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Vote for the biggest surprise from the past season, while getting scoop on what's to come in season five.
From the moment Elena (Nina Dobrev) first bore her fangs, we knew The Vampire Diaries' fourth season was going to be something special. Relive the 10 biggest shockers of season four, and get the latest season five spoilers. Just think: There's more of this madness to come!
1. Elena & Stefan Break Up
We've seen this play out before, but that was all a show for Katherine. This time, it was really for real — and it resulted in a super-weepy, unappealing Stefan (Paul Wesley) for most of the remaining season.
2. Elena & Damon Have Sex
Before the experience was ruined by news of the alleged sire bond, this was the show's hottest hookup ever. Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena made that entire mansion their bitch, and an endless number of gifs were born.
Season 5 Scoop: It sounds like we can expect more hot Damon-Elena scenes in season five. Julie says "we're going to be able to enjoy" the couple for a while.
3. Klaus Kills Tyler's Mom
As if there wasn't already a serious lack of parental guidance in Mystic Falls, Klaus (Joseph Morgan) drowned Tyler's mom — and all to the tune of a delightful Christmas classic! Needless to say, Tyler (Michael Trevino) asked Santa for new parents this year.
4. Stefan & Rebekah Have Sex
When they weren't boning, Stefan and Rebekah (Claire Holt) were basically living out an '80s movie, and that was pretty terrific. … It's all good now, though, as we all know she belongs with Matt.
Season 5 Scoop: Speaking of Matt, I spoke with Claire at the CW Upfront, and she told me that Matt and Caroline's relationship was purposely left "open-ended."
5. Silas Kills Jeremy
I'm glad Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) is back for good, but the initial shock of his death was like no other. Forget Elena, I felt like I lost my little brother. I'm kind of surprised his ghost wasn't wearing his trademark tank top, but that's fine.
6. Hayley Is Pregnant
This was the point of no return for The Originals, and the exact moment I knew the spin-off could truly become its own show. Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) and Klaus may be having an "oops" baby, but that spawn will be genetically flawless.
7. Bonnie Kills… Herself
I feel like Bonnie's (Kat Graham) days have been numbered since the show started, and her death also brought back Jeremy, so I was actually able to accept this death pretty easily. To me, the most surprising part is that Kat will be a regular in season 5 — as a ghost!
Season 5 Scoop: Julie says Bonnie — who will be sticking around as a ghost — will struggle to establish and maintain a "physical relationship" with Jeremy.
8. Katherine Takes The Cure
Well, she didn't "take" the cure as much as Elena forced it down her throat during an intense cat fight. And it was the ultimate revenge for Elena, turning the tables and making her tormentor completely vulnerable.
Season 5 Scoop: Don't worry, Katherine's punishment is far from over. Julie says Kat will be "on the verge of getting her ass kicked every single episode."
9. Elena Chooses Damon
Good things happen when Damon and Elena stand in front of the Salvatores' fireplace. Not only did they bone there for the first time, but that's also where Elena chose Damon over Stefan on the fourth season finale.
10. Stefan Is Silas' Doppelganger
Speaking of Stefan, what the %#!\ was that ending? Stefan is Silas' doppelgänger? That came out of nowhere, but that's OK, because Stefan is going back to bad-ass mode.
Season 5 Scoop: Paul loves playing the bad guy, which is good, because Julie says Silas will turn to a "pretty enormous Plan B" to achieve his goals. (In other words, he's terrifying and he's desperate.)
WATCH: Claire Holt Talks Matt & Rebekah And 'The Originals'
Which of these moments shocked you the most this season? Cast your vote below, then drop a comment with your review of season four. What would you have done different, and what do you hope to see in season five?
— Andy Swift Follow @AndySwift
More 'Vampire Diaries' On HollywoodLife.com:
- 'Vampire Diaries' Season Finale Recap: Stefan Makes A Dark Discovery
- Ian Somerhalder & Nina Dobrev Smolder On The CW Upfront Carpet
- 'Vampire Diaries' Season 5 Scoop: A 'Shocking Salvatore Secret' Revealed
View Comment
Posted at 11:44 PM on July 14, 2013
Posted at 6:57 PM on July 6, 2013
Posted at 2:11 AM on June 14, 2013
Posted at 11:18 AM on May 31, 2013
Posted at 7:33 PM on May 26, 2013
Yes Stefan has suffered to. Katherine diden't compell Stefan untill after he slept with Her, to keep Him from beeing afraid , when He found out She was a Vampire. Damon dident alow to fall in Love with Elena, They Both fell in Love with each other, even though Elena was to afraid to admit it. Yes I agree Damon loves His Brother and would die for Him.
Posted at 7:42 PM on May 25, 2013
Posted at 1:22 AM on May 23, 2013
Posted at 5:46 PM on May 22, 2013
Posted at 1:29 AM on May 23, 2013
lol! The Person that has suffered the most is Damon, and he did a lot more for Elena then stefan did. Damon dosent always fall in love with his brothers girl . Him and elena fell in love because they was thrown together and bonded , there's has been a four year journey. Damon met Elena first, also he was with Katherine first and stefan went after her. In his words i wanted here and didn't care how damon felt.
Posted at 8:09 AM on May 26, 2013
Stefen has suffered. They both have. Anyone who has been alive that long is bound to. Stefen was compelled by Katherine. Damon was not. However; Damon did allow himself to fall in love with Elena. When it comes to heart matters, you try to stop them, but the feelings win every time. Damon did feel guilty about this, so his love for his brother was genuine.


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Fiscal interactions among European countries
Redoano, Michela (2003) Fiscal interactions among European countries. Working Paper. Coventry: University of Warwick, Department of Economics. (Warwick economic research papers).
WRAP_Redoano_twerp680a.pdf Download (327Kb) |
Official URL: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/resear...
In this paper we investigate whether there is empirical evidence that EU Countries set their public expenditure and their taxes interdependently. We use a panel of data across European countries, years and fiscal variables to estimated countries' reactions functions. We find evidence of intedependences consistent with the literature on tax and yardistick competition.
Item Type: | Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper) |
Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HJ Public Finance |
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics |
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Space in economics, Taxation -- Econometric models, International economic relations, Panel analysis, Europe -- Economic conditions |
Series Name: | Warwick economic research papers |
Publisher: | University of Warwick, Department of Economics |
Place of Publication: | Coventry |
Date: | 28 June 2003 |
Number: | No.680 |
Number of Pages: | 31 |
Status: | Not Peer Reviewed |
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access |
Version or Related Resource: | Redoano, Michela (2012) Fiscal interactions among European countries : does the EU matter? Working Paper. Coventry, UK: Department of Economics, University of Warwick. (CAGE Online Working Paper Series, No.102/2012). http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/57899 |
Related URLs: | |
References: | [1] Altshuler, R., Goodspeed, T.J., (2002), Follow a Leader? Evidence on European and U.S. Tax Competition, mimeo. [2] Anselin, L. (1988) Spatial Econometrics: Methods and Models, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. [3] Anselin, L., Bera, K., Florax, R., Yoon, M. (1996) "Simple diagnostic tests for spatial dependence," Regional Science and Urban Economics, 26, 77-104. [4] Baicker, K., (2001) "The spillover effect of state spending", NBER Working Paper 8383. [5] Besley, T., Case, A. (1995a) "Incumbent behavior: vote seeking, tax setting and yardstick competition," American Economic Review, 85, 25-45. [6] Besley, T., Case, A. (1995b) "Does electoral accountability affect economic policy choices? Evidence from gubernatorial term limits," Quarterly Journal of Economics ,110, 769-798. [7] Besley, T., Griffith R. , Klemm A. (2001) "Empirical Evidence of Fiscal Interdependence in OECD Countries", mimeo. [8] Besley, T., Smart, M. (2001) "Globalization and Electoral Accountability," unpublished paper. [9] Bivand, R., Szymanski, S. (1997) "Spatial dependence through local yardstick competition: theory and testing," Economics Letters, 55, 257-265. [10] Breton, A. (1998) Competitive Governments, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [11] Brett, C., Pinkse, J. (2000) "The determinants of municipal tax rates in British Columbia," Canadian Journal of Economics, 33, 695-714. [12] Brueckner, J. (1998) "Testing for strategic interaction among local governments: the case of growth controls," Journal of Urban Economics, 44, 438-467. [13] Brueckner, J., Saavedra, L. (2001) "Do local governments engage in strategic property tax competition?" National Tax Journal, 54, 203-229. [14] Buettner, T. (2001) "Local business taxation and competition for capital: the choice of tax rate," Regional Science and Urban Economics, 31, 215-245. [15] Case, A. (1991) "Spatial patterns in household demand", Econometrica, 59, 4. [16] Case, A. (1993) "Interstate tax competition after TRA86," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 12, 136-148. [17] Case, A., Hines, J., Rosen, H. (1993) "Budget spillovers and fiscal policy interdependence," Journal of Public Economics, 52, 285-307. [18] Coate, S. and Morris, S. (1995) "On the forms of transfers to special interests," Journal of Political Economy, 105, 1210-1235. [19] Devereux, M., Lockwood, B., Redoano, M. (2002) "Do Countries Compete over Corporate Tax Rates?", Warwick Economic Research Paper no. 642. [20] Figlio, D., Kolpin, V., Reid, W. (1999) "Do states play welfare games?" Journal of Urban Economics, 46, 437-454. [21] Heyndels, B., Vuchelen, J. (1998) "Tax mimicking among Belgian municipalities," National Tax Journal, 60, 89-101. [22] Kelejian, H., Robinson, D. (1993) "A suggested method of estimation for spatial interdependent models with autocorrelated errors, and an application to a county expenditure model," Papers in Regional Science, 72, 297-312. [23] Ladd, H. (1992) "Mimicking of local tax burdens among neighboring counties," Public Finance Quarterly, 20, 450-467. [24] Manski, C. (1993) "Identification of Endogenous Social Effects: the Reflection Problem" Review of Economic Studies, 60, 531-542. [25] Revelli, F. (2001a) "Local taxes, national politics and spatial interactions in English district election results," European Journal of Political Economy (forthcoming). [26] Revelli, F. (2001b) "Spatial patterns in local taxation: tax mimicking or error mimicking?" Applied Economics, 33, 1101-1107. [27] Saavedra, L., (2001) "A model of welfare competition with evidence from AFDC," Journal of Urban Economics, 47, 248-279. [28] Shroder, M. (1995) "Games the states don't play: welfare benefits and the theory of fiscal federalism," The Review of Economics and Statistics, 77, 183-191. [29] A. Solè Ollè, (2001) "Tax mimicking and electoral control: an empirical analysis of local tax setting in Spain", Universitat del Barcelona, mimeo. [30] Tiebout, C. (1956) "A pure theory of local expenditures," Journal of Political Economy, 64, 416-424. [31] Wildasin, D. (1986) Urban Public Finance, Harwood Academic Publishers, New York. [32] Wilson, J. (1999) "Theories of tax competition," National Tax Journal, 53, 269-304. [33] Wooders, M., Zissimos, B. (2003), "Hotelling Tax Competition", Warwick Economic Research Paper no. 668. [34] Wrede, M. (2001) "Yardstick competition to tame the Leviathan," European Journal of Political Economy, 17, 705-721. |
URI: | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/1510 |
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December 12, 2014
Rotary recognizes Paggen, Novitzki
The Rotary Club of Farmington recognized Grace Paggen as Student of the Month and Ruth Novitzki as Senior Citizen of the Month at its meeting Dec. 4. Grace is a fifth grader at North Trail Elementary School and teacher Jodi Hansen calls her "one of the sweetest students I've...
