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Recommended by Max E. Stachura
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The aim of this study was to investigate whether video consultations in the home can support a viable alternative to visits to the hospital outpatient clinic for patients with diabetic foot ulcers. And furthermore whether patients, relatives, visiting nurses, and experts at the hospital will experience satisfaction and increased confidence with this new course of treatment. Participatory design methods were applied as well as field observations, semistructured interviews, focus groups, and qualitative analysis of transcriptions of telemedical consultations conducted during a pilot test. This study shows that it is possible for experts at the hospital to conduct clinical examinations and decision making at a distance, in close cooperation with the visiting nurse and the patient. The visiting nurse experienced increased confidence with the treatment of the foot ulcer and characterized the consultations as a learning situation. All patients expressed satisfaction and felt confidence with this new way of working.
late complications hereof, and diabetic foot ulcers in particular present
increasing challenges in terms of amputations, sick leaves, reduced functioning,
and escalating financial costs [
studies have documented coherence between expert assessments of ulcers based on
digital images versus live assessment [
from other studies demonstrate that expert-guided treatment makes nurses use
more advanced wound care remedies with better healing outcomes as a result [
Furthermore, Dansky and Bowles found a significant learning curve for nurses
and expect that the nurses will become increasingly comfortable and efficient
as the technology becomes pervasive [
Most of these studies have utilized a static installation in the patient's home or a store-and-forward solution for enabling the visiting nurse to receive advice from experts. Thus, the telemedical solutions have either connected the patient with the visiting nurse, or the visiting nurse with the expert. To a large extent, the treatment can be perceived as collaboration between these three stakeholders (the patient, the visiting nurse, and the expert). For this reason, enabling the three partners to be simultaneously engaged in the communication taking place may increase the extent to which the expert knowledge can be utilized directly in the treatment. Furthermore, a direct dialog between people with different perspectives may enable a more holistic view and thereby result in a more tailored treatment.
To pursue this goal, we investigated the technological possibilities for supporting a new organization of the treatment where the expert, the visiting nurse, and the patient in collaboration could discuss the situation and plan the treatment.
In this article, we present the results of a pilot test, the aim of which was to investigate the possibility of having the expert participating in the home consultations by the use of technology and in cooperation with the visiting nurse and the patient. In this article, we define "experts" as either a nurse or a doctor specialized in treatment of diabetic foot ulcers in our study located at Aarhus Hospital, Denmark. The visiting nurses referred to in this article are associated with local community centers in the residential area of the respective patients and they were nonexperts in diabetic foot ulcers.
We explore the subjective satisfaction of patients and healthcare professionals to test the hypothesis that a telemedical consultation can be a viable alternative to a visit to the outpatient clinic. In order for a telemedical consultation to be characterized as a viable alternative to a visit to the outpatient clinic, all participants must experience the telemedical treatment as satisfactory in terms of (1) the clinicians being provided with sufficient clinical information for clinical assessments and decisions to be made accurately, (2) the visiting nurses feeling supported and secured during the sessions, and (3) the patient being satisfied with the consultations. In the following, the findings related to these three issues are presented.
During a
2-year process of participatory design, initial problems and potential
solutions in the field of treatment of diabetic foot ulcers were investigated.
Participatory design (PD) is a research approach, derived from action-based research
that is applied to the development of technological and organizational
solutions to real-world problems [
Five patients who were all mentally well functioning and following a course of treatment in the outpatient clinic were selected for inclusion by the experts—the same hospital clinicians who had participated in the PD process (1 doctor and 3 nurses). After the patients gave informed consent (including permission to film the video consultations), we contacted the management of the patient's local center to inform about the study and to obtain permission to involve the patient's visiting nurse. After that, we informed the visiting nurse in more detail and a meeting was set up for demonstration of the technology. The project was approved by the Regional Ethics Committee.
The patients were offered 3 consecutive video consultations to substitute 3 visits to the outpatient clinic all conducted by the same team of clinicians. A telemedical course of treatment was initiated by an intensive consultation in the outpatient clinic, where the experts created the patient file in the online ulcer record and uploaded high-resolution images of the ulcer as well as obtaining measurements such as peripheral blood pressure, blood sugar. Furthermore, the first of the three telemedical consultations was prescheduled by the researchers with both the visiting nurse, the patient and the hospital experts.
telemedical setup consisted of UMTS video telephones (Motorola A920) and a
custom designed online ulcer record. Prior to the consultations, the visiting
nurse used the video phone to take pictures of the ulcer and transmit them to
the ulcer record. As the video phones currently available on the market may not
yet provide a sufficient image quality, the images from the phone were
supplemented with images from a standard digital camera (Nikon CoolPix5400).
These high-resolution images were uploaded to the ulcer record upon return to
the office and therefore not available during the online consultations, but
they were used as a safety precaution. (The experts were able to view those
pictures later in cases of uncertainty. No changes were made to the assessment
or the treatment on the background of these images, however.) At the agreed
time of consultation, the visiting nurse made a video call from the home to the
doctor and to an expert nurse at the hospital. The experts used (1) the still images and the video
stream from the video phones, (2) images from the previous consultation, and (3) the cooperation of the visiting nurse in order to evaluate the ulcer and to
prescribe further treatment. After the consultation, the experts wrote their
summary of the consultation in the online web-based record.
Each consultation was video filmed by the researchers both in the patient's home and at the hospital and transcribed afterwards. After completion of the telemedical experiments, the researchers conducted semistructured interviews of one-hour duration with each of the 5 visiting nurses at their local center and with the patients in their homes (which also involved a relative in 3 out of the 5 cases). Furthermore, we conducted a focus group interview with the 3 expert nurses to gain a guided discussion (all expert nurses had been informally interviewed individually after each consultation) and one individual semistructured interview with the doctor. As a final measure to circumvent amicable bias due to the personal presence of the researchers in the interviews, all participants were asked to indicate their satisfaction with every consultation in a questionnaire.
The total data material consisted of transcripts of field studies, workshops, experiments, interviews, and video consultations as well as the questionnaires and a specification of the electronic ulcer record. The material was analyzed systematically where data were categorized in themes arising during the analysis, both concerning the participants' satisfaction, as described in this article as well as themes described in other articles elsewhere.
The 15 consultations
were performed as planned. Using UMTS for telemedicine was a challenge. Various
technical difficulties arose as described in another article [
The overall results from the study demonstrate that the alternate course of treatment proved satisfactory from the viewpoint of all 3 stakeholders. The experts were both satisfied with the new course of treatment and they felt secure in being responsible for the treatment performed on a distance. The visiting nurses were satisfied and felt supported in carrying out the treatment. The patients (and relatives) felt secure and characterized the treatment as an improvement because they were able to remain at home.
After the consultations, the experts expressed satisfaction with the clinical basis for their decision making. Both the information provided in the form of pictures and communication with the patient and the cooperation with the visiting nurse constituted important basis for the experts' decision making. "The presence of the visiting nurse in the patient's home compensates in full for not having the patient in front of you," the doctor said in the interview.
By cooperating with the visiting nurse and being precise when asking questions, the experts were able to gather the information they would normally observe themselves, including the color, temperature, and smell of the foot ulcer. The high-resolution images from the digital camera were "even better than the human eye as they compared in quality to using a magnifying glass," explained the doctor in the interview. However, as these pictures were uploaded following each consultation, the experts had only access to high-resolution images from the previous consultations at the time of the consultation. For this reason, the less optimal images from the video phones provided the main basis for the decisions, and if these images were not optimal in terms of, for example, lightning or sharpness, the visiting nurse observations were particularly useful. The possibility of comparing pictures of an ulcer from one visit to the next also supported the assessment of healing progress.
