Used laptops come in two varieties: used and refurbished.

What Are Used Laptops?

Used laptops are those that have been used by a consumer for any length of time and then resold. Even if computers are only one day old, stores cannot sell them as new laptops, they become used laptops.

What Are Refurbished Laptops?

A refurbished laptop is a computer that has been used anywhere from 1 to 90 days, and then returned to the store or manufacturer who then resells it, or repairs and replaces any needed parts in order to sell it. Some of these refurbished computers may be just as good as new computers, but you can get them at a much lower price.

What To look for when Buying Used:

The first thing that you should look at is the used computer’s condition. it has been recommended to stay away from laptops that are over 3 years old. the system will be outdated and may not be able to run some of the software and programs that are currently available. You may even want to stick to laptops that are less than 18 months old. Refurbished laptops do not have some of these concerns because they are newer and have been repaired and tuned up.

The features offered on used laptops are the next important factor you should take under consideration. If you need speed, you need to keep in mind that used laptops run slower than desktops with the same processing systems. do not buy used laptops with less than 128 MB of memory; it may not be able to run many of the applications and programs that are standard in today’s computers. You can get used laptops that are powered by anywhere from 20 GB to 80 GB depending on your processing and computing needs. the screen size, definition, and resolution are other important issues in laptops. make sure that the laptop you are looking at has the capabilities to do what you need it to do media and entertainment-wise.

Portability of laptops is also an important issue. Laptops are getting thinner and lighter every day. does the laptop you are looking at weigh a lot? make sure you add in the weight of the case and any other accessories you will be carrying.

Remember:

When buying used laptops from a private seller or an acquaintance, be careful. have the used laptops checked out thoroughly by a neutral party or professional. every good bargain shopper knows that you can find deals by shopping for pre-owned items. Laptop computers are no exception. Educate yourself on your wants and needs and you will get what you want.

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Today, may 18Maryland Federation of Business and Professional Women annual conference, “The Power of you — Discover, Focus, Commit!” through may 20, Rockville Hilton Garden Inn, 14975 Shady Grove Road. $209. Registration: bpwmaryland.org or Terry Miller, or 301-471-3146.

Monday, may 21Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce annual golf tournament, 11 a.m., Argyle Country Club, 14600 Argyle Club Road, Silver Spring. $200; members $175. Registration: 301-565-3777.

Asian American Business Conference dinner, 6-9:30 p.m., New Fortune Restaurant, 16515 S. Frederick Ave., Gaithersburg, $35; conference may 22, 7 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Universities at Shady Grove, 9630 Gudelsky Drive, Building 2, Rockville, $45. Registration: aabcmaryland.com.

Tuesday, may 22Tuesday Business Network International Lunch Group, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., McGinty’s Public House, 911 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring. Information: Karl Operle, 202-234-1784, ext. 130, or 703-220-4663.

NAIOP Maryland/D.C. chapter mixer and seminar, “less Space, more Profit: Trends in Workplace Design,” 3-6:30 p.m., 1050 K St. N.W., Washington. $60; members $45. Registration: naiopmddc.org.

Wednesday, may 23Wheaton & Kensington Chamber of Commerce lunch, “Keys to Protecting Your Business: Business Succession Planning, Business Banking, Lending and Insurance Strategies” with Philip Fish of Sandy Spring Bank, noon-1:30 p.m., Mid County Community Recreation Center, 12004 Queensguard Road, Wheaton. Free. Registration: wkchamber.org or Vicky Surles, 301-949-0080 or .

Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce mixer, 6-7:30 p.m., Smokey Glen Farm, 16407 Riffleford Road, Gaithersburg. $40; members free. Registration: montgomerycountychamber.com.

Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Thursday, may 24Thursday Business Network International Lunch Group, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Timpano Chophouse, 12021 Rockville Pike, Rockville. Information: Gary Mininsohn, 240-449-5122.

Rockville Chamber of Commerce mixer, 5-7 p.m., Stella Restaurant, 9755 Traville Gateway Drive, Rockville. $20; members free. Registration: rockvillechamber.org.

Fort Detrick Alliance and Frederick Innovative Technology Center technology showcase, 4-7 p.m., 4539 Metropolitan Court, Frederick. Free. Registration: fitci.cal.basecampbusiness.com.

U.S. Small Business Administration open house for resources, 9:30 a.m., Cecil County Office of Ecnomic Development, Elkton. Free. Registration: tinyurl.com/SBA-MD-Events, sba.gov/md or Arnette Carter, 410-962-6195, ext. 338, or .

Friday, may 25Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce lunch, “A better Balanced you,” 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Wyndham Garden Hotel, 805 Russell Ave., Gaithersburg. $30. Registration: ggchamber.org/events.

Tuesday, may 29Tuesday Business Network International Lunch Group, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., McGinty’s Public House, 911 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring. Information: Karl Operle, 202-234-1784, ext. 130, or 703-220-4663.

Networking Your Biz Events and Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce mixer, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Crofton Country Club, 1691 Crofton Parkway. Free. Registration: networkingyourbizevents.com.

Wednesday, may 30Hagerstown Minority- and Women-Owned Business Program lunch, “Marketing Basics: Key Tactics and Tips,” 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Bridge of Life Church, 14 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown. Registration: Sarah Johnson, .

Open Source Software Institute Industry Day conference, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Kossiakoff Conference Center, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel. $35. Registration: openindustryday.oss-institute.org.

U.S. Small Business Administration open house for resources, 9:30 a.m., Frostburg State University, Frostburg. Free. Registration: tinyurl.com/SBA-MD-Events, sba.gov/md or Arnette Carter, 410-962-6195, ext. 338, or .

Bisnow Baltimore industrial real estate conference, 7-10 a.m., four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, 200 International Drive. $49. Registration: bisnow.com.

Thursday, may 31Thursday Business Network International Lunch Group, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Timpano Chophouse, 12021 Rockville Pike, Rockville. Information: Gary Mininsohn, 240-449-5122.

Friday, June 1Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce Business in Excellence Awards dinner, 6 p.m.-midnight, Marriott Inn & Conference Center, University of Maryland University College, 3501 University Blvd. East, Hyattsville. $100. Registration: pgcoc.org.

Saturday, June 2Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce Bowiefest Home and Health Expo, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Bowie Ice Arena, Allen Pond Park, 3330 Northview Drive, Bowie. Exhibitor registration: bowiechamber.org, 301-262-0920 or .

Monday, June 4U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation annual CelebrAsian Business Opportunity Conference, “The Future is now: Seize it and Win it,” through June 6, Montgomery County Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda. Registration: celebrasianconference.com, uspaacc.com or 202-296-5221.

Tuesday, June 5Tuesday Business Network International Lunch Group, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., McGinty’s Public House, 911 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring. Information: Karl Operle, 202-234-1784, ext. 130, or 703-220-4663.

Tech Council of Maryland, Montgomery County Department of Economic Development and Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce breakfast forum on health information technology, 7:30-10 a.m., Johns Hopkins University, 9605 Medical Center Drive, Building 3, Room 112-121, Rockville. $39. Registration: techcouncilmd.com or Wendy Dudrow, 240-243-4050 or .

Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce lunch talk on cybersecurity, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Bulls and Bears Restaurant, 38 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown. Free; lunch $12. Registration: hagerstown.org.

NAIOP Maryland/D.C. chapter mixer at Washington Nationals-New York Mets game, 7-9:30 p.m., Nationals Park, 1500 S. Capital St. S.E., Washington. $25. Registration: naiopmddc.org.

