IDC and Gartner: PC market flattened out in Q2 while Apple, ASUS and Lenovo remain the stars

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer might be working overtime to keep Apple at bay, but the PC market that his company largely built is hurting, if you ask researchers at Gartner and IDC. Both estimate that shipments of traditional computers dropped by a tenth of a point in the second quarter of 2012 -- not a good sign when Intel's Ivy Bridge processors and a wave of Ultrabooks were supposed to usher in a PC renaissance. While the exact numbers vary, the two paint a partly familiar picture of the world stage: HP and Dell are taking a bruising, while ASUS and Lenovo are making huge leaps forward. Depending on who you ask, though, Acer is either kicking Dell down to fourth place or occupying that all too comfortable spot itself. The economy and tablets are once again blamed for making would-be PC upgraders jittery, although this time it may also be the wait for Windows 8 leading some to hold off.

If there's a point of contention, it's the US figures. Gartner and IDC alike agree that Acer, Dell and HP all took a drubbing. Tthe two analyst groups are at odds with each other when it comes to everyone else, though. Apple will have gained market share to as much as 12 percent, but either increased or shrank its shipments; it's Lenovo or Toshiba completing the top five outside of the usual suspects. Accordingly, take results with a grain of salt until all the PC builders have reported in. Nonetheless, if the groups have the same reasonable level of precision as they've had in the past, Microsoft may have to defer its ambitions for a little while longer.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablet PCs

IDC and Gartner: PC market flattened out in Q2 while Apple, ASUS and Lenovo remain the stars originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 02:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/12/idc-and-gartner-pc-market-flattened-out-in-q2-2012/

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On the Scene: BLOG: Humans' not-so singular status

How neuroscience and artificial intelligence challenge ideas of what makes humankind special

Web edition : Thursday, July 12th, 2012

DUBLIN ? Time and again in recent centuries, science has challenged humankind?s conception of itself. Copernicus demoted humans from their central location in the cosmos. Darwin denied their inherent distinction from other animals. Computers now trounce human intellect, defeating the smartest people at chess and on Jeopardy! And lately modern neuroscience has pretty much demolished traditional views of souls and selfhood.

?The neuroscience revolution and the genomics revolution are changing the way that we look at ourselves,? says neuroscientist-science writer Lone Frank of the Danish newspaper Weekendavisen. ?If you take neuroscience as an example, it?s becoming very clear that we?re killing off the soul. We are realizing, and it?s seeping into our culture, that we are our brains. And that means also that there is no essential self in there.?

Frank, author of the recent books Mindfield and My Beautiful Genome, acknowledges that many people don?t especially appreciate hearing that message. But it?s a natural enough topic to discuss on occasions where science meets culture, such as the Euroscience Open Forum 2012. Known as ESOF, the conference takes place every other year in a European city eager to host leading scientists and science journalists for a mix of technical presentations and culture-oriented discussions and activities.

During a talk and at a news conference July 12, Frank remarked on neuroscience?s impact on humans? outdated notion of self.

?There?s no true one self in any person,? she said. ?We are our brain ? that means we are the state that our brains are in at a certain time. And it?s also becoming very clear from neuroscience that the brain is extremely plastic and that we can change it in different ways, with devices, with cognitive techniques ?, with drugs.?

In other words, you don?t have to be stuck with who you think you were born to be. ?Instead of looking for who we are, we are trying to figure out who we want to be,? Frank said.

Assaults on humans? ideas of identity are coming from another angle as well, namely rapid progress in the field of artificial intelligence. As computers outcompete humans in many intellectual pursuits, people have clung to certain sensory skills as evidence of superiority. This strategy may turn out to be of special interest to other occupants of the planet, suggested Brian Christian, author of The Most Human Human: What Artificial Intelligence Teaches Us About Being Alive.

?In some ways the development of artificial intelligence may prove to be an unexpected boon for animal rights,? he said.

Comparing ourselves with machines to define humanness is a shift from two millennia of philosophical effort to contrast humans with other animals, Christian pointed out.

?We?re finding that precisely the things that seem to most greatly differentiate us from artificial intelligence are the very types of skills that we share with other animals ? the ability to live the sort of sensory-embodied existence where we recognize objects, navigate space, exchange communication ? a lot of the things that philosophers had written off about the human species precisely because animals shared them. These have turned out to be the greater hurdles for artificial intelligence.?

Someday, of course, machines may close the gap between them and humans (and other animals). Humans are still better than computers at driving cars, for instance, because of the need to quickly identify objects appearing in the road ? distinguishing a shadow from a piece of trash or a dog or a child. Computers may achieve such skill, Christian believes, through programming that makes use of Bayesian probability.

?The first several decades of computer science were defined by the rigidity of the logic ? either it was zero or it was one, it was true or false,? Christian said. ?I think the next few decades are going to be defined by probabilistic reasoning using Bayesian inference.?

With Bayesian reasoning, inferences are based on probabilities weighted by evidence from experience. It seems to be the way humans learn how to cope with the world and reason about appropriate behaviors (see ?The Probabilistic Mind? SN: 10/8/11, p. 18).

Human evolutionary success no doubt has rested largely on the brain?s ability to incorporate the principles of Bayesian mathematics. Ironically, though, about a century ago human scientists largely abandoned Bayesian methods for scientific purposes. Standard statistical methods for reaching scientific conclusions instead follow a textbook prescription concocted to make calculations more feasible, not more correct.

