Google bumps Android to 4.2, keeps Jelly Bean moniker

Google bumps Android to 42, keeps Jelly Bean moniker

Well, it's no Key Lime Pie, but Android 4.2 is certainly a treat in its own right. The latest version of Google's mobile OS makes a number of evolutionary improvements to its already impressive repertoire -- including a new quick settings menu that can be accessed from the notification pull down and support for multiple user profiles. The multiple user support is especially handy for tablets like the new Nexus 10, which are much more likely to be shared, and now offer quick and easy user switching right from the lock screen. If you don't want to share your tablet, just what's on it, the new support for Miracast makes will allow you to wirelessly beam movies, games or anything else to a compatible display. The 10-inch tablet UI has also received a slight tweak, moving closer to the design for phones and the Nexus 7, with centered navigation buttons and the notification area up top. It might seem strange for users used to the Honeycomb-style tablet layout, but the new design is much simpler and provides a consistent experience across devices.

Google has also overhauled the photo experience and added Photo Sphere -- a 360-degree panoramic shooting mode that captures everything around you. Obviously, you'll be able to post those shots to Google+, but you'll also be able to add them to Google Maps, basically creating your own personal Street View. Interestingly, Google has also taken a page from Swype's playbook, adding "Gesture Typing" to its keyboard. There's also a new screensaver called Daydream that offers up news, photos and other content when a device is docked or idle.

Perhaps the biggest, and creepiest improvements are to Google Now, which can monitor your Gmail for relevant content such as flight numbers. Hotel and restaurant reservations are now presented as cards, as are packages enroute to your humble abode. The service will even remind you of events you've purchased tickets for, essentially making Calendar redundant for a lot of your personal life. For more info check out the source links.

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Google bumps Android to 4.2, keeps Jelly Bean moniker originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/29/google-bumps-android-to-4-2-keeps-jelly-bean-moniker/

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School's Out. Now What? - Plymouth-Whitemarsh, PA Patch

You've purchased your batteries. The flashlights are in working order. You have your canned goods, radio and bottled water. School's even called out. But, now what?

Hurricane Sandy may be knocking at your door, but that doesn't mean you can't have some fun indoors. Many area schools have called off for the day, so what will you do with the munchkins??

The kids are full of pent up energy. Being stuck indoors has created a tizzy, and mom and dad are both ready to pull their hair out. Have no fear; there are plenty of ideas that can keep the kids busy, even during a hurricane. Here are five things that might help get that ball rolling and inspire your own creativity.

Bake

The temperature is dropping, but instead of just turning up the thermostat, why not use the oven to help heat up the home? Kids can be a great help with baking sweet treats or even whipping up dinner. The activity not only gives you some great one-on-one time with the children, but also serves a purpose: it gets dinner on the table!

Providing food isn?t the only benefit. By baking with the kids, you can also improve their math skills. Measuring, adding up or topping off ingredients are great ways to brush up on number recognition or counting.

For older children, try doubling or halving a recipe. This makes the math a little tougher as the tots have to figure out fractions of the recipe to make it work!

Have you already lost power? Try these "no electricity" methods of cooking.

Crafts

With a simple walk down the craft supplies aisle of your local box stores, you?ll instantly be inspired to dust off the art smock at home and try your hand with a few crafts of your own.

If the storm's already blowing, check the house. Look around for simple supplies, too, to keep the crafting affordable. Who doesn?t have a pile of single socks sitting around the house? Somehow the washer or the dryer (or the kids) manage to lose socks constantly at our house. And, face it; you are going to end up throwing them out in the end. Besides doubling as great dusting rags, old single socks can also quickly turn into sock puppets.

Buy a few plastic eyes or stickers to help your children create faces on the toe end of a sock. Decorate the fabric with markers, paints or decals. And, presto!

Not only is the creation of the puppet good fun, but the activity can go on by asking the children to create a short skit or play with their newfound friend. Put on a show for the entire family, with each child playing a part.

Games

Our household seems to be obsessed with video games, so this is an easy fix for us. If you are all stuck indoors anyhow, why not make some family time of it with a few games. Video or board, there are lots of ways to enjoy playing with the kids and even finding some fun for you, too.

