Una red social para el cambio social

Converged PC + mobile utopia: How far away are we? Let’s face it, today’s hyper-connected professionals have too many technology tools that do too many redundant things. And, while that redundancy can be a good thing when one of the devices doesn’t work or runs out of power, it also means that our devices are destined to consolidate because normal people eventually get tired of having too many specialized tools. Most would would prefer a Swiss Army Knife. In the gadget world, we’ve already seen this happening with point-and-shoot cameras, GPS navigators, and MP3 players. Most of them have been wiped out as individual devices and simply absorbed into smartphones — the Swiss Army Knife of modern tech. However, there’s also a new redundancy, perhaps the biggest redundancy. As smartphones get faster and more powerful while the technology that runs today’s computers gets smaller and more power-efficient, the two are destined for a collision course. Plus, now we have tablets thrown into the mix. I know way too many people who now carry a laptop, a tablet, and a smartphone (sometimes two). In fact, I’m one of them. However, I predict that five years from now, this won’t be the case. Most people will carry one device. The question, of course, is which device will it be? Judging by the current trajectory of these technologies, it will be something akin to what a smartphone or tablet looks like today, although with a big asterisk. COMPAQ Presario V6206AU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6206TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6207AU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6207TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6208AU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6208TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6209AU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6209TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6210AU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6210BR CD DVD Drive I realize this may sound strange since just last week I wrote the article “Tablets are for people who hate computers” in which I talked about the fact that people who are already highly-proficient with computers tend to end up frustrated with tablets. But, what I’m talking about now is a future device that looks like today’s smartphone or tablet but has all of the power of today’s personal computer. A preliminary example is the Motorola Atrix, which is a high-powered smartphone that can also slide into a desktop dock or a laptop dock and function like a full PC with a keyboard, mouse, and large LCD monitor. The big difference is that the smartphones of 2013 and 2014 are going to be powerful enough to run a full desktop OS that can do virtually everything today’s computers can do, including photo editing and high definition video conferencing. The other big difference is that future smartphones won’t have to physically dock. They’ll use an encrypted wireless docking technology that will function similar to Wireless USB and the Palm Touchstone charger. When those factors come together, the smartphone will become the computer. It will not only be your communications device, but, with a combination of the cloud and local syncing, it will also hold the key to accessing all of your apps, data, and media no matter whether you’re operating on the phone itself, or from a wireless docking station with keyboard/mouse/monitor at your office, or wirelessly tethered to your flatscreen TV at home. The same will be true of tablets. They will be capable of docking and becoming a fully functional PCs. We’re already seeing glimpses of this today with the HP TouchPad and the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer. The future scenario for tablets will be nearly identical to what I mentioned above for smartphones. The big question will be whether you want a smartphone or a tablet. People who make more phone calls and tend to be more mobile and active will likely opt for smartphones. People who do more visual tasks will likely to gravitate toward tablets. One thing to note is that for all of the people who choose smartphones, there will still be a market for a low-cost color e-reader (under $100) similar to today’s Amazon Kindle. I think we’ll see a lot more people using those as companion devices to smartphones than opting for both a tablet and a smartphone. And, yes, there will still be exceptions. Video editing, multimedia production, CAD, and software development, for example, will all still be done on full desktop computers. But, these will increasingly become highly specialized systems, almost like today’s workgroup servers. There’s also one other interesting factor to watch in this whole process. A lot of the current tech titans are likely going to fight this trend because they won’t want to cannibalize any of their current revenue streams. They’d prefer to sell you a smartphone, a tablet, and a laptop. That’s what Apple wants with iOS and Mac. That what Samsung wants with Android and Windows. Dell, Lenovo, Acer, and ASUS want to replicate what Samsung is doing. HP wants to do the same thing, but with WebOS all around. None of them are going to be motivated to deliver a converged device instead of selling you three devices. That’s going to leave the door open for someone unexpected to seize the opportunity. Next week, I’ll tell you who it might be.