Nowadays, that same advanced computing power that makes artificial intelligence a threat to human egos also allows difficult Bayesian computations to be performed more efficiently, so Bayesian methods are making a comeback. It?s another benefit of the brain?s ability to change itself.

Found in: Science & Society

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/342218/title/BLOG_Humans_not-so_singular_status

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Egypt president, Saudi king discuss regional stability

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-president-saudi-king-discuss-regional-stability-073511724.html

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User:CusufuGajeja - LibraryCloud Wiki

From LibraryCloud Wiki

Barbara Rose Brooker has written a romantic novel that can mostly eventually people of the age. The interesting thing is that her lovers are in their 70s. They contain the usual struggles Cialis using the dynamics of relationships, however they bring a whole lot more baggage from other relationships in addition to health concerns and end of life issues. The tendency from the public is to want to find out people within their 70s as beyond romance and relationship issues. As Baby Boomers age inside their 60s, more and much more in the public are learning to determine elderly people the way in which Barbara Rose Brooker portrays them.

The protagonists are Anny and Marv. Each is often a veteran internet dater plus they meet through JDate. Anny violates all the rules of internet dating safety by meeting him at the bar and after that engaging in his car and gonna his place for the first date. He begins Cialis kissing her and, not surprisingly, asks for sex right over bat. She negotiates this mine field and arrives safely, reaching the conclusion that Marv Cialis isn't for her.

"Obviously, Marv's not relationship material. He's into image, money - Cialis to never mention he's still in love regarding his ex-wife. He's a cliche, living on his past glamour. Anyway, I prefer professorial types. And haven't I needed enough with emotionally unavailable men? Relationships which are nowhere? Am I once more attracted with a man I do not like?" (p. 7)

We hear many times that Marv is emotionally unavailable. When he or she is after sex, he could be charming and attentive. After sex, there exists no emotional warmth left over as they wants the woman to hurry away and make sure to adopt everything she brought with her. Younger crowd lies about his involvement with other women, denying he is entangled together with his ex-wife even though her watch is found in his bed and denying that they continues to be participating in JDate although Anny can embark on JDate and tell that they is immediately trying to find other women immediately after they'd sex together.

Needless to say, Anny includes a torrid affair with Marv and experiences emotional conflict the time these are together. She writes a column and begins to work with Marv as material. She writes "a compilation of columns about an emotionally unavailable, shallow seventy-five-year-old man who cannot face age Cialis and is always for the prowl for any young, gorgeous,, and excellent woman, that will lead him to feel young and powerful." (p. 13) Her desire to end the connection with Marv conflicts together with her wish to work with him for material, to be with her column becomes an excellent success as an outcome of her series on Marv and she or he needs him for more material.

This novel needs being read. It is written by method of a woman in their 70s of a couple of their 70s. It handles problems that Baby Boomers are starting to confront. Yes, people within their 70s are utilizing online dating quite successfully. Yes, people of their 70s can always be sexually active and remain looking for satisfying relationships. Healthy people within their 70s are living life at full stride instead of necessarily winding down. Barbara Rose Brooker's picture of life for people inside their 70s Cialis is necessary for our graying society.
Additional Information: Cialis

Source: http://librarylab.law.harvard.edu/librarycloud_wiki/index.php/User%3ACusufuGajeja

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24 aces help Serena Williams reach Wimbledon final

Serena Williams of the United States reacts after winning the first set against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus during a semifinals match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Thursday, July 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Serena Williams of the United States reacts after winning the first set against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus during a semifinals match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Thursday, July 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Serena Williams of the United States serves to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus during a semifinals match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Thursday, July 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus serves to Serena Williams of the United States during a semifinals match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Thursday, July 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Serena Williams of the United States, left, is congratulated by Victoria Azarenka of Belarus during a semifinals match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Thursday, July 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland plays a shot to Angelique Kerber of Germany during a semifinals match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Thursday, July 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) ? Serena Williams wins with so much more than serving, of course.

Her groundstrokes are intimidating. Her superb speed and anticipation fuel unparalleled court-covering defense. Her returns are outstanding, too.

When that serve is on-target, though, it sure is something special, quite possibly the greatest in the history of women's tennis. Lashing a tournament-record 24 aces at up to 120 mph, and doing plenty of other things well, too, four-time Wimbledon champion Williams overpowered No. 2-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 7-6 (6) Thursday to reach her seventh final at the All England Club.

"Isn't that something?" said Williams' father, Richard, after watching his daughter win on Centre Court. "She was really trying, you know? Maybe she was trying to impress the neighbors back home."

On Saturday, the 30-year-old Williams will try to become the first woman at least that age to win a major tournament since Martina Navratilova, who was 33 when she won Wimbledon in 1990.

"The older I get, the better I serve, I feel," Williams said. "I don't know how it got better. I really don't know. It's not like I go home and I work on baskets and baskets of serves. Maybe it's a natural shot for me."

Her next opponent will be No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who reached her first Grand Slam final at age 23 by playing steady as can be during a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 8 Angelique Kerber of Germany.

"After a couple of games, I just relaxed a little bit," said Radwanska, who made only six unforced errors, one in the second set. "I was really focusing on every point."