Some great family games include ?Wii Sports? or ?Wii Party? which can bring an assortment of minigames for those of all ages. ?Super Mario Brothers Wii? is another great choice, since you can play up to four players at a time.

Alternatively, rev up your hand-held game systems, like DS, DSi or PSP to play each other, take turns or ?system link? one or more handhelds for family fun. Remember to charge up your phones, game systems and computers to stock up on the power in case you lose electricity. Consider a ride if the power is still out and the weather clears. Many devices can be charged in your vehicle.

Already out of power? Dust off those board games or a deck of cards and teach the kids a few fun games the old fashioned way. Candyland, Chutes and Ladders or Go Fish are great for younger children, while Risk, Battleship or Monopoly can be entertaining for middle-schoolers. Play some family poker. Bet pretzels or cookies for the ?pot.?

Build a Fort

No one is too old to pull the comforter off a bed, add a few sheets and pillows and make a massive indoor fort. Young children love the chance to not only make a big mess in their rooms, but also to get creative at the same time. Turn kitchen chairs backwards to form walls, while draping around blankets for a roof and walls. Pull the cushions off of the couch or stack up that laundry to reinforce the ?fort.?

Even the older children can get into this activity, and don?t forget mom and dad, too. Make a game of the ?construction? by delivering messages from fort to fort or have a rolled up sock battle, tossing the ?bombs? to the opposing team.

Bring the kids? toys inside the fort or play a game inside the stable shelter. Older kids can be learning in the process by teaching them some history along the way. Look up historical battles online or fort-related lessons in history to coordinate the telling of stories with the building of your fort.

If you have the room for it, pitch an actual camping tent in the living room instead. Plan a ?campout? and sleep on the floor. Make some ?smores in your microwave or plan an easy dinner like hot dogs or other campfire goodies to make a mini-staycation out of the night right in your own living room.

If you are short on power, the indoor campout can be a great way to get the family sleeping in one, safe room, too.

Exercise

Hurricanes don?t necessarily mean that humans need to stop moving. Even in the bad weather, you and your children can still get the body moving. To find ideas, use television shows or workout videos to get the blood flowing. Children can easily follow along to a yoga class or aerobic videos. You don?t have to have instructional help, either, to make the day fun and active.

Easy activities like jumping jacks, sit-ups, push-ups or lunges to get the children moving and can, of course, double as your workout for the day, too, power or not.

It?s likely they will have a good bit of energy being cooped up in the house. If you are stuck in, make the best of it. Useful chores like dusting or sweeping can also be a good use of that extra energy, and get your house in order at the same time.

If the weather allows for it, head out into the rain puddles for some outdoor fun, but please wait until it is safe. Your car may not be able to back out of the driveway, but you can still have a puddle-jumping contest or rake up the wet leaves to guard your front yard. These physical activities can be great fun, while also getting out that extra energy.

Source: http://plymouthwhitemarsh.patch.com/articles/schools-out-now-what-7d5e48bb

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Insurers nervous over prospect of Romney victory

WASHINGTON (AP) ? You'd think health insurance CEOs would be chilling the bubbly with Republican Mitt Romney's improved election prospects, but instead they're in a quandary.

Although the industry hates parts of President Barack Obama's health care law, major outfits such as UnitedHealth Group and BlueCross Blue Shield also stand to rake in billions of dollars from new customers who'll get health insurance under the law. The companies already have invested tens of millions to carry it out.

Were Romney elected, insurers would be in for months of uncertainty as his administration gets used to Washington and tries to make good on his promise repeal Obama's law. Simultaneously, federal and state bureaucrats and the health care industry would face a rush of legal deadlines for putting into place the major pieces of what Republicans deride as "Obamacare."

Would they follow the law on the books or the one in the works? What would federal courts tell them to do?

The answers probably would hinge on an always unwieldy Congress.

Things could get grim for the industry if Republicans succeed in repealing the Affordable Care Act's subsidies and mandates, but leave standing its requirement that insurers cover people with health problems. If that's the outcome, the industry fears people literally could get health insurance on the way to the emergency room, and that would drive up premiums.

"There are a lot of dollars and a lot of staff time that's been put into place to make this thing operational," G. William Hoagland, until recently a Cigna vice president, said of the health care law.

