfeld episode (penned by Hamburg's co-writer Larry Levin) although this understated comedy rubs against much coarser humour. When Peter meets Sydney (Segel) at an open house, they hit it off with a chat about farting. That's a Hamburg hallmark and even extends to an antisocial pet who's actively encouraged by Sydney to foul the sidewalk. Gross-out gags may be past their sell-by-date (the novelty worn off since Hamburg had a cat pee in Robert De Niro's loo), but what resonates is the vulgarity itself; the depths to which men will stoop in order to bond with each other.

Rudd excels at this part and the film becomes less formulaic as Hamburg follows his journey (under Sydney's influence) from squeaky clean suit to ribald rock fan. And the awkwardness of the transition throws up laughs where, on paper, a scene mightn't be that funny. Echoing his brilliant supporting turn in the mock-macho Anchorman, Rudd has a tragically self-conscious swagger and a faltering way with trash talk which is expertly timed for maximum amusement. He hits a peak with a hilarious 007 send-up as he's fitted for his wedding suit. The jacket may look pinched at the seams, but this role fits Rudd like a glove. His slight hesitancy in every high-five and fist-pump is endearing too, and when he does achieve full wild abandon - playing air guitar at a rock concert - it's an ecstatic coming of age as much as a regression to childhood.

Of course Peter's fiancée is mortified by his juvenile behaviour, setting up the obvious him-or-me dilemma towards the end. What keeps it from being wholly predictable are the subtle shifts in Sydney's behaviour. His self-assuredness and forthright manner (challenging Peter on intimate subjects from love to 'self-love') gradually give way to insecurity, a slight stalker edge to his behaviour and the revelation of an ulterior motive. Until then, Segel is caged by stereotype, playing the bluff pseudo-intellectual slob. For both men though, it's the sincerity lurking just beneath the bravado which sets the film apart from the abrasive comedy it might have been if, say, the Farrelly Brothers had made it ten years ago. Hardnuts beware: your cockles will be warmed.

> What do you think of the movie? Share your views
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Soaps Spoiler

2380: Niall kills Kieron

2380: Niall kills Kieron
Aired Friday, Sep 5 2008 at 18:30 BST on Channel 4

Armed with the knowledge that Niall is Myra's son, Kieron contemplates what to do next. Unable to get in touch with Myra, he heads back to the flat and confronts Niall. Niall's cheerful manner soon hardens when he realises the game's up. He knows he has to act fast before Kieron ruins everything.

As Kieron tries to understand why Niall didn't tell Myra he was her son, Niall asks Kieron to take his confession and finally admits the truth. Kieron soon starts to feel unwell and realises to his horror that Niall's drugged him, but it's too late. As John Paul prepares to break Kieron's heart, his own heart breaks when he finds Kieron dead.

Craig isn't about to give up on John Paul and persuades him to join him for a drink. The tension between the two boys is palpable as Craig desperately tries to find out where he stands. John Paul plays it cool but he's completely floored when Craig admits he's still in love with him and his world's once again sent into turmoil.

Craig's gutted when John Paul doesn't reciprocate his feelings and later turns up at the McQueens', refusing to leave until he's absolutely certain John Paul doesn't want him. John Paul assures him it's Kieron he wants and pushes him away but the emotion and desire is too strong between them and he finally gives in to his feelings. Craig and John Paul are blissfully happy to be back in each other's arms but John Paul's brought back to reality when he gets a text from Kieron and realises he has to go and see him… unaware of the horror that's about to unfold….

Mercedes and Malachy can't keep their hands off each other and are getting on Kris' nerves. The threesome head off to the Union and Kris makes a point of mentioning Malachy's past girlfriends and enjoys winding them up. Mercedes tries not to look bothered but when Malachy gets a call and disappears she can't help being suspicious. Kris continues to wind Mercedes up when Malachy fails to show but he realises Malachy has hurt her a lot more than she'd care to admit.

Tony's patience is running out when Jacqui almost burns down Il Gnosh - he has to get her out of there. Jacqui's livid when he bans her from the kitchen and John Paul tries to suggest some hobbies to keep her busy but all she wants is a job. Tony tries to think of possible job opportunities for her and suggests she could work in Washed Up if she's fed up waiting on tables. Tony's left in a bit of a pickle when Jacqui misreads his offer and announces he'll have to tell Mike he's got a new boss. Get the Inside Soap magazine on your iPhone or iPad
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TV News

Dawn French: 'New sitcom is bold'

Dawn French

© Rex Features

Dawn French has revealed why she wanted to star in her new BBC Two sitcom.

The actress will play food technology teacher Val in Roger and Val Have Just Got In alongside Alfred Molina as her on-screen husband.

"It’s so bold," French told What's On TV.

"I wanted to do another sitcom, but one quite unlike anything I’d done before. I thought it would be very interesting to do a two-hander and something set in real time.

"This seemed so different. It’s challenging, but we think it works!"

Teasing her character, French described Val as a "minx".

"She gets her pupils to do ironing practice on her curtains. Roger and Val don’t like authority," she said. "They live above the law. They have no other distractions. Inside the house, they can simply play and amuse each other with stories."

She added: "Their home is very busy and full of stuff – all their enthusiasms are fully realised in there. They never venture outside it. They’ve created a magical universe where all the diversion is centred on them."

> Dawn French, Lenny Henry "best of friends"
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0 Reality TV News

'Top Model' judges get tough: 'More model-ly, less Page 3'

The Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model model judges have ramped up the pressure on the contestants this week, revealing that only 14 will get through the Top Model house and unleashing some biting put-downs.

