Port Of Miami Hotels - How To Upgrade To Mac OS X Mavericks For Free

Source       - http://www.digitaltrends.com/
By             - Brandon Widder
Category   - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

What happens when you run out of furry felines from which to dub your latest operating system? Well, you opt for the next best thing — an iconic surf haven off the northern California coast.

Apple had more up its sleeve than the new, Haswell-powered MacBook Pro models, powerhouse Mac Pro and the thinner, sleeker iPad Air at its latest event in San Francisco. The Cupertino-based company showed off more of Mavericks, the latest incarnation of Mac OS X. Better yet, Apple announced that Mac OS X Mavericks will be available as a free download immediately. Mavericks adds a swath of new utilities and features, boasting tighter cloud integration while claiming significantly improved power-optimization. Already-existing apps like Calandar and Safari have received a makeover,  and Apple has even added its own proprietary mapping software to the new OS. Other new features include tag functionality, Finder tabs and even greater flexibility over multiple displays. Oh, and did we mention it’s free?

Here’s our quick guide on how to snag Mac OS X Mavericks for free. We can’t guarantee there won’t be another Maps debacle, but at least it won’t cost you.

How to Upgrade to Mac OS X Mavericks for Free

Step 1: Check system requirements — Upgrading to Mac OS X Mavericks shouldn’t be much of an issue if you’re using a Mac manufactured within the last six years or so (which most everyone is at this point). The software upgrade is compatible with the six Mac models listed below — and Xserve — but you’ll still need an additional 2GB of memory and 8GB of available space to properly download the OS. Click the Apple logo in the upper-left corner of your display and select the About this Mac option from the drop-down menu to view details about your current Mac. Certain features in Mavericks, such as FaceTime and Time Machine, may require additional hardware. Also, make sure your Mac is plugged into a power outlet and connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi or an Ethernet cable.

Step 2: Connect and install the latest updates — Make sure your Mac is plugged into a power supply, connected to the Internet and equipped with the latest updates prior to installing Mac OS X Mavericks. To check for the latest updates, click the Apple icon in the top-left corner, select the Software Update option from the resulting drop-down menu and click the gray Update All button housed to the right of the available updates within the App Store. Although you can directly upgrade to the latest OS from Snow Leopard (10.6.8), Lion (10.7) and Mountain Lion (10.8), those running Snow Leopard (10.6.x) will need to upgrade to to the latest version of the OS prior to making the jump to Mavericks. Mac OS X Leopard users will need to purchase Snow Leopard prior to upgrading.

Also, we recommend updating any third-party software that cannot be directly updated through the App Store. Granted, not all third-party software is compatible with Apple’s new OS quite yet, but you can often view compatibility on the software developer’s respective site. Doing so will help insure the update installs properly.

Step 3: Back up your computer — Upgrading to Mac OS X Mavericks doesn’t mean you’ll lose all your precious data. Although the update will retain your files, folders and other data, it’s not a bad idea to back up any information you don’t want to lose in case errors occur during the update process. Check out our guide on how to backup your computer and our top picks for the best free backup software before continuing. We suggest using Time Machine if you have a compatible, external hard drive available with ample space.

Step 4: Install Mac OS X Mavericks — Navigate back to the App Store and click the Free Upgrade button in the top-right corner of the Updates panel to download the necessary software. Once downloaded, an installation wizard will automatically appear to guide you through the process of installing Mac OS X Mavericks. Click the Continue option located at the bottom of the resulting window, followed by the Agree option and Install. Enter your administrator password when prompted (not your Apple ID), click the OK button in the bottom-right corner and allow the OS update to install.

Step 5: Restart and set up — Click the Restart button located at the bottom of the window when finished or allow Mac OS X to restart automatically after 30 seconds. The entire installation process will likely take around an hour or so depending on your Mac. Afterward, log in and start up your Mac as you would normally, entering your Apple ID when prompted and setting up iCloud Keychain if desired. The setup wizard will handle the rest.

Step 6: Enjoy — Now simply reap the benefits of Apple’s latest OS.

Port Of Miami Hotels - Acer Launches Thinner, Lighter, More Powerful Chromebook

Source       - http://mashable.com/
By             - Stan Schroeder
Category   - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Acer has announced the launch of C720 Chromebook, a new 11.6-inch ultraportable based on Intel's new Haswell chip. 

