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Ask AnandTech: Ideal Tablet Specs & Form Factor for Work?by Anand Lal Shimpi on 6/26/2013 1:32 PM EST
79 Comments
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silenceisgolden - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkI'm afraid I can't provide a good use case, but I do question why a person would buy a tablet over an ultrabook or even a convertible ultrabook (or even MBA). The only reason why I would think a person (or company) would buy an iPad is to get a larger iOS device. Reply
hackguy - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - link10 inches are (I believe) almost perfect, maybe 9 or 9.5 inch tablets would be better for carrying, but I'm sticking with 10. Display resolutions should start leaning north of 1080p. Processor can stick around with 4 cores, which are still a bit of overkill, while graphics must develop further. For storage, I was thinking about something upgradeable, like a mSATA SSD, or at least two memory cards (yeah, I'm unique like that). Batteries should be as big as possible, while the device itself must be light and thin enough to be able to be carried in one hand. Also, I'd like to say something about touchscreens. If I would be designing a tablet, I would rather pay 20€ more and choose a touchscreen that has really low input latency and pen input than a normal, laggy piece of plastic. That was my 2 cents. Reply
Aegrum - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkI support a few hundred users in a hospital IT environment. I use an iPad with a Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for doing tickets/sysadmin tasks, and it's just about exactly the right device for me to do this work on. For tasks I need Windows for (AD, GPO), I use it to connect to a VM via the VMware View app, running on a blade server, so it essentially turns the iPad into an Ultrabook, though the battery life is far better than what I'd get on most Ultrabooks (IVB era).
Many of the doctors we support prefer the iPad mini size, as it almost perfectly fits into a lab coat. We have them set up with a virtual clinical environment (again through VMware View) where they run their clinical apps.
For hardware improvements, the only improvements I would hope for would a slimmer bezel (which seems to be coming) and WAY better wireless strength. We're constantly having clinicians complain about dropping their connections as they walk around the hospital, even though we have extensive 802.11N Cisco AP coverage.
For software, anything that improves our ability to manage the mobile device remotely in a meaningful sense. Everything in our environment is heading towards BYOD, and not being able to control what our users access via their tablets is a security concern, especially from a HIPAA standpoint. We use the VMs because its far easier to manage and secure, but there's still a concern of someone loading their work email on a device, and not being able to properly sandbox that. There are plenty of tools that claim to offer this, but nothing we've evaluated has met all our criteria. Reply
Aegrum - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkOh - and I will add - we evaluated the ElitePad (still are) and while having full blown Windows seemed to offer some benefits, the app support just kills it. x86 Windows apps (like VMware View) aren't nearly touch friendly enough yet. Reply
eszklar - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkI have to admit I like the iPad/iPad mini User case here - not everyone needs x86 tablet hardware. Reply
apertotes - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkDid those doctors prefer a Nexus 7 before, or are they forced to use iOS hardware? Reply
Aegrum - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkYes - iOS is greatly preferred by most of the clinical people I've interfaced with. It's just more comfortable to them. Also, the aspect ratio and resolution on an iPad Mini lends itself better to a virtual desktop clinical app environment than the Nexus 7. Most apps are developed at a 1024x768 resolution standard, so it looks more accurate than when they're running on a wider, but thinner, 1280x800 resolution. Basically it's almost an extra inch wide, with the same vertical, which lets you display more horizontal content on screen when its upright, or more vertical content when its horizontal. Reply
apertotes - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkI do not think that you are right about resolutions. 1280x800 has more pixels than 1024x768 anyway you look at it. If anything, Nexus 7 should show at least the same information than the ipad mini, if not more.
So doctors prefer a cumbersome regular ipad with iOS than a more convenient and portable Nexus 7 with Android. I hope that it boils down to apps availability and not simple elitism. Reply
MonkeyPaw - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkIt might be more pixels, but the way the Nexus 7 formats the UI, it can actually feel cramped, especially now that 4.2 split the notification and button bars. I don't have much experience with iPad mini, but my guess is the aspect rations narrow top bar make it feel more spacious.
That said, I love my XPS10 enough that I just sold my Nexus 7. 10" works great for Office use. I have yet to handle an 8" Windows tab, so I can't say how well it would do. I get the feeling that content would seem really small unless they do some scaling, which would make the screen seem too small again. Reply
mr_tawan - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkIt's probably the physical dimension. Reply
dsf9h2f - Tuesday, July 02, 2013 - linkYou do not have to be an elitist to prefer one device over another - as Aegrum said both in his original post AND the reply, most of the clinical people preferred the iPad. Otherwise, you too would be an elitist as you clearly show your preference for Android/Nexus. Reply
kascollet - Monday, July 15, 2013 - linkThe ipad Mini's screen is just much bigger, mostly because of the 4:3 ratio.
Of course, resolution is great but on these small devices, effective screen estate is more important. Reply
fteoath64 - Saturday, June 29, 2013 - linkiPad Mini form factor and weight plus a 1600X 1200 resolution screen and a multi-dock for docking base for use at the desktop (24 inch LCD keyb mouse, sound). It is all one need fo work mostly as it is portable if it has the same 9 hours of battery. Undock it you are free to move around with wifi Cloud as the sharing mechanism. Laptops are going out because of this since its screen is not big enough for long-term desktop use and too clumsy for portable use. Reply
A4i - Monday, July 01, 2013 - linkMine personal experience is almost the same, except that Windows stuff. I had browser enabled medical&ERP software, that was compatible with all HTML 5 platforms. Also medical personnel in my clinic were inclined towards MackBook hardware. Also they had additional imaging software on their IPad tablets. Wi-Fi coverage was a problem too. Regular iPad is almost perfect for that use. Some enhancement are welcomed though, such as slimmer bezel and weight reduction. A first party bumper case will be nice to, because nowadays Apple accessories don't provide adequate drop protection. Reply
p1esk - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkI don't see a use for tablets in the workspace.
Ultrabooks aren't much heavier or larger, but are easier to type on, and have enough processing power to do almost all tasks.
Oh, and they have a more comfortable screen size to look at (13" vs 10" or less).
I only wish they would stop that nonsense of putting touchscreens on ultrabooks.
FlyBri - Friday, June 28, 2013 - linkI think you are probably a bit narrow in your scope and are only thinking of a regular office workspace in terms of your comment about not seeing a use for tablets in the workspace. I'm almost positive there are certain work environments in which tablets make sense, especially if they are mobile around the office and building, and also need something that has stylus/writing capabilities. And now with Haswell chips out, the increase in battery life along with being able to make slightly thinner tablet PC's, I think we'll see rather soon good quality, thinner tablet convertibles w/ better battery life that connect to keyboard docks of great quality. In essence, I think there will be more tablet/ultrabook convertible options that will truly offer the best of both worlds. And I'm sorry, but it's not nonsense of putting touchscreens on ultrabooks. If you have read many reviews of touchscreen ultrabooks running Windows 8, many reviewers thought the touchscreen made sense after using it with Windows 8 after awhile. I myself prefer a matte screen, and right now, there are no matte screens that are also touch capable. That doesn't mean that touchscreen ultrabooks are nonsense though -- they definitely have their place. I would personally just like to see more matte screen options available. Reply
manders2600 - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkThe ideas shown by Intel with a 12-13 inch convertible screen that then reduces to 10 inches when detached from its keyboard dock are perfect for business usage. The ultra-light, battery-efficient nature of current ARM-based tablets is absolutely necessary for use without a keyboard, but the larger screen size is needed for extended periods of stationary use. Having the bevel "adjust" itself depending on usage/orientation is a tremendous idea, allowing the user to have the best of both words. Storage space needs to get to a point where no one cares about SD cards (at least 128 GB) and RAM needs to hit the 4 GB mark. The SoC needs to be a bit more powerful, since multitasking is going to remain a need, but we are getting close to "good enough" for most business needs. Wireless/inductive charging integrated with NFC is an absolute must-have for tablets, keyboard docks, and phones moving forward, as will be the ability to quickly and wirelessly "plug in" to display and input devices wherever these devices are going to be used. Reply
zaddie63 - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkWirelessly charging a ~2000 mA battery in a cellular phone takes a while to do. I am not sure wirelessly charging an ~4000mA battery in a tablet would be practical? You might as well plug it in. Unless you plan on doing this only at night. Reply
manders2600 - Friday, June 28, 2013 - linkIt wouldn't really be for "filling up" the device, per se, but rather just keeping it charged. So the idea would be that NFC/Qi combos should allow you to drop your phone or tablet on the pad, and immediately connect to your BT keyboard, mouse, headset, mount a network share, etc and start Miracasting its video signal to your Monitor (the next evolutionary step from plugging your laptop into a dock with a fan and external monitor/keyoard/mouse hookups). Reply
Rictorhell - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkThe shame of it, for me, as a person with a lot of media files, photos, videos, songs, etcetera, is that I have to do a lot of compromising when it comes to mobile devices in order to have everything at hand that I both need and want.
The cloud has received a lot of hype and attention lately and if you are a person with constant, convenient, and affordable internet service, I'm sure it's great, but I don't like to rely on whether or not internet access is available in order for me to get my personal files and my personal information.
I have an iPaq 210 that is several years old and extremely underpowered that I use now mostly as an mp3 player and because that device has both a compact flash slot and an sd card slot, in many ways, storage wise, it's more capable then many of the newer devices that are available right now, at least when I have no internet access and I need my files.
There is this big emphasis being placed on having the thinnest and trendiest devices but I value having the amount of local storage that I need and want, without compromise, and I can't seem to get that with many modern devices.
I have an Acer w700 that has a fair sized ssd, but only because I replaced the 64gb option that came with it and installed my own msata drive. There was the option for a 128gb drive as well, but for me, and probably others, that's just not enough storage for a Windows 8 device.
If I can purchase a tablet, preferably something that has a 10" or larger screen, with a user replaceable battery and ssd, and even an sd card slot, at the bare minimum, I think that is worth the sacrifice of a few extra millimeters in thickness.
A cutting edge device with barely enough storage space and no expandable storage is a device with a built-in expiration date and a guarantee of more profits for certain manufacturers. No offense meant, manufacturers :)
From my point of view, if you give customers the ability to customize their products to meet their needs and desires, and you build a high quality device, you're going to get their future business anyway, regardless. We all know that no single device is going to last forever. Reply
trane - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkIn terms of form factor, I have to say, Aspire P3 is already there. <10mm Z-height, ~750g, 11.6 inch. Plop Haswell ULX into it and it will be good for 8+ hours. Personally, I would prefer a 11.0/11.1 inch device. Surface Pro isn't too bad at 10.6 either. But it's not a huge deal, anything between 10.6 and 11.6 is fine by me. Pretty sure Haswell will bump Surface Pro 2 down to similar ~10mm / 750g specs. Metro already scaled pretty well, and now Desktop is finally getting good in 8.1, so I'll go for a 2560x1440 IPS display. Scaled to 200% it gives just the right balance between touch targets and real estate. Obviously what is most appealing is hot plugging in one of these to my dual 27 inch monitor setup. Or to a keyboard dock. In 8.1 monitors have independent scaling too. Desktop, tablet, notebook all in one, finally possible with Haswell and Windows 8.1. Reply
eszklar - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkI'm very partial to the Microsoft Surface Pro form factor myself, especially a Haswell based version hopefully with the Surface Pro 2. I'm interested in the Lenovo ThinkPad Helix for a slightly bigger tablet than the Surface Pro 2. On the smaller size I like the Acer W3 form factor but hopefully then next generation will be more robust - I think an 8" Windows 8 Pro tablet has potential. Reply
Da W - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkSurface Pro + typecover + a 20$ wireless logitech mouse + office 2013. It's as good as it gets.
Could only wish for a lower price, thinner, lighter form factor, better graphics, better camera and longer battery life, may be with Haswell or Broadwell. And Windows 8.1. But these would be marginal improvements, Surface Pro is the revolution for work, it has all it needs. Alas not many people tryied it. Reply
zaddie63 - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkI use a 10.1 inch Windows 8 tablet and I find that is good size for me. 10.6 I think would be the limit. I'd like a dual core processor @ 1.8 -2.2 Ghz with Intel HD 4000 level graphics. I don't do any graphics work on my tablet. If I was going to graphics work I'd probably get a laptop or desktop with discrete video. WIFI, Bluetooth.
Ports - 2 Full sized USB 3.0, full sized SDHC/UHS1, any HDMI, 3G/4G optional. SATA 3 or mSATA SSD. 720p front camera at least. Ethernet would be necessary for my work but I acknowledge a lot of people don't think it is necessary.
Weight should be no more than 800 grams.
Screen Resolution 1440x900 minimum, 400 nits, AMOLED screen.
No fans.
Stereo speakers 1.5 -2 watts
Price : $700 USD maximum
Optional Dock which has
4 USB/Thunderbolt Reply
zaddie63 - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - link4GB of the fastest possible RAM in a single memory slot, to help the GPU.
The SoC should be in the 3-4watt area so that the batter can give 8+ hours of run time. Which is why I asked for a dual core rather than a quad core CPU. If a hyper threaded dual core will draw less power than a quad core then do that. But I would not want a quad core at the expense of run time. Reply
eaanders22 - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkThe Samsung Ativ Q comes the closest of any device yet to meeting the needs of someone that needs Windows but also uses a lot of Google software and apps. Hi-Res display, Core i5, 4 Gb, 128 SSD, Haswell, fairly light for a convertible, cpu and ports in the hinge for better cooling, and many display configurations for lap, desk, and stand-up presentation. I think they've hit the sweetspot. I'm waiting for your review. Reply
DrCheap - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkThis device does look very promising, but we all will need some serious hands-on reviews before biting the bullet and buying one. I expect them to be pricey. Right now it is at the top of my list of likely purchases this year, but only if the implementation pays off as well as the tradeshow videos make it appear. Reply
zaddie63 - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkToo big; Too heavy. Would make a great laptop though. Reply
blackjag - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkMake the screen size the same dimensions as a 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper. In most industries and in school, having a tablet where papers and textbooks can be displayed without having to reflow and reformat the data would be huge. This works out to a 13.9" screen, which is pretty big but the benefits vastly outweigh the size. Every grad student I know would buy one. The absolute killer feature would be leveraging flexible screens to have the tablet fold in half for storage. I think this form factor would be a huge seller as an Android tablet mainly for reading and taking notes. It would need a solid digitizer though for writing notes. If the screen size is too unwieldy, removing .5" margins around the edges to bring it down to 7.5" x 10" (12.5" screen) would work, since every paper more or less has margins at least that big. The drive towards digitizing everything has been slowed by the need to create apps to fit the new form factors. If we reused the letter format, most existing paper based content could simply be digitized and displayed full size. Reply
DrCheap - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkYes yes yes! I have been begging for such a device for years now!
The problem, in part, is that at the 16:10 ratio of many tablets to get 8.5" wide you need a 16" screen that gets you 13.6" tall. What we would need is a 4:3 ratio, at 14", which gets you almost exactly 8.5x11 display area. Now if we lop off some margins and go down to 13" at 4:3 ratio we get 7.8x10.4 -- so that may be the sweet spot. If someone made that, we would be damned close to a sheet of paper. Reply
euskalzabe - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkI use a 10" Asus VivoTab RT right now which is quite good size wise for MS Office work and the battery is crazy good of course. Performance is acceptable. After working with this machine for months now, I've found that my next hybrid should be a) around 11.6" like the Surface and at least a quad Cortex A15 (though if possible I'll wait for the A57s to bring performance up a notch again). Reply
vLsL2VnDmWjoTByaVLxb - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkI work for a law firm, and we've been testing out various tablets for workflow. You'd think our work environment would be perfect, lets of documents, lots of redaction, approval, editing. Mobile is perfect, we have attorneys out to client sites, court, CLEs, etc.
And yet nothing compares to a good laptop. The software of tablets are hobbled. The speed is hobbled. Battery life? about 20-40% better, for sure, but just working on the devices is pretty painful compared to full-featured laptops. This frustrates our attorneys, because they really think that tablets can and will be the solution, but it's just not close to being a mature solution, yet. They are too much hassle for anything content creation+ professional and time sensitive.
Anyone else have experience in the professional realm? PDF editing, on the level of Acrobat Pro, is mandatory. I'd love to find better solutions for them. Apparently weight and battery life are very important to them. Reply
DrCheap - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkI do similar work, but often with graphics work thrown in. What I have been using so far are convertible laptops in the 12-13" range. Battery life ends up a bit mediocre and they tend to be heavy and clunky, but I get full laptop cpu power, can use swappable batteries, and have a tablet/digitizer screen for doing markup work. I am praying the new haswell tablets finally get these to the battery life and weight I have been dreaming of. Reply
miahshodan - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkFor something simple like sales you might get by with less, but for something where you will be doing substantial work on a tablet I would say:
~10 screen, but with a 16:10 resolution, like the 1920x1200 one on the nook hd+
windows 8 x86 on Haswell with a detachable keyboard that can be used like a laptop
docking station that connects to a larger monitor, Ethernet, better keyboard and mouse, etc.
128GB or larger SSD
6-8 GB ram
to me anything less than 8" is not much better than a 4.5-5" phone that I will be carrying anyway. Reply
Decaff - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkPersonally, I believe the perfect form factor is the detachable. But it should go a step further than most designs (a keyboard with battery) and provide a complete docking solution which would allow me to use it as a Workstation. Having a Surface cover available as well would just be the icing on the cake.
I am still hoping to see some of the Intel tech that allowed the screen to change size depending on whether it was docked or in tablet mode, by introducing black bars when in tablet mode, in order to enable gestures. That would allow for a 10-11" tablet, which could scale to 12-13" in laptop mode by extending the display almost to the edge of the frame. So far, it has only been demo'ed in prototypes, which is really a shame IMO. I really like the concept and hope to see it commercialized soon. Naturally, the screen should come with a proper resolution like 1080p. The time for low res displays should really come to an end by now! No need to go overboard in Retina like resolution as it just sucks down battery driving and lighting all those pixels.
Spec wise, I think a Bay Trail based design would be sufficient, combined with 4 GB of RAM (perhaps with the option of 8 GB) and a 256 GB SSD (maybe a 128 GB variant). Atom would be to keep price down while hopefully providing enough performance for normal desktop tasks. I often find 256 GB to be the sweet spot, unless you need to carry many video and other large files with you often.
Naturally, money not being an issue, a low power Haswell would be awesome. Yet, personally I seriously doubt that it would provide enough added benefits for my own usage. The Bay Trail Atoms seem to hit the new sweet spot in computing performance for me. The new AMD Temash processors also look interesting and may also be quite viable.
For me, the tablet must be thin and light (iPad is the gold standard) while providing suffecient battery life. Those are the primary concerns, as long as the system is "good enough" to run everything else.
I really don't think many people have much use of a fullblown Haswell processor anymore. The computing landscape is changing rapidly, and raw compute power is not just that important anymore for most users. The parameters are changing, and the manufacturers better get with the times. Classical Innovator's Dilemma really. Reply
yougotkicked - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkPersonally, if I were using a tablet as part of my desktop work environment, I would want at least a 10" display. Using it as a note taking tool and web browser as I currently do, I think 7" is about perfect, I just wish the majority of websites and apps made more efficient use of the display space, in my experience many sites don't have mobile-friendly CSS rules at all, and those that do still sometimes include floating nav-bars and menus that waste screen space.
I really wish tablets would come with a good system for mounting accessories to them. I ultimately just want a good tilt-stand for my tablet, and I hate the Ipad style covers. Rather than ship tablets with stands built into them (which I'm sure would be awful) I think a simple fastener to which stands, speakers, etc. could be mounted to would be perfect. The example that comes to mind is the near universal screw-on fastener cameras & tripods use.
I definitely think we need to start seeing USB3 ports on tablets more often, not being able to connect your mobile storage device to your mobile computing device is absurd.
This last one is a bit greedy, and there have been some good efforts towards it already, but I really would like to see a more effective way for tablets to communicate directly between one another. NFC is too slow for anything but sharing contact info, bluetooth is better but still not quite good enough. Ideally we would see wi-fi adapters with mesh networking protocols allowing tablets to set up a meshed WLAN. This would make file transfers between tablets at reasonable speeds possible, and make tablets much more reasonable replacements for printed handouts and such. Reply
StormyParis - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkThe question makes no sense: it depends on your work. I know you're a white collar spending the day in an office... a blue collar, a peripatetic worker, a field engineer... will have totally different needs regarding for example:
- Windows
- Battery life
- one-handed usability
- screen legibility outside
- ruggedness
- pen support
- ... Reply
MrSpadge - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkI think it really depends on what the device is meant to do.
If it's for carrying around constantly and not for doing anything computationally demanding locally (like in that hospital example) the tablet has to be light and small foremost. There's probably a market for 7" and 10" here, maybe also a bit higher if it's still light. Such devices probably won't differ much from "consumer" offerings, all they'd need to be "enterprise" would be the software to make it all work seamless. Which is.. quite a challenge and a huge investment.
And then there are devices which should replace current PCs / laptops in conjunction with docking stations and other periphery. Here the mobility provided by the tablet form factor would be more a "nice to have", but performance and features are critical:
- can we fit 28 W CPUs in there?
- storage options like having a large HDD in the keyboard dock, msata slots etc.
- convertible form factors
- IPS screen or better, otherwise the "let me show you.." just doesn't work well
- I don't think you need to go crazy with resolutions, despite this being very hip, especially since there are going to be legacy applications in business Reply
nunomoreira10 - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkIdeally the Samsung active tab but for 300 dollars less.
and an oled screen if possible. Reply
Sushisamurai - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkIn the private healthcare setting, if you were to replace the admin/patient file laptop computers with tablets, you would at least need:
X86 support
Fast, responsive UI
VM capabilities (I'm assuming windows would be fine)
Docking options (thunderbolt being the most ideal, as USB 3.0 can't daisy chain that many peripherals at once, including video) - TB would also give you options for cord adapters, say Ethernet for the clinics with wireless Internet concerns
At least one USB3.0 port
Detachable keyboard to go from one place or another, or a thin BT keyboard
10" form factor would be okay, as it would be usable on a portable area (house calls) or at the office.
Cellular connectivity Reply
Sushisamurai - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkFor the physicians running around,