Wednesday, June 6Rockville Chamber of Commerce annual public safety awards lunch, 11:30 a.m., Lakewood Country Club, 13901 Glen mill Road, Rockville. $30-$35. Registration: rockvillechamber.org.

Frederick County Chamber of Commerce golf mixer for young professionals, 4-7 p.m., Hollow Creek Golf Course, 50 Glenbrook Drive, Middletown. $30. Registration: frederickchamber.org or 301-662-4164, ext. 1.

Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce annual dinner, 6-9 p.m., Montgomery County Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda. $250; members $200. Registration: montgomerycountychamber.com.

Thursday, June 7Thursday Business Network International Lunch Group, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Timpano Chophouse, 12021 Rockville Pike, Rockville. Information: Gary Mininsohn, 240-449-5122.

Maryland Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year awards lunch, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Hotel at Arundel Preserve, 7795 Arundel Mills Blvd., Hanover. $100; members $80. Registration: mdchamber.org or Gail Lemke, 410-269-0642, 301-261-2858 or .

Greater Baltimore Committee annual golf tournament, 7:30 a.m., Greystone Golf Course, 2115 Whitehall Road, White Hall. $225; members $200. Registration: gbc.org.

Prince George’s Community College Workforce Development and Continuing Education “Technology Engineering and Business Forum,” 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Largo Student Center, 301 Largo Road. Registration: pgccstem.org.

Friday, June 8Frederick County Chamber of Commerce talk by Frederick mayor and board of aldermen, 7:30-9 a.m., Frederick City Hall, 101 N. Court St. $10; members free. Registration: frederickchamber.org or 301-662-4164, ext. 1.

Monday, June 11Alliance for Workplace Excellence annual panel discussion and awards lunch, 9:30 a.m., Montgomery County Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda. $195. Registration: excellentworkplace.org; or Liz Sobrino, 301-229-7555, ext. 105, or .

U.S. Small Business Administration open house for resources, 9:30 a.m., Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville. Free. Registration: tinyurl.com/SBA-MD-Events, sba.gov/md or Arnette Carter, 410-962-6195, ext. 338, or .

Tuesday, June 12Tuesday Business Network International Lunch Group, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., McGinty’s Public House, 911 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring. Information: Karl Operle, 202-234-1784, ext. 130, or 703-220-4663.

Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce mixer, 7:30-9 a.m., Maryland SoccerPlex-Discovery Sports Center, 18031 Central Park Circle, Boyds. $40; members and first-timers free. Registration: ggchamber.org.

Tech Council of Maryland mixer, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Clyde’s of Columbia, 10221 Wincopin Circle. Registration: techcouncilmd.com.

Wednesday, June 13Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Association for Corporate Growth “Inaugural Deal Forum,” noon through 2 p.m., June 14, Hyatt Regency Baltimore, 300 Light St. Registration: acgmaryland.org, 443-761-1380 or .

Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce lunch talk on Hagerstown stadium project, 7:30-9 a.m., Ramada Plaza Hotel, 1718 Underpass way, Hagerstown. $20; prepaid members $15. Registration: hagerstown.org.

Thursday, June 14Thursday Business Network International Lunch Group, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Timpano Chophouse, 12021 Rockville Pike, Rockville. Information: Gary Mininsohn, 240-449-5122.

Rockville Chamber of Commerce “go Ape” tree-swinging mixer and dinner, 5 p.m., 6129 Needwood Lake Drive, Rockville. $20-$55; members free to $40. Registration: rockvillechamber.org.

Friday, June 15 U.S. Small Business Administration open house for resources, noon, Lexington Park library. Free. Registration: tinyurl.com/SBA-MD-Events, sba.gov/md or Arnette Carter, 410-962-6195, ext. 338, or .

Tuesday, June 19Tuesday Business Network International Lunch Group, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., McGinty’s Public House, 911 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring. Information: Karl Operle, 202-234-1784, ext. 130, or 703-220-4663.

Wednesday, June 20Business Women’s Network of Howard County lunch, “Take Action: Wasn’t that my idea???” 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Historic Oakland Mansion, 5430 Vantage Point Road, Columbia. $35-$60. Registration: bwn-hoco.org.

Frederick County Chamber of Commerce mixer, 4:30-6:30 p.m., DeLauder Insurance Agency, 5300 Westview Drive, No. 304, Frederick. $10; members free. Registration: frederickchamber.org or 301-662-4164, ext. 1.

Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce annual golf tournament, noon, Glenn Dale Golf Course, 11501 Old Prospect Hill Road. $150. Registration: 301-262-0920 or bowiechamber.org.

Thursday, June 21Thursday Business Network International Lunch Group, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Timpano Chophouse, 12021 Rockville Pike, Rockville. Information: Gary Mininsohn, 240-449-5122.

Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce miniature golf night, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Bohrer Park activity center, 506 S. Frederick Ave., Gaithersburg. $40; members and first-timers free. Registration: ggchamber.org.

Sunday, June 24Maryland Municipal League annual convention, through June 27, Ocean City Convention Center, 4001 Coastal Highway. $750-$999. Business exhibitor registration: or 410-268-5514.

Monday, June 25NAIOP Maryland-D.C. chapter annual golf tournament, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Lakewood Country Club, 13901 Glen mill Road, Rockville. Registration: naiopmddc.org.

Tuesday, June 26Tuesday Business Network International Lunch Group, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., McGinty’s Public House, 911 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring. Information: Karl Operle, 202-234-1784, ext. 130, or 703-220-4663.

Frederick County Chamber of Commerce mixer for young professionals, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Berrywine Plantations/Linganore Winecellars, 13601 Glissans mill Road, Mount Airy. $15; members $10. Registration: frederickchamber.org or 301-662-4164, ext. 1.

Wednesday, June 27Hagerstown Minority- and Women-Owned Business Program mixer, “how Networking Can Grow Business,” 7:30-8:45 a.m., Bridge of Life Church, 14 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown. Registration: Sarah Johnson, .

Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Thursday, June 28Thursday Business Network International Lunch Group, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Timpano Chophouse, 12021 Rockville Pike, Rockville. Information: Gary Mininsohn, 240-449-5122.

Frederick Innovation Technology Center mixer, 4:30-6:30 p.m., 4539 Metropolitan Court, Frederick. Free. Registration: fitci.org.

Wednesday, July 11Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Business Women’s Network of Howard County lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Historic Oakland Mansion, 5430 Vantage Point Road, Columbia. $35-$60. Registration: bwn-hoco.org.

Wednesday, July 25Hagerstown Minority- and Women-Owned Business Program lunch, “Small Business Finance Essentials,” 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Bridge of Life Church, 14 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown. Registration: Sarah Johnson, .

Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Thursday, July 26Frederick Innovation Technology Center mixer, 4:30-6:30 p.m., 4539 Metropolitan Court, Frederick. Free. Registration: fitci.org.

Wednesday, Aug. 8Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Thursday, Aug. 16Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce mixer, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Melting Pot, 9021 Gaither Road, Gaithersburg. $40; members and first-timers free. Registration: ggchamber.org.

Wednesday, Aug. 22Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Thursday, Aug. 23Frederick Innovation Technology Center mixer, 4:30-6:30 p.m., 4539 Metropolitan Court, Frederick. Free. Registration: fitci.org.

Wednesday, Aug. 29Hagerstown Minority- and Women-Owned Business Program mixer, “Success Story from a Minority- or Women-Owned Business Owner,” 7:30-8:45 a.m., Bridge of Life Church, 14 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown. Registration: Sarah Johnson, .

Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Thursday, Sept. 20Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce annual picnic and nonprofit showcase, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Smokey Glen Farm Barbequers, 16407 Riffle Ford Road, Gaithersburg. $45; members and first-timers free. Registration: ggchamber.org.

Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Tuesday, Oct. 9Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce mixer, 7:30-9 a.m., BlackRock Center for the Arts, 18031 Central Park Circle, Germantown. $40; members and first-timers free. Registration: ggchamber.org.

Wednesday, Oct. 10Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Thursday, Oct. 18Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce mixer, 5:30-7:30 p.m., 300 Shady Grove Bowling Center, 15720 Shady Grove Road, Gaithersburg. $40; members and first-timers free. Registration: ggchamber.org.

Wednesday, Oct. 24Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Crowne Plaza Rockville, 3 Research Court. $40; members $20. Registration: ggchamber.org.

Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Wednesday, Nov. 14Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Thursday, Nov. 15Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce mixer, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Pinky & Pepe’s Grape Escape, 223 Kentlands Blvd., Gaithersburg. $40; members and first-timers free. Registration: ggchamber.org.

Wednesday, NOv. 28Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Wednesday, Dec. 12Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce mixer and Manna Food Center food drive, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Johns Hopkins University, 9601 Medical Center Drive, Rockville. $10 or canned food. Registration: ggchamber.org.

Integrity Networking Group lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Della Notte Ristorante, 801 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. $20. Registration: ingroupnetworking.com.

Send photos from events or news of upcoming events to The Business Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877. By email: . Please include a contact’s name and daytime telephone number.

Review: Trials Evolution (Xbox 360)

4:40pm Monday 23rd April 2012 in Freetime By Adam Pettifer

This could be the best game yet released on Xbox Live Arcade.

Quite a bold statement, but a fair one. Trials Evolution has got some pretty big motocross boots to fill, as the sequel to the much-loved Trials HD. Like its prequel, it’s a 2.5D game – the graphics are in bold and beautiful 3D, but the gameplay is two-dimensional – you don’t have to worry about steering your trail bike left or right, you just have to worry about the ramps, jumps, chasms, loops, fires etc etc. Is anyone here old enough to remember Kickstart 2 on the Spectrum? It’s kind of the great-great-grandson of that in terms of gameplay.

so it draws the player in with its apparent simplicity, but quickly it’s apparent that the physics engine is beautifully detailed and the levels are imaginitive and cunning. Careful, careful use of the throttle and brakes have to be combined with leaning the rider backwards of forwards to get to the end of each course. The first lesson comes when trying to pull away without leaning forwards – the bike can just leap out from under the rider.

Then it becomes obvious that using too much throttle leads to too much wasted time in the air over jumps – better to back off, get back on the ground quickly and start accelerating again. Then some ramps become so steep and tricky that the only way to take them is to slow down to a crawl and lean right forward… and so on and so on.

Completing the courses is one thing however, but if you have Xbox Live, this game will take your friends times – display their ghosts alongside your rider and rub your nose in their superior technique! It becomes a matter of honour to try and beat at least some of them – to figure out where they got those extra tenths of a second from. Any player’s replay can be downloaded and watched – and their control inputs are shown on the screen, down to every stick and trigger movement. even for the best players in the world – all the secrets to their technique can be laid bare.

It’s quite possibly the most competitive game I’ve ever played – I’ve replayed levels 20 or 30 times in order to get close to, or beat times that my friends have set. It’s a super-addictive challenge, with the satisfaction of knowing that your times will be overlaid with theirs and they will have to try their best to beat your own efforts.

There’s also a great multiplayer mode – up to four players can compete on specialised tracks, or on the single player trials courses – again using ghosts. The matchmaking with random opponents works well and it is possible to invite friends, create private games etc. But the biggest change in Trials Evolution compared to its predecessor is the inclusion of a very powerful level editor. Like LittleBigPlanet, the same tools that the developers used to create levels have been included here for players to create courses, upload them and share them with the community.

there are two types of editor available – Lite and Pro. With the Pro editor it is possible to reprogram the fundamental rules of the games and create games in completely different genres. Some players have already created first person shooters, changed the game to a first person viewpoint, created shoot-em-ups, basketball games etc. And all these levels can be downloaded free. The game has just been launched – think of how much extra content is going to be made available. This game will surely have a very long lifespan.

And on top of that – it costs just 1,200 Microsoft Points (£10.20 if bought at rrp) – that is a stone cold bargain in light of how much fun there is to be had here. It’s an infuriating, addictive, original, simple, deep, lasting game that is also a development kit in its own right. As I said – best game on XBLA so far? yes, I reckon.

Trials Evolution is out now on Xbox Live Marketplace

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) aims to strengthen the basic protocols of the internet, with a way to stop route, or IP, hijacking. IETF experts say the proposed fix is simpler to implement than previous suggestions.

IP hijacking exploits a fundamental weakness of the internet, Data and messages sent across the internet are transmitted via routers, and those routers are blindly trusted. No measures are in place to verify if they have been tampered with to re-direct or intercept traffic.

The security weakness lies in why those false instructions, which took YouTube offline for two hours on Sunday, were believed by routers around the globe. That’s because Hong Kong-based PCCW, which provides the Internet link to Pakistan Telecom, did not stop the misleading broadcast – which is what most large providers in the United States and Europe do.

Traffic mismanagement

The same fundamental weakness in BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), a core routing protocol that maps preferred paths for traffic to flow over the internet, was used to hijack the network at the Defcon hacker conference in Las Vegas in 2008. everything looked the same to delegates after the hijack, but all unencrypted traffic sent over the network was open to wiretapping.

In 2010, China Telecom rerouted up to 15 per cent of the world’s internet destinations on two brief occasions, using false BGP route information to direct traffic through its own networks.

The hijackings sparked a security scare in the US. even without the China dimension, America’s dismay is understandable:

The [April 8] hijacking, which lasted 18 minutes, affected email and web traffic traveling to and from .gov and .mil domains, including those for the US Senate, four branches of the military, the office of the secretary of defense, and NASA, among other US governmental agencies, according to the report. it also affected traffic for large businesses, including Dell, IBM, Microsoft and Yahoo.

Similar tricks might be used to steal corporate communications, without leaving a trace or even, at least theoretically, making entire countries unreachable via IP communications. BGP has no built-in security. Routers might accept bogus routes from peers, internet exchanges or transit suppliers. Dodgy routers, however accepted, can have local, regional or global effects.

“Someone can advertise your address space and a route to get there and routers don’t know any better,” explained Joe Gersch of Secure64, a Domain Name system vendor. “They are just looking for the shortest path.”

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be malicious for something to go wrong. it could be accidental. Admins could type something wrong into router and this information would still propagate.”

The issue has been known for about 10 years but previous attempts to find a fix floundered because proposed solutions were too complex or too expensive, Gersch says. more recently, governments have taken greater interest in the issue, increasing the pressure to find a fix.

Look it up

At an IETF meeting in Paris last month, a working group proposed a solution that seeks to safeguard the integrity of networking kit.

The proposal involves publishing preferred routes to sites in DNS records before applying a second step, using utilities to verify that the instructions are trustworthy.

This latter step would use DNSSEC, or DNS Security Extensions, a separate security mechanism which is gradually rolling out as a defence against cache-poisoning attacks.

The whole scheme is called ROVER, or BGP Route Origin Verification (via DNS).

Rover calls for the use of reverse DNS records to periodically publish route announcements, a process that would be done by sites themselves, before carrying out real-time verifications of BGP route announcements.

Rover uses “best effort” data retrieval with worldwide data distribution, redundancy and local caching. if the data is unreachable, the default is that routing would proceed as normal but without any checks.