Williams won 20 of her 24 service points in the first set, including 17 in a row during one stretch. She didn't double-fault once, a real accomplishment, given how often she went for corners and lines. She finished with a 45-14 edge in total winners.

"I honestly didn't feel great on my serve today. I really didn't," said Williams, who went back on court later Thursday with older sister Venus to reach the doubles semifinals. "I thought my serve was off, and apparently ? clearly ? it wasn't, so maybe I should be off a little more."

And this performance didn't come against a slouch: Azarenka won the Australian Open in January as part of a 26-0 start to this season, was playing in her third semifinal in the past five major tournaments, and would have returned to No. 1 in the rankings if she had managed to beat Williams.

That was not about to happen.

Not on this afternoon.

Not the way Williams is playing, five weeks after a stunning exit at the French Open, her only first-round loss in 48 Grand Slam appearances.

"I've been working so hard," the sixth-seeded American said, "and I really, I really wanted it."

She's now one win away from a fifth Wimbledon championship, adding to those in 2002-03 and 2009-10, and 14th Grand Slam singles trophy overall ? but first in two years. For her, that's a long gap. Less than a week after her 2010 title, Williams cut her feet on glass at a restaurant, leading to a series of health problems, including being hospitalized for clots in her lungs, then the removal of a pocket of blood under the skin on her stomach.

"Serena is blessed to be here," Dad said.

The hardest part of Radwanska's day probably came during the postmatch news conference, which was cut short after she was overcome by a coughing fit. She appeared to be OK.

Never before even a semifinalist at any Grand Slam tournament, Radwanska is the first Polish woman to make it to a major title match since Jadwiga Jedrzejowska lost three finals in the 1930s.

"I don't really have anything to lose, so just going to try my best," said Radwanska, the junior champion at Wimbledon in 2005, and the French Open in 2006.

Radwanska, whose younger sister Ursula is ranked 54th, will rise to No. 1 for the first time if she wins Saturday.

"If she will play like today," Kerber said, "I think she has a good chance."

Williams won their two previous encounters in straight sets, but they haven't played each other since a quarterfinal four years ago at Wimbledon.

"She's going to get every ball back," Williams said, "so I've got to look forward to that."

It'll be a substantial contrast in styles: Williams' out-and-out power against Radwanska's precision.

"I have every reason to believe she'll win," Richard Williams said about his daughter.

There's no doubt who is favored, especially if Williams keeps serving the way she has been.

The 24 aces that eluded the considerable wing span of the 6-foot Azarenka broke the tournament record of 23 in a match that Williams herself set last week in a three-set, third-round victory over 25th-seeded Zheng Jie. That, in turn, eclipsed the old Wimbledon mark of 20 aces held by ? guess who? ? Williams.

She's also up to 81 aces through six matches, eight shy of the tournament record she set in 2010.

"When she was little, I wanted her to throw like a boy. I bought her a football. And her serve is just throwing," Richard Williams said. "That's why the serve is so devastating."

Instead of ooohing and aaahing about Williams' aces, the crowd was fascinated at the start of her semifinal by Azarenka's high-pitched wails on pretty much every point. It was as if none of the 15,000 or so spectators had ever seen ? well, heard ? her play. They giggled. They imitated the "unh-uhhhhh!" sounds. Eventually, they got used to it.

"Why would it upset me?" Azarenka told reporters. "You know, you guys make such a big deal out of it, it's a little bit ... boring."

It took until the second set for Azarenka to get the measure of Williams' serves, and even then, she did so only briefly.

"I don't see anybody else serving like this on the tour," Azarenka said.

There was a half-hour stretch in the first set when Williams didn't lose a point on her serve. She got the only break she needed in the eighth game, closing it by sprinting to her left to dig out a ball with a defensive backhand that extended the point, then pounding a backhand passing winner.

After dropping a set for the first time this fortnight, Azarenka made one late stand. Down 15-30 while serving and trailing 3-1 in the second set, she took three consecutive games and led 4-3. She suddenly was serving better, returning better and generally turning what had been a rout into a competitive, entertaining contest.

Didn't last too long.

Azarenka did go up 5-4 in the tiebreaker, two points from forcing a third set. But Williams hit her 23rd ace, at 109 mph, to make it 5-all. At 6-all, Azarenka badly missed an easy backhand into the net, and Williams then ended things, fittingly enough, with a 107 mph ace.

After some trying times, she is back at her best.

"I'm just happy. I'm so happy to be playing. I'm so happy to be on the court," Williams said. "I feel like this is where I belong."

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-07-05-TEN-Wimbledon/id-ffd15ceec0f84af3a65f9ce4944ee5fb

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Jeff Henderson, The Henderson Group: What Drug Dealing Taught Me About Running A Business (PHOTOS)

Jeff Henderson wasn't just a crack cocaine dealer, he was the best crack cocaine dealer of his era. In 1980s San Diego, Henderson was known for his Mercedes convertible, his Rolex and his straight-from-Rodeo-Drive fashion, as well as for having the best product, the best connections and a money-back guarantee. He was making up to $35,000 a week.

