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Coverage of Virginia politics and the 2014 election.
Reaction mixed to Herring gay marriage announcement
New Attorney General Mark Herring is making major news in Richmond this morning with the announcement that he will not defend Virginia's constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage, and in fact will file a brief supporting two same-sex couples challenging the ban in court.
Herring said he believes the ban is itself unconstitutional and violates the rights of gay Virginians.
Conservative Republicans are apoplectic, saying that as attorney general, it's Herring's job to defend all the laws of Virginia, even if he doesn't like them.
Democrats and groups supportive of same-sex marriage are delighted.
Below are statements from both sides.
House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford:
"Less than two weeks ago, Mark Herring took an oath and swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of Virginia. I am very concerned about his announcement today and the dangerous precedent it sets with regard to the rule of law.
"The Attorney General has a constitutional and statutory obligation to enforce and defend the duly adopted laws and Constitution of Virginia. This is not an obligation that can be taken lightly. The Attorney General's decision today demonstrates a great deal of disregard for that obligation, as well as the legislative and democratic processes by which those laws are adopted."
Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, who narrowly lost the AG's race to Herring:
Virginians, like millions of others across the country, are engaged in a robust debate over marriage, one that speaks to an important unresolved constitutional issue. Here in Virginia, the state's Marriage Amendment is a matter of perennial legislative debate, and that Amendment could well fall: the voters could repeal it or a court may strike it down. But it is emphatically not the role of the Attorney General to make that determination unilaterally, and that may well be the consequence of Attorney General Herring's decision.
"Fair minded people disagree on the issue of gay marriage, but this is, fundamentally, about the rule of law and allowing the system to work. Whether the Marriage Amendment will survive court scrutiny is clearly an unresolved question, but our system of law does not work when one side of the argument fails to show up. It is manifestly the job of the Attorney General to defend the law and let it rise or fall on it merits in court."
Attorney General Herring, who on the campaign trail refused to take a clear position on whether he would defend Virginia law in this and other instances, will be filing a brief in support of the plaintiffs, according to spokeswoman Ellen Qualls.
"The Attorney General is the Commonwealth's lawyer," said Obenshain. "It is deeply inappropriate for the Attorney General to use state resources to actively oppose a duly ratified constitutional amendment. Through this decision, Herring is effectively seeking to unilaterally reverse the actions of the General Assembly in adopting the Amendment, and the people of Virginia in ratifying it. There are deeply held convictions on both sides of this issue, which is why it is all the more important that the case has its day on court—and that both sides of the dispute are ably and robustly argued."
In a September interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Herring said that he would "poll the attorneys in the attorney general's office who have the expertise in the particular subject matter" to help him determine whether or not to defend the Marriage Amendment or other laws in court. At a debate on October 2nd, he pointedly declined to state whether he would defend state laws with which he disagreed.
Obenshain concluded, "I look forward to working with the Attorney General on many important issues for the good of all Virginians, and have no intention of highlighting every possible point of disagreement that may arise throughout Herring's term in office, but I consider the question of whether or not the Office of the Attorney General is to defend Virginia law a matter of utmost importance, something that goes to the heart of the duties of the Attorney General. This is especially true given Mark Herring's dissembling comments made over the past six months on the campaign trail. Virginians should be disappointed that he didn't display the courage to share his intentions when repeatedly asked during his campaign. Today's decision sets a disturbing precedent and has the potential to deprive Virginians on both sides of this important issue of the legal scrutiny the matter clearly merits."
Republican Party of Virginia chairman Pat Mullins:
"It took Mark Herring less than a month to decide he doesn't want to be Attorney General. The first job of Virginia's Attorney General is to be the Commonwealth's law firm, and to defend the duly passed laws of Commonwealth."
"The subject matter is irrelevant. Virginia's constitutional amendment and its challenges were well known when Mark Herring spent millions of dollars fighting to become Virginia's attorney. Attorneys don't get to choose whether or not they will defend their clients. Indeed, lawyers have a duty to select their clients carefully, because they are ethically bound to represent the claims of their clients, good or bad."
"By running for the office, Mark Herring asked for the challenge of defending Virginia's Constitution and all it contains."
"For a court to make a determination on an issue with this much gravity, both sides need to be ably represented. Only through a robust and fair adversarial system — where both sides have the resources they need to make the best possible case — can the courts reach a fair decision on this issue. Mark Herring's decision today not only abandons his first duty, it hobbles this vital legal process. It turns what could have been landmark jurisprudence into a political farce. "
"If Mark Herring doesn't want to defend this case, he should resign, and let the General Assembly appoint someone who will. Mark Herring owes the people of Virginia no less."
From the other side….
House of Delegates Democrats:
"We are pleased to hear that Attorney General Herring has, after careful consideration, determined that Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional," said Democratic House Leader David Toscano. "We applaud the Attorney General for working to ensure the rights of all of our citizens are protected."
"Windsor was clear that the 14th Amendment requires Virginia to honor all marriages from other states," said Delegate Scott Surovell. "I'm glad to see Attorney General Herring standing up to honor federal precedent and not subjecting Virginia to the ignominy of Massive Resistance to equality yet again."
Democrats have sponsored several bills to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment: HB 939-Surovell, HJ 3-Morrissey, HJ 11-Surovell, HJ-67 Plum, and HJ-77-Herring
The ACLU:
"We're pleased to welcome the Attorney General and the Commonwealth to the right side of history, and we want to be sure that whatever happens next will result in a quick, clear, and final decision affirming the freedom to marry for our clients and for all Virginians," said Claire Guthrie Gastañaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia.
The Attorney General's office will file papers announcing its new position today in the lawsuit Bostic v. Rainey, in which attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies are counsel, and soon should file similar papers in the second lawsuit Harris v. McDonnell, which was filed last year by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Virginia, Lambda Legal, and the law firm Jenner and Block.
The legal move follows the inauguration of Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe, who replaced Republican Governor Bob McDonnell earlier this year, and Attorney General Mark Herring, who replaced former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. The previous administration had staunchly defended the marriage ban.
"It is a critical and important development when the Attorney General-the keeper of the federal and state constitution in the Commonwealth– joins us in arguing that barring same-sex couples from marriage is clearly unconstitutional," said Greg Nevins, counsel in Lambda Legal's Southern Regional Office based in Atlanta. "We will continue to work to remove all remaining impediments so that Virginia can join the growing number of states where same-sex couples in loving, committed relationships are treated equally and can enjoy fully the benefits and responsibilities marriage provides."
"Today action's by Virginia's chief legal officer continues America's evolution on this issue. More and more Americans are embracing the idea that all loving and committed couples should have access to the protections that only come with marriage," said Amanda Goad, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. "With the Attorney General on our side, we hope that we can soon count Virginia among the 17 other states where same-sex couples have the freedom to marry."
More information on this case can be found at: www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/harris-et-al-v-mcdonnell-et-al
Permalink: http://news.fredericksburg.com/on-politics/2014/01/23/reaction-mixed-to-herring-gay-marriage-announcement/


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Klagenfort, Austria – Sunday's race turned out to be picture perfect for Bella Bayliss. TeamTBB teammate Lucie Zelenkova left the entire women's field in her wake with a 47:32 swim split. Eva Dollinger exited in 2nd and Bella Bayliss in 3rd, over 6-minutes back. As with Bella's racing style, her eyes are always on the finish with T1 & T2 as checkpoints along the way.
Bella rode strong and steady into the lead, posting the second fastest split behind Sonja Tajsich; all other women riding over 10-minutes slower. At T2 the race begins, and Bella was fully in the zone. Clad in compression socks, Bella wanted to cement this victory and leave no doubts about this Ironman Champion. Bella ran to the line with a run split of 3:00:21
Ironman Austria was Bella's second sub-9-hour iron distance as she took the women's title in 8:50:13. Congrats Bella!
Additional AVIA athletes racing, include: Lucie Zelenkova (3rd), James Cunnama (2nd), and Stephan Bayliss (3rd).

subset: commoncrawl


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The Basics: I am 5'11/2″, 105 lbs when I am not pregnant., look like a teenager, turning 34 this year, live in St. Louis, grew up near Chicago, love Jayhawks basketball, got married to my wonderful husband in 2004, love to shop with my mom, use pictures as art in my home, enjoy going to Rams football games, love green bean casserole, love contemporary furnishings, enjoy organizing & re-organizing, love shopping, prefer salt over sweet, feel 100x better when I put on some mascara and brush my teeth, gained 35 lbs.freshman year of college , wear super-flare jeans instead of skinny, studied in London, still a daddy's girl, just finished writing 2 books, enjoy "fat" Sundays, am still in love with Joey from NKOTB, love normal food (in moderation of course!) , hated chicken while I was pregnant, want 5 kids, and most of all I want to make others happy. The way to be happy is to make others happy.
I've always believed you should never burn bridges and if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all. I would love for my kids to grow up in a family just like mine. My parents and my faith taught me many, many valuable lessons. A lot of them I am still learning (I need to learn to stick up for myself!) Striving to be a mom like my own mother has led me to who I am today. I believe we should all have compassion towards others and I hope that comes full circle with my kids, Taylor, Rylan & Harper.


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Search results for "fugly"
Pick of the Blogs: Ugg fug, craft love and pregancy chic
Click image to enlarge Ugg boots, fug boots, I'm glad to see RosiePop is on the same page. [ RosiePop ] A sweet crafted present from one KoS queen to another, ahh warms the cockles of your heart doesn't it?! [...