7-8" factor is fine, anything larger and it becomes more of a hassle than not. I honestly prefer the mini in my lab coat. No need for x86 support, as you have remote options and VPN access, and cellular for house calls. It has fast, responsive UI, doesn't hang, it's vertical integration with my personal computer and for BYOD hospitals. Long battery life, and it's light weight.
For the administration side... I personally would need 128 GB usable space, after OS install (surface kinda screwed that one up)
As for security concerns... In my area, the only problems we have are the non-health workers, like the secretaries etc. but they're not privy to a tablet in the work place, the nurses we have and physicians are generally pretty good about that kinda stuff (crosses fingers) Reply
Drazick - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkFor me the perfect would be a 10" with resolution of 3840 x 2160 (16:9 ratio).
I'd like it to have the fastest ARM based CPU around + Fastest GPU.
I want it to run Windows RT and have a touch pen.
That would be the perfect Tablet for me. Reply
chaos215bar2 - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkWould you like a pony with that? Reply
Drazick - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkNope...
It doesn't have the touch... Reply
Gadgety - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkThere isn't ONE ideal form factor because it depends on the context. Main thing for me, there's a balance between portability and utility. For portability, ideally it should go into my suit jacket inner pocket, in 65% of the cases. I could use a foldable keyboard to bring with me. For collective work, or presentations I need it to hook up to a projector. For 35% of the work I need a slightly larger screen than what a pocketable device brings. Oh, and I need Word, Powerpoint and Excel. Haswell is bringing a lot of potential as it will provide sufficient power with frugality. Reply
locowolf - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkI use a tablet in neuroscience research to take notes and read and annotate academic journal articles. I've made due with a Galaxy Note 10.1, but the journal article pdf's are a tad small, in my opinion. I would love a tablet that had the same dimensions of a standard 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper for which the tablet is an effective replacement. Most tablets that use the 16:9 aspect ratio are too long and narrow in portrait mode. I think this is something that tablets featuring styluses should keep in mind. Reply
DrCheap - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkCompletely agree! A 13" in 4:3 ratio would be much better suited for these purposes and something I have been waiting and hoping to see come out in a nice device. Reply
Kill16by9TN - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkFirst, whoever brought the 16:9 digital TV form factor madness into the world of computing, should be hanged, quartered , put on a stake, burnt and drowned, in no particular order. The same goes for those, still trying to peddle lousy (S)TN LCD displays these days.
The 4:3 (=1.33) screen ratio already perfectly covers the predominant A4/A5 paper sizes used outside of North America (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_size) with its sqrt(2):1 aspect. Given that printed paper almost always has a decent white margin left around, 16:10 (=1.6) also still works sufficiently well, but certainly not that dimwit 16:9 (=1.78) TV screen format.
On a notebook I don't want to have to reach across the keyboard and smear around the screen with my fingers, but instead very much prefer a sound touchpad like the Synaptics Clickpad 2.0, possible supplemented by a TrackPoint.
As for tablets, as a mobile companion it has to still fit in coat or jacket pockets with a screen luminance high enough for outdoor use on a sunny day. It also should have a digitizer and a port to park the pen to allow being used like a regular paper notepad.
For more stationary, in- or around-house/building use, I prefer something bigger in the 9.6...11" range.
For all cases the screen should have a sensible anti-glare coating, since I loathe those mirror screen displays and high gloss bezel and body surfaces. I do have a bathroom mirror, if I want to look at my face.
The current Ultrabook craziness: thin, thinner, useless also fails to excite me. Thin is good, but only as long as there are no shortcomings in terms of connectivity and thermal management resulting of it and we seem to already have passed a critical threshold in this area.
Btw. why does no one come up with a convertible, where you can relase the display, turn it by 180° around its vertical axis and plug it back in? This way, there is a regular notebook when needed and a tablet when wanted, without exposing the keyboard or needing weird hinge constructions or touchpads sitting behind the keyboard and such.
In terms of docking station/connectivity I'd like to see AMD's 'Dock Port', formerly known as 'Lightning Bolt' to take root, instead of Intel's limited and overpriced proprietary Thunderbolt (2). Reply
Kill16by9TN - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkForget something very important:
instead of annoying touch screens, I want built-in "Leap Motion" instead, solving the greasy paw smudge problem once and for all. Reply
zendragon6 - Saturday, June 29, 2013 - linkThey do, it's called the Thinkpad Helix. Reply
DrCheap - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkAlright, you asked for it. I have been using business tablets or convertibles for some years now and none of them are perfect. My hope is the coming generation will get it right. I do mountains of document and image work all over the country (rarely overseas) ranging from markup on PDF copy to processing images from camera into PDF, etc.
Here's the ideal specs for my usage, in order of priority:
Digitizer pen with excellent palm rejection, good precision, and (close to) no lag. This is an absolute deal breaker. Without this, I will not buy.
Windows 8 Pro x64 (NOT RT) (must be some version of Windows 8 or later)
128gb ssd or larger (I might be able to like with 80gb but that would be the bare minimum)
8+ hr battery life regular usage, 20 hrs standby in tablet mode -- without any dock, slice, or detachable keyboard (more is better for sure, but if it cannot do this then it's no dice)
Keyboard in some kind of form (detachable or convertible either works)
Screen size of 12-13 inches. A 13" 4:3 ratio, odd as it may sound, is almost 8.5x11 inches, the size of a regular sheet of paper. That would be perfect for my uses, but since I will probably never see that, I would settle for 13 inches at 16:10. 10.1" screens have been too small. 11" is even really too small, with 12" being about the smallest I have used that worked well.
At least an i5 or equivalent processor. Needs to handle Acrobat Pro, GIMP, etc., with ease and with very large color documents and images.
Bare minimum 4gb ram. Would seriously LOVE to have 8gb.
SD or MicroSD slot
Under 3 pounds. Bonus if under 2 pounds in tablet mode.
HDMI out (vga or dp also a bonus)
Decent rear camera with 720p (1080p preferred) recording with mic. Front camera Skype-capable.
Separate headphone and mic jacks
3yr warranty (bare minimum 1 year)
Dual-boot to Android (nice but not essential)
VERIZON LTE 4g card (never ever again will I have a device on ATT) Reply
gxtoast - Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - linkI have a similar requirement to DrCheap's. I want a tablet that can be effective for Active Reading/Study/Learning using PDFs of technical books. For most active reading, 13.3" is the absolute minimum, and a 16:10 ratio is much preferred over 16:9. Microsoft says their tablets are for content creation, yet they mandate a form factor based on how good it is to consume movies? What the hell are they doing making their display ratios good for movies at the sacrifice of everything else? Talk about a contradiction!
I need to be able to view two pages of a technical PDF (Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, etc) and be able to annotate and create notes on the side. Actually, at 16:9 the height of the tablet while in landscape is still not ideal for viewing pages. A 15.6" tablet would really be required to do that well. Reply
Ytterbium - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkThe best size tablet I ever used was Compaq TC1100, 10.1" 4:3.
I agree with others, for business 16:9 isn't great.
I love the comments about the doctors, they run windows apps on an iPad. I think we'd be in the same situation, all our apps are windows only and the cost to re-develop them is too much. Reply
iwod - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkThe Original iPad size was great, actually i would even want the screen size of the iPad to stretch to the edge, making the screen so slightly bigger rather then the current trend of cutting down in size.
My Problem isn't so much about size. Is the weight.
From my experience around me, it was too heavy especially for female who could but iPad mini in their bags and doesn't hurt their shoulder.
There is also problem with one hand operation, holding a bigger iPad one hand the weight will pivot through and it "feels" a lot heavier.
Being Apple sided I agree spec doesn't matter as much. You could have software feeling super snappy even if the hardware isn't top of the line. It is how much software engineering you put in. And it is not like our silicon tech are limiting the performance of tablet. It is the battery and heat dissipation that is limiting us. And we can put a super big and thin battery in as well, it will cost and it is technically possible, but it is going to weight a lot heavier, which goes back to my original concern of weight.
We need a battery that improves the Energy Density / Weight / Volume in big ways. That is what is currently limiting us. Reply
ZeDestructor - Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - linkMy use cases:
7-8-inch tablet: eReader usage, pure tablet, "reduced" OS with finger/touch-only stuff.
12-13-inch tablet: Everything and the kitchen sink usage. Classic convertible laptop with rotating hinge. Full laptop capabilities with x86 architecture, SecureBoot optional, preferably intel(+optional nvidia GPU) platform for proper Linux support. Reply
mr_tawan - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkMy workplace forbid using any kind of tablet or other IT devices (probably due to security policy), a little bit disappointing.
Anyway I think the tablet for enterprise should be/have, or rather this is what I want :P.
* a little bit oversized (11"-12", or maybe A4 size display)
* sturdy but lightweight (carbon fiber/magnesium alloy chasis?)
* Pen enabled. 2 USB ports.
* TPM, fingerprint reader.
* VMWare View, Citrix XenApp client, RDP client, etc.
* A good Email client.
But putting that together may be too expensive for the company ;-) Reply
mr_tawan - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkOh, I forgot, I want to use the tablet as an external monitor too. Reply
SanX - Saturday, June 29, 2013 - linkYes, A4, like most journals have. Size will be as with current 11" Windows tablets if use almost zero 5mm maximum bezel. Make smart virtual bezel you moronic developers which separates the area you are using for handling the screen from areas you are selecting something, what, are you waiting for Apple will guide you ? Reply
amrs - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkMatte display would be on my wish list. I've tried to use my Nexus 7 at work but with the kind of overhead lights we have in the office it seems impossible to avoid annoying reflections on the screen. It's pretty hard with my 4.6" phone already. Maybe if I crawled under my desk...
Other than that, well, engineering software isn't available much on tablets. I could do some of my work by turning a tablet into a text terminal and connecting to a Linux server like that one software developer Mark O'Connor did with his Ipad. Reply
ruzveh - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkAtleast a 10 to 12" is required if u want to work comfortably for hours on it Reply
7keypad - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkDesign of Tablet with touchpad+7keypad at keypad77.com Reply
addverma - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkThe following would be characteristics that I would look for.
1) 10 inch IPS Panel with resolution of 1280X800 or higher. Anything beyond this becomes crumbsome to carry and use on the move.
3) Capability to Dock it, just like ASUS Transformer Pad TF300TG so that we get extra battery life, keyboard and ports.
4) Lots of internal storage, 32GB or higher. I do not foresee IT departments allowing employees to put work data on a removable Micro SD cards.
Apart from this the following would be desirable characteristics
1) Ability to do video chat using tablets. This would require upgrading existing Work Wi-fi setups to the 802.11n or possibly 802.11ac specifications.
2) Ability to use office peripherals like scanner, printer, etc. from my tablets. Reply
zaddie63 - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkAll of this is available today. Reply
JasonIT - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkIdeal Specs for the business sector? Easy, needs to be x86 supported for legacy applications, enough performance to handle multitasking. 1.6 Ghz Quad core cpu that can power down un-used cores, 2-4GB ram, 128GB storage base /w expandable MicroSD, usb 3.0, user replaceable battery, 7"-10" screen options, Wi-Fi + 3G/4G and Wi-Fi only models, Bluetooth, WiDi, 1920x1080 ~320 ppi.
Needs to have a Docking station/cradle (not usb3.0 port replicator) for desktop replacement, also will need a Laptop style Docking station that can hinge open and closed like a laptop with actual keys (not touch keyboard as seen in Surface).
If Tablets are to ever succeed in the business market, they need the agility to meet business needs. Tablet for presentation and media consumption, Desktop replacement for office productivity, and Laptop replacement for traveling productivity.
Users do not want to be burdened by having to synch their files to the cloud or use offline files. They want their data when they want it and not have multiple sets outside of backup purposes. So having their data on one device that can go from tablet to laptop or tablet to desktop would be the optimal solution. Reply
SteveNYC - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkAs someone else previously mentioned, I too thought the HP TC1100 was a fantastic piece of kit. I was sorry to let that one go.
Right now, I have my eye set on the Samsung ATIV Tab 3 coming out in a few months. I've worked with a lot of devices over the last several years including the old Tablet PCs and UMPC lineups and none of them really got my interest. The iPads and Nexus tablets are all good, but not for legacy access.
Saying something is for business misses the point of "what kind of business". Much of what I do is executive oriented. I take a ton of notes and need some access to spreadsheets and word processing. While I believe the iPad remains the lead device for businesses that have no legacy systems, the many that do would be well suited to a Windows based device. I know my old job required it.
My goal has always been OneNote in a portable setup. I've always thought of OneNote as the single best application for an executive (or a student) that I have ever seen. But getting the horsepower to run that application has been the problem. If I were a silly dreamer, I would say give me an iPad with a Wacom digitizer and allow me to run OneNote (the full version). Silly, I know. It's mixing apples and oranges. But it's true. I've worked on the ThinkPad Tablet 2 and it's too unwieldy with an 11.6" screen on a 16:9 ratio. This is not something I want to carry. The Surface Pro is too heavy at 2lbs. The original Thinkpad Tablet running Android was very good, but it lacked the legacy access element (but was still my favorite) and the keyboard was "meh". The cellular connectivity is a must have. Tethering is for kids, not business.
A business tablet needs to have X86 compatibility for legacy apps and SSL VPN connectivity. It needs to weight less than an iPad and have at least as good battery life. I like the idea of the Transformer hybrid style and would enjoy seeing a more full featured keyboard with additional battery life for a tablet. Ultimately the keyboard is a tough sell. I've never seen one on a 10.1 unit that was very good. 11.6"... yes, but not 10.1" The ThinkPad's was ok and the old Dell Mini 10 had a decent keyboard. But ultimately the keyboard is deep secondary. If I "need" that, then I "need" a laptop of a bigger hybrid. But a tablet can't exceed 10.1", or it's just not a tablet.
We'll see how this Samsung ATIV Tab 3 works out. I'm surprised at how much I'm looking forward to purchasing it. I really had given up on Windows up to this point. But it "could" be a turning point. Reply
frozentundra123456 - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkNo need for a tablet. We do heavy data handling and statistical analysis. Anything a tablet can do a laptop or desktop can do cheaper, easier, and faster. Reply
chizow - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - linkMore important to me than form factor and absolute performance (some is necessary of course), is the ability to run most of the day without a recharge. So, 8-10 hours ideally without needing a charge with the display and internals at use intermittently throughout in active and standby.
Size, slimness and weight are also important, I really like the Surface RT's form factor overall but want the power and flexibility of the Surface Pro. Reply
madpiyal - Friday, June 28, 2013 - linkI want a 10''/8'' tablet with a core i3 or i5 new haswell y series processor because it will assure 8-10 hours of battery life. It should be better than net-books used to be. And I want a full blown windows or a lot better version of windows rt. I don't want dual boot because people will misuse it(as BYOD is normal if you want to use Android use in your own device). Storage is a big issue and I think removable storage will be a huge plus. I don't mind low resolution at this screen size because its for work not for content consumption. It should have 3G radio built in for mobile sim to work and it should not have rear camera(we already have lots of camera around us and its a waste of company money). Reply
sasopu - Friday, June 28, 2013 - linkThe answer mostly depends on the definition of work for said person. In my example, work is something with CAD software, so anything short of an i7/i5 machine can not be considered a work machine.
But for a person that just needs to show his clients something that does not need big modifications on the go (a pdf catalogue comes to mind), a tablet is a way better option,
From where I'm sitting, there's no way a tablet can be used or even justified as a purchase for "work". I doubt the z2670 and such processors can handle things like CATIA, so the only viable tablet option is probably the surface pro, or any other i5/i7 tablet. Reply
Streamlined - Friday, June 28, 2013 - linkAs an accountant who uses his ipad to look at spreadsheets I'd say that NOTHING smaller than the full-sized ipad is gonna work. And only the retina quality screen makes the small 9.7" work. Optimal may be an 11" screen but the size is less important than the weight. I'll take a lighter 9.7" tablet over a heavier 11" but if weight was the same, I'd take the 11". And extremely high screen definition is a must when crunching spreadsheets with lots of small numbers. Reply
Ytterbium - Saturday, June 29, 2013 - linkI use a Fujitsu Stylistic ST 5112 at work today, since my company hasn't moved from XP yet it's still going strong, I upgraded it to 2GB and put X-25V SSD in it. The things that bug me are the weight and the battery life, I generally leave it plug in all the time as it just doesn't last more than 3hrs.
It's a 12.1" with 1024x768, I couldn't live with less than 768 as the app I use the most use that width easily and I could do with a bit more width, height wise I'm good.
It's got a Core Duo U2500 which is enough CPU power, the disk at 40GB is fine, everything I have is on the corporate network. Reply
Black March - Saturday, June 29, 2013 - linkHonestly I think the new Ativ Tablet is by a far the most optimal form factor I've seen this far. It manages to be a true tablet, while at the same time beeing a highly functional laptop. Quite amazing IMO Reply
zendragon6 - Saturday, June 29, 2013 - linkA 4:3 or 16:10 Surface Pro with that brilliant type cover, Matte Screen, 600 nits, user replaceable battery, storage dock for the pen instead of magnet clipped to the side, throwing Haswell in for some better battery life and graphics performance.
If it's 16:9, there's no way I'm buying it, no matter how good everything else looks. Reply
loki1725 - Sunday, June 30, 2013 - linkFor me, a tablet would be a replacement for my notebook. As an engineer I do a lot note taking, brainstorming, math and sketching. I was using convertible notebooks and OneNote for this but my new company doesn't offer this. I'm back to engineering notepads and pens. A tablet would a replacement for this notepad, and maybe be useful for a second screen when looking at documents and such. Primarily though, I would want something that I could take to meetings or brainstorming sessions and replace paper with.
For me, a 15" screen size in 4:3 is minimum. The bigger the better as I want to be able to write and draw with the least amount of restrictions. I would love a 17" in tablet! This would need to be coupled with a digitizer with good palm rejections and very low lag. A passive pen is also ideal, and the pen needs to store inside the tablet (looking at you SurfacePro).
For software, my number one need would be full blown OneNote, or a note taking program as powerful. This would mean the ability to do audio recording while note taking and having them sync. I used this constantly as it was a great way to keep diagrams in sync with conversations while we're spit balling concepts.
For the rest of the hardware, really good WiFi, fully encryptable hard drives, and a decent battery. Getting 5+ hours of life is probably fine for my usage. And weight doesn't really matter. My bag weighs nearly 6 pounds empty, so the difference between a 4lb and 6lb tablet wouldn't change things enough to notice.
Oh, and I don't want a camera on it. Anywhere. For security reasons I can't take cameras into a majority of the facility I work at. This means my cell phone is left at the door. If my tablet had a camera, I wouldn't be able to use it. (For those curious, the webcam on my laptop had its lens drilled out and filled with epoxy. My webcam won't turn on anymore but some of my friends can get theirs on, and it's solid black.)
I know this is probably an outlier use case, but it's what I would buy. Reply
finbarqs - Monday, July 01, 2013 - link20" windows 8.1 that sports a wacom digitizer with tilt and rotation abilities. I'll settle for a 1920x1080 resolution Reply
TheBlueberry - Thursday, July 04, 2013 - linkThe HP Envy X2 tablet was darn close to perfect but to small and underpowered. The Surface Pro is not lap friendly and the flimsy keyboard and small screen still turn me off. Although I know plenty of IT pros who are beginning to push them. Biggest business gripe is 10" just isn't going to do it for a laptop and computer replacement. Lets face it, executives love their hair. At one point it was who had the tiniest cell phone. Now its going to be, my tablet is bigger than yours.
My perfect tablet would have the same detachable keyboard and tablet integration of the HP envy x2 only in a 15 inch form. I would like a backlit keyboard. I like the rubbery feel of the Lenovo P500 incorporated into the design so to allow for a surer grip of the tablet. Windows 8 pro. I would also like to see an core i5 or better. 8 GB memory. Intel 5000 graphics or better. 256 GB SSD. Must have a fantastic screen brightness and clarity. Resolution is not that big a point, lets face it I would need a magnifying glass for 1080p on a small screen anyway. 720p would be ok, especially since my finger will do most of the work and they are quite big. HDMI, all the other bells for being able to connect to anything and adapt and expand. Front and rear cameras, lets face it Skype and Lync are awesome. Add the cell phone in to and wa'la'. and must have a 8 hour battery life so we can make it through a flight, do our presentation, make it to the hotel to plug it up. All this with a $500.00 price tag. LOL
I think whatever the manufactures decide to throw at us, we will still be making sacrifices in choices as they continue to make an appliance for everything and every category. Until they are realistic about price points and licensing fees from Microsoft, the market will still be overpriced and Android and Apple will continue to make end roads over the Microsoft world most of us live in. Reply
2disbetter - Thursday, July 11, 2013 - linkHP already had a good thing going with their Slate tablet (8" incher atom based win 7 device). 11-10" seems to be the sweet spot for most people. However, a smaller 9-7" tablet would work as well and would be preferred by many, myself included. Haswell would be ideal, and anywhere from 4-8gb of ram would be appreciated. Solid state drives are a given. Battery life should be at least 6 hours, but the more the merrier in this regard. For me work requires data entry and as such a good keyboard is essential. I have found that the sliders are the ideal solution to this. They don't require extra items be carried, and are always available. They also allow standard laptop use (unlike the Surface pro in a lap). Screen quality needs to be good. IPS is a minimum. And while the screen is smaller, it is better to have higher resolutions with good DPI scaling. People don't want to squint on the norm, but sometimes work requires access larger files, and the ability to view them makes up for the inconvenience of having to squint. Pen input (wacom) is also very useful, mainly as a consequence of the smaller screen and to help with working with some smaller UI elements. The screen itself should also be capacitive and allow for at least 5 finger touch. User removable battery would be ideal as well. Size is one issue that is not so essential. Folks looking for tablets for work will deal with a thicker device if it includes all of the things they require. User removeable batteries, RAM accessible, and even hdd being accessible all warrant thickness. Build qaulity is essential as well. Even though metal and aluminum might drive up weight it is needed. And finally do not back your design into a corner because you're trying to reach a certain price point to stay appealing to a market. Work devices are for work and should demand a premium if they offer more. Reply
mk1212 - Saturday, July 13, 2013 - linkfor work it is necessary that you can look at it from arm's length and beyond
also it should not be too big... so a4 paper size should be ideal...font size and distance should correspond to sufficient real estate for data and texts while not constraining eyes.
at arm's length ipad texts become too tiny to discern without zooming. i think we should minimize the zooming action.
processor: there cant be upper limit but current generation processors are sufficient for available apps/soft.
no bezel beyond 1 cm
4:3 aspect ratio preferably
carbon fiber to reduce weight. 200 to 400 grams overall weight
processor should be cool running.
hot swapping of battery
500 gb ssd
rugged enough to withstand few bumps
max available screen resolution
pen/stylus support Reply
Thornik - Monday, July 15, 2013 - linkEverything depends from "mobility" of the job. For doctors, stock managers, etc better to carry small tablet. But if you use tablet for longer than 10 min and sitting on ass, it's better to have even 15".
In any case, tablets are most used for ENTERTAINMENT, not the job! So tendency is simple: bigger is better. But manufacturers wanna sell their sh*ty small panels, keeping almost the same price. Let's see when this hype collapse and tablet will cost reasonable $100. Reply