The specs include a 1.4GHz Intel Celeron processor, an 11.6-inch, 1366x768 pixel display, 4GB of low-power RAM, a 16GB SSD and 8.5 hours of battery life. 

Acer managed to stuff all that into a case that's 30 percent slimmer than the company's previous Chromebook, measuring only 0.75 inches thick, with the weight being 2.76 pounds. 

Exact shipping date hasn't been revealed, but the C720 is already listed for pre-order at Amazon and should also be coming to Best Buy for $250.

Port Of Miami Hotels - Smart hone Mounts For Your Car

Source      - http://finance.yahoo.com/
By            - Press Release
Category  - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

If you find yourself increasingly thinking of your smart phone as an indispensable traveling companion, you’re not alone. Many drivers now rely on their phones for navigation, music, or just old-fashioned Bluetooth calls while they’re behind the wheel. And with that kind of continuous use, dropping the phone into a cup holder when you start the car won’t cut it. You need a serious car mount that will safely hold the device where you can see and use it, with a minimum of distraction. A mount may also save you a ticket, because the use of hand-held devices is now illegal in many states.

Many options are available, from basic phone holders priced at less than $10 to specialized mounts that cost $40 or more. Some models from phone makers double as a charger and can optimize the screen for easier access to travel-related functions. These special mounts typically have an opening for the phone’s camera, enabling a quick photo of a reckless driver or recording video on a scenic drive.

For drivers focused on navigation, a couple of GPS companies offer mounts with a built-in GPS receiver to improve position accuracy and a boosted speaker to make instructions easier to hear. We’ve used some of the full-featured mounts and found they can be worth the investment for true road warriors. But if you’re just looking for an inexpensive way to safely mount the phone in the car, good holders are available for $20 or less.

What we found
Consumer Reports sampled 11 budget-priced mounts. We looked at phone holders that attach to the dashboard or windshield with a suction cup, models that clamp onto an air vent, and some that ride in a cup holder or 12-volt power outlet.

Our evaluations included trying each mount in two test cars and an SUV to get an idea how they worked in different vehicles. We looked for ease of installation and use, plus stability on the road and at our track during aggressive maneuvers. We tried each with two of the most popular phones, an Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S3.

Generally speaking, we found that models designed to attach to the dashboard or windshield with a suction cup were the best choices. These provide a secure fit, while keeping the phone where it’s easy to see and use without blocking the car’s controls.

Among the suction-cup mounts, the iOttie HCLRIO102 ($20) stood out. It was easy to use and provided a secure fit with both of our phones. The Kensington K39256US ($25) is another good choice, but its long arm caused some vibration while driving. The as-seen-on-TV infomercial star, and something of a bargain in the group, GripGo ($11) was stable and could securely hold any size phone. But we found that sticky surface makes it difficult to remove a phone when it’s new, and it loses its grip over time. Regular washing helps, as package instructions suggest, but ours was never as grippy as it was when new.  

It’s no surprise that vent-mounted models like the Bracketron PVH-202-BL ($10) and Arkon SM429-SBH ($15) can restrict your car’s climate system airflow. We also found them to be more difficult to install than suction-cup mounts, and they may not even be an option depending on the design of your vents. The Bracketron was easier to install than the Arkon, but both models we tried gave the impression they could easily cause expensive damage to a vent if pumped or pulled too hard. If you’re committed to buying a vent-mount holder, shop carefully and try to do a test fit before you buy.

Cup holder designs, like our Bracketron UCH-101-BL ($10) and McAlly mCup ($14), may be a workable compromise for some cars, but most cup holders are mounted low and hold the phone too low to be seen without taking your eyes off the road. Plus, your favorite beverages will be left homeless.

That said, cup holder mounts are still a better choice than models designed to slide into a 12-volt power outlet. Both the Scosche IUH12V Powermount ($21) and the Arkon Socket Mount IPM521 ($15) failed in our experience to provide a secure fit. Plus, these units held the phone too low for easy visibility and use.

For our money, the iOttie HCLRIO102 stood out in this group, being stable, convenient, and attractively priced. Further, by being a universal mount, it may even fit your next phone.

Port Of Miami Hotels - Man uses planetarium show to Propose To Girlfriend

Source      - http://www.upi.com/
By            - WARNER ROBINS
Category  - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

A Georgia man said the hardest part of proposing to his girlfriend was maneuvering her into the planetarium show where he had inserted the question.

