text:
" Author: Nicci French / Genre: Crime / Thriller "
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Losing you was the first story I have read by Nicci French and it follows the story of Nina Landry who lives on a small island just off the English coast. Although I believe the island is fictional, it is possibly based on one of the many islands that surround the UK and it makes a nice change that the story is based in this country, rather than in America which most stories are these days.
The story covers one day in the life of Nina, which is possibly the worst day she has ever had. It starts with Nina at her neighbours getting her car fixed and the three of them are having a chat about island life and the people that live there. It is just normal chat, but is sets up the characters very nicely for the rest of the story.
Nina then returns home and is treated to a surprise party which her daughter Charlie has organised for her. However, Charlie is not present at this party. No one seems to think this is odd apart from Nina, who then sets out on trying to find out where her daughter is. She soon calls the police, who again so not take her seriously so she decides to take matters into her own hands.
I really enjoyed this book because it was different. One reading a few pages in and deciding it was time for bed, I looked for a good place to stop. I flicked forward a few pages and realised I hadn't seen any chapter markings. Because there isn't. The story is written continuously with no breaks. At first I thought this was quite odd, but then as the story progressed the action and suspense increased and if the story had chapters this would break up the suspense. Nina is rushing around the island, often retracing her steps and you really get a sense of this by having no chapters. Ideally this book should be read in one sitting, and although it's not very long, I don't think most people have the time for this anymore.
There are many characters in the book who could be possible suspects which again, I liked as it keeps you guessing. It is written entirely from Nina's point of view so that the reader really gets a sense of how worried she is and how desperate she is to find her daughter. There are tales of how the police are on her trail, but by doing things the right way, they are several steps behind and timing is crucial.
This book is highly recommended because it is unusual. I also read the introduction to the author at the beginning and found that Nicci French is actually a pseudonym for the writing partnership of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. On researching them I found that they write the story together, taking it in turns to write a section. But this is not noticeable in the book so they must have very similar writing styles or a very good editor.
This is a fast paced book providing lots of suspense and a must read for all.
On her 40th birthday, just as Nina and her family are due to fly to Florida for Christmas, her 16 year old daughter, Charlie, goes missing. Nina knows she has not just turned some teenage rebellion trick and that there is something seriously wrong with the picture, but trying to convince the police of this is proving difficult.
Suspicous of everyone, even her ex-husband, Nina frantically chases her tail round Sandling Island, the small island she lives on, in search for her daughter or clues to help find her. But when the dead body of one of Charlie's friends turns up Nina's pace steps up.
I did enjoy this book although it felt very mundane for the first half with Nina repeating things over and over and to be honest there just wasn't enough action for me. I think it was written to try and build up the suspense of what had happened to Charlie, but it came across as a little boring to start with. I had to make myself continue reading and I was glad I did because the last half of the book was a lot better with lots of revelations and things coming forward to help fill in the pictures.
Another annoying thing was that there were no chapters. It is just one long run of text and while I may have enjoyed this if I had a whole day to lounge around and read, I have to snatch my reading time while in the bath or for half an hour at the end of the day before bed. Not having any chapters meant it was difficult to find a convenient place to stop, but I managed and so I guess it is just a minor niggle.
The overall style of the book was meant to be very suspenseful and the authors pulled that off to a certain extent, but if the first half had been a quicker pace I think it would have worked a lot better overall.
I really do like Nicci French books but this is not as good as the other ones I have read although is still worth a read if you are a fan.
Nicci French is the name used by the husband and wife writing team of Nicci Jerrard and Sean French and up to 'Losing you' they have also had eight other best selling novels. This was the first of their novels I have read and whilst there was nothing actually wrong with the plot or storyline I have to say I haven't been compelled to buy any of their other books. I actually got this book in a 'bargain set' of five books via my book club. I bought the set for three other books in the set. (as the set was £35 for the five books I thought 'why not?')
For me the best thing about the writing style is the description of the characters and the area the book is set. This may make a book to TV adaptation fairly easy, if this is ever done that is. This book is unusual as it is done all in one continuous run, as in there are no actual chapters. Also the book focuses on one the thoughts and the day of one character the whole time. The lack of chapters does add to the sence of urgency which is depicted in the plot but it may prove to be a problem for those who only read a couple of chapters at a time.
The book does make fairly light reading and the character descriptions do mean you aren't constantly turning back to an earlier part of the book to remind yourself of 'which one was he/she again'. It is a good holiday read but not a book I will read again.
Brief plot summary (trying not to give too much away for those who haven't read the book):
Nina Landry reluctantly moved to Sandling Island with her family two years ago with her family. It was her husband's idea as he wanted to open a seafood restaurant. Unfortunately the restaurant failed and her husband left her and her family. Nina stayed on the island as she had become attached to how peaceful it was and the close knit friendly community that lives there.
Now two years later she is due to go away to Florida for a Christmas holiday with her two children and her new boyfriend. Not only that, but on the day they are due to leave it is her birthday. Much to her irritation her 15 year old daughter, Charlie, had organised a birthday party for her. That was the last thing Nina needed whilst she was trying to pack. Charlie had also been away the night before at a sleepover but had promised to be home in time. Unfortunately she hasn't got back yet, typical teenagers is her first thought.
It's getting later and still Charlie hasn't turned up, Nina is now getting worried, where is she? Nina begins by retracing her daughters steps, the sleep over did anything happen there? Did she complete her paper round? Had Charlie's father picked her up in an attempt to stop Nina taking their children away for Christmas? When she finds the answers to these Nina begins to panic. Something had happened to her daughter. Something very wrong but no one is listening to her. Most still believe 'She's a teenager, she'll come home when she is ready'.
As night falls there are more reasons to make Nina certain that something is very wrong indeed, a mother's worst nightmare begins to form in her mind. Nina believes that Charlie hasn't run away, something worse, much worse has happened to her....
Having read a handful of Nicci French books I grabbed 'Losing You' off the shelf at the library thinking it would do. I tried to recall what I thought of the previous books but my mind went blank. I thought that they must have liked them as I tend to remember the ones I dislike and had I loved them then I'd have also have remembered. I had no high expectations of 'Losing You' and sometimes that can be for the best. Nicci French is in fact a pseudonym for Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. They are a married couple who write in unison without the reader being able to tell who is who. I did a quick search to see who they went about this and they said they wrote a chapter and then passed it over to the other. They read it; made any alterations they wanted and wrote the next one and so on. All I can say is they must get on very well to do this and their writing styles must be very similar!
Nina Landry has a busy day ahead of her. She and her new boyfriend are heading off to Florida with her children for a Christmas break. Not only that but it's Nina's fortieth birthday. It's morning time and she is having car problems so she's turned to a neighbour who is trying to fix it. On top of that he isn't sure if Charlie, her 15 year old daughter, is home from a sleepover the previous night. Being a typical teenager she promised she'd do her packing, some chores as well as her paper round before they have to set off to Heathrow.
Nina moved to Sandling Island, in East Anglia, with her husband Rory 2 years ago when he wanted to start up a restaurant. She was reluctant to move from London but in the end she grew to love it. The restaurant failed and Rory left the island and his family. She's not been with her boyfriend all that long but she's happy and he's given her a new lease of life. So she's really looking forward to her holiday. On arriving home to do some last minute preparations for their holiday Nina discovers that Charlie isn't home yet. There is a knock at the door and it turns out that Charlie has organised a surprise birthday party much to her dismay. Amongst all the chaos of the uninvited guests Nina continues to get things ready as well as leaving more messages of Charlie's mobile seeing as she's not answering it. She can't understand what's taking her so long.
She contacts the police and after looking around her room and seeing a few things are missing they imply that she has run away. It certainly looks that way to an outsider but Nina knows Charlie wouldn't do that. She was looking forward to Florida as much as she was. If she ran away then why organise the surprise birthday? Has something happened to her? Adamant that something has happened rather than running away Nina starts to look for Charlie herself seeing as the police aren't taking it seriously. Will she find her? Will they still manage to go on holiday?
Nina is the narrator so not only do you follow her trying to find her daughter you also hear her fears and thoughts. She is very likeable but at the same time very determined. She won't just sit at home and let the police deal with it, as she's sure they're not trying hard enough. As the story unravels we get to know Nina very well. From her relationship with her children, ex husband, boyfriend and the man she had a fling with. We learn that although she likes it on Sandling Island she doesn't really know people all that well yet. Not only does her character come to life but also so does Charlie's. From the very start of the book Charlie is introduced to us from her mothers narration as well as conversations with others. It becomes clear that she is an independent young lady who doesn't tell her mother much. But then again what teenager does!
Whilst reading 'Losing You' I found that French's description of all the characters made it more enjoyable. Even the Labrador Sludge came to life and was described very well instead of a fleeting mention. I did feel, however, that her son Jackson didn't come across too well. For an 11 year old he was a bit of a wimp. I know his sister was missing but I thought he came across much younger than he was. He was into his gadgets and technology, which I found believable but overall I found that I didn't warm to him much. Even though Charlie was the one that was missing I felt I knew her more.
The whole book is actually set in one day. There are constant reminders of the time so you're always aware what the time is. Even on the back cover the blurb was all done under times. This underlined the sense of urgency that Nina has in finding Charlie. Then later on it proves useful when Nina thinks back to what happened at different times when she 's trying to puzzle out where Charlie was and what she was doing.
One thing that I wasn't over keen on was there were no chapters just spaces to indicate where a chapter could have been. Even then one section could go on for a long time. So finding a natural place to stop reading sometime proved a bit difficult. It wasn't that much of a problem but for those who read books in small bits on the commute to work could find this annoying.
I wish I could remember other Nicci French books to compare 'Losing You' to but if I'm honest I can't recall anything about them. I wouldn't say this was a riveting read but it was certainly much better than I originally expected. The setting on an island was different to most crime fiction books I normally read so that was good. Plus the narration was from the missing persons mother rather than a detective so this gave it a different perspective on things. Another nice thing is it isn't in a series so you don't need to make sure you're reading books in order. As much as I liked it and would recommend it to others there were a few things that I didn't like. Nina's character at times was a bit unbelievable. I'm not saying that it wouldn't happen but the way she went round 'interviewing' people and trying to find Charlie didn't quite feel right at times. Also there were a few things at the end that I felt hadn't been explained. Obviously I can't say what as it would spoil it for those who want to read it. All I can say is the reason for everything happening didn't seem very plausible.
Overall I would recommend it especially to those who have read and enjoyed previous efforts from Nicci French.
It's no secret that Nicci French is a pseudonym for journalists Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, who, as well as writing the "Nicci French" novels together, also happen to be married to each other. Sounds like a recipe for divorce to me, but it clearly works for them - since the publication of their first novel, "The Memory Game" in 1997, they have produced a further eight successful novels, of which "Losing You" is the most recent. Both Nicci and Sean also write separately - Nicci as a journalist for The Observer - and both have also published novels under their own names. (Some of their novels have been adapted for the screen - you may recall the fairly recent "Secret Smile", which starred David Tennant as a baddie so hide-behind-the-sofa scary that it's not at all clear why the makers of Doctor Who needed to bother with Daleks or Cybermen.)
Anyway. It's the eighteenth of December, a week before Christmas. It's also maths teacher Nina Landry's fortieth birthday, and it's also the day she is due to fly off to Florida for a winter break with her two children and new boyfriend. However, events seem to be conspiring against Nina - car trouble, an unwelcome (and, frankly, somewhat unbelievable) surprise birthday party, and the fact that her fifteen-year-old daughter Charlie has yet to return from a sleepover the previous night. This last, initially just a minor irritation - Charlie is not known for her reliability - quickly becomes a cause for panic as her absence continues.
The police aren't much help . fifteen-year-olds often go missing temporarily, they say, and she's sure to turn up soon. It's not as if she was a young child, after all. In the face of official indifference, an increasingly frantic Nina struggles to find out what has happened to her daughter, retracing Charlie's steps and seeking information and help from Charlie's friends and their parents, her own slightly deranged ex-husband, a discarded lover and his jealous wife, among others.
All the action takes place on Sandling Island, a small community connected to the East Anglian mainland by a causeway. It's one of those places where everybody knows, or at least knows of, everybody else a safer environment, supposedly, where you can go out without locking your door. The atmosphere and terrain of the island are evoked well, and this is one of the strengths of the book.
Nina's mounting panic, which can be all too easily imagined by anyone who is a parent, is well evoked and the story is told almost in "real time" over the course of a single day - eight hours, in fact - enabling the reader to really get caught up in the events. As the entire story is told from Nina's viewpoint, it is easy to identify with her fear and frustration, her feeling that her daughter is hurt or in danger and she is the only person to take this seriously.
As events unfold, the story builds to a genuinely nerve-shredding - and unanticipated - denouement.
Although "Losing You" is undeniably a gripping read, ultimately I found it a bit disappointing. The plot is paper-thin, with not a word of explanation as to why certain characters behaved in the way they did. (Can't really elaborate on that for fear of spoiling the ending, but if you read it, you'll see what I mean.) The police are almost ridiculously inept, leaving any positive action entirely to Nina. I actually wondered if Gerrard and French were under pressure to deliver this novel, as it feels in many ways rushed and unsatisfying even the title is hardly original. I may be completely wrong, of course, but that's how it felt to me, and I didn't feel it measured up to the high standards of some of the previous French novels.
Nonetheless, an engrossing read.
Available for £5.99 from Amazon in paperback; 320pp.
Nina Landry is supposed to be taking her two children on a Christmas holiday today. But the road away from Sandling Island seems littered with obstacles. Most pressing of all, her 15-year-old daughter, Charlie, has yet to return from a night out ...Minute by minute, Nina's unease builds to worry and then panic. Has Charlie run away? Or has something more sinister happened to her? And why will nobody take her disappearance seriously? As a series of half-buried secrets lead Nina from sickening suspicion to deadly certainty, the question becomes less whether she and her daughter will leave the island for Christmas - and more whether they'll ever leave it again.