text:
ORLANDO, Fla. - For the third straight day, rain is expected to fall across Central Florida.
Heavy rain fell across the Orlando area Wednesday night, and more storms moved through Central Florida -- mostly south of Orlando -- on Thursday.
"We'll see some more showers on Friday," Local 6 meteorologist Troy Bridges said. "It's going to be a gloomy day."
Friday's high will top off near 78 degrees, with rain chances at 40 percent.
The weekend will be dry with high temperatures reaching the upper 70s on Saturday and low 80s on Sunday.
Watch Local 6 News and stay with ClickOrlando.com for more on this story.
Copyright 2013 by ClickOrlando.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Most New Jerseyans Unprepared For Sandy's Wrath [POLL/AUDIO]
If you weren't prepared for Hurricane Sandy, you're not alone. Now that life is slowly starting to return to normal, most New Jersey residents say they would do things differently.
The storm knocked out power for millions, and created a gasoline and food and water shortage up and down the coast.
"Next time I would have more food and water…I mean I had bottled water but it goes really fast when you have three kids, and there is only so much cereal and peanut butter and jelly you can eat," said Nicole from Toms River.
"We were totally unprepared, we didn't have extra flashlights and batteries, we only had candles," said another man in Brick.
"Who would've guessed we would be without power for so long, I mean people did not have the essentials for sure," said another man grocery shopping in Ocean County.
But there were some people who said they did plan ahead.
"I had cooked a lot of meals ahead of time," said one woman.
"We had a grill and made a lot of food that way, but it was cold in the house with no heat," said another man.
Others said they braved the elements for a few days before giving up and buying generators.
"We made it until about Wednesday and then we caved…we have a little puppy and I had to keep my family safe and warm," said Joe, who was shopping with his wife.
"I'm an electrician so I had a spare one from all the jobs I do, I ended up sharing it with a few friends."
"My neighbor and I are already talking about buying a generator and splitting the cost so we will never have to deal with having no power again during the next storm," said another man.