Ahead of a final cull in Dubai, Elle Macpherson challenged the girls to a bikini catwalk followed by an Arabian Princess photoshoot.

[Photo Gallery - Next Top Model episode two]

Julien Macdonald was particularly critical of hopeful Anita during the catwalk, commenting: "Learn to be more model-ly, and less Page 3. Because nobody wants to be a glamour model if they can be a fashion model.

"So go for fashion, fashion, FASHION!"

He was also critical of aspriring model Jennifer's tattoos, saying: "When you're actually selling designers' clothes, you're selling an aspiration of beauty and perfection, and for me, your tattoo is not a sign of beauty or perfection. It's too much and it's a bit common."

Whitney Port and Tyson Beckford also joined in the criticism, describing Madline as having too much "attitude" and branding Louisa "boring".

Meanwhile, Macpherson was concerned about Diona's commitment.

"Do you want to be an actress or do you want to be a model?" she asked.

Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model airs on Mondays at 9pm on Sky Living.
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0 Bollywood News

Kapil Sharma and Yuvraaj Parashar shoot lesbian pop video

Kapil Sharma
Kapil Sharma and Yuvraaj Parashar have completed work on a music video for a Norwegian lesbian pop group.

The Dunno Y… Na Jaane Kyun actors star in the video to The Hungry Hearts pin-up performance band's latest track 'Captain in the Sky'.

''Our latest single 'Captain in the Sky' is a song about women dreaming of attention and love from unreachable men. When we saw Dunno Y… Na Jaane Kyun we were stunned by the guys' exotic looks with a combination of beauty, innocence, tenderness and masculinity," said Tonje Gjevon from the group.

Sharma and Parashar were approached to act in the promo following a recent screening of their debut release at an Israeli film festival.

"It was wonderful to work with international crew, they are so quick and organized. In fact I am in love with Norway,'' Parashar told Digital Spy.

Sharma explained of working with the Norwegian group: ''I was looking forward to doing a music video as I love dancing but had never imagined it would start with an international single. Not bad.''

Veteran actors Helen and Zeenat Aman starred in the 2010 project, widely regarded as Indian cinema's Brokeback Mountain.

The first commercial gay-themed Bollywood release, Tarun Mansukhani's Dostana, came out exactly three years ago.

The video for The Hungry Hearts' 'Captain in the Sky' is expected to debut in the coming weeks.
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0 Celebrity News

'Les Misérables' star Samantha Barks: 'I call my fans my sprouts'

Les Misérables star Samantha Barks has revealed the nickname she uses for her fans.

The actress, who recently won the Jameson Empire 'Best Female Newcomer' award, said she calls her fans her 'sprouts'.

Samantha Barks arriving at the 'Iron Man 3' UK premiere in London

© Rex Features / David Fisher

Samantha Barks

Speaking to Empire, the 22-year-old said: "Basically, I'm obsessed with Brussels sprouts and I sometimes tweet about them.

"They [her fans] are my sprouts, and I am their sprout. Also, we're all green. And a bit weird."

Barks, who first rose to fame after appearing on the BBC One reality show I'd Do Anything in 2008, also spoke about singing 'On My Own' as Eponine in Tom Hooper's award-winning film.

"I was on stage for a year singing that, so I was ready," she explained.

Barks is currently filming with Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle for new film The Christmas Candle.

Watch a clip from Les Misérables below:

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0 Movies News

Angelina Jolie receives tribute at Sarajevo Film Festival

Angelina Jolie

© PA Images / Freeman

Angelina Jolie has received a special prize at the Sarajevo Film Festival for highlighting the plight of Bosnia refugees in her new movie.

Jolie's directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey tells the story of those who fled the Bosnian War in the 1990s.

The actress was joined by partner Brad Pitt when she accepted the Heart of Sarajevo award on Sunday at the film festival, which was founded during the Bosnian War in 1995.

Jolie admitted that she was overwhelmed by the honor, saying: "I told Brad in the car I was afraid I was going to cry... I am so honored to be here at this festival. There is no greater example of the strengths of the artists and the festival that began during the war and grew stronger every year."

Jolie had originally been banned from filming several In the Land of Blood and Honey scenes in Bosnia last year, but government officials eventually allowed her access to the country.

The director was forced to defend In the Land of Blood and Honey in December 2010 after a group of Bosnian refugees said they were "deeply concerned" about depictions of rape in the movie.

In the Land of Blood and Honey is released on December 23 in US cinemas.

Watch Angelina Jolie accept the Heart of Sarajevo below:

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1 TV Blog

Comic-Con 2011: 'Once Upon A Time' panel - Live Blog

Once Upon A Time

3.57pm: Damon Lindelof introduces the cast: Josh Dallas, Jennifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Robert Carlyle and Lana Parrilla, as well as exec producers Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitsis.

3.59pm: Lindelof reveals that Horowitz and Kitsis pitched the idea to him during season three of Lost. Horowitz explains: "It started probably eight years ago. We'd just finished working off Felicity and our agent said 'you need a new sample'. We started to think about fairytales and why we liked them. The thing about them is they're like lottery tickets - you buy them and you hope your life will change.

4.00pm: Goodwin reveals that she took the part before even reading the script. "It really didn't take much. I then read it and was inspired to tell the story - we pray - over the next many years."