Gersch said the working group (the Secure Inter-domain Routing Group, of which he is a member) believes the proposed approach has the potential to succeed because of its simplicity, in contrast with other ideas such as BGPSec or RPKI.

“Rover is a simpler method to publish your authoritative data,” Gersch explained. “I own it, and you can look it up. The process can be automated.”

Gersch described Rover as an “enabling technology”. Preliminary discussions have already been held with members of Cisco’s secure networking group on how to interface the technology with routers.

Several early adopter telcos and ISPs are in the process of publishing route origins in their reverse DNS and signing with DNSSEC. In addition, Secure64 has established a Rover Testbed available at “rover.secure64.com” (registration required).

Deployment of Rover is simple, as no changes need be made to existing routers, IOS or policies, according to backers of the technology. The system builds on DNSSEC, which firms ought to be deploying anyway – although in practice roll-out have been slow.

The Secure Inter-domain Routing Group at the IETF has worked on alternatives to Rover such as BGPSec and RPKI for at least six years.

“Rover uses something that’s already there, DNSSEC crypto keys, rather than having to build out a new system,” Gersch explained.

“All the ideas for preventing IP hijacking are proceeding forward. The systems can co-exist but I still expect there will be a fierce debate over which is best,” he added. ®

What is the cause of my Sony STR-444ES receiver with an annoying hiss static type of noise when watching movies?

I can not explain why I have this problem with such an expensive unit. I can hear the movies play, but with added noise. can someone please help explain what is the cause of this? could it be that the capacitors and if so how much is repair? I have taken excellent care of this receptor and has an energy Moster cleaner. thanks the noise seems to happen at high frequencies.

First see if your receiver or speakers that are whistling. if your speakers may have cables near power lines causes static (the cleanest energy does not protect against this monster only help you with the power points sales. if it's Sony reciver call because it is an internal problem. secondly make sure that all equipment is connected to your surge protector monster.

TOP 10 new 7.2 Channel Home Theater Receiver In the World For 2011

Language Corner — May 16, 2012 06:50 AM Logue jam

A catalog of dialogues

“Catalogue” can also be spelled “catalog.” “Dialogue” can also be spelled “dialog.” but “monologue” is rarely spelled “monolog.”

The Americans are at it again.

The combining form “logue” is French, descended from Latin, and it indicates an engagement of some sort, a discourse, if you will, between people or things. People browse “catalog(ue)s” to “discuss” what items to buy; a “dialog(ue)” is a conversation between two people; a “monologue” is a discourse between a person and some thoughts. An “epilog(ue)” is the closing part of a piece of writing, usually to wrap up some loose ends, and so on.

English (as in British) dictionaries will list the “ue” endings as preferred, if they list the shortened versions at all, which many do not. when they do, they are usually labeled “chiefly American” or something similar. American-based dictionaries often acknowledge the British usage, but the “ue” form might be listed as a secondary spelling or as a “variant,” meaning “deviation from the standard form.” That’s a step or two less desirable than being an alternate spelling. (Beware, though, that some spelling checkers will accept both forms.)

For example, the American Heritage, Webster’s new World College, and Merriam-Webster dictionaries, all red-blooded American reference works, agree that “dialog” is preferred, as do the New York Times, associated Press, and Chicago style manuals.

But for “monologue,” dictionaries list it at best as a variant, never just as an alternate spelling. Some other words are in the “monologue” category: Almost no one spells “ideologue” without its “ue,” and “prologue” appears without “ue” only in the name of a computer program.

Why do some words get to drop the “ue” but others can’t, at least not yet?

Because Americans said so, that’s why.

Call it laziness, call it thrift (those “ue’s” don’t grow on trees, you know), call it personalization, but it may have as much to do with familiarization with the word as any nefarious plot against the British. the more a word is used, perhaps, the more people might be tempted to shorten it a bit.

Some words have made the full transition to “American.” “Analog” is rarely spelled as “analogue” any more, even in England, largely because of computers. and of course, some words show no signs of dropping their “ue” endings: “brogue,” “tongue,” “vogue,” etc., whose endings are part of a different combining form.

There is at least one place where American tastes and English have coincided. the “chaise longue,” or “long chair,” has been so spelled for more than 200 years. (Well, sometimes it has a hyphen.) but it’s also been spelled “chaise lounge” for nearly as long. It probably has something to do with the extreme similarity in spelling, and the default to a familiar word. even though some rail that one should never combine a French word (“chaise”) and an English one (“lounge”), many dictionaries list them as equals. and the associated Press prefers “chaise lounge.”

Now you can lie back and read that nice “travelog(ue).”

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Comments Post a Comment

Dont call it laziness! call it failure to follow thru. All -ogue words where the o is “short” should drop the unnecessary -ue. those single-syllable words such as brogue and vogue need the u to indicate a “hard” g, and the e to indicate a “long” o. (Tongue is another kettle of fish!)

However, if g was never “soft” (as in gist or gesticulate), and j was always used instead, we could dispense with the u.

English/French “-logue” entered Latin from Greek “-logos.”"Chaise lounge” entered English as a misspelling of French “chaise longue.” please correct your work accordingly.

Hey, my American friends, let’s not arg about this.

Even supposedly educated publications in the US show a complete lack of understanding of the world beyond their borders.

Analogue is the correct spelling and widely used in England because analog is incorrect.

And England is not a country. You mean the UK.

Company transfers domains between registrar accreditations.

If you start to see domain name registrar Domain.com growing in registrar ranking reports, there’s a good explanation for that.

Dotster, which owns Domain.com, has transferred the domain names from its Dotster accreditation to the Domain.com one.

I was alerted to this change when I received a DomainTools whois change alert on a friend’s domain name that I helped her register. my first thought was that her domain had been stolen, until I remembered that Dotster owns Domain.com.

I reached out to Dotster to find out what was going on. Brian Unruh, General Manager at Dotster, told Domain name Wire:

Through acquisitions, Dotster historically has owned many registrar credentials. we consolidated them to deliver a higher quality customer experience and better efficiency. in fact this change is just one of many that we’re making to improve the services we provide our customers. while Dotster.com’s registrations are now using the Domain.com credential, Dotster customers will remain Dotster customers and continue to receive industry leading service and care.

Further Reading:

1. $1 Domains at Dotster!
2. Dotster happy Hour to offer free domain transfer
3. Dotster Picks Up Domain Names from BestRegistrar.com

Tags: domain.com, dotster

DALLAS, may 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Video, voice and high speed data, all powered by Time Warner Cable's Fiber Rich Network is what spectators, media, vendors and more will experience throughout the duration of this year's HP Byron Nelson Championship (HPBNC) as the company will continue to serve as the official telecommunications provider for the tournament. through a partnership with tournament organizers, Salesmanship Club Charitable Golf of Dallas, Time Warner Cable's commercial services division, Time Warner Cable Business Class (TWCBC) will continue to deliver video, voice and data through 2013. 

Time Warner Cable Business Class (TWCBC) has built a network at the site of the annual golf tournament to power video screens on the course, in corporate hospitality villas and to deliver phone and data service to locations where PGA TOUR officials, Salesmanship Club members, spectators, media and vendors are located.

TWCBC offers a full complement of business communications services including phone, Internet, Ethernet, cable and security solutions to small, medium and enterprise-sized companies.

The TWC Business Class network is built to deliver the following:

• Internet service with speeds of up to 15 Mbps to dozens of locations on and off the course
• Digital phone service to more than 130 locations 
• High Definition video service to over 100 video screens including the on-course video boards

“The video, voice and data network we've built will operationally support all aspects of the HP Byron Nelson Championship,” said Mike Petty, west region vice president for TWCBC.  ”Much of the technology we provide to businesses in Texas will be on display during the tournament.  We're proud to support Salesmanship Club's efforts to help local families and we're excited they selected TWCBC as their telecommunications provider.”