text:
- Full Name:
- Joseph Austin Randolph 1
Joseph's Military History
Spanish American War
Joseph A. Randolph, Sergeant of Troop D, enlisted from Waukomis, Ok. He was discharged 15 Sep 1898 at Montauk Point, Camp Wykoff, Long Island, New York.
Source: The National Tribune, Washington D. C. 4/4/46
He was a member of Eugene Hernandez Camp, United Spanish War Veterans of that city, buried in the National Cemetery, Ft. Sam Houston with full military honors.
He was invited to the White House for a reunion of the Spanish American War veterans and also was in contact via letters with President Roosevelt for many years.
Articles and letter from National Association Roosevelt's Rough Riders in possession of Joseph's great granddaughter, Jane Walton Spreier 2012


text:
- Home
- Admissions
Everything you need to help you understand how to apply, register and get involved on campus can be found on our website.
- Academics
Our students are engaged in a wide range of academic pursuits that include degree programs in 160 undergraduate and graduate fields delivered by 6 different colleges.
Visit the Office of Academic Affairs & Research >>
- Campus Life
A-State offers unlimited possibilities for students to customize their experience while on campus.
- Research
Research engages intellectual curiosity, satisfies the thirst for discovery, and provides an outlet for creativity.
- About A-State
Marking its first hundred years, Arkansas State University continues to expand in exciting ways.
Dr. Tom O'Connor
Professor of Music
- D.M.A., University of Memphis, Music Composition and Theory
- M.S.E., Arkansas State University
- B.M.E., Arkansas State University
Teaching Specialties
- Music Theory
- Orchestration
- Composition
Research Interests
- Composition for Various Media
Prior to joining the ASU faculty in 1978, Dr. O'Connor taught public schools in Arkansas and Missouri serving as band director at high schools in Marked Tree (AR), East Prairie (MO) and West Plains (MO). He began work at ASU as Director of the Marching Indian Band and Director of Jazz Studies. In 1982 he was appointed Director of Bands. While in this position, his Symphonic Band performed for the Arkansas ASBOA Convention in Pine Bluff, as well as the College Band Directors National Association Regional Convention in Lawrence, Kansas. Under his direction, the ASU Jazz Band has twice performed for the ASBOA State Convention.
Dr. O'Connor is an active composer with numerous concert band publications available through Counterpoint Music Publishers and percussion ensembles available through Barnhouse Music Publishers. He writes several commissioned band pieces each year. In addition to the published works, he writes extensively for marching band, concert band, jazz band, orchestra and varied instrumental ensembles. Dr. O'Connor studied composition with Don Freund, John Baur, Claude T. Smith and Jared Spears.
Contact Information
(870) 680-8091
Building: Fine Arts Center
Room: 135