Insurers "are not going to be out there saying, 'Repeal, repeal, repeal,'" said Hoagland, who oversaw public policy at the health insurance company. "They will probably try to find the particular provisions that cause them heartburn, but not throw the baby out with the bath water."

The Romney campaign isn't laying out specifics on how the candidate would carry out his repeal promise, other than to say the push would begin on his first day in office. Romney has hinted that he wants to help people with medical conditions, doesn't say what parts of the health care law he'd keep.

Likewise, America's Health Insurance Plans, the major industry trade group, isn't talking about what its members are telling the Romney campaign, though informal discussions are under way through intermediaries. Insurers like Romney's plan to privatize Medicare, and some point out that it looks a lot like Obama's approach to covering the uninsured.

Robert Laszewski, an industry consultant and blogger, says the tension is becoming unbearable.

"I spend a lot of time in executive offices and board rooms, and they are good Republicans who would like to see Romney win," said Laszewski. "But they are scared to death about what he's going to do."

There is no consensus among Republicans in Congress on how to replace Obama's law, much less anything like a bipartisan middle ground on health care, a necessity if the House retains its GOP majority and the Senate remains in Democratic hands.

In contrast, Obama's law is starting to look more and more like a tangible business opportunity. In a little over a year, some 30 million uninsured people will start getting coverage through a mix of subsidized private insurance for middle-class households and expanded Medicaid for low-income people. Many of the new Medicaid recipients would get signed up in commercial managed care companies.

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study estimated the new markets would be worth $50 billion to $60 billion in premiums in 2014, and as much as $230 billion annually within seven years.

Under the law, insurance companies would have to accept all applicants, including the sick. But the companies also would have a steady stream of younger, healthier customers required to buy their products, with the aid of new government subsidies. That finally could bring stability to the individual and small-business insurance markets.

At a time when employer coverage has been eroding, government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and now Obama's law are becoming the growth engines for the industry's bottom line. The trend seems too big to derail, says Morningstar analyst Matthew Coffina, who tracks the health insurance industry.

"I think it's limited what they'll be able to accomplish in terms of repeal," said Coffina. "We have to remember that Romney implemented very similar legislation" as governor of Massachusetts.

If Romney wins he's more likely to reduce the scope and scale of the law, Coffina added. Possibilities include delaying all or parts of the new coverage, particularly a Medicaid expansion that GOP governors don't like.

The industry has three items in particular it wants stripped out: cuts to Medicare Advantage private insurance plans; a requirement that insurers spend 80 percent of premiums on medical care or rebate the difference to their customers; and new taxes on insurance companies. But CEOs don't share the visceral objection that many Republicans have to a bigger government role in health care.

Industry executives "are Republicans in the sense that they're worried about the bottom line and they want to retain private sector involvement," said Hoagland, the former Cigna vice president. "But some of their bottom line is now driven by Medicare and Medicaid. So it's not like they're red or blue. It's more like purple."

___

Online:

Affordable Care Act: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/index.html

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insurers-nervous-over-prospect-romney-victory-115914066--finance.html

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Concert review: The Smashing Pumpkins at Montreal's Bell Centre

This was originally posted at the Words & Music blog.

"You can boo me all you want. I don't care."

One might assume Billy Corgan was being heckled Sunday at the Bell Centre for touring with a Smashing Pumpkins lineup featuring no other original members, or for playing his band's new album in its entirety. Nope. The boos from the crowd of 4,800 came near the end of a lengthy, loopy stream of babble, as Corgan addressed a rumour that he was gene-spliced "from a Canadian maple leaf and a spermatozoon." (It didn't make much more sense in context.) His apparent confusion at the response - "Why would you boo the maple leaf?" - suggested either typical snarkiness or atypical ignorance, and he only got the crowd back on side by claiming Canadians are all sex maniacs.

In terms of perversity, this all ranked considerably higher than the decision to perform the Oceania album from front to back. Say what you will about Corgan, but he has the courage of his convictions. Anyone who argues he resurrected the Pumpkins name in order to trade on his past would have been partially silenced by a set list that kicked off with 13 consecutive new songs.