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December 12, 2014 - 6:09am
December 11, 2014
Castler Rockers is a group to get you going
Once a month for the last 30 years or so, a group of about 50 people has boarded a bus in Farmington and headed out to have an adventure. They have covered the country and spanned generations, all in the name of getting people together and getting them out of the house. The group,...
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December 11, 2014 - 9:15am
School taxes will go up despite concerns
The Farmington School Board approved its 2015 budget and tax levy Monday night despite board members' concerns over a 5.3 percent increase to the levy. The increase is due in part to the board setting aside money for something known as other post-employment benefits, perks many...
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December 11, 2014 - 9:08am
Chore program helps seniors
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December 11, 2014 - 9:06am
December 10, 2014
Girls basketball: Some good, some bad during 0-3 start
The Farmington girls basketball team took some positives and some negatives away from its 0-3 start to the season. The positives: The team competed hard and several first-time varsity players contributed right away. The negatives: Yet another starter — Sydney Blandin — was lost...
sports / high school
December 10, 2014 - 1:35pm
December 4, 2014
Residents can have a say in Vermillion watershed's future
The Vermillion River Watershed Joint Powers Organization is developing a new 10-year plan to guide the future of the watershed, and is seeking public input to help refine the plan. The plan is a state requirement, explained Mark Zabel of the VRWJPO. The first Vermillion River Watershed...
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December 4, 2014 - 10:48am
City's share of taxes will go up
The city of Farmington has approved a final budget slightly smaller than the preliminary number they supported in September, but the city's share of taxes will still go up for the average homeowner. Council members approved a property tax levy of $9,164,208 at their Monday night...
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December 4, 2014 - 10:46am
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If you're the theatergoing type and you pay close attention this month, you might notice some familiar faces on stage in a pair of high-profile holiday productions. Gavin Nienaber, a 10-year-old Rosemount resident, and Hunter Conrad, a 13-year-old from Farmington, are making their...
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December 4, 2014 - 10:43am
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December 3, 2014 - 8:28am
November 28, 2014
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On November 12 the Humphrey School of Public Affairs announced the winners of its eighth annual Local Government Innovation Awards. Among them was Farmington Area Public Schools for their flexible learning days. District 192 was one of five winning schools chosen by a panel of judges...
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November 28, 2014 - 12:01pm
November 26, 2014
Toys for Town drive kicks off this week
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November 26, 2014 - 1:02pm
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November 26, 2014 - 12:57pm
November 25, 2014
Boys hockey: Farmington rolls in opener, 5-1
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November 25, 2014 - 10:48am
Boys basketball: Inexperience shows in close losses
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sports / high school
November 25, 2014 - 10:47am
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Country Chicken Cobbler Video
Susan gives new uses for leftover biscuits
Hi. This is Susan Westmoreland in the Good Housekeeping Kitchen and tonight we're gonna make a Country Chicken Cobbler. It's basically a chicken pot pie with a biscuit crust on top. I have a tip for you, if you have left over biscuits or cake or anything like that, you can take them and freeze them like this or you can crumble them up and then love to use them on top if I'm making a crisper Cobbler. You can just mix this into the-- crumb mixture or inches of biscuit dough, it just adds a little bit of extra. So, you can just zip that up, stick it in the freezer and when you're doing it, just don't put sweet pound cake in with your savory biscuits. But other than that, it will work really, really well. Susan Westmoreland in the Good Housekeeping Kitchen helping you take back dinner time.
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Excellent Google Smart Phone, Good General Smart Phone,
This review is from: T-Mobile G1 Android Phone, Black (T-Mobile) (Wireless Phone)
Summary [7.5 out of 10] ====================================== The T-Mobile G1 is an excellent "first-mover" Android-based phone from T-Mobile and is truly a "Google Phone". If you are already have most of your life on Google through one of their many handy and free services (Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, Talk, Picasaweb, etc.) the G1 is going to be a dream device for you. If you don't make use of the Gmail services or have most of your life scattered across many different services, the G1 will be an OK phone for you, but we'd suggest also looking at a BlackBerry or iPhone as well as there are some things those phones do better than the G1. ====================================== The Great ====================================== * Call-quality (both receiving and sending) is very nice. People I spoke too (in an A/B comparison between iPhone) said that the iPhone sounded just like a typical crappy cell phone and the G1 sounded like I was on my office phone. I also felt the volume of the G1 was louder when talking to people making it a bit easier for me to hear them. * Google services integration is awesome. It's completely seamless, syncs over-the-air regardless of the data connection you have, seems to sync frequently so your contacts, calendar, email and IM are all always synced up. Also the synchronization is bi-directional, you don't have a "Read only" copy on the G1... you can change anything you want and see it synced right back to Google. * Having a keyboard is very handy. The non-super-techy types that I lent the phone to for a few hours all commented that the physical keyboard felt and "made more sense" than a virtual on-screen keyboard to them like the iPhone or BlackBerry Storm. * The trackball is much handier to have for selection than I anticipated. Also it's position on the phone is perfect for both landscape and portrait use. I was surprised (in landscape mode) how my thumb naturally fell right ontop of the trackball, making it much easier to navigate the screen without lifting my hand off the keyboard to press something. * Micro-SD support - including the new 16GB cards that were released recently. * Voice dialing - How does the iPhone still not have this. I also found the accuracy excellent, pretty much on par with what my BlackBerry had. I also noticed when you have multiple numbers for a single person, even though the voice-dialing result screen shows you all their numbers, it always puts the one you wanted as the first item, so it's easy to execute. Unfortunately if you like to drive with your phone in your pocket and call people, this might be an extra step some folks don't want. * Back Button - Similar to the BlackBerry OS, the "Back" button always does what you think it should. If you read an email, and jump into a browser to check a link and click a YouTube link to watch a video... the "Back" button will move you backward through those contexts back to the original email as you keep hitting it. This has always driven me nuts on the iPhone - you have to go back to the home screen first, then back into whatever it was that you were doing. * EDGE data performance seemed snappy on the phone. While browsing is certainly still just as slow as you would expect, the Chrome-based browser performed well and the background-sending/receiving of data in every other app gave an excellent user experience. Coming from a 1st Gen iPhone on an EDGE network, I was used to much longer lag related to data operations (like Maps or Email) so it did seem a hair more performant - or maybe just designed in a more streamlined flow, it's hard to say. * Mobile YouTube was easy to use and looked great on the little screen. Playback started quickly and the interface was easy to use - I find the iPhone interface a bit too constrained. * Basic UI for the Android apps on the G1 were very intuitive; I didn't find myself pointing out UI oddities left and right as I tend to do, everything just did what I expected it to and menu items were right where I thought they would be. * Universal notification bar across the top of the screen became a huge "must have" for me. Going back to the iPhone is going to be painful after this (and dealing with multiple overlapping dialog boxes). Any time anything happens on the phone that you have notifications setup for (IM, Email, SMS, etc.) a notification icon is added to the bar that you can drag-down with your finger any time to view the contents of. It makes multi-tasking possible where as the iPhone is a single-context device. * Operating system updates are downloaded over-the-air and you are prompted to install them seamlessly at your discretion. This is both over EDGE as well as 3G. ====================================== The Good ====================================== * Build quality was more solid than I expected. I expected the whole phone to be that "plastic cell phone feel", but the top sliding piece that has the screen