Pick of the Blogs: Joan Collins, Air Hostess uniforms, Rogan for Target playsuit
Rachael's found a website of air hostess outfits that put Easyjet to shame. [ Fur Coat, No Knickers ] The Fug Girls are celebrating Joan Collins' birthday in bitchtastic style. [ Go Fug Yourself ] Camille is rocking Rogan...
Frock Horror: Paris Hilton at the Sundance Film Festival
Paris, this whole fuffy, five-year-old, bubblegum pink 'I'm so cute' thing...? ...it would have worked better if you hadn't also done a sex tape. Just sayin'.


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Chargers Announce Injury Report vs. BroncosPosted by on November 16, 2012 – 3:58 PM
The Chargers announced their official injury report a short while ago.
Aubrayo Franklin (knee) is out.
Jared Gaither (groin) is doubtful.
Ryan Mathews (neck) and Dante Rosario (hamstring) are questionable.
Antwan Barnes (hamstring), Atari Bigby (quad), Chris Carr (knee), Tyronee Green (ribs/illness), Melvin Ingram (knee), Mike Scifres (rt. ankle) and Eric Weddle (knee/illness) are all probable.
Franklin suffered a deep bone bruise in his knee during the second quarter of Sunday's game in Tampa Bay. He is expected to be out a couple weeks. By missing the game, he will become the first Chargers defensive starter to miss a game this season.
If Gaither does not suit up on Sunday, and it is looking at this moment that it is likely he will miss the game, it will be the second week in a row he missed with the groin injury.
Mathews suffered a stiff neck as a result of a vicious third quarter collision with the Bucs' Quincy Black. He missed the practice on Wednesday and Thursday but returned on a limited basis on Friday.
Finally, Rosario's hamstring injury flared up in the middle of Thursday's practice.
Tags: Antwan Barnes, Atari Bigby, Aubrayo Franklin, Chris Carr, Dante Rosario, Eric Weddle, Injury Report, Jared Gaither, Melvin Ingram, Mike Scifres, Ryan Mathews, Tyronne Green
Posted in Uncategorized | 21 Comments »
Mathews Misses Practice with Neck InjuryPosted by on November 14, 2012 – 5:20 PM
Ryan Mathews missed practice today with a stiff neck. He injured himself on the same hit in the third quarter on Sunday that the Buccaneers' Quincy Black suffered a season-ending neck injury on.
Here is what head coach Norv Turner had to say about Mathews and his injury.
"His neck is pretty stiff. He took a pretty good shot on that hit. We'll see where he's at tomorrow. Hopefully he'll be alright and be able to practice tomorrow and Friday and be able to play on Sunday."
Tags: Ryan Mathews
Posted in Uncategorized | 22 Comments »
Mathews Returns to PracticePosted by on October 11, 2012 – 2:07 PM
Ryan Mathews sat out yesterday's practice for an undisclosed reason, but any fear that it was serious subsided as #24 was back on the field today for practice.
Mathews put forth his best effort of the season Sunday night, rushing for 80 yards and a touchdown and catching six balls for 59 yards.
Be sure to check out our Chargers Report later today for the latest on Mathews and the rest of your Chargers.
Tags: Ryan Mathews
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
Rivers, Mathews Dominant Vs.BroncosPosted by on October 11, 2012 – 10:39 AM
The good news for the Chargers is that two their most valuable offensive players, Philip Rivers and Ryan Mathews, have been historically dominant against the Denver Broncos.
Rivers has a 9-3 record versus the Broncos, including 20 TDs, seven ints and a career passer rating of 102.7. He has an overall record of 40-8 in games in which he has a passer rating of 100.0 or higher. Rivers is 28-10 as a starter versus the AFC West.
Meanwhile, Mathews has rushed for more than 120 yards in his last three outings versus the Broncos (120, 125, and 137 yards).
So who do you think will have the bigger game vs. Denver, Rivers or Mathews? Let us know in the comments below.
Tags: AFC West, Denver Broncos, Philip Rivers, Ryan Mathews
Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »
Mathews Misses PracticePosted by on October 10, 2012 – 4:32 PM
Ryan Mathews sat out of practice today as the Chargers started preperations for the Denver Broncos. Although the team will not put out an injury report until tomorrow, head coach Norv Turner said he expects everyone who missed practice today to be able to play on Monday night.
Turner was also effusive in his praise of Mathews. Here is what he had to say about him during his press conference with the media:
"Every time he has adversity or a setback, he comes back stronger. He's done that since he's been here. Every time everyone wants to count him out he comes back and he's better. He's just a mentally tough guy that when he's on and he's right, he's really good."
Agree with Turner? Leave your thoughts about Mathews in the comments below.
Tags: Norv Turner, Ryan Mathews
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Mathews in Full Pads for PracticePosted by on September 13, 2012 – 1:55 PM
Practice just got under way, and Ryan Mathews is participating in full pads for the first time since fracturing his clavicle.
Will have more information about the extent of his work after practice on Chargers.com, but it is certainly a positive sign in the right direction.
Quentin Jammer also returned to the field today after sitting out yesterday's session.
Tags: Ryan Mathews
Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments »
Mathews Still Not Cleared for ContactPosted by on September 11, 2012 – 1:51 PM
In his weekly press conference, head coach Norv Turner said that Ryan Mathews still has not been cleared for contact, and that he doesn't have a firm date yet on when he will be.
"It could be tomorrow, or it could be a week from tomorrow," he said. "We're continuing to evaluate him and hopefully it will be sooner than later. But again, we'll get an update tomorrow based on how much he's able to do in practice, and the day he's cleared, we'll let you know."
Mathews fractured his clavicle on his first carry of the preseason and has been working hard to get back out on the field. Being cleared for contact is one of the last hurdles needed for him to be ready for game action.
Tags: Norv Turner, Ryan Mathews
Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments »
Turner Details Running GamePosted by on July 22, 2010 – 5:38 PM
Six weeks after OTAs ended, Thursday's informal press conference with Norv Turner represented a welcome break for those of us producing stories every day without fresh quotes.
The lunchtime chat provided plenty of interesting tidbits. I'll get to more tomorrow, but Turner had some illuminating, if not surprising, things to say about the run game.
He acknowledged the coaching staff made a concerted effort this offseason to analyze and improve the team's ground game. They concluded the team lacked the 10 and 20-yard bursts that loosened defenses and epitomized the nervousness induced by some of San Diego's backs in 2006 and 2007.
First-round pick Ryan Mathews, he made it clear, mostly will play on first and second downs to start his career. While Mathews already has demonstrated that he understands the importance of pass protection, and his 6-foot, 218-pound frame seems tailored for the task, he'll get time to develop the skill that's often the hardest for rookie running backs to master. Darren Sproles will remain the primary third-down back for the Chargers.
"You stand behind (Mathews) and look at his calves and he is a big, solid guy. (Fresno State) teaches their players to play in a very physical manner, so he's not shy about contact," Turner said. "I can't believe he won't be an outstanding pass protector because he has the want-to and he has the physical stature to do it.
Tags: Darren Sproles, Norv Turner, Offensive Line, Pass Protection, Run, Ryan Mathews
Posted in Miscellaneous, Notes | 6 Comments »
Symposium ExtrasPosted by on June 28, 2010 – 4:24 PM
• Almost all of the 255 NFL rookies attended. Among those absent was Chad Jones, the New York Giants safety involved in a serious car accident last week.
• Asked what would happen if Cam Thomas launched himself into the space bounce with a hive of kids, Ryan Mathews broke a string of monotonous questions with this diddy: "He'll pop that thing if he goes in there. I'll probably be in there with him. If he ends up in there, he'll probably squash a few kids or something like that, but it's all fun and games."
• Darrell Stuckey wasn't star-struck, per se, by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. But Goodell did gain his respect: "As important as (off-field behavior) is to our organization and the branding of the NFL, it's one of those things to where we have to realize that, yeah, he's the man. He's the one that runs the show. And for him to take time out to come out here and let us know how important it is to him means a lot to us."
As an aside, Stuckey already is one of the more polished interviews on the team.
• Thomas had an interesting take on the collective fate of the rookies: "Somebody's going to have a Hall of Fame type life. Some people are going to be wealthy. Some people aren't going to make it past training camp. They'll probably play one preseason game. That's just reality."
• Monday's media availability was part of the NFL's Play 60 campaign to promote active lifestyles. There were a few dozen kids from Camp Pendleton that participated in a fun lunchtime play session outside with all of the rookies. The Chargers actively sought kids to engage. Jonathan Crompton played quarterback with a few. Stuckey and Donald Butler also were quick to find some young friends.
We are officially four weeks from the first rookies-only practice at training camp.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Tags: Cam Thomas, Darrell Stuckey, Donald Butler, Jonathan Crompton, Roger Goodell, Rookies, Ryan Mathews
Posted in Miscellaneous, Notes | Comments Off
In Quotes: Last Week of OTAsPosted by on June 21, 2010 – 12:34 PM
About 45 players participated in the final week of OTAs last week, most of them rookies.
Here's a look at what some of the Chargers' draft picks, free agent rookies and young vets had to say and their evaluation of the offseason.
Ryan Mathews – "I think I'm on top of my game and ready to go, but there's still a lot of stuff I need to learn. This upcoming month, July, is really going to help me out. If I just stay on top of everything, just keep working out and keep getting better, I'll come back in July and be ready."
Cam Thomas — "It really doesn't matter until you put the pads on. It's more mental than it is physical right now. It's just getting the plays and understanding the philosophy of the defense. When the pads come on, that's when we'll tell who's a man and who's not. If you don't like being physical, you shouldn't play the sport. And I like being physical."