Alan Gilbert, 23, of Warner Robins, said he wanted to propose to girlfriend Krystal Sanderson, 22, during the Mark Smith Planetarium show at the Museum of Arts & Sciences, so he set to work making sure she would be at Sunday's 4 p.m. show, The Macon (Ga.) Telegraph reported Monday.

"The main thing is, Krystal and I spent a lot of time looking at the stars," Gilbert said. "They were always one of those moments where we could talk about anything we wanted to."

Gilbert said Sanderson, who works with a campus nursing organization, almost had to go to work Sunday, but he insisted she visit the museum with him, instead.

Gilbert said he hit a second hiccup when Sanderson wanted to see the 2 p.m. planetarium show instead of the 4 p.m. show, which had his marriage proposal attached at the end of the 30-minute show about prehistoric sea creatures.

Gilbert said he was able to convince Sanderson to tour the facility before attending the 4 p.m. show, then all he had to do was wait.

"The movie, the documentary, was the longest 30 minutes of my life," Gilbert said.

When the film ended, Gilbert's question appeared on the screen and he presented Sanderson with a ring surrounded in glow sticks to make sure she could see it in the dark.

Sanderson accepted.

"I was so shocked when I saw my name," she said. "It was like, 'Oh my goodness!'"

Port Of Miami Hotels - Should Tim Cook Be Replaced?

Source       - http://www.fool.com/
By             - Joe Tenebruso and Eric Bleeker
Category   - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

Many investors are beginning to question Tim Cook's ability to lead Apple  (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) , particularly when it comes to driving innovation in the manner in which Steve Jobs was so adept.

While recognizing that Jobs is irreplaceable, Motley Fool analyst Joe Tenebruso believes that Tim Cook has done a lot of things that shareholders have wanted for a long time -- and that Jobs might not have done -- such as initiating a dividend and instituting the largest share buyback in history. But can Cook drive innovation at Apple? Joe thinks we'll have the answer to that question soon. For more, check out the following video.

Apple has a history of cranking out revolutionary products -- and then creatively destroying them with something better. Read about the future of Apple in the free report, "Apple Will Destroy Its Greatest Product." Can Apple really disrupt its own iPhones and iPads? 

Why our CEO sold all of his stocks...
18 months ago, Motley Fool co-founder and CEO Tom Gardner sold every last stock he owned so he could go "all in" on the "Everlasting Portfolio" he was constructing for members of his unprecedented new wealth-building service, Motley Fool ONE.

To date, this portfolio is up 53.9% whereas a "white-hot" S&P 500 is only up 28.6%. On Sept. 19, Tom will re-open Motley Fool ONE to a select few new members for only the second time ever. In the meantime, you can get the full story on 3 top holdings he’s considering "doubling down" on for his next round of stock purchases on Oct. 1 and claim a bundle of other valuable gifts absolutely free of charge.

Port Of Miami Hotels - The Start menu -- Cause Or Effect?

Source      - http://betanews.com/
By             - Andy Gowen
Category    - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By  - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

When Windows 95 was released there was a lot of fuss about the Start menu and debate about whether it would catch-on. It was a significant departure from icon shortcuts in program groups; or superficially at least. In reality, it was simply the program groups (folders) put in a hierarchical order and rather wisely, the option to place folders, icons and shortcuts on the desktop remained (to this day).

The Start menu developed; it grew out of the logic of the program shortcut and built upon that logic. It was not intended to abruptly impose a new paradigm but to slowly replace the shortcut as customers became comfortable with the concept. That journey never really ended, as the icon shortcut was not phased-out -- why would it be?

There is no good reason to withdraw functionality that provides another easy avenue for the user to achieve their desired goal. The Start menu became the paradigm for Windows; indeed, to many, it was Windows. There it remained -- from Windows 95 all the way through to Windows 7 -- a 17 year (and counting) fixture.

So why was the Start menu unceremoniously dumped with the introduction of Modern UI? Why was the continuous story of the shortcut, to Start menu, to Modern UI broken; and why (if this break was needed) did the older shortcut icon survive? I think at least part of that story can be traced to Bill Gates stepping down as chief software architect in 2006, removing his vision and historical design anchor point; effectively leaving Steve Ballmer with the vision control. By 2006, the groundwork for Windows 7 was already in place, so its eventual release in 2009 followed the basic Start menu paradigm but with some bells and whistles added; nothing radical, just another incremental step along the path.