An important decision to make for the experts was how much responsibility could be delegated to the visiting nurse. The expert nurses had the possibility to get a feeling of the visiting nurses skills and if extra help was needed in carrying out the prescribed treatment. The expert nurse noted that she could value the visiting nurses level of competences just by looking at the way she handled the instruments. These observations lead the expert nurse towards what kind of instruction the visiting nurses needed or what she was able to ask from her. The doctor also assessed the competence of the visiting nurse, and described it in this way: "I'm used to asking 3 questions and then I can almost grade them (the visiting nurses)."
In the beginning of the pilot test, the roles of the participants in the telemedical consultations were not defined prior to each consultation. During the pilot tests, a firmer structure for the consultation gradually evolved. For instance, the experts became more aware of the fact that they had to combine their own views with that of the visiting nurse, and that the consultations were most efficient if one person took the lead. For these reasons, the experts made it a practice to hold a preconsultation to coordinate their impression before hearing the visiting nurse. They were conscious, however, not to put forward their impression at the actual consultation until they had heard what the visiting nurse had to say in order to be able to combine their own impression from the images with the subjective opinion of the visiting nurse. Furthermore, the ongoing dialog—once connected—brings forth issues that have an impact on the decisions, for instance, aspects of the patient's daily living. The direct dialog with the visiting nurse provides the expert with a more detailed knowledge about the patient and the capabilities of the patient's surroundings (e.g., the service levels at the local center). These issues would have been more difficult to pursue in a hospital setting, where the knowledge of the visiting nurse is absent. Consequently, in terms of the expert's basis for decisions, the video consultation provided a feasible alternative to a visit in the outpatient clinic; and in some cases, the decision basis may even be more holistic.
The visiting nurses
were all positive towards the video consultations, which is in line with
previous studies (see, e.g., [
In this way, the
dialog facilitates a decision process based on mutual understanding rather than
the expert giving direct instructions. This ensures that the visiting nurse can
relate to the treatment plan, which promotes satisfaction with the cooperation.
In the interview, this particular visiting nurse was asked, if she at times
took offence by receiving instructions on her professional field. She answered: "No, I think there has been room for me to express my opinions
The visiting nurses
also agreed that the treatment procedures would improve when working in a team
with the experts. As one nurse explained: "When I work on my own, I sometimes
doubt if the treatment is sufficient, or if a doctor should see the ulcer. To
be on the safe side I sometimes send the patient to the hospital, but when the
patient returns, it is still the same treatment that was prescribed in the
first place. This means that I misjudged the situation—that would not happen with this set-up." The
visiting nurse became the central coordinating actor combining the two roles as
the "patient's advocate" and the expert's "prolonged arm." One nurse quoted: "With the doctor I
find out which treatment is necessary, and with the patient I find out if that
is what we need.
The patients expressed
that being able to stay at home during treatment was a great advantage. In consistency
with other studies [
The video consultation
focused not just on the ulcer, but included the patient as well. When the
consultation is performed in the patient's home, patients are more
self-confident and more apt to ask about personal issues, such as sleeping
problems, pain, medication [
The online dialog was accepted by the patients: "It is easier to make contact, when there is a picture, in which you can see the person instead of only a phone. I felt safe. I think the doctor cared for me as a person, he showed interest in me." The patients and relatives felt both satisfied and secured by being treated at a distance.
In a few situations, the patients were surprised about how serious problems were taken. For instance, during one consultation a patient had signed up for a Midsummer Eve arrangement, but the experts found it necessary to rest the foot as much as possible and suggested a wheel chair. In the interview, the patient said that if he had not talked to the expert, "I would just have walked to the party." A similar statement was given by the visiting nurse in the interview: "I would not have reacted towards the newly arisen blister and, furthermore, I would have treated the blister in a very different way than the one prescribed by the expert nurse."
Our study indicates that treatment of diabetic ulcers in the home can be effectively supported by means of telemedicine. From the point of view of all three stakeholders (patient, visiting nurse, and expert), the simultaneous dialog facilitates satisfactory means for handling the cooperation and treatment.
To the experts, the communication with the patient in his own home environment brings to light personal issues enabling a better and more individual treatment. This may also have preventive effects as demonstrated in the case of the person attending the Midsummer Eve party. Contrasting indirect telemedical solutions, where digital images are obtained and forwarded to the expert by email (store-and-forward), our setup allows the participants to informally discuss, reflect upon, and solve discrepancies immediately in order for the treatment decision to be initiated straight away. Furthermore, the mobile setup makes it unnecessary to install and maintain equipment in the patient's home.
While the studies by,
for instance, Bowles and Dansky [
As reported by others [
In our study, the same team of clinicians conducted all 3 consultations with each patient, especially the patients experienced this to be a major advantage. This will not always be possible in a large-scale implementation. Thus, an important question to be investigated in future studies is the challenge of enabling experts to follow up on the basis of other persons' descriptions and examinations.
It is also of vital importance that the initial visit to the outpatient clinic prior to the telemedical course of treatment should serve to get to know the patient in terms of the patient's ability to participate in a course of treatment built on video consultations, which involves a thorough examination of the patient including measures such as peripheral blood pressure. Thereby, the patient obtains high quality and continuity in the treatment.
Both expert nurses and visiting nurses gained new roles in the telemedical setup. From the beginning of the study, the expert nurses were worried about not having the patient face to face and not having "the finger in the ulcer," whereas the expert doctor tended to be more open to the concept, possibly because doctors are more used to delegating work tasks to others. The final focus group interview after the pilot test revealed that also the expert nurses were now confident with the new role as a consultant working through another nurse.
Communication through video phones puts constraints to the natural flow of the conversation in terms of delays and difficulties to interpret nonverbal cues and expressions. For this reason, all participants had to be conscious about their expressions and we recommend attention and training in this way of communication before implementing similar telemedical services.
The visiting nurse was invited into the experts' reflections, which meant that her role went from carrying out the prescribed treatment on her own and without formal influence to be a fully fledged member of a collaborating team. Working through guidance from the experts, the visiting nurses became more engaged, secure, and responsible in carrying out the treatment. The competences and skills of the visiting nurse are likely to increase from each consultation, resulting in increased job satisfaction and qualifications.
In all consultations performed during our pilot test, the three criteria for the consultation to be characterized as a viable alternative to a visit in the outpatient clinic were met. The experts expressed satisfaction with their basis for decisions, the visiting nurses felt supported, and the patients experienced the new way of receiving treatment as an advantage. Furthermore, the simultaneous communication between expert, visiting nurse, and patient enabled the clinicians to provide a more holistic and tailor-made treatment, indicating that the telemedical consultations are a viable way of performing the treatment.
The authors would like to thank ISIS Katrinebjerg, Systematic Software Engineering, the Family Hede Nielsen Foundation, and the Danish National Diabetes Foundation for financial support. Also, the project would not have been possible without the whole-hearted effort of patients, staff at Aarhus Hospital, Department of Endocrinology, visiting nurses, and all other participants in the project group.
A video consultation from the pilot test. (a) The doctor and expert nurse at the hospital. (b) The visiting nurse and the patient at the home. The pictures originate from an article in a Danish newspaper (Morgenavisen JyllandsPosten, 10th May 2005) describing the project and the patient in picture on the right has given permission to its publication.