More than a mile of new fiber optic cable and over 12 miles of coaxial cable was used to build the network, which also includes a fiber connection into the media center. Petty says the network is designed to be removed and reinstalled each year during the term of the agreement. 

“As the host organization of the HP Byron Nelson Championship, Salesmanship Club is delighted to bring in Time Warner Cable technology for our customers,” said 2012 Tournament Chairman Robert Smith. “This is a great example of a major event and a major corporation working together to showcase emerging technology, provide necessary operational services, and create great marketing initiatives.”

TWC digital video customers will have special access to exclusive, free Video on Demand highlights.  To watch interviews and other exclusive content, customers can tune to North Texas on Demand Channel 656 in Dallas.

TWC customers (with at least standard cable and standard HSD) who have the company's popular TWCableTV iPad app can view the Golf Channel's coverage of the HPBNC at their home through Friday.  Tournament coverage shifts to CBS for the Saturday and Sunday rounds. 

About Time Warner CableTime Warner Cable inc. (NYSE: TWC) is among the largest providers of video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States, connecting more than 14 million customers to entertainment, information and each other. Time Warner Cable Business Class offers data, video and voice services to businesses of all sizes, cell tower backhaul services to wireless carriers and, through its NaviSite subsidiary, managed and outsourced information technology solutions and cloud services. Time Warner Cable Media, the advertising arm of Time Warner Cable, offers national, regional and local companies innovative advertising solutions. More information about the services of Time Warner Cable is available at timewarnercable.com, twcbc.com, navisite.com, and twcmedia.com.

About Time Warner Cable Business ClassTime Warner Cable Business Class, a division of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), offers a full complement of business communications tools to small and medium-sized businesses and enterprise-sized companies. Its phone, internet, Ethernet, cable and security solutions are enhanced by award-winning customer service and local support teams.  Time Warner Cable Business Class was founded in 1998, offering high-speed Internet service as Road Runner Business Class. Today, it serves more than 330,000 business customers throughout Time Warner Cable's markets. 

About the HP Byron Nelson ChampionshipThe HP Byron Nelson Championship has been a premier event on the PGA TOUR since 1968. Dallas' biggest sports attraction and most anticipated social event of the spring is also the most financially successful charity event on the PGA TOUR, raising over $122 million for children and families served by Salesmanship Club Youth and Family Centers. Join us may 14-20 at TPC four Seasons Resort Las Colinas in Irving, Texas. a great Time. a Greater cause. Learn more at hpbnc.org.

About Salesmanship Club Youth and Family CentersSalesmanship Club Youth and Family Centers is changing the odds for at-risk and troubled kids and families in North Texas. Funds raised at the HP Byron Nelson Championship support Salesmanship Club's work in improving inner-city education and providing counseling and other therapeutic services to troubled kids. Learn more at salesmanshipclub.org.

SOURCE Time Warner Cable

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Monster Moreover, have the house audio system for a quarter-inch adapter used Monster Beats Solo HD with a two-pronged airplane adapter. Began to hear a precise beast, as well because the designer of record, through their own experts fairly often to enjoy the actual possible vocal tone. These types of high-quality animal headphones enable you to listen to precisely the same seems true, the only recording. These people to produce the animal provides multiple advances over the expansion of expert comfort and convenience. Moreover, nuts have extra karabiner is a roof. Defeated a complete clean cloth, in order to allow them to observe the doctor you’ll want to buy. The DRE precise facilities great. Monster of butterfly headset shall be your best choice, you can enjoy music, no noises, full of music. The feeling is so perfect, your own soul. of course, you can buy this model therefore to their own, as well since small and cute. Earplugs a line monster are hotsale recently with the summer arrival. You usually do not worry about the hot weather,Monster Beats Studio can affect your own world of music, earplugs monster will let you feel perfect. cheap monster beat headphones to create a huge beyond the actual expert headphones, this appears to be and health related goods. great track product profit beyond simple. This is a major well-being into the best evaluation of the fourteenth part of the sum of the the normal volume is just a couple or 3 factors above, included a $ 40 case in the alcoholic vascular additional in the the normal sum. In Moreover, well-designed headphones, headphones than their brothers in the most closed and open heavier sound dyes. The key reason why is the sound wave is limited in the head and ears shut down cavity cabinet. A unwanted side effects. if closed headphones you use the receiver’s a cheap touch of an finger, the sound excellent and resonance reflection seen the sharp sound of plastic, which is the mechanical resonance. You can do that Monster Beats Pro mechanical resonant decay, some noise reduction materials in the ear rods hanging showcase. but we know the fact that acoustic resonance is usually more than the mechanical resonance.adore576forever

There are still many users that have older PCs with only standard PCI slots that still want to keep their old PC and upgrade to Windows 7. Unfortunately there are a very limited number of options with standard PCI being the oldest standard for video cards. in this article I have found a number of video cards that are capable of running Windows 7 and show there strengths and weaknesses.

What type of card do you need for Windows 7?

To run Windows 7 you need a DirectX 9 capable video card with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver. On the ATI/AMD side you need a R300 chip (Radeon 9500) or higher and for nVidia series 6 cards and above. Older cards will display a picture on Windows 7 but you won’t be able to install a driver and run any games or applications that use Direct X or OpenGL. I have reviewed the options available and organized them by price.

Nvidia GeForce FX Series $35 to $45.

The GeForce FX series does not officially support Windows 7 however by using Windows Vista drivers I was able to run Windows 7 32bit edition. Windows 7 64bit however will not support this card. This card is good cheap option that still supports a lot of good older games. The card can still be found new online and some computer shops.

Nvidia GeForce 6200 PCI $50 to $65

The 6200 series was budget or entry level product with poor gaming performance however it supports all versions of Windows 7. They can still be purchased in many computer shops new with warranty.

Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS and 9300GS PCI $49 to $79

The 8400GS and 9300GS video cards were not intended for intense 3D applications such as fast, high-resolution video games. It was able to play modern games at playable frame rates at low settings and low resolutions making it popular among casual gamers. This range also supports DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.2. I found some good deals particularly for the 8400 GS which was as low as $49. This is definitely a better option than the 6200.

ATI x1300 x1550 PCI $59 to $79

This series is the budget solution of the X1000 series. because of its smaller design, these cards also offer lower power demands and are suitable for smaller cases. They are often recommended by Dell and HP for their slim line and small form factor range of PCs. only supports Direct x 9.0c though so gaming would be very limited.

AMD HD3450 PCI $79 to $99

The HD3450 has good range of features such as DirectX 10.1 and HDMI and comes in low profile to suite slim pcs. The gaming performance is similar to the nVidia 8400 GS and 9300 GS but the price is slightly higher.

nVidia GeForce GT430 PCI $85 to $125

This card is the best gaming option I could find in the nVidia range. Direct X 11 support and up to 2GB of DDR3 memory. This card will allow you to play most of the modern games on lower detail settings.

AMD HD5450 PCI $79 to $129

Similar performance and options to the nVidia GT430 such as Direct X 11 support the HD5450 is the best performing card in the AMD range. The card comes up to 2GB DDR3 memory to match the nVidia offering.

Conclusion

There are still a lot of good options if you want to keep your old PC and upgrade to Windows 7. The 8400 GS is a probably the best value for money. The GT430 and HD5450 are great cards but for the price you may be better of getting a new PCI-Express system.