Chaos in London as protest at police shooting descends into rioting and looting THE fatal shooting of a man by police sparked riots and looting on the streets of London last night. Eight police officers were being treated in hospital after trouble flared up in Tottenham, north London. The violence came two days after a man named locally as Mark Duggan, 29, was gunned down by police in the area. After a peaceful protest by community members demanding "justice", the mood turned nasty and buildings and vehicles were set alight. Starting about 200 yards from Tottenham Police Station, the riots then spread to other parts of the local area and by the early hours of the morning, crowds of looters were smashing shop windows in a retail park near Tottenham Hale tube station and plundering goods from almost every store. Teenagers and adults were said to have turned up in cars and filled their boots with stolen items, unimpeded by police. Others arrived on foot and piled shopping trolleys high with looted televisions and other electronic goods, a woman who has lived locally for 10 years but did not want to be named said. Local residents wandered through the wrecked retail park in disbelief, some taking photos of the devastation. The front window of Currys electrical store was smashed and smithereens of glass covered the ground outside. Next door, Argos's door had been smashed in and broken glass covered the floor inside and out after looters apparently raided the stock room. A futile alarm rang out but was all but drowned out by the whirring of helicopters circling overhead. Rubbish bins had been tipped over and their contents strewn across the car park. Discarded flat screen television boxes and other unwanted packaging covered paved areas outside the electronic goods stores. The looters had evidently removed the products from their boxes to create more space in their shopping trolleys and cars, which were said to number up to 100. Fragments of glass from the smashed in door of PC World littered the ground. The scene outside Comet was similar and outside B&Q - one of the few stores that did not appear to have been looted - staff stood uncertainly, waiting to hear from head office whether they would be working today. With police tape cordoning off most of the neighbouring shops, the prospect seemed unlikely. A member of staff at The Carphone Warehouse next door said every phone in the shop had been stolen. The contents of the stock room were spilled across the pavement outside from the smashed in door. COMPAQ Presario V6210CA CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6210TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6210US CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6211AU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6211TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6212AU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6212EA CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6212TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6213AU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6213EA CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6213TU CD DVD Drive Inside, it had been pulled apart. A solitary mobile phone rang out from beneath a pane of glass on the ground. Outside JD sport shop, broken mannequins lay on the ground, plastic legs and torsos scattered here and there. Plastic coat hangers and discarded packaging also lay among the debris. Police here in the UK are too trigger happy, this time the recoil wasn't what they expected. It doesn't excuse the violence, but heavy handed tactics on the ordinary working class seems to me to be out of proportion with the more affluent members of society. The government want to make sure that the police uphold the law of the land fairly and right across the board without preference along with a stop to what appears to be summary justice metted out by the police or they are in danger of losing any respect the population have left for them. godsboy - the discharge of weapons by UK police is very, very rare. Fatalities are even rarer. You seem to want to turn this into a class issue? Why not debate the tactics of the former Soviet states and the presently uprising Arab states: your allies in the war against Capitalist Imperialism. Remember that this man had a weapon and the police officer who shot him is in hospital after being shot by him. Apparently it followed on from a 'peaceful protest'. What happened in Tottenham? Did this shooting disrupt their crack supply? I watched the MP make his speech then the inevitable 'buts' followed. Calculate the cost of the damage and subtract it from their community grants. The immigrant communities have to realise that they can't just riot when the hand-outs dry-up. Anyone in possession of a gun in the streets of should be prepared to run the risk of being shot by the police.. The cost of this riot will be borne by the taxpayer and those who pay for any type of insurance. Water canon should have been used last night and even the army should have been brought in to restore order. Godsboy - When did this become a class issue ? Maybe you think it is a class issue because the poor struggling working class people chose to liberate plasma T.V.'s, electrical goods, trainers, and barowloads of provisions from shops that were miles away from the scene of the riots. This has absolutely nothing to do with 'working class' or any other class. This is simply a case of opportunistic thieves and looters taking advantage of a situation. If an armed gunman shoots a policeman, I would fully expect our police force to mete out 'summary justice' before anyone else gets killed. And rightly so! Seeking justice by looting the local shops, thieving anything that isn't nailed down, and destroying whatever CAN'T be stolen? I am guessing the "youths" involved in "liberating" the flat screen tvs are overwhelmingly of African origin, but we can't expect the media to report that! You can be damn sure mind you that they'd be quick to point out if the looters were all white!! When you have a huge third world population (which London certainly has) then don't be surprised when this type of behaviour occurs. This is standard third world shenanigans. Detroit, Atlanta and Los Angeles have had this stuff happen many times. These cities may be located in a relatively affluent nation, but they now have majority third world populations. This is simply what these people do and they don't need much justification..... I feel enriched, mass immigration has brought nothing but benefits to Britain as the Liberal elite tell us.. that and riots, terrorism, murders, rape, muggings... It's all good 2 totally different issues here. An armed guy has been shot dead by the police. Not because they were trigger happy , but because a gun had been discharded by a member of the public. I don't care who or why the guy was shot by the police , he was a serious risk to the public , and the police , so he got everything he deserved. Do people have short memories . It was only a couple of weeks ago dozens of kids were killed by a madman with a gun. Do the police wait until someone gets killed before they act ? No , take out the threat immediately and ask questions later. As for the looters , absolutely nothing to do with the shooting incident. Mindless morons who should have been covered in dye from the helicopters , rounded up and made to pay for all the damage and looting they done. No place for these idiots , total disrespect for people and property and would probably steal from their own families. Two major riots in less than a year, London must invest in water canons, lots of them to flush the criminal element into the Thames.