Jeremy Williams — "I've been making as many catches as I can, doing everything as fast as I can and working hard. I think overall my OTAs went well. I'm just going to go back, get a couple days of rest, hang out with the family and then I'm going to get back on my grind. I'll make sure I stay in shape and get ready for camp to come here and light it up."
Antwan Applewhite — "What we try to take from it is not so much physicalness, but just the mental aspect of it. Just getting our minds back on football, getting our legs in football shape. That's basically what we take from it, so that's what the fans should take from it. It's just kind of a pre-camp type thing. That's why they call it Mini Camp. It's just to kind of get us back into shape and get our minds ready to play football again in September."
Dante Hughes — "This is a good time for us because we get an opportunity to play. That's what we get paid to do and that's what we enjoy doing, but at the same time, before training camp you definitely need that down time. You can get your body back if you have a knick or you're bruised up a little bit. You can get those issues taken care of so that they don't linger into the season. Plus, a lot of these guys have families. When the season rolls around, you're not going to have much opportunity to enjoy them, so it's a good time for us to get family time in also."
Stay true and keep pounding,
Tags: Antwan Applewhite, Cam Thomas, Dante Hughes, Jeremy Williams, OTAs, Ryan Mathews
Posted in Notes, Uncategorized | Comments Off


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Workshop on caries prevention for communities in the Region of the Americas - Community Workshop Day 2.
- Workshop on caries prevention for communities in the Region of the Americas
- Train-the-Trainers
- Train-the-trainer agenda, learning objectives, and handouts.
- Community Workshop. Day 1.
- Community Workshop Day 2.
- Community Workshop. Day 3.
- Handouts for the Community Workshop.
- Fluoride varnish video, and Cover for Training Workshop
Page 5 of 8
Tab 4: Community Workshop Day 2.
Contains all the training materials for Modules 5-9
Community Workshop: Module 5: Systemic Fluoride Interventions (44.23 kB)
Community Workshop: Module 6: Topical Fluoride Interventions (237.41 kB)
Community Workshop: Module 7: Effectiveness of ART in a Prevention Program (PRAT) (44.53 kB)
Community Workshop: Module 9: Working with Infants and Children (45.14 kB)
Last Updated on Monday, 04 February 2013 10:18
Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization


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November 22, 2014
Offensive coordinator Paul Chryst will remain at Wisconsin after interviewing with the Dallas Cowboys last week.
The university made the announcement today.
Chryst was the Badgers' tight ends coach in 2002 and returned to Wisconsin two years ago. The 2005 team was the highest-scoring in school history at about 34 points per game.
Despite losing five players to the N-F-L draft, last year's team was the ninth-highest scoring unit in school history. Left tackle Joe Thomas won the Outland Trophy, sophomore Travis Beckum set school records for receptions and receiving yards by a tight end and freshman P-J Hill was the Big Ten's leading rusher.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Panel discussion: "Native American Perspective, Story and Sense of Place"
- When: Saturday, April 6, 2013, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- Where: Hood River Library, Hood River
- Cost: Free
- Age limit: Not available
- Categories: Literary, Community
"Native American Perspective, Story and Sense of Place," a panel discussion, 2-4 p.m. at the Hood River County Library. Part of the 2013 Hood River County Reads project.
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A college student working on her bachelor's degree in mathematics education asks questions about teaching a visually impaired student.
Susan replies: One of the most difficult challenges has been teaching concepts involving three-dimensional objects. 3-D problems are found in all levels of mathematics. They are often difficult for students with vision to understand, especially when trying to create 3-D objects in a two-dimensional drawing. Such a drawing, even when tactually raised, makes little sense without sighted "perspective." Yet, the textbooks continue to draw these 3-D raised line drawings that seem to contradict what the math teacher has just taught the student. For example, a teacher may have just explained to a student that a cylinder has two bases which consist of two congruent circles and their interiors and let them examine several real cylinders. Then, when the homework is assigned or the test is administered, they are given a two-dimensional drawing that would seem to indicate that a cylinder only has one base and it consists of an ellipse and its interior. Sometimes my students would be better off without the "picture." Whereas, it may help the sighted student, it often causes confusion for the blind student. In addition, the blind student has to learn what the 3-D object really feels like, and then what it "feels" like as a sighted person would see it. Talk about extra work! In addition to solid geometry, algebra can also cause similar problems. For example, when solving linear systems with three variables, many sighted students have difficulty visualizing a three-dimensional graph. Most mathematicians would agree that it is impractical to use a two-dimensional graphing display to solve a system of three equations in three variables, and this is for people with vision! The study of vector calculus and the calculus of space create an even greater challenge; however, I leave this to others.
The next most immediate challenge is keeping up with the advancement in math technology tools for the sighted. The scientific graphing calculator is becoming a required tool in more and more math and science classrooms. Once not allowed, they are now becoming a requirement for coursework and even standardized tests. There is no such equivalent to the TI-8? series for the blind. The GRAPH-IT software program from Freedom Scientific does graph certain functions, but again, it is limited, and it is not a stand-alone calculator. It requires a PC (or notetaker) and an embosser. ViewPlus Technologies has created the Accessible Graphing Calculator program which is intended to have capabilities comparable to a full-featured hand-held scientific and statistical graphing calculator, but as yet, it cannot graph multiple functions at the same time nor work with matrices. The blind student can work the majority of these problems without a scientific graphing calculator, but the point is that they are at a disadvantage if they must do everything "manually."
The Nemeth Code allows the blind student to braille all the necessary mathematical symbols for the highest level of mathematics, but often the Nemeth Code is not taught to the blind student as they progress through their lower level math classes. (Although I feel Nemeth Code is relatively easy to learn for students, most sighted vi teachers seem to have a great fear of it, possibly due to lack of proper instruction in their college training program and roadblocks for self-teaching.) This creates great difficulties as they progress into Algebra and most students MUST use the Nemeth Code (or some other tactual code) to be successful in higher mathematics. Often, remediation must take place while trying to learn new concepts. For many years, translation software has been available to convert literary print to literary braille, but converting print math to Nemeth Code proved much more difficult. It is just in the last few years that three Nemeth translation software products have come on the market, as well as a computerized Nemeth tutorial to assist teachers in producing Nemeth materials.
Susan replies: I have already touched on some of this in answering your first question. However, I have some specific pet peeves I can address here. Over the years, many new symbols have been created to supposedly make it easier for a sighted student to learn mathematics or to save print space. One of these is the raised negative sign which usually appears in elementary school and disappears at the start of Algebra I. This symbol creates confusion and takes up considerable space in Nemeth Code. For example, to write (-3, -4) (with the negative signs raised) one must use 12 cells, whereas using the regular minus sign uses 8 cells. In Geometry, we have the print symbols for line, ray, and line segment which consist of a picture of a line, a ray, or a line segment drawn above two points, such as line AB. These pictorial abbreviations help a sighted student remember the definition of a line, ray, and line segment and save space. They merely cause confusion for a blind student, make him/her learn the picture symbols which only help a sighted student, and take up considerable more space than merely writing out the word. For example writing "line AB" in braille would take up 8 cells, and writing the pictorial symbol takes up 12 cells. In addition, the symbols representing the picture of the line follows the AB, so the student has to read all of the cells before they can figure out whether AB is a line, a ray, or a line segment. Nevertheless, advanced high school and college mathematics contains even more "pictorial" symbols, which the vi student needs to assimilate, right along with their sighted peers if they are to succeed.
Yes, the language of mathematics does rely heavily on visual reference, and the teacher of the visually impaired is challenged to be quite creative at times. Creative teachers can help their vi students learn to be creative as well. Braille students usually need to learn the print way and the braille way; the print way to communicate with their sighted peers and teachers and the braille way for their own understanding. Although this is often double the work, sometimes it can be double the understanding and double the creativity.
Our new algebra book this year really stressed the visual concept of "shadow" to lead into the section on solving systems of inequalities. Rather than skip over such a seemingly difficult concept to teach a blind student, we jumped in with both hands (literally) making birds and animals and trying to explain how our hands could block the path of light to a surface, and define a region of darkness. Everyone could remember when we went on the last field trip in the hot Texas sun, and someone said "Let's get out of the hot sun and into the cool shade." The building had created a nice shaded region by blocking the heat of the sun in that area. Later on as we were graphing our inequalities on our graph boards, one student really liked and understood why that side of the boundary line should be shaded, but he was having difficulty with the boundary line being dashed or not included in the solution. In his mind, he couldn't see how we could exclude the boundary line (or wall casting the shadow). I said "The wall was just painted and it's still wet, so you can get as close as you want, but just don't touch it." He really liked that answer, and I don't think he'll ever forget the concept.
In Geometry when teaching the concept of symmetry, textbooks and teachers often use examples in nature (including the human body) and two-dimensional pictures. These are all good examples to use. Paper folding can be a lot of fun and makes a lasting impression as well. However, one needs to very careful with using the alphabet, which most textbooks do use. If you use raised line drawings of print letters, these may just "look" like pictures to the braille students (which is fine) but one needs to designate them as such. If you simply state "Which letters have a vertical axis of symmetry?" you will have different answers from your braille students because the braille letters have different lines of symmetry from the print letters. One year on our state-required test for graduation, they asked how far a certain letter of the alphabet had been rotated. The braillist wisely drew a raised print letter on its side. The problem was that the blind student didn't know what the print letter looked like before rotation!
A vision teacher asks: I have a braille using student in 11th grade math. He and his class are going to be solving quadratic equations with graphing calculators next week. He has Graphit on a BNS. My question is: is there a way either using Graphit or the scientific calculator on the BNS to reveal the roots of an equation. If not, is there something you would recommend, preferably so he can do the work independently?