Ballmer is, by trade, a business manager (and a darned good one) but he did not bring Gates' programming and software development skills to the party. Combine this with Microsoft’s historic and continuing berating and confrontational management style and you find an environment where everyone (even the boss) is forever trying to prove themselves by leading change -- regardless of whether that change is needed/necessary, or not. Such an environment does not reward brilliantly managing what you already have; it only values something new that kicks away the old. That is an accident waiting to happen; change for its own sake and almost regardless of external demand.

In short, the answer was that Microsoft stopped listening to its customers and started dictating to them. The mantra of a common interface that ran through the new Microsoft culture has been allowed to overcome the more important and influential voice of the consumer (the one with the money). Microsoft left a version of the command prompt (cmd.exe – from the 1980s!) in place, for goodness sake, so keeping legacy code obviously was not a problem. The Start menu decision was management dogma, pure and simple.

Stepping back for one second, the basic marketing question that comes to mind is; "what harm would it do to give your customer the choice of Modern UI or Start menu?" Why not follow the successful adoption process from Windows 95? After all, if Modern UI is as good as Microsoft claims, then people will naturally migrate to it as they see the benefits outweighing their archaic old Start menu. Again, the answer is wholly within Microsoft; managers need to bring change in order to prove self-worth to the company. If Modern UI and the Start menu were allowed to coexist, then there was always the risk that the Start menu would win the popularity contest and the change would fail; along with the sponsor’s career. On the back of that risk, the Start menu had to go.

Personally, I have no opinion on whether Modern UI is better or worse than the Start menu; it is an otiose argument. The deciding factor is the context. To my mind, Modern UI is superior on a touch screen and the Start menu is better on a desktop. Your views may (and almost certainly will) differ. The underpinning point is that Microsoft could (and should) respect your opinion and let you have that choice; it just decided not to do so.

(You may recall that prior to Windows Phone 7’s release in 2010, there was Windows Mobile 6; a mobile OS based on the desktop paradigm. Put simply, it was dire. You can’t impose a desktop OS on a mobile device -- or the other way around. They are simply different beasts.)

The Modern UI/Start menu debate is only happening because Microsoft made a terrible marketing decision based on internal company problems. It decided to remove functionality that could easily be left in place and which a good proportion of its customers demanded. Any decision that reduces or alienates a proportion of your customers is a bad decision, unless you can squeeze more profit from the slice of business that is left. This is not Microsoft’s natural stomping ground and it was a critically bad decision. Microsoft is not about disruptive change or dictating to customers (I can hear the laughter!). It was and should be about development, choice and response to customers.

As any great leader will tell you; no decision is final and mistakes must be rectified quickly and with minimal fuss. There is still time for Microsoft to become the company of customer choice and embrace the diversity of preferences of its users. There just needs to be the will to do it. As an aside, reorganizing the company’s department structure cannot magically make-up for removing choice and it definitely will not bring success to a failing strategy.

The Start menu is just a symptom of the underlying problem at Microsoft -- bad management practice. If the leader can’t change a bad strategy, then it is time to change the leader. It seems, judging from last week's announcement, that Microsoft agrees.

Port Of Miami Hotels - 3 Ways You're Using Facebook Wrong

Source      - http://www.foxnews.com/
By            - Kim Komando
Category   - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

If you're like most people, you visit Facebook a few times a day. You catch up on the latest gossip, "Like" cute baby or pet pictures, and maybe post something yourself. Facebook makes these things simple.

Facebook is so simple, in fact, that you might not know you're using it wrong. Here are 3 things you really need to stop doing on Facebook.

1. Confuse public and private conversations
There are a few ways to communicate on Facebook. One is to post a message on your Timeline for everyone to see.

Another is to post a message directly to a friend's Timeline. These are the posts that show up in your Timeline labeled "Jane Doe > John Doe."

Far too many people think the second method is a private conversation. That isn't the case. Think of it like a public speaker on stage talking to one audience member instead of the entire audience. Everyone can still hear everything they're saying.

I've seen people who don't know this ask friends very personal questions. It can be embarrassing for everyone.

To send a private message, click the Messages link to the left of your news feed. Then click the New Message button.