4.01pm: Morrison - relieved to just play one role? (All of the others play a fairytale character and a 'real world' character) "I'm a little jealous, because it seems really fun to wear the pretty costumes. But it's exciting to create a new fairytale character."

4.02pm: Dallas: "It's amazing to play the icon Prince Charming. You just have to approach it like he's just a man."

4.03pm: Parrilla: "I always wanted to play an evil villain. When I read the script I fell in love with it instantly. I was honored to be a part of this project."

4.04pm: Carlyle: "It's a fantastic role for me. It's very theatrical."

4.05pm: How will it work as a series? Kitsis: "It's going to work very much like the pilot. Every week we're going to go back and forth throughout both worlds. We're not interested in retelling fairytales but explaining other aspects, like how did Grumpy become grumpy?"

4.06pm: Someone picks up on the house address being 108 and the clock time being 8.15 and asks if we can expect that to continue. Kitsis: "We lived on the island for six tears so we know where we come from, so we're going to give a shout-out here and there."

4.09pm: Like Lost, will the show pose lots of questions? Horowitz: "We hope there's a little bit of a balance. It's hard for us not to inject mystery into, but you can generally relax."

4.10pm: Does Henry perform the 'Desmond' role? Kitsis: "I think that role would maybe fall to Emma."

4.11pm: Comparisons to The Tenth Kingdom or Enchanted? Kitsis: "To be honest, I never saw The 10th Kingdom but now I'd like to go back and see what I can steal from it."

4.12pm: Are there any inspirations from Fables? Kitsis: "Again, this was our own idea. I've only read a couple issues of that, which is amazing. We're trying to do something different completely." Horowitz: "This was really born out of our love of these stories."

4.13pm: Kitsis confirms that the sheriff is not the wolf.

4.14pm: This was a very, very strong pilot, by the way. The best I've seen from next season's new fare.

4.15pm: That's a wrap on this (very brief) panel. More to come soon - stick with us!
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Home > Cool Tech > NASA’s Opportunity rover gives us a…

NASA’s Opportunity rover gives us a panoramic view of what it’s like on Mars

Mars Opportunity RoverNASA has released an incredible, panoramic picture of the surface of Mars, taken by the Mars Exploration Rover known as Opportunity, which gives us a glimpse of what we would see if we were sat on top of the vehicle itself.

Opportunity has been on Mars since 2004, and it celebrated its 3000th day exploring the planet on July 2nd. The picture isn’t one single image, but one that has been created from 817 different pictures, snapped between the end of December last year and early this May.

Once digitally stitched together, a photographic technique called “false color” was applied to assist astronomers in identifying features and materials that could otherwise have been missed. NASA has provided a pair of high resolution versions for you to download here.

The rover was perched on Greeley Haven, an outcrop overlooking the 14-mile wide Endeavour Crater, where it was spending its fifth Martian winter, when it took the pictures. What you’re seeing in the foreground is Opportunity’s solar panels — not, sadly, a martian city — while on the far left is Rich Morris Hill.

Tracks left by the rover’s trip to a dusty patch which NASA named the North Pole –due north is dead ahead in the picture — are clearly visible, and the false color method reveals different soil underneath the top layer.

Capturing this complex image wasn’t Opportunity’s only task during its stay at Greeley Haven, as it was also monitoring atmospheric and surface changes, plus providing data to help scientists understand the interior structure of the planet.

Opportunity is one of two rovers on Mars, but Spirit became stranded last year on the opposite side of the planet, and was given its last rites. However, Opportunity is soon to be joined by Curiosity, a new rover expected to land in August.

Perhaps in the near future, the pair will be joined by humans, if either the Mars One or Elon Musk’s projects come to fruition.

Right now though, studying this amazing panoramic view of Mars is the next best thing to being there.

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Home > Gaming > ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ may feature a second…

‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ may feature a second villain

Baron Wolfgang von Strucker

As seen in the Captain America: Super Soldier video game

The upcoming Avengers sequel may feature more than one villain, according to a report from Latino Review. Along with the titular bad guy, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, head of Hydra, may appear as well, according to the site’s unnamed source.

The report claims that Marvel is looking for “a physically imposing man, age range 40-50, Caucasian, for a supporting role,” and that supporting role is believed to be Baron Strucker. And in what may be a spoiler if true, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver will be working for him in some capacity.

The character was first introduced in 1964, and was retroactively active during World War II. It isn’t clear how he would appear in the Avengers sequel, but Hydra was introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger under the leadership of the Red Skull. The character is nearly ageless thanks to years of augmentations, but he could just as easily (and probably less confusingly) be the modern head of the organization.

Marvel is apparently interested in a handful of actors, including Marton Csokas (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer, The Debt) and Dougray Scott (Hitman, Mission Impossible 2), for the role believed to be Strucker.

Avengers 2: Age of Ultron releases on May 1, 2015.

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Home > Mobile > 10 cringe-worthy social apps that prove people are…

10 cringe-worthy social apps that prove people are creeps

10 cringe-worthy social apps that prove people are creeps

The wonderful and often invasive World Wide Web can turn just about any mundane activity into a very creepy one. The likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have already caused our insatiable interest in other people’s lives to go haywire, and the longer we are afforded this wealth of information whenever and wherever we want, the creepier we get.

Among the many horrible types of humans you knowingly and unknowingly associated with via social networks, you probably know a handful of testosterone-driven frat boy types. What you might not know is that some of them have a smartphone app that makes it all-too-easy for them to browse through your photos and hone in on the ones with you in a skimpy swimsuit.