in it is actually a solid feeling piece of metal with the glass-esque screen connected to a plastic body. * The Android UI is a lot more polished and "sexy" looking than I thought it would be. It's not quite like the iPhone, but sexier than BlackBerry OS on the Curve or Pearl (I haven't spent enough time with the Storm or Bold to compare, but at first glance I'd say it's a bit nicer). * We found most all of the Android applications and system design to be intuitive and flow nicely. * It is nice to have a "Menu" button again. I got used to it on my BlackBerry as a source of secondary operations that you may want in any application, and missed it on my iPhone -- sometimes feeling like functionality was trimmed to far in the name of a "simple interface". * The slide-out mechanism for the G1's screen is much sturdier than I thought it would be. I don't forsee this breaking down over time as it has a smooth operation to it and held firmly in place with two guiding pieces. It's also got a good amount of spring-tension to make the operation feel stiff/firm and not flimsy or chinsey. * Replaceable battery - slide the back cover off and you are all set. You can replace the battery yourself. None of this Apple-crap where you send your device in for "service" to get the battery replaced. ====================================== The Bad ====================================== * Form factor is large enough to consider this a "large" phone. The iPhone was a big phone, but skinny enough you didn't really notice it. The G1 is about 30-40% thicker feeling than the iPhone, so in your pocket, you absolutely notice it. I'd say if you are used to wearing tight jeans, trying to shove this down in a pocket and dig it out is going to be more of a pain then something more streamlined like an iPhone. * Backlighting of all the keys (keyboard and main face buttons) is dim, uneven and times out quickly so it's easy to loose your orientation when ready before hitting another key. This is really annoying in normal-room-lighting, because the backlighting will always kick in (no sensor) causing the white lettering on the keys to almost become the same color as the key itself, so you suddenly cannot read the keys until the backlighting turns off or you hold the keyboard at an angle so you can read it. This an odd (and annoying) side effect of "all-the-time" backlighting that I had never experienced before on another device. * Main face-buttons are all the same size, feel and are flush with the face so you cannot navigate them in the dark. You usually have to do something like hit "Menu" or roll the control ball to get the "back lighting" to wake up, then press the button you want. * Screen display quality is slightly less fidelity than the iPhone (very minor). It's hard to tell, but none of us were "struck" by the beauty of the screen clarity, resolution or brightness unlike (for example) some of the recent BlackBerry Storm reviews that actually called out how nice the screen was. If the iPhone is just fine for you, and you don't need a noticeably improved screen, then this won't matter at all. Just pointing out that there isn't any improvement here. * The touch-screen performance felt about 15% less accurate than the iPhone. Meaning you had to press a bit harder something or press it a few times before it "clicked", quick clicks with the finger or some slides didn't register right at first. This didn't happen often and for the most part the touch screen was just fine, no usability impact -- it's just that we did notice a hair of a difference in what would be interpreted as "accuracy" of the touch screen. o ADDENDUM: As one of the viewers on our G1 video review pointed out, the less screen sensitivity was likely due to the protective film we left over the screen. A lot of folks still use screen protectors, so this point could still be important for them, but we wanted to make that clarification. With the screen protector off, the touch screen performance would be expected to be on par with the iPhone. * From time to time we noticed the OS lag after a button push by up to 6 secs before responding. We've seen this on the iPhone as well (and BlackBerry), but on the G1 the pauses seemed more pronounced. * No standard headphone jack. There is only the Mini-USB connection at the bottom of the phone or the choice of a Bluetooth headset - Unfortunately because of the poor battery life, we don't think a Bluetooth headset for the purpose of audio is a good choice here. * The connection mechanism for the entire back plate of the phone (that pulls off like opening a clam) isn't as secure as you might like it. If you dropped this phone I could certainly see the back plate popping off and the battery falling out. A more purposeful latch would have been nice. ====================================== The Ugly ====================================== * Battery life is bad without WiFi and pure crap with it turned on. Overall, about 1/3 the life of my 1st Gen iPhone and on the verge of what I would consider "Something you should really consider if battery life is important". You are going to be plugging this in every night on easy use and if you are a mobile warrior type (few hours of calling a day, lots of map lookups, email, sms, IM'ing, etc.) you are going to need to have this plugged in during the day as well so as not to have it run out on you in the field. This bothered us. ====================================== Conclusion [7.5 out of 10] ====================================== The T-Mobile G1 doesn't seem to have flaws necessarily, more like shortcomings. Depending on the type of user you are, the G1 can be a dream-come-true device (Google-Services-dependent) or a disappointment (Media/Application-heavy user coming from iPhone); it just depends on what you need. The T-Mobile G1 is a great first-attempt at a phone, but it's still just that: a 1st attempt. The device itself and Android operating system felt and operated well, but you couldn't help but notice shortcomings in certain places (as noted above in the Bad/Ugly lists) that would all probably be fixed by more time in the oven. We fully expect to see a T-Mobile G2 (or whatever you want to call it) with a seriously refined Android experience and tweaked hardware provide an awesome smart-phone experience -- just right now with the G1, your happiness with it will depend entirely on how you want to use it.
46 of 50 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Phone,
By Maddy (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: T-Mobile G1 Android Phone, Black (T-Mobile) (Wireless Phone)
Having had this phone since the launch in September 2008, I have to say that I am hooked to Android. I have been with T-Mobile for a while now and they've been one of the best providers for me. The customer service is amazing. I have owned the T-Mobile MDA and an unlocked first generation iPhone on T-Mobile network, and G1 is the best of those 3 phones IMO.
Now about the G1: I had been looking forward to the first Android phone ever since OHA was announced in late 2007, and the G1 has met (if not exceeded) every single thing I had come to expect from Google and Open Source community. Android, as the phone operating system, is rock solid with great features and extremely easy to use. Android Market (equivalent of the Apple App Store on the iPhone) is already full of great applications to cater to many tasks that you might want to add to your phone. Games such as PACMAN, Divide and Conquer, Hold'em and applications such as AK Notepad, Compass, Sky Map, ShopSavvy, TuneWiki, iMeem, Video Player are some of my favorites. There is also a service named Voxofon Call Router which lets you make long distance international calls by dialing the number directly and it does the rest. Their rates are very competitive and quality is one of the best I've seen. And of course, default included applications such as Maps, Browser, GMail, IM and Calendar are awesome and I use them all the time. I had debated about getting the data plan, because I have not had one for a while now, but Android makes it totally worth it. The G1 has almost become my inseparable companion wherever I go. And the most important aspect of a PDA phone, the phone, itself is great. Call quality is the clearest I've seen until now, speakerphone is pretty loud as well, contact management and auto-sync with GMail contacts is great. The hardware is very solid too. The phone itself feels very well built in the hand and the back has a "matte" like finish, which enhances the grip on the phone. Sliding mechanism is unique and works very well. A real physical keyboard is awesome, esp for people who IM/Text a lot. And as everything in the world, nothing is perfect. Few cons I've noticed until now: - 1. Not very satisfactory battery life. If you do not use any data services and use the phone just for calls, battery lasts about 36 hours, but with any sort of data usage on the phone (which is the whole point of a PDA phone), the battery would barely last you through the day. Keeping one charger each at home and office comes in handy. GPS drains the battery pretty quickly too. 2. T-Mobile 3G network is not available at many places still. 3. Not very pretty! I guess that lies in the eyes of the beholder (or beer holder?).
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Android Software, Great Phone with infinite capabilities!,
By prospetiva "slopez1972" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews Like another reviewer, I too evolved from the Tmobile Dash and although I like the simplicity of having the Dash sync with my Outlook Adress Book, this to me seem too small a gripe to not praise such an absolutely well thought off idea that is a phone and so much more!