text:
MORAGA, Calif. -- Over the past few games, the Saint Mary's men's basketball team has shown it is more than capable of playing the type of defense needed to succeed consistently in the West Coast Conference.
In beating Pepperdine 84-72 at McKeon Pavilion on Saturday, the Gaels showed they're also able to let it rip offensively.
Beau Levesque finished with 19 points, one off his career high set one game ago, to lead Saint Mary's (17-4, 6-1 WCC) to its fifth straight win.
Stephen Holt added 17 points for the Gaels. Matthew Dellavedova recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists. Brad Waldow added 13 and Mitchell Young finished with 12, scoring in double digits for the fourth time in the last five games.
Jordan Baker led Pepperdine (10-10, 2-5) with 20 points. Lorne Jackson added 16.
"That game is a good example of how our league is better in the middle," Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said. "They have good talent, they made baskets, they were tough for us to defend. I thought we did a really good job offensively, but we struggled guarding them."
Leading by just nine at halftime, Saint Mary's managed to create a bit of a gap in the early stages of the second half and take command.
The lead hovered in double digits for much of the half. A good entry pass from Dellavedova found Young underneath for a layup with 12:13 remaining, putting the Gaels up 62-47 and causing Pepperdine coach Marty Wilson to call time out.
Saint Mary's pushed the lead as high as 19 before Pepperdine started to get a bit closer. For every basket the Waves made though, the Gaels had an answer, and the margin stayed comfortable for the rest of the game.
Saint Mary's carried a 49-40 lead into halftime, thanks in large part to a phenomenal half from Levesque.
The junior from Lafayette, Calif. did it all on the offensive end. Up and unders, 3-pointers, runners in the lane, free throws, Levesque scored in a variety of ways. He finished the half with 15 points on 7 for 7 shooting from the field, and finished the game a scalding 9 for 11.
"Beau is a pretty good basket maker, but I thought he competed well," Bennett said. "Both games this weekend he did, but tonight it seemed like he was getting all the boards when we needed them, getting us second shots. In the first half, he did a good job of taking what the defense gave him."
The Gaels as a whole did little wrong in the first half. They shot 65 percent from the floor, going 20 for 31, and went 5 for 9 from long distance. They also took care of the ball, turning it over just three times.
Pepperdine wouldn't go away though, doing some of its best work at the offensive end as well. The Waves shot 55 percent, and got a combined 21 points from their backcourt duo of Baker and Jackson.
Saint Mary's next game comes with a trip across the Bay Bridge, as the Gaels head to San Francisco on Wednesday for a showdown with the rival Dons.
That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip, and will be televised by Comcast SportsNet California. A live audio stream of the game and live stats will be available on SMCGaels.com.
The Gaels return to McKeon Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 2 when they host Portland at 4:30 p.m. That game will also be televised by CSN California, with live audio and stats available on SMCGaels.com. For tickets, click the Tickets link on SMCGaels.com or call the SMC Athletic Ticket Office at (925) 631-GoTx.