Enter Pikinis, a bro-friendly app (currently on beta mode) that scans your friends’ Facebook profiles for scantily-clad selfies. The premise is simple: Pikinis – which is wordplay for “pictures of bikinis,” as you likely assumed – is an iPhone app that people (the developers claim it’s meant for both boys and girls) can use to pull swimsuit-only Facebook photos. According to BroBible, Pikini’s Managing Director Ted Kramer says the idea is pretty basic: “I realized a lot of people express frustration about all the photos on Facebook and how difficult it is to find the ones you really want to see. The idea came about because [it’s] a problem many people seem to have, men and women.”

If you haven’t suffered major eye rolling by now, just check out this e-mail posted on the Reddit r/Frats subreddit last week, supposedly sent by Mark Mahoney, Marketing Manager of Pikinis, to a prospective user. Clearly, they have a target audience, and it’s not your grandma, mom, or best friend (or anyone else who usually likes your photos).

Does that give you the heebie-jeebies? Of course the obvious answer is “don’t post those pictures of your trip to Cabo.” But creepy social media isn’t going to stop at bikini pictures – that would be too easy. There are a variety of ways to get skeeved out by social apps that dive a little too deep.

This app is pretty much Pikinis’ predecessor. For a fee of $1.99 on the iTunes Store, you can download the app, log in using your Facebook account, and find some friends whose bikini pictures you’d like to check out and (ugh) save for later (it cannot be emphasized how gross that part it). The new version boasts a brand-new image recognition algorithm, a spiffy new user interface, and an overall better app rebuilt from scratch.

Butt Analyzer

butt analyzer

Just how attractive is your butt? That is the very question creeps will be asking when they aim their phone at your derrière to gauge your hotness with this app. Your “attractiveness” will be scored from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best – or in this app’s case, the most well-rounded, uhh, asset. The developers attempt to make it an even playing field by saying that it works on men’s butts, too. Hey, cheers to equal opportunity creeping!

Crush Notifier and Breakup Notifier

crush-breakup-notifierThese third-party Web apps turn Facebook into an optimized dating tool. I admit, any person who is single may enjoy some ego stroking brought about by a reciprocated crush revealed by the Crush Notifier, but what happens if the person crushed on (who gets sent an anonymous email by the app alerting them of someone’s interest) doesn’t feel the same way? Someone is left hanging … and honestly, maybe that someone deserves it for resorting to an anonymous app to proclaim their feelings.

Revealing a crush is one thing, but setting yourself up for a rebound fling? The Breakup Notifier makes it easier for rebound prowlers to prey on vulnerable date-ables – all you need to do is pick the people you’re interested in and be notified once they become unattached. Good luck dating an emotional mess!

The Predicktor

If not for the explanation that says this “fun and factual” app was developed by a family physician and is designed to help people deal with penile insecurity or anxiety (real problems), the Predicktor would be a top-notch contender for creepiest smartphone app ever – it actually won our “Worst App of the Week” pick once. It basically calculates penis size – for someone’s benefit, we assume. To lessen the probable “WTF?!” that is bound to come up when talking about this tool (get it?), the app also offers scientific journal articles about men’s health and sexuality. Not sure if the option to compare one’s personal penis length to published length norms is really helpful for alleviating insecurity, but I guess you’re free to do whatever floats your boat.

What’s Your Price

what's your price

Contrary to popular belief, online dating is not at all creepy when done wise, appropriately, and with the necessary discretion. But when an online dater is required to suggest a monetary limit he is willing to spend on a potential date and have that be used as a criterion for judging your date-ability, well now, that sort of screams “escort service,” doesn’t it? “I’ve found that if a guy is willing to pay me for a first date, he’s going to be much more serious over others who are just looking for a hookup. If it turns out that we’re not a match, at least I get paid for my time,” according to a video explaining how the online dating auction site works. That’s going to fall under creepy and borderline prostitution.

Ugly Meter

ugly meterEver wonder if people are just being polite about your inherent ugliness? Do you have ugly friends you would like to take down a notch? With the Ugly Meter, both questions can be adequately addressed – you just have to aim your phone at someone’s face (which could very well be your own), have the app scan facial features, and rate the face on an Ugly Scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the most beastlike). In case you get a bad rating, the app will supposedly give you facial feedback, but if you rate a 10, “you probably have a face that only a mother could love,” according to the app’s page. Want to shout from the roof tops proclaiming your ugliness? You can post photos and scores on your Facebook and Twitter. You can even make your face more grotesque with the app’s newest “Make Me Uglier” feature. Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, you can do all that for an affordable fee of $0.99.

Just in case your phone is not ingrained enough into your private life, we found an app you can use to track your sexual exploits and overall performance in the sack. For just $0.99, you can find out once and for all if you’re really the sexual dynamo you think you are or if your partner has been faking it all this time. When you place your phone on the bed or in your pocket (if you like to keep your clothes on during game time), the app detects your movements and noises. It also acts as a timer, in case you wanted to brag later on. All that data is then converted into a rating of sorts that’s presented through a graphic after your session has concluded. Oh, and of course – what’s an app for if it doesn’t allow you to keep track of all your sexcapades and share them on Facebook for everyone to see? If you’ve got it, flaunt it, right?