Economy to grow at 8 pc plus "We would continue to achieve appreciable growth despite negative sentiments across the world," the Minister said while addressing a conference organised by the CII on the theme 'Two Decades of Reforms: The Way Forward'. The conference was attended by the leading industrialists of the country, policy makers and top brass of the government. He mentioned about these weak sentiments in the developed nations were affecting India's markets. The Finance Minister said, "We witnessed some recovery already and this is testimony for our capacity for resilience". Mr Mukherjee, however, said India's growth story was intact and the fundamentals are strong. The Finance Minister said that as global investors look for opportunities across the world, India’s attraction as an investment destination would continue to grow. Talking about inflation, the Finance Minister said inflationary pressures persist both from higher global commodity prices and domestic structural demand-supply imbalances in several commodities. The management of inflationary pressures in the medium term is critically dependent on an improvement in the supply response of agriculture to the expanding domestic demand and in the short-term by taking steps to moderate aggregate demand. Mr Mukherjee said the monetary policy has been gradually tightened, at the same time new initiatives were announced in the Union Budget to address some of the bottlenecks in the food supply chain that were the reason for the inflationary spikes in past years. The monetary measure may end up moderating the growth rate, if they persist for an extended period of time. The Finance Minister said, "He was hopeful that we should together be able to repeat the growth performance of 2010-11 in the current year as well." Mr Mukherjee said the agriculture diversification has added to its resilience in the face of uneven and sometimes delayed monsoons. The agriculture year 2010-11 has seen production record a new high, he added. Mr Mukherjee said that the food grain production at 242 million tonnes has grown by 11 per cent over last year’s production. The Finance Minister said that the country was getting close to self-sufficiency in pulses with record production of over 18 million tonnes. Meanwhile, Mr Mukherjee categorically said there are no proposals for introducing dual pricing for diesel or increase in duties for bridging any perceived shortfalls in tax revenues. The Finance Minister said that rise in the share of private investment in domestic demand helped in improving economic efficiency and productivity. Mr Mukherjee said while the momentum in consumption has been sustained as the economy has recovered from the slowdown in 2008-09, the recovery in private investment growth has been held back. The Finance Minister said, "It is a matter of concern and we must together do what is required to improve business sentiments to restore the investment growth seen in the years before the global crisis." Mr Mukherjee said education with special thrust on skill formation, health and sanitation are core areas that should receive urgent attention. COMPAQ Presario V6214AU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6214TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6215AU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6215BR CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6215CA CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6215TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6216CA CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6216EA CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6216TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6217EA CD DVD Drive "We need to bridge the human resource deficit that could prevent us from harnessing the demographic dividend and sustain high growth. Policy and regulatory framework is being put in place for the higher education system to develop the required intellectual capital for growth and development," he said. Mr Mukherjee said India needs to invest an additional 3-4 per cent of GDP on infrastructure to sustain current levels of growth, or higher, over the next couple of decades. Development of quality infrastructure and ensuring its broad-based, regional and rural-urban balance is central to sustaining high growth. Areas like power and energy, ports and airports, water resources, rural connectivity and urban infrastructure are in need of resources and managerial best-practices. The Government has laid emphasis on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) which combine the efficiency and technological prowess of the private sector, with the public welfare orientation of Government. "We have established unique and innovative financing support such as the scheme to support Viability Gap Funding for PPP projects", he said. He said the enabling framework for Infrastructure Debt Funds to effectively meet the long-term debt requirements of the infrastructure sector has been finalised. Mr Mukherjee said issues like land acquisition, environment clearance and resettlement and rehabilitation have to be addressed satisfactorily, with a view to de-risking development and meeting environmental concerns. He said the new land acquisition bill is in the public domain and is likely to be introduced in Parliament shortly. Mr Mukherjee said a committee constituted by the Group of Ministers (GoM) to consider all issues relating to reconciliation of environmental concerns emanating from various development activities related to infrastructure and mining and to examine the efficacy and legality of existing forest clearance norms and procedures being followed, has just finalised its report which will be considered in the next few days. The Finance Minister said the B K Chaturvedi Committee related to Coal sector, Vinod Dhall committee on Public Procurement Standards and Public Procurement Policy and Ashok Chawla Committee on Allocation and Pricing of Natural Resources are also in the process of being taken-up for consideration by the GoM. The Minister said, "We have to deepen the policy reforms in the financial sector and address gaps in the overall economic regulatory architecture." The Government has outlined a significant legislative agenda for the financial sector which "we hope to purse in the coming days in the ongoing Parliament session." The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission that has been constituted is working towards the harmonization of the existing laws, regulations and rules. Mr Mukherjee said, "We need to have the necessary head-room and policy flexibility to address challenges emanating from global markets." In the post-global crisis context, India has already begun the process of fiscal consolidation and succeeded in reducing the fiscal deficit to 4.7 per cent in 2010-11. He said that the government was committed to the fiscal balance targeted for the current financial year end. The State Governments also need to work towards fiscal sustainability for meeting their development goals in the medium term, he said.