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A Bunny Pajama Poncho
Added Oct 30, 2009
by Jenny Wren
York, United Kin...
Inspired by the kids' pajamas in Pita-Ten, this would be a lot cuter on a little kid, but I made one for me, because it's very warm and easy to sleep in. It's just a cape with the front sewed up, sleeves added in and (of course) bunny ears. You could also make furry ones, with maybe cat ears and a tail, or bear ears, perhaps? It used to have pompoms on it and all sorts, but I found it easier to sleep in a streamlined version. You will notice it's a bit grubby from being slept in- that's the drawback of a pastel colour like this.
Material Notes
Yellow fleece
- For
- Children
- Garment Type
- Coat/Capes
- Style
- Casual, Goth/Gothic Lolita, Other
- Material
- Cotton, Blends, Other
3 Comments Sign in to add a post
Nov 2, 2009, 09.45 PMby misssylver
That is great! Maybe you could do a tutorial because I would love to make one for my nieces!
1 Reply
Dec 12, 2009, 12.40 PMby Jenny Wren
Unfortunately difficult, as I modified a commercial pattern to make it. In brief, though, I took a pattern for a cape and cut some sleeve holes in it, set in some sleeves and sewed it up the front. The rest is up to you- this thing really is a blank canvas. I put bunny ears on mine, but you could do cat ears or bear ears and make it in different colours. I think the primary concern is it being comfortable, though, so if you were going to make it out of fur you'd have to line it. This is just fleece, so it didn't need lining. Pompoms, embroidery, sequins- it's up to you. I think if I had nieces and nephews I'd be making these all day long, but I just slouch around the house in this.
Oct 31, 2009, 06.16 AMby lynzlyles
I like this! i just made the max costume from Where the Wild Things Are for a halloween costume for a friend, very simalar. Im impressed on how those ears are stand up!
Oct 30, 2009, 10.35 PMby misssylver
It's gorgeous! How did you get the ears to stand up?
1 Reply
Nov 1, 2009, 07.53 PMby Jenny Wren
Doubled the interfacing and pulled the ears through the hood a bit so there were loops on either side of my head. This also gives the hood a nice shape.
Add to Favorites no one added it

subset: commoncrawl


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Everybody loves a perfect ending. Everybody wants justice to be done and sports history to unfold before our eyes.
When perfection is thwarted, people get angry — from the White House to the Michigan Statehouse to cable television to the digital universe.
But the lesson of the blown call that ruined a Detroit pitcher's perfect game Wednesday is that you shouldn't — and can't — change the rules and overturn a result just because you don't like it.
As commissioner Bud Selig tacitly acknowledged Thursday by declining to overturn the call (but opening up the possibility of full instant replay), historical sporting events don't occur by popular vote.
Happier results can't be achieved overnight by order of the high and mighty.
Too bad for young Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga. He deserved the perfect game, no question. First-base umpire Jim Joyce completely missed the call on what should have been the final out of the game.
It came on a grounder to the right of first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who threw to Galarraga in time to beat the runner by at least half a step.
"It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the (stuff) out of it," Joyce said Wednesday night after seeing a replay. "I just cost that kid a perfect game."
But the trick of the true perfect game — 27 batters faced, all retired — is that it can be ruined by any infielder's bobble, any errant pitch on a three-ball count and, yes, any umpiring foul-up.
Too bad for Joyce, who apologized to Galarraga on Wednesday night, then wiped away tears Thursday when the Detroit crowd cheered and Galarraga brought him the Tigers' lineup card before the game.
Too bad for presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs, who joined the rhetorical chorus urging Selig to overturn the call.
"I hope that baseball awards a perfect game to that pitcher," Gibbs said Thursday.
But, according to several reports, Selig never considered declaring that Galarraga pitched the 21st perfect game in baseball history. (By the way, Galarraga got the next man out to end the game and Detroit won 3-0.)
Instead, Selig saluted the conciliatory actions of Galarraga and Joyce, and said the blown call would prompt baseball to look harder at expanded use of instant replay, which currently only is used for home-run calls.
If full instant replay had been in use Wednesday in Detroit, Joyce's call could have been overturned on the spot, and Galarraga would have his perfect game.
But there is no mechanism for that in baseball yet. And you can't legislate history and reverse judgment calls in retrospect.
You can't turn the game over to the umpires then reconsider anecdotally when America decides it wants to see a more historical ending.
Bad calls happen. People have gotten mad about bad calls (and some good calls) for every moment that baseball has existed.
But if you scream that history was ruined by Joyce, are you saying there never has been a missed call that aided a perfect game or a no-hitter or a World Series victor?
Of course there have been such calls, scattered through almost every classic game that the purists cherish.
I'll point out that the final called third strike of Jonathan Sanchez's no-hitter last year — the first Giants no-hitter in 33 years — was almost certainly a ball.
Yet I've not heard anybody bellowing that the umpire's call must be reviewed and overturned, for the sake of history.
"The players are human, the umpires are human, the managers are human," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said Wednesday night.
Just because history should have happened Wednesday does not mean that, despite the call on the field, it must be reset in order to make sure history happens.
If you are calling for a reversal of that call, do you also want to go back and check every one-hitter now? Should baseball reverse Don Denkinger's infamous blown call which helped Kansas City defeat St. Louis in the 1985 World Series?
What if Joyce had blown Wednesday's call in an opposite way — what if the runner was clearly safe and Joyce called him out to finish the perfect game? Would there be calls from the White House for a reversal?
No. Because people cheer for perfection and for history, which is natural.
Sometimes, you have to live with imperfection. We live with imperfection 99 percent of the time and, somehow, the sports world has managed to survive.
Read Tim Kawakami's Talking Points blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami. Contact him at firstname.lastname@example.com or 408-920-5442.