Your help would be much appreciated.
Susan replies:
The ability to "see" the connection between a graph and its equation can be helpful to both visual and tactual learners. I still do this the old fashion way with my low vision and braille students; they manually graph selected quadratic functions on large print graph paper or graph boards. The x-intercepts are revealed to be the roots of the related quadratic equation. Then we move on to using the Accessible Graphing Calculator (AGC) from ViewPlus Software. Graphing calculators simply allow students many more opportunities to make that connection in a brief period of time.
To solve a particular quadratic equation in standard form (reveal its roots), your student should be able to instruct Graph-It (or the AGC) to graph the related quadratic function. Then, the zeros will appear as the x-intercepts. In other words, the real roots of the quadratic equation will be the values of x where the function crosses the x-axis.
For example: Graph y=x2-2x-3 (y=x^2-2x-3) to find the roots of 0=x2-2x-3 (0=x^2-2x-3). The graph crosses the x-axis at x=-1 and x=3. Therefore the roots of 0=x2-2x-3 (0=x^2-2x-3) are -1 and 3.
If the roots are not integers, you will probably not be able to determine the exact value of the roots in this manner, but solving quadratic equations graphically is still a quick way to determine the NUMBER of real roots, and this is extremely valuable information. I might add that when my braille students manually graph a quadratic function with integral zeros, they get exact answers. When a low vision student uses his TI-82 scientific graphing calculator and the trace feature, he gets decimal approximations of the correct zeros! For example, if x=1, the graphing calculator might say x=1.0021053. We often get similar approximations on the AGC.
Since we can only find approximate solutions to quadratic functions by using the graphing method, the math teacher will next teach your student how to solve SOME quadratic equations by factoring. Finally, the teacher will introduce your student to the quadratic formula which will allow him to solve ANY quadratic equation.
With the right tools and your guidance, your student should be able to complete all of the above work independently.
A private tutor for a state rehabilitation department asks: I tutor a visually impaired individual in college who has just successfully completed elementary and beginning algebra. He is currently taking intermediate algebra. What would be the best approach in solving systems of equations in three variables for a visually impaired student? I would greatly appreciate some suggestions on how I should go about teaching such problem solving.
Susan replies: Even most sighted students will have difficulty trying to visualize a three-dimensional graph. So, these suggestions will work for these students as well. I mention this because this method of instruction allows a better integration of the blind student into the regular math classroom. It is more of a kinesthetic approach, and many sighted individuals prefer this learning style.
Use a corner of the classroom as that part of space where the x, y, and z axes are all positive. This simulates the first octant (When graphing in space, space is separated into eight regions, called octants.) Then place three braille rulers to represent the x, y, and z axes. Ask your student to locate (1,0,0), (0,2,0), and (0,0,3) [using units of 1 inch or 1 cm]. Then ask him to plot (1,2,3). If he has been using a graphic aid for mathematics (rubber graph board) or other coordinate plane to plot 2-dimensional coordinates, it may take him some time to get adjusted to the fact that he needs to think of moving to the front or back along the x-axis. He moves right or left along the y-axis, and now he will move up and down along the z-axis. Next, place a box in the corner and ask your student to find the coordinates of each of its vertices. Then rotate the box 45 degrees or place the box on its side. Did the coordinates of the vertices change?
At this point you could move to a two-dimensional graph board or raised line graph paper divided into 4 quadrants and placed on a table. Then graph the first two coordinates on the graph board and have your student raise his finger up to illustrate going up the z-axis into space or down (beneath the table) to illustrate going down the z-axis. At this point, he is really having to do a lot of visualization, but hopefully he is starting to locate the 8 octants in his mind's eye.
Remind your student that just as a system of two linear equations in two variables doesn't always have a unique solution of an ordered pair, neither does a system of three linear equations in three variables always have a unique solution that is an ordered triple. Just as the graph of ax+by=c on a coordinate plane is a line, the graph of ax+by+cz=d is a plane in coordinate space. These three planes can appear in various configurations similar to the way two lines in a coordinate plane could intersect in one point, in infinitely many points (actually the same line), or in no points (parallel lines).
This is the time to pull out three planes (actually several sets of three sturdy sheets of paper - braille paper perhaps or cardboard). First show your student an example of the three planes intersecting at one point, so that the system has a unique ordered triple solution. (You may be able to find a nice cardboard box that contained a set of 8 glasses nicely separated (by the perfect manipulative) to nestle in the 8 octants. If so, this really helps the student retain the "picture" in his mind.) Next, have the three planes intersecting in a line, and therefore, there are infinitely many solutions to this system. (This is reminiscent of a paddle wheel.) You could then show him various ways that three planes would have no points in common, and these systems would have no solutions. (Form a triangle with the three planes. Find a cardboard box arrangement for six glasses. In the classroom, use the floor, the tabletop, and the ceiling.) If all three planes coincide, there are again infinitely many solutions. If two of the planes coincide and the third plane intersects them in a line, there are infinitely many solutions.
At this point, some teachers will simply state that it is impractical to use graphing to solve a system of three equations in three variables, and have their students use linear combination or substitution to solve the system, after first reducing the system to two equations with two variables. Then the student can use the familiar techniques for 2x2 systems. Usually textbooks provide systems that can be solved relatively easily by linear combination and substitution, but even they can often be quite time-consuming. One has to be very careful to avoid computation errors, since one mistake early on may not be detected until the final check of your answer, and many pages of work may have already been recorded. However, if the student has suitable technology, he can use matrices to solve a 3x3 system rather easily. Unfortunately, a graphing calculator with this type of sophistication (which is user-friendly) does not exist for the blind, and finding the inverse of a 3x3 matrix by hand involves a great deal of computation. It is only an attractive solution, if calculators can carry the burden. (My students and I have developed a tedious technique using Scientific Notebook and JAWS.) None of this will still mean anything to the student unless you can relate it to real-world problems. Be sure to include such problems that perhaps involve banking and consumer awareness. (For example: If a business sells three kinds of snacks by the pound, how many pounds of each makes up the magic combination? How much should a parent invest in three different investment tools paying different yields to accumulate a college fund for their infant? If a factory has three levels of pay (based on productivity), how many hours at each pay scale are required to complete a particular order?)
Other teachers may feel that it is important to include even more manipulative activities because they offer students an excellent opportunity to bridge the gap from the concrete to the abstract. Depending on your own philosophy, the curriculum requirements, your student's learning style, visual memory (if any), and time constraints, you may or may not wish to try the following activities.
Take a piece of print isometric dot paper and make a "raised dot" version [For example, xerox it onto a piece of capsule paper and run it through one of the tactile imagining machines. (See Math Graphs Made by Others for Students)] or use a geoboard. Next you or the student can create a three-dimensional axis system using raised lines or rubber bands. (If using the paper, be sure that the student can still tactually discern the dots from the axis lines.)
Then have your student graph an ordered triple such as (2,5,-1). Locate 2 on the positive x-axis. Then move 5 units along in the positive direction, parallel to the y-axis. From that point, move 1 unit along in the negative direction, parallel to the z-axis. You have arrived.
To graph a linear equation in three variables, let's graph 3x+2y-3z = 6. First find and graph the x-, y-, and z-intercepts. To find the x-intercept, let y = 0, and z = 0, and solve for x, and continue in a similar manner for the other intercepts. Connect the intercepts on each axis and a portion of a plane is formed that lies in a single octant. [Solution: The three intercepts are: (2,0,0), (0,3,0), and (0,0,-2).]
A college student working on her bachelor's degree in mathematics education asks: In teaching the topic of Measurement to a blind student, I have a concern: How should I approach teaching him Perimeter and Area?
I would teach linear measurement very similarly to the way one would teach a sighted student. In the United States we have two systems of units that we use to measure length.
I would allow my students to measure several real world items using both customary and metric braille rulers, emphasizing the concept of precision. We would also work on several problems requiring estimation and use of the most "sensible" unit of measure within each system. In addition, we would convert from one customary unit of length to another, and from one metric unit of length to another. The student should also be exposed to raised line drawings and be required to measure these as well.
From here we could move on to the concept of perimeter. For a beginning student we could define perimeter to be the distance around a shape (later, a polygon). We might have the student walk around the outside of the school building, the "perimeter" fence of the campus, or around the track and count the number of paces. A student on the track team would soon learn how many times around the "perimeter" of the track resulted in a kilometer, a mile, 100 yards, etc. Then I would present the student with a raised line drawing - perhaps of a square. Using string, we could trace the perimeter of the square and snip it to be exactly the same distance. Then the length of the string would equal the perimeter of the square. We could then examine and determine the perimeters of raised line drawings of a rectangle, triangle, trapezoid, pentagon, etc. with each side appropriately marked in braille with customary and/or metric units. Having calculated the perimeter of many different figures, the student can eventually discover the formula for the perimeter (or circumference) of a circle.
When learning about area, we can say that just as we can measure distance around shapes, we can also measure how much surface (area) is enclosed by the sides of a shape (or polygon). Luckily, my classroom's floor is composed of square foot tiles, and we go about determining how many such square tiles are required to cover the surface area of this floor. Everyone is delighted when we find a much easier way to determine this by multiplying the length and width of the room. Then one can progress to various manipulatives. Paper shapes made out of raised line graph paper can be cut into pieces and reassembled to form new shapes with the same area. Rubber graph boards can be partitioned with rubber bands to form shapes, and grid squares can be counted to determine area. Wooden tiles can be assembled to form various shapes and determine area as well. This knowledge can then be transferred to raised line drawings illustrating area. The student should advance through finding the area of a square, rectangle, parallelogram, triangle, and complex shapes. Eventually, the student can investigate and use the formula for the area of a circle.