Apple iPad, Day 30: The Verdict--Can an iPad Replace a PC? Today the 30 Days With an iPad series comes to a close. I set out on this journey with the goal of determining whether an iPad is capable of replacing my Windows 7 notebook, and now it's time to review the experience and render a verdict. To score the iPad, let's take a look at some of the common functions I need to do with my primary computing platform and determine if the iPad can deliver: Did I leave anything out? Looking at this list, and scoring the iPad based on its capabilities, it seems that the answer to the question "can an iPad replace a PC?" is an absolute "yes". Just...not for me. And, not for many others. Really, the answer is a very solid "it depends". There are a couple crucial drawbacks for me. I write. A lot. That's what I do. Virtual keyboard vs. physical keyboard aside, I need a much larger display and more efficient multitasking so I can research and type simultaneously. I also need a real browser that can work with the PCWorld content management system (or I need the PCWorld developers to alter the system to work with a mobile browser) for publishing what I write. For me, the experience over the past 30 days demonstrated that it is possible to an extent, but not necessarily preferable for all. Essentially, I wouldn't give up my notebook PC and rely solely on the iPad, but if my Windows 7 notebook suddenly died I know that the iPad can fill those shoes in a pinch. There are a number of scenarios where an iPad simply won't work as a PC replacement. If you are a developer--even a developer of apps for an iPad--you need a PC. If you are a professional photographer, or a graphic artist, you need a PC. If you are a hardcore gamer, you need a PC. I can keep adding to that list, but basically using an iPad as a PC replacement will not work for everyone. COMPAQ Presario V6217TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6218EA CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6218TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6219TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6220BR CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6220TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6221EU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6221TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6222EA CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6223EA CD DVD Drive I am not an average user, though. I have an iPad and a notebook that dual boots between Windows 7 and Ubuntu Linux. I have an iPhone, and I am considering getting a MacBook Air. I may get an Android smartphone and Android tablet just because. This is what I do, so I have a vested interest in learning and using as many platforms and technologies as possible. Many of the criticisms and negative comments throughout this series also came from users who don't necessarily represent the average. Some of the issues were more mainstream than others, but many of the complaints related to more advanced functionality. For many of the concerns, there is in fact a solution--or at least a workaround--but then it comes down to a question of "why should I accept alternative solutions and workarounds if my PC already does those tasks just fine?" So, who does the iPad work for as a PC replacement? Most people, really. My father, my in-laws, my brother, my best friend, my cousins, my neighbors. People who are still using a Windows XP PC. People who think that Google is the Internet because it's the home page when they open their browser. People who think they can't switch ISPs or they'll have to get a whole new Hotmail account and start over. People who buy a PC from Best Buy and basically use it as is out of the box. The reality is that the iPad--particularly the iPad 2--is not only capable of handling the computing needs of an average user; it is probably a better choice than a PC. It is easier. It just works. You can give an iPad to your Luddite grandmother who has never used a computer and she can surf the Web and send an email in a matter of minutes. You can give an iPad to a three year old, and they can intuitively navigate the interface and use it without a second thought. The iPad can do these things, and it's more versatile than a desktop PC--or even a notebook or netbook--because of its form factor. You can read a Kindle book on your iPad in bed, stream a movie from your iPad to your 42" LCD TV in your living room, video chat with your parents from the den, and cook dinner using a recipe from the AllRecipes app in the kitchen. The iPad lets you check your email when you have a spare 30 seconds standing in line at the bank, or post a status update to Facebook about the guy next to you on the train with two different colored socks. The iPad lets you read National Geographic, keep up with breaking news on CNN, or watch your favorite HBO series while sitting in the waiting room at the dentist. Can you do these things with a notebook or netbook? Sure. Can your grandmother or your three year old do them intuitively? Probably not. Would you want to get out a notebook PC, open it, boot (or wake) it up, and try to hold it in one hand while navigating the touchpad with the other just so you can check your email while standing in line? I doubt it. I don't plan to get rid of my notebook. I don't recommend that any of my techie friends dump their PC any time soon. But, for the vast majority of my friends and relatives, I have no reservations whatsoever telling them that the iPad is all they need.