What’s creepier than an app called Creepy? This is every stalker’s dream; through the app, you can collect geolocation data from all your friends on various social networking platforms you are a part of and have them organized in map form, making it easier for you to know where your contacts were (or still are) at the time of their posts. It supports Twitter and Foursquare locations as well as locations tagged on various image hosting services. A disclaimer on the developer’s page explains that the app is not intended for malicious use and is mainly for educational purposes. That may be true, but perhaps he really should’ve thought harder about naming his software Creepy for that to be more believable…

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Home > Home > Evernote is everything: “We’ve built…

Evernote is everything: “We’ve built tech that mimics your brain”

evernoteWhile Evernote didn’t announced anything at SXSW this year, I had the chance to sit down and talk to lead marketer Andrew Sinkov about the company’s continuing growth and where the platform is going (platform being the operative word).

Evernote doesn’t really need to announce user numbers anymore: it’s got a lot, and it would take something pretty dramatic to change that. Still, the metrics bear mentioning. “We’re growing at a rate of 45 to 50 thousand users a day,” says Sinkov.

“We built a product that was for us. When we started building Evernote we wanted to build something that as founders we wanted built,” he says, explaining why users have so attached themselves to the app. “The problem was that we all have too much information to deal with and we needed a way to solve that. When you’re building a product for yourself it turns out working, and it turns out there are a lot of people like you with the same problem.”

The service has some of the most devoted fans of any app out there. If you have any semblance of a professional or busy life and a smartphone and you don’t use the app, then you’ve probably experienced the dumb-founded, slack-jawed faces that question how you continue to exist.

Part of that total devotion stems from the fact that, very quickly, Evernote became more than just a scheduling and organization app. I talked about this last year when the company launched Food and Hello, and Sinkov says I hit the nail on the head. “As a world, we’re shifting to an acceptance of technology as a way to help you — we’re better thanks to tech,” he says. “The way we see Evernote is that… we want to help people remember things. There are a lot of things in our lives and we want to capture them in beautiful ways.”

He says we can think of the company’s complementary properties (which also include Skitch) as a layer on top of Evernote — which is going to get thicker soon. Sinkov quotes CEO Phil Libin, saying Evernote’s working on a “to-do type application.” He won’t offer other examples, but says that Evernote has a few things in common with the Facebook Timeline. “I think Facebook Timeline is awesome — it’s a validation of what we’ve been doing for years… [With Evernote] you realize it’s capturing your life’s work. It’s everything that’s important to you in one place.”

trunkThere is no shortage of developers to (literally) build off of Evernote’s momentum. There are some 9,000 developers working off the Evernote API, and the Trunk app store is bursting with activity.

If it weren’t already clear, Evernote doesn’t fit in the “productivity app” bracket as easily as it might have originally, and its plans only solidify that. “Technology can mimic how your brain works now,” says Sinkov. It’s already sneaked its way inside our heads, and now we’re finding out what it’s going to do with all that information.

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Home > Mobile > Verizon users hit with third data outage in…

Verizon users hit with third data outage in December

According to a report out of Reuters, Verizon is investigating yet another outage of the data network. Noted as the third network outage during the month of December, some customers have reported an inability to connect to the 4G LTE network in a smattering of major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and San Francisco.  Marquett Smith, vice president of corporate communications for Verizon Wireless, released a statement that the company is currently working to resolve the new issue with the 4G LTE network. He stated “The network continues to operate and all customers continue to be able to make calls, send text messages and utilize data services. 3G devices are operating normally.

Samsung-Galaxy-Nexus-625x527With the other problems causing issues for Verizon customers earlier this month, the cellular company has yet to release a statement on the cause of these outages. Verizon has been heavily promoting the 4G LTE network as a benefit over other cellular providers in national advertising campaigns on television, radio and the Web. According to Verizon, the 4G LTE network is supposed to offer speeds approximately ten times faster than the average speed of a 3G connection across various cellular providers. With approximately 3.7 million Android devices activated over the holiday weekend, the amount of new subscribers utilizing Verizon’s 4G LTE network may be too much of a burden on the data network in large metropolitan areas.

While Verizon claims that all 3G devices are operating properly, customers have also been complaining of 3G outages as well. Customers have indicated that the 4G network is completely unavailable and their new device only connects to the 3G network intermittently. These issues during December have gone against Verizon’s advertising slogan that claims the 4G LTE network is the “nation’s fastest, most reliable 4G network.”

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Home > Movies & TV > Review: ‘The Wolverine’ exposes Jackman’s…

Review: ‘The Wolverine’ exposes Jackman’s darker side, but feels declawed

In September 2011, Hugh Jackman, one of the highest paid actors in the world, appeared on WWE Raw and punched the then champ in the face. Sure, he was there to promote his robot boxing movie Real Steel, but the guy is a genuine A-lister. Very few big name stars would embrace the sweaty, testosterone-filled soap opera world of professional wrestling just to promote a film. This was also just months after he appeared on stage at the Tony Awards and performed a song and dance number with Neil Patrick Harris. Two very dissimilar audiences, and yet they both loved him. He’s a likable guy, and that has probably saved both the character of Logan/Wolverine, as well as Fox’s X-Men film franchise (from a reboot, at least). That likability serves him well once again in The Wolverine, but thankfully the movie around him is much stronger than before.

It’s like watching Dirty Harry on network TV, after being so heavily edited that it lacks the punch it could otherwise have.

Jackman’s charisma (and genuine acting ability) have helped keep the character alive following two really awful films, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men: The Last Stand. He remains the center of Fox’s X-Men universe from both a marketing and a narrative standpoint, and it was about damn time they let him truly free in his own film. Now if only the studio would get out of the way.