A teacher writes: The student I work with is a ninth grade braille reader who is in advanced classes. Since she does not like to use foil or the Sewell raised line drawing technique, I was hoping you might have information on how my student can learn to bisect angles tactually.
Susan Replies: For constructions, my students don't use foil or the "usual" Sewell raised line drawing technique either. We use some type of rubber on a flat surface - whatever you have available. Some of my students and I happen to like an old Sewell raised line drawing board which has rubber attached to a clip board so that I can clip my braille paper to this to keep it from sliding. But, others use a rubber pad on top of a regular wooden drawing board or table. Still others might like a similar rubber on wood board from Howe Press because it too has a way of clipping the paper down.
Next, you will need a braille compass from Howe Press. The compass has a regular pointed end, but the other end has a small tracing wheel attached. I have not been able to find these compasses anywhere else. Should you find another source, please let me know. Next you will need a straightedge - any "print" ruler will do if you don't have a plain straightedge, since the student is a braille reader. Finally, you will need a tracing wheel. Use one from the homemaking department, or Howe Press, or the APH tactile drawing kit, or the local hardware/hobby shop.
For your student to bisect an angle you would first take a piece of braille paper (not the flimsy Sewell plastic) and place it on your rubberized surface (board). Draw the angle you wish the student to bisect using a straightedge and tracing wheel. Remove it from the board. Label the angle with an "A" at the vertex using slate and stylus or your braillewriter. Return the braille paper to the board. Ask the student to bisect angle A. The student should first reverse the paper. Place the compass point on A and draw an arc, locating two points B and C on the respective rays of the angle. Reverse the paper. Place the compass point on B and draw an arc in the interior of the angle. With the same compass setting, place the compass point on C and draw an arc, locating point D - the intersection of the two arcs. Reverse the paper. Draw a ray, AD, which is the angle bisector of angle A. Voila!!
Using a similar technique with only a compass and straightedge, a blind student (or anyone else) can also copy a line segment, bisect a segment, copy a triangle, copy an angle, construct the perpendicular bisector of a segment, etc. These are the same basic techniques that the math teacher would use except that the braille student would usually prefer reversing the paper so as to take the most advantage of the raised drawing on the reverse side. The end product is easily graded by the math teacher - allowing the student to stay in the regular classroom setting throughout the construction.
See the Resources Pages if you need to order any of the items mentioned above.
A VI teacher writes: I have a seventh grade braille student who will soon be studying a math chapter in a regular classroom. Among the topics are the following:
I have some ideas for the teacher. However, being blind myself, I know these concepts can be very difficult to grasp. I would appreciate any ideas which I might share with the classroom teacher.
Susan replies: I usually introduce translations, reflections, and rotations (sometimes called transformations) together. As a firm believer in the use of manipulatives (for the sighted as well as the blind), I pull out my box of assorted triangles and quadrilaterals. I select two congruent non-regular polygons and place one on top of the other; two scalene triangles are my favorite. I then proceed to slide, flip, or rotate the top manipulative to demonstrate a translation, reflection, or rotation. The bottom manipulative remains in place as the original figure. This correlates well with most print textbooks which may show the original figure in red and the transformed figure in black. If you wish the student to translate a figure to a given point, rotate it to a new position, and reflect it over a given line, you could use four congruent figures. I would probably want to use magnetic manipulatives or ones with velcro in a confined space, to keep things in place. Be sure to show the student the textbook tactile graphics illustrating the same transformations, so they will become familiar with what the "average" textbook furnishes them. If these graphics are not of high quality, make your own using some type of Stereocopier and capsule/swell paper. Furthermore, I show my students examples of test questions on transformations from one of the many TAAS mathematics release tests in braille - produced by Region IV, Houston, Texas. Region IV has superb tactile foil graphics.
When we reach the topic of line symmetry, I remind my students of when they were younger and made valentine hearts by cutting a folded piece of paper. Believe it or not, my high school students have fun folding a piece of braille paper and cutting out hearts or some other symmetrical design. I tell them the folded edge is a line of symmetry. Then, I get out my manipulative box again, selecting two congruent right triangles. After placing one on top of the other, I flip (reflect) the one on top over the line segment formed by one of the legs to create a larger isosceles triangle with a line of symmetry (altitude) down the middle. You can also have your student use paper folding to determine symmetry lines for figures studied so far (rectangles, hexagons, etc.). Again, be sure to show the student the textbook tactile illustrations of symmetry and/or make your own graphics as outlined above.
Tessellations or tiling patterns is an arrangement of figures that fill a plane but do not overlap or leave gaps. In a pure tessellation, the same figure is used throughout. I usually begin with having my students check out my classroom floor, which is composed of square tiles. I also have a set of tables in the shape of isosceles trapezoids, which create a tessellation. Then I move to textbook or home-made tactile graphics of tessellations using rectangles, equilateral triangles, parallelograms, right triangles, regular hexagons, etc. Let the students explore to find that any triangle or quadrilateral can be used to tessellate a plane, but that only certain polygons with more than four sides tessellate a plane. Tessellations that use more than one type of polygon are called semi-pure tessellations. At this point, I get out my wooden Discovery Blocks from ETA (various and duplicate sizes of triangles, squares, rectangles, and parallelograms) and let them design their own tessellation. One young man designed an incredibly beautiful tessellation and placed the blocks inside a frame. It was quite a magnificent piece of parquetry.
Please visit the Resources Pages for more information on any of the resources I have mentioned above.
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Muncie cop dismissed over alleged text threat
A Muncie police officer was fired after officials say she sent a threatening text to another woman.
Police Chief Steve Stewart told The Star Press on Friday that Officer Amy Fisher had been in a relationship with the other woman's husband.
The eastern Indiana city's police merit commission voted to dismiss Fisher on Thursday. Stewart said she was on unpaid leave since May. She had been an officer since 1998.
Fisher didn't return phone calls seeking comment Saturday. She didn't attend the commission meeting, but she has denied sending the text.
Stewart said Fisher allegedly used a relative's cellphone to threaten the woman with drug charges, and then urged her relative not to cooperate with investigators.
Muncie is about 50 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Matchday Routine
Before the match
There's more to matchdays at Old Trafford. Before the game you can visit the Megastore then take in the statues of the Trinity, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Matt Busby.
Then visit the OT100 exhibition beneath Sir Alex Ferguson stand and read about the development of Old Trafford, or walk through the Munich Tunnel to view the permanent display in remembrance of that tragic day. You may also get the chance to welcome the players at the end of the tunnel as they arrive at the ground.
Match time
Turnstiles open 2 hours before kick-off so you can be there as the atmosphere builds and watch the teams when they come out to warm up approximately 45 minutes before kick-off. You can also relive the action and catch up on team news through our plasma screens in the concourse areas, whilst enjoying refreshments from our food and beverage kiosks. A list of acceptable and prohibited items is available online.
After the match
Once the game is over, the first thing you'll want to do is come back. Our Ticket & Membership office is open for an hour after the final whistle, so you can purchase Official Membership and enquire about tickets.
The megastore is also open for an hour after the game so you can purchase the Club's official merchandise and gifts for your family and friends*. *Sunday trading hours will apply.
Share your match day experience on Twitter @ManUtd and don't forget to check in on Facebook.com/OldTrafford when you get here.


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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Inside a small interview room in the bowels of Commonwealth Stadium, Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley tried to make sense of the nonsensical late Saturday afternoon.
His Volunteers having just lost 10-7 to a Kentucky program they had beaten for 26 straight years — a UK team that started a wide receiver at quarterback who couldn't throw a forward pass — Dooley said, "I did believe we were going to hit a place that wasn't good. Our execution was just so poor."
He was specifically talking about an offense that finished with 276 total yards (59 more than UK's 217) but just one score — an early-fourth-quarter touchdown bomb from Tyler Bray to Rajion Neal that covered 53 yards.
That pulled the Vols within the final score and gave considerable hope to Big Orange fans that they would rally at the end, much as they had so many times previously since their 26-game winning streak over UK began in 1985.
Even Dooley said, "I thought we would be able to make enough plays to get it down there and win the game, but it wasn't our day."
It wasn't their day largely because the Vols managed only 61 rushing yards against a UK defense that stood 11th against the run in the Southeastern Conference, surrendering more than 194 yards a game.
Then again, as Dooley noted, "Their rush defense is no worse than our rush offense."
But what may have been worse when it mattered most was sophomore quarterback Bray, who fought off a weeklong cold well enough to take the field but could never seem to fight off the haze that sometimes accompanies a cold.
"It shouldn't have affected me at all," Bray said. "I went out there and played horrible. First half, I was terrible. Second half, I had that one drive, that was about it."
Dooley reiterated that Bray isn't the same player he was before breaking his thumb on his throwing hand against Georgia on Oct. 8.
"I told you guys when he came back [from the thumb], he's not the same guy," Dooley said. "We gritted one out last week [against Vanderbilt]. Then he got sick. Maybe I shouldn't have played him. Probably a dumb decision."
The decision is sure to be second-guessed, but no one was second-guessing returning Bray to the starting lineup after the Vols were crushed at Arkansas with true freshman Justin Worley under center.
No, what happened Saturday goes deeper than Bray or the offensive line or UK somehow winning with a senior quarterback who hadn't lined up at that position since high school.
"It's real disappointing," Dooley said, "but we're going to have to learn from it and begin our climb in the offseason. [This is] something that should never happen at Tennessee."
Perhaps it will never happen again. But the words of receiver Neal will burn Big Orange hearts for much of the offseason.