Wanting to avail of our upgrade option, I got the blackberry 8320 for my wife (as she tends to use her cell phone at home alot and wifi calling feature was perfect for her) and since I've been waiting for that all around internet phone, I got this one and it certainly did not dissapoint. To make my review a little more direct to the point, I've listed down the PROS with the corresponding CONS... PROS: INTERNET Phone at it's best! I can surf, read emails, chat do online banking as if I was on a tiny laptop! I love how I can actually see what movies are showing and where as well as see actual showtimes! Google MAPS is awesome! You can pinpoint your location or it would show you a range of where you are and you can find whatever stuff you need around you like shops, restaurants, a place of business, etc. without having to call 411 ever again! KEYBOARD is very helpful especially when a virtual keyboard may be too small for your fingers. I rarely hit the wrong letters and I didn't find the build to be flimsy, but one has to be a little careful when opening it up as it litterally springs into action and this sudden jerk may cause the phone to slip out of your hands! We need autorotate though (see cons) DIALING: I find dialing easy enough especially since it logs in/out/missed calls. All I have to do is press the green button and I can scroll through my call log without having to have to go to my contacts, and when you do, your contacts is just a tab away! There is an Icon that you press to access voice command. I have since copied this onto the desktop for easy access... A long press on the bluetooth re-dials the last number dialed. but... see CONS ADDRESS BOOK is great once set-up! and comes with a ton of information options for a single contact.. No one can hide from you once they're in you contact list! CALL QUALITY: I find the call quality to be absolutely brilliant and loud and I have never experienced anyone mis understanding what I was saying from my end so I guess that's good. Quality is great on the speakerphone as well as my jabra jx10. APPLICATION MARKET: A few great apps available for download FREE! I will have to agree that the apps out there are a little "out there". This shouldn't make you think that there are no great ones! I've downloaded almost 20 useful apps which I find very helpful for my taste. Be mindful that the community is very young and the potential for wonderful apps are endless given the open source nature of android! MESSAGING: Is tied together which makes it so simple to see history on a conversation. Email application is great too. I am now able to get, reply and delete emails on both my gmail and my yahoo account which I've set-up on the G1! CAMERA: 3mp quality is a great feature and shoots fine but (see cons) MULTIMEDIA: Music player is ok.. speakers are good enough to listen on. Stereo earphones does the job but a good set of earphones will rock your world! I use the lenntek sonix (see my other review on that one) I heard complaints on the earphone dongle and lack of direct output earphone jack but I actually find the dongle very helpful as I am able to use my good earphones when making or recieving calls as the mic itself is installed on the dongle! CONS: INTERNET needs Flash Player which is currently underway. I've read that the Flash player should be available early next year. Google MAPS somehow can't accurately pintpoint where I was even with the GPS on. I Have yet to try it when I'm actually out on the streets it maybe because I was indoors when I was trying to use the GPS option. KEYBOARD bad: because of having to slide up the keyboard, you can never fit the G1 into a sleeve type jacket permanently. Tmobile stores do offer those hard plastic clip-ons that does the job of scratchproofing your phone though. A lot of people also find "having to open to type" an annoyance, but I read somewhere that a virtual keyboard is actually on it's way as well as an autorotate; automatic screen rotate when you rotate your phone from landscape to portrait onrientation. DIALING: Bluetooth one press doesn't automatically go to Voice Dialer. You have to access the phone's voice dialer option to say a command like "CALL HOME"... the Voice dialer has a hard time understanding what you're saying especially when dealing with non-american sounding names, just immagine how confused your phone will be after you say "call Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD"... ADDRESS BOOK: You'll have to export and copy your outlook adress book and import it in your google site and like one of the reviewers had mentioned, you will lose the mailing address information! what I do is cut and paste any outlook address info I have on my PC onto my online adress book while I'm on the Computer and let the phone sync from my google address book that way. CALL QUALITY: No cons just yet... Great everything device that actually functions as a phone! APPLICATION MARKET: A few odd-balls out there but who cares? They're not forcing you to download anything you don't like? So I really can't judge the phone for that. MESSAGING and EMAIL: Like I said is great but the emails will need to be upgraded to link with microsoft servers to make corporate users happy. I think this is in the works too. CAMERA: 3mp quality is fine but lack of a built-in flash makes the camera feature useless in low light conditions as focusing suffers in low light too! A video recorder would have been a nice added feature (video capture is great on my wife's blackberry 8320) MULTIMEDIA: Music player is plain and simple and I think the Iphone wins on that one! Lacks a Video Player but there's a bunch of players out there on the market waiting to be downloaded for free... But this should have been something that came with the phone! Earphone dongle can be troublesome for some! My main concern though is I can never listen to music while charging the phone! Why does HTC push on having the charger share the same port with the headset/usb cable! BOTTOMLINE: I am quite happy with this purchase and even though this is the 1st generation, I like the GUI and the simpllicity of navigating around the menus and functions. I have never read the manual nor did the need for me to look something up ever arised! I am almost certain that others will follow suit! and if a better phone with the android ever comes out, which I'm sure it will, I will simply have to upgrade to that after a year or so! but right now I'm enjoying the G1 and this phone right here is the FUTURE! WISHLIST: Camera Flash, Tmobile wifi/hotspot Calling, A good Video Pre Installed Player, Video Recorder, Virtual Keyboard, Dedicated Headphone Jack.
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Amazing,
This review is from: T-Mobile G1 Android Phone, Black (T-Mobile) (Wireless Phone)
Have had this phone for three days now and think it is awesome.
-The touch screen is very responsive -The full qwerty keyboard works very well -The camera works very well -The market place for apps has tons of useful apps for free (For example the barcode app which allows you to scan a product in a store and check online to compare prices right then and there) -The customizable home screen is very cool so you can organize your apps how you want -The phone feels good in my hand and the track ball is very handy The Android software altogether is very solid and fun in my opinion and I highly recommend this phone as I have enjoyed it alot.
62 of 76 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Honeymoon is over, and I want a divorce.,
This review is from: T-Mobile G1 Android Phone, Black (T-Mobile) (Wireless Phone)
I'll admit, in the initial rush of excitement, I rated this highly. I was enamored by the GPS, the strong tie to Google applications, and the potential of the platform.
Well, the honeymoon is over, and this phone is officially a bust, a block of unrealized potential and frustration borne of an inability to manage simple tasks like dialing and managing calls. The list of features is impressive, but it falls down in a variety of ways, all of which amount to a two-star rating. To wit: -it has voice search, which works... poorly, as poorly as it handles voice dialing; -the SDK is open and source for the OS is public, and this has led to... numerous fart apps, rehashes of the example code from the SDK, and some really awful programming; -it has multitasking, which is terrific except is slows down task switching, and leaves apps resident that do not make sense (Klaxon? Slider Puzzle?); -it can handle 16Gb micro SD cards... and then forces you to install all apps to the device and not the card; -it is based on Debian Linux... and forces you to write apps only for its Android model of Java; -it has a GPS and Google Maps... but turn-by-turn is restricted due to licensing and no small amount of collusion with TeleNav, who's offering turn-by-turn for $10 a month. Funny, shouldn't it be free after ten months then, since a standalone GPS would get you exactly that for a one-time payment...? -it has the code for multi-touch, but doesn't implement because of a little more collusion, this time with Apple; -it has a camera, which doesn't handle video and its shutterlag is measured is seconds. And oh, by the way, the pictures are terrible... I could go on, offer a litany of reasons and little items, but the fact is the potential is remarkably unrealized from what many consider a source of innovation. Taken from this perspective, it's easy to see that all Google did was cut down a Linux distro and come up with a proprietary variant of Java. I can't do it, but it's been done before, ad nauseum, at every academic institution offering a CompSci degree. There no excuse for such delay in major updates, and the collusion with competitors makes this a half-measure device. As a PDA, it's slow and has less app support that a WinMo or Nokia S60 device. As a phone, it's nearly impossible to "just dial" and the capacitive screen is a pain for big fingers. In fact, call me an advocate for capacitive screen bans worldwide and give me back my stylus/ pinky nail/ pen cap. On the whole, this phone is just a whole lotta smoke and one very unreflective mirror... -C
36 of 43 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's not about the gear, its about the Android,
I've heard many refer to this phone as the iPhone killer; in turn, I've heard many iPhone die-hards harshly criticize this phone. In truth, neither is accurate. The G1 is not the iPhone killer; Android is. Android is the operating system that runs the G1, and others to come.
Truth be told, this may not be the phone for everyone. If you want everything an iPhone can do, then by all means, go spend the money and get an iPhone; if you want something that acts like a Blackberry, then buy a Blackberry; if you want a camera, go buy a frickin' camera. Especially if you want everything right out of the box. But if you like seeing the innovation behind developers coming up with stuff, then definitely, the G1 is for you. In many ways, I like that right now it doesn't "have" certain things (actually, it "has" just about everything, it just hasn't "learned" how to use them); I like it because it is fascinating to see people come up with the stuff that the G1 is lacking right out of the box. And that is the beauty of open source. Keep in mind this has only been out barely two months. Give developers a few more and you'll be amazed at what they come up with. The phone itself has a great, sturdy feel; the display is beautiful and well-designed; and the qwerty keyboard is tiny but you get used to it. And just about every day there something new on the Android Market that lets you do something new. So, go in knowing what your expectations are. If you want a phone that does everything an iPhone does right now, buy an iPhone. If you want the first-gen hardware of an exciting, extremely flexible phone that will eventually far exceed everything else, then hurry and get the G1.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
G stands for Great,
By Mike (CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: T-Mobile G1 Android Phone, Black (T-Mobile) (Wireless Phone)
The phone is simply great. I have an iPhone as well and I prefer this phone. The iPhone is a little better looking but this phone is more functional and I found the interface much more intuitive to use. The pattern password is much easier for one-handed operation when answering calls on the go. The full keyboard is so much easier to use and you don't loose half the screen. The track ball is great for clicking those small links that some pages have that are too small or to close to some other link and is also handy for quickly scrolling around around a web page. The removable micro-SD card is a big feature over the iPhone as you can upgrade the memory easily and it also allows you share data between devices the without connecting to a computer.