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PECHANGA INDIAN RESERVATION —— After a 12-month absence from the ring, Audley Harrison made a triumphant return on Thursday night by knocking out Robert Davis with 39 seconds remaining in the seventh round of a heavyweight bout at Pechanga Resort & Casino.
Harrison extended his undefeated streak to 18-0 with the victory. It was his 13th win by KO.
"I'm reasonably happy with my performance today," Harrison said after the bout. "I still have a lot to work on … but for my first fight back in 12 months, I'm happy."
The fight, which was nationally broadcast live on the Fox Sports program "Best Damn Sports Show Period," almost did not take place.
Twelve days ago, Harrison rolled his ankle during a practice session with Fox cameras rolling. It turned out to be such a bad injury that there were questions as to whether or not he would have to withdraw from the fight.
Harrison didn't train at all for the seven days after he suffered the injury, and had not run on the ankle until he got into the ring for the fight Thursday.
"I just didn't want to disappoint anyone," Harrison said. "I was going to fight. That's just the way I am … By the grace of God I was able to pull it off tonight."
The fight got off to a slow start, and as he predicted at the weigh-in on Wednesday, Harrison appeared very cautious in the opening rounds.
Early in the second round, Harrison developed a small cut right above his left eye that trickled a small amount of blood.
"It was my first cut in a fight, but I dealt with it," Harrison said. "The bottom line is, I'm a warrior."
Harrison said he could feel Davis' punching power in the opening rounds, and said he knew if he got hit, he could get hurt.
"That's a good thing though, because it really made me focus," said Harrison. "I started looking for that one big shot."
In the fourth round, Harrison came alive, and with just under two minutes remaining in the round connected with a strong left jab that hurt Davis.
Harrison started to look more collected in the fifth, and it was evident that he was looking for the big punch that wound end the bout. With Harrison looking to end the match with one blow, Davis was able to throw and land a lot of punches, which could have possibly put him ahead on the scorecards.
The finish came two minutes and twenty one seconds into the seventh round, when Harrison landed a flurry of punches, capped off with a strong left hand. Davis was sent reeling, and as he turned his back to fall into the corner, referee Raul Caiz Jr. stopped the fight.
"We are happy, happy, happy about his performance today," said Harrison's British trainer, Kelvin Travis.
Added Harrison, "I'm just going to stay busy now. I'm happy to be back, and after tonight, people (have) got to respect my left hand."
In undercard bouts, Kirk Johnson defeated Yanqui Diaz by unanimous decision; Rafel Butler defeated Kerry Biles by unanimous decision; and Malcomb Tann defeated Derek Bryant by unanimous decision.


text:
Making my morning tea
Soooo much to choose from. :)
8 Replies
Mercuryhime select said
It's always a dilemma. Old favorite? New sample? Something old that needs to be used? Gah!
exactly……. :)
About half the time I let my daughter pick. This makes it easy on me. The rest of the time I dig through my stash until something jumps out at me. Often in the morning it's a nice strong black.
I live by myself…. So it's not easy picking tea yourself.
Kasumi no Chajin said
I'm starting to settle on a new sample of a type I have an established interest in (sencha, ceylon, genmai etc)
Lariel of Lórien select said
Trying one of my new sample blends- apricot chai.
I love Chai. That sounds good.