Said Neal of that awful start, which now runs Dooley's mark at UT to 0-14 when trailing or tied at the half: "We just came out a little slow. Everybody's motors were a little down. Before we knew it, it was just a little bit too late."
Too late to climb out of a place that isn't good.
Mark Wiedmer started work at the Chattanooga News-Free Press on Valentine's Day of 1983. At the time, he had to get an advance from his boss to buy a Valentine gift for his wife. Mark was hired as a graphic artist but quickly moved to sports, where he oversaw prep football for a time, won the "Pick' em" box in 1985 and took over the UTC basketball beat the following year. By 1990, he was ...


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Is Red Hat doing its part to win the 'open source' war?
Should you believe Red Hat's claims that its new Exchange marketplace for "open source business applications" contains nothing but open source business applications? We say "no" - since not even Red Hat appears to have a good answer for this question. So far, Red Hat has filled its Exchange, also known as RHX, with software …
Does it matter?
Seriously-- is RH even relevant anymore? The evangelists have their poster child in Ubuntu, the technologists can bend and twist Debian to perform any task, and the novices are slowly being assimilated via Linux ending up embedded everywhere.
RH's distro has always been plagued by usability problems, often even for those in the know in the dark arts of Linux. I've never used their paid support, admittedly, but in my own experience, I'd much rather have something I know how to tweak and fiddle with, and still repair on my own if I bugger something up.
Of late, I can't fathom who RH even thinks their customers are. Big enterprise has plenty of people to throw at bespoke solutions, and small business is still better off keeping things simple, using whatever works for their needs, which is usually windows, if only because windows comes on all the PCs they can buy from officemax.
I'm obviously not a Linux evangelist or an MS fanboy-- my concentration is on systems that are efficient, break down seldom, and don't require re-learning basic operations with each service pack or version upgrade. So, once again, I've got to ask, who exactly is buying RH software these days, given the free alternatives, and/or the easier deployment of commercial products? This is not a troll-- I honestly want to know.
Hence why I always use the term Free Software... atleast I know what stands behind it. And it's defined by the Free Software Foundation. The term open source is to much of a marketing tool and not much else...
As for RH it actually is used in enterprise quite a lot due to it's paid support and such. But give something like that for debian or any other distro and it'll get used in the enterprise as well...
Also note the world isn't divided into ubuntu, debian and rh distros... There's a small sea of them each catering to a different target user.
Don't we need a new licence
The move to service software driven by Web Services is a challenge for Free Software. As you have probably noticed, not many Web Services are Free and Open.
GPL was written before the advent of the Web Browser, and it lacks clauses within it that require those who use open source software to provide services to publish any code changes they make to that software.
Personally I would like to see a 'British Library Rider' on the GPL that states that if you don't publish your changes to GPL software, then you must send them to a central storage area where interested parties can find them and catalogue them if they are useful.
Without something like this, I'm struggling to see how Free Software can handle the transistion to a service-oriented world.
Badgeware can never be 'free'..
Advertising space has a value (just ask Google) so by demanding that you show a vendor logo in exchange for using a vendor's product you are being required to give them something of monetary value in return for the right to use that product.
This means that their product is not free (as in speech or beer).
While we're on the subject...
While we're on the subject of transparency, remind me of the name of that major Reg sponsor? Ah yes, "SUN Microsystems".
Would this be the same "SUN" who are in a protracted spat with RH about who contributes most to FLOSS, and who compete directly with RH in the server space? Yes, I do believe it is.
I like The Reg, but am heartily sick of biased commentaries & RH-bashing every time a news item of interest to Sun raises its head.
"Of late, I can't fathom who RH even thinks their customers are."
RedHat is still the biggest supplier of Linux to corporate clients by a wide margin. These are the kinds of customers that lap up RedHat's corporate friendly support packages.
I use Ubuntu personally. I only mention it because if you express any opinion on Linux these days people assume you are evangelising the one you use/like/sleep with.
RE: Does it matter?
> Seriously-- is RH even relevant anymore?
> The evangelists have their poster child in Ubuntu, the technologists can
> bend and twist Debian to perform any task, and the novices are slowly
> being assimilated via Linux ending up embedded everywhere.
1/ *All* the major distros cater for evangelists, technologists, and novices, admittedly in differing proportions. RH focuses more on business, i.e. infrastructure (servers) and the corporate desktop. Note: Business doesn't want something it can "bend and twist to perform any task", it wants a shrink-wrapped, or preferably preinstalled Solution that Just Works, with solid support.
2/ A (The?) major embedded linux supplier is Montavista. Owned by RH.
3/ RH pays the salaries of more core Linux kernel hackers than any other distro, e.g. Alan Cox, Ingo Molnar, etc.
Still relevant, then.
Oh, and when it floated it gave away a load of its shares as a thankyou to previously-unrewarded key kernel developers, e.g. Linus. That's more than putting its money where its mouth is - that's *polite*.
> RH's distro has always been plagued by usability problems,
Not so - it's famous for its stability and conservatism, introduction of graphical config tool, and for its adherence to standards.
It's always been plagued by *interoperability* problems with proprietary codecs, which is a different thing. RH's refusal to ship binary blobs underlines their dedication to keeping source open and free, which kind of counters the suggestions of the above article, really.
One feature that *has* given RH a reputation for awkwardness is the SELinux security layer. I'm not sure a criticism of RH usability on these grounds is fair or accurate, though - RH was the first to roll out SELinux, is still the only mainstream distro (apart from Fedora and immediate RH derivatives) to use it, and has refined the security policies enormously. If you don't get on with it then you can switch it off - or just don't install it in the first place. I prefer to have the extra security by default, and to work from there.
> I've never used their paid support, admittedly, but in my own experience, I'd
> much rather have something I know how to tweak and fiddle with, and still
> repair on my own if I bugger something up.
What *have* you used? Anything recent? Try not to confuse your own empirical knowledge & skills on other distros with "the correct" or "the obvious" way to do things.
In the RH world :
* Fedora is for you if you need to run a cost-free desktop.
* CentOS provide a cost-free recompile of the rock-solid RHEL platform if you need a server.
Fedora: no paid support but a huge, helpful community. More cutting-edge than RH's commercial product, and you can download blobs for as many codecs & 3D graphics drivers as you need. More stable than Ubuntu. And conformant with the Linux Standards Base if you need a helping hand in knowing where & what to tweak.
I'm not saying you *should* use RH derivatives and related products - only you know your needs, and Ubuntu, Mandriva, Debian, etc may fit them better. But if you're going to post a pointed question ("is RH still relevant?") on a public forum, then at least test the RH products targeted at you first.
> Of late, I can't fathom who RH even thinks their customers are. Big
> enterprise has plenty of people to throw at bespoke solutions, and small
> business is still better off keeping things simple,
I don't see them making a loss yet.
> I'm obviously not a Linux evangelist or an MS fanboy-- my concentration is > on systems that are efficient, break down seldom,
CentOS it is, then.
I'm no fanboi either. I happen to run Fedora/CentOS because I find it provides the best balance of stability, security, functionality, and usability for my purposes (small home network + mailserver). The day Ubuntu or someone else (not Novell) offers a better balance for *my* purposes I'll happily defect.
> and don't require re-learning basic operations with each service pack or
> version upgrade.
? I'm confused. Honestly, I'm curious which specific experiences you've had? I've been familiar with RH since 6.0, and although many things have changed and improved nothing has required "re-learning basic operations", let alone between service packs.
> So, once again, I've got to ask, who exactly is buying RH software these
> days, given the free alternatives, and/or the easier deployment of
> commercial products?
Well, I assume they're doing something right, since last quarter they posted one of their largest profits to date.
Still wish they hadn't announced that partnership with Symantec, though. *shudder*
> This is not a troll-- I honestly want to know.
Done :¬)
Fanboy meltdown, mine eyes glaze over.
Yet another FOSS debate that really doesn't matter to anyome except the linux jihad.
If I take big chunk of somebody elses hard work, nothwithstanding the fact that they have been generous enough to supply it free of charge and with source code, and use it to further my own ends, the least I can do is attribute the work to the people who actually did it.
In fact, if I were to both benefit from it and contribute to it, should I not be *proud* to display the logo of, say, the Mozilla foundation ?
I have to presume that all the whingeing fanboys who oppose this sort of thing are running linux systems that they bootstrapped entirely from sources, by hand, without using any package management software from any named distro ?
No ?
STFU then. It's this kind of pathetic fanaticism that gives the whole FOSS movement such a bad public image (outside of slashdot and Wired that is).
Just be happy that you're getting product for free, source included, and stop acting like a bunch of whiney little maggots for once.
Conraddle On and on and on and on
Jesus man, can't the legnth of posts be limited?
And I can't believe no one saw this coming. Open Source has been sort of like a commune for a long time. (i.e. people with nothing are always the most willing to share) And now that some truly practical business value is being demonstrated real businesses are going to step in a do away with the dirty, disease transmitting communes.
Oh Conrad
So, we're in trouble for running on a Sun ad on a story that, I don't believe, mentions Sun? You may just have to learn to live with situations like that.
When I talked to Michael, he actually seemed rather positive about Sun's actions around this issue. Their CDDL license is OSI approved. He did, however, say that he'd like to see Sun be more upfront in various areas.
Here's hoping you don't find one of our Red Hat ads on another fanboi inciting item.
It's not that people aren't grateful for all the free software - but imagine what happens when a large number of people put in badgeware - especially with a "we will remove the badge for a fee" license. Not only is it breaking with almost 4 decades of hacker tradition but it becomes a nightmare for any business that uses non-proprietary software. Now I not only have to look at each license to see if it is free/open/proprietary but I have to watch out for badgeware and pay fees (essentially pay for the software - I'm certainly not paying for any service) or potentially end up with webpages crammed with advertising a-la-Google. As a small example of the effects of badgeware - an employer of mine once paid for a device driver dev kit for MSWindows (not the MS DDK) against my advice. This was for use in a laboratory - we would be the only users - and we paid a few hundred $$$ for it. This incompetent software, aside from being the absolute worst so-called 'driver' code I had ever seen, also threw up a badge each time a device was started: [Fatal Error]: This software is licensed to (my employer). I had never seen a 'device driver' which required a user to click 'OK' each time the driver was invoked. I had since rewritten that code using the MS DDK and the other DDK was thrown away. That was 6 years ago and I still tell people to avoid buying any gadgets built with that lousy badgeware DDK. Personally I'm not fussed about companies pushing badgeware - they will simply be avoided and are really only doing themselves out of business.
Oh Conrad/Conraddle On and on and on and on
Ashlee, it's your prerogative to be deliberately obtuse if you wish. My point stands - and I'm hardly the first to imply SUN bias in your reporting. Name-calling is a new low, though. Did I hit a nerve?
Steve & others, please accept my apologies for the admittedly long post. It was intended to inform, not rant: poster of original (long) comment stated they "honestly want[ed] to know". In hindsight, though, this area isn't the right forum for that kind of thing. Be assured, in future I'll comment strictly on the article, and won't indulge in discussion.
Best regards, and have a good week.
Red Hat fixed it
To the great credit of Red Hat, Inc. and the manager of the RHX project, this problem got comprehensively fixed recently: All RHX Web pages are now quite clear about the fact that RHX offerings are not necessarily open source, and no longer make any implication to the contrary. Well done, good people.
Rick Moen
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text:
A judge Tuesday blocked a recall effort against Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, giving the mayor some breathing room while his opponents figure out their next move.
Circuit Judge Jeff Hollingsworth ruled on a number of points and prevented Littlefield's recall from appearing on the Nov. 2 ballot.
Hollingsworth said state law governs the recall process locally and trumps the city's charter, meaning petitioners needed nearly 15,000 valid signatures.
About 9,000 signatures were verified by the Hamilton County Election Commission. The judge also ruled that more than 5,000 of those signatures did not count because they were not dated as required by law.
Recall opponents said the judge's decision came down to a technicality and that they received bad advice from the Hamilton County Election Commission.
Hollingsworth reminded people in the hearing that he was merely settling legal questions raised by Littlefield's suit.
"This is not about whether or not citizens have the right to recall elected officials," Hollingsworth said. "They do. That is clear under the law. This is also not about whether there are grounds to recall Mayor Littlefield. That's not for me to decide."
Hollingsworth found the city of Chattanooga did not change the number of signatures required for a recall after 1997, as required by state law; that means state law became the final word on the number of signatures needed.
Dan Whisenhunt covers Hamilton County government for the Times Free Press. A native of Mobile, Ala., Dan earned a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Alabama. He won first place for best in-depth news coverage in the 2010 Alabama Press Association contest; the FOI-First Amendment Award in the 2007 Alabama Press Association contest; first place for best public service story in the Alabama AP Managing Editors contest in 2009 for economic coverage; and ...
St. Peter comes to Earth looking for a psychiatrist. He finds Dr. Johnson and asks for help.
"What can I do for you?" asked the doctor.
"It's God." said St. Peter. "He's become unbearable. He's aloof, demanding, power-hungry, and thinks He's omnipotent and He's having delusions of grandeur.
"What's His problem?" asked Dr. Johnson
St. Peter replied, "He thinks He's a judge."
Harry Statel
The election commission, whose job it is to validate and count each signature, did so last week and approved the recall. So how does a judge then determine differently just by hearing statements from lawyers?
When you have a judge like Hollingsworth hearing the case, that's what you get.
This is the Judge who restored Ward Cruthfield's full citizenship with these words, "he [Ward Crutchfield] shows the character of a person of honesty, respectability and veracity."
What else can be said?
Harry Statel http://harrystatel.wordpress.com
To tax_payer and eeeeek: don't let the door hit you in the
A judges opinion wieghs more than the opinion of 15,000 citizens but his opinion is not necessarily correct.
Being a judge does not always equal or assure the use of good judgement.
The date should be a mute issue since the petition was not approved and available before the time frame allowed to gather signatures.
Makes one wonder if the mayor was successful in advising this judge as to the ruling he should issue?
Hold on to your wallet, mayor Littlemind has been released with no monitors or restraints. A deranged, power hungry, insensitive individual can be dangerous to 15,000 angry, narrow minded on the fringe citizens.
Now hold on one second, I was there in the court room for the decision. Read the statements by on other news sources, read why it was denied before basing your decisions. Notice on the other news sites the Tea partiers and these other groups blame the faulty information from the Electoral commission for this failure. He followed the letter of the law not even the Tea Partiers are not disputing that.
This is not about the judge's opinion.
The law is the law.
It is clearly stated in state law that you need 15000 signatures and you need dates. The fact that these people wanting a recall didn't think to go check if there was any conflicting state law before they expended so much effort should point out how smart they are.
It would have taken one consultation with a lawyer to figure this out.
This is disgusting... he was elected to represent the wishes of the people, he failed to do so and therefore the people of Chattanooga have chosen to relinquish him of his duties. This all seems very cut and dry to me.
This judge, and his ruling, are a farce.
"We're taxed enough already!" they cry.
"By whom?" I wonder.
The national government is out of control. However, it does not follow that Chattanooga is spending too much money. In fact, the opposite is true.
How do can we be sure? Imagine a city that is not spending enough money on basic city services. What would it look like?
High crime? Poor schools? Unmaintained roads?
Most of us are inclined to support smaller government. I doubt many of us support anarchy.
The peril of refusing to spend money on city services can be found in East Ridge. This city rejected matching federal funds for a levee, intending to save money. Subsequently, East Ridge flooded multiple times and many businesses left. Property and sales tax revenue decreased and the city had to pay for flood clean up. Now East Ridge is sitting on a massive debt, exactly the opposite of what the people of East Ridge intended.
Likewise, Chattanooga cannot afford the mistake of spending too little on basic city services.
Good on this judge for upholding the law and preventing this illegal recall from occurring and wasting Chattanooga's tax dollars.
Amos, Ives, Root...
It's called a budget, everyone seems to have one except our governments. All things you mentioned above are necessary. 4 IPADS for the IT department of the City of Chattanooga are not.
There are plenty of places where the city is wasting money. Littlefield's solution is to leave the fat, and raise the tax. UNACCEPTABLE. It's time for some accountability.
Yes indeed it is time for some accountability. Mayor Littlefield may have escaped accountability this time but not without the public eye being turned on him. After denying them their voice and instead of just running again in the recall he has only enraged them further.
First he ignores us about not wanting a tax increase or storm water increase, then he ignores us about not wanting to be annexed, and now he ignores us when we want a new election!
We want justice, we want government transparency, we want true representation. You have denied us justice Ron, you have denied us open records and a copy of the budget, and you have denied us of anything close to true representation.
jfinnell and amos nailed it. He has wasted our tax dollars and denied basic city services! (Spending $900,000 on boat slips while cutting 300,000 from the library budget?!?) I don't see how you can try to justify spitting in the faces of your citizens and telling them to go eat cake! You can't defend yourself against that.
Mr. Littlefield, We followed all the rules that were given to us and you still denied us a voice. You changed the rules on us and bent them to suit yourself! You have condemned yourself in the eyes of the people. You act as if God is on your side and you are invincible.
**In fact I saw the scripture with my own eyes that your wife was passing around in the courtroom today. 1 Samuel 8:7 "And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them." Outside the courtroom I asked what she meant by that, and she told me that God had given her this scripture today and that the representatives of our government are appointed by God and there is nothing we can do about it. I have a witness who stood next to me the whole time listening to this insanity.
I thought that our ELECTED officials were anything but appointed, or should we throw out the whole voting process altogether?!? Does our community realize what just happened here today? OUR RIGHTS HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY VIOLATED!
Shall we roll over and admit defeat? Hell no! If you want to be Mayor so bad that you act as if it is your DIVINE RIGHT then we are going to make some demands. In fact we will be going out into all the communities to record the demands of the citizens and will bring them to you, broadcast them at you, and not let up until they are met. Our main goal is to improve and bring change to our community and you can prove that to us by not fighting us every step of he way but by giving us a hand and giving us back our voice.
i'm disappointed by how this news is being framed..it should read in the 2nd paragraph that the judge ruled in favor of state law because the language in the city charter on recalls was never validated...meaning we have empty language in our charter that doesnt mean anything because it was only amended never enacted...which is absolutely outrageous..we lost on a total technicality..the system was set up to just fail...no one could of predicted that..not election commission neither city council....the fact is absolutely nothing was clear.