Henderson transformed the local drug industry by bringing in elements of entrepreneurship. In turn, after a 5-year run selling crack, a 1988 arrest and a 9-year stint in prison, his drug dealing experience prepared him to become a successful entrepreneur. "The same traits that a successful drug dealer has are the same traits any legitimate entrepreneur has," Henderson said. "You have a product, you have a marketing plan, you have a vision, you build relationships. You outsmart, out-strategize the competition."

Henderson started blending business savvy and criminal tendencies from a young age, when he held a top paper route while also stealing from his family members' wallets and piggy banks.

While doing time, he became the prison cook, then went on to become the first African-American chef at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas before branding himself as "Chef Jeff" and starting The Henderson Group Inc., a catering, publishing, multimedia and consulting firm. HuffPost Small Business asked Henderson whether the line between drug dealer and entrepreneur really is as thin as stories told by Jay-Z and HBO's "The Wire" can make it seem.

What were you like as a kid?

I was hustling my whole life. With my paper route and selling candy in the city, I learned business traits early on: communicating with people, marketing, branding, PR, sales, the whole nine yards. I had to become a chameleon. When I went to the suburban areas on my paper route, I smiled, had the gift of gab, the hustle, the drive, the tenacity. Those skills I learned as a kid legitimately, I took into the drug business.

Did the movie "Scarface" affect your business approach to drug dealing?

"Scarface" was the yardstick for many urban drug dealers at that time -- the big houses, the Gotti lifestyle, the entourages. It was my mentality. Millions of dollars went through my hands as a drug dealer. [Al] Pacino playing Scarface came from poverty, from nothing, but he was a visionary. He didn't want to be pushing drugs for one dealer, he wanted connections, so he went all the way to the top and set up relationships and distribution routes and worked with powerful people. His weaknesses were that he had a violent background and got high on his own supply. I've never used drugs and I've never been a violent person.

You've created a business persona as "Chef Jeff," but what was your persona in the drug business?

I became a neighborhood legend. I was the guy everyone wanted to do business with. I coached and consulted smaller-level drug dealers on how to double or triple their bottom line. Because of my charismatic personality, I was cool with everybody. Chevrolet shapes its marketing angle toward a demographic, whether it's advertising on BET, CNN or ABC. Likewise, I would change the way I dressed, talked, carried myself to fit the culture of the neighborhood. A lot of people have access to a large quantity of drugs -- it still takes a unique businessman to move the product.

What did dealing crack teach you about the importance of creating, pricing, branding and marketing a quality product?

I knew if I wanted to corner the cocaine market in San Diego, I had to have a product that was superior to the competition, from the way I cooked it to the way I packaged it. As with food presentation, the visual had to shine.

I also needed to develop relationships. It's the same concept in any business -- if you're a car dealer, you need to go to Detroit. You get as close to the source as possible and eliminate as many middlemen as you can to get the better price so you can increase your profit margin and ultimately be more successful than the competition. If you always have a better product and better price, word will spread.

I would take potential clients to lunch or dinner, buy the gifts, take them shopping. Like any businessman, if you want to do business with someone, you court them. I didn't know what those words meant back then -- marketing, PR, strategic relationships -- but it came naturally to me.

What happened to you in prison that changed your course?

I was in denial when I first went in. I blamed white people, the police, the judge, my parents -- everyone but myself. It took a couple of years of positive people getting in my ear until one day I just accepted responsibility and gave up the victim card. And then I started changing. At that point, I built relationships with powerful inmates. I was in federal prison with Wall Street business moguls, hedge fund guys. As I got exposure to these people, I started to think big. There was a Wall Street guy in prison who I became cool with, and he said, "Jeff you're a smart guy." No one ever told me I was smart. He said, "When you were on the street, you had all the traits of success and all the principles of a legitimate businessman. You just had a bad product."

With your mentors, you not only learned from them, but you actually mimicked them?

I call myself an intellectual jacker, somebody who studies and jacks for knowledge. I studied the successful drug dealers on the street, the ones who were multimillionaires. The first chef who gave me a job out of prison, Robert Gadsby, was my yardstick of a successful black man. I duplicated him. I bought a watch like his, cut my hair like his, bought the same chef coat, got my hands manicured. I knew in order to become a brand, and to work at the Bellagio, I had to look like the people who worked there. I couldn't be a homeboy walking on up in the Bellagio.

When I came out of prison, the question I always asked, whether I was studying the top chefs or the wealthiest entrepreneurs is, what do they know that I don't know? Instead of going to college to learn principles, I wanted to look at Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, the "Facebook Godfather" -- the best in the business, the extraordinary people -- and duplicate their success.

How do you use your experiences to try to turn other at-risk kids into starting businesses rather than getting into drug dealing or other crimes?

Drug dealing is not a part of my life I'm proud of. But I use my story to convince at-risk people that they have the gift, traits, ability to create their own business. I tell kids I'm still a homeboy, I'm still a hustler -- I just changed the products and the terminology. I tell young guys: "If you're a gang leader, you have the ability to convince people to listen to you, buy into your program and follow you. You have great leadership potential, understand logistics and manage a diverse workforce. You just have to change your path and the type of people you deal with, and you could be successful, too."

Entrepreneur Spotlight

Name: Jeff Henderson
Company: The Henderson Group Inc., Chef Jeff Catering, publishing, multimedia and consulting
Age: 47
Location: Las Vegas
Founded: 2007
Employees: 1
2012 Projected Revenue: $500,000
Website: chefjefflive.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/06/jeff-henderson-what-drug-dealing-taught-me-about-business_n_1601526.html

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The Great Unknown

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Member for 1 years

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Didnt expect anyone to join. So what should this rpg be about?

WadeJackel

Member for 1 years

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PFT: Tebow takes up MMA training

Getty Images

Each of the four players suspended in connection with the bounty case need a so-called preliminary injunction in order to delay their suspensions once the regular season begins.? For three of them, a ruling isn?t needed until Week One, since Saints defensive end Will Smith, Packers defensive end Anthony Hargrove, and Browns linebacker Scott Fujita can participate in training camp and the preseason before sitting out games.

For Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, time is of the essence, because his suspension begins right away, blocking him from training camp and the preseason.

And so Vilma?s lawyer, Peter Ginsberg, currently is trying to get a temporary restraining order pending a hearing on the preliminary injunction.

It?s a separate question than whether the players will get their suspensions overturned.? The issue turns on whether the players should be permitted to keep working while the legal process unfolds.

It?s the same analysis that delayed the StarCaps suspensions several years ago.? Though several factors apply, the key question is whether the players will suffer ?irreparable harm? if suspended now and vindicated later.? In other words, is there anything the court could do after the fact to put the toothpaste back in the tube?

In StarCaps, the answer was no.? Though the players? pay can be refunded, there?s no way to allow the players to go back and play in the games they missed.

Given that the review of Commissioner Roger Goodell?s handling of the appeals shouldn?t take much time (as legal cases go), the bigger question becomes whether the injunction would continue on appeal, if the players lose at the district court level.? If so, there?s a good chance none of the suspensions will be served this year, since the appeal process typically takes several months to complete.

Still, with the Hall of Fame game exactly one month away (the Saints play the Cardinals on August 5) and New Orleans training camp coming in just a couple weeks, Vilma needs an injunction sooner rather than later.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/05/tebow-takes-up-mma-training/related/

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Full-Time McCafe Barista wanted | Fishajob.com Malaysia ...

Welcome to the world of McCafe!?

McCafe is a coffee-house-style food and drink chain.Whether it is our freshly made coffee or or a tasty Frappe, we have got something guaranteed to make your day.?

This is it! It is time you worked for someone who will give you the tools to learn, grow and be what you want to be ? both personally and professionally.We are looking for enthusiastic individuals who want to be a part of a winning team.We offer flexible schedules and the opportunity to advance within our restaurants. Got what it takes? Apply online and see what your future can hold.?

Job Scope and Description:?

Job Responsibilities:?

-You will assist in delivering quality product, along with the great service and value that McDonalds is known for.?
-To provide/suggest quality beverages on the menu, excellent and prompt customer service with a cheerful and pleasant attitude.?
-To work as cashier and operate equipment in his/her station and ensure that all equipments are working properly.?
-Maintain food safety and standards and food preparation and personal hygiene.?

Job Requirements:?
-Passionate about coffee or want to be in love with coffee.?
-Able to speak good English/ Malay and loves interacting with customers.?
-No prior experience needed. Full training will be provided.?
-Candidate to possess at least SPM and above.?
-Energetic and have great capacity to learn.?

Location Available:?
McD Kota Damansara area?
McD Subang area?
McD Damansara area.?
McD Titiwangsa?

Benefits provided:?
RM5/hour plus?

-Free Uniform?
-Free Meal while on duty?
-Medical Leave?
-EPF and SOCSO?

Source: http://my.fishajob.com/job/full-time-mccafe-barista-wanted-4/

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US military brainstorms future game-changers

2 hrs.

Jeremy Hsu , InnovationNewsDaily

Have expensive stealth bombers and cheap roadside bombs changed the face of modern warfare? The question of what technologies count as "game-changers" dominated the first of several U.S. military workshops meant to identify the most disruptive science and technology.

Much of the NeXTech workshop in Washington, D.C., looked at tomorrow's science and technology that could change warfare in 2025 ? robots,?3D printing, energy, human enhancement and smarter software. But the gathered scientists, industry leaders and military officers also disagreed about how to define a technology's impact as "game-changing," even as they tried to keep focused on the future.

"The faster rate of change means that it's increasingly hard to identify what are promising, what are useful technologies," said?Peter Singer, director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at the Brookings Institute and leader of the NeXTech workshop on June 4.

This first "Science and Investment" workshop looked at the implications of game-changing technologies as part of the broader plan for funding science and technology. (The workshop operated under the Chatham House rules that ask participants to not identify others by name or organization, unless individuals grant permission.)

Why the mind matters
Many game-changers didn't transform the battlefield overnight, Singer said in his opening remarks for the NeXTech workshop. Their use, impact and even "game-changer" status also depended upon psychological and social factors.

Take the machine gun as an example. Lt. Col. George Custer had several Gatling machine guns available when he led part of the Seventh Cavalry to its doom at the Little Big Horn ? but he left the guns behind because military doctrine viewed the machine guns as artillery that would not help in open battle against Native Americans. [US Soldiers Make Real 'Predator' Machine Gun Pack]

Moral reasoning also affects the use of game-changing technologies. The British Navy initially described submarines as "cowardly" weapons and was reluctant to use them. The Germans had less hesitation in using their submarine fleet to threaten the UK's sea supply lines during the two world wars.

A society's organization around a technology can also transform its effectiveness, a NeXTech participant pointed out. Both the British and German militaries had radar at the start of World War II, but the British used it more effectively as part of an early-warning system with human ground observers and control centers. That organization allowed the British to counter German bombing raids with the smaller Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain.

Even a nation's mentality toward casualties during war can influence a technology's game-changer status. The U.S. public accepted tens of thousands of casualties among its young soldiers, sailors and airmen during World War II, but for many reasons has been far less tolerant of the fewer, if no less horrific, casualties caused by a relatively cheap and basic technology ? insurgents' roadside bombs in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"People have gone back and forth on whether IEDs are game-changing," a NeXTech participant said. "Really the issue is that, psychologically, the U.S. has decided we're not going to accept casualties."

Shaping the future
The NeXTech workshop's mix of civilian and military thinkers didn't create an immediate road map for the Pentagon to follow. But the workshop participants did begin looking at the possible impact of five future technology areas, starting by the year 2025.

Tireless robot warriors and drones have already become a force on modern battlefields, and could continue to replace human warriors in dangerous scenarios. They also seem poised to have a huge impact on entire industries and national economies ? not to mention the personal lives of people as they become servants and companions.

3-D printing may create new materials and turn both industrial manufacturing and battlefield DIY (do it yourself) upside down. The same power to create almost any digital design as a real-world product on demand could also lead to a slew of counterfeit parts that already plague the U.S. military and civilian industries. [Why a DIY Pioneer Dislikes 3D Printing]

New energy sources or storage methods (batteries) could impact almost every part of modern life far beyond the battlefield, and enable similarly powerful "game-changer" technologies. But high-density fuel sources, storage and energy weapons can also create new security threats, the "energy" group warned.

Human enhancements?that improve intelligence, speed up learning or make every soldier as hardy as a Special Forces operator could begin affecting the battlefield in the next few decades. But the "bio" group cautioned that the biggest challenges would come from ethical, legal and other societal restrictions.

Finally, the "software" group pointed to a new generation of smarter software that can learn, adapt and act autonomously as a possible game-changer. The easy access for deploying software may also create new security headaches for both the military and law enforcement.

Such observations may serve the Pentagon's Rapid Reaction Technology Office well in its next several workshops. Singer praised the participants at the June 4 workshop as spanning several generations of military and civilian leaders who have seen some of the greatest technological changes of the modern age.

"We're talking about the year 2025 ? a time when many young U.S. Marines and future enemies may be younger than the iPhone," Singer said.

You can follow?InnovationNewsDaily?Senior Writer Jeremy Hsu on Twitter @ScienceHsu. Follow InnovationNewsDaily on Twitter @News_Innovation, or on?Facebook.

Copyright 2012?InnovationNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/technology/futureoftech/us-military-brainstorms-future-game-changers-864454

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Iraqis face long future of fear as attacks mount

Abdul Hadi al-Obeidi, 65, a Sunni Muslim and is married to a Shiite woman who manages a grocery store in the Karrada Neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, poses for a portrait Wednesday, July 4, 2012. "Every time I leave my house, I don't know what will happen to me. I can only leave it in God's hands," he said. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Abdul Hadi al-Obeidi, 65, a Sunni Muslim and is married to a Shiite woman who manages a grocery store in the Karrada Neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, poses for a portrait Wednesday, July 4, 2012. "Every time I leave my house, I don't know what will happen to me. I can only leave it in God's hands," he said. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Qassim Salman, 65, a Shiite Muslim poses for a portrait in Basra, Iraq, Wednesday, July 4, 2012. "The security situation will be improved only when the politicians stop their daily fighting over personal ambitions," said Salman, who owns a video arcade in the southern city of Basra.(AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)

Shukria Mahmud, 57, a Sunni Muslim poses for a portrait in the Mansour neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, July 4, 2012. "We have to leave every once in a while to get some fresh air, some ice cream. We can't just stay home forever." she said. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Mohammed Jabar, 22, a Sunni Muslim poses for a portrait in Kirkuk, Iraq, Wednesday, July 4, 2012. "We do not have the right to think about the future, because nobody is sure whether he is going to stay alive even for the next few minutes," said Jabar, 22, a hotel employee in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, which has been an ethnic flashpoint for years as Sunni Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen fight over control of the oil-rich land that surrounds it. "We might die anytime and anywhere, so it is useless to think about what will happen for the years ahead."(AP Photo/Yahya Ahmed)

Hisham Abdul-Kadhim, 36, a Shiite Muslim juice shop owner in the Mansour neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, poses for a portrait Wednesday, July 4, 2012. As he makes his daily two-hour commute to the juice bar he owns, driving through the five Iraqi police checkpoints on the way, Hisham Abdul-Kadhim always nervously scans the road for danger. He can't help himself. "Every day, I worry about car bombs while driving. I can't stop thinking about them," says Abdul-Kadhim, 36, a Shiite Muslim. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Whenever he leaves his home, Mohammed Jabar, a Sunni Muslim, carries his cellphone so his family can find out quickly whether he is safe if a deadly bomb attack hits. Shukria Mahmud, another Sunni, rarely ventures from her house because of the rash of violence that is gripping Iraq.

Laith Hashim, a young Shiite Muslim, is considering moving away from Iraq if security continues to disintegrate. Such a breakdown, he fears, would spark a new round of bitter sectarian fighting of the kind that brought the nation to the brink of civil war just a few years ago.

Tensions simmer between Iraq's Sunni and Shiite communities, yet they share an increasingly widespread despair. Al-Qaida-style attacks are on the rise, faith in the government's ability to keep people safe is on the wane and a fatalistic acceptance of a life of fear is perniciously settling in.

Nine years after the U.S. led an invasion of Iraq that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein ? purging the leadership and military of his supporters and leading to a fight against insurgents in a bloody guerrilla war that left more than 100,000 dead ? Iraq's outlook is increasingly bleak in summer 2012.

Instead of a Western-style democracy functioning in peace and cooperation, what's been left behind is dysfunctional and increasingly violent. Many of the attacks of the past month have targeted Shiites on annual religious pilgrimages, raising fears of a return to the deadly cycle of destructive violence between Sunni and Shiite communities.

"The Sunnis should be warned that there will be retaliation if the attacks against Shiites continue," Hashim, 18, said Wednesday in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood. The impoverished area in the capital's northeast is home to the Shiite Mahdi Army militia that battled al-Qaida during Iraq's darkest days between 2006 and 2008.

"Patience can't last forever," he warned.

Iraqi officials and experts say worries of an impending blowup is exactly what Sunni extremists linked to al-Qaida are banking on. Dozens of bloody bombings and drive-by shootings that have killed 286 people over the past four weeks, including 11 on Wednesday, bear the terrorist network's hallmarks. Most of the victims have been Shiite pilgrims, security forces and government officials ? three of al-Qaida's prime targets.

So far the surge in violence has fallen well short of open warfare. Iraqis fear it's more likely they're destined to struggle through years of misery without fully hitting bottom, before things get much better.

Part of the problem is the dysfunctional Iraqi government that, so far this year, has failed to protect its public or settle internal power squabbles.

"We do not have the right to think about the future, because nobody is sure whether he is going to stay alive even for the next few minutes," said Jabar, 22, a hotel employee in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. "We might die anytime and anywhere, so it is useless to think about what will happen for the years ahead."

Several people interviewed across Iraq on Wednesday said there's no doubt their lives have gone downhill recently, and hope for improvement is waning.

"We used to say that tomorrow will be better than today," said Firas Hadi, 41, a Shiite who owns car accessory shop in Baghdad. "But today, we say today is better than tomorrow."

Mahmud, 57, the Sunni woman, said the violence has made her think twice about going outside, although "we have to leave every once in a while to get some fresh air." Walking with her niece in the Sunni-dominated Mansour neighborhood in Baghdad, she observed, "We can't just stay home forever."

What's worrying about Iraq's recent wave of attacks is how they've increased in frequency and size. In the months before U.S. troops left, extremists were still launching large-scale attacks that killed dozens every few weeks, but analysts said they needed the time in between to coordinate and gather explosives.

A relative drop in the number of attacks in recent months had raised cautious hopes that life might inch back toward normal, despite political struggles, the corruption and an administration that can't even provide more than a few hours of electricity each day in the capital.

But starting in June, no more than three days passed without a major attack, showing the insurgency's ability to regroup more quickly. Experts say the extremists may have been emboldened by the government's obvious distraction by feuding between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his political rivals among Sunnis, Kurds and some other Shiite politicians who complain he is amassing too much power in his own hands.

Iraqis, certainly, mince no words in blaming their leaders for the violence.

"The security situation will be improved only when the politicians stop their daily fighting over personal ambitions," said Qassim Salman, 65, a Shiite who owns a video arcade in the southern city of Basra.

Whatever the cause, the surge in violence has rekindled a gloomy sense among Iraqis ? a feeling that nine years later, the Americans have moved on, and they are left facing an immediate future of grinding violence.

"This is not a normal life. How long do we have to live in fear?" asked Fuad Karim, 63, a Shiite who runs a laundry in Baghdad's Kazimiyah neighborhood.

Karim opposed the U.S. invasion, but he also said the American pullout, completed Dec. 18, was a mistake.

"They messed up the country, and they had to reorganize it and to rebuild what they demolished," he said. "Right up until now, nothing has been rebuilt."

Others, like Baghdad shopkeeper Ali Izzat, a Sunni, said he's happy the Americans are gone. "They were occupiers, and we see them as oppressors."

Izzat isn't fazed much by the recent attacks, though he allowed it might be because he's seen so much worse: His shop in Baghdad's mostly Sunni Harthiya neighborhood damaged by bombs three times in 2007.

"We feel sorry for the victims, of course," he said, when asked if Iraq's bloody past month worries him, displaying his innate sense of pessimism: "But because of all we have seen in the past, we are almost used to it."

___

Associated Press Writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Sameer N. Yacoub in Baghdad, Nabil al-Jurani in Basra, Iraq, and Yahya Barzanji in Kirkuk, Iraq, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-04-ML-Iraq-Life%20of%20Fear/id-cda94fa7efba4cfeb726e90ba9477eb8

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Iranian Consulate Denies Involvement in Disappearance of Pro-Israel Kurdish Journalist

?

SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region ? After nearly four weeks, there are still no clues about the whereabouts of Mawloud Afand, editor-in-chief of Israel-Kurd magazine.

Afand went missing after a trip to Sulaimani on June 8. He has been unreachable since then and his two mobile phones have been switched off.

As speculations about the young Iranian Kurdish journalist increase, some of his friends suspect he has been kidnapped by Iranian intelligence agents. But officials at Iran?s Consulate General in Sulaimani deny that.

Hamid Bodaghi, head of media relations for the Iranian Consulate in Sulaimani, told Rudaw they had no information about Afand.

?We?ve seen that some newspapers in the Kurdistan Region are pointing fingers at the Islamic Republic. But this is only newspaper talk. They are not correct and the sources are fake,? said Bodaghi.

An Iranian Kurd, Afand had been living in the Kurdistan Region for the past few years as a political refugee.

Afand?s magazine runs regular interviews with Israeli experts commenting on Kurdish affairs or relations between the Jewish state and the Kurds. Afand?s disappearance has been also reported by the Israeli press.

Israel-Kurd magazine is licensed by the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate and based in Erbil. Iran?s Consul in Erbil has objected to the publication of the magazine in the past.

Anwar Hussein, of the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, told Rudaw, ?We are continuing our follow-ups but have not gained any clues yet about his fate.?

The Israel-Kurd Institute has now given Afand?s image to all checkpoints and airports in Kurdistan.

?We have also filed a lawsuit in Sulaimani court. We have asked the judge to demand his phone records be checked,? said Sherzad Omer, head of public relations for the Israel-Kurd Institute.

News of Afand?s disappearance was first publicized by Dawood Baghestani, the founder of the Israel-Kurd Institute who currently resides in Turkey.

But early on, Omer announced that Afand had not been kidnapped and that Baghestani was no longer involved with the institute.

Hawar Bazyan, a former colleague of Afand?s at the magazine, said the denial of his kidnapping by Omer ?caused us to waste a lot of time.?

?If it becomes clear that Afand has been detained by Iranians, then Omer will have a grave responsibility to shoulder,? said Bazyan, who now runs a Facebook campaign for information about Afand.

Omer told Rudaw that they were not initially certain that Afand was abducted.

?There were some coded references we used to inform each other about unusual situations. When I talked to him the day after (his trip to Sulaimani), he did not use any of those coded references. That is why we were assured he had not been abducted,? said Omer.

Three days after Afand?s disappearance, Iranian intelligence announced through the state-affiliated Fars News that it had captured some officers and spies working for Israel?s intelligence agency, Mossad. That prompted Afand?s friends and colleagues to suspect he had been abducted by the Islamic Republic.

In a second statement on June 28, Iranian intelligence announced it had arrested ?a number of terrorists who belong to the occupying regime of Jerusalem,? in reference to Israel.

?Some countries whose soil or population?s identity has been misused by terrorists working for Mossad have given our ministry?s representatives the necessary information,? read part of the statement.

The statement also said, ?A location used as a residence and military base for training Mossad terrorists has been uncovered in a neighboring region bordering our country.?

The statement seems to be referring to the Kurdistan Region but it is still unclear if this can be construed as evidence that Iranian operatives kidnapped Afand.

The Islamic Republic?s Intelligence Ministry also said that it had captured ?planners of terrorist activities and trainers of terrorists, individuals in charge of technical relations and elements who transfer weapons.?

The ministry promised to release more information in a near future.

For his part, Baghestani issued a statement accusing the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Iranian intelligence of kidnapping Afand ?because Itlaat (Iran?s intelligence service) has bases in Sulaimani and a lot of power in that area.?

The PUK -- President Jalal Talabani?s party -- controls local administration and security in Sulaimani province.?

Local authorities in Sulaimani have said they are not aware of Afand?s whereabouts or what has happened to him.

Bazyan said that the Israel-Kurd Institute had received three letters from the PUK asking them to shut down.

?Once they handed a letter from the Islamic Republic to Mawloud Afand. They told him if he closed the institute, they would extend their cooperation and not take other measures. But Afand rejected their requests,? said Bazyan.

He added, ?Afand was continuously threatened by the PUK and the Islamic Republic of Iran. So now all the suspicion about his disappearance is centered on them.?

In a letter dated July 22, 2010, Nazim Dabbagh, a member of the PUK and representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), informed then Kurdish Prime Minister Barham Salih that ?our relatives once again have complained because the Israel-Kurd magazine was not supposed to be published in the Kurdistan Region anymore, but a new edition of the magazine has come out. We hope you will look into this.?

The phrase ?our relatives? appears to refer to Iranian officials.

?Media outlets are free with what they write about or publish,? media officer of the Iranian consulate, Bodaghi told Rudaw. ?But the fact of the matter is we are not aware of that journalist and know nothing about him.?

Omer says there is ?no evidence to prove Afand has been abducted.? According to him, Afand?s mobile phone was switched off on the day he travelled to Sulaimani but was working in the days that followed.

?He answered us very normally and said he was in Sulaimani for personal business,? said Omer.

The website of the Israel-Kurd Institute was hacked a few days after Afand?s disappearance. Omer says the hacker?s name was ?Samuel Kermashani? and his IP address was in Sweden.

?We consider that he may be a clue in Afand?s disappearance and intend to file a lawsuit against him through the Swedish Consulate in Erbil,? added Omer.

?

Source: http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/4921.html

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