In 1982 Chris Claremont and Frank Miller released “Wolverine,” a four-issue mini-series that changed the character from a brawler with berserker rages into a ronin, a master-less samurai. Claremont and Miller made him a killer and helped to mature the superhero genre in the process. The Wolverine attempts to stick to that theme, but downplays the violence, limiting its potential in the process.

This marks Jackman’s sixth appearance as Wolverine (including a cameo in First Class), and he’s currently filming a seventh with the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past. He knows Wolverine in a way few movie actors get the opportunity to know the characters they play. When the story begins, Logan is still reeling from the death of Jean Grey in X-Men: The Last Stand. When the dying Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi) wishes to repay a decades-old debt to Logan from World War II, the wild Yukio (Rila Fukushima) tracks him down in the Yukon and coaxes him to come to Japan.

The Wolverine

Logan heads to Japan in a loose retelling of the Chris Claremont and Frank Miller 1982 mini-series, “Wolverine.”

Jackman does a lot without even opening his mouth. His scowls and moments of reflection are worth more than an exposition-heavy chunk of dialogue. This is a different Wolverine than in previous films – heavier with the guilt of his actions, tortured by his past experiences, but still the same character.

The supporting cast is also strong, including Yoshida’s granddaughter and heir Mariko (Tao Okamoto), who doubles as Logan’s love interest. Her pursuit by the yakuza provides the spark for Logan to accept his role as a soldier, even as a mysterious force begins to curtail his healing factor and forces him to embrace his mortality.

This is easily the best film starring Wolverine since X2.

Director James Mangold’s take on Logan is (slightly) less action hero and more tortured warrior, and the character feels more complete for it. Mangold also captures the duality of Japanese culture, contrasting the crowded, technologically sophisticated city of Tokyo with with more rural, historical locales. The burgeoning love story between Logan and Mariko  plays up those cultural differences as well, but it also causes some of the film’s bigger pacing issues.

The romance works on its own, but it eats up some of the time that should be spent developing the villains, especially Svetlana’s Khodchenkova’s Viper and Will Yun Lee’s Harada (both of whom are very liberally adapted from the comics). There is an intriguing relationship between the two that is never fully explored, and that robs some of the weight from the finale. Speaking of the ending, there’s also an incident that will have lasting consequences on future films and definitely be divisive among fans – a more satisfying final showdown could have helped this. The biggest issue, though, is the PG-13-rating.

The film has an old-school sensibility to it that justifies the use of violence. The theme is like a hardcore, bloody thriller from the 70s or 80s. Unfortunately, it’s shot through a family-friendly lens – a decision the studio probably put in place rather than Mangold, who has already promised fans an unrated cut. The Wolverine should be an R-rated film, more in line with a Tarantino movie than the previous X-Men flicks. Logan slashes and hacks his way across Japan leaving bits of ninja and yakuza everywhere, but you hardly see any blood and rarely even a body. It’s like watching Dirty Harry on network TV, after being so heavily edited that it lacks the punch it could otherwise have. It’s consequence-free slaughter that betrays the point and lacks any meaning.

There is a brutal, and possibly brilliant movie buried in The Wolverine, but it’s hampered by the safer version we get. Putting that aside, this is easily the best film starring Wolverine since X2. Make sure to the stay through the first set of credits for an extra scene too.

Jackman knows this role exceedingly well, and he delivers his best performance as the gruff X-Man to date in The Wolverine. There’s a good film here, but it also feels like it’s playing it too safe. It’s somewhat akin to band releasing an album with profanity, then another “clean” version: it loses something in the washing.

Enough of the good shines though, however, and The Wolverine is a strong, character-first story for one of the most popular properties in comics. It’s also a great bridge to the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, and breathes life back into Fox’s X-Men franchise.

Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering local news, travel features, and politics. He has also been a frequent guest on podcasts, radio programs, and TV spots. Ryan is a diehard gamer and follower of the gaming industry, an avid filmgoer, and a passionate supporter of his alma mater, the University of Kansas. Find Ryan online at: Facebook: www.Facebook.com/RyanFlemingPDX Twitter: @RyanFlemingPDX XBL: Iridium Six PSN: IridiumSix

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Home > Photography > Tech meets fashion: NewViewWear is clothing that…

Tech meets fashion: NewViewWear is clothing that comes with custom wearable camera

NewViewWear combines a lightweight HD camera with different styles of apparel.

In terms of wearable cameras, consumers have many options to choose from. Ultimately, the choice will depend on the features of the individual cameras, as well as how the consumer wants to wear them. Wearable cameras can be strapped onto the body, worn as a necklace, or fitted to a head strap. They can also be attached to your clothing, which is the approach the NewViewWear team is using with its line of “smart apparel.” Its concept, however, is to design a line of clothing with a special pocket that accommodates a small, custom-made camera.

NewViewWear combines different clothing styles with a lightweight, 10mm-thin camera that captures HD videos in 1080p or 720p HD, or 5-megapixel photos. With a few simple taps, you’ll be able to snap photos or retroactively save and store footage wirelessly thanks to proprietary software created by the New York-based company.

“We designed everything in-house: the software, hardware, and the apparel,” said NewViewWear founder Matt Sandy. “The idea is to push [wearable technology] forward so that we properly utilize the real estate that’s already there – since you’re already wearing it, NewViewWear allows you to fully take in the world around you.”

The camera is compact enough to take anywhere—it's not bound to the clothing.

The camera is compact enough to take anywhere – it’s not bound to the clothing.