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Oct 5, 2010
|Filing date
|May 20, 2008
|Priority date
|Dec 31, 1997
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Irwin Gerszberg, Raymond Miller II Robert, Jesse Eugene Russell, Edward L. Wallace
|Original Assignee
|At&T Intellectual Property Ii, L.P.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (3), Classifications (37), Legal Events (4)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/744,385, filed Dec. 23, 2003, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/963,655 filed Sep. 27, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,054,313, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/001,417, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,646, filed Dec. 31, 1997.
The invention relates generally to telephone communication systems and, more particularly, to a telephone network interface unit typically disposed on the outside of a home or small business.
As deregulation of the telephone industry continues and as companies prepare to enter the local telephone access market, there is a need to offer new and innovative services that distinguish common carriers from their competitors. This cannot be accomplished without introducing new local access network architectures that will be able to support these new and innovative services.
Conventionally, customer premises telephone and/or data connections contain splitters for separating analog voice calls from other data services such as Ethernet transported over digital subscriber line (DSL) modems. Voice band data and voice signals are sent through a communications switch in a central or local office to an interexchange carrier or Internet service provider. DSL data is sent through a digital subscriber loop asynchronous mode (DSLAM) switch which may include a router. The DSLAM switch connects many lines and routes the digital data to a telephone company's digital switch.
A major problem with this configuration is that interexchange carriers attempting to penetrate the local telephone company's territory must lease trunk lines from the local telephone company switch to the interexchange company's network for digital traffic. Furthermore, the Internet service provider must lease a modem from the local phone company in the DSLAM switch and route its data through the local phone company's digital switch. Thus, the local phone company leases and/or provides a significant amount of equipment, driving up the cost of entry for any other company trying to provide local telephone services and making it difficult for the interexchange companies to differentiate their services. Furthermore, since DSL modem technology is not standardized, in order to ensure compatibility, the type of DSL modem provided by the local telephone company must also be provided to the end user in the customer premises equipment (CPE). Additionally, since the network is not completely controlled by the interexchange companies, it is difficult for the interexchange companies to provide data at committed delivery rates and/or desired quality levels. Any performance improvements implemented by the interexchange companies may not be realized by their customers, because the capabilities of the local telephone company equipment may or may not meet their performance needs. Thus, it is difficult for the interexchange companies to convince potential customers to switch to their equipment or to use their services. These factors ensure the continued market presence of the local telephone company.
As part of this system there is a need for improved architectures, services and equipment utilized to distinguish the interexchange companies' products and services.
In order to provide an improved network, it is desirable for the interexchange companies to have access to at least one of the twisted-pair lines or alternate wireless facility connecting each of the individual users to the local telephone network before the lines are routed through the conventional local telephone network equipment. It is preferable to have access to these lines prior to the splitter and modem technology offered by the local service providers. By having access to the twisted-pair wires entering the customer's premises, interexchange companies can differentiate their services by providing higher bandwidth, improving the capabilities of the customer premises equipment, and lowering overall system costs to the customer by providing competitive service alternatives.
The new architecture may utilize a video phone and/or other devices to provide new services to an end user; an intelligent services director (ISD) disposed near the customer's premises for multiplexing and coordinating many digital services onto a single twisted-pair line; a facilities management platform (FMP) disposed in the local telephone network's central office for routing data to an appropriate interexchange company network; and a network server platform (NSP) coupled to the FMP for providing new and innovative services to the customer and for distinguishing services provided by the interexchange companies from those services provided by the local telephone network.
As part of this system, one aspect of the invention provides active components located in the network access unit such as a modem, multiplexer, and a controller.
The foregoing summary of the invention, as well as the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are included by way of example, and not by way of limitation with regard to the claimed invention.
Referring to
The FMP 32 may process data and/or analog/digitized voice between customer premise equipment (CPE) 10 and any number of networks. For example, the FMP 32 may be interconnected with a synchronous optical network (SONET) 42 for interconnection to any number of additional networks such as an InterSpan backbone 48, the PSTN 46, a public switch switching network (e.g. call setup SS7-type network 44), and/or a network server platform (NSP) 36. Alternatively, the FMP 32 may be directly connected to any of these networks. One or more FMPs 32 may be connected directly to the high speed backbone network (e.g., direct fiber connection with the SONET network 42) or they may be linked via a trunk line (e.g., trunks 40 or 42) to one or more additional networks.
The NSP 36 may provide a massive cache storage for various information that may be provided across the SONET net 42 to the FMP 32 and out to the ISD 22. The NSP 36 and the FMP 32 may collectively define an access network server complex 38. The NSP 36 may be interconnected with multiple FMPs 32. Furthermore, each FMP 32 may interconnect with one or more ISDs 22. The NSP 36 may be located anywhere but is preferably located in a point-of-presence (POP) facility. The NSP 36 may further act as a gateway to, for example, any number of additional services.
The ISD 22 may be interconnected to various devices such as a videophone 130, other digital phones 18, set-top devices, computers, and/or other devices comprising the customer premise equipment 10. The customer premise equipment may individually or collectively serve as a local network computer at the customer site. Application applets may be downloaded from the NSP 36 into some or all of the individual devices within the customer premise equipment 10. Where applets are provided by the NSP 36, the programming of the applets may be updated such that the applets are continually configured to the latest software version by the interexchange carrier. In this way, the CPE 10 may be kept up to date by simply re-loading updated applets. In addition, certain applets may be resident on any of the CPE 10. These resident applets may be periodically reinitialized by simply sending a request from, for example, a digital phone 18 and/or a videophone 130 to the FMP 32 and thereafter to the NSP 36 for reinitialization and downloading of new applets. To ensure widespread availability of the new features made possible by the present architecture, the customer premise equipment may be provided to end users either at a subsidized cost or given away for free, with the cost of the equipment being amortized over the services sold to the user through the equipment.
Referring to
The ISD 22 may be located within the home/business or mounted exterior to the home/business. The ISD 22 may operate from electrical power supplied by the local or central office 34 and/or from the customer's power supplied by the customer's power company. Where the ISD 22 includes a modem, it may be desirable to power the ISD 22 with supplemental power from the home in order to provide sufficient power to enable the optimal operation of the modem.
As shown in
A lifeline 126 may be provided for continuous telephone service in the event of a power failure at the CPE 10. The lifeline 126 may be utilized to connect the ISD 22 to the local telecommunications companys central office 34 and, in particular, to the FMP 32 located in the central office 34.
The ISD may be variously configured to provide any number of suitable services. For example, the ISD 22 may offer high fidelity radio channels by allowing the user to select a particular channel and obtaining a digitized radio channel from a remote location and outputting the digital audio, for example, on audio interface 122, video phone 130, and/or digital phones 121. A digital telephone may be connected to the audio interface 122 such that a user may select any one of a number of digital audio service channels by simply having the user push a digital audio service channel button on the telephone and have the speaker phone output particular channels. The telephone may be preprogramed to provide the digital audio channels at a particular time, such as a wake up call for bedroom mounted telephone, or elsewhere in the house. The user may select any number of services on the video phone and/or other user interface such as a cable set-top device. These services may include any number of suitable services such as weather, headlines in the news, stock quotes, neighborhood community services information, ticket information, restaurant information, service directories (e.g., yellow pages), call conferencing, billing systems, mailing systems, coupons, advertisements, maps, classes, Internet, pay-per-view (PPV), and/or other services using any suitable user interface such as the audio interface 122, the video phone/user interface 130, digital phones, 121 and/or another suitable device such as a settop device 131.
In further embodiments, the ISD 22 may be configured as an IP proxy server such that each of the devices connected to the server utilizes transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) protocol. This configuration allows any device associated with the ISD to access the Internet via an IP connection through the FMP 32. Where the ISD 22 is configured as an IP proxy server, it may accommodate additional devices that do not support the TCP/IP protocol. In this embodiment, the ISD 22 may have a proprietary or conventional interface connecting the ISD 22 to any associated device such as to the set top box 131, the personal computer 14, the video telephone 130, the digital telephone 18, and/or some other end user device.
In still further embodiments, the ISD 22 may be compatible with multicast broadcast services where multicast information is broadcast by a central location and/or other server on one of the networks connected to the FMP 32, e.g., an ATM-switched network. The ISD 22 may download the multicast information via the FMP 32 to any of the devices connected to the ISD 22. The ISD 22 and/or CPE 10 devices may selectively filter the information in accordance with a specific customer user's preferences. For example, one user may select all country music broadcasts on a particular day while another user may select financial information. The ISD 22 and/or any of the CPE 10 devices may also be programmed to store information representing users' preferences and/or the received uni-cast or multicast information in memory or other storage media for later replay. Thus, for example, video clips or movies may be multicast to all customers in the community with certain users being preconfigured to select the desired video clip/movie in real time for immediate viewing and/or into storage for later viewing.
Referring to
When the videophone 130 is used as a video telephone, the display 141 may include one or more video window(s) 160 for viewing a person to whom a user is speaking and/or showing the picture seen by the person on the other end of the video phone. The display may also include a dialed-telephone-number window 161 for displaying the phone number dialed, a virtual keypad 162, viral buttons 163 for performing various telephone functions, service directory icons 165, a mail icon 164, and/or various other service icons 166 which may be used, for example, for obtaining coupons or connecting with an operator. Any or all of these items may be displayed as virtual buttons and/or graphic icons and may be arranged in any combination. Additionally, any number of other display features may be shown on the video phone in accordance with one or more of the applications incorporated by reference below.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the FMP 32 may include an access module 70 and a digital loop carrier 87. The access module 70 may include a line protector 71, a cross-connector 73, a plurality of TVRC modems 80, a plurality of digital filters 82, a controller multiplexer 84, and/or a router and facilities interface 86. The digital loop carrier 87 may include a plurality of line cards 96, a time domain multiplexing (TDM) multiplexor (MUX) 88, a TDM bus 90, a controller 92, and/or a facilities interface 94.
During normal operations, digital signals on the customer connection 30 (e.g., twisted-pair lines) containing both voice and data may be received by the TVRC modems 80 via the line protector 71 and the cross-connector 73. Preferably, the line protector 71 includes lightning blocks for grounding power surges due to lightning or other stray voltage surges. The TVRC modems 80 may send the digital voice and/or data signals to the controller multiplexor 84 and the digital filters 82. The digital filters 82 may separate the voice signals from the digital data signals, and the controller multiplexor 84 may then multiplex the voice signals and/or data signals received from the digital filters 82. The controller multiplexor 84 may then send multiplexed voice signals to the TDM MUX 88 and the data signals to the router and facilities interface 86 for transmission to one or more external networks. The TDM MUX 88 may multiplex the voice signals from the controller multiplexor 84 and/or send the voice signals to the TDM bus 90, which may then send the digital voice signals to the controller 92 and then to the facilities interface 94 for transmission to one or more external networks. Both the router and facilities interface 86 and the facilities interface 94 may convert between electrical signals and optical signals when a fiber optic link is utilized.
When there is a failure of the digital data link (e.g., if there is a failure of the TVRC modems 80 at the FMP 32 or the TVRC modem 114 at the ISD 22), only analog voice signals might be sent over the subscriber lines 30. In such a case, the analog voice signals may be directly routed to the line cards 96, bypassing the TVRC modems 80, the digital filters 82, the controller multiplexor 84, and the TDM MUX 88. Thus, voice communication is ensured despite a failure of the digital data link. The line cards 96 may convert the analog voice signals into digital format (e.g., TDM format) and send the digitized voice data onto the TDM bus 90 and eventually through the controller 92 and the facilities interface 94 for transmission to one or more external networks.
Referring to
Again referring to
The ISD performs intelligent multiplexing, dynamic bandwidth allocation, and routing of voice and data and may also include advance signal processing for enabling voice activated commands. Because AT&T has over 90 million customers, it may be possible to give the video phone away for free so that all house-holds regardless of income level or desire to purchase a personal computer will have access to the vast information resources of the Internet, AT&T's networks, and/or third party networks including those providing pay per view (PPV) movie content and broadcast networks. It is anticipated that the video phone concept together with the ISD, FMP, and NSP of the present invention will revolutionize the delivery of telephony services and provide a quantum leap in the paradigm of telecommunications, improving the quality of life of our customers while turning the copper loop into an increasing necessity for all users.
For high end residential consumers who want more convenience and simplicity in their daily lives and convenient access to more information devices coupled to the ISD provide, for example: easier delivery of a wider range of telephony services (e.g., customer care, marketing, operator services) with cost savings due to automation; new service opportunities such as interactive electronic catalog shopping from the home, and advertising; ability to offer ultra fast Internet access to every household, penetrating even those without a PC unlike traditional voice/touch tone telephony access; high fidelity voice and music; touch screen and/or voice activated customer interface; asymmetric high speed transport of data to the home with the asymmetric character of the link and apportionment of that bandwidth variable depending on the amount of traffic; new service opportunities such as 3rd party bill payment including paper-less bill payment, banking, obtaining smart card cash in an ATM transactions, electronic shopping from the home, electronic coupons, advertising, electronic review and payment of bills, calling plans, class of services, as well as other services and plans; Interactive video teleconferencing; state-of-the-art networking for Work-at-Home; private line services; Call Connection including the self scheduling of conference calls without the need for an operator as well as initiation of interactive calls with white board augmentation using an appropriate applet downloaded from the NSP; class services invoked, for example, via icons and prompts in a natural manner without requiring memorization of numerical codes; navigation & access for voice, e-mail, and fax messages; obtain operator services without an operator, credit for wrong number, rate table, etc.; define profile for pointcast services; purchase products advertised on TV via synchronized ordering screen with television or PPV shows; Multimedia Enhanced Voice Calls, interactive voice & data response applications & info-on-demand; Support for work-at-home via virtual WAN; Screen pops for message/call alerting; graphical call management using touch and/or a mouse interface, including, for example call setup/bridging capabilities and point-and-click/tap-and-drag conferencing graphical use interfaces to initiate POTS calls, personal registry, mobility manager, call scheduling, call me back standard messages, personal assistant; Universal Multimedia Mailbox including a common interface for fax, voice, text, audio, and/or audio/visual images; 7 Khz high fidelity voice; asymmetric high speed transport with dynamic bandwidth allocation; residential LAN interface and associated local area network within the home; interactive video teleconferencing, display of web pages for customers placed on-hold, and other applications as discussed herein.
The service in accordance with aspects of the present invention makes the phone lines a conduit for a wide variety of high revenue service offerings, allows the differentiation of local telephone and long distance telephone services, significantly reduces operation costs, extracts additional performance benefits from the imbedded loop plant, makes maxim use of the existing network infrastructure, and uniquely leverages new technology. Aspects of the present invention will enable a revolutionary change in service delivery, which can greatly improve the quality of people's lives, and make the telephone network a much more valuable asset than ever before. When coupled with the introduction of low-cost premises devices (e.g., touch-screen phones), the technology enables a natural and compelling interface to rich new classes of service offerings for all telephone users regardless of their ability or desire to afford a personal computer or learn. Thus AT&T can reduce the cost of its own billing while making it easier for the customer to pay the bill. Additionally electronic billing services can be offered to other companies.
The ISD may be physically located on the premises side of the protector block. In exemplary embodiments as shown in
A basic Premises Distribution Network (PDN) 500 for one exemplary embodiment of a typical residential application of the ISD 22 is shown in
In exemplary embodiments, the ISD 22 multiplexes traffic from the various components of the PDN 500 (e.g., Ethernet, Screen Phone, Tip/Ring, ISDN) either between other devices on the PDN and/or onto DSL modem 114 for transport over loop twisted pair to the Central Office. The DSL modem may be constructed using any of the techniques described in the applications incorporated by reference below. Within the scope of the current document, the term XDSL will be used to represent any member of the DSL family. This family comprises, High Speed Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL), Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL) and Very high data rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL). This list is not limited to the members described herein, since changing technology adds more DSL schemes. The ISD 22 may execute any number of additional telephony functions using known techniques such as Packetization of voice for all telephone calls, Tip/Ring Borscht functions, default to Central Office Battery/Tip/Ring to provide lifeline service during power failure, overvoltage Protection, ringing, supervision, answer and incoming call/ringing supervision, generation of call progress tones (e.g., dial tone, busy, ringback, invalid number, etc.), various coding such as 7 KHz G.722 coding for Electra called parties, 3.3. KHz mu-law coding for non-ISD enabled parties, transmit messages reporting DTMF, on hook/off hook/flash hook events, support for voice dialing and enablement of special calling features (e.g., through the use of processor 102 which may include signal co-processor 102A and/or a high performance controller such as the 8960), provision of dial tone with time-out for voice dialing service, coding/forwarding voice commands (e.g., to a voice processor in the FMP and/or NSP.
The data link protocol of the DSL modem may be variously configured to include incorporate Forward Error Correction for traffic unsuited to re-transmission such as voice traffic. Additionally, the data link protocol may organize the aggregate data stream created by multiplexing downstream channels, duplex channels, and maintenance channels together into blocks, attaching an error correction code to each block. The receiver then can correct errors that occur during transmission up to the limits implied by the code and the block length. The data link protocol may also provide sufficient interleaving to correct errors due to impulsive noise but supporting low latency for voice traffic, create superblocks by interleaving data within subblocks to allow the receiver to correct any combination of errors within a specific span of bits. It may be desirable to tailor the interleaving interval to the latency budget for voice applications in DSL modems utilized to carry voice as in the present invention.
The packet handling in the present system may be variously configured. For example, in the CPE-Network direction, a the processor 102 may be configured to act as a packet handling subsystem to processes frames from the FMP and to generate DSL frames going to the FMP. The ISD and the FMP include DSL modems (e.g., TVRC) modems to terminate the link layers associated with the DSL segment of the connection. In a similar manner as the FMP, the processor in the ISD may be configured to reconstruct the IPv6 packets from DSL frames and then separates IP packets containing voice from those containing data and from those containing signaling. In the ISD, speech packets from the Packet Handling subsystem may be delivered to the residential interface for output to one or more analog lines to create virtual phone lines using the upper bandwidth of the DSL modem (e.g., 40 Khz to 1 Mhz) in a similar manner as the packet-to-circuit translation subsystem which may be utilized in the FMP. The processor 102 in the ISD 22 may also be configured to generate signaling packets which may be forwarded to the FMP for later utilization in either an in-band or out-of-band routing subsystem such as a conventional subscriber signaling subsystem (e.g., TR 303). Similarly, the processor 102 in the ISD 22 may include a subscriber signaling subsystem as part of an external routing subsystem. In this manner, packets received from the FMP in the network-CPE direction (including voice, data, video, and control packets) may be demultiplexed, reformatted with an appropriate protocol, and output to an attached peripheral device connected to the premise distribution network 500.
In the network to CPE direction, the processor 102 may be configured to re-construct IPv6 packets from DSL frames, and separating IP packets containing voice from those containing data from those containing signaling. This process may involve, for example, multiplexing (at the IP packet level) voice, data and subscriber signaling packets bound for a single DSL link with IP packets mapped onto DSL frames.
The processor 102 may also include one or more signal processors 102A and/or voice processor to perform various MPEGII coding/decoding functions, codec functions, voice recognition functions, etc. The processor 102 may also be configured to perform various protocol conversion functions such that data having protocols used on a device connected to the premise distribution network may be efficiently transmitted to and from the FMP using an appropriate transmission protocol. Additionally, the processor 102 monitors the devices connected to the premise distribution network and stores information concerning which devices are currently in use. In this manner, where there is an incoming call, the ISD has the intelligence to know which CPE is in use and which CPE is not in use. As a result, if there is an incoming call, the ISD will not send a ringing tone to any CPE that is already in use, but will route the call to another device that is available. Further, where there is a choice of a plurality of phones and/or other devices to route the call, the ISD may review activity detected on the motion sensors on any attached motion sensing devices such as those which may be present in a video phone 130 and ring a phone which is most convenient to the user. As an alternative, all available phones will be rung, with the user given the option to switch between incoming lines.
In an exemplary embodiment shown in
Interconnected to the ISD may be a protector block 26 which is used for impedance matching. The protector block 26 may also act as a demarcation of the customer premise and the local loop transmission network. Copper twisted pair may be utilized to connect the protector block and a Main Distribution Frame (MDF) as the main transmission medium in the local loop.
The DSL modems shown as 114 may be implemented using a Tethered Virtual Radio Channel (TVRC) modem as discussed in the applications incorporated herein by reference. The TVRC (Tethered Virtual Radio Channel) engine may be implemented using a simultaneous voice-data modem which may be a full-duplex Variable Rate—Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line (VR-ADSL) modem. The modem may transmit and receive the modulated voice+data bit stream via the twisted pair. The modem uses discrete multi-tone (DMT) modulation to achieve at least 1.5 Mbps data rate in both directions. Some of the TVRC engine functions include forward error control (Reed Solomon), channel coding (Turbo or Wei Convolution), TVRC spreading, echo cancellation and analog transmit/receive line interfacing. The TVRC modem may be implemented using one or more programmable DSPs which may be utilized to provide the modem transmit FFT and/or receive IFFT engine. However, the embodiments of aspects of the instant invention are not limited to the use of TVRC modulation technology. However, TVRC may be desirable as an alternate to interleaving in order to overcome impairments such as noise and interference and which results in unacceptable delays.
The processor 102 in the ISD 22 may be configured to discriminate between the various forms of traffic and to route this traffic to an appropriate device. Where high priority voice and/or video is distributed across the interface, the ISD may include one or more priority queues disposed in the SRAM and/or DRAM 103, 104. There may be different priority queues for each connected device on the premise distribution network (including any attached device described with regard to
For example, with reference to
The DSL modem 114 may be variously configured to supporting transport over 18000 foot loops at following rates exceeding 1 Mbits/second, and may include adapting duplex and downstream bit-rates to the needs of the current traffic such that more bandwidth is provided to the upstream and/or downstream and/or between various devices based on an intelligent bandwidth allocation algorithm. The DSL modem may provide a single-tone DMT mode for low power operation during idle periods to avoid re-synchronization at next service request and enable "always on" functionality. The always on and/or virtually always on functionality allows voice/data calls to be established virtually instantaneously without long delays. The virtually always on functionality allows the channel bandwidth to adapt to the current needs of the system to minimize power consumption, reduce thermal dissipation, and generate less interference. For example, if no device is currently being utilized, only a very low bandwidth channel is required. Accordingly, by reducing the bandwidth available across the loop, it is possible to improve overall performance for other lines.
The present invention discloses a local loop architecture that can overcome many of the Amongst the claimed advantages is the ability to have multiple appearances of a call on a single twisted pair. The architecture also allows data and voice to be mixed and bandwidth can be dynamically allocated in real time.
To illustrate the interaction between the various components of the instant invention, a voice dialing scenario will be described. When a subscriber picks up the telephone and if no digits have been dialed after a specified period of time has elapsed, the ISD may start digitizing the voice information into 64 Kbps .mu.-law PCM data. The samples may be interpreted locally using processor 102 and converted into commands, and/or stored in a wave file for later transmission. For example, where the voice commands are saved, they may be subsequently transmitted to the FMP over a signaling channel. On receipt by the FMT, the FMP may either interpret the commands (e.g., using a controller in the controller and multiplexer 84), and/or forward the information to the NSP for further processing. In the NSP, the commands may be interpreted using known voice recognition technology. The NSP may attempt to authenticate the request by ensuring that the subscriber does indeed have a subscription to the voice dialing service. The NSP may then determine the identity of the subscriber by looking at the address in the IP field of the packet. The NSP can therefore interpret the information in the wave files and take the appropriate action.
In one illustrative example, assume that subscriber John wanted to call another subscriber Paul. The NSP may attempt to determine who is Paul as defined by John. Once the telephone number for John has been determined, the NSP may inform the FMP to set up a call to John's number. In some configurations, this my be done by the FMP using the TR303 interface (as shown in
In the case where there is an incoming call, say from the PSTN, the FMP may obtain signaling information from the SLC. The information may be dispatched over the signaling channel to the NSP. The NSP may instruct the FMP with information on how the call should be terminated. On receiving this message, the FMP may send the appropriate signaling message to the ISD. The ISD may be configured to know which phones are in use and which ones are not. As a result, the ISD may apply ringing voltage to a phone that is not in use and/or take other remedial action as discussed above, e.g., using a call waiting signal.
The ISD may be configured to facilitate multiple appearances of calls on a single twisted pair to integrate voice and data traffic. The ISD is unlike conventional system that uses bandpass filters or splitter to separate voice and data. The ISD provides a local smart hub interface for all lines in the home as well as providing digital communication coordination among different devices in the home. The ISD may be configured for various functions including an alarm system, utility meter monitoring, standard POTS phone systems such as tip ring, or multiple tip rings, or multiple tip rings assigned to a single number, and/or multiple tip rings assigned to unique numbers, detection generation and conversion of DTMF tones, ring generation, off hook generation, and other call progress indication, and/or a business interface such as a T1 line, and/or other analog and/or digital lines.
Of course, other embodiments of the ISD will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, as shown in
Further, various implementations of the ISD may be utilized in different implementations. For example, settop 513 may be coupled to any suitable interface such as the IEEE 1394, RF audio/video interface 120, ethernet interface 119, etc. A TV may be coupled to the settop. Additionally, a DAT, DVD and/or other audio device 515 may be coupled to the ISD using a suitable interface.
Referring to
Referring to
The following applications, filed concurrently herewith, are hereby incorporated by reference: 1. A Hybrid Fiber Twisted-pair Local Loop Network Service Architecture (Ser. No. 09/001,360); 2. Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation for use in the Hybrid Fiber Twisted-pair Local Loop Network Service Architecture (Ser. No. 09/001,425); 3. The VideoPhone (Ser. No. 09/001,905); 4. VideoPhone Privacy Activator (Ser. No. 09/001,909); 5. VideoPhone Form Factor (Ser. No. 09/001,583); 6. VideoPhone Centrally Controlled User Interface With User Selectable Options (Ser. No. 09/001,576); 7. VideoPhone User Interface Having Multiple Menu Hierarchies (Ser. No. 09/001,908); 8. VideoPhone Blocker (Ser. No. 09/001,353); 9. VideoPhone Inter-com For Extension Phones (Ser. No. 09/001,358); 10. Advertising Screen Saver (Ser. No. 09/001,574); 11. Information Display for Visual Communication Device (Ser. No. 09/001,906); 12. VideoPhone Multimedia Announcement Answering Machine (Ser. No. 09/001,911); 13. VideoPhone Multimedia Announcement Message Toolkit (Ser. No. 09/001,345); 14. VideoPhone Multimedia Video Message Reception (Ser. No. 09/001,362); 15. VideoPhone Multimedia Interactive Corporate Menu Answering Machine Announcement (Ser. No. 09/001,575); 16. VideoPhone Multimedia Interactive On-Hold Information Menus (Ser. No. 09/001,356); 17. VideoPhone Advertisement When Calling Video Non-enabled VideoPhone Users (Ser. No. 09/001,361); 18. Motion Detection Advertising (Ser. No. 09/001,355); 19. Interactive Commercials (Ser. No. 09/001,578); 20. VideoPhone Electronic Catalogue Service (Ser. No. 09/001,421); 21. A Multifunction Interface Facility Connecting Wideband Multiple Access Subscriber Loops With Various Networks (Ser. No. 09/001,356); 22. Life Line Support for Multiple Service Access on Single Twisted-pair (Ser. No. 09/001,343); 23. A Network Server Platform (NSP) For a Hybrid Fiber Twisted-pair (HFTP) Local Loop Network Service Architecture (Ser. No. 09/001,582); 24. A Communication Server Apparatus For Interactive Commercial Service (Ser. No. 09/001,344); 25. NSP Multicast, PPV Server (Ser. No. 09/001,580); 26. NSP Internet, JAVA Server and VideoPhone Application Server (Ser. No. 09/001,354); 27. NSP WAN Interconnectivity Services for Corporate Telecommuting (Ser. No. 09/001,540); 28. NSP Telephone Directory White-Yellow Page Services (Ser. No. 09/001,426); 29. NSP Integrated Billing System For NSP services and Telephone services (Ser. No. 09/001,359); 30. Network Server Platform/Facility Management Platform Caching Server (Ser. No. 09/001,419); 31. An Integrated Services Director (ISD) Overall Architecture (Ser. No. 09/001,417); 32. ISD/VideoPhone (Customer Premises) Local House Network (Ser. No. 09/001,418); 33. ISD Wireless Network (Ser. No. 09/001,363); 34. ISD Controlled Set-Top Box (Ser. No. 09/001,424); 35. Integrated Remote Control and Phone (Ser. No. 09/001,423); 36. Integrated Remote Control and Phone User Interface (Ser. No. 09/001,420); 37. Integrated Remote Control and Phone Form Factor (Ser. No. 09/001,910); 38. VideoPhone Mail Machine (Ser. No. 60/070,104); 39. Restaurant Ordering Via VideoPhone (Ser. No. 60/070,121), 40. Ticket Ordering Via VideoPhone (Ser. No. 60/070,103); 41. Multi-Channel Parallel/Serial Concatenated Convolutional Codes And Trellis Coded Modulation Encode/Decoder (Ser. No. 09/001,342); 42. Spread Spectrum Bit Allocation Algorithm (Ser. No. 09/001,842); 43. Digital Channelizer With Arbitrary Output Frequency (Ser. No. 09/001,581); 44. Method And Apparatus For Allocating Data Via Discrete Multiple Tones (Ser. No. 08/007,167); 45. Method And Apparatus For Reducing Near-End Cross Talk In Discrete Multi-Tone Modulators/Demodulators (Ser. No. 08/997,176).
In addition, the following two patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference: 1. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/943,312 filed Oct. 14, 1997 entitled Wideband Communication System for the Home, to Robert R. Miller, II and Jesse E. Russell, and 2. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/858,170, filed May 14, 1997, entitled Wide Band Transmission Through Wire, to Robert R. Miller, II, Jesse E. Russell and Richard R. Shively.
While exemplary systems and methods embodying the present invention are shown by way of example, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. For example, each of the elements of the aforementioned embodiments may be utilized alone or in combination with elements of the other embodiments.
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Mar 6, 1997
|Oct 27, 1998
|Northern Telecom Limited
|Access to telecommunications networks in multi-service environment
|Mar 6, 1997
|Nov 23, 1999
|Nortel Networks Corporation
|Network access in multi-service environment
|Dec 23, 2003
|May 20, 2008
|At&T Corp.
|Integrated services director (ISD) overall architecture
|U.S. Classification
|370/401, 370/535
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Feb 4, 2010
Owner name: AT&T PROPERTIES, LLC,NEVADA
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|May 16, 2014
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|Oct 5, 2014
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|Nov 25, 2014
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 20141005


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Police Department
Rick Jefferson, Chief of Police
The St. Clair Police Department is on duty 24 hours a day seven days a week to serve and protect the City of St. Clair. Our open office hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
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Kuruman, town, Northern Cape province, South Africa. It is located in the northeastern corner of the province and is distantly southwest of Johannesburg. Originally a missionary station (1821), it later became an area of white settlement (town founded, 1885; incorporated, 1916). The town is chiefly known for a local spring—the Eye of Kuruman—which rises in a cave in this otherwise semidesert thornveld area and supplies at least 4,500,000 gallons (17,000,000 l) daily. Kuruman is also known for its dairy cattle and trade in butter. Pop. (2001) 9,823.
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Changing and Selecting Text
Whether you are editing code, HTML, or plain text, the Code Editor works the same and functions like other text editors or word processors. For code that is part of a project, the project's programming language support provides automatic statement completion, syntax checking, keyword colorization, and other services. For information about moving around in a document, see Navigating Code and Text.
To add or insert text
- Either click somewhere in the document or move the cursor to the desired location.
- Enter the text.
If your cursor is between existing characters, the text is inserted between them.
To overwrite characters in an existing line, press the INSERT key to put the editor in Overstrike mode. You can tell that it is in that mode when the cursor turns from a flashing line into a flashing block, and by the OVR displayed in the bottom right corner of the integrated development environment. Press the INSERT key again to return to Insertion (INS) mode.
To delete characters or a word in a line
- Place the cursor immediately before the word or letter you want to delete.
- Press the DELETE key as many times as needed to delete the characters or words.
CTRL+DELETE and CTRL+BACKSPACE delete whole words. CTRL+I deletes the current line.
Place your cursor at the end of the letter or word and press the BACKSPACE key.
Note You can double-click a word and then press DELETE or BACKSPACE to delete it.
To delete lines, paragraphs, and pages
- Highlight the text you want to delete by holding down the left mouse button and dragging over the text, or by using the SHIFT key with the either the Arrow or the HOME/END/PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN keys.
- In some languages, double-clicking in the Selection Margin selects the current definition or paragraph (HTML).
- Press DELETE or BACKSPACE.
You can also cut, copy, and drag and drop text in your document. For more information, see Dragging and Dropping Text.
You can format your code or let the environment do it for you. For more information, see Managing Code Formatting.
Selecting Text
The Code Editor has two text selection modes:
- Stream Mode The selection acts similarly to the standard Microsoft Windows multi-line edit control. Selection is a one-dimensional stream from the start of the file to the end. Entire lines are selected when you move to the next or a previous line. To select an entire line, click the Selection Margin (on the far left of the Editor window).
- Column (Box) Mode Rectangular boxes of code are selected. When you press ALT and left-click the mouse, and then drag it over text, only the rectangular portion of text you highlight is selected instead of the whole line. The selection includes any character that intersects with the rectangle defined by the beginning character (anchor character) and the last character in the selection. If the selection width is zero, then whole lines are selected.
To stream select text
- Left-click and drag the mouse over the text.
- Use the SHIFT+Arrow keys.
To column select text
- Hold down the ALT key, and then left-click the mouse and drag it over the text.
- Use the SHIFT+ALT+Arrow keys.
See Also
Editing Code, HTML, and Text | Dragging and Dropping Text | Managing Code Formatting | Navigating Code and Text


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Glasgow's melting. The temperature is rising and so is the murder rate. Douglas Brodie, ex-policeman, ex-soldier and newest reporter on the Glasgow Gazette, has no shortage of material for his crime column. But even Brodie balks at his latest subject – a rapist who has been tarred and feathered by a balaclava-clad group. Brodie soon discovers a link between this horrific act and a series of brutal beatings.
As violence spreads and the bodies pile up, Brodie and advocate Samantha Campbell are entangled in a web of deception and savagery. Brodie is swamped with stories for the Gazette. But how long before he and Sam become the headline?
©2012 Gordon Ferris (P)2012 Isis Publishing Ltd
"Brodie's back with a Vengeance !"
I haven't read the print version but I thoroughly enjoyed the Audiobook.
Kept me interested from the start with multiple plotlines and the romantic side was fairly subdued. All of the threads came together neatly at the end and tied in with the first Brodie novel.
No spoilers: the ending was very good.
Yes although that wasn't possible.
I'm looking forward to listening to books 3 and 4 in the series.
"slow moving with padding"
See below in additional comments.
Suppose so
The story was very slow to get moving .. and to be honest by then I wasn't all that interested to find out who dun it. I won't be reading any more of this author's works though I am sure he has a faithful readership so won't miss me!
"Gordon Ferris does it again. Fantastic story."
I would consider it better because the narrator takes on each character and you become part of the book.
Brodie was my favourite character as he can mix with any class of person.
I have listened to other performances of Angus King narrating Complicity by Ian Banks and also others by Gordon Ferris. I know if Angus is narrating I will enjoy the book, he puts so much emotion and feeling into the characters that they become alive.
Very much so.
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PHOTOS: Wareham JBA teams wrapping up season
Wareham's JBA youth basketball league is wrapping up the winter season. Playoffs are scheduled for the beginning of February.
Check out the galleries for some scenes from the January 26th games. Wareham Week will update this story with scores, standings, and a playoff schedule when information becomes available.


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This tea is a great ginger tea. It has the basic Pu'erh taste but with a strong ginger undertone. I love ginger flavours and this tea does the trick to fill my desire for ginger. I usually brew a strong cup (using more tea than the recipe calls for), but that is just my taste. This is a tea I will continue to drink, and buy.
205 °F / 96 °C 6 min, 0 sec


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LIN's mailing list is for leisure professionals to share their expertise and keep abreast of what's new in the field - currently there are more than 1,700 subscribers. Subscribe Now
** To post a message to LINsider, address your email to [email protected]. Messages require approval and are usually sent out within 2 business days.


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Iraq: At least 37 killed, about 150 wounded in blasts, shooting incidents
Blasts and fighting on a major street in the heart of Baghdad near the U.S.-guarded Green Zone killed at least 24 Iraqis and wounded more than 100. In a town, west of Baghad, at least 10 Iraqi civilians were killed by US gunfire.
According to The AP, rocket and mortar fire erupted about 5:30 a.m. and continued into the morning in the center of the Iraqi capital. Several rounds hit the Green Zone while U.S. soldiers took positions behind walls and trees along Haifa Street.
AFP, quoting U.S. sources, said the fighting erupted after a car bomb exploded on the street and an American Bradley fighting vehicle caught fire. Iraqi children climbed on top, cheering and dancing beside the flames after the Americans left. A military spokesman said the Bradley was apparently hit by a roadside bomb. Four troops were slightly wounded, he conveyed.
Shortly later, two US helicopters launched missiles and heavy machine-gun fire at the celebrating crowd. The US strike left at least five corpses scattered on the ground and 45 injured, according to AFP.
One of those killed in the Baghdad violence was a Palestinian who worked as a producer for Dubai-based Arabic channel Arabiya and for Saudi channel Ikhbariya, Arabiya and friends said. Witnesses said the young man was shot by U.S. helicopter fire as his crew filmed.
Also in the Iraqi capital, an Iraqi police colonel from the interior ministry died in a car bombing on his way to work in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Amariya, a ministry spokesman told AFP. Another policeman and a 12-year-old boy were also killed in the blast.
In addition, gunmen attacked a police patrol, killing one policeman, the Interior Ministry said.
A second car bomb went off outside Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad, injuring at least three people, Reuters reported. Officials said the two attacks may have been suicide bombing attacks.
A statement by a group linked to al-Qaeda claimed to have attacked Abu Ghraib prison in order to secure the release of the inmates, particularly "the noble pure women of (the Prophet) Muhammad's community."
The early-morning explosions followed a late-night barrage that rattled the capital. Three or four projectiles slammed into apartment buildings across the street from the Palestine and Sheraton hotels, where many international journalists are based.
Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman, an Interior Ministry official, said there were no reports of casualties.
Elsewhere, at least three Iraqi national guardsmen were killed and another three seriously injured on Sunday in a double car and roadside bomb attack northeast of the central city of Hilla, the Polish military said.
In another incident, American tanks and helicopters killed 10 Iraqis, including women and children, when they opened fire on a residential district in Ramadi on Sunday, a doctor told Reuters.
Abdel Salam Mohamed of Ramadi Hospital added a further 40 Iraqis were injured by occupation forces in the town.
Meanwhile, an audiotape purportedly by leading al Qaeda activist in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, boasted that Jihad warriors have humiliated the U.S.-led occupation in Iraq.
In Saturday's audiotape, the speaker noted recent battles between American forces and militiamen in the holy city of Najaf.
"The holy warriors made the international coalition taste humiliation ... lessons from which they still are burning," the speaker said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)


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I made with YUMI-0.0.5.0 a multi boot usb drive, and one of them is the Mint Debian. I boot in it live, but the install button is missing, and when I use the start button, type "install", and click on "Install Linux Mint", I just get the "Granted permissions without asking for password" warning, and then nothing happens, the GUI never starts. What can i do to start the GUI installation? Thanks.
Linux Mint Debian Install Button Missing
Archived topics about LMDE 1
Forum rules
- LMDE 1 has reached end of life (EOL) on January 1st 2016 and is no longer supported: http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2832
- Instructions for upgrading to LMDE 2: http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2830
3 posts • Page 1 of 1
- Level 1
- Posts: 28
- Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:33 pm
Re: Linux Mint Debian Install Button Missing
make the liveusb with unetbootin
Re: Linux Mint Debian Install Button Missing
Moved here by moderator
3 posts • Page 1 of 1


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The Ramset Cobra+0.27 Caliber Semi-Automatic Powder-Actuated Tool with New silencer Value Pack includes one Cobra+ tool, 10 boxes of 2-1/2 in. washer pins, and 10 boxes of .27 caliber red strip loads. The Cobra+ Tool is a semi-automatic 0.27 caliber powder actuated tool using strip loads. It is ideal for general construction and remodeling jobs, such as attaching two by fours, furring strips, and electrical boxes to concrete and steel. The Cobra+ incorporates a padded recoil-absorbing handle for smooth operation. It fastens up to 3 in.ch drive pins with washer.
- The Cobra+ tool is designed primarily for wood framing applications
- Excellent balance
- Easy to use all day long
- Tough, durable pins are able to penetrate dense concrete and structural quality steel
- Contains tool, pins, loads everything needed for your wood framing projects
- Requires Powder Actuated Tool Licensing – Click Here To Apply


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He observes them, creating portraits that are intimate and objective, while breaking down stereotypes and dehumanizing labels often used to describe the homeless. Liebow writes about their daily habits, constant struggles, their humor, compassion and strength.
In 1984 Ellet Liebow, an urban anthroplogist and author of Tally's Corner, an earlier work on Black streetcorner life, left his job at the National Institute of Mental Health and began volunteering at The Refuge, an emergency shelter for homeless women. Elliot became increasingly drawn to these women, spending more and more time in it and other shelters, making notes and getting to know the inhabitants. This book is is the result. Unveiling the problems inherent in the current system of providing for the homeless is only part of the dynamic at work here. Tell Them Who I Am gives real voice to these women and theie stories. They are clearly human beings, and Elliot does nothing to strip them of their dignity or humanity. If any criticism could be made I suppose it might to suggest that Elliot is too close to his subjects. Perhaps this is an apt counter to most of the distancing, impartial-observer accounts of the homeless common to social science texts. There is no feelings of these women as bugs under a microscope. We see their world, as we should, through their eyes.


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March 6, 2014
TEAM MEMBERS of the Division II Seahawks hoist a championship trophy after beating Chataturrines by a 1-0 margin at The Dalles Fitness and Court Club Sunday night in The Dalles.
Stories this photo appears in:
Seahawks win Div. II indoor title
The Seahawks were the lowest seed to start the playoffs, but reeled off three consecutive wins to grab the title.
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.


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Skip Holtz has been offered the head coaching job at Louisiana Tech, per a source in a report from Bruce Feldman of CBSSports.com via Twitter. Holtz reportedly is expected to accept the job within the next two hours.
Holtz was in the market for a new job after being fired by the University of South Florida at the end of the 2012 season. USF produced its worst season in school history, 3-9 overall and 1-6 in Big East play, in Holtz's final year. In three years at USF, Holtz was 16-21 overall and 5-16 in the Big East.
Louisiana Tech has been looking for a head coach since Sonny Dykes took the job at Cal. The Bulldogs were 9-3 overall record and 4-2 record in the WAC under Dykes in 2012.


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Rosberg wins first F1 race in China
|N. Rosberg
|J. Button
|L. Hamilton
15 April 2012 – Nico Rosberg is celebrating his maiden Formula 1 victory, having won Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix in dominant fashion. After starting from pole, the son of 1982 World Champion Keke was aided by a pit-stop problem for Jenson Button as Lewis Hamilton finished third to lead the Drivers' Championship.
In one of the most dramatic races the sport has witnessed for some time, Rosberg led commandingly from pole as his lead extended to 25 seconds thanks to an efficient strategy and a number of scenarios behind him. The 26-year-old, who made his debut with Williams in 2006, becomes the seventh German to win in F1 history and also marks a significant milestone for Mercedes, which returned as a works team two years ago. The company last won with Juan Manuel Fangio at Monza in 1955.
A clean start allowed Rosberg to lead without issues, as Michael Schumacher held second but began to lose pace and drop into the clutches of Button, whose own stunning start saw him seize third place on the outside of Turn 1. Further back, Bruno Senna tapped the back of Felipe Massa's Ferrari and broke a front wing end plate on his Williams. From 11th on the grid, a frustrating afternoon for World Champion Sebastian Vettel began with a plummet to 15th.
Prior to Lap 39, Button led Rosberg for five laps, with the Englishman and German on respective three and two-stop strategies. The McLaren driver would be required to pit and then catch the Mercedes, but a sticking left-rear wheel lost him at least six seconds and dropped the 2009 title winner into the chasing pack; McLaren's second pit-stop mistake in as many races allowed Rosberg to extend a massive lead and he was then able to control the pace.
Unlike team-mate Räikkönen, Romain Grosjean pitted later and preserved his tyres well; escaping from an off-track excursion at Turn 6, the Franco-Swiss registered not just his first finish of the season, but a career-best with sixth place. Bruno Senna delivered another highly respectable performance to come home seventh, with Pastor Maldonado confirming a superb day for Williams in eighth spot.
A dramatic start to the 2012 season has now brought Formula 1 its 103rd different race winner, as Rosberg slowed in the closing stages but still won by 20 seconds. There is now a McLaren one-two in the drivers' table, with Hamilton leading Button by just two points after yet another third place finish. For Constructors' honours, McLaren extends its lead over Red Bull to 24 points as F1 prepares to return to Bahrain.
Formula 1 continues with the Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend


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My Journey
Your journey may take you to a number of different places and programs, such as hospital, rehabilitation, your home or a new type of home. You will meet many different health care professionals and supporters. And you will face many changes as you move from place to place.
Browse the pages below to help you make sense of your journey, some of the places you may go and people you may work with are explained. There are some tips to help with changes as you move along.
In this Section
Hot Topics
Join Us
The mission of Brainstreams.ca is provide 24/7 access to information and resources for the thousands of people who experience brain injury in BC and beyond each year.
We are actively seeking collaborators who share our vision to build Brainstreams.ca into a world-class online knowledge hub.
To explore partnership opportunities with Brainstreams.ca, contact Sarah Lowis at Sea to Sky Management at email@example.com.
A project of:
We acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia.
Brainstreams.ca is an online education and networking site for the Brain Injury Community in B.C. and beyond.
The material on this web site is provided for educational purposes only, and is not to be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.


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FAMILIES are encouraged to pick up artefacts from the First World War at a museum this summer, for a poignant insight into the day-to-day reality of war.
Every Tuesday in August visitors to Ripon Workhouse Museum can handle genuine wartime objects as part of the museum's Great War theme.
Museum volunteers will be on hand to help people explore some of the stories behind the objects.
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Volunteer co-ordinator Wendy Hunwick-Brown said: "It's a chance to explore some objections from the war; to let people experience real things from the time. We have some photographs, postcards, a nurse's apron; a whole range of items that people can touch and hold.
"There's also an opportunity for people to stop and consider what life was like for those back at home as well as those who were fighting."
The museum is also running other activities related to traditional crafts used during the war years, included rag rug-making. Visitors can also create a rug in the shape of a poppy.
The wartime object handling sessions run from 2.30pm until 4pm every Tuesday during the summer holidays.
For more information visit the website riponmuseums.co.uk


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Strategic Communications
University Catalog
Please contact us at email@example.com.
Return to: Degree Programs
A minimum of 70 semester units in music are required, at least 32 of which must be upper-division.
* See "Requirements for Undergraduate Music Majors ," item 6
Students in the Composition Concentration must demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language (French, German or Italian) to be satisfied as described under the requirements for the Bachelor of Music, Voice concentration.


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Welcome to the GFX Area Resource Index. I created this Index because i thought it would be a better way to go about creating resource topics for the members, this way is better because it's one large topic rather than a large number of smaller topics. This makes it easier to manage and update the content.
Below you will find some useful links to various GFX related resources, such as downloads, tutorials, image hosting websites, etc. As well as important information specific to GTAForums, like rules, members tutorials, etc.
If you have any question about anything posted, either post here or PM any GFX regulars or myself. I'm sure theres plenty or people who would be more than happy to help.
- -GTAForums External Links
- GTAForums.com GFX Tutorial Archive
- GTAForums.com GFX Rules and Guidelines
- -Guides
- Software Overview
- Image File Formats Guide
- Tutorial Sites
- Resource Links
- Plug-ins
- Program Shortcuts Guide
- -Image Hosting Links
- Free Image Hosts
- Free .PSD (Photoshop Document) Hosts
First Posted: 16-9-06 by jarjar