text:
frank wrote:Here you can find a collection of links to conlangs, artificial languages, auxiliary languages, etc.
I had not heard of "D'ni" before and took a look at that one. I was enchanted to see that its alphabet is comprised of constanents and vowels.
I'll borrow a line from the Brazilian_dude here and say I don't know squat about this. But I'm guessing: the constanents are "stationary" sounds (and the vowels are...not?)...


text:
kids' hypervenom phelon ii njr turf football shoe
Product Code:
Become the next Neymar with Nike Kids' Hypervenom Phelon II NJR Turf Football Shoes. Designed for unrivaled agility, the shoe comes with an anatomical fit and a textured frame so that you can take complete control of the ball.
- Rubber outsole adds agility
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You can return your items for free within 14 days of purchase. Returns numbers must be requested within 7 days of receiving your order and you will have a further 7 days to return unsuitable items. For more information please refer to our Returns Policy page. We deliver straight to your doorstep across the UAE and GCC; if you require further information please refer to our Shipping Policy page.
If you need any assistance please use our chat.


text:
Indonesian Komang Tri Astari converted to Islam at the office of the Mufti in Zonguldak, Turkey. During the conversion ceremony, the Mufti Selahattin Emen instructed some basic information about Islam and Astari recited the kalima shahadah (Islamic testimony of faith). Astari changed her name as Tuana after becoming a Muslim. The Mufti also presented Tuana the Qur'an and also some Islamic books.
Her husband Ferdi Kabacalı explained that he and his family never asked Astari to convert to Islam before and explained her conversian as: "One day she told me that she would like to become a Muslim. She voluntarily and delightedly converted to Islam. This is so pleasing for me."


text:
DETROIT - Mayor Dave Bing says Gov. Rick Snyder has withdrawn a lease proposal that would have allowed the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to operate Detroit's Belle Isle as a state park.
Bing says that a letter Tuesday from Snyder's office confirms the deal has been removed "from further consideration."
Read more: Michigan withdraws offer to lease Belle Isle from Detroit
Snyder's office had earlier said the deal could be pulled from the table after the Detroit City Council failed to vote Tuesday on the offer that would have saved the cash-strapped city about $6 million annually.
The state would have been responsible for maintaining the 985-acre island park. Vehicles would have been charged an annual $11 fee that allows entry into all state parks.
Bing says he'll look at additional cuts and says they could affect other city parks.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
The attention being paid to tax reform has centered on the challenges facing C-corporations, such as the fact that the U.S. corporate tax rate is higher than most other countries' rates. As a result, the impact of changes on S-corporations and other pass-through business organizations can be overlooked.
S-corporations pay the highest effective tax rate of any type of business structure, according to a new study, "Entity Choice and Effective Tax Rates," by the S Corporation Association and the National Federation of Independent Businesses. In fact, the S-corp tax rate, at 31.6 percent, is more than double the 15.1 percent rate of sole proprietorships, the study found. And, the results hold even when the taxes paid on C-corporation dividends are included, the study found.
The findings are key for several reasons. For starters, elected officials currently are focused on tax reform. Indeed, that was the genesis of the website, https://taxreform.gov, developed by Senate Finance Committee chair Max Baucus and House Ways and Means committee chair, Dave Camp. The two, who've held more than 50 hearings on the topic, also tweet at @simplertaxes.
However, the attention being paid to tax reform often has centered on the challenges facing C-corporations, such as the fact that the U.S.' statutory corporate tax rate is higher than most other countries' rates. As a result, the impact of changes on S-corporations and other pass-through business organizations can be overlooked. (Pass-through entities, as the title indicates, pass business profits through to their owners, who then include the profits earned on their individual returns.)
Moreover, a growing number of business owners are choosing S corporations as their business structure. A 2010 GAO report found that while S-corporations accounted for just 12.6 percent of businesses in 2006, that was up 35 percent from 2000. Also, S-corporations are the most common type of corporate structure, accounting for 61.9 percent of corporate tax returns in 2003, according to the IRS.
While S-corporations continue to be popular, several legislative changes over the past few years have resulted in a top marginal rate for individuals and pass-through businesses of 44.7 percent. This number includes both the top individual tax rate of 39.6 percent on taxable household income of $425,001 or more, as well as the net investment income tax (NIIT) of 3.8 percent, which was part of the Affordable Care Act. The NIIT comes into play on investment income above certain thresholds.
This compares to the current 35 percent top marginal tax rate for C-corporations with taxable income of more than $10 million.
While the higher top marginal rate is important, it's the effective tax rate that matters most. As noted above, S-corporations don't do as well as C-corporations in this regard, either. Several reasons account for this. One, of course, is the higher individual tax rates. In addition, with a pass-through structure, taxpayers are taxed on all their income, not just the income from a business. That means a modestly profitable business may lead to a higher marginal tax rate for the taxpayer if he or she has significant other income.
One thing the S-corporation tax structure does provide, as the study notes, is progressivity. The smallest S-corporations pay taxes at an effective rate of 19.2 percent. This gradually increases to a rate of 35 percent for those with net income of $200,000 or more.
In contrast, the effective tax rates for all other types of business structures, while generally progressive, include some outliers. For instance, C-corporations with between $10,000 and $25,000 in net income pay at a rate of 33 percent, while those with incomes of $2.5 million or more pay at a rate of 15.5 percent.
Indeed, the Main Street Alliance, a network of small business coalitions, says the study "leads to the conclusion that the goal of tax reform must be to correct unfairness in the U.S. tax code by requiring large corporations to pay their fair share."
It seems the most effective reform would include all these changes: limiting the deductions that allow the largest companies to pay effective tax rates that are a fraction of their statutory rates, while also looking at the corporate and individual tax structures together, so that those choosing to operate as a pass-through entity aren't penalized.


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/2/2013 (1646 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The storm that paralyzed southern Manitoba may have claimed a fatality near Landmark.
RCMP report a man was found unconscious early Monday morning on the side of a road near a vehicle that had crashed in a ditch.
Efforts failed to resuscitate the man and an autopsy is scheduled to determine the exact cause of death.
RCMP say visibility and road conditions were treacherous in the area.
The victim was identified as a 54-year-old local man. His name was not released.
The location was in the heart of the winter weather bomb that closed highways across southern Manitoba Monday and caused countless accidents, including a 10-car pileup on the Trans-Canada Highway at St. Francois Xavier, west of Winnipeg.
RCMP said the man was found by a passerby unconscious on Road 45 north, off Provincial Road 210, about five kilometres north of Landmark.