Wii Fit Bundle refers to a bundle of items usually consisting of the Nintendo Wii console, the Wii Fit Balance Board, and a games CD. there are different levels of bundles that range from the starter to basic bundle. it is extremely important that you know which bundle suits you best. if you already have a Nintendo console together with a Wii Nunchuk controller and/or remote, all you need is the Wii Fit Balance Board and games CD. This kind of combination has often been referred to as a basic bundle. This is also the cheapest bundle out of all types.

The starter Wii Fit Bundles are for those who are completely new to the world of Wii. if you do not already have a console, then the balance board and games CD by themselves are useless. In this case, you have to get yourself a Wii console as well. obviously this is more expensive than the previous combination.

Then there are more complete (and expensive) Wii Fit Bundles that come with additional components such as the fitness mat, a sleeve to cover the balance board, a travel bag, and even textured foot socks

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told Reuters that 800,000 Nintendo Wii units were sold in the USA alone, during the past Christmas shopping season (2008/2009). it was one of the hottest, if not the hottest item everybody was after this shopping season. The Wii has broken all sorts of sales records held by other gaming consoles such as the X-box 360 and Sony PlayStation earlier. if you are thinking of getting your hands on a Wii Fit Bundle of any level, this is the ideal time of the year as you will be able to get it for relatively low price these days compared to Christmas or any other shopping season.

An AA battery charger is a piece of equipment that is used to charge, rechargeable batteries. Double a batteries are the thin batteries that are typically used for remote controls, cameras and other small battery dependent devices. these devices can only be used with rechargeable batteries. one thing is for certain; using rechargeable batteries in lieu of disposables is a good idea – not just for your pocketbook, but also for the environment. Rechargeable batteries can be used over and over again, unlike disposables that end up in the landfill.

To understand how a battery can be recharged it is important to understand how a battery works in the first place. a battery will have two polar ends – a negative end and a positive end. these ends are represented by metal plates, one plate is flat (the negative plate) and one plate has a tip on it (the positive end) there is a metal tube between the two ends that is filled with chemicals that conduct electricity, the end plates are part of the conversion process that converts the energy from chemical to electrical.

Some batteries use specific chemicals that cannot be recharged, and some batteries can be recharged. the rechargeable types are filled with specific chemicals that will accept a charge. a battery charger plugs into a DC outlet as its source of power. the batteries are placed in the charger and usually clipped into place. the electrical current from the charger flows through the battery and excites the chemical molecules inside the battery resulting in the batteries being recharged. there is usually an indicator light on the AA battery charger that will light up to indicate that the batteries are charged. Only batteries that are made to be recharged can be recharged. Batteries that are disposable cannot be recharged. Once they are dead they are just thrown away.

Myths and Facts

Myth- Putting batteries in the refrigerator or freezer will not extend the life of or recharge the battery.

Fact- one of the components of all batteries is acid; it is present in all types of batteries regardless of the size of the battery.

Fact- all batteries can explode and seep out acid. They are all hazardous waste.

Purchasing AA Battery Charger

Most stores that sell batteries will also carry AA batteries and AA battery charger, be sure to purchase rechargeable batteries for use with the AA battery charger.

By DOUG FERGUSONAP Golf Writer

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – The TPC Sawgrass would seem to be the last golf course where a player can relax.

That might explain why Ian Poulter and Martin Laird were atop the leaderboard Thursday in The Players Championship at 7-under 65, even if their mood was for entirely different reasons.

Poulter finally moved in his new home at Lake Nona that took nearly three years to build and caused him enough grief that he said he could write a book. It took so long to unpack boxes last week that he barely had time to practice, but at least his head was clear.

“All of the hassle and stress is over, and I can just go out and play golf,” Poulter said.

Laird recently parted with his longtime caddie, and hired a new looper who also is a friend and closer to his age.

“It was kind of nice to be out on the course and be able to chat away to someone that's my age and is like a friend as opposed to a caddie,” he said. “That definitely helped keep me a little more relaxed on the golf course, and it feeds through all parts of your game, down to your putting.”

It wasn't like that for everyone.

Four players withdrew with various injuries and high scores. Sunghoon Kang opened with a quadruple-bogey 9, followed with eagle-par-birdie and lost four shots over the last four holes. Jerry Kelly made four birdies and shot 82.

Tiger Woods brought a small degree of normalcy, not necessarily a good thing for him at Sawgrass. He has never broken 70 in his 15 years at The Players Championship, and he extended that streak with a sloppy 74. This might be costly, however, because it put him in a tie for 100th and put him in serious danger of missing the cut for the second straight week. He has only missed eight cuts in his career.

“Just one of those days,” Woods said, and there seems to be a lot of those lately.

Poulter ran off four straight birdies around the turn and birdied all of the par 5s, key for this golf course. Laird was the only player without a bogey on his card. He made birdie on his final hole to catch Poulter, although his focus was more on his scorecard than the leaderboard.

“I knew I hadn't made a 5 all day, and that was kind of a little goal I had,” said Laird, who finished on the par-5 ninth. “Nothing to do with getting to 7 under. It was, 'I don't want to make a 5 all day.'”

They were a shot ahead of Blake Adams, with Ben Crane and Kevin Na another shot behind. The 11 players at 68 included Adam Scott, Matt Kuchar, Ben Curtis and FedEx champion bill Haas. There were 27 players who shot in the 60s, and more than half the field broke par.

Woods was not among them. not even close.

“I just didn't score,” Woods said. “It was frustrating in the sense that my good shots ended up in bad spots, and obviously, my bad shots ended up in worse spots.”

The conditions were ideal for scoring for those hitting it where they were aiming, and making their share of putts.

Adams ran off five straight birdies early in his round and kept the mistakes to a minimum. Na shot 30 on the back nine.

Sawgrass, though, punishes even the slightest mistakes.

Rory McIlroy, the world No. 1, was 2 under for his round until coming up just short of the island-green 17th and making double bogey. He wound up with a 72, while Phil Mickelson had a 71 in his first round after being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Lee Westwood had a 71, irritated only because of seven birdies on his card.

Poulter's new home looks more like a hotel, and it took about as long to build. It became such a headache for him that when asked to go over the problems he had with contractors, Poulter looked at his watch and said, “How long you got?”

With that out of the way, his mind was free for golf, on a course that seems to suit him well. He was runner-up three years ago, four shots behind Henrik Stenson. But Poulter found the right recipe on a sunny, warm day at Sawgrass. his birdie putts on the par 5s were all within about 5 feet. When he started missing greens on the back nine, he chipped close for par. He hit 9-iron to a front pin on the island-green 17th to about 10 feet for birdie, then made it through the 18th without drama.

“I played really solid today and holed the right putts at the right times,” Poulter said. “I feel like I'm back to normal, and I feel like I'm out there playing the golf I feel I should be playing.”

Adams is playing this event for only the second time – he missed the cut last year with rounds of 72-76 – and hasn't been getting much out of his game this year. He told his caddie and coach that it was time to stop trying to hit the perfect shots and enjoy himself, and a 66 left him thrilled.

“I was just trying to make every putt,” he said about his run of birdies.

Sawgrass took its share of victims, as usual.

The star group of the morning was Woods, Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan, the only player with two wins this year. none of them were particularly impressive. Fowler, the winner Sunday at Quail Hollow, failed to save par when missing greens that killed his momentum and shot 72, while Mahan hit two shots into the water on his way to a 74.

Two-time major champion Angel Cabrera played a solid round, if only golf were a 16-hole round. He went over the 11th green and into the water, leading to a double bogey. and then he reached the island-green 17th, which proved to his undoing. his first shot went into the water. Cabrera went to the drop area and saw two more balls sink to the bottom of the pond for a 9. He played those who holes in 8 over and shot 78. He withdrew for “personal reasons.”