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Sportive Season Guide
Sportive Season Guide!
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Features include:
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Published: April 2013
Pages: 151
Dimensions: 210mm x 297mm

subset: commoncrawl


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VIDEO: Welsh daredevil Alex Thomson performs 'The Mast Walk' stunt on high speed yacht
Posted: March 26, 2014|
Like a stunt from the latest Bond movie, Welsh stuntman Alex Thomson, adorned in a designer suit and sunglasses, sprints up the 30-meter mast of a boat as it cuts through the water at a 60-degree angle.
The Bangor-born sailor jumps over ropes and rigging on the way to the mast's peak. There, he pauses, coolly removes his sunglasses, pops them in his top pocket and dives into the ocean.
"It's the most stupid thing I've ever done. It wasn't safe at all," said 39-year-old Thomson.
"Only looking back do I really appreciate how dangerous it actually was."
With just two days of preparation the stunt was carried out without a harness off the beautiful Spanish coast near Cádiz.
"Obviously falling from that height from the mast onto the deck isn't advisable," he quips. "The ramifications wouldn't have been great."
Luckily on the day itself, with perfect conditions, the stunt went off without a hitch.
Having safely returned to dry land after the stunt, Thomson commented, "We have been planning this trick for a very long time. There were lots of things that could have gone terribly wrong: The wind could have pulled me off the mast and catapulted me onto the deck; I could have hit the water at the wrong angle or surfaced too quickly. These were all factors we needed to consider far in advance. Luckily (and despite my fear of heights), we succeeded in pulling it off."


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Dot Mac / Schmot Mac. For those of use who are Windows users, I really do not think this is any big deal. The far more better option to me seems to be a free ISP which is Exchange outlook-based such as Mail2Web.Com. At no cost, you get e-mail, contacts, and calendar all directly pushed to your device. It is awesome (and no, I am not saying this on behalf of Mail2Web, I just think it is awesome.....
.Mac: By Any Other Name Would Sync More Sweetly?
Ah, .Mac, the poor abandoned stepchild in Apple's 360 degrees of spherical integration. It's the online service Google, Yahoo, and even Microsoft Live kick sand at on the playground.
Sure, Back-to-my-Mac can rock, and syncing can be oh-so-sweet, but c'mon, what have you done for us lately?
Could be a lot, if rumors pan out. We've already brought you word on possible iPhone 2.0 .Mac "push" mail, and even reports of a total revamp. Now it seems the revamp may be more of a full on renovation, including a brand spanking new name!
[Dmitry Chestnykh, the CEO at Coding Robots] went through the iCal Localizable.strings file in the recently released 10.5.3 update and found a number of changes. In particular, he found a lot of evidence that the .Mac brand name is going to be replaced. Apple is apparently using a placeholder %@ which will be dynamically replaced by the new name, whatever that is, when it's released.
If Apple wants to keep charging $100 a year, then changes, and big ones, are a very necessary way to justify it. Here's for something game-changing in the online "cloud" services realm. What do you think?
Have something to say about this story? Leave a comment! Need help with something else? Ask in our forums!
Reader comments
.Mac: By Any Other Name Would Sync More Sweetly?
I use Exchange for work email, contacts, and calendar sync (currently only email via IMAP on the iPhone), and .Mac to keep my laptop and desktop in sync, and for Back-to-my-Mac functionality.
I help admin the Exchange server on occasion, and while it sometimes seems nifty from the outside, the thing is a kludgy nightmare, and I'm hoping IMAP IDLE and CALDav do some damage to it eventually.
Nothing beats working on my laptop, browsing, saving files to iDisk, updating contacts, etc. and getting home and having everything, including my web history "just there" on my desktop. What .Mac does is amazing, and if Apple can deliver something just as user friendly for consumers as .Mac with the power of ActiveSync, it will both welcome and game changing.
What I dont comprehend is how youre not even a good deal more popular than you may be now. Youre just so intelligent. You know so drastically about this subject, produced me consider it from so numerous diverse angles. Its like men and women arent interested unless it has some factor to accomplish with Lady Gaga! Your stuffs excellent. Continue to hold it up!


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You know a good car when, within the first 100m of driving it, you smile and let out a chuckle. Then I chuckled at myself chuckling and suddenly I was in an infinity loop of chuckling that could only be stopped by opening a rift in the space-time continuum. Fortunately the HSV GTS has all the power you need to do that!
So, before I start chuckling again I thought I'd begin this review with what I don't like about the GTS, because once that's out of the way with I can explain why it's made it onto my favourite drives list. And it's easy to do: I very much dislike the handbrake lever (I had the same issue with the SV6), and I slightly dislike the steering wheel (it's nowhere near as nice as FPV's offering) and the gear change action (which is not as sharp as it should be).
Minor things really, because just about everything else about the GTS is fabulous. Take a look around the outside: I love the slotted brake rotors that are the size of helicopter landing pads. Not only do they look the part behind the 20-inch deep dish alloys, they are fade-resistant and feel like you're suddenly driving through a patch of glue.
I also like the styling — flared arches, spotlights, E-shaped cooling vents behind the front wheels, a tasteful spoiler blocking the view of the lethargic vehicle you've just overtaken, and the tomato soup-colour of our test car. Comforting.
On the inside it's as good. I tested it out on some people with strong environmental leanings (my partner [Jen] and a friend I mentioned in my review of the Maxima Spec R). According to Jen it's the nicest car I've had (and she likes the colour), and if we had 90 grand to spend she'd be happy to own one. According to our friend, she can 'see the difference between her car and this one.' Her car being a 1990 Toyota Corona.
So, a big yes from the petrolhead faction (me), and a slightly less enthusiastic but still significant yes from the tree-lovers. But that's not reason enough (yet) for you to buy it, so let me explain more.
Press the clutch, turn the key and the engine explodes into life like a tiger on P. Slot it into first, give it some revs, feed in the clutch, then bury the throttle. There's a physical bombardment of your senses. Acceleration from the six-litre LS2 Generation 4 V8 is brutal as I wrap the rev counter around to 6500 before snatching second, and it's repeated again, sounding like a WWF wrestler gargling a pint of lava. If you could take it to the Autobahn, you could do this another four times and you'd hit 260+kph. 550Nm and 307kW surge through limited slip differential to the 275/30R20 rear wheels, being reined in by traction control which beeps in alarm as it fights against the laws of physics. I could do this all day, and I'd have extremely strong neck muscles. HSV claim a 4.96-second 0-100 time, but I (and it seems other reviewers) have not been able to get anywhere close to this, all of us posting mid 5 second times (we tried twice and recorded 5.57s on cold tyres, with the rear end squirming all over the place into third gear — it would have been a good 0.2-0.3 quicker had the road had more grip or we had reduced the pressure in the tyres).
Turn the traction control off and the GTS has enough wheelspinning power to set off every smoke detector in the street. This surfeit of grunt over grip would be useless if the GTS didn't handle, but it does and it's so controllable. A button on the dash marked 'Track' firms up the suspension using Magnetic Ride Control (MRC). MRC activates continuously variable damping using front and rear sensors that monitor each damper piston 100 times a second, reducing body roll.
Naturally, it would be ridiculous of HSV to give you all this power and not have the safety to match. There are dual stage airbags, side airbags and curtain airbags, plus the usual safety acronyms: Electronic Stability Control, Anti-lock Braking System, Traction Control System, Electronic Brake Assist, Electronic Brake force Distribution, and Active Head Restraints. The GTS monitors the car 30 times a second to detect situations where the car's prodigious capability might be exceeded by a total nutcase.
On the interior a large screen functions as a reversing display showing whether there's anything being picked up by the sensors, with areas around the edge of the screen displaying dual climate control settings and stereo presets. The trip computer displays as part of the dials. No rev limit is visible on the rev counter, but it stops at 6500.
If you've got $91,990 to spend there is a plethora of options from other manufacturers. But you're going to buy the GTS because a little bit of you wants to know what it feels like to be a V8 Supercar driver. It's HSV's 301 modifications that turn a standard V8 Commodore into the closest you'll get to Skaife's office. It's a travelling neck muscle exerciser. It makes me smile, and that's the important thing.
Price: from $91,990 (manual), $92,990 (auto)
What we like:
- Noise
- Interior
- Styling
- Power
- Handling
- 'Chuckle factor'
What we don't like:
- Handbrake lever
- Spongy gearshift
- Steering wheel could be nicer
- Buy shares in a petrol company
Words Darren Cottingham, photos Quinn Hamill


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Lady Raiders stopped short of regionals
Southern Vance jumped out to a 22-5 lead Friday after one quarter at East Bladen and led 34-21 at halftime.
But the Lady Raiders couldn't finish off the home team and were outscored 26-6 in the third quarter and ultimately fell 65-53, one win short of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 2-A quarterfinals.
"We just couldn't make enough stops, enough baskets to get back," said Southern head coach Amy Simpson.
No. 5 Southern finished the season at 22-3 overall. No. 4 East Bladen (28-1) advanced to meet the winner of top-seeded and unbeaten Reidsville against No. 8 Wilson Beddingfield (19-3).
Simpson said East Bladen picked up the tempo in the second half, took advantage of some close calls and were energized by a good home crowd in Elizabethtown.
"The kids didn't give up on the game," said Simpson. "We just had moments where we didn't score as quickly as we've been known to."
Southern point guard Breona Jones has been known to fill the stat sheet for the last four seasons. The senior closed her career with a 17-point performance, adding five rebounds and five steals.
Jones is one of six seniors on the Raiders squad along with Kechae Parker and Rashyda Burwell, who scored 10 and eight points respectively Friday.
It was the first 2-A defeat of the season for Southern, which lost twice to Northern Nash of 3-A.
"I think the girls should be proud and not hang their heads," said Simpson. "It wasn't a storybook ending, but the kids worked hard all year long."


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|51 posts found
Novice Member
Joined: 10/26/10
Originally posted by lugal
Let me go get my tin foil hat for you.
On a side note, the f2p business model doesn't promote expansions and doesn't lend it self to legacy titles that players can just keep playing for years. It however does support development of new titles and concepts with shorter content. This is good for all of us normal players that only spend about 1-3 hours a day playing video games. It's not a fad, nor is it a dying trend. It's bad for the hardcore players who like end-game and raiding and all those sorts of non-sense.
I believe this is more of a "put your time where your mouth is" instead of "put your money where your mouth is". The field is simply adapting to a more short term business model to feed the needs of players who are the majority of gamers.
I played WoW up until WotLK, played RoM for 2 years and now Rift.
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Apprentice Member
Joined: 5/24/07
Dude are you from the 90-ies? You do know that there are already tons of high quality anti-virus products completely free of charge? Paying for an anti-virus program is done by companies who aren't allowed to use the free programs and by people who don't have a clue.
I use Avast myself by the way. It has never dissapointed me or failed to catch a virus.
Old School
Joined: 3/08/04
Players come for the game, but they stay for the people- Most Devs have forgotten this.
"...not the least of which because I like to play a lot of MMOs concurrently and am cheap."
Urgh... Nice that you got a platform here at MMORPG.com to evangalise your transient non-commital freeloading playstyle though.
This type of gamer is as selfish as it gets tbh, pushing a bad value revenue model that comes with a big raft of game damaging design points at the expense of invested committed supporters of their chosen game.
Ask yourselves how much does a cheap (his word) freeloader like this actually paying into your game (that you probably pay to support) as he pops into it for his 1-2 hours a week play stint, because he and his type are having a profound effect on how you pay for your games and the core design focus you are seeing.
But, like I said, nice to see he is being given an 'official' voice here at MMORPG.com. I am sure we can expect to see a balancing article soon from someone who likes to invest themselves into their chosen game and wants to pay to support it?
Elite Member
Joined: 5/12/10
Originally posted by Rossboss
Second this. I said the same last year in an another f2p-based thread.
There's no need to promote f2p (and especially no need to pay the writers for that), it's happening anyways. The playerbase is changing as time goes forward. Actually I wouldn't be surprised if outside the mmo sites (which are cramped with veteran players with many years of mmo history) nobody would raise concerns about f2p's becoming the trend. I know kids who are laughing their heads off from even the idea of subscribing to a game, while they spend 20-30 bucks in a month for lame (in my eyes lame) browser-based microtransaction games... And whether we like it or not, they're the target audience, since they will be playing 4-6-8 hours a day in the next 4-8 years (most likely).
Advanced Member
Joined: 9/28/04
Jebus jumped up...
Yet another piece acting as if F2P is new and un-proven.
GET OVER YOURSELVES ALREADY, there was F2P BEFORE Ultima Online, F2P created the second largest gaming company on the planet, Nexon Co a company so GOD DAMN LARGE it spent over 500 MILLION DOLLARS buying up companies in the last 1 1/2 years...they even bought a 15% stake in NCSoft.
P.S. Stop calling Freemium, F2P...it isnt the same. FREE is free...freemium is like saying you are giving away free hotdogs...but only the toppings and the bun is free.
"I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
Apprentice Member
Joined: 11/14/11
Nice try pushing F2P with phrases like "freedom of choice" and "consumer freedom". I'll use my freedom of choice to not support the trend of P2W, F2P MMO's. Give me a F2P MMO that doesn't sell power or advancement and I'll give it a fair chance.
Who is Som Pourfazaneh and did he write this F2P propaganda on his own initiative or did someone pay him to write this?
Old School
Joined: 3/08/04
Players come for the game, but they stay for the people- Most Devs have forgotten this.
Originally posted by Foncl
Oh, the piece is full of it... including labelling the sub as 'archaic' (when in truth no model is modern or 'archaic', all are contemporary) in an attempt to make one look outdated and the other 'the future'.
This is despite, as has been proven, so called 'F2P' needing the sub to prop it up in the face of a transient freeloading non committed F2P player base. Some 'future model' eh?
Funny how pieces like this never talk about the durability and attraction of the sub... so much in fact that games that switch to 'F2P' still have to offer it.
But then MMORPG.com articles don't ever look at the sub in anything but a critical light, proclaiming their death and the hidden cost cash shop the new saviour or something.
Old School
Joined: 3/08/04
Players come for the game, but they stay for the people- Most Devs have forgotten this.
Originally posted by Rossboss
What a cheap way of debasing and dismissing a point without having the actually address it in any way.
I am *not* saying this is a F2P shill piece, but do you actually believe opinion forming sites on the internet are *not* used to engineer the popular view on big dollar business practises?
Novice Member
Joined: 1/24/12
After playing sub and f2p games, I would much rather have games with a sub. With a sub game at least the players have some leverage with the game company as far as game content, fixing items, etc. If players don't get what they want or the company doesn't fix problems, they cancel their subs and the company loses money. The company with a sub fee has a vested interest in keeping things running properly and in adding content the majority of players want. They also have a relatively stable income which can support the addition of content to the game.
As far as f2p games go, once you have purchased the game, the company has no financial incentive to fix anything or to add any content except that which has ties to the game's cash shop. GW2 is a perfect example. They launched the game without fixing problems with events, quests, etc. that were found in beta and in fact, many of those problems have never been fixed. Events have always had strong ties to cash shop items, always including some kind of chest, or something similar, with a ridiculously low chance of yielding an item which many people have an interest in obtaining. It amounts to be nothing more than a pixelated scratch-off lottery ticket with a much lower payback. The f2p game company will have no interest in making the community as a whole happy. Their interest will be focused on those that spend real-life cash in the game's store in order to maintain a profit margin. Earnings for the game will flux with player expenditures so it will be harder to support long-term content additions and expansions. There will be smaller content additions which may go nowhere if no supported by player spending in the online game shop.
That said, I can see more gaming companies going to the f2p model because it basically lets them hype a game, sell a bunch of copies of it to get back the money spent in design, etc. along with a profit and then they don't really need to do anything past that point. They can throw in some minor content additions, etc as long as the game's cash shop revenues support it, but when those dwindle, they cut bait and let the game spiral down the drain. Time to release another game. Some people will say the company will get a bad rep and people won't buy future games put out by them. Maybe some won't, but people in general have short memories and if the game sounds good enough, they'll lay down the cash for it.
Novice Member
Joined: 1/12/06
My problem with "F2P" (which is anything but for the most part) is that once the marketing majors got ahold of the idea that it makes them more money, I lost value in the games I want to play.
What $15 a month used to get me in a sub based game, now doesn't go nearly as far in a cash shop based game. All because people thought they were getting a better deal by paying piece meal.
There's a reason why the milk is always in far back corner of the grocery store, and the F2P fanboys are why.
Novice Member
Joined: 6/30/11
There's nothing postive about the recent trend in games going F2P. MMO'ers deciding that these MMORPGs arnt worth a 15 dollar/mth sub fee speaks volumes for these games and the F2P market.....Please lets not start encouraging F2P MMORPGs.
Hard Core Member
Joined: 11/06/08
I think non-sub games are great in that they free you to play when you want to play. The problem with subs is that I feel like I should be playing since I am paying, kind of like how I always overeat when I got to an all you can eat buffet, I want to get my moneys worth.
The obvious down side is that so many F2P games are crap. Many are only loosely free in the sense that if you want to actually have fun then you have to pay, but you are free to grind. When you start making games not fun by default, and making users pay to make the game non-grindy and convenient, I think the model sucks. I was very sad to see this appears to be what they are doing with Neverwinter.
What I wish more games did was a system where you don't need a sub, and just pay to unlock new content. Kind of like buying the old PNP D&D modules. I know not everyone is happy with this kind of system, but I personally don't mind buying new content as long as the price is appropriate to the amount of content. Still even in this case, the core of the game needs to be free, and new content needs to be optional new content not required for progression new content.
Novice Member
Joined: 11/10/12
so what do I read from some of the economy experts above...
All games should be free at launch
All games should get free updates forever, at best monthly, and bug free
No game should have a cash shop, because hey.. "FREEE GAME!!"
Yes, I want my 5 Dollar neverending ever running monthly content gimme all for free MMO!
I'll take TEN, wrap it in gift paper!
Secrets of Dragon´s Spine Trailer.. ! :D
Best MMOs ever played: Ultima, EvE, SW Galaxies, Age of Conan, The Secret World
Novice Member
Joined: 5/28/08
Good Gravy!!
I persoanly believe the free to play model is the furture...however i do think that also there will always be a form of subscription service included...and the usual life time subscriptions.
What i mean by this is....sure there will be the ability to play for free....with some stipulation.....star wars the old republic for example is a horrible version of this...The secret world and Star Trek Online and Jade Dynasty for example are more in line with what the eventual free to play models will be.
I envision the user will be free to play...maybe at home...on a computer...etc....with options for a subscription that will let them support their favorite game or publisher...but also the subscription will give the user the ability to use the game where ever they want.
This makes sense to me...becasue i understand how so many players feel...in that they may not have the money to play...and i also understand how others feel witht he fact that with out a constant revenue stream their favorite game wont get the attention or extra content that a subscription is more likely to bring.
Right now I have a number of life time subscriptions....but i still use the cash shops too...when i can....my reason is simple....i want to support the game developers creating things...I dont always have cash...sooo...paying a subscription isnt always a good idea for me....but i do try to contribute with the cash shops.....there have been a number of games that have gone away silently in the night....and we as players.....we have an obligation to not let our favored games simply vanish like that....so just becasue they have microtransactions or a cash shop....please..please....support your game.
Apprentice Member
Joined: 6/13/10
Our budget for extras is non existant.My wife is paying a $15 sub.I could not imagine 2 $15 subs given the state of our economy and our family budget.
Novice Member
Joined: 12/24/11
I prefer B2P as it just makes more sense in my opinion. But at least TERA got the F2P "restrictions" right, so there might be hope after all...
Elite Member
Joined: 5/24/10
Originally posted by Shadanwolf
I'm sorry bro, but if you guys are so strapped that you can barely afford $15/mo for a game, you should be using that money for something more important.
My reccomendation, if you have cable TV, cancel it, will save you $60-100/mo and you can pay for netflix streaming and have a good amount of TV/Movie content streaming.
If you have a cell phone with a data plan. Cancel it, get a regular cell phone, and just use your smart phone where you have wifi, like at work or at your house.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
An economist and/or psychologist would likely have more to say about this narrative as it relates to larger themes relating to freedom of choice, but there does seem to be some alignment with consumer choice and social ideals prevalent in Western countries relating to individualism. The United States in particular prides itself on individual freedoms, and one wonders if the MMO free-to-play model is a microcosm that represents wider narratives of choice.
Or its a way for the company to adapte to a consumer that wants everything for free. Its not about choices , but nice try :)
Novice Member
Joined: 6/11/12
Do or get Done
I will not try and defend either Subscription based or F2P games since both have good and bad in them. It's all in the implementation and also it comes down to how good a game feels to someone to want to spend money on it. The way anyone chooses to spend money on a game reflects his/hers feelings on the actual gameplay since obviously in both cases gameplay is build around monetization.
One thing concerns me though…
Consider the average MMO player that has played a sub based game (say WOW) for about 2 years. This guy has spend about 200 euros (more actually) not adding box prices , expansions etc. Now this guys has decided to cancel the subscription and as such he has lost all access to a game that he has bough . This only happens on MMO subscription based games since in no case a byer loses access to his/hers purchase in any other case of games even if the buyer doesn't want to play anymore.
My conclusion is that when we play a sub based game "we rent the game" and not actually OWN it …
PS: Sorry for my English since it's not native to me
Apprentice Member
Joined: 6/20/10
Originally posted by Dartmed
But it is clearly stated on the box that you buy that this is the case (that you need subscription to continue playing). If you want to have access to the game, you just get another subscription, that is all. The thing about other games is that they do not have persistent worlds, data saved on their servers, a live customer service that deals with issues directly ingame, etc. You can't really compare MMORPGs with persistent worlds to single player or lobby-based games where you do not have the same services.
I like hybrid games that allow you good choices for à la carte play or subscription play. They allow you to go free for the months you do not want to subscribe, give you cash shop currency for the months you subscribe so that you can unlock some of the stuff à la carte, and you get the best of both worlds.
If I play heavily and don't have things unlocked, I prefer a subscription. If I know I won't have time to spend on the game, I prefer having the ability to let my sub expire and play for free every now and then. The upfront cost of unlocking everything via the cash shop is too expensive in most cases for the amount of time I will invest in a game. Subscribing for a few months is better over all unless I really like the game and realize I could be in it for years, then it makes more sense to unlock stuff.
So far, I have not come across an MMORPG with a hybrid model that I wanted to play for several years, therefore I almost always subscribe for a little while.
I also do not know where the figure 200 €/year comes from. Most year-long subscriptions I have seen are in the 150 € range...


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Part 2 of 5. First part here.
Deaths and (Re)births Part 2: The Fall
"Well, I have good news for the two of you. First, it's a boy. Second—he has a sister."
All it took was one perfectly timed and perfectly worded sentence from our ultrasound technician to cause my appetite to disappear completely for 48 hours. Twins. It was unimaginable. During that period I experienced varying waves of total euphoria and mind-numbing fear. Admittedly, it was mostly euphoria. The bragging rights were, after all, unparalleled. Not only naturally conceived twins on our first excursion into replenishing the earth, but opposite sex twins as well. Apollo and Artemis, just like that.
Surely, we were gods. [Read more…]


text: This app pulls feeds from your social networks and Google Reader to determine which news items are of most interest to you. It takes a while to learn this, but in the meantime you can enjoy reading your Twitter, Facebook, and RSS feeds in an attractive interface. You can also comment on, reply to, or retweet status updates on social networks.


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Vanguard... Whats up?
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Xion X2
Registered User
Join Date: May 2006
Location: U.S.
Posts: 6,701
Re: Vanguard... Whats up?
Things are going much better w/ the Sorcerer now. I see what you mean about ultimate damage dealer now, Mal. Some of my spells are really getting strong because I'm distributing all my attribute points to Vitality, Intelligence, and Wisdom. Each one takes at least 200hp now and sometimes I can chain them up to 750hp apiece.
I was w/ this one group tonight that was trippin' out at how easy I made a quest they had struggled with. Said they were taking down enemies in less than half the time it took them before w/ me casting for them.
Also learning to attack from a distance much better. I'm @ level 13 now, and I've been taking down two lvl 13's at a time (2 dot, usually) and lvl 16 (2-3 dots) by myself by chaining spells and casting in better order. Most often I can have their power down to 1/5 before they ever touch me and in many cases have completely killed them before they got to me.
i7-2700k @ 5.0 GHz
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Xion X2
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How you deal with stress is a sign of character
"Are you stressed?" is one of the most frequently asked questions these days.
How does one answer this question of stress honestly when asked? The answer is a question of character! Yes, I did say the key is character.
Are you stressed now? Count with me 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Are you still stressed? Or are you just now starting to get stressed?
Your answers determine who you are and how you deal with life situations on a day-to-day basis.
Recently, I experienced another lovely air travel cancellation. I was stressed! My frustration was not so much the cancellation by the airline, or the fact they forgot to tell me ahead of time, but more from the airline pawning me off onto another airline that had the most obnoxious way to get to LAX possible. I was in Florida, so in order to get back to LAX, I had to travel to New York, then stop in Minneapolis-St. Paul, then on to LAX.
"What?!? Are you kidding me? You have no other options but this?"
"No," was the cheerful response.
"OK then," was my reply, but then the anger, denial and stress started to set in. Who in their right mind goes from Florida to New York to go to LAX? The answer was: Me!
I hope by now someone is laughing at my stress, because I know someone has to enjoy this story. It is part of my character. How I dealt with the stress was mostly cheerful disbelief. In the grand scheme of life, what else was I to do but get back to LAX any way I could so that I wouldn't be AWOL?
I was proud that I did not get mad and stomp all the way, as I have sometimes done, but just cheerfully dragged my stuff and hoped it did not get "delayed" through some other country.
My character grew by this experience. It grew because I did not let uncontrollable life experiences get to me. That is not always the case, as I am sure many of you would agree. The only controllable thing was how I dealt with my stress and reactions.
I pray for you to grow in character the next time life throws you into a stressful situation — or at least know that you are not alone. You never are!


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"Elaine Robiho, 62, a retired cashier", what is that? How are you a retired cashier? and at 62? I work hard for a living and I won't even be able to retire at 62. How about this...if you don't like how you housing project is being run, leave. Your laziness and self depreciating work ethic along with your uncontrollable breeding is causing a drain on tax payers and bringing this city down. You aren't the ones who bring culture, your the ones who stain the city. You think that you can just live in these projects for "22 years" when it's meant to be a means to an end. Move out. Get out of the city. Go somewhere else, or hey, here is a novel idea, make your own way, quit sucking off the government, then you can have a say in how you live your life. If I see one more person buying groceries with food stamps to bring back to their housing project as they talk on their Iphone while their 3 children run around the store like animals I might just go insane. Get it together people and contribute instead of just take.


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|Integrators for Rogowski Coils
|Since the output from the coil is proportional to the rate of change of current an integrator is essential to give the correct current waveform.
|Active Integrators:
Active integrators are generally much more versatile than passive integrators They can be used for low currents (less than an amp) and low frequencies (less than 0.1Hz.) as well as for currents of more than 1 million amps and frequencies approaching 1MHz. The low-frequency performance of a transducer is determined by the integrator design
|Passive Integrators:
A passive integrator is basically a resistor/capacitor network. Passive integrators are only really suitable for large fast current pulses (big dI/dt) because they need a high voltage from the coil to give acceptable accuracy and their low-frequency capability is poor. They have been used with lightning test equipment and rail gun measurements. They have the advantage of not needing a power supply.
|Integrator Time Constant:
An integrator is characterised by its time constant (RC) where R is the integrating resistor and C is the integrating capacitor. By using different values of R and C the characteristics of the complete transducer (coil + integrator) can be varied over an enormous range. For example a typical flexible coil can be used to make current measurements from a few mA to more than a million amps simply by changing these two components in the integrator.
Practical Integrators:
Practical integrators can be supplied in various forms: on a PCB for OEM use; as simple one-channel battery powered units, as three-channel mains-powered units or as multiple rack-mounted units. Where appropriate we can add other feratures such as RMS output, overload indication, current drivers and summing circuits.
One of the range of integrators offered by Rocoil. This unit is powered from the mains or internal re-chargeable battery. It can be designed for use with either flexible or rigid coils. Each channel can have up to five sensitivity ranges selected by a switch. The model illustrated has RMS output, overload indication and summing circuits.
A single channel version in similar style is also available.
|Click on the picture for an enlargement
OEM Integrator (type SIPCB)
A single integrator on a PCB with two sensitivity ranges, suitable for OEM use. Connections to the board (coil input, output, power) are via a screw terminal strip. The board requires positive and negative supplies which can be up to ±18V DC. Board dimensions are approximately 50mm x 50mm.
|See Product List for more integrators.
|Click on the picture for an enlargement
[Homepage] [Operating Limits] [Operating Principle] [Rigid Coils] [Flexible Coils]
[Radiofrequency Coils] [Calibration & Test.] [Applications] [Product List]


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Once the entire video is posted, you'll be able to listen to Steve read it.
I remember reading that this was supposed to be a comic, am I right?
....Big Steve??....you'll be able to listen to Steve read it.
I bet it's a Corkah!!
2010 interview, Stephen mentioned toying with the idea of a comic for a story titled Afterlife but I really don't think the story had even been written then. When I get the opportunity, I'll ask Steve about it.
They've posted his reading of Afterlife (and more) on the UMass Lowell site here.
Just listened. Loved it! I hope Steve considers this shortie to eventually be part of a new shorties collection.
Thanks, Ms. Mod!


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Al Rossiter Jr., former head of Duke News Service, dies at 77
Al Rossiter Jr., who for 10 years was the director of the Duke News Service and assistant vice president in the university's office of public affairs, died Monday at Vidant Beaufort Hospital in Washington, N.C. He was 77.
Before coming to Duke in 1992, Mr. Rossiter was a science writer, editor and executive during a 32-year career with United Press International, one of the two major wire services in its day. He was an award-winning science writer for much of his career with UPI. In his Duke office he kept a framed newspaper story he wrote in 1969 about astronauts landing on the moon for the first time.
Mr. Rossiter rose to become UPI's editor and executive vice president, which made him responsible for the company's worldwide editorial operations.
Mr. Rossiter moved to Duke in March 1992, where he was director of the news service until he retired in December 2001. During that time, he led efforts to publicize the work of Duke's faculty; professionalized the news operation by establishing campus-wide news policies and media guidelines; and helped align communications programs with broader university goals.
After retiring as director of the news service, he continued to work part time as an associate dean in Duke's Pratt School of Engineering before retiring to the North Carolina coast, where he continued to write and pursue his love of sailing.
When Mr. Rossiter retired, the university renamed in his honor an award it gives each year for outstanding higher education reporting in the state. The Green-Rossiter Award now honors the contributions of both Mr. Rossiter and William Green, who served as Duke's director of university relations and later as university vice president during Terry Sanford's presidency at Duke.
"Al was a journalist's journalist whose integrity was rivaled only by his commitment to transparency," said John Burness, who as senior vice president for public affairs and government relations brought Rossiter to Duke. "Among many talented people I was privileged to recruit to Duke, Al arguably was the most important. The policies he established for Duke's news offices set a standard for universities across the country. In his own quiet and understated way, Al's leadership of Duke's news operations contributed greatly to the media's and the public's recognition of Duke's quality and its emergence as one of the great universities of the world.
"He also laughed easily and reveled in the success of others. And while Al took what he did seriously, he never took himself seriously. He was a wonderful colleague and friend."
Mr. Rossiter joined UPI as a staff writer in 1959. In addition to the Apollo moon flights, space shuttle missions and unmanned planetary missions, he covered major stories such as the outbreak of Legionnaire's disease in Pennsylvania, pioneering artificial heart transplants and the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. His science beat took him to the South Pole, West Africa and the wreck site of the USS Monitor 220 feet deep in the Atlantic Ocean. He was a finalist in NASA's Journalist-in-Space program.
Mr. Rossiter received numerous awards for his reporting on the space and science beat, including the prestigious 1987 Grady-Stack Medal from the American Chemical Society.
He is survived by his wife, Sylvia, two adult children and one grandchild.
There will be a reception from 4-6 p.m. Thursday at Hillside Funeral Service, 4500 Highway 264 East, Washington, N.C.


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Dian Ariffahmi
The government appears to be taking notice of the huge potential of nanotechnology to improve industrial competitiveness.
The Ministry of National Education will provide Rp 250 billion ($26.5 million) to fund nanotech research and development through 2010.
The Ministry of Industry will provide another Rp 15 billion.
"We will fund 60 studies on nanotech, as this is a sector that is taking off in the developed world," said Deddy Mulyadi, head of the research and development division at the Industry Ministry.
Deddy said the Indonesian Nanotechnology Society — which is staffed by industry representatives and academics — would join ministry officials and five companies that use nanotech to sign an agreement today on ways to jointly develop the new technology for industrial purposes.
Deddy did not elaborate on what form that cooperation might take.
"The challenge now is to foster positive communications between the R&D sector on the one hand and industry on the other," he said.
Nanotechnology involves the manipulation of matter on an atomic and molecular scale, as well as the development of materials and devices at that level.
It generally deals with structures of a size 100 nanometers or smaller. A nanometer is equal to one-billionth of a meter.
Ceramics, textiles, food, energy, information technology and communications are among the sectors that could benefit from nanotech, Deddy said.
"For example, Indonesian textile producer Bellini already exports goods that use nanotechnology in their production processes," he said.
"They were able to secure prices that are 70 percent higher than comparative products on the international market."


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FirstNews Briefs for February 28, 2012
• Motorola Solutions said Sunday it is buying back $1.16 billion of its stock from investor Carl Icahn as part of its $3 billion stock repurchase program. As part of the deal, Vincent Intrieri, who holds positions with several of Icahn's investments, has resigned from Motorola Solutions' board of directors. Motorola purchased 23.7 million shares for $49.15 apiece, a slight premium from its Feb. 27 opening price of $48.82.
• Wi-Fi specialist Ruckus Wireless has landed $21.7 million in new funding, bringing its total financing to $72.7 million since the company's formation in 2004. The round was led by two new investors, Meritech Capital Partners and SingTel Innov8. Ruckus also added two industry heavyweights to its board of directors, former Verizon Communications Chief Technology Officer Dick Lynch and former Ericsson executive Georges Antoun.
• Qualcomm says its new Gobi chipsets will be the first to support HSPA+ Release 10 and LTE Advanced. The silicon comes with improvements in performance and power consumption. They will be available for sampling during the fourth quarter of this year.
• Polaris Networks says its new NetEPC network architecture will make it easier for regional wireless operators and public safety agencies to deploy LTE. NetEPC combines the functions of the evolved packet core, including the mobile management entity, serving gateway and packet data network gateway. It is specifically designed to support single cell deployments for military or disaster response.
• Aylus Networks has come out with a new platform that allows users to post live video streams from their smartphones to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. The phones don't have to be equipped with rich communication services, but the technology will still work if they are.
• Sandvine says ClearSky Technologies and Nex-Tech Wireless are using its network policy control solution. The technology allows companies to tailor data plans beyond basic usage quotas with device-specific add-ons such as unlimited email, web browsing, social networking, BlackBerry service and unlimited smartphone tethering.
• Dell has come out with new servers for telecommunications companies. The equipment is NEBS-complaint, meaning it conforms with network equipment building systems standards, which help ensure technology can keep running during earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters.
• Rovi Corporation, which specializes in cloud-based content discovery and management solutions, yesterday made a couple of announcements at MObile World Congress (MWC). The company revealed that the Rovi Entertainment Store, an end-to-end, white-label solution for entertainment storefront creation and management, powers the new Video Store movie service on RIM's Blackberry Playbook. Additionally, Rovi said Pantech's new Pantech Element tablet has achieved DivX HD certification.
• Aepona, the cloud platform and network services provider, announced today that the Small Cell Forum (formerly the Femto Forum) has selected the company to provide the reference implementation platform for its recently-announced Developer API Initiative. Aepona also announced the launch of its new Services Aggregation and Merchandizing (SAM) platform, which provides a suite of service lifecycle management tools that enable service providers to aggregate, merchandize and deliver a range of cloud services, enterprise applications, physical goods and value-add products and services.


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Do you want some phone with that camera?
This is more like a camera with a phone feature than a camera phone. The Sony Ericsson C905a has an 8.1 megapixel Cybershot camera. To put that into perspective, that's the same resolution as the Kodak Easyshare M893 digital camera, one of the more popular digital cameras on the market. The C905a will be available […] [Read More]


text: Jason McIntyre dixit: >you could try > > option PPPOE_TERM_UNKNOWN_SESSIONS This won't help; according to the source code, in not-dial-on-demand (ie. "leased-line") mode sppp+pppoe does *not* behave like ppp -ddial, but rather retries a few times really quick (I think it's like 3 seconds) then dies. It gets up again after touching the interface, eg. with 'ifconfig pppoe0 -link1', but this is not the desired behaviour, so I had to use dod mode which retries more slowly, but infinite times and without user interaction. bye, //mirabile


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After a destructive wave of tornadoes left more than 200 dead, President Obama will travel to Alabama on Friday to inspect the damage and meet with officials coping with the disaster.
At a White House ceremony to announce his new national security team, Obama addressed the storm ravaged South:
"The loss of life has been heartbreaking, especially in Alabama. In a matter of hours these deadly tornadoes, some of the worst that we've seen in decades, took mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors, " Obama said.
He vowed to help the region rebuild and said that he'd been in touch with the governors of Alabama, Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia to help coordinate efforts.
Obama said he was going to the region to examine recovery efforts and comfort the afflicted. He took special note of the efforts of first responders.
"These police officers, firefighters, EMTs and other emergency responders are heroes and they have the thanks of a grateful nation and we pray for their success and we stand with every American affected by this disaster in the days and weeks to come," the president said.
Federal Emergence Management Agency officials have been working with the Alabama government to provide relief to the state's citizens. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has already been dispatched to Alabama.
The president is scheduled to meet with victims, state officials and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, a Republican.
Obama on Deadly Weather, Personnel Changes
Don't Miss Today's Top Stories


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Is it possible to use ssh to start applications remotely? I have a linux machine for a mediacenter and I want to be able to connect through ssh and start for example XBMC or Boxee on it and then use my iphone as a remote.
(after you ssh into the machine of course)
I took a different slant on what the OP asked and now realise I might have gone in the wrong direction. Had written the full answer below before I realised this, and think some people might find this looking for the other interpretation.
The advice below is if you want to start the application remotely but view it locally (i.e. run on mediacenter, view on another PC).
You could use:
To get it all in one line you could just do:
This will only work if the server (in this case your mediacenter) has the X11 forwarding option enabled (normally in
Now, if you're really wanting ease of use, you could key share between the two computers and then make an icon on your desktop that ran the above command and you'd have passwordless access to it!