The design issues I have had with the phone are the protective pouch that comes with it. If you hold it around the seams the phone can slip out so, when removing from a coat or jacket pocket, the phone can drop on the floor and I find it difficult open the cover over the micro-SD slot without using the corner of a credit card. But these are far outweighed by the good features which makes this the best phone you can buy IMHO. I've found the T-Mobile service is better than Sprint or AT&T in the bay area of northern CA and the network connection speed is good (there always seems to be an open WiFi host spot available). As you'd expect the integration with G-mail and G-calender is excellent. The compass integration with Google's street view (point the screen in the direction you are looking and compare what you see) always gets a "wow!" and is actually quite useful as well. Another nice touch is when using the "my location" feature with the map tool it automatically scrolls the map when you move near the edge. The one thing that is done better on the iPhone is integration with Microsoft exchange servers (but with the free software development tools I might just write my own app). Speaking of which, if you want to write apps for it, it's a dream. Google have provided a fantastic set of tools, via an Eclipse plug-in with a phone emulator, for software development and they are free. I also liked that I didn't have to provide my credit card number to download a free app from the android market place. Favorite free apps: Compare Anywhere, Compass, Bubble, Punch-O-Meter, Trap!, MisMisMatch, Lexic, Quote Pro. A definite buy.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Phone, Poor Battery Performance,
This review is from: T-Mobile G1 Android Phone, Black (T-Mobile) (Wireless Phone)
The device is much better looking in person than in photos. It looked awkward to me before I actually handled one, but I absolutely love everything about the physical appearance in person: the "chin" at the bottom is much more subtle, the back is a nice rubberized finish which makes it easy to hold, and the device is small enough to fit comfortably in my pocket (jeans included). Overall the phone just feels very well-built.
The keyboard is outstanding. I never considered the idea of getting a touchscreen-only device, and the G1 keyboard is excellent example of why. It looks like the keys are too small/flat, but the spacing makes it easy to type. I am more accurate on this keyboard than I was on my Motorola Q9c. The only issue is that the right side "chin" requires that you wrap you hand a little in order to get to the far right keys, I have large hands so its not a big problem for me, but if your fingers are shorter I could see it being awkward. The phone also includes a trackball as another navigation option. I have found myself using it a lot for one-handed web surfing, as it is more accurate than your finger on the screen. It was an excellent and thoughtful addition to the phone. There is no headphone jack, only a mini USB connector. My phone came with an adapter for the USB connector that allows you to use in any standard headphones, and also has a microphone for hands-free use. This ended up being better for me, because I can use my higher-end headphones for music and calls without switching plugs or carrying a seperate mp3 player. The call quality is great with the earpiece, speakerphone, or included headphones. I have never had any complaints about the quality of my voice; I have even hooked the phone up to my car stereo for another hands free option, and again I have had no complaints about quality. I am in a 2G only area, and having moved from 3G is slightly painful, but surfing is still acceptably fast, and the network has been extremely reliable. The T-Mobile unlimited G1 plan is very reasonable compared with the data plans from other carriers (I shopped around a lot before I settled with T-Mobile). Once you get used to navigating the menus and get a feel for how the phone works, I can guarantee you are two taps away from anything you want to do. It's a very well laid out operating system. The only real downfall for this device is the battery. It's a given that with advanced devices, you are going to have to trade between features and battery life. However, this is a phone that is dependent on data for most of its advanced features and a higher capacity/2nd battery should have been included with the phone. With no GPS enabled on a 2G only network, I can go from 7AM - 10PM on a single charge but I have to charge the phone nightly. I probably listen to music for 1-2 hours, and do some surfing, light texting, and maybe 20-30 minutes of calling? I think most people would consider me a light user, so I would honestly have expected to charge the phone every other day. WiFi will KILL the battery as well. When I'm home and I leave Wifi on I get about half the performance as above. Despite the battery I woldn't trade this phone for anything. I love the synchronization with Google services, it has made my life much easier.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not the prettiest brick of a phone, but a cool alternative to the baaPhone,
By gilbert (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: T-Mobile G1 Android Phone, Black (T-Mobile) (Wireless Phone)
I moved from a 10 month old blackberry curve 8320 to this, and paid handsomely for it. I am now at the end of my 2 week return period and I'm going to keep this (although I don't know WHAT to do with the blackberry...)
Let's get these out of the way: CONS -TERRIBLE battery life. I mean terrible. I have to disable damned near everything (3G, GPS, wifi, bluetooth, dim the screen) just to make it 8-10 hours. Unless you work a government work day, you'll need to carry a charger with you. And the charger for it is not foldable... although, they sell a nice car/AC charger for, like,, [...] bucks... -Battery sucks. -No UMA (!) Big problem, especially since my previous phone had this. Means I can no use a phone in my basement computer office. Worse, I've had to sign on to ... Skype.. and there very affordable but questionable quality services, just to have a phone on the rare occasions that I'm... you know... at my (by which I mean: bank's house) -Ungodly bad battery life. -Not a super pretty case. Big, unshapely, weirdly shaped. decalgirl.com can go a long way in making it more interesting looking though. Although the decal you pick one night you may have to embarrassingly defend as "not girlish". Get some skulls or something on it... -No camera flash. High resolution camera, but all your photos will be super blurry (but contain many, many, pixels). Again, previous phone had this. --Yay, look how many bits of blurry pictures we gave you! -Apple's (bastards, dicks, WHORES) patents required the removal of many features that the hardware supported (and that any dude could of thought up anyway, without so many BLASTED lawyers around, trying to stab them in the neck so as to steal their wallets and socks) but cannot be included for 'legal' reasons. This includes multi-touch and automatic screen re-orientation based upon accelerometer readings. UPDATE: screen re-orientation has been re-allowed based on the duh-wtf precedent. -You *must* swallow the Google kool-aid to even begin to use this. Seriously, you can't even turn on the phone the first time without having a gmail account. That will be a problem for some. For me, that's fine. Please Google... take my kidneys, I'm sure it's for the greater good... -Terrible on-phone calendar software. And I mean:... TERR-I-BLE! -Does not come with todo list software. Cause, you know, it's REALLY complex... -Weird connector (doesn't use standard mini usb), must have dongle to use headset or headphones. UPDATE: It DOES use the standard USB connector, they're just playing like they're making "Killing Shapes" or something... -No stereo bluetooth, not that I've ever needed that. Wow, lots of cons, eh? Why am I keeping it then, especially when previous phone is as good or better in many areas? PROS: -Android OS. I believe (hope...pray...UPDATE... pray, pray, wish, dream, accept) this is the future of smart phone OSes. Relatively open (you still need an unlocked phone to run custom versions of OS), and there is a lot of development activity going on. (UPDATE:... heh, heh.. ha... <sigh>) -Lots of good free apps and games. The ones that aren't free are cheap and easy to buy. You can even easily uninstall and get instant refunds for paid software you don't like. -Tight integration with Google apps. This is a con for some. For example, the contacts on your phone? They are the same as your gmail contacts. I don't mean they are a copy of your gmail contacts, I mean they ARE your gmail contacts. A change made either on the phone or web app reflects on the other, they are constantly syncing. -Browser is great. It's a 'real' browser. Unlike the Blackberry, pages load fast on 3G, 2G, wifi, or... er.. "edge". I guess that's 2G. Great font anti-aliasing and zooming makes it all the easier to use. Seriously, the fact that I can play on the Dragon Go server is impressive. -Screen is gorgeous. Can be very bright, but you'll be so paranoid about your battery you'll end up keeping it dim all the time. Good resolution. -Very nicely integrated Google maps. -Touch screen works very well, for the most part. I have trouble getting things on the edge to register sometimes, but overall it's very easy, even fun, to use. -I love hardware keyboards. I wish this one had better raised keys, but I appreciate that the numbers are different keys than the letters, common punctuation like commas and at symbols are accessible without alt keys. Backlit, and easy to type fast on once you get used to it. -The swivel screen/keyboard mechanism adds a lot of bulk, but it's a solid feeling mechanism. Like click open a switchblade or something. Easy to open and close with one hand. -Trackball is nice to have to supplement the touch screen. -Easy and cheap to expand memory via micro sd cards (even comes with 1gb card)... SUCK IT APPLE. In the FACE! Er... the [...]! Er... the [...].. FACE! Yeah, the [...] FACE! -You won't lose it in the giant pile of identical iPhones at work. Seriously. ("I have an iPhone! Oh yeah, well I have a [...]! I guess that makes me a more uniques flower than you!) -Don't have to use AT&T! -Don't have to use AT&T! -Don't have to use AT&T! If you are going to have to pay near full price anyway (like I did), try getting an unlocked "developer" phone instead. You can also do this if you don't have/want T-Mobile.
20 of 24 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
As a Professional Phone Reviewer - this Phone Rocks!,
By This phone absolutely rocks, and I can't imagine what the other reviewer was using, or expecting - in more than 5 years this is the first phone to make me actually switch - something that *none* of the iPhone, Verizon Glyde or Verizon Voyager (the leading touch screen competitors) could do.