Na opened with a 30 on the back nine was feeling good until his ball got stuck in a tree and never came down on the first hole, leading to a double bogey.

“I made the turn at 30 and I'm thinking, 'a few more on this side to have a chance for a course record. I don't know what the course record is – 63?” he said. “I figured if I got two or three more … it was very doable. But right off the bat, I made double, so that was a pipe dream.”

It's dangerous to look ahead on this golf course. Poulter was tempted – not so much for the crystal trophy, but what he could do with the $1.71 million winner's check.

A new house, perhaps?

“I'll buy another car, for sure,” he said. “Ferrari Enzo. Been looking for one of them for a while.”

Copyright 2012 The associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Reena Rose SibayanMary DiNardo

Jersey City has filed a motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit filed by the widow of a Jersey City police officer who claims the city is covering up details of the 2009 shootout that led to her husband’s death.

Police Detective Marc A. DiNardo was fatally shot on July 16, 2009 while searching a Reed Street building for armed robbery suspects Hassan Shakur, 32, and Amanda Anderson, 22. both suspects were killed and four other officers were wounded during the shootout.

The suit filed last year by Mary DiNardo and the couple’s three children names Jersey City, city Police Chief Tom Comey and unnamed others as defendants, and claims DiNardo’s rights were violated because he was compelled to enter the Reed Street building even though the city did not provide the proper training and supervision.

Jersey City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis said he had no comment on the ongoing litigation.

The city’s motion to dismiss DiNardo’s suit says that even if the facts as stated in the suit are true, they are not sufficient to sustain the claims.

The city’s motion reads that the counts in the federal suit that are based on state law should not be heard in federal court because a state judge has already thrown out a $10 million suit Mary DiNardo filed in state court. the judge in that case ruled that DiNardo missed a deadline to file the suit.

The motion also says that because Marc DiNardo was an employee of the city at the time he was killed, his widow cannot sue the city but must pursue the matter through worker’s compensation.

DiNardo’s federal suit alleges the defendants have conspired to cover up information about the incident and the training of officers. the family’s rights were violated because the city has intentionally denied them information on the incident, the suit claims.

Finally, even though the building had been evacuated, Comey and unnamed defendants chose to have officers enter rather than employ a less risky method, the suit says.

The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages and the cost of legal fees from the defendants, and punitive damages from Comey, the suit said.

Mary DiNardo’s lawyer, D. Gayle Loftis, has filed an answer to the motion to dismiss. she could not be reached for comment yesterday.

It is unclear when U.S. District Court Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh will rule.

Generally, when a non-rechargeable battery runs out of power, it retains about 20% of energy. when you connect it to an alkaline battery charger, this energy is reactivated and will last longer.

When activated, the charge will remain at 20% but will still be able to run the battery. After this initial reactivation, they can be recharged 3 times more to maximum capacity. After this, the battery will have been completely worn out and needs a replacement. If you can, check for signs of leaks after charging it for the third time. With the added weeks of service, you get to save money you’d have used to buy new batteries. So to fully utilize your non-rechargeable batteries, invest in an alkaline battery charger.

The most popular brand of battery charger in the market is Varta. Varta chargers are universal chargers that are very versatile, able to charge a range of batteries. it takes 5 hours to fully recharge a battery using this charger. Each Varta charger has 6 LEDS and a charge timer which helps you to know how much energy the battery has at any particular time, the trickle charge and temperatures of cell elements in the battery. the charger will detect polarity and/or alkaline defects and bad cells. it comes with a 3 year warranty. Purchasing a Varta charger guarantees you a UK power adaptor plug.

An alkaline battery charger will ensure a longer shelf life for your electronic devices. they are easy to use and an important investment for anyone who owns a number of gadgets that run on batteries. when buying one, shop carefully and pick one that will match your needs. they are readily available in stores at an affordable price.

Squire Paramount plus Motorcycle Wheel Lock

by Rick K. for webBikeWorld

wBW Reviews Home  |  Owner Comments (Below)

Summary

Big "D" shaped lock is about as hefty as they get.

Probably wouldn’t completely stop a thief, but it should slow them down for a while.

Introduction

The folks at Squire Locks read our review of the Squire ML2L Motorcycle Disc Lock and sent us this monster Paramount plus wheel lock to try.

We couldn’t fit the ML2L through the disc brake holes on our ’98 Triumph Tiger "Steamer", and Squire wanted us to try this one instead.

The Paramount plus has to be the World’s Heftiest Wheel Lock; this thing makes the ML2L look — and feel — like something you’d use to lock up Granny’s purse in comparison.

It’s a full 4-5/8 lbs. (2.13 kg) of lock assembly. Believe it or not, it’s actually made for bicycles!  I don’t know what kind of thievery goes on in Britain, but crikey — if you need a 2kg lock to secure a 25 lb. bike…

Look at the size of this thing compared to the Tiger’s 19" front wheel and also compared to the size of my hand in the bottom photo.

Squire doesn’t mess around when it comes to MTPD’s (that’s Massive Theft Prevention Devices). This one is rated as Sold Secure Gold by the UK’s Master Locksmith Association, who gave this lock the highest attack resistance rating.

A Sold Secure Gold rating means that it has repelled a concerted attack by faux thieves with "a full tool list" for up to 5 minutes.

It also carries a 10 year guarantee. the shackle is made from 16mm thick hardened boron alloy steel, with a claimed resistance to cutting with a bolt cutter of 15 tons of pressure.

The shackle is covered with a nice, thick rubberized coating to help protect the motorcycle’s paintwork from getting scratched.

The Paramount plus comes with two keys, each with a plastic end cap and holes to allow fastening to a key ring. the keys unlock the locking body that fastens to the end of the shackle.

The body of the lock is completely covered with a type of plastic and the lock itself is made from armored steel.

A six-pin tumbler apparently provides more than 100,000 different key combinations, so the chances of someone else having your key are pretty remote.

Squire claims that the shackle can be pulled with six tons of pressure and still remain in the lock.

The Paramount plus shown here is their biggest size wheel lock, with a 260mm clearance under the shackle. it also has a 105mm clearance width.

The key hole has a sliding dust cover, seen in the bottom photo.

The lock also comes with an adjustable mounting device that’s designed to attach to a bicycle’s top frame cross bar.

It’s an interesting concept, but it’s made from plastic and is too flimsy to attach to a motorcycle, or at least on any motorcycle in our garage. It’s possible that it can be attached to the frame of a different motorcycle though, which would allow the lock to be carried on the bike when not in use.

Unfortunately, we still couldn’t fit the Paramount plus through the disc brake rotor holes on our Tiger. but it does fit through the wheel, and acts as a deterrent just with its presence.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for the biggest, baddest wheel lock to maybe match your el Monstruo Squire SS65CS lock and chain, the Paramount plus is it. Wrap this baby around the front wheel of a motorcycle or scooter and watch the thieves sulk.

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►Your Comments and Feedback

please send comments to

from "N.N." (Who purchased the lock from the webBikeWorld Yard Sale):  "Rick, the lock arrived today!  Yay!

A couple things I noticed first off, in case you wanted to add them to your review:

The lock shank has to slide into and out of the lock body fairly straight; there’s no tolerance really for slipping on and off, or at an angle. I guess this adds to the security, but it takes some getting used to, and might be a pain to get right in an awkward position around a bike.