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Native Instruments from Berlin are one of the top plug-in manufacturers. One of their early smash hits was a recreation of the FM synthesizer the Yamaha DX7 called FM7. It could load original DX7 patches but was far easier to use. Many people finally unplugged there old DX and TX's and put them on eBay.
This year they released the FM8. They added many new features but one component is the bees knees: the appeggiator. I probably would not have upgraded my FM7 but when I saw how much fun this thing was my credit card was out. Something tells me Native Instruments always had plans to release their own sequencer but the market was too saturated. Most of their new plug-ins are loaded with mini arps and sequencers. All of them are great. "NI" should not have a case of sequencer envy.
There is a complete working demo on the Native Instruments website.
Open the plug-in and pick a nice synth patch in the browser. Click on arpeggiator. In the global section click "on". See the little yellow square stepping though the pattern editor? Hold down a key on your controller and you will hear whatever notes you play being effected stepping along. You can slide the little black triangle in the pattern editor to shorten or lengthen the loop.
Now here's where all the fun is. See next to each lane on the pattern editor there is a little black dice icon? It's a random button. Do it! Click them all! Do you hear what I hear? Thats the sound of fun. Thats the sound of… "Oh yeah cool idea I can use in this song!".
Next try out the shuffle. It's very strong which in my book means its very good. Lastly, take a look in the global section where you turned the arp on and find the drop down menu. There you can find some pre-programmed sequences. You can also save your own which is handy when you want to try out different sounds with a cool sequence you created.


text:
Hi guys,
I am currently trying to get my script to present two possible dialog boxes on a click handler, depending on whether a particular ul element is populated and I am trying all sorts of things with no success:
My code is :
var $gallery = $( "#gallery" ),
$trash = $( "#trash" );
$( "#reorder" ).click(function() {
if(!$( "ul", $trash ).has("li"))
trash(); // present the first dialog
no_trash(); //present the second
Has doesn't work, I have also tried .length() and !=null, am I missing something?
Is the context "#trash" the parent element of the ul element? I ask because its hard to determine the problem without HTML code to look at as well.
Hi there,
Thanks for your reply,
Its a <ul> element with the id of trash.
the link is below:
Jake Guy - Content Management System
I have created an image manager as part of my custom cms system and I wish to finish it off by giving the user a different dialog, depending on whether there is an image in the trash or not.
If you drag a pic into the trash currently, the behavior is the same regardless of whether it is there or not, I am a little stuck , not sure whether I keep getting the selector wrong.
The only relevant code is the $('#reorder').click handler down the bottom, I really appreciate a second eye on this as using draggable, droppable and sortable has tired me out and now I am probably making silly mistakes !
Try changing it to the following...
$( "#reorder" ).click(function(e) {
// Normal code here...
Hi thanks so much for your reply,
I had done that originally and was going to put it back in but it still gives 0 as the size0f that list regardless of whether anything is in it or not, if you look now I have changed the code to the following:
var $list = $( "ul", $trash );
$( "#reorder" ).live('click', function() {
var $child = $($list > 'li').size();
I thought that if I used live() that would allow for the fact that it is a droppable element, ie that the element isn't in the DOM when JQuery first processes it.
It makes no difference, the selector simply isn't working.
In your code #trash is a context and also the id of the UL element, if you change...
var $list = $( "ul", $trash );
var $list = $trash;
Then it should work fine after that.
Hi thanks again but its still not working. Very annoying, as this should be the easy bit
Sorry forgot the other part, change the following...
var $child = $($list > 'li').size();
var $child = $( 'li', $list ).size();
I have set up another list with the id "test" (bottom of page). There are two elements already inside it so that eliminates the live() thing. The code still doesn't work. Hmmmmmm
I see we have a ninja among us
That works a treat. What a pain in the ass tho, can you by any chance give me some advice to follow with Jquery and lists in future?
Will Edwards
Glad to have helped out
Advice from me :rolleyes:, hmm yea that might be a tricky one because i go through a lot of trail and error myself when it comes to lists. Something good though i can think of it reading through the jQuery docs for a few hours as i have and it helps, something else you could do is buy the jQuery novice to ninja book which you can find at jQuery: Novice to Ninja by Earle Castledine and Craig Sharkie.
Hey,Same here trial and error all the way, I have read that book cover to cover, its awesome.
To be honest, now I'm feeling really dependent on JQuery, not sure if I can remember much traditional JS!
Forgetting some silly things like the other day I wanted the value of an object and I went something like.
This didn't work of course because I was trying to get the value of a non-JQuery object and in the end I had to do $(this).val(); !
Goes to show how dependent you can get LOL
Been dependent on a JavaScript language isn't a bad thing but it can very distracting if you need to write snippets of native JavaScript and don't remember them. One thing you can do is build up a tiny library snippets and store them on your PC and when you need to use them crack one open and you have a pre ready snippet of code to use.
Thanks very much, I shall take your advice on that, and congratulations of member of the month, have a gd day.
Thanks bud


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Unsurprisingly for a man who shone in the colours of Real Madrid CF, there is a distinctly Spanish flavour to Steve McManaman's Team of 2012, plus three players from last year's final.
This content is streamed in such a way that it is protected and available only in a Flash format. Your device seems not to be compatible with our Flash video player.


text:
- Code: Select all
import tables
r = os.listdir(os.getcwd())[5] # Any file will do
f = tables.openFile(r,'r',rootUEP='/HDFEOS/SWATHS/O3 column-MLS/')
data = f.getNode('/','Data Fields')
What's in "data" you may ask?
/Data Fields (Group) ''
children := ['Status' (CArray), 'O3 column-MLSPrecision' (SoftLink), 'L2gpPrecision' (CArray), 'O3 column-MLS' (SoftLink), 'Convergence' (CArray), 'Quality' (CArray), 'L2gpValue' (CArray)]
Now, I should be able to get the O3 column-MLS data out via
- Code: Select all
data = data.O3 column-MLS
but I get the error:
File "<stdin>", line 1
data.O3 column-MLS
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
I think the problem is that "O3 column-MLS" has a space in it, which is making tables angry. Can anyone suggest how to overcome this? I have also tried pandas.HDFStore, and h5py, but they have problems reading the he5 format. All of the he5 files, and the he5 extension is not allowed for upload, so, if you want to take a crack at it, you can get an example file here.


text:
Note: This item is more than 13 years old. Please take the publication date into consideration for any date references.
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News Release
Media Contact: TPWD News, email@example.com, 512-389-8030
Jan. 26, 2004
TPWD Preparing for Third Crab Trap Cleanup
AUSTIN, Texas Hoping to add to the pile of almost 12,000 lost and abandoned crab traps hauled from Texas bays during the last two years, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials are gearing up for another round of cleanups, this time on Feb. 20-29.
Volunteers are needed to assist in the coast-wide effort to remove the many thousands of wire mesh cages used to catch crabs that have been lost or abandoned since last year's cleanup.
State game wardens pick up more than 2,500 traps annually, yet there are many more still in the water to foul shrimpers' nets, snag fishermen's lines and create an unsightly view of Texas shores. During the past two year's efforts, traps from Galveston Bay and San Antonio Bay accounted for almost 8,000 traps collected along the coast.
Prior to the 77th Legislature of Texas authorizing an abandoned crab trap removal program, only the trap's owner or a TPWD game warden could legally remove a crab trap. To address this again in 2004, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission voted last November to close crabbing with traps in Texas waters for 10 days beginning on the third Friday of February each year, which this year will be from Feb. 20-29, to remove abandoned crab traps.
"Hurricane Claudette caused some problems for crabbers along the middle coast last summer and there are a lot of traps that need to be removed. These traps can cause a host of problems from tangling shrimp trawls and propellers to creating simple marine debris," Art Morris, TPWD trap cleanup coordinator, explained. "Not to mention the loss of organisms wasted each year due to the ghost fishing effects of these traps."
Different from past cleanups, as a result of SB 607 passed last legislative session, on the first day of the closure any crab trap left in the water will be defined as litter and can be removed by anyone. All traps picked up as litter must be disposed of properly and cannot be reused.
TPWD will be facilitating volunteer trap removal efforts on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 14 locations coast-wide, weather permitting. In case of inclement weather, the event will be postponed until the next available weekend day, but cannot occur after Feb.29. Last year, 494 volunteers and 152 vessels participated in the cleanup along with numerous sponsors.
"This program is a strong indication of the wonderful resource conservation ethics that the public has about protecting Texas' bays and estuaries," said Morris. "This year's volunteer and sponsor participation is shaping up to be just as big as years past. We should have a great cleanup and a good time. But we still need all the volunteers we can get, especially in Galveston, Matagorda and San Antonio Bays."
The NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) Restoration Center and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program are providing grants to the crab trap removal program. Additional help is coming from the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, Regional Steel, Best Manufacturing and numerous organizations and companies like CCA Texas, SCA Texas, SALT, ExxonMobil and others volunteering their services.
Morris noted that individuals who conduct cleanups on days other than TPWD facilitated cleanup dates will have to make their own arrangements for trap disposal but can contact a local coordinator for assistance.
Following is a site list of TPWD staffed locations where traps can be dropped off during the cleanup. Each site will be manned by TPWD staff from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Disposal facilities will be provided at each site on the day of the cleanup. For those who choose to work on their own, TPWD requests information about the number of traps that they collect.
To volunteer or for more information contact one of the regional coordinators Art Morris in Corpus Christi at (361) 825-3356 or Bobby Miller in Dickinson at (281) 534-0110.
Crab Trap Cleanup Collection Sites
Aransas Bay — Local TPWD coordinator Karen Meador (361) 729-2328
- Goose Island State Park — Rockport
Corpus Christi Bay — Local TPWD coordinator Paul Choucair (361) 729-2328
- Conn Brown Harbor — Aransas Pass
Galveston Bay — Local TPWD coordinator Rebecca Hensley (281) 534-0108
- Trinity Bay — Fort Anahuac Park
- Galveston Bay/Jones Lake — Fat Boy's State Ramp off I-45
- Christmas Bay — Ernie's II (Sy's) Ramp
Lower Laguna Madre — Local TPWD coordinator Randy Blankinship (956) 350-4490
- Adolfe Tomae County Park-Arroyo Colorado
- Port Mansfield Navigation District Ramp-Port Mansfield.
Matagorda Bay — Local TPWD coordinator Bill Balboa (361) 972-6253
- Matagorda Harbor Boat Ramp or Oil Well Cut (boat-to drop off site)
Sabine Lake — Local TPWD coordinator Jerry Mambretti (409) 983-1104
- Walter Umphrey State Park (Mesquite Point) on Pleasure Island-Port Arthur
San Antonio Bay — Local TPWD coordinator Norman Boyd (361) 983-4425
- Charlie's Bait Stand — Seadrift
- Port O'Conner TPWD dock
- Carbide Ramp (DOW)
Upper Laguna Madre — Local TPWD coordinator Kyle Spiller (361) 825-3353
- Bluff Landing Boat Ramp Corpus Christi
- Kaufer Park Boat Ramp — Baffin Bay — Riviera Beach
Publication — Permission is granted to publish, in whole or in part, any news releases on this page.
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(5.4.16 i)