The Google G1 phone completes what the iPhone lacks - it's what the iPhone *should* be, but isn't. The G1 has a qwerty keyboard in addition to the touch screen, has voice dialing, and copy and paste - none of which the iPhone has (shockingly, when, for example, copy and paste are such fundamental functions). And, unlike the Verizon contenders, the email function is awesome, *and* - and very important for me - applications actually continue to run in the background if you need them to - and you can effortlessly switch between applications (the Verizon phones exit you out of email, instant messengers, and other applications when you try to switch). In fact, for a version 1 device, I'm incredibly impressed with just how good it is. As I said, it's the only phone in 5 years which has been able to get me to permanently switch devices. |
Most Helpful First | Newest First
T-Mobile G1 Android Phone, Black (T-Mobile) by T-Mobile
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Help Desk
Tech TalksTech Talks are brief presentations on how technology and ministry intersect.
MyLutherNetView tips, tricks and tutorials for using MyLutherNet.
Teaching & LearningLearning about teaching, teaching about learning.
Posted by Ryan Torma on Thursday, April 04, 2013 2:29 PM
Watch the recording from the April 4, 2013 Tech Talk on Evernote
Tags: Tech Talks, , Ryan Torma


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An I-frame is a keyframe. Use an IDR I-frame instead of a normal I-frame. Most encoders have this by default.
A P-frame is a frame based upon what was in the previous frame
A B-frame is a frame that can look forward to upcoming frames and grab data from them.
HLS is HTTP Live Streaming from Apple for the iPhone.
1) Adaptive streaming helps with better quality regardless of the connection.
2) Keyframes every ten seconds helps with higher quality at lower bitrates. You have a "bit budget" use it wisely. The downside is live streaming has a longer wait time. A bit budget is how many bits per second you have and where you want those bits to go. Keyframes use more bits than other frames. Having too many keyframes can reduce the quality of the overall encode. This can be compensated with by using a higher bitrate.
3) Mark every keyframe (i-frame) as IDR (Instantaneous Decode/Refresh) frame. Problems with flash and iPhone if it isn't.
4) Know your keyframes. Flash likes keyframes every three to 10 seconds. Use Two Pass VBR in most cases. If your video bitrate is too high it may choke your server, network and player.
5) B-frames are in Context-Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding (CABAC) and needs to consideration when creating content for desktop players. B-frames should not be used for live broadcasts as they increase latency.
6) Using shorter I-frame intervals allows for a person to join a live feed faster and better error recovery. Longer I-frame intervals allow for better quality at the same bitrate. See also bit budget as mentioned above.
7) Make sure that your I-frame interval matches your HLS chunk size. You want to have your I-frame be the first frame in every segment.
8) Adobe flash downsamples to 44.1K.
9) Constant Bitrate vs. Variable Bitrate (2 pass encoding). Use CBR for HLS chunking so that all time based chunks are about the same size. Recommended chunking for HLS is from two to eight seconds although typical setups are at 10 seconds (for higher quality video).
10) People are more perceptive about audio than video quality. Have good audio when possible.
11) Try to preprocess your video using a Motion Compensated Temporal Filter. This removes subtle noise from the video and allows one to lower bitrates by 10-12% at the same quality. This is a great option for low bitrate delivery and saving bandwidth because bandwidth is rarely free.
12) Try to preprocess your video with a deblocking filter. This is standard for H.264 and H.263 video.
13) When you are streaming video try to put yourself in the viewer's chair. What is going to be the most important to them?
14) Networks will always be limited. What is the bandwidth of your audience? You can settle for acceptable mediocrity in most cases.
15) Knowing your player, container, codec and server will help you to deliver a higher quality service.
16) Audio is the most important part of delivering low bitrate content. 32Kbps is the absolute minimum you should use. 64bit is ideal. Going up to 196Kbps is overkill. Newer codecs such as Dolby Pulse and HE-AAC v2 should be used when possible. Always quality check the audio the way that the user will.
17) It is always a challenge to balance quality vs. speed (Baseline, Normal and HQ settings for H.264 for example). Entropy encoding or CABAC requires considerably more effort to encode and decode. CABAC is not supported in Constrained Baseline Profile (CBP), Baseline Profile (BP) or Extended Profile (XP). THose use CAVLC (Context Adaptive Variable Length Coding). Most mobile phones do not support CABAC and if they do work with CABAC their batteries will drain faster.
18) Always consider baseline profile even as devices evolve (reduces processor power).
19) Devices are good at upscaling content and is almost transparent. They typically use hardware upscaling which can result in lower bitrates and similar perceived quality. The tradeoff is a softer image.
20) Remember that when you are doing a live stream you have only one chance to get it right.
21) Use a digital source such as SDI or HDMI (sans HDCP) and fallback to analog component, composite or S-Video only if necessary. As mentioned above, preprocess your data to achieve the highest quality. Temporal frame rate, spatial scaling (resolution), contrast, edge enhancement, noise reduction and border cleanup should be used when appropriate.
22) Use Multicast whenever possible. Unicast is the fallback when Multicast is not possible.
23) Turn on Forward Error Correction (FEC).
This appears to be an industry standard and is not vendor specific.
24) Optimizing bitrate formula:
Source of this information:
Width of the video * Height of the video * Frames Per Second of the video == pixels per second
pixels per second / 1024 == Kilo pixels per second
Kilo pixels per second * (.067 ~ .150) = Kilo bits per second.
If you have a video with little motion you may want to try starting around the .067 multiplier. If you have a lot of high action you will want to start around the .15 multiplier.
As you can see, by reducing the frames per second you can reduce the optimal bitrate for your video. Reducing the width and heigh may also be necessary and most players can upsize the video with minimal issues.
Best practice dictates that you use an even divisor of the original frame rate for your output files. If you have a 60fps video then 30, 20 15 and 10 frames per second are all good options.
For example, we have a 640x480 video at 60fps
640 * 480 * 60fps == 18,432,000 pixels per second
18,432,000 / 1024 = 18,000 Kpps
18,000 * .067 == 1,206Kbps (Very little change from frame to frame)
18,000 * .1 == 1,800Kbps (Moderate amount of change from frame to frame)
18,000 * .15 == 2,700Kbps (Very high change from frame to frame)
That is a rather high bitrate. Let's halve the framerate
640 * 480 * 30fps == 9,216,000 pixels per second
9,216,000 / 1024 = 9,000 pixels per second
9,000 * .067 == 603Kbps
9,000 * .1 == 900Kbps
9,000 * .15 == 1,350Kbps
You can also halve the size of the video (to CIF in this case)
320 * 240 * 30fps = 2,304,000
2,304,000 / 1024 == 2,250
2,250 * .067 == 150Kbps
2,250 * .1 == 225Kbps
2,250 * .15 == 337Kbps


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Would your business survive a fire? Traditional fire suppression systems can damage sensitive electronic equipment and cause your important data to be permanently lost. Most chemical systems must be custom designed and assembled on-site. Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to protect your important IT infrastructure from a fire that didn't cost a fortune? What if your fire protection could scale with your infrastructure and even be moved to a new location with minimal effort and expense?
FireXOnline offers a wide variety of cost-effective solutions to simplify fire protection for servers. By putting the protection where it's needed - at the individual cabinets and racks - these fire protection systems are able to offer better protection for a lower price
For years, FireXOnline has been developing cost-effective fire protection solutions for unique situations including records rooms, historical buildings, waste disposal sites, and even the London subway. Now, companies are able to harness this experience to protect their servers and sensitive IT infrastructure from a fire. Get started by reviewing some of the fire protection systems available or contacting FireXOnline to discuss your options .


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Nov 21, 2012, 12:08 PM | |
If you ever get a chance to see his 3 videos <I bought them all> there is a lot to learn from building, trimming, mixing, from foamies. to slicks, to osiris.
http://store.higherplaneproductions....rew-jesky.html |
Nov 21, 2012, 12:13 PM | |
United States, MI, Houghton
Joined Jan 2005
5,673 Posts
Parts of this loom came from Northern Europe and are over 200 years old......it was an enjoyable quest putting it together and building all the accessories I needed as well as tying all 450 heddles (the red strings that are hanging from the wooden horizontal rods).....the warp beam is a solid oak log that's 11" in diameter and worked with a spoke shave by hand to near perfection by the original maker! History does indeed come alive!
Nov 21, 2012, 12:26 PM | ||||||||
and Thats what family is for inconvienencing each other LOL I'm lucky to have the family around me that I have My own and the Inlaws are all fantastic people and we are always there for each other I am truley Blessed this way for sure. Il peut aller, je ne sais pas il vous souhaite la bienvenue, 12:15 l'est Standard, pas moi peut-être David, moi aussi, j'espère que j'en ai fini avec mes choses à faire la liste lol aujourd'hui, vous aussi Happy Thanksgiving à tous les Quote:
Nov 21, 2012, 08:17 PM | |
Maiden of the Big Stik 60. Take off - Check, Trim - check, landing - uh oh!