The keys don’t really come out of the cylinder too easily, and sometimes the plastic cover comes off the key before the key comes out of the cylinder. again, this takes some practice to get it right. some graphite dust might have helped to lubricate, but it looks like Squire greased the cylinder from the factory.

Overall, it looks like a good, hefty, strong lock. Working the mechanism takes some patience and practice, and maybe time to wear down any manufacturing burrs, but once you get the feel down, it locks in really secure. I’m glad I got it!"

The electronics giant Samsung has put its latest laptop in the hands of the retailers. It is the new Series 7 Chronos, it will offer the user the latest Ivy Bridge processing power from Intel, graphics from Nvidia and there is 8 GB of express cache memory available too. Although it has to be said that even 8 GB for cache memory might be a little tight for some users.

Let us have a look at what the new Series 7 Chronos has to offer! It comes with a nice sized 17.3 inch full high definition 300 nit display with a 1920 x 1080 of pixel resolution and there is even room to include a 1.3 mega pixel web camera into the frame.

It is powered by the well endowed Intel Core i7-3615QM processor running at 2.3 GHz and with graphics coming from the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 2 GB graphics card. there will be a useful 8 GB of RAM, while the storage is covered by a huge 1 TB hard disk drive (HDD) and only 8 GB of ExpressCache NAND Flash memory, which some consumers may not think is enough.

Networking comes via the built in 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Intel WiDi (Wireless Display) support. other features will include two fast USB 3.0 ports, two standard USB 2.0 ports, a 4 in 1 multi card slot, VGA port, HDMI out and for great audio there is the JBL stereo speakers and subwoofer.

At one inch thick the brushed aluminium shell still weighs in at a hefty seven pounds, although that is with the 8 cell battery installed that Samsung claim will be good for up eight hours of operation.

The Samsung Series 7 Chronos laptop is available online and in stores now with a starting price of $1,500, but as we know, it is rare that any buyer will come away with a new Series 7 Chronos laptop for the actual starting price!

Here’s a tutorial for installing Windows Vista or Windows 7 via USB Flash Drive (We’ll need a minimum of 4GB of Flash Drive storage)

Plug-in your USB flash drive to USB port and move all the contents from USB drive to a safe location on your system.

Run Command Prompt as an Administrator.

Type DISKPART | Type LIST DISK

Take a note of the Disk number of your USB flash drive.

Enter the following commands:

Select Disk # (where # is the number of your USB flash drive) | Clean | Create Partition Primary | Select Partition 1 | Active | Format FS:NTFS

(The Format Process Should Only Take Few Minutes)

Now type Assign | Exit

Do not close the command prompt as you will need to execute one more command at the next step so just minimize it for now.

Now insert your Windows7 or Vista DVD into the your drive and check the drive letter of the DVD drive. Lets assume that your DVD drive letter is “E” and your USB drive letter is “I”

Maximize the minimized Command Prompt and type in the following command:

E: CD BOOT and hit Enter. where “E” is your DVD drive letter.

Now type CD BOOT and hit enter. See the message on the screen.

Type another command given below to update the USB drive with BOOTMGR compatible code.

BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 I: (where ”I” is your USB drive letter)

Copy your Windows 7/Vista DVD contents to the USB flash drive.

Now we need to change the boot priority in the BIOS to USB from the HDD or CD ROM drive.

We’re done, now you can install your windows 7 or Windows Vista from your USB!

Comments are welcome!

You certainly know the facts, given the buzz that the statement made by Mr Stéphane Richard, Pédégé France Telecom, sparked .. For him, there are two types of Grannies, two types of French .. those who live in our megacities who are entitled to full attention, and the other: the horse that live in our country .. he said that our grandma n Cantal * wireless mesh network Card or Adapter Network: a network card or network adapter allows communication with devices connected to each other and also to share resources between two or more computers (hard drives, CD-ROM, printers, etc). A network cards are also called NIC (network interface card for, in Spanish "network interface card"). There are different types of adapters based on the type of cabling or architecture that is used in the network (thin coax, thick coax, Token Ring, etc..), But currently the most common type is an interface or Ethernet using RJ-45 . Although the term NIC is usually associated with an expansion card inserted into a slot inside a computer or printer, is often used to refer also to embedded devices (English embedded) in the computer's motherboard, as the interfaces present Xbox consoles or on laptops. also used for expansions with the same purpose as not at all like the typical card with chips and connectors soldiers, as the network interface for the Sega Dreamcast, the PCMCIA card or connector and form factor CompactFlash and Secure Digital SIO used in PDAs. Each network card has a unique identification number of 48 bits, called a MAC address in hex (not to be confused with Apple Macintosh). these unique hardware addresses are administered by the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE). the first three octets of the MAC number are known as OUI and identify specific vendors and are appointed by the IEEE. NIC is also called the integrated circuit card network that serve as handles Ethernet interface between the physical environment (eg coaxial cable) and equipment (eg a PC or a printer). Is an integrated circuit used in computers or peripherals such as network cards, printers, network or systems intergrade (embebed in English), to connect two or more devices together through some means, wireless, cable UTP, coaxial cable, fiber optics, etc.. Most cards come with an empty socket labeled BOOT ROM to include an option ROM that allows the computer to boot from a network server with an image of a bootable (usually a diskette), which allows using diskless computers drive or floppy drive. on some motherboards and incorporate that in your BIOS ROM and the possibility of using CompactFlash cards instead of hard drive with an adapter, it starts to become less frequent, especially in low profile cards. may vary depending on the baud rate, typically 10 Mbps or 10/100 Mbps are currently starting to use 1000 Mbps, also known as Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet some cases, also using twisted pair cable, but Category 6, 6e and 7 to work at higher frequencies. the rates specified by the manufacturers are theoretical, such as 100 Mbps (13.1 MB / s) than may actually about 78.4 Mbps (10.3 MB / s). Is a standard Ethernet local area networks for computers with access to the means by race CSMA / CD. CSMA / CD (Detection Multiple Access with Collision Detection Carrier) is a technique used in Ethernet networks to improve performance. the name comes from the physical concept of ether. Ethernet defines wiring and signaling characteristics of physical layer and data frame formats of the data link layer of the OSI model. the Ethernet was taken as a basis for drafting international standard IEEE 802.3. usually taken as Ethernet and IEEE 802.3 synonyms. Two differ in one of the fields in the data frame. the Ethernet and IEEE 802.3 frames can coexist on the same network. * Wi-Fi: they are also NIC or wireless wireless cards, which come in different varieties depending on which standard to meet, usually are 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g. the most popular are 802.11b transmits at 11 Mbps (1.375 MB / s) with a theoretical distance of 100 meters and 802.11g transmits at 54 Mbps (6.75 MB / s). the actual transfer speed reaches a WiFi card with 11.b protocol is about 4 Mbps (0.5 MB / s) and protocol 11.g reach a maximum at about 20Mbps (2.6 MB / s) . Currently the protocol being used is 11.n which is able to transmit 600 Mbps Physical Layer currently supports a rate of 300Mbps, with the use of two spatial streams in a 40 MHz channel Depending on the environment, this may translate in a user-perceived performance of 100Mbps. Wi-Fi (/ waɪfaɪ /, in some Spanish-speaking countries / wɪfɪ /) is a mechanism for connecting electronic devices wirelessly. Devices enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a PC, game console, smartphone, or digital audio player can connect to the Internet through an access point wireless network. this access point (or hotspot) has a range of about 20 meters (65 feet) indoors and outdoors a greater distance. they can cover large areas of multiple overlapping access points. Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance (formerly WECA: Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance), the trade organization that adopts tests and certifies that it meets the standards related to 802.11 wireless local area networks. * Bandwidth: