Surely some of an estimated 21 million BlackBerry addicts breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when they learned that their new president, Barack Obama, will be allowed to keep his. After all, if the nation's chief executive is obsessed with his BlackBerry, how bad can they be? "What did we do before we had these things?" wondered Sen. Bob Casey, a self-described aficionado of the hand-held device, which he's had since his 2006 campaign. "It's impossible to function without it," he added, in a phone interview conducted on, yes, his BlackBerry. Mr. Casey got an up-close look at Mr. Obama's fondness for his blackberry housing a week ago, when the two men spent some time alone together in a holding room before the then-president-elect boarded a train for his whistle-stop journey to Washington and the inaugural. Toward the end of a 15-minute conversation, Mr. Casey said, the president-elect pulled out his BlackBerry and was checking his e-mails. "He's a great multitasker," said Mr. Casey, who not only uses his to check e-mail but, on Sundays, to get updates on pro football. Mr. Obama is the first president who will use e-mail, but in a limited way to ensure that his communications are protected. Previous presidents chose not to use e-mail because it can be subpoenaed by Congress and courts and may be subject to public records laws. Mr. Obama's blackberry keyboard, made by Canadian firm Research in Motion, will be loaded with an elaborate encryption device to protect against hackers. Some experts -- including BlackBerry rival Microsoft, which markets its own personal digital assistant, or PDA, the Edge -- have questioned whether it's risky relying on a device made in Canada, since it means sending data across U.S. borders. Nonsense, said Andy Perlik, a data solutions manager for Verizon Wireless, based in Medina, Ohio. He said corporate customers using BlackBerrys can opt for added protection through a special server that's very reliable. "We have an excellent record of security, and if you've got a hacker trying to type in the wrong password, the BlackBerry will very shortly turn into a really nice looking hockey puck. All the data will be deleted," he said. While some members of the media blogosphere were placing bets on how soon Mr. Obama's first e-mails will be leaked, at least one media addict empathizes with the president. "I went through withdrawal after I left NBC," said freelance writer Matthew Berger, who covered the presidential campaign and is writing a book about it. "But now I have an iPhone." Is that actually a step up? "Yes and no," Mr. Berger said, noting that iPhones access the Internet better but for e-mailers tapping out messages -- including Mr. Obama -- the BlackBerry's keyboard is easier to use than a touch screen. Indeed, the sense of vindication out there in BlackBerry World was palpable. "I was excited to hear Obama's using it," said Larry Wilson, who manages the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va. for S&G, which also manages the Mellon Arena. Mr. Wilson confesses to all but sleeping with his BlackBerry, although his wife put her foot down on their Caribbean honeymoon. "She threatened to throw it in the ocean," he said. "So I would only check it twice a day, first thing in the morning and before going to bed at night. But it was hard. I was thinking the whole time about it, knowing that there would probably be a hundred e-mails I'd have to respond to." If Mr. Casey's wife catches him sneaking peeks at his BlackBerry in restaurants, does she say, hey, sweetie, knock it off? "She doesn't say sweetie," Mr. Casey said. "It's more direct than that. There's no sugar-coating, and at times I will put it down and go out. I'm not an addict, but you could say I'm a situational addict."

From the moment you open the box of a new Gateway ZX6900 Computer -- also known as the Gateway One, you can tell the company has gone out of its way to make the experience easy. The first thing you see is what seems to be a large computer monitor. It dominates the box and is a bit heavy as you lift it; but once you do, you realize that the single piece of hardware contains almost the whole system -- a large 23-inch screen, the computer and the usual accessories. Just add a keyboard and mouse -- both of which are cordless. And there's only one power cord; so you don't need to take up two power outlets like with most desktop systems. I had the Gateway One out of the box and running within 5 minutes. No need to worry about following the instructions -- although they were packed right on top in large print with descriptive diagrams and in an easy-to-follow step-by-step format. It's not unusual to see this type of instruction sheet in other computer boxes; but it is unusual to be able to put together all the connections for startup so effortlessly without using those instructions. The Gateway One itself is mesmerizing. Its bright, 1920x1080 resolution, 23-inch screen is almost as large as a traditional 19-inch television; and it comes with a video card and Windows Media Player making it possible to connect to your TV cable so you can watch your favorite shows as if you are watching on an HDTV set. Yet the size makes it well suited for an ample desktop as well, allowing you to use it for work as well as play. blackberry housing blackberry keyboard budget batteries ryobi batteries cheap computer Computer Components Projector Lamp Projection Tv Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 apple macbook a1181 Wireless Mouse free macbook pro home speakers creative speakers The integrated speakers are on the front panel below the monitor. So you don't need extra desk space for external speakers; and they are facing you for good projection of sound. The touch screen is an added benefit for navigating effortlessly. The icons on screen are large enough to touch with only an occasional worry about fat fingers missing the mark. So for many applications, you can lose the mouse that used be needed. I was so enamored of the touch screen display, that when my daughter needed to display photos at a local organization, we took the Gateway One instead of my laptop. It was not as portable to transport to the hall; but it made a great presentation -- allowing us to show large high-quality images and use our fingers to move from photo to photo with a simple swipe-and-point motions. If you have never used a touch screen, you'll be impressed by how it can enhance your computer experience. The Gateway One comes with a screen application called Touch Portal. A number of computers over the years have tried to hide the Windows experience with their own system interfaces (some more successfully than others); and the Touch Portal has a large dose of the same goal. But it uses the touch screen successfully to enhance the Windows experience -- by hiding the standard Windows desktop behind a simple experience using huge icons for touch. Add your local weather feed to Touch Portal or get ready access to cool applications, including using the Gateway One's integrated camera to take photos or make videos -- with very cool effects too. There's a browser with large icons perfect for touch navigation. And you can zoom in on your local neighborhood using Microsoft Surface Globe -- no mouse needed. It's like having Google Maps on your phone -- only you can see much more on your screen, and the large screen allows much easier navigation.

When it comes to population growth, the United Nations has three primary projections. The medium projection, the one most commonly used, has world population reaching 9.2 billion by 2050. The high one reaches 10.5 billion. The low projection, which assumes that the world will quickly move below replacement-level fertility, has population peaking at 8 billion in 2042 and then declining. If the goal is to eradicate poverty, hunger, and illiteracy, then we have little choice but to strive for the lower projection. Slowing world population growth means ensuring that all women who want to plan their families have access to family planning information and services. Unfortunately, this is currently not the case for 215 million women, 59 percent of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent. These women and their families represent roughly 1 billion of the earth＊s poorest residents, for whom unintended pregnancies and unwanted births are an enormous burden. Former U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) official J. Joseph Speidel notes that ※if you ask anthropologists who live and work with poor people at the village level ... they often say that women live in fear of their next pregnancy. They just do not want to get pregnant.§ The United Nations Population Fund and the Guttmacher Institute estimate that meeting the needs of these 215 million women who lack reproductive health care and effective contraception could each year prevent 53 million unwanted pregnancies, 24 million induced abortions, and 1.6 million infant deaths. Along with the provision of additional condoms needed to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, a universal family planning and reproductive health program would cost an additional $21 billion in funding from industrial and developing countries. Shifting to smaller families brings generous economic dividends. In Bangladesh, for example, analysts concluded that $62 spent by the government to prevent an unwanted birth saved $615 in expenditures on other social services. For donor countries, ensuring that men and women everywhere have access to the services they need would yield strong social returns in improved education and health care. Slowing population growth brings with it what economists call the demographic bonus. When countries move quickly to smaller families, growth in the number of young dependents〞those who need nurturing and educating〞declines relative to the number of working adults. At the individual level, removing the financial burden of large families allows more people to escape from poverty. At the national level, the demographic bonus causes savings and investment to climb, productivity to surge, and economic growth to accelerate. Japan, which cut its population growth in half between 1951 and 1958, was one of the first countries to benefit from the demographic bonus. South Korea and Taiwan followed, and more recently China, Thailand, and Vietnam have been helped by earlier sharp reductions in birth rates. Although this effect lasts for only a few decades, it is usually enough to launch a country into the modern era. Indeed, except for a few oil-rich countries, no developing country has successfully modernized without slowing population growth. cheap apple macbook pro apple laptops cheap notebook best notebook computers 3d projectors lcd projector budget batteries new macbook pro macbook laptop ryobi batteries computer mouse computer mice laptop speakers blackberry housing blackberry keyboard ryobi batteries Though many developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America were successful in quickly reducing their fertility within a generation or so after public health and medical gains lowered their mortality rates, many others did not follow this path and have been caught in the demographic trap〞including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Yemen. Large families are a greater financial burden on both parents and governments, and more impoverished people and societies tend to produce larger families. Thus they become ※trapped§ in a cycle of poverty and high fertility. Countries that do not succeed in reducing fertility early on face the compounding of 3 percent growth per year or 20-fold per century. Such rapid population growth can easily strain limited land and water resources. With large ※youth bulges§ outrunning job creation, the growing number of unemployed young men increases the risk of conflict. This also raises the odds of becoming a failing state. Put simply, the costs to society of not filling the family-planning gap may be greater than we can afford. The good news is that governments can help couples reduce family size very quickly when they commit to doing so. My colleague Janet Larsen writes that in just one decade Iran dropped its near-record population growth rate to one of the lowest in the developing world. When Ayatollah Khomeini assumed leadership in Iran in 1979 and launched the Islamic Revolution, he immediately dismantled the well-established family-planning programs and instead advocated large families. At war with Iraq between 1980 and 1988, Khomeini wanted to increase the ranks of soldiers for Islam. His goal was an army of 20 million. Fertility levels climbed in response to his pleas, pushing Iran＊s annual population growth to a peak of 4.2 percent in the early 1980s, a level approaching the biological maximum. As this enormous growth began to burden the economy and the environment, the country＊s leaders realized that overcrowding, environmental degradation, and unemployment were undermining Iran＊s future. In 1989 the government did an about-face and restored its family-planning program. In May 1993, a national family-planning law was passed. The resources of several government ministries, including education, culture, and health, were mobilized to encourage smaller families. Iran Broadcasting was given responsibility for raising awareness of population issues and of the availability of family-planning services. Television was used to disseminate information on family planning throughout the country, taking advantage of the 70 percent of rural households with TV sets. Religious leaders were directly involved in what amounted to a crusade for smaller families. Some 15,000 ※health houses§ or clinics were established to provide rural populations with health and family-planning services. Iran introduced a full panoply of contraceptive measures, including the option of vasectomy〞a first among Muslim countries. All forms of birth control, including the pill and sterilization, were free of charge. Iran even became the only country to require couples to take a course on modern contraception before receiving a marriage license. In addition to the direct health-care interventions, Iran also launched a broad-based effort to raise female literacy, boosting it from 25 percent in 1970 to more than 70 percent in 2000. Female school enrollment increased from 60 to 90 percent. Women and girls with more schooling are likely to have fewer children, making their education a smart investment. As a result of this initiative, average family size in Iran dropped from seven children to fewer than three. From 1987 to 1994, Iran cut its population growth rate by half, an impressive achievement. The bad news is that in July 2010 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared the country＊s family-planning program ungodly and announced a new pronatalist policy. The government would pay couples to have children, depositing money in each child＊s bank account until age 18. The effect of this new program on Iran＊s population growth remains to be seen. Nevertheless, Iran＊s history shows how a full-scale mobilization of society that incorporates public outreach, access to family-planning resources, and gender equality in education can accelerate the shift to smaller families.

Leaders of Canada's five major political parties are campaigning in every region of the country to try to change voter opinion, which has remained almost unchanged since this national election campaign began 22 days ago. After two national televised debates, millions of dollars spent on political advertising, and thousands of miles traveled by national party leaders, public opinion polls have barely budged since the election was called on March 26. A poll released Friday by Ekos Research found the Bloc Quebecois, which runs candidates only in Quebec at 8.5 percent of popular support, the Conservatives at 38.8 percent, the Green Party at 3.4 percent, the Liberals at 28.8 percent, and the New Democratic Party at 19.2 percent. Those numbers, for all of the parties except the Greens, who have seen their support drop by more than half, are within 2 percent of poll numbers released the week the election was called. If they hold, Canada will likely end up with its fourth minority government in seven years. Polls released last in the week showed Tuesday and Wednesday night's national TV debates, which drew nearly 10 million viewers in a country of 33 million, had very little impact on voter preference. The Liberal Party, led by Michael Ignatieff, is hoping campaign rallies featuring two former prime ministers will whip up voter support. The Liberals have been Canada's dominant political party, ruling Canada for most of the past century. Last night, Paul Martin, who led Canada from 2002 until 2004 and was responsible for balancing the country's budget in the 1990s, campaigned with Ignatieff at a rally in the western city of Edmonton. Jean Chretien, who was prime minister from 1993 until 2002, will campaign in the Toronto area later in the campaign. Ignatieff denied he's changing campaign tactics by bringing the former prime ministers into the campaign and with his new plea to get Canadians to "rise up" against the Conservatives. "What I was saying last night (at an election rally in Sudbury, Ontario) I've been saying all along and I keep saying - there's no change of strategy - is that it all begins to accumulate, drip drip drip. Slowly you look at his pattern of abuse of power and you do want to say to Canadians to 'rise up'," Ignatieff said Saturday. During the Sudbury rally Friday night Ignatieff complained that people just seem to shrug off actions by Prime Minister and Conservative Leader Stephen Harper that the Liberal leader labeled as anti-democratic. In a campaign note sent to Conservatives, Harper's campaign manager Jenni Byrne described the Liberal campaign and one of its advertisements that said Harper plans to cut money for health cares as "desperate." ryobi batteries blackberry housing blackberry keyboard 5.1 Speakers Audio Speaker Mouse Review budget batteries Computer Hardware Computer Mouse Types 3 Inch Macbook Pro Macbook 2.4ghz Pocket Projector Microsoft Notebook "Just as we predicted at the start of the campaign, the Liberals in desperation are turning to falsehood and fear mongering to rescue their floundering campaign. They are grasping at straws," Byrne wrote. Harper spent Saturday campaigning in Vancouver, where he hopes to pick up at least two parliamentary seats that his party lost by narrow margins in 2008. He defended bonuses for ministerial staffers which, in one case, drove up an employee's annual salary by 35,000 to 190,000 Canadian dollars. The Conservatives also approved new rules that would allow pay raises for employees, in addition to 50 percent more separation pay on top of severance packages. Harper defended the move at a news conference; he noted that the new Treasury Board guidelines will simply tie political staffers' pay to salaries in the civil service, which are in line for an increase. "The pay raises we're talking about are pay raises across the board," Harper said. "They're not for political staffers. These are government employee pay raises and our political staffers are simply tied to those." Meanwhile, Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe, who was campaigning in Quebec City, hoping to win some of the 10 seats held by the Conservatives in central Quebec, won the endorsement of an important labor union. Duceppe received the backing of the Canadian Auto Workers' Quebec division, representing more than 20,000 members. In other parts of Canada, the CAW backs the center-left New Democratic Party, which holds just one of Quebec's 75 seats in the Canadian parliament. "We had a vote and it was nearly unanimous in favor of the Bloc Quebecois," said union director Jean-Pierre Fortin, who emerged with Duceppe after a biannual council meeting. Fortin said the Bloc Quebecois, which advocates independence for Canada's second most-populous province, has the best chance of taking parliamentary seats away from the governing Conservatives. He said Harper's party represents the views of western Canada, and ignores Quebec. Last week, the Bloc Quebecois received an endorsement from the Federation of Quebec Workers, representing 500,000 people in 41 different unions. Duceppe told reporters Saturday that he hopes a convention of the separatist provincial Parti Quebecois will inspire separatists to become more activist in the federal election campaign. An Ekos projection of possible election results based on recent polls showed the Bloc losing two seats in Quebec and the NDP gaining five, up from the current one. The Liberals would maintain their current level, 14, and the Tories would drop from 11 to 9. New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton spent Saturday campaigning in Newfoundland, Canada's most eastern province. His party has never done well in that province, but regional polls show Layton seems to be winning over voters in Canada's economically disadvantaged Atlantic provinces. Elizabeth May, who was excluded by the television networks from this week's debates, is spending the weekend campaigning in her home constituency, and took part in an all-candidates' debate there Saturday. May is running in the riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands, on Canada's Pacific Coast. The riding's population is a mix of retirees, native people, and environmentalists who have moved to the islands off the Canadian coast. Harper's Conservative government was defeated March 25 by the opposition parties in a no-confidence vote in the House of Commons, which found the government in contempt of parliament. Parliament was dissolved the following day and Canada's 41st federal election, the fourth in the past seven years, is slated for May 2 with 308 seats to be contested in the House of Commons.

Netgear, despite its consumer roots, has been making network equipment for small and midsized businesses for years. The ProSafe FVS336G, though awkwardly named, is the result of that experience: it's easy to install, easy to configure, and easy to manage. The box we received contained only a power supply, but it was labeled "eval" so may not have had all the pieces normally shipped with a retail unit. The lack of a manual didn't bother us, since the system connected quickly and the administration screens are littered with context sensitive help at the touch of a question mark icon. Larger and heavier than all the other units because of its steel case, the FVS336G is still smaller than a hardback book. All the connections except the power plug are on the front panel. There are four 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet ports on the front, and two other ports labeled WAN1 and WAN2. One of the four LAN ports can be configured as a DMZ port. Maximum device throughput is 60Mbps, one of the slowest units, but still faster than our two broadband connections combined. It supports 25 VPN IPSec tunnels as well as 10 SSL VPN connections. The stateful packet inspection firewall provides admin pages about as simple as any firewall can be, with separate pages for LAN-WAN, DMZ-WAN, and LAN-DMZ rules, and a single button to enable the application layer gateway (ALG) for Internet phone traffic using SIP. Installation and configuration We plugged the FVS336G into our network switch, connected the first WAN cable, and turned it on. The DHCP server provided the default 192.168.1.x address range for our computers which connected to the router immediately. The first screen that came up was the monitoring screen showing Router Status, with WAN1 up and connected. Setting the LAN range to 10.0.1.x was also straightforward. From Network Configuration on the top of the admin page, we went to LAN Settings. The LAN address was the top field, and the DHCP settings were right below. We set the range of IP addresses for our clients, ignored the option to connect to an Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), and also didn't put in a special DNS server address, preferring to let the unit pass through the addresses from the broadband provider. After hitting the Apply button, the FVS336G rebooted, and we rebooted our computer to catch the new IP address range. Adding the second WAN connection was just as easy. Going through Network Configuration to WAN2 ISP Settings, we had the chance to put in login information if necessary (it wasn't), and choose whether we needed to use Point to Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) or Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE), and provide a static IP address if necessary. You can again pass through DNS server information from your ISP or put in your own; we let the Netgear box handle that just like before. After rebooting the second broadband modem, the FVS336G made the connection immediately. The Monitoring > Router Status page showed both WAN connections up and running, with full details on IP addresses and primary and secondary DNS addresses. When we hit the Router Statistics icon, a page that refreshed every five seconds appeared, listing the total transmit and receive packets for WAN1, blackberry housing, blackberry keyboard.WAN2, and the LAN. Juggling traffic ratios between the two WAN ports is also easy to configure. A Port Mode page allows you to choose Auto-Rollover between WAN ports by using DNS or ping of two addresses to monitor WAN health. The better option is Load Balancing, and you can tie any of 63 protocols to one WAN connection or the other. Want all SIP phone packets to go through only one WAN link? Easy to configure. You can also separate WAN traffic by source or destination network. Operation For a router with "Dual-WAN" in the name, it's surprising there's no way to choose what type of packet load balancing should be used. The Router Statistics display shows the FVS336G has a marked preference for the Time Warner cable connection in WAN2 in receive traffic, but the transmit packet numbers are about equal. It does show a breakdown of traffic by protocol (e-mail, Web, and other) which is interesting. Web traffic was by far the majority. There are a dozen ways to track and report routing logs, and another 10 for system logs. Even though this product is aimed at small businesses, you can define a syslog server. Speeds were on the high end of average for the tested group. The FVS336G is a strong entry in the dual-WAN market, and that's before taking into account it comes with the second lowest price tag of the group. Combining good value with good performance makes the FVS336G an excellent option for small businesses with fewer than 50 users that don't need a large number of VPN connections.

Apple offers two solutions, the iPad Keyboard Dock and the Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard, but the market is now awash with third-party offerings that aim to provide better portability or more convenience. Most of these alternatives take the form of ※keyboard cases§ that combine a keyboard with a protective case, and one of the most interesting so far is Zagg＊s ㏒72 Zaggmate iPad Case with Keyboard. (There＊s no UK distribution right now but you can order the $99.99 Zaggmate direct, and shipping is around $13.) Make sure you order the right Zaggmate for your iPad, as there are different models for the original iPad and the current iPad 2. The Zaggmate with Keyboard is essentially an aluminium hardshell case that fits onto the front of the iPad for travel, leaving the tablet＊s back exposed. But inside the Zaggmate is a thin, Bluetooth keyboard and a single-position stand. When you＊re ready to type, you remove your iPad from the Zaggmate, prop it up on the stand, ipad blackberry housingand ipad blackberry keyboard and get to work. (Zagg also sells a non-keyboard version of the Zaggmate, which is essentially the aluminium shell with just the built-in stand for iPad viewing, for $49.) The inside edges of the Zaggmate are covered in a thin layer of foam that holds the iPad securely in place. The big appeal of the Zaggmate＊s design is that it doesn＊t add much bulk to your iPad. When put together for travel, the iPad/Zaggmate combo is just a few millimetres longer and wider than the iPad on its own 每 for a total of 9.8 inches by 7.6 inches 每 and only about 6mm thicker. Still, at 0.36kg [0.8lbs], the Zaggmate adds about 50 percent to the iPad＊s weight, for a total of approximately 1.09kg (2.4lbs). A downside to the Zaggmate as a case is that, unlike with most keyboard cases, the back of your iPad is provided no protection during transport. Those worried about scratches can opt for Zagg＊s backside Invisible Shield for the iPad ($40), which still allows the iPad to fit in the Zaggmate. The Zaggmate＊s stand consists of a V-shaped piece of plastic that＊s permanently attached to a hinge at the rear of the case, along with a narrow groove that runs the width of the case. With your iPad removed, you flip up the stand piece and unfold it until two pegs at the front of the V fit into slots just behind the narrow groove. You then place the bottom edge of your iPad into the groove and lean the iPad against the newly erected support. It＊s a bit confusing to set up the first time, but is easy enough once you＊ve done it a few times. That V-shaped piece of plastic seems flimsy, but once secured, it＊s actually pretty sturdy. This great design allows you to place your iPad in the Zaggmate either vertically or horizontally, making the Zaggmate one of the few keyboard cases that allows for either orientation 每 most keyboard cases hold your iPad only horizontally, which is a significant drawback if you＊re working on a traditional portrait-oriented document. On the other hand, the stand offers only a single angle, though one that＊s just about right for viewing a document when the Zaggmate is sitting on a desk. You can also place your iPad partly in the case, backside-down but resting on the plastic stand, to position the tablet at a roughly-20-degree angle for onscreen typing 每 for example, when you don＊t have a stable-enough surface for using the Zaggmate＊s own keyboard. Unfortunately, you can＊t fold down the stand and put the iPad all the way into the case backside-down 每 the iPad＊s back is too convex to fit into the Zaggmate this way. And that means when you want to use the iPad as a tablet, you have two big pieces (the iPad and the Zaggmate) to keep track of. Because of its small footprint, the Zaggmate isn＊t quite stable enough for secure lap use, especially if your iPad is positioned in portrait orientation. You＊ll want to keep the Zaggmate on a flat, level surface. A smaller notch along the iPad's bottom edge lets you connect Apple＊s USB-to-dock-connector cable to sync and charge the iPad without removing it from the case. The Zaggmate itself charges via the included USB-to-MicroUSB cable, which plugs into a MicroUSB port next to the dock-connector opening. The Zaggmate＊s 510 mAh battery charges in a few hours and gives you several weeks of normal use per charge. (The keyboard automatically sleeps after a period of inactivity to preserve power.) There are no other openings around the edge, which means that if you want to plug in your headphones to listen to music while on the move, you＊re out of luck. Compact keyboard, good and bad Like every other keyboard case currently out there, the Zaggmate's keyboard connects to your iPad wirelessly using Bluetooth. The pairing process is quick and easy, and once paired, the keyboard automatically reconnects whenever you turn it on. (An On/Off switch lets you turn off the keyboard when you＊re not using it.) In case you＊re curious, yes, you can pair the keyboard with an iPhone, which sits nicely in the Zaggmate＊s built-in stand; however, you can pair the keyboard with only one device at a time. They keyboard itself uses laptop-style scissor keys that have about the same amount of travel 每 the distance you have to push a key to enter a character 每 as those on Apple＊s current keyboards. The Zaggmate keyboard＊s keys feel a tad soft when pressed, compared to those on Apple's keyboards, but not nearly as mushy as the rubber/silicone keyboards used in many of the folio-style keyboard cases we're currently testing. For on-the-go typing, the feel of the keys is fine. One drawback to the Zaggmate's keyboard is that the keys are smaller than most laptop-keyboard keys 每 they＊re more netbook-sized 每 and crowded more closely together, so if you＊re used to touch-typing on a full-size keyboard, you＊ll find yourself making a few mistakes until you get used to the smaller overall size. Thankfully, the Zaggmate provides a full slate of standard keys, and most keys are in their proper location. This includes Fn, Control, Option, and Command keys to the left of Spacebar; and Command, Option, and Fn to the right. The presence of these modifier keys in their correct locations makes it easy to use standard Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts for editing functions such as copying and pasting text. The only standard keys that caused me problems were the directional-arrow keys. Instead of being arranged in the traditional inverted-T layout, the left and right arrow keys are located directly under the right-hand Shift key, with the up and down arrow keys to the right of the Shift key. Even after a couple weeks of use, I regularly ended up moving the cursor to the wrong location. How big of an annoyance this will be depends on how often you use the arrow keys. As with most iPad keyboard cases, many keys in the Zaggmate＊s top row act as special-function buttons by default. From left to right, Escape serves as Home; then you get Spotlight, Slideshow, Show/Hide Onscreen Keyboard, Screen Sleep, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, Previous Track, Play/Pause, Next Track, Mute, Volume Down, Volume Up, and International. (The International key lets you quickly cycle through multiple keyboards if you＊ve enabled that feature in International settings.) To use these keys as standard Escape and F-keys, you hold down the Fn key. Finally, it's worth noting that as with all other external keyboards, you＊ll likely find yourself disappointed by what you can＊t do when paired with an iPad. For example, you can＊t use the arrow keys to navigate messages in Mail, or to move between photos in the Photos app. But this is a limitation of Apple's iOS itself, rather than the Zaggmate's keyboard. Vital accessory? Some people will point out, correctly, that when you add the weight and size of a keyboard case to the iPad, you end up with something that＊s a lot closer in size and weight to an actual laptop. So why not just get a laptop? For many people, the answer is that they love the iPad for the things that it does that a MacBook or MacBook Air can＊t, but they also want the option to tote along a keyboard sometimes. A keyboard case gives you that flexibility along with a stand and some protection in a single package. On the other hand, if you've already got a favourite iPad case, Apple's own travel-friendly Wireless Keyboard offers a better typing experience than does any keyboard case we've thus far tested 每 albeit with fewer special-function keys 每 for only ㏒57; but you will need to add a travel stand to match the Zaggmate＊s full benefits.

The Vita Audio R4i is the modern-day equivalent of the old music centre, offering radio (DAB and FM), CD and the now ubiquitous iPod dock. Oh, and it also has auxiliary inputs for other audio devices and a USB port for memory sticks loaded with music. And you can program it as an alarm clock. It doesn＊t have a record player, cassette deck or graphics equaliser but otherwise has it all in one compact system. The Vita Audio R4i＊s slot-loading multi-format CD plays standard CD-Audio, MP3 and WMA music discs. Its radio offers DAB, DAB+ and FM Tuner with RDS. Its auto scan works well at quickly locating and tuning, and you can pre-set up to ten stations (five DAB and five FM). The integrated iPod dock is universal (supporting and charging all Apple iPod and iPhone models released from 2004 onwards), although iPod shuffles connect via the auxiliary inputs rather than the top dock. On the front there＊s a USB port for playback of MP3 and WMA music files, so you can quickly plug in a flash drive loaded with tracks. This slightly spoils the front-on looks of the R4i, but I guess there might be space issues if it had been positioned at the back. There＊s a stereo headphone output on the front, as well. Also on the front is an LCD display to show off the clock, mode or radio details, as well as the volume. Vita Audio＊s real point of uniqueness is the UFO-like RotoDial control that docks at the top of the unit but also pops out as a remote. It can control all the unit＊s functions and a good deal of the iPod＊s. Its unique look means you won＊t lose it among the mound of TV, DVD, Blu-ray and Sky+ remotes cluttering up your living room, and because it snaps into the R4i you shouldn＊t mislay it either. The R4i is much more compact than a system with separate speakers or one of the many long-black iPod speaker blocks on the market. That said it＊s no slip of a thing, measuring a chunky 450mm wide and 255mm deep, although is reasonably low-level at 145mm high. Sat next to its little brother, the non-CD Vita Audio R2i, it looks a bit of a hulk, and its footprint demands a sizable bench. Some of the R4i＊s sonic superiority is down to its increased cabinet size that helps it create a much larger soundstage than the more diminutive R2i, much in the same way that larger speakers sound bigger than smaller ones. So size does matter in this case. Bulky it may be but the R4i (and dinky R2i for that matter) looks like an instant design classic with its clean good looks and slight 70s styling. And it＊s available in four gorgeous colours: a ㏒549 Walnut veneer plus ㏒599 Dream White and Midnight Black lacquers, and an even pricier ㏒629 Sparkling Graphite piano lacquer. One great design feature is the use of a telescopic radio aerial rather than the trailing aerial cable that comes with many radio hi-fis. Its removable so you don＊t have to have it attached at all if you don＊t need it, and you can also connect an external antenna if you prefer. Indeed the only cable present is the power lead. Radio reception was more than acceptable in our tests. With home hi-fi the design looks are nearly as important as the sound quality, but there＊s little point having a wonderful-looking unit with lousy audio. From a technical hi-fi point of view the R4i boasts its own impressive 80W Class AB amplifier and an integrated, down-firing active subwoofer (with back-mounted bass-level control if you＊re a real audio tweaker). [The R4i differs from the older R4 with revised audio circuitry optimisation that Vita claims gives 25 percent greater audio clarity, and a new CD suspension arrangement for improved tracking and shock resistance. Vita Audio added a ※new and blackberry housing , blackberry keyboard and superior§ FM/DAB/DAB+ receiver with greater sensitivity on all bands, together with the ability to receive higher definition DAB+ transmissions. The R4i's power supply is also upgraded to ※meet and exceed§ forthcoming EU standby regulations.] I didn＊t test the R4i against the R4 but I can confirm that the sound is stunning, filling a room (and nearly my whole small house) with rich, clear, precise full-bodied sound. Its 80W amp has neighbour-frightening possibilities. I＊d had my doubts that a one-box solution could sound as good as this but the audio output belies its compact design. While most users won＊t modify their audio settings either on the iPod or the speaker system the R4i boasts selectable tone settings so you can tweak audio output depending on your type of music and audio tastes. The R4i also boasts something called ※3D enhanced stereo sound§, which sounds suspiciously like marketing bunkum. Actually it really does lift the sound quality a couple of notches, and I＊m not sure why it isn＊t set as the default. Vita Audio describes this ※3D§ effect as a digital sound processing technology ※that uses algorithms to create an enhanced sense of clarity for voices and instruments, as well as a larger soundscape that belies the R4's compact dimensions§. Whatever you make of that, it works a treat. In fact, if you then turn it off the sound appears quite flat in comparison. All this sound quality comes at a price, however. And many will be tempted by the R4i＊s half-the-price little brother 每 the smaller R2i, which has great sound quality but not that of the classier R4i. Aside from the R4i＊s 80W vs the R2i＊s 20W output difference the quality of the R4i＊s audio components is superior, giving greater levels of detail; and the subwoofer adds another dimension of low-frequency reproduction, giving the sound greater depth and scale. Obviously you pay handsomely for this difference 每 although you also get a CD player thrown in, as well.

While it lacks the R4i＊s CD player, a few ports and some of its audio oomph the R2i is more compact and a whole bunch cheaper. Like the R4i, however, it＊s a design classic in waiting. Its small footprint and super sound quality mark it out as a real alternative to the domestic hi-fi. R2i functions The Vita Audio R2i＊s radio offers DAB, DAB+ and FM Tuner with RDS. As with the R4i its auto scan works well at quickly tuning in digital stations, and you can pre-set up to five. The integrated iPod dock is universal (supporting and charging all Apple iPod blackberry housing ,Apple blackberry keyboard, and iPhone models released from 2004 onwards). iPod shuffles connect via the auxiliary input rather than the top dock. The R4i features a USB port for playback of MP3 and WMA music files on its front, but there＊s no such function on the R2i. As I＊d consider USB playback to be a minority option the loss is not great, and the R2i＊s looks benefit from not having this spoiling its frontal looks. There＊s also a stereo headphone output and auxiliary input on the front. The LCD display shows off the clock, mode or radio details, as well as the volume. The R2i features the Vita Audio＊s innovative RotoDial control at the top of the unit. On the R4i the Rotodial pops out as a remote. On the R2i it＊s locked in place, and you get a more regular credit-card每sized (in comparison rather dull) remote control instead. R2i size The big difference between the R2i and R4i is size. While the R4i is more compact than a wiry system with separate speakers it is a bit of a solid block, measuring 450mm wide and 255mm deep. To be fair, this does enhance its sound quality as well as take up desk space. The Vita Audio R2i＊s footprint is much smaller, measuring 340mm wide and 185mm deep. With its lack of integrated CD player it＊s also a little shorter at 120mm compared to the R4i＊s 145mm. It＊s available in three cool colours: a ㏒279 Walnut veneer plus glossy ㏒299 Dream White and Midnight Black lacquers. The R2i doesn＊t spoil a living space with one of those annoying antenna cables that are usually just pushed out of sight anyway. Instead it has a removable telescopic radio. Reception was good in our tests. As with the R4i, the only cable present is the power lead. R2i sound While the R4i boasts its own impressive 80W Class AB amplifier and an integrated active subwoofer (with back-mounted bass level control if you＊re a real audio tweaker), the R2i is meeker with just a 20W output. That said, the R2i should be loud enough for most rooms. I didn＊t dare pump the volume to its max. Sound quality is excellent but not as rich, warm and detailed as from the R4i. Aside from the 80W vs 20W output difference the quality of the R4i＊s audio components is superior, giving greater levels of detail; and the subwoofer adds another dimension of low-frequency reproduction, giving the sound greater depth and scale. Obviously you pay handsomely for this difference 每 although you also get a CD player thrown in, as well. (It would be lovely if Vita Audio offered an R3i with the compact size and price of the R2i, and the sound of the R4i but with no CD. However, some of the R4i＊s sonic superiority is down to its increased cabinet size that helps it create a larger soundstage, much in the same way that larger speakers sound bigger than smaller ones.) If you＊re after the best sound quality from this type of unit the R4i is noticeably finer. But the R2i offers an acceptable quality that beats most other iPod speakers in the hi-fi stakes. While most users won＊t modify their audio settings either on the iPod or the speaker system the R2i boasts selectable tone settings so you can tweak audio output depending on your type of music and audio tastes

Just when you think you've seen it all, along comes something with the power to still shock and disgust. About 40 kilometres west of London, Ont., sits the small community of Strathroy, home of Dale Wurfel Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ltd. This is where president Dale Wurfel, hair slicked back and smiling, according to his website, offers potential car buyers "Hot Deals ... Cool Wheels!" And a little something to snicker about in the boy's room at the local high school. Last week, the dealership ran an ad in the London Free Press suggesting that if you're okay with a used woman, you're okay with a Dale Wurfel used vehicle, with financing at 4.99 per cent. "You know you're not the first," the ad taunts. "But do you really care?" A day later, it followed up with a similar ad depicting a man, who is actually U.S. fashion designer and director Tom Ford, with the same message. But it's not the same message, in more ways than one. "It still plays into this idea that people who are non-virgins are depreciated, literally devalued, in the same way that a used car is not quite as good as a new car," said Gwen Sharp, assistant professor of sociology at Nevada State College and co-author of the Sociological Images blog. There's more. No matter how you cut it, the ads are different. Because Mr. Wurfel didn't return my calls, I've no idea what was in his head, or whether he'd try to suggest that the old double standard is negated because the ads depict both a woman and a man. The first ad goes in a bit closer on the woman, who, wearing a black dress, is depicted in a provocative pose, with her arm up, her hand pushing back her hair, and her chest prominent. My take is that the second ad shows the man, his tuxedo tie unmade, wearing a silky robe-type thing. He's leaning back, almost as though he's sitting on a throne, having already conquered, if you will. She's showing more skin, he's got a couple of buttons undone, but that's about it, noted Prof. Sharp. "They're both being objectified, but we live in a world where men and women are treated differently for being sexually active," she said. "We don't treat sexually active men the same as sexually active women." She noted the very fact that certain phrases are "masculinized" for men, such as man-whore, and there's no vocabulary to poke fun at men who enjoy sex. "The cultural background suggests that 'used' means something different for a woman than a man," Prof. Sharp said. "A man who's sexually experienced is not a worthless slut." Men are not seen as vulnerable or objectified in the same way, she said, noting that "there's a sexual double standard where women are punished and men are not." She has seen many such types of objectification, she added, so "I've been inured to these kinds of images, but I think it's worth thinking about the images that surround us." Well, yes, there's the image of a used car salesman. Home sales steady in March Sales of existing homes in Canada were little changed in March, though Vancouver is looking frothy, as they say. On a seasonally adjusted bases, sales inched up just 0.1 per cent from February. "It seems that purchasers looking to buy ahead of the March 18 change to mortgage rules did so earlier in the year, raising first-quarter home sales 4.5 per cent higher than [in the fourth quarter,] said Leslie Preston, an economic analyst at Toronto-Dominion Bank. Aso seasonally adjusted, average prices rose 0.7 per cent last month. Unadjusted and compared to last year, prices are up almost 9 per cent. In the first quarter of the year, economists noted, prices were skewed by the expensive neighbourhoods of Greater Vancouver. Strip those out, and first-quarter prices are up by 4.3 per cent. "Canada＊s blackberry housing market appears to be sailing into calmer waters 〞 with one rather jarring exception 〞 after the extreme ebbs and flows of the past three years," added Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns. "Existing home sales nudged up 0.1 per cent in March in seasonally adjusted terms, leaving them down a moderate 6.6 per cent from the solid levels of a year ago. The year-ago comparisons get a lot friendlier over the next three months, so sales will likely soon be well above a year ago. That＊s even with the new tighter measures on mortgage insurance, which officially kicked in during March." That jarring exception is Vancouver, where sales have now climbed 30 per cent in the past year. Again, stripping out Vancouver would leave the national average price well below the reported $366,000, Mr. Porter added. While there is plenty of chatter about the possibility of a severe correction in Canadian blackberry keyboard, the risk looks highly concentrated in geographic terms," he said. "... Canada's housing market looks to be headed for a soft landing, at least in the vast majority of cities." Toronto also accounted for a large portion of the first-quarter showing. Removing both Toronto and Vancouver, you're left with a "relatively subdued housing market in Canada," said Benjamin Tal of CIBC World Markets. The sales-to-listing ratio is now 56.5 per cent, still within "balanced market territory," Mr. Tal added. "But from past experience we know that this can change very quickly," he said. "We expect that the spring season will be relatively strong with activity probably surprising on the upside. Following the spring we expect the market to flatten 每 with potentially some moderate downward pressure on prices given reduced demand and some deterioration in affordability." Vancouver boom cited for home price surge Inflation woes mount Fresh numbers released today highlight just how sticky a problem inflation has become in some regions, notably emerging countries such as China and India. Both countries today reported uncomfortable inflation readings 每 5.4 per cent in China in March, and almost 9 per cent in India, though its main measure is its Wholesale Price Index. In China, inflation now stands at its highest since mid-2008. Where so-called core inflation is concerned 每 that strips out volatile items 每 it＊s the fastest pace in China in about 10 years. It＊s not just the emerging markets, though those are the super-high rates. Europe＊s statistics agency today revised an initial estimate to show inflation running at 2.7 per cent in March. That will no doubt heighten speculation that the European Central Bank will continue to hike interest rates. Today＊s data also show China＊s economy expanded at a pace of 9.7 per cent, year over year, in the first quarter of the year, little changed from the fourth quarter＊s 9.8 per cent. ※The differences are small given the overall pace of growth, said economists Mark Williams and Qinwei Wang of Capital Economics. The seasonally-adjusted quarter-over-quarter data should be more useful 每 the statistics bureau today released official estimates for the first time. They show the economy slowing from a 10-per-cent annualized pace in Q4 to 8.7 per cent in Q1. Unfortunately, these are the only data points available so far, making it hard to assess their reliability.§ In the United States, overall inflation is also running a little hotter, though core prices are tame. Consumer prices rose 0.5 per cent in March, seasonally adjusted, boosted largely by food and costs at the gas pump. Still, on an annual basis, U.S. inflation is now running at 2.7 per cent, the fastest pace since late 2009. Core prices rose just 0.1 per cent last month, and on an annual basis 1.2 per cent, leaving the Federal Reserve comfortable. "The higher annual inflation rates are unlikely to change the Fed＊s loose stance on monetary policy for now," said economist Krishen Rangasamy of CIBC World Markets. "The Fed views the current spike in energy prices as transitory and in its Beige Book it suggested that wage pressures are well contained, which means that it sees little risk at this point of higher energy prices spilling over into broad-based inflation."

FYOU could argue about what makes a gadget delightful: simplicity, sleek looks or cool materials. But one element doesn't get nearly enough press: magic. You know it when you see it. Some feature does your bidding in a miraculous, baffling way. The remote control. The microwave oven. Magnifying a photo by spreading two fingers on a multitouch screen. Well, there's a new bit of magic in town: wireless portable speakers. Show me a portable gadget these days that can play music - iPhone, Android phone, tablet, laptop, whatever - and I'll show you its feeble, pathetic built-in speakers. If you want better sound, you could put on the earbuds - or get a portable wireless speaker. These machines range in size from boom boxes to coat-pocketable slabs, from $60 to $200. They connect to your phone, tablet or laptop wirelessly using Bluetooth, which has a 30-foot range. Therefore, they set free the music that was previously trapped on your phone. You can listen to a playlist as you get dinner ready. You can listen to an NPR podcast as you drive - even if your car has no iPod inputs. You can enjoy Pandora Internet radio as you move from room to room. Thanks to the batteries in these speakers - in most cases, eight-hour rechargeables - you can have a day of music on the beach, in the woods or anywhere else there's no place to plug in. The only setup step (a one-time action) is to pair your phone or laptop with the speaker - that is, to introduce one to the other, just as you would with one of those Bluetooth earpieces. On the Jawbone Jambox, you press the power switch upward for three seconds - and you hear an actual human voice, coming from the speaker, say, "Jambox is in pairing mode, waiting for device to connect." Bringing up the rear is the Logitech Z515, which requires you to press both the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons on the back panel - for 10 seconds. Hey, Logitech - you can do better than that. The features and the sound quality vary widely. Here are six examples, from small to smallest. (Bose also makes a Bluetooth wireless speaker, but it declined to participate in this review.) Altec-Lansing InMotion Air ($200). This speaker resembles a stylish, slightly twisted rectangle. It's expensive, but worth every penny. It's the only Bluetooth speaker with sound quality even remotely resembling a proper stereo system, with rich bass, supercrisp highs and solid midrange. You could fill a party room with really good sound. As with all of these units, you can also use it as a wired speaker (and get better fidelity) by connecting to the miniplug input. But it's more magical to carry it someplace unwired, maybe outdoors, and letting the music flow. It comes with a USB Bluetooth transmitter, in case your lame laptop doesn't have built-in Bluetooth, and a remote control. Creative??? Labs D100 ($70). This shoebox-size speaker comes with a choice of brightly coloured cloth grilles. There's not much to its design and it feels cheap. But it sounds maybe 75 per cent as good as the Altec-Lansing, at only 35 percent of the price. Four AA batteries power it for up to 25 hours. Logitech Z515 ($80). Most of the speakers in this review aim to be either bookshelf speakers (like the two above) or pocket speakers (like the two below) - but at 13.8 by 3.3 by 5.4 inches, the Logitech sits right in between. The amount of sound this thing pumps out is astonishing for its size; it gets really, really loud. apple laptops apple macbook a1181 best notebook computers Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 lcd projector Projector Lamp free macbook pro cheap computer creative speakers blackberry housing blackberry keyboard usb mouse Microsoft Mouse budget batteries The sound just isn't that good. That's great for background party music - not so great for actively listening. It comes with a case and a USB audio for your laptop that tucks into the speaker's back panel for storage. iHome iDM12 ($60). Here's another one whose primary virtues are big volume and low price. It's tiny and plasticky, and the sound isn't very good, but it does pump out the sound. The cover attaches to the front magnetically; when you pull it off, it becomes, of all things, an iPad stand. Soundmatters Foxl v2 ($200). This fascinating, coat-pocketable metal speaker oozes quality, and both the audio quality and the power are eyebrow-raising for something this small. It has plenty of sound to fill the room if you're doing homework, cooking or taking a bath (or all three at once). But party conversation would drown it out. Comes with a USB cable, miniplug audio cable, travel pouch and antislip acoustic mat (which prevents the thing from jiggling itself right off a shelf). Jawbone Jambox ($200). The Jambox is by far the most interesting specimen. It's an upgraded, redesigned version of the Soundmatters speaker, so it has pretty much the same audio qualities and wonderful pocketable size (6 by 2.2 by 1.6 inches). The design is radical: it's a heavy, solid rectangle, rubber on top and bottom, stainless steel grille all the way around the rest. The whole thing is one colour: blue, red, gray or black. Don't expect a lot of stereo separation, either; the right and left speakers are only a couple of inches apart. Otherwise, though, these wireless speakers may become one of your favourite accessories - especially the Altec-Lansing (if you're looking for boombox size) or the Jambox (pocket size). These are the most expensive ones, but also by far the most refined and best-sounding. And getting that much high-quality sound in such tiny, wireless packages - well, that's quite a trick.

The workshop for mothers and daughters at Monticello Middle School last week had tips about skin cleansers and eyebrow arcs. The evening's primary message, however, was the old adage about things that are only skin deep. "You have choices," said Dr. Faith Wilfley. "You live in the best society to be a girl. Trust me. "In other cultures, girls do not get to go to school or go to work. ... You can go to college, get a job, build each other up. Everybody in this room has the chance to be really successful." The Kaiser pediatrician 〞 "call me Dr. Faith; my last name is impossible" 〞 introduced concerns about health and relationships, then fielded anonymous questions about sex, dandruff and menstrual periods. "We'll just touch on these topics," Wilfley said. "These are things to talk about at home. We want you to talk to your moms. They care 〞 they're here! ... Sometimes it's hard to talk about things with your mom or your doctor. But I have to tell you this 〞 your friends are stupid," she added to audience laughter. The event, sponsored by the Monticello PTO, featured the pediatrician as well as nurse-esthetician Cheryl Vanderwerf and spa owner Joy Wallace of Longview. Organizer Laura Gibson of the PTO, who belongs to a book group with Wilfley and invited her to speak, counted about 75 women and girls gathered in the cafeteria for the two-hour talk. Health questions often gravitate to size, Wilfley said, and it is a concern when girls put on weight in adolescence. Charts on the Internet or a trip to the doctor can help girls gauge their appropriate weight and body mass index. Girls who are overweight may face "an extremely high risk of type 2 diabetes, joint problems and obesity." She tempered the warning with humor. "I grew up in Wisconsin 〞 the land of cheese. We deep-fried cheese! It was not the healthiest model. I was a chubby kid." The best thing for a girl is to get involved in school, get involved in sports, the doctor said. "It can take years learning how to be healthy, but if you are on the right path, it will work." During her talk, the doctor moved from healthy bodies to healthy relationships. "How do you want to treat others? You can decide every single day: Do you want to be the kind of person that tears people down, or the kind that builds people up?" Wilfley knows from her medical practice that "girl bullying has gotten bad. There's so much drama; these girls get so upset. I wish they could see beyond that and help each other out." The doctor regularly asks her own middle-school son, "Are you a kind and loyal friend? Are your friends kind and loyal?" She told the girls it's not a race, that they are all in this growing-up time together. "You can all be popular and smart. You can help each other be smarter. ... Everybody in this room has the choice to be really successful. "I came from one pair of shoes a year. But my parents believed that education was the ticket out." Sometimes, grades fall in middle school and parents get alarmed. Wilfley explained that until the early 20s, the language and problem-solving part of the brain is still growing its connections with the filtering mechanisms in the frontal lobe of the brain, where decision-making happens. "There is a way you can help the two parts get connected," Wilfley said. "The brain is freaky and magical." When teens make thoughtless mistakes or get off track, she advised that parents have them "sit down and write down what happened and why it happened. How is that not going to happen again? What will be the consequences?" The doctor said writing and thinking about it, not just lecturing, opens up the pathways between those two parts of the brain and helps adolescents develop better decision-making skills. "I'm really sorry to do this to you, guys," Wilfley said, laughing. "Now you're going to have to write it down." laptop speakers home speakers blackberry housing blackberry keyboard computer mouse computer mice new macbook pro macbook laptop 3d projectors cheap notebook pc mouse cheap apple macbook pro budget batteries The second half of the evening involved funny and reassuring help from the two estheticians, who work in the business of beauty and self esteem. Vanderwerf and Wallace roll-played a girl sassing her mother. "Let's talk about attitude," said Vanderwerf, "how we talk to our moms." She said it can be confusing to "understand what life is bringing us." She urged the girls to have "an A+ attitude with how I speak to my mom, what I do in school and on my sport team. Look, one thing we have in common: We are all girls. Beauty comes from more than our faces. It comes from our hearts. Wallace, who owns Comfort and Joy in downtown Longview, talked about acne, sweat and facials. She said girls should drink lots of water, avoid tanning it can cause skin cancer, and cleanse their faces morning and night. "You are oily little rascals 〞 I've been there!" she said. "We want to make you as beautiful on the outside as we can, but you have to work on the inside." Her own daughter hid in the bathroom at Lake Sacajawea rather than go to school. "She told me, ＆Nobody likes me. The girls are mean.' "Moms, you may think that everything's fine, but your daughter may be struggling." Wallace told the girls to talk to their mothers, dads, stepmoms or grandmas. "We will listen. We're not perfect parents, but we love you guys." The biggest challenge, she said, is to be yourself when all the world is pushing you to be somebody else. "Learn to answer as yourself, or you will lose yourself. If something doesn't feel comfortable in your heart, say ＆No.' " Questions about menstruation and sex After snacks, the speakers read from the anonymous questions. "Why is my period not on a schedule?" Wilfley explained, "When you first start, your hormones are trying to find a rhythm. You won't be regular for a while." In two years, things should fall into a routine. If they do not or if you have not started menstruating by the age of 15, "see a doctor." "Dr. Faith," read the next question, "how do I tell my mom I want to have sex?" "This is a family question," Wilfley said. "You need to see how your parents feel about it. "What I would say is, ＆You're really young. Your whole life is ahead of you. If a boy pressures you, that's not OK.' "Sex is an adult decision, with adult consequences," she added. "You can get pregnant. You can get diseases that will last the rest of your life. I'm sorry, there's no cure." Not a single girl in the room is ready to have a baby, the doctor said. "Don't you want to go to college? Do you want a house and a car? How will you pay for it? Do you want to live with your parents forever?" Wallace told the girls, "You know that boy you like now? In two years, you will not want to be saddled with that boy!" And Wilfley implored them to wait. "Most of us are not ready to be parents until we are in our 30s. It's the hardest thing you'll ever do." Cheryl Kingston-Shirley, a single mother of four who's going to Washington State University, thought the event was "great." "I wish they had even more things for daughters and mothers together," said Kingston-Shirley, who attended with her daughter, Gabrielle. Gabrielle took home a basket of beauty products she won in the raffle, but the most important thing she heard all night was about identity, the petite 11-year-old said. "Don't try to please other people," she said. "Please yourself."

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act went into effect on April 1st. The new law establishes the most comprehensive electronic waste, or "e-waste," product stewardship program in the country. The law also establishes a statewide e-waste recycling goal and requires manufacturers to recycle their share of the statewide goal based on market share. "This is a huge win for the environment and consumers, who will now be able to recycle electronic waste at no cost," DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said. "Manufacturers of TV's, computers, printers, copiers and other electronic products are stepping up to help New York meet our ambitious recycling goals and lower costs for local governments." The law requires manufacturers who sell electronic equipment covered by the law in New York to register with DEC and to establish a convenient program for the collection of electronic waste that would be free of charge to all consumers, schools, governments, businesses with fewer than 50 employees and not-for-profits with fewer than 75 employees. In addition, all registered manufacturers must create a public education program to inform consumers about how to return products covered under the law. Typical consumer electronics that are covered include televisions, computers, printers, keyboards, mouses, DVD/VCR/DVR players, video game consoles and MP3 players. Manufacturers are required to accept any electronic product they manufacturer or an item of another manufacturer's brand if offered to the consumer when purchasing the same type of electronic equipment. For example, if someone is buying a new computer that is a different brand than the one they currently own the manufacturer must accept the old computer. "This new program will prevent millions of pounds of electronic waste from entering New York's limited landfills," said Assemblyman Bob Sweeney, Chair of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee. "The rapid evolution of technology has meant these products seemingly become obsolete almost as soon as they are manufactured and because they contain toxic substances like lead, mercury, chromium and cadmium they can damage our food and water supplies." "As we move into spring cleaning, New Yorkers finally have a safer way to get rid of their old electronics," said Kate Sinding, Senior Attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "This cutting-edge recycling program requires manufacturers to provide all consumers in the state with well-publicized and convenient options for getting rid of used electronics. As we start clearing our old appliances out of our apartments, closets and garages, we will look to manufacturers to make sure all New Yorkers know how to safely give them back for recycling." cheap apple apple notebook notebook tests notebook computer projectors 3d budget batteries ryobi batteries mobile mouse projector people budget batteries computer mouses speakers best promac book blackberry housing blackberry keyboard Under the new law, consumers include any individual, state agency, public corporation, public school, school district, private or parochial school, board of cooperative educational services or governmental entity located in New York State and businesses. Manufacturers may charge a fee for businesses with more than 50 full-time employees, not-for-profit corporations with more than 75 full time employees. The law also establishes a ban on disposal of e-waste that is phased-in beginning April 1, 2011 for manufacturers, retailers, collection sites, and consolidation and recycling facilities. Beginning January 1, 2015, individuals and households will no longer be able to place or dispose of any electronic waste in a landfill or waste-to-energy facility, or place electronic waste for collection which is intended for disposal at such types of facilities. Key benefits for consumers are: ? The manufacturer is required to provide details of their electronic waste take-back program on their website, including how they will take back their brand of products, locations where electronic waste can be dropped for and recycled for free, or how to ship back equipment to the manufacturer free of cost. ? When purchasing new covered electronic equipment, information on how the equipment can be recycled must be provided in the product manual or separately with the purchase. ? Also, with the new covered electronic equipment purchase, a manufacturer must accept a piece of electronic waste of ANY manufacturer's brand if offered by the consumer with purchase of covered electronic equipment of the same type by a consumer. More information including a specific list of which electronic devices are covered by the law, which manufacturers have collection plans in place, and links to their websites, is available at http:/www.wholesalesgoods.org on the DEC website.