The judge said that the recall failed because the city charter had never been "enacted," only amended. In 1997, the State enacted a law, governing recall rules for cities and municipalities. A city could change the rules for a recall through a referendum. In 2002 Chattanooga placed a referendum on the ballot to change two things about the charter, choosing to bring forward all the existing charter, which included a lesser number of signatures and number of days allowed for carrying out a petition, thinking this would comply with the 1997 State law. The City Council has since labored under the belief that the City charter was law. Current Election Commission officials informed the RecallRon effort of these rules -- 8964 valid signatures gathered within the 75 days of the recall effort. Petitioners abided by rules as the Election Commission ordered. Comes now the judge to to say that what was brought forward from the existing City charter in 2002 was not an "enactment" but merely an "amendment", which has no force of law. Further, the court accepted that all the signatures were gathered within the 75 day period, being authenticated by the Election Commission and by the court, but 4000 of them were deemed not valid because they did not have the actual date of the signing beside each name. Petitioners were told by the Commission in the middle of the effort that it was not necessary to cite the actual date as long as a signature gathered was within the 75-day period. Each petition sheet containing signatures was stamped by the Election Commission with the date when it was turned in. So the intent of the law, i.e. to guarantee that the signatures were gathered in the prescribed time frame, was perfectly satisfied. The Mayor's slick attorneys seized on this to cheat the people of Chattanooga of their voice in his recall. Last night in the City Council meeting, members were in a consternation. They understood that by relegating this section of the charter to be irrelevant and considered by Judge Hollingsworth to be an "amendment" and not "enacted" law, the entire charter has been irrelevant since 2002. In a panic they directed the City Attorney to rectify this matter immediately. The Mayor has not been recalled because the Judge deemed the City of Chattanooga to be without relevant law to guide its legal affairs. The Judge refused to hear arguments on issues relevant to the case until after his ruling in favor of the Mayor - this to add to the irregularity of the case. 10,000 Chattanoogans were disenfranchised by this ruling, but the Mayor is not off-the-hook. Already he is boasting that it is full-speed ahead with his wreckless tax proposals. This recall effort is only the beginning of nightmares for the mayor.


text:
Yahoo(!): Profit Easily Beats Expectations for Third Quarter
Yahoo has announced a big beat on third-quarter profit, with $0.52 per share coming in well above estimates of around $0.30.
Yahoo has announced a big beat on third-quarter profit, with $0.52 per share coming in well above estimates of around $0.30.
Investors will want answers about Marissa Mayer's plans for Yahoo during the company's earnings call.
Apple sold a total of 169.2 million iPhones in its 2014 fiscal year.
Apple handily beat Wall Street's estimates Monday, reporting earnings per share of $1.42 and revenues of $42.12 billion for its fiscal 2014 fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 28. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $1.31 and revenues of $39.8 billion. Apple also said international sales accounted for 60% of revenues for the quarter. iPad sales were the only sour note for the quarter: Analysts had predicted sales of 13.1 million, which was a 6.8% drop from the year-ago quarter.
LinkedIn reported second-quarter earnings on Thursday after the market close that easily beat expectations.
Samsung earnings were as bad as the company had predicted, and the future isn't looking great, either.
Twitter bounced back from a tough start to 2014 with strong user growth and a surprise profit.
A busy second quarter of 2014 will be overshadowed if Twitter is unable to convince investors that its user growth is back on the upswing.
Yahoo announced second-quarter earnings on Tuesday that missed already low expectations.
Nintendo's latest earnings's report paints a bleak picture for the future of its gaming hardware business.
AOL has worked hard to reinvent itself as a modern digital media and advertising company, but the bulk of its profits still come from its dial up ISP business.
On his first earnings call as CEO, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella talked about his vision for the software giant.
Amazon earnings met expectations, boosted by a 23% rise in sales to $19.7 billion in the first quarter of 2014.
The New York Times Co. finally has some good news to report. The media company reported earnings per share of $0.07 on revenue of $390 million for the March quarter, coming in ahead of Wall Street estimates for earnings of $0.03 a share and revenue of around $385 million. See also: Despite Paywalls, Newspapers Still Bled Red Ink in 2013 Total revenue, up 2.6% year-over-year, was helped by a surprise uptick in advertising sales.
Facebook surpassed one billion monthly active mobile users Wednesday, the first time the company has eclipsed that mark on mobile.
Facebook has beat Wall Street estimates with each of its last three earnings reports. Will it manage to do the same this time around? The social network is scheduled to report its March quarter earnings after the market closes on Wednesday. The consensus among analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters is that Facebook will post earnings of $0.24 a share on revenue of $2.36 billion. That would be a significant increase from the same quarter a year ago when it reported revenue of $1.46 billion.
Netflix is planning to raise the price of its popular streaming service by as much as two dollars per month, according to statements in its first-quarter earnings filings. Current subscribers would stay at the $7.99 price for a "generous time period," the company wrote in a statement to investors. See also: 10 Countries With the Fastest Netflix Speeds "Our current view is to do a one or two dollar increase, depending on the country, later this quarter for new members only," the company wrote.
Target's holiday quarter sales were bad, but not as bad as Wall Street expected, considering the massive data breach that occurred in December. The discount chain announced Wednesday that sales for the fourth quarter declined by 5.3% from the same quarter a year earlier due in large part to the security breach. "During the first half of the fourth quarter, our guest-focused holiday merchandising and marketing plans drove better-than-expected sales," Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement.
One million. That's how many new Americans signed up for Twitter in the past three months, a number that failed to inspire investor confidence in a social network with a nagging history of growth issues. See also: The Year in Twitter: Top Milestones of 2013 Twitter announced the number on Wednesday at its first earnings call since going public. There's no denying this growth is small, and its stagnant U.S.
Welcome to Wall Street. Everyone's a critic.
Zynga was full of surprises Thursday. The social gaming company announced Q4 and year end financials on Thursday a full week ahead of schedule, but these numbers were somewhat overshadowed by an unexpected acquisition and plans for another round of layoffs. See also: Top 10 Most Amazing iPhone Puzzle Games The layoffs, which will include more than 300 jobs (15% of the company's workforce), comes just seven months after Zynga unexpectedly laid off more than 500 employees back in June.
As expected, Facebook posted its best-yet quarter for revenues, profits, and user totals Wednesday, beating Wall Street estimates once again. The Q4 figures also included news that Facebook's mobile advertising now makes up more than half of its revenue: 53% comes from mobile advertising. That's up 4% over last quarter. See also: Facebook in 2014: Fighting for Social Supremacy Here's how Facebook's record-breaking quarter looks in chart-form.
There are 130,000 apps from Chinese developers in Apple's App Store, according to numbers released Monday during the company's Q1 earnings call. To put that in context, the App Store had more than one million apps in total as of last October. See also: Top 25 Free iPhone Apps of All Time The number of apps coming out of China will likely continue to rise, as Apple broadens its reach in the country. Expansion in Asia was a big topic during Monday's call.
The good times keep on rolling for Netflix, but the company sees storm clouds ahead. Netflix announced earnings on Wednesday that beat expectations for both subscriber additions and earnings per share. Investors were cheered by the results, with Netflix shares rising more than 17% in after-hours trading. See also: 8 Top Apps and Services for Streaming Your Favorite Movies Revenue was reported at $1.18 billion, just above estimates, while profit for the company easily beat estimates.
Days before Facebook unveils its Q3 earnings figures, multiple ad partners for the social network found that Facebook ads improved in nearly every metric in year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter comparisons.
Sina Weibo may no longer be China's hottest social network, but the company has other things going for it right now. Today, the company announced $30 million in ad revenue during Q2 2013, representing more than 200% year-over-year growth. Additionally, added-value services jumped 186% year-over-year to $7.7 million. Even users are up -- Weibo's daily active users jumped to 54 million in June, an 8.6% increase compared to March.
Samsung Electronics Co. will invest $18 billion in its memory-chip and display businesses this year as the world's biggest smartphone maker tries to ward off slowing demand for high-end devices such as its Galaxy S4. Capital spending for those divisions will increase to 19.5 trillion won as the company reported second-quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates.
Most of the headlines surrounding Facebook's (FB) second-quarter results centered on two things: the company's very strong mobile revenue and the 20% stock jump that news triggered. The bottom line has always put a damper on Facebook's party of user growth, shared photos and likes, so investors were pleased to see the company actually selling ads in the fast-growing mobile market -- and, you know, making real money.
Microsoft announced on Thursday a 10% increase in revenue for its fourth quarter of 2013, but fell short of expectations.
Yahoo announced its second quarter earnings on Tuesday, beating earnings forecasts but missing slightly on revenue. Yahoo reported earnings of $0.35 share on revenue of $1.07 billion after ad commissions, a revenue decline of 7% over last year. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.30 a share on revenue of $1.08 billion. As expected, Yahoo reported a 11% decline in display advertising revenue compared to the same period last year.
The Wii U sold disappointingly for Nintendo and affected the company's bottom line for the last fiscal year, according to financial earnings released early Wednesday. The next-generation console was released in the United States in November 2012 and Japan six weeks later. From launch until the end of 2012, it sold 3.06 million units, according to Nintendo's Q3 earnings. From Jan 1. to March 31, the end of the fiscal year, the Wii sold about 390,000 units worldwide.
Groupon missed earnings estimates for last quarter and t its outlook for the next quarter was also lower than analysts expected, sending the stock down as much as 27% in after-hours trading. The company announced Wednesday that revenues for the first quarter would be between $560 million and $610 million, which was short of the $650 million -- the consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Apple announced that it will post its Q4 financial results via a conference call at 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 25. The report will detail the initial sale numbers of the sixth-generation iPhone 5. Considering that 5 million devices were sold in the first weekend, Apple's latest smartphone seems to be successful when it comes to the numbers. Apple's Q4 results will also include sales of its refreshed MacBook models, including the new MacBook Pro, which is equipped with Retina display.
Facebook's first earnings call as a public company has been hyped in the business press like a summer blockbuster. It's a shot at redemption, maybe the feel-good call of the summer. Or perhaps it will be another bummer, like the company's May IPO. Either way, there's more drama around the call than usual, which makes it interesting even for those who don't usually follow business calls.