The plane was setup very nice, flying nice, and engine running nice. The owner flew it about 6 minutes and handed it back to me to land. I did a couple of loops and started some rolls. After the third roll I came out of the roll but the plane kept rolling. I had nothing. The plane kept rolling and the engine stayed at the same speed all the way to a lawn dart. I think the power connection at the receiver came out. The servos are strong and could have held the control surfaces at the last position. Very sad. We worked for 22 hours x 2 people and the flight was 8 min. Oh yea, only mild pressure inverted for the CG. |
Nov 21, 2012, 08:40 PM | ||
North vancouver, B.C. Canada
Joined Apr 2008
19,018 Posts
I had to google comprende Oh ya it's bb not one b. My spealing is bad Lol |
Nov 22, 2012, 09:36 AM | |
Wayne bummer on the Maiden but on the bright side it only takes about 1/4 of the time to rebuild it compared to the actual build
Kerwin go back to bed Pie making is harder than kit building lol A very Happy and safe Thanksgiving to all of you and you families I am Thankful for everything I have, and especially Thankful for all of my Twistaholic family which keeps me laughing all year long. Let the pie EATING begin |
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CM Punk
Phillip Jack Brooks- Birthdate: 10/26/1978 (age 36)
- Height: 6'2"
- Weight: 218 Ib
He was titled in the WWE as "the longest-reigni...
-- As noted last week here on the website, WWE recently stopped negotiations with Chris Jericho on a new contract. Don't expect to see him return anytime soon as there are issues with Jericho doing outside projects. The basic gist of things is that WWE wanted to have control over what Chris did outside of WWE and the two sides couldn't come to an agreement. This is the same thing that happened with Kelly Kelly, which led to her leaving as well.
-- Ryback vs. CM Punk will be headlining this weekend's WWE RAW live events. Until John Cena is able to work live events again, they'll be going with the Ryback vs. CM Punk match.


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Tested by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute
Shake 'N Take Game
Product Review
Unleash your inner Alien Hunter in this game of speed and matching. Catch as many aliens as you can that match the shape on the dice, while the next player tries to get the perfect roll so they can grab the capture marker right out of your hand. Shake N Take helps develop hand-eye coordination, and of course social skills. Kids loved the game, although a few parents pointed out that the game could easily get aggressive if not under supervision. otb-games.com.
Ages: 8+
Players: 2-10
GHRI Tested: Board Games
- Angelina Ballerina Dance With Me Game
- Argh! Board Game
- Cartoon It! Game
- City Square Off Game
- Colorama Board Game
- Connect 4 Launchers
- Crocodile Hop Floor Game
- Double Duel Game
- Elephant's Trunk Game
- FauxCabulary Game
- Freeze Ball Game
- Jeepers Peepers Game
- Joe Name It Game
- Jolly Octopus Game
- Knock Your Blocks Off Game
- Lego Champion Game
- Make 'N Break Junior Game
- Monkey Dunk Game
- My Very First Educational Play Zoo Game
- Oh, Really! Game
- Palette Game
- PathWords Game
- Pickles to Penguins Game
- Pix Mix! Board Game
- POP For Letters Game
- Rapid Response Game
- Richard Scarrys Busytown Busy, Busy Airport Game
- Sci or Fi Files Game
- Scrabble Alphabet Scoop Game
- Scrambled States of America Deluxe Edition Game
- Shake 'N Take Game
- Skippity Board Game
- Smart Mouth Game
- Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game!
- Splish Splash! Game
- Tell-a-Story Game
- Tetris Link Board Game
- Toppletree Game
- Yackety Smack! Game
Special Offer


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Health Mart is providing on-the-go Rx services with the launch of the Your Pharmacy Online mobile application.
Retail News Breaks Archives
ORLANDO, Fla. – Health Mart is providing on-the-go Rx services with the launch of the Your Pharmacy Online mobile application.
The 3,100-store pharmacy franchise, part of McKesson Corp., spotlighted the new digital tool Monday at the Annual Convention and Trade Exposition of the National Community Pharmacists Association in Orlando, Fla.
With the mobile app, users can set up Refill Reminders, for which patients can manage the frequency of the refill alerts, and RxReady Notifications, for when prescriptions are ready to be picked up. They also can request refills by entering a prescription into the app, which prompts the refill request to be sent to the pharmacy by fax or directly into the pharmacy management system.
Other functions include the ability to view in-store promotions and events as well as get point-to-point directions to the nearest pharmacy location.
The mobile app is the latest component of McKesson's Your Pharmacy Online pharmacy website.
"The Your Pharmacy Online mobile app provides Health Mart pharmacies with digital communications capabilities, letting the pharmacy and patient interact in a new and convenient way," Eyad Farah, senior director of retail product development at McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical, said in a statement. "This cost-effective technology increases communication, which can lead to improved patient medication adherence and drive positive health outcomes while increasing prescription volume."
The Your Pharmacy Online app is available in the Apple App Store for iPhones and in the Google Play Store for Android phones.
According to McKesson, the app has been downloaded more than 2,000 times in the first month alone and has received strong reviews.
"The reception to the Your Pharmacy Online mobile app among Health Mart customers has already been tremendous, and we continue to see new user adoption each day," Farah stated.
"To remain competitive and stay connected with their patients, community pharmacies must have comprehensive digital capabilities to showcase their pharmacy's distinctive personality and services. The full Your Pharmacy Online offering provides online marketing solutions that contain the store's social media, monthly Health Mart specials, newsletters, and a Health Mart vitamin finder to help customers sell their front-end products,"


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Ask Neil Young a Question on Twitter Today
Use hashtag #AskNeil beginning at 3 p.m. EST on Wednesday, October 24
Rejoice, Neil Young devotees! The Crazy Horse leader will field questions on Twitter beginning at 3 p.m. EST on Wednesday, October 24, as part of the #LegendsOnTwitter campaign. To participate, tweet at Young's handle, @neilyoung, with the hashtag #AskNeil and voila! Instant banter with a living legend.
Young confirmed the news on Twitter on Sunday: "Ok. It's on. I'm doing a live #askneil Twitter chat w/you this Wed 24th at noon pt, & you can hear #psychpill early at NeilYoung.com."
That means that in addition to finding out Young's thoughts on Chromatics' cover of "Into the Black," fans can also stream his new album with Crazy Horse, Psychedelic Pill, the follow-up to this year's Americana. Pill will be available for free listening online until October 30, when it is released.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse continue their North American tour through December, and have released a new batch of videos, including "Walk Like a Giant," "Ramada Inn," and "Twisted Road". Most recently, the band appeared at Young's 26th annual Bridge School Benefit, sharing the bill last weekend with Guns N' Roses, Jack White, the Flaming Lips, and others. Axl Rose joined Young on stage to play a version of "Don't Let It Bring You Down," from Young's classic 1970 album After the Gold Rush. See the epic acoustic duet below.
Neil Young with Crazy Horse 2012 Tour Dates:
October 25 - Tuscaloosa, AL @ Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
October 26 - New Orleans, LA @ Voodoo Fest
November 10 - Seattle, WA @ Key Arena
November 11 - Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
November 13 - Calgary, BC @ Scotiabank Saddledome
November 14 - Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre
November 16 - Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
November 19 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
November 20 - Kitchener, ON @ Memorial Auditorium
November 23 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
November 24 - Ottawa, ON @ Scotiabank Place
November 26 - Boston, MA @ TD Garden
November 27 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
November 29 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
November 30 - Fairfax, VA @ Patriot Center
December 3 - Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
December 4 - Bridgeport, CT @ Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard


text: Bad Boy is a combined prostate and perineum stimulator. Its design is based on the famous Rude Boy, with increased girth plus added contours for intensified stimulation when removed or inserted. Produced using soft and flexible medical grade silicone, Bad Boy is comfortable to use and 100% body safe. Bad Boy includes and is powered by the award winning RO-80mm Bullet that can be removed for thorough cleaning. 9" long, 1 5/8" in diameter.


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Hello DC!
I had a quick thought when I was considering the effective range of the 9mm round when fired from a carbine type rifle. Most of the data I found seemed to agree that 150 yards was the average effective range of the round when fired from a 16 inch barrel. That is not to say that the round can't be deadly or accurate at 200 yards or greater. However luck seems to play more of a role than skill at greater ranges. However 150 yards just isn't enough range for yours truly and I like a challenge so I ask myself "how does one increase the range and accuracy of the 9mm"?
I thought of a few methods.
1. Do not use a FMJ round as you get 'free' velocity from a hard cast lead round thus increasing range. This works because the lead slips down the barrel easier than the copper and thus retains more velocity.
2. Use a slow burning powder to take advantage of the longer barrel. However the 9mm case limits this somewhat. Something like a +P+ but with slow powder.
3. Use as heavy as a round as possible to prevent the weather from moving your shot too much. (this can be debated, as I am uncertain)
Now we come to the meat of the question....aerodynamics.
3. I know that in rifle rounds spitzer style bullets travel farther because of their aerodynamically sharper profile. So I thought I'd look around for 9mm boat-tail spitzer bullets. I didn't find much. Does anyone know if a 9mm spitzer bullet would even work in a carbine?
Are they produced anywhere? If not, can they be made?
Would a some enterprising hand loader like to try an all lead, slow powder burning spitzer 9mm round for the greater good of carbine shooters everywhere?


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With high praise . . .