A report that won't be PC with retailers A little more than six months ago during the hustle and bustle of the Christmas trading rush, some of Australia's leading retailers such as David Jones, Myer and Borders took out full-page ads in the nation's newspapers to condemn the threat from online retailing. Central to their complaint was the fact overseas online shops did not charge GST to their Australian customers. The wail, though, drew in turn howls of derision from many online shoppers and served largely to make more consumers curious and aware about web-based purchases. Now, half a year on and following an exhaustive and lengthy inquiry from the Productivity Commission, these same retailers have a little more to show for their efforts. They now have a 400-page draft report from the government agency to digest, coming as it does amid one of the worst trading environments in 50 years. The Commission's report into the structure and future of the retail sector, released this afternoon, carries a few well-meaning recommendations covering the best way to monitor the trend of online shopping, and some worthy tips on deregulating industrial relations and trading hours. But if the coalition of angry retailers that set this Productivity Commission inquiry in train in February were hoping the body would recommend the cutting or phasing out of the $1000 GST-free threshold on internet purchases by Australian consumers then they will be sorely disappointed. Despite the protests from consumers, despite their head-shaking and objections, the nation's leading retailers believed - and still believe - that the failure of overseas online retailers such as Amazon or eBay to charge GST serves as a huge and unfair source of competition. COMPAQ Presario V6223EU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6223TU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6224EA CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6225BR CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6230BR CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6230CA CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6233EU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6239EU CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6241EA CD DVD Drive COMPAQ Presario V6254EA CD DVD Drive On the margins But this disadvantage was always a marginal issue. The fact that many items, ranging from clothes, toys and ski boots to computer games and kitchen goods, are as much as 50 per cent cheaper online (and sometimes more than 75 per cent cheaper) makes the 10 per cent GST these same online shops are avoiding all but irrelevant. Productivity Commissioner Philip Weickhardt said as much in his draft report, when he reminded protectionists and members of the nanny state lobby that the government's role was not to shield the industry from competition but to "remove constraints which restrict the industry in responding to this heightened level of competition”. He conceded what any online shopper could tell you, that the GST-free threshold was only a "minor contributing factor" to online offshore purchases by consumers. While such purchases have grown like topsy recently, they remain a small share of retail sales. Mr Weickhardt said that for reasons of fairness - or "tax neutrality" as he called it - the threshold should be reduced over time. He admitted, however, this move could only be done when a cost-effective way to actually collect the tax from offshore retailers is found. In short, then, this shift will probably never happen. Deregulation call More importantly, Mr Weickhardt threw the challenge to the Gillard government and its poor record on industrial relations reform when he said the retail sector in Australia would greatly benefit from a deregulation of Australia's currently tight workplace laws. The rollback of John Howard's Work Choices legislation has pleased unions and appealed to the Labor Party's base but done nothing to prepare businesses, especially retailers, for the shifting challenges of the new economy and a changing global economy. Chief among these gripes from shops and businesses is the increasingly complex and costly red tape around actually employing someone, adding costs to the business and making them less competitive with online retailers. Mr Weickhardt has asked the government to examine its controversial Fair Work Act as it relates to these obstacles over pay and conditions, which many economists have argued has sunk productivity in Australia and damaged the economic outlook as a result. The government will most likely ignore these recommendations, placing them neatly in the "too hard basket", leaving someone else to clean up the mess when the retail sector, along with the broader economy, crumbles when and if the China boom runs out of steam. Mr Weickhardt's tome should become a best-seller rather than gather dust as is more likely to be the case in some large warehouse on Canberra's outskirts.