NewViewWear is versatile, so you can remove the camera from the apparel at any time and attach it anywhere else using different mounts. The camera can be used on its own in either photo or video mode; with two taps you snap a photo, and with three taps you can retro save video. The 100-degree angle of view camera has a built in microphone, weighs less than an ounce, and integrates many features into its tiny package, including:

  • Time Lapse Photography mode: Allows you to capture several images using a delay of 1 to 120 seconds.
  • Automated “Time Lapse” Video mode: Set a video capture length and time-lapse interval of your choosing, and record footage automatically.
  • Loop recording mode: Choose the length of recording loops.
  • Wireless connectivity: Operate the camera remotely via smartphone app to record and view photos and videos, change camera modes, store footage, and share it with others.

One of the camera’s key features is its aforementioned customizable retroactive saving. With the smartphone app, you’ll be able to tailor the save settings according to your preference. “Think of it as a looped recording mode that’s not always saving,” Sandy said. “The camera can be set to record in different intervals up to five minutes – say if you only want to save the last 10-30 seconds of footage – and when you tap it, it’ll save your videos with those settings.”

NewViewWear apparel comes in three initial styles: a polo shirt, a fleece jacket, and a zippered hoodie. The lightweight camera seamlessly inserts into the clothing, and a small opening allows the lens to see through the fabric. The apparel comes in a variety of colors and sizes, for both men and women.

The style choices of NewViewWear include polos, fleeces, and hoodies.

Depending on how the apparel is received by the public, NewViewWear is considering adding more style choices such as activewear and sportswear. According to Sandy, it was important to start with three different clothing choices that can be expanded upon. Of course, you don’t need these clothes in order to use the camera, as it can be attached in other ways. But, then, it just becomes like any other POV cam. Its appeal is that it’s relatively small when you compare it to something like, say, a GoPro camcorder.

NewViewWear has recently launched an IndieGoGo campaign with a goal of $100,000 and a deadline of June 25. NewViewWear said the decision to go the crowdfunding route was based on the potential collaboration with others in the photo community and being able to get honest, direct input from the people this technology is geared toward.

“[IndieGoGo] is a great platform to achieve those goals,” Sandy said. “Where I really see [NewViewWear] finding a niche is the unexpected and the unanticipated – how do you want to capture that unexpected moment? That’s why I think there’s going to be a great appeal for this product.”

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Home > Photography > Where to download free stock photos and public…

Where to download free stock photos and public domain images

It’s tough to escape copyright infringement in a digital age. As enticing as it might seem, you can’t legally use any image you’ve found online and throw it in your blog or use it for commercial purposes. The bulk of the images on the Web are subject to copyright – meaning the photographer or creator of a particular image retains exclusive rights to that image – and are therefore protected under federal law. Luckily, there is an entire realm of free-for-all images that fall under something called “public domain.”

Vectors at iStock

Public domain images are available to anyone and can be used for whatever purpose you like, even commercial use, for a variety of reasons: the copyright may have expired, the images could have been taken by a government branch, or the owner may have just forfeited his or her rights for whatever reason. And, although there is a ton of places to find public domain images online, many of the sites offer limited and lackluster results that are more of an eyesore than eye candy. Here are choices for the best places to go to download public domain images. Have at it.

DISCLAIMER: Copyright properties and conditions vary from one image to the next. Make sure you have a firm understanding of the license and abide by any restrictions it may have in order to avoid legal penalties and action. That being said, publish images at your own risk.

Related: Cash in your mobile photography with these smartphone apps

Creative Commons

Creative Commons Image

Creative Commons is one of the best choices for public-domain content, whether you’re looking for photos, audio, or something else. The site’s handy search utility allows you to enter a search term in the upper-right corner and filter the results based on Flickr, Fotopedia, Pixabay, Google Images, and a number of other reputable spots for hosting photos.

Keep in the mind that the site searches for images that have Creative Commons licenses, meaning the images might not necessarily fall under public domain, but they can often still be used under certain conditions. The site should also automatically search for content that can be used commercially and otherwise, but it’s a good idea to double-check the license just to be on the safe side.

EveryStockPhoto Image

EveryStockPhoto has an attractive, yet easy-to-navigate interface and displays some of the most popular searches on the left-hand side for easy access. When you use the built-in search bar, the site compiles images from a wealth of resources and showcases them in a classic thumbnail view or a column view that sorts them; once you click an image, EveryStockPhoto will show you the photographer, the license type, resolution, and a few other tidbits of information. Unfortunately, you must register for a free account depending on the image source.

Wikimedia Commons

With more than 16 million media files available for free, Wikimedia is another great tool for finding different kinds of public-domain content. Users curate the elaborate site – uploading, tagging, and categorizing the files – and most of the content is available and can be modified as long as you attribute the original author or licenser.

Wikimedia features a fairly extensive list of categories, from nature to engineering, and there is even a public domain category to greater filter your results. When using the search bar in the upper-right corner, try entering “PD” before your search term to limit the results exclusively to public domain images. For instance, try searching “PD Abraham Lincoln” to show only public domain images of the late president.

Flickr doesn’t just house millions and millions of protected images. It is also a great source for finding Creative Commons-licensed material and some that has made its way into the public domain spectrum, as well. The site features a wide array of images and the comprehensive search function allows you to sift through images much quicker than the built-in image browser.