You can also go to your friend's profile page and click the Message button near the top right of the page. Or, just pick up a phone.

2. Overshare
Social media sites like Facebook encourage you to post your thoughts, experiences, pictures, videos and whatever else you feel like. This can lead people to share things like what they had for breakfast. Detailed relationship woes are another favorite. How about the fact you're out of town for a while? Thieves love that one.

But a recent study from the University of Birmingham found oversharing is more complex. It seems sharing too many photos - even if they're nice photos - can damage your real-life relationships and cost you friends.

Of course, "too many" is relative, but there are a few guidelines. If you like to post "selfies," or shots featuring just you, dial it back to important events, like a new haircut.

Also, photos of you with certain friends tend to turn off your friends and family who weren't there. Photos of immediate family and significant others, however, seem to be OK.

3. Include too much information in photos
This is similar to oversharing, but carries more risk. Smartphones and some newer standalone cameras can embed GPS information into photos.

Anyone who knows how to read this can see where your photos were taken. That means they can find your house, kids' school or other important locations.

So before you upload a photo, make sure it's clean.

In Windows you can right click a photo and choose Properties. In the Details tab, click the "Remove Properties and Personal Information" button. Mac users, and Windows users who want to clean a bunch of photos at once.

On a smartphone, you can turn off GPS when you're taking pictures. To turn it off on your iPhone, go to Settings>>Privacy Location Services. You can turn it off for everything or just for the camera.

For Android, go to Settings>>Location Services and turn GPS off when you don't need it. For Windows Phone, go to Settings>>Location to turn off Location Services.

If you don't think you'll remember, use an app like PixelGarde to check photos before you post.

Don't forget to check what's in the photos. For example, a picture that shows your house number or street name isn't good to post. Pictures of valuables aren't great either

.

There was a story about this just the other day. A reality-TV cast member at a restaurant posted pictures of his lobster dinner and $50,000 watch on Instagram.

A thief who was in the neighborhood saw the photos. He went to the restaurant and tried to steal the cast member's watch! The thief didn't get it, but I think the lesson is clear.

Port Of Miami Hotels - Tips And Tricks For Speeding Up Your Android Device

Source             - http://howto.cnet.com/
By                    - Dan Graziano
Category          - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By       - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

You may have noticed over the past few months that your once-speedy Android device has slowed down considerably. Simple tasks such as switching between apps or returning home are proving more troublesome than before, and you are now experiencing lag in all the wrong places. Things don't have to be this way, however. 

Your device has a limited amount of internal storage and the less free space it has the slower it will perform. If you have filled your device with photos, music, or apps, it is recommended to free up space by either uninstalling unused apps or moving files to cloud storage services like Dropbox or Google Drive.

Uninstalling apps can be done by going to Settings, opening the Apps menu, and selecting the app you wish to uninstall. Preloaded applications from carriers or manufacturers that cannot be uninstalled, known as bloatware, can at least be disabled and hidden from the app drawer using this method.

On smartphones and tablets that include expandable storage you can also move apps to the microSD card. To do this, enter Settings, go to the Apps menu, click the app you wish to move, and select the "Move to SD card" option.

2. Clear app caches
Cached data can build up over time in your applications and affect the performance of your device. Deleting individual caches can be done in the Apps menu, but a number of free programs are available through the Google Play store that can automate the process. Some of the most popular ones include App Cache Cleaner and Clean Master, both of which are available for free.

3. Limit widgets and live wallpapers
Many people would argue that widgets are one of the benefits of using an Android device. They can be helpful for finding information quickly without having to open an app, but at the same time they can eat away at battery life and slow your device. 

Reducing the number of widgets, especially data-intensive ones like Facebook, will help your smartphone or tablet run more smoothly and last longer. You can remove widgets from the home screen by long-pressing the one you wish to delete and dragging it to the top of the screen. 

Another cool Android feature is the option to use a live wallpaper as your background. Like widgets, however, live wallpapers can slow down your device and drain the battery. You can also change your wallpaper with a long press on the home screen. 

4. Disable animations
A hidden settings option in Android will give you access to commands you may have never known existed. Go to Settings, About Phone, scroll down to Build number, and tap it seven times. You will now have access to developer options. These special settings allow you to do a variety of things, but they are meant for advanced users and shouldn't be changed unless you know what you are doing. 