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Contract Killer: It's such a simple game: you're a sniper and you get Grand Theft Auto type assignments where you're ordered to kill bad guys. There's 17 story missions and unlimited random missions where you can shoot off 20 different guns. I'm having a lot of fun trying to get the perfect headshot as fast as I can. Best part is it's free.
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Pot-holes are a scandal
Posted: April 12, 2014|
I HAVE been driving for nearly 50 years but it is only in the last ten that I have suffered damaged car springs.
Last week I had to pay for a fourth one to be replaced.
The mechanic told me that they now get a steady flow of vehicles with damaged springs.
Sadly I cannot claim the repair costs from the council.
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The damage is not due to hitting a single deep pothole, I've managed to avoid those so far.
It is the cumulative effect of having to drive over many small potholes, raised or lowered utility grids, sunken trenches, ludicrous speed humps and ramps at pedestrian crossings.
A local councillor seemed to imply that the wet winter was responsible for many of the potholes in and around Stafford (Newsletter, 13 March).
Anyone who drives around the area on a regular basis knows that many of the potholes have been there for years.
They may have got worse but they were dangerous before the winter weather.
Apparently it will cost about £12 billion to repair all the potholes in the country.
I believe that this is about one quarter of the total taxation taken from motorists so there should be plenty of money. And I bet this does not take into account all the money levied by councils in parking charges and fines.
I note that some of the potholes are now being filled in (I hesitate to use the word repair).
The process appears to involve dropping a dollop of Tarmac in the hole and smash it down with the back of a spade.
This leaves it standing proud with no sealing around the edges.
I predict that most of these holes will reappear within months.
Gerry Lester
Church Lane


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Local school choirs to participate in festival
CHARLESTON -- Fifteen high school choirs from across the state, including several from Cabell and Putnam counties, will participate in the First Lady's Festival of Songs from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, in the Norman L. Fagan West Virginia State Theater at the Culture Center in Charleston.
Each of the choirs will have a 15-minute performance in the event, which is sponsored by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.
The Winfield High School General Admission Show Choir will perform at 10:45 a.m., followed by the Hurricane High School Red Hot Show Choir at 11 a.m.
During the afternoon session, the Buffalo High School Choir will perform at 1:15 p.m., and Cabell Midland High School's Rhythm in Red Show Choir will perform at 2 p.m.
The Festival of Songs is free and open to the public.


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Dinner Tonight
What is better than Mat & Naddie's (where I will go if no one replies) on a Monday night at a similar (or cheaper preferably) price? We went there last week and sat on the courtyard - Started with the grilled oysters and they were fantastic. I got the scallop salad and he got the duck confit. The scallop salad, though small, was awesome as usual. The duck was ok. Top it off with the cheapest bottle of chardonnay they had ($32 a bottle) and wonderful live music - overall it was a great evening for around $100 including tip.
Any suggestion for a similar experience? I've been thinking about Martinique or Ristorante Civello. Anyone know how pricey they are and how good?
Also, on a side note, any suggestions for BYOB restaurants? I find that is the cheapest way to get a good meal and save money. Anybody been to EAT in the quarter? It's byob. Small menu, food's not bad (I heard the brunch is great), and no corkage fee!
We went to Mat & Naddie's a few weeks ago, and the dinner was superb. Had the smoked oysters, sicilian olives and Shrimp and Crawfish Croquettes to start. Then we split a salad.
I had the special, which was the largest panko crusted softshell crab I've ever seen. It was delcious, with a spicy (but not too hot) red chili sauce underneath, and microgreens.
Our waitress suggested an excellent bottle of wine that was smokey and paired well with the oysters. I can't recall what the rest of the table had, but it was one of the best meal's we've all encountered.
The courtyard is perfect, when the sun goes down. It may be too hot this evening.
I've been meaning to go to EAT, but I'd rather stick to the Uptown establishments.
I've really been wanting to go back to Martinique, haven't been there in some years. Price-wise comparable to M&N. Civello I mostly hear is overpriced. Have you been to Iris? Really good.
Most of these are probably closed Mondays, but check Clancy's, Gautreau's, Upperline, Brigtsen's, Lilette, and I had a great meal at La Petite Grocery a few weeks ago, however, reviews are pretty uneven. Dick and Jenny's reminds me of Mat n Naddie's.
re: Blumie
That's what I was afraid of. As far as I can tell, though, Iris is open on Mondays. Can't find a website for them, but a couple listings say Mon-Sat.
re: mikemill
They do indcate Monday-Saturday 6-10 on this page: http://www.irisneworleans.com/About.htm
re: Blumie
How far is Iris from the French Quarter? How much for a cab ride?
re: arizonagirl
It's in the same area as Brigtsen's and Jacque-Imo's. 6 miles from the quarter, $20.
Iris Restaurant
8115 Jeannette St, New Orleans, LA 70118
re: Hungry Celeste
Yes, for quite a few weeks now.
Update: We went to Clancy's and it was good enough, but not as fun as last Monday at Mat & Naddie's. The atmosphere on Monday nights with that little band on the courtyard just can't be beat. And the cheapest Chardonnay at M&N's kills the cheapest one at Clancy's.
The eggplant app was pretty good. We split the mozzarella and tomato salad, which was ok. I thought it was gonna be a big stack of tomato and mozz, though, and it was more greens than anything. Blake had the soft shell crab entree and that was seasoned well, but small. I had the shrimp and grits as an entree. It hit the spot even though the grits were runny. It had a beautiful taste.
I know we probably didn't try the right things, but we like to stay under $100 when we go out. We really can't even afford that but we just can't stop ourselves. It's the only cure for the Mondays.


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Flight testing of Lockheed Martin's short take-off and vertical landing F-35B will be confined to conventional up-and-away flying until Pratt & Whitney can fully clear its F135 engine for STOVL operation. Aircraft BF-1 is planned to fly in June, but will not begin STOVL flight testing until the end of the year.
Following a turbine blade failure in the F135 planned for BF-1, P&W is proof-testing a replacement flight-test engine, but it will not be cleared to full STOVL thrust, where the vibration occurs that causes the blade to crack. "We believe the problem is a vibration in powered lift mode at very high power," says Bill Gostic, vice-president F135 programme.
P&W still hopes to clear the engine for STOVL flight testing after further tests to isolate the cause of the problem, but is working on a redesigned low-pressure turbine third stage that will be retrofitted to all flight-test F135s. "After a highly instrumented engine test in April, we will reassess the viable STOVL envelope," he says.
The redesigned LP turbine is to be tested "in the August timeframe", says Gostic, and engines retrofitted with the new design are expected to be available "by the end of the year". The redesigned third stage will have different vane spacing in the upper and lower halves, to disrupt the resonant vibration caused by the blades hitting the vane wakes.
P&W plans to deliver the proof-tested replacement engine in mid-March, allowing Lockheed to begin testing the first F-35B on the hover pit. Operation of the STOVL propulsion system will be tested, but not to full thrust. "The last few percent of power is the risk," says Doug Pearson, vice-president F-35 integrated test team.
Lockheed had planned to run the propulsion system to full power on the hover pit to characterise thrust before first flight, "but we don't need to", says Pearson. "We can wait till we have a properly qualified engine." Instead, the first 30 or so sorties will be confined to up-and-away flying. "We'll stay with conventional flight through the end of the year."
The Woracle - Graham Warwaick's blog
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All that I can say is, "WOW!"
What a weekend, I can't remember when I've seen so much ammo go downrange in such a short time (I'm talking aimed fire here.). If my calculations are right it was over 16,000 rounds.
On Saturday a total of 48 people arrived, the weather was cool, rain and wind, normal for Wyoming at this time of year. My shooting mat was like a pool. Every thime I used it I got soaking wet...Wah Hoooooo!!! And did I mention the wind? We had gun cases, magazines, a rifle and just about everything else going flying during one of the gusts. Try shooting Offhand (Standing) under those conditions.
The Appleseed instuctors were great, a lot of shooting and historical information was provided. I learned about April 19, 1775 and what that date means to me as an American.
On Sunday we lost 7 shooters for a total of 41. Weather was a little cooler and we had the wind and rain, not all day but enought to get your attention. The "Redcoat" targets were used for initial and final evaluation of the individual shooters progress. The AQT targets were used for scoring "Rifleman" qualifications.
A total of 5 people qualified "Rifleman", two of which were females which was great! I have wanted to post pictures of the event but until the "Gallery" is fixed, I can't.
We had folks from Nebraska, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota and Kansas. I have posted another previous thread about Appleseed which included a .pdf file containing sample targets. Let me tell you, those 400 meter targets get real small even when firing from 25 meters.
The rifles used went from the simple Ruger 10-22's (some scoped) to AR15's, to Galil's to M1's to M1 Carbines to an old Mauser, and SKS's. I think one person even used his 7mm Mag hunting rifle.
Look at it this way, if it was that easy, why did only five out of 48 make "Rifleman"? I salute all those who attended and thank the Appleseed instuctors for one of the best weekends that I can remember.
If you ever have a chance to attend one of these Appleseed shoots, do so.