The band's chemistry and allegiance to the original lineup's spirit took care of the rest. It would be a disservice to Mike Byrne's talents to call the 22-year-old drummer an outstanding Jimmy Chamberlin facsimile, but that familiar supple sledgehammer attack was there from the opening of Quasar. Guitarist Jeff Schroeder was a sympathetic foil to Corgan, shredding the edges of the mighty Panopticon but staying out of the way when his boss lunged into his iconic bow-legged stance. Nicole Fiorentino offered a stable rhythmic counterpart to Byrne's controlled mania, and her vocals accentuated the overlooked feminine side of Corgan's writing.

The first half of the very generous 150-minute set worked not just because of admirable self-confidence, but because Oceania deserves the spotlight treatment, being arguably the strongest and certainly the most varied Pumpkins album since Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The rainbow synths of Violet Rays and the heavy psychedelic surge of The Chimera were both entrancing, and confirmed Corgan's sprawling vision doesn't always benefit from being harnessed, as it was on the pummelling but monochromatic 2007 reunion disc Zeitgeist (unrepresented in Sunday's set list).

If Oceania was a qualified success live, the shortcomings didn't have to do with the material, but with the band planting roots near the midway mark, leaving it to the awesome spherical screen and some expensive-looking projections to carry the visual element. Excess is a Pumpkins hallmark; excess formality is not. As much a centrepiece live as on album, the alternately dreamy and propulsive title track raised the momentum and the effort expended.
An orgiastic cover of Space Oddity bridged Oceania and the "classic chansons" promised by Corgan. When the back catalogue was cracked open, a punishing X.Y.U. barrelled out. If you closed your eyes, this was Mellon Collie-era Pumpkins in terms of more than mere repertoire, right down to the meandering solo that temporarily deflated the song. Corgan let some more air out as he teased the lyric. ("Hey, I didn't sing the next line. Life's like that sometimes.") The unnecessary irreverence didn't detract from the heart-stopping thrash climax when it finally arrived.

A suitably epic Tonight, Tonight was bookended by two instances in which the Pumpkins were less engaged with their past than they are with their present. Disarm found Byrne trying to complicate a song whose power comes from haunting simplicity, and while Bullet with Butterfly Wings was effectively recalibrated as 10 per cent tension and 90 per cent release, Corgan sounded less than rabid when delivering the essential "despite all my rage" chorus.

Then came that bonkers monologue - a highlight in its own way - which would have been a padding tactic in a show half as long as this one. Before plugging his wrestling enterprise, asking if Canadians celebrate Halloween and cackling over the recent news story about stolen maple syrup ("In my city it's about murder, child prostitution . . . "), Corgan revealed a nugget of truth about his connection to the Pumpkins. "I've been in this band for 24 ? years," he said. "Even when I wasn't in the band, the fans wouldn't let me not be in the band."

It's far easier to forget Zwan and Corgan's solo album than the vitality of Sunday's home stretch, once the second half's pacing and performances tightened up. After the emotionally profound Stand Inside Your Love and a valedictory Muzzle that justified Corgan's triumphant clenched fists, a thrilling encore served up Ava Adore, a race through Cherub Rock and Zero's in-the-red nihilism in quick succession. This was no fuzzy Xerox of the 1990s Pumpkins, and neither were the Oceania songs, which sounded like the band might have after a decade of natural evolution instead of a breakup and fractious resurrection.

Corgan is honouring the Pumpkins name. Just as important, so are his bandmates.

jzivitz@montrealgazette.com
Twitter: @JordanZivitz

Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/music/Concert+review+Smashing+Pumpkins+Montreal+Bell/7462786/story.html

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Obamacare driving high insurance deductibles

Your healthcare is about to become a lot more expensive because of Obamacare. Ironically dubbed The Affordable Healthcare Act, Obama care will continue to drive deductibles up to compensate for layers of other mandated coverages. For example, under Obamacare, consider the following out-of-pocket expenses: one X-ray: $50. One follow-up magnetic resonance imaging test: $766. Total bill for checking out that aching shoulder: $1,039 ? all payable in full by patient, thanks to greatly increased deductibles, according to a USA Today report published Sunday. Over the next 18 months up to 50-percent of Americans with employer-provided insurance coverage will pay more for their healthcare as companies offer healthcare plans with higher deductibles, according to benefits consultants. Many patients who believed Obamacare would somehow benefit them through lower costs will experience ?sticker shock? as high deductibles leave them financially exposed. "They have huge out-of-pocket costs before they get any insurance coverage, it's a real slap in the face," said Ron Pollack, the executive director of Families USA, a healthcare advocacy group. Meanwhile, the cost of health insurance policies is increasing while those deductibles increase. Studies show the sick and injured are three times more likely to not seek care than people on traditional pre-Obamacare plans that paid for doctor or emergency room visits with a low co-payment. Nevertheless, the implementation of high-deductible plans is increasing rapidly largely due to Obama's healthcare reform that requires insurance plans to provide increased preventative coverage which is being paid for with higher deductibles. According to USA Today, several industry ?surveys forecast a two-percentage-point increase in the number of companies offering only high-deductible plans in 2013 to about 19 percent, and a larger jump of anywhere from 5 to 25 percentage points in 2014.? Currently, deductibles on high-deductible plans range from $1,250 for singles up to $12,500 for families. Once the threshold is reached, insured generally make co-insurance payments or pay a percentage of the doctor or hospital bill.

Source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/335697

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The Energy Of Regional Search Engine Optimization For Small ...

by: allegraboa30 - October 28th, 2012

The trick to presenting a successful online business could be the effective implementation of a well orchestrated SEO strategy. Once small enterprises have now been convinced they require an optimization plan, another problem is normally the fee related to this sort of work. Many small business owners neglect to understand why the price of many marketing ideas are so expensive. These companies have a legitimate concern. Oftentimes, the high costs of a typical promotioin strategy are extremely difficult to justify from their perspective.This is the reason why that affordable site optimization that is targeted purposely at local organizations is important. The high cost of a strategy is comprehensible for a business the size of an important big box store, but for a mom and pop coffee house, the cost ought to be fair. By producing affordable options for smaller firms, search engine marketing specialists will help reinforce to main road America the value that SEO gives with their Internet marketing initiatives. The raw truth is that without effective SEO strategies, local patrons can never find local corporations within their area at the top of the major search engines without the implementation of an SEO Plan.There are many shifting pieces to an effective marketing technique, and all of them take some time and money to apply. Small business owners might think they can cause their own site using website designer computer software, publish it on the web, and then tell their clients about it as an easy way to increase the investment they have put into the site. However, this process merely reaches the consumers they?re currently serving and doesn?t attract new clients. By employing a person or organization that has affordable prices, the get back on investment understood by the business manager will undoubtedly be higher. The principal reason behind this being that the SEO specialist knows how to get websites to the number 1 spot on the major search-engines, and when dealing with regional SEO projects this isn?t that difficult to accomplish.Small business people must carefully examine their entry in to the online realm, and program specifically how they want to improve the information technology dollars they spend. Employing a capable SEO expert that?s economical rates will assist you to maximize their return on investment in the online world.

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Source: http://cannabismrsacure.letstalkaboutpot.com/the-energy-of-regional-search-engine-optimization-for-small-businesses/

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Satellite images suggest airstrike on Sudan site

CAIRO (AP) ? Satellite images of the aftermath of an explosion at a Sudanese weapons factory this past week suggest the site was hit in an airstrike, a U.S. monitoring group said Saturday.

The Sudanese government has accused Israel of bombing its Yarmouk military complex in Khartoum, killing two people and leaving the factory in ruins.

The images released by the Satellite Sentinel Project to The Associated Press on Saturday showed six 52-foot (16-meter) wide craters near the epicenter of Wednesday's explosion at the compound.

Military experts consulted by the project found the craters to be "consistent with large impact craters created by air-delivered munitions, Satellite Sentinel Project spokesman Jonathan Hutson told the AP.

The target may have been around 40 shipping containers seen at the site in earlier images. The group said the craters center on the area where the containers had been stacked. It did not comment on the allegations of Israeli involvement or who might be behind the strikes.

Jonah Leff, who monitors Sudan for the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey and was not connected to the project, reviewed the images on Saturday and agreed with the group's assessment.

Israeli officials have neither confirmed nor denied striking the site. Instead, they accused Sudan of playing a role in an Iranian-backed network of arms shipments to Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel believes Sudan is a key transit point in the circuitous route that weapons take to the Islamic militant groups in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Sudan was a major hub for al-Qaida militants and remains a transit for weapon smugglers and African migrant traffickers. Israeli officials believe arms that originate in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas go through Sudan before crossing Egypt's lawless Sinai desert and into Gaza through underground tunnels.

The Satellite Sentinel Project is a partnership between the Enough Project, a Washington-based anti-genocide advocacy group and DigitalGlobe, which operates three commercial satellites and provides geospatial analysis. The project was founded last year with support from actor George Clooney, and in the past has used satellite images to monitor the destruction of villages by Sudanese troops in the country's multiple war zones.

Opened in 1996, Yarmouk is one of two known state-owned weapons manufacturing plants in the Sudanese capital. Sudan prided itself in having a way to produce its own ammunition and weapons despite United Nations and U.S. sanctions.

The satellite images indicate that the Yarmouk facility includes an oil storage facility, a military depot and an ammunition plant.

The monitoring group said the images indicate that the blast "destroyed two buildings and heavily damaged at least 21 others," adding that there was no indication of fire damage at the fuel depot inside the military complex.

The group said it could not be certain the containers, seen in images taken Oct. 12, were still there when explosion took place. But the effects of the blast suggested a "highly volatile cargo" was at the epicenter of the explosion.

"If the explosions resulted from a rocket or missile attack against material stored in the shipping containers, then it was an effective surgical strike that totally destroyed any container" that was at the location, the project said.

Yarmouk is located in a densely populated residential area of the city approximately 11 kilometers (seven miles) southwest of the Khartoum International Airport.

Wednesday's explosion sent exploding ammunition flying into homes in the neighborhood adjacent to the factory, causing panic among residents. Sudanese officials said some people suffered from smoke inhalation.

A man who lives near the factory said that from inside their house, he and his brother heard a load roar of what they believed was a plane just before the boom of the explosion sounded from the factory.

In the aftermath of Wednesday's explosion, Sudanese officials said the government has the right to respond to what the information minister said was a "flagrant attack" by Israel on Sudan's sovereignty and right to strengthen its military capabilities.

In a Friday speech marking Eid al Adha, Islam's biggest holiday, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir called Israel "short-sighted," according to comments published by the Egyptian state-owned paper Al Ahram. The president likened the incident to the 1998 bombing by American cruise missiles of a Khartoum pharmaceutical factory suspected of links to al-Qaida.

Some Israeli commentators suggested that if Israel did indeed carry out an airstrike causing Wednesday's blast, it might have been a trial run of sorts for an operation in Iran. Both countries are roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away from Israel, and an air operation would require careful planning and in-flight refueling.

___

The Satellite Sentinel Project's images of the explosion site are available here: http://satsentinel.org/report/sitrep-explosions-khartoum-0

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/satellite-images-suggest-airstrike-sudan-172406869.html

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The Priciest Condos in Hollandale and Hollywood Florida

South Beach Condos For Sale

South Beach Miami Condos For Sale

The new Hallandale Condos and Hollywood Florida Condos

have reputations as luxury real estate markets and, they more than live up to that reputation. The prices of some condominiums reflect this market more than others do and, to illustrate that, here are the 10 highest prices for condominium resales that went through between April 2012 and June 2012.

According to data, the priciest condominiums were as follows. With the exception of 2 units, denoted by asterisks, they were all located in the Hollywood Beach area. The other sales were both in the Hallandale Beach area. The sales are listed from least to most expensive.

? Beach Club I Hallandale 3-bedroom unit for $900,000*
? Diplomat Residences 3-bedroom for $950,000
? Beach Club II Hallandale 3-bedroom for $955,000*
? Villas of Positano 2-bedroom for $1,000,000
? Ocean Palms 3-bedroom for $1,025,000
? Diplomat Ocean Residences 2-bedroom for $1,060,000
? Diplomat Oceanfront Residences 3-bedroom for $1,383,000
? Trump Hollywood 3-bedroom for $1,800,000
? Diplomat Oceanfront Residences 3-bedroom for $1,800,000
? Villas of Positano 3-bedroom for $2,035,000

The prices of these condominiums has actually gone down on the average compared to what they were originally listed for, but the prices are obviously still well into the luxury range and make them interesting to investors.