One tweak that could speed up your device is disabling animations within the operating system. To do this, open Settings, go to Developer options, and scroll down to the Drawing option. Next, turn off the Window animation scale, Transition animation scale, and Animator duration scale. This will disable animations that occur when you open, close, and switch between apps. Although the interface will look less polished, there should be less lag in performance. 

5. Get software updates
Manufacturers and carriers are continually pushing out new software updates to their devices. It is imperative that you be on the latest firmware as these updates usually include security and bug fixes, among other things that will improve the overall stability of your device. To check to see if there is an update available, go to Settings, select About Phone, and choose the "System updates" option.

6. Rooting, ROMing, and more
Risk takers and advanced users can also root their device, which will open the door to new features and even greater performance boosts. Rooting gives you the ability to overclock the device's processor, install a custom ROM, and other things; however it also voids your warranty and could cause irreversible damage to the device.

Port Of Miami Hotels - Apple To Introduce Thinner iPad And High-Resolution iPad Mini

Source - http://in.finance.yahoo.com/
By - Press Release
Category - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

Wellington, Aug. 13 (ANI): Software and mobile manufacturer Apple is reportedly on its way to unveil a thinner version of its flagship iPad tablet along with a high-resolution iPad mini.

According to Stuff.co.nz, sources close to the company said that the new iPad models are set to be introduced towards the end of the year.

Despite the growing competition in the tablet market from makers like Samsung, Google and Asustek, IDC found that Apple's lack of new products has led to a global slowdown in tablet shipments.

The report said that the new iPad with a 9.7-inch screen will have a body that resembles the current iPad mini, with a thinner bezel than the current version while the 7.9-inch iPad mini is speculated to have the same high-resolution 'Retina' display currently available with the iPhone and the larger iPad.

Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller declined to comment on the latest redesigned products. (ANI)

Port Of Miami Hotels - Dying 2-Year-Old To Be Couple’s Best Man

Source - http://fox4kc.com/
By - Andrew Lynch
Category - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

Christine Swidorsky and Sean Stevenson may be counting the hours until their wedding this Saturday, but the day will be bittersweet. The couple’s 2-year-old son, Logan, is dying.

Though Logan was given just weeks to live, the couple, from Jeannette, Pennsylvania, about 40 minutes from Pittsburgh, plans to honor him as their best man.

The pictures show a sweet, young boy, deeply loved by his family. His mother, Christine, spoke to CNN.

“Me and Sean wanted to have a nice wedding next July,” she said. “There’s no way I can get married and not have Logan in our family photos.” And certainly, Logan will shine in his fine wedding suit. With 120 to 130 wedding guests, there will be plenty to celebrate.

Christine often talks about how Logan’s a fighter who’s always stayed strong.

Born on October 22, 2010, he weighed just 3 pounds. Eating troubles kept Logan in the hospital, but he kept fighting, kept growing, and was soon home with his parents and his two older sisters.

Christine originally hoped to call him Sean, after his dad, but Sean disagreed. So one day, while leafing through a baby naming book, Sean stumbled onto “Logan,” and it felt perfect to them both.

And for his first year, he grew, he was healthy, and he made his family unspeakably happy. Even today, as his life nears an end, Christine struggles to find words to say what an amazing little boy he is.

Just after Logan’s first birthday, Christine noticed that he wasn’t feeling well again, and his lips and fingernails had turned white. Over the course of a month, she took Logan to the pediatrician four times before the head pediatrician tended to him. When he did, he quickly called 911.

Christine says Logan shocked doctors at the Pittsburgh children’s hospital. His leukemia had progressed so far, they were surprised he was still alive. Chemotherapy was started right away, taking an extraordinary toll on his body.

Sean and Christine learned more devastating news shortly after: Logan has a genetic disorder called Fanconi anemia, which most frequently results in death, most commonly from cancer, between the ages of 25 and 30.

But Logan fought hard, just like he had done as a newborn. He landed in the ICU but pulled through, and by July 13, 2012, doctors were prepared to give him a blood stem cell transplant.

After his stem cell treatment, he was free of leukemia for nine months, eating and acting like any other child. Life started to feel normal for Logan’s family, but Christine’s gut feeling returned when she saw Logan acting strange again.