Like the rest of the sites in our roundup, it’s best to to avoid any legal trouble by looking at what the original content owner’s restrictions on the image are. Some images on Flickr aren’t subject to copyright at all and thereby can be used for anything (including commercial purposes), while others merely require a simple attribution or hyperlink back to the source. Be sure to check out the Library of Congress’ photostream for a great collection of historical images.

CG Textures

publicdomain_cgtextures`Like the title implies, CG Textures offers mainly textures. Made by a graphic designer for graphic designers, this site makes creating textures super easy and fun. Everything featured on the site is free, but it does require you to sign up for a membership to access the entire photo collection.

However, for those who want actual photos and not just textures, don’t fear. The site also provides an assortment of traditional photos, such as animals and skulls, if you don’t mind taking the time to browse for them. Moreover, the site houses a neat gallery showcasing how people have successfully used the provided textures. It’s a great way to spur some ideas for a potential project, or to be completely horrified by what people are capable of making.

Unsplash is not your typical stock photography website. It doesn’t feature a search button or different categories to choose from, but rather, functions solely as a Tumblr page featuring beautiful high-resolution photos submitted by different users. Ten new photos are added every 10 days, all of which you can download. Photos vary from animal close-ups and landscapes to automobiles and intimate portraits, but sadly, there isn’t a way to search for specific images. Get used to casual browsing and stockpiling photos for future use.

Dreamstime has a similar look and feel to Shutterstock, but includes a selection of free photos as well. The site does ask for a user sign-in, and there are some photos that require credits to download, but it does have a substantial selection of free images. In fact, compared to the other sites in our roundup, Dreamstime has the best variety, given it pulls from Creative Commons and many other websites. The search is accurate, too, so long as you keep your search queries broad. It also offers a slew of generic categories to browse through, if you’re looking for something less specific.

Death to Stock Photos

Death to Stock Photos is not what you might expect. Co-founders David Sherry and Allie Lehman noticed it can be difficult to find compelling photos for free use on blogs and personal websites, so they decided to offer their own. Once you sign up for a free subscription, you will receive a pack of photos with their accompanying stories each month. For an additional $10 a month, you’ll gain access to the couple’s entire library and receive an extra pack of photos to your inbox every month. Part of that money goes to different artists, allowing for greater variety in the library.

Unlike waterfalls or puppies, photos of space can be more difficult to capture for the home photographer. NASA is the place for all of your cosmic and space picture needs. They offer mind-blowing photos they’ve taken over the years, for free. The site has a number of galleries you can go through to find something you need. Whether it’s retro ones like Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon, the Mars surface shot by Curiosity, or something more recent like a cosmic ring.

There is a lot of outer space to cover, so if you don’t find what you’re looking for with NASA, SpaceX has made all of its spectacular photos available in the public domain. The world was informed of this exciting news by Elon Musk on Twitter – what a world we’re living in! SpaceX is a young, private company, so unlike the government-run NASA, it has no obligation to give up the rights to their photos. Lucky for us, they decided to throw us a bone and put awe-inspiring pictures on Flickr for free.

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Taipei, Wednesday, September 2, 2015 00:14 (GMT+8)
light rain shower
AMD announces new Opteron platform for cloud computing
Press release, June 23; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 23 June 2010]

AMD has announced availability of the new AMD Opteron 4000-series platform, the first server platform designed to meet the specific requirements of cloud, hyperscale data center, and SMB customers needing highly flexible, reliable, and power-efficient 1P and 2P systems. This platform is also available for high-end embedded systems such as telecom servers, storage, and digital signage, through AMD Embedded Solutions.

Systems from Acer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard (HP), SGI, Supermicro, ZT Systems, and numerous other channel partners are expected to start shipping today and in the coming months, said AMD.

The AMD Opteron 4000-series platform offers four- and six-core performance at less than 6W per core, reducing power up to 24% over the previous generation, and allows more than double the servers within the same power budget as previous generation platforms.

In addition to on-going savings associated with ultra power-efficient platforms, the AMD Opteron 4100-series processor offers price points as low as US$99 and is a no-compromise, trusted server-class processor with full feature sets.

The AMD Opteron 4100-series processor is ideal for custom-designed servers because it allows for smaller heat sinks, power supplies, and fans, as well as low voltage memory to help improve power efficiency. Depending on how the system will be used, customization also allows unnecessary, power-consuming features to be eliminated, further driving cost and power efficiency.

This platform is available with embedded industry-standard five plus two years longevity and provides the power, price, and performance balance required for high-end, commercial-class embedded systems with specific target markets and long product life cycles, said AMD.

While highly flexible, the AMD Opteron 4000-series platform is chipset-consistent with the 8- and 12-core AMD Opteron 6000 series platform and is planned to support the new Bulldozer core, planned for 2011.

AMD Opteron 4000 series processor

AMD Opteron 4000 series processor
Photo: Company

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    As of 2013, the 10 ASEAN nations had a total of over 700 million mobile subscriptions, with the CAGR from 2003-2013 reaching 24%. This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the various mobile broadband markets in ASEAN and looks at the respective trends in 4G LTE development for those markets.

  • 2015 global tablet demand forecast

    This Digitimes Research Special Report provides a 2015 forecast for the global tablet market and analyzes the strategies of key market players such as Google, Apple, Intel, and Microsoft.

  • 2015 China smartphone panel trend forecast

    This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the strategies of key China-based major panel makers BOE, Tianma and IVO for attacking the different market segments through technology and pricing, and their relationship to local vendors Huawei, Lenovo, ZTE, Xiaomi and Coolpad.