text:
The Nova Scotia Cricket Association proudly announces that AIL Satti will be sponsoring the all new indoor cricket league in Halifax this coming 2011/12 winter season.
An ecstatic NSCA President, Tushar Sehgal, stated "This is a tremendously welcome commitment from AIL Satti to partner with us in furthering the development of cricket in Nova Scotia. We have seen substantial growth in participation in our sport the past few years since the beginning of the summer Halifax Cricket League in 2010.
This indoor league now allows us to continue growing and providing opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in playing cricket all year round." AIL Satti is part of the insurance company AIL Canada and is situated in Lacewood Drive, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
For more details on how to sign up to play cricket in Halifax in either the winter or summer leagues, please direct your enquiries via email to: email@example.com


text:
Baseball GameLanguage brain teasers are those that involve the English language. You need to think about and manipulate words and letters.
Fill in each blank with the same letters, in the same order, to complete the following sentence. The first letter or letters of each word are provided. The hint will give you the number of missing letters.
In the baseball game, the CH____ didn't bother the L____ B____, but it did bother the one before him.
HintFive letters are missing from each word.
AnswerIn the baseball game, the CHATTER didn't bother the LATTER BATTER, but it did bother the one before him.
What Next?
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Or, just get a random brain teaser
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text:
A $775 million investment in a new explosives plant at Yara Pilbara's Burrup industrial estate is a vote of confidence in the outlook for iron ore demand and the long-term future of the Western Australian economy, the company said.
Speaking ahead of an official ceremony on Friday Mark Loquan, chief executive of Yara Pilbara Nitrates, said while iron ore demand may be softer in the short-term as the Chinese economy slowed down, ''over the long term there is still confidence the economy will continue to grow''.
Yara's new plant - a joint venture between Yara, Orica and US oil and gas company Apache - will produce 330,000 tonnes a year of technical ammonium nitrates plant, used as a mining explosive, and will be built next to the existing Yara Pilbara Fertilisers plant at Burrup.
Mr Loquan said solid progress had been made on the project since construction contractor Tecnicas Reunidas was appointed in May.
"Detailed design of the plant is now well advanced, long-lead items have been ordered and construction is scheduled to begin in March next year," Mr Loquan said.
The project will create up to 400 jobs during peak construction and, once operational in 2015, ongoing employment for 60 people for the 20-year life of the plant.
WA Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore unveiled an artist's impression of the development and said the project was ''a high value-adding investment". ''This will result in the diversification of WA industry and a significant downstream processing synergy for the state," he said.
Burrup Fertilisers was mired in a legal brawl after allegations of financial impropriety by its founder Pankaj Oswal. Receivers were appointed by lender ANZ in late 2010 and Yara took control, increasing its stake to 51 per cent.
Octa Phillip analyst Paul Jensz said the explosives plant had been ''a long time coming'' after the start-up of the Burrup gas to export ammonia plant in 2006.


text:
Bindya New York Is Bringing Back Vera Scarves-A Vintage Lover's Must-Have!
Long sought after, and hard to find, vintage Vera scarves are coming back thanks to Bindya New York.
-PJ Gach
Vera scarves were incredibly popular in the '60s and '70s. Marilyn Monroe was just one of her huge celeb fans! Vera Neumann's silk scarves in bright colors, semi-abstract and floral designs were all the rage. At one corner of the scarf as a lady bug nestled next to Vera's signature. Nowadays if you can score a vintage Vera scarf it's considered a serious "find" by vintage-holics and lovers of retro wear.
Read UK Designer Duro Olowu's Limited Edition Collection Hits JC Penney in March!
You'll no longer have to dig through bins because her designs are coming back! "I have always been fascinated by Vera's designs and prints. The pops of bright color, bold patterns, and whimsical prints have completely drawn me in," stated designer Bindya Lulla in a press release. "I am so excited to revive the timeless Vera archives and release them during a time when scarves have become a must-have accessory."
Bindya New York will be bringing two new collections: The Lady Bug Collection and The Signature Collection by Vera to stores this spring. Prices range from $87.50 to $175. Scarves come in silk twill, silk Habutai, silk chiffon, modal, 100 percent cashmere, modal cashmere and a silk/wool blend. Sizes range from 40 x 40 squares to large 40 x 80 trailing scarves.
Lots of brilliant color to look forward to!
PJ Gach is Senior Editor: Style + Beauty at BettyConfidential.


text:
Did you know?
The world's smallest tortoise, the Namaqua speckled padloper ('padloper' means 'road walker' in Afrikaans, the predominant language in Namaqualand), is found in the Namaqua National Park and surrounds.
The 270km trip between Nieuwoudtville and Springbok in the Northern Cape is best done over three nights in the spring months of August and September. (First, though, you'll need to get to Niewoudtville – itself a remote little town in the southern part of the vast Northern Cape province. It's best to drive yourself from Cape Town, which is a journey of about 350km, which will take about four hours by car.)
You'll want to savour this Namaqualand journey for as long as possible, because you'll be driving through a carpeted land of colourful blooms as the region comes alive with the first rains of the season.
Nieuwoudtville is more than a daisy town, however. This is where you find more than 300 species of geophytes, beautiful bulbs that have been lying dormant and then present themselves in great abundance in springtime.
Our first night, in Nieuwoudtville, is spent on one of the many guest farms in the district. After a day of intense flower-watching and landscape photography at the nearby Hantam National Botanical Garden, we go food shopping in the little town and enjoy a barbecue under the stars at our lodgings.
The next morning we drive out towards the Pakhuis Pass. About 7km out of Nieuwoudtville we come across a series of ancient glacial pavements formed back when South Africa was still part of the giant land mass known as Gondwana.
It's still early, so we head north towards Loeriesfontein for about 25km until we reach the quiver-tree forest, which is famous in this area, and is one of the largest in the world. And seeing as how we're on the road, we might as well zip up to Loeriesfontein and visit the massive wind-pump display at the Fred Turner Museum.
Heading out once more from Nieuwoudtville, we venture west towards the N7 over Vanrhyn's Pass and into Vanrhynsdorp, the little Victorian-era town in the Knersvlakte. As we pass through the area, we come across an intriguing mix of fynbos (a plant kingdom all on its own), succulents and wild flowers.
We're going north to our second night's lodgings in Kamieskroon, which bristles with exotic cameras and lenses during flower season. Travellers come from all over the world to attend photographic workshops in the flowers, and leave with some of the finest natural images they have ever captured.
The prime attraction of the Kamieskroon area is the nearby Namaqua National Park, more than 1 000km2 of pure flora. It's quite a dizzying experience to move through such vivid colour, laid out in vast swathes all around us.
After a fun-filled night at the Kamieskroon Hotel, we go north to Springbok, in the heart of Namaqualand. First stop is lunch at the Springbok Lodge & Restaurant, where we find out first hand where the local upwellings of flowers are. Here, a member of the longstanding Kotze family gives us the latest 'flower updates' so we know exactly where to go.
One of these places is the Goegap Nature Reserve. We take some picnic snacks out to Goegap and drive slowly through the reserve, stopping for flower sightings and a pop-in at the Hester Malan Wild Flower Garden, which features an amazing selection of succulents.
If there's time, we'll drive out to Nababeep and visit the mining museum celebrating the historic copper boom that once reigned here. Or over to nearby little town of Okiep, also written O'Kiep, famous for copper mining history in the area. And there will probably be more 'flower stops' along the way...
• You have just experienced a virtual trip, showcasing travel options along the route.
Travel tips & Planning info
Who to contact
Nieuwoudtville information
Tel: +27 (0)27 218 1336
Email: email@example.com
Kamieskroon Hotel
Tel: +27 (0)27 672 1614
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Namaqua National Park
Tel: +27 (0)27 672 1948
Springbok Lodge & Restaurant
Tel: +27(0)27 712 1321
Email: email@example.com
How to get here
Nieuwoudtville lies about 350km north-east of Cape Town or four hours' drive. Take the N7 to Vanrhynsdorp, turn east on the R27 and go over the Vanrhyns Pass to Nieuwoudtville.
Best time to visit
If you want to see the spring blooms, come out in August/September. However, this route also has its attractions in the autumn months of April and May.
Around the area
If time permits, visit the coastal villages of Strandfontein and Doringbaai – great beaches and an awesome lighthouse. If you have time, go even further north to the coastal town of Port Nolloth and in to the remote mountain desert of the Richtersveld, where you can stay in the Richtersveld National Park.
Tours to do
Book a photographic course run from the Kamieskroon Hotel – see listed website for details.
Get around
Hire a vehicle from Cape Town or book for one of the many flower tours available.
What will it cost
Park fees and hotel accommodation rates in the Namaqualand region are very competitive. This is not an expensive journey.
Length of stay
You should set aside at least three days and two nights for this trip – more, if possible.
What to pack
If you're coming in spring, remember that we still get cold spells during that period – bring something warm for the evenings and overcast days. Also, pack good outdoor gear for your flower safaris. If possible, bring a macro lens.
Where to stay
Nieuwoudtville has a number of farm stay options, the Kamieskroon Hotel comes highly recommended and so does the Springbok Lodge & Restaurant.
What to eat
Hearty Namaqua fare includes lamb, skuinskoekies (aniseed cakes) and waterblommetjie bredie (delicious traditional South African stew).
What's happening
Check the various listed websites for events scheduled during your visit. The best time to go to this area is in spring, when the flowers are blooming, which is usually in late August/early September.
Best buys
Books and minerals available at the Springbok Lodge & Restaurant curio shop.


text:
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I'm probably the only person in this county that feels this way, but in my humble opinion, the Grant County Animal Shelter is taking itself a bit too seriously.
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