By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN
VICTORIA -- It's been called the Cathedral of the Plains for more than a hundred years, although it is not officially a cathedral.
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By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN
VICTORIA -- It's been called the Cathedral of the Plains for more than a hundred years, although it is not officially a cathedral.
But St. Fidelis Catholic Church now is an official basilica. And parishioners think that distinction will draw even more people to their small community of 1,200.
Vatican City approved the application earlier this year, and St. Fidelis officially will be dedicated Saturday as a minor basilica. While there are hundreds of minor basilicas worldwide, there are less than 100 in the United States, with St. Fidelis being No. 78.
It will mark the third major event for the parish in three years. St. Fidelis celebrated its centennial celebration in 2011, three years after being named one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas.
Each year, between 20,000 and 25,000 visitors tour the majestic 24,000 square-foot structure with 141-foot twin steeples that pierce the sky and induces plenty of "oohs" and "ahs" once they step inside.
"It's rare if you're in here without a visitor," said parishioner Ivan Werner, who serves as one of the tour guides of the church.
Werner and other longtime parishioners who give tours point out the 14 massive columns that reportedly weigh 8,500 pounds each, the 44 stained glass windows valued at $1 million, the ornate hand-carved wooden Stations of the Cross from Austria, the marble floor of the sanctuary and the striking "high altar" that covers the front wall of the church.
Werner starts several of his comments to tourists with "Legend has it ..." or "The story goes ..."
There indeed are a lot of legends -- and plenty of stories -- surrounding the building of the church and the 100 years following. Numerous statues, inside and out, adorn pedestals through the church.
An original oil painting from Austria in the center of the high altar in the front of the church -- which sets off the Romanesque features the saint for whom the church was named, Fidelis of Sigmaringen, a German-born Capuchin priest martyred in Switzerland in 1622. There also is a statue of St. Fidelis outside.
"It's those type of architecture and art, as well as the extraordinary architecture and beauty of the building that is especially significant," said Edward Weisenburger, bishop of the Diocese of Salina, which includes Victoria. "But what is equally important, is the church has a history of drawing people, beyond its own parish membership, to contemplate the glory of God.
"For the community of Victoria, I think it speaks to the profound faith of their ancestors who undertook the task of building it with great fervor," Weisenburger said. "But I think it also speaks to the faith of those who have lovingly maintained the church to this day.
"It is a great honor for the community of Victoria," he added, "for the good Catholic people of Ellis County and for the Diocese of Salina."
The idea for naming St. Fidelis a basilica was the brainchild of Father Jeff Ernst, pastor of St. Fidelis from August 2011 to August 2013.
"It occurred to me one day, walking through the front doors, 'This should be a basilica,' " Ernst said. "It's inspired a lot of people; (it) still inspires me when I go in there."
Ernst started the application process in February of 2013 and completed it last summer.
Ernst was transferred to Lawrence in August but continued helping from a distance, and the final application was sent to Vatican City in September. Ernst said he had been told it could take up to three years to hear whether or not their request had been granted. Ernst had been told by representatives at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Canton, Ohio -- the most recently named minor basilica -- to expect a three-year wait.
So he was caught off guard when he got an email from Weisenburger in March, just six months after submitting their application.
"I was surprised, " Ernst said of the news, "but pleased. I think this will become even more of a pilgrimage for people to visit."
"During the two years I was at St. Fidelis, I was impressed by people who would stop in central Kansas and look at that site," Ernst continued. "There were people from China and Germany and other countries as well. It's a testimony to the faith of the people of Victoria."
Ernst plans to return to Victoria for Saturday's dedication, and parishioners are hoping to fill the church, which holds approximately 1,000 people, for the dedication ceremony.
The 10:30 a.m. Mass, open to the public, will be followed with a noon lunch in Victoria Elementary School.
The old fashioned German wedding meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, chicken and noodles is being catered by Jeanette Pfannenstiel and Helen Werth from Munjor. There are no tickets required for the meal, but there will be a basket available for freewill offerings.
Cora Schulte, another St. Fidelis tour guide and lifetime member of the parish, said the parishioners are honored to have their church designated as a minor basilica.
"This is a big deal, even bigger than our centennial, I think," Schulte said. "This is national recognition."
Werner agreed.
"This has been a very important place in our lives," said Werner, who married a Victoria woman, Verda Goetz, in St. Fidelis in 1960, and all three of their children were baptized there. "I'm looking forward to (Saturday)."


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Read more about the latest Mississippi Power efforts to build and improve the communities where we live and serve.
Learn MoreFind the latest updates on the Kemper County energy facility and other company environmental-related projects.
Learn MoreWe are diversifying our fuel portfolio by adding Mississippi lignite to our current mix of natural gas and coal.
Learn MoreRead more about the latest Mississippi Power efforts to build and improve the communities where we live and serve.
Learn MoreJoin us and be a part of the team at one of the electric utility industry's leaders.
Learn MoreKemper County energy facility will be a state-of-the-art electric power plant that converts coal to gas and reduces emissions.
Learn MoreWe're hiring Mississippi workers and Mississippi companies. It's the right investment and the best choice.
Learn MoreWe're leading the state in energy development by using a fuel source located literally beneath our feet, Mississippi Lignite.
Learn MoreTake a look at how we continue to provide our customers with reliable, affordable and environmentally friendly electricity.
Find Out MoreLearn about Mississippi lignite and how we are diversifying our fuel portfolio by adding it to our current mix of natural gas and coal.
Find Out MoreEverything you need to know about how TRIG technology works and why Kemper County energy facility is implementing it.
Find Out MorePreserving our environment through reduced emissions, carbon capture, and being water conscientious.
Find Out MoreHow the Kemper County energy facility is already creating thousands of jobs.
Find Out More


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Pronoun Worksheets 269 in Dmmb Worksheets. This images was Posted by on October 26, 2012.
You can get Pronoun Worksheets 269 picture and make this for your education in computer, tablet, and smartphone device for free.
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Our ice cream is made fresh in our stores each and every day. We have over 150 ice cream flavors and each location is permitted to make up to 24 per day. The only required flavors are Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla. If you contact you local store directly, they can coordinate with you to make sure they have your favorite flavor on your next visit. They can also put you on a list and contact you when they have made your favorite flavor.
Cake and Sugar Cones: Single Scoop: 5oz. Double Scoop: 9oz. Triple Scoop: 12oz. Waffle Cones: Single scoop: 9oz. Double scoop: 14oz Triple Scoop: 17.5 oz. Sundaes: (2) 3 oz. scoops Banana Splits: (3) 3 oz. scoops
We make all of our products fresh in our stores each and every day. We have two ice cream machines which we make all of the products. The machines are sterilized before we start and rinsed between batches. No peanuts are put through the machine. If peanut butter is used, the machines are rinsed and sanitized. Please note, there are A LOT of peanuts in our stores. We can not give a 100% guarantee that there will be no cross contamination. Please make sure your scooper is aware of any allergy.
Cakes: 8" round (serves 12-16) 1/4 sheet (serves 20-24) Pies: 9" Pie (serves 6-8 people)
Sweet Rewards is Bruster's loyalty program offered to our valued customers. Through this program you will receive monthly offers and special announcements. It is great for all of our Bruster's VIP's!
What would you like to tell us?
Protecting your privacy.
We understand that your personal privacy is one of your biggest concerns and we are committed to protecting it. At Bruster's, it is our policy not to distribute, sell, rent or in any way make available, your name, email address or any other personal information to any third party.
Copyright © Bruster's Ice Cream, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy


text:
Managing Talent in a Turbulent Economy: Part ThreeClearing the hurdles to recovery |
The ongoing economic downturn has added to the woes of human resources executives and top leaders who continue to struggle with talent-related issues.
The third in a series of a five-part longitudinal study, this report, "Managing Talent in a Turbulent Economy: Clearing the Hurdles to Recovery," tracks the way business leaders are shifting their talent priorities and strategies to meet the challenges of today's economy and how they plan to clear the hurdles to economic recovery.
Some key findings from this survey include:
- For the first time in this longitudinal study, the number of executives who said the worst is yet to come declined – and significantly, from 32 percent in March to 18 percent in May. At the same time, the group who believes the worst is behind us doubled to 16 percent from 8 percent in March and 6 percent in January.
- Cutting costs remains the top strategic priority, with 56 percent of executives ranking cutting and managing costs as their top strategic issue.
- When asked to rank their current talent priorities, 42 percent of the executives in May put reducing employee headcount at the top of the list – slightly higher than in both March (39 percent) and January (38 percent).
- Nearly half of executives and talent managers (47 percent) say their companies plan to recruit more critical talent to manage the current economic environment – a significant jump since March when the figure was 34 percent.
This report offers insights on talent retention issues and challenges, including the plans executives are making to retain key employees and the potential barriers they see to keeping their core workforces intact.
Once the recovery begins to take hold, business executives and talent leaders can expect a "resume tsunami" as unemployment declines and voluntary turnover rises. While talent managers appear to be updating retention plans and devising retention strategies in anticipation of a turnaround, Deloitte believes the depth and quality of these moves will separate the talent winners from the talent losers when the economy improves.
View the full report below.
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