Despite the impressive prices for these properties, they were all offered at a discount compared to their original asking prices. The #1 spot, in fact, at Villas of Position came at an 18% discount compared to the original asking price. Even at the luxury end of the real estate spectrum?the most luxury end?it is still a buyer?s market in many regards.

Sales in the areas listed and for south Florida on the whole remain steady. While there is some nervousness in the market overall, the real estate market does seem to be well on its way to a recovery. In addition to these pricey condominiums, there have been quite a few investors making their ways back into Florida?s real estate market and they have been eager to acquire properties. A combination of international factors and low interest rates has contributed to this.

Luxury Properties in South Florida

Many of south Florida?s more desirable properties are luxury condominiums and this hasn?t been lost on investors. There are numerous projects in the works at present and, though some may have written off the south Florida real estate market only some years ago, it?s become an attractive place to invest?and live?again.

All of these prices came with discounts, which is important if you?re looking for a new home and you want to make sure you get a good deal. Even at this level of luxury, there is room to negotiate prices and prices may actually be reduced on their own compared to the original offer. If you?re in the market for luxury property, remember that the price you see advertised may well be subject to change with a bit of negotiation or with a bit more time on the market and that can make even very expensive condominiums attractive buys, indeed.

Source: http://blog.sunnyislesmiamirealestate.com/2012/10/28/the-priciest-condos-in-hollandale-and-hollywood-florida/

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For fans like me, Lance Armstrong doping saga spoils memories

Peter Ford, who covered Lance?Armstrong's winning streak at the Tour de France for the Monitor, writes that Armstrong's doping has 'tainted some of my happiest memories of reporting in France.'

By Peter Ford,?Staff Writer / October 22, 2012

This file photo shows Lance Armstrong, center, waving from the podium in July 2002 as he holds the winner's trophy after the 20th and final stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Melun and Paris. Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life by cycling's governing body Monday.

Peter Dejong/AP/File

Enlarge

Thirteen years ago, on an idyllic summer?s afternoon, I stood by the side of a road in the cheesemaking region of Cantal and watched Lance Armstrong speed by, tucked into the peloton, on his way to his first victory in the Tour de France.

Skip to next paragraph Peter Ford

Beijing Bureau Chief

Peter Ford is The Christian Science Monitor?s Beijing Bureau Chief. He covers news and features throughout China and also makes reporting trips to Japan and the Korean peninsula.

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It was 1999. A year earlier the Tour had been in tatters, devastated by a doping scandal that had seen police and judges raiding riders? hotel rooms in the middle of the night, seizing drugs. Armstrong?s successful arrival on the scene after overcoming cancer ?is symbolic of the way the Tour de France is emerging from its own battle against disappearance,? said the tour director at the time.

His victory would be ?highly symbolic of the combat he fought against death, and that we are fighting against doping,? promised Jean-Marie Leblanc.

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Vodafone UK making their '4G promise,' offering deals for early upgrades to 4G contracts

Android Central

Despite not having a licence at present, or any firm plans for a 4G LTE network, UK carrier Vodafone has come out fighting with their "4G Promise." Rival carrier, EE, is set to launch the UK's first 4G LTE network within days. Eager not to lose out too much to the new service, Vodafone is offering some pretty impressive deals for customers who upgrade to their 4G network when it eventually arrives. 

The meat of the offer is pretty straight forward: 

So if you’ve bought an iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy SIII (purchased after October 26th 2012) or Galaxy Note II, simply bring it back to one of our stores. Even if you’re still in contract, we’ll knock off 70% of your remaining contract charges, letting you upgrade your phone early and start a fresh contract.

70% is a huge amount to reduce an outstanding contract fee by, and shows that Vodafone is keen to not only retain their current customers who may think about switching, but attract those who are unable to get EE 4G LTE at the services launch. The deal only applies when taking out a new 4G contract in the future, and for devices bought between September 12 2012 and March 31 2013.

Source: Vodafone

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/egPC7mjD8yg/story01.htm

richard cordray shannon de lima joe torre west virginia university michele bachmann tim howard west virginia