It was cancer again: a mass the size of an orange on Logan’s larger and better-functioning kidney. Doctors had no choice but to remove the kidney, just a week before Easter of this year.

Life gained a long-sought-after normalcy for Logan and the family, except for the twice-weekly visits to a clinic for his chemotherapy. The therapy, though not a perfect solution for Logan, would hopefully prevent a recurrence of the cancer, despite being a lower dose than average.

Logan’s life continued to improve. “He was eating bowl after bowl” of spaghetti, “it was a wonderful feeling,” Christine says.

But then he started getting fevers, then throwing up. His left side swelled as the mass returned, where the kidney once was. “I thought he was doing so well … it’s like you take two steps forward, 15 back,” Christine says. The doctors told Logan’s family that they could only do more harm than good.

And in June, as the family’s fortunes continued to fail, the Make a Wish Foundation gave them a trip to Disney World. But after just four hours there, Logan was back in the hospital. Eight days of torture ensued, as he had developed an infection and eventually needed to be flown home to Jeannette.

Finally, on July 26, Doctors gave Logan one to two weeks to live.

But the wedding that Sean and Christine planned for next year certainly couldn’t happen without him. So with the help of friends and family, it has been moved to Saturday, not in a banquet hall, but in the family’s backyard “because it may make Logan uncomfortable” to be in strange surroundings with so much noise.

His once big, beautiful curls are no longer atop his head, but his handsome suit will be pressed as Logan will be by his dad’s side on the wedding day.

Christine doesn’t refer to it as the end for Logan, but as the start of his “journey.” She is “a different person. I’m a better person; he’s made me a strong person.”

The strength is in her voice, in her resolve to have her son in her wedding, and she’s thankful for it. “He has brought so much joy into our lives. I couldn’t have asked for a better son.

Port Of Miami Hotels - Mobile Users Shunt Facebook To RECORD Earnings

Source - http://www.theregister.co.uk/
By -  Neil McAllister
Category - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

Facebook posted strong results for the second quarter of its fiscal 2013 on Wednesday, showing impressive growth in its advertising and payments businesses and earnings that soundly beat analysts' expectations.

Revenue for the quarter was $1.81bn, a 53 per cent increase over the year-ago quarter. Of that total, 88 per cent (or $1.6bn) came from advertising, up 61 per cent from Q2 2012, with Facebook surpassing one million active advertisers for the first time.

Ad revenue from the all-important mobile sector was up, too. In the third quarter of 2012, mobile ads accounted for just 14 per cent of the total revenue, but that figure has grown steadily with each successive quarter. In Q2 of 2013, mobile ads made up around 41 per cent of Facebook's total ad revenue.

Facebook's other revenue source, payments and fees, was up 11 per cent from the year-ago quarter, to a total of $214m.

Taken altogether, the social network's average revenue per user during the second quarter was $1.60, a 18.5 per cent increase from the previous quarter and a 25 per cent hike from the second quarter a year ago.

Even better for Zuck & Co., all of that money coming in translated into strong earnings. Net income for the quarter was $333m, compared to a net loss of $157m for 2012's second quarter. But those figures were both distorted by costs related to share-based compensation and tax adjustments; take those away and Facebook earned $488m in the second quarter, a 65 per cent hike from the $295m it earned during the same period a year ago.

Excluding those taxes and adjustments, earnings were $0.19 per share, up from $0.12 per share in the year-ago quarter and beating the expectations of even the most optimistic analysts. Of the 37 moneymen polled by Yahoo! Finance, the highest estimate came in at $0.18 per share.

The social network's usage figures for the quarter were also encouraging and point to continued growth. Daily active users were up to 699 million, a 27 per cent increase year-over-year. Monthly active users were up 21 per cent, to 1.15 billion.

Analysts often use the ratio of daily to monthly active users as a measure of user engagement, and hence, Facebook's overall health. The figure was 60.8 per cent for the three months ending on June 30, 2013, up 4.1 per cent from the previous quarter and up 5.2 per cent from Q2 of 2012.

Mobile monthly active users were up 51 per cent year-over year, to 819 million. And mobile daily active users numbered 469 million – a 60 per cent increase from the year-ago quarter – for a mobile daily-to-monthly ratio of 57.3 per cent.

Part of that growth was driven by Facebook for Every Phone, the social network's offering that lets users access Facebook from inexpensive, low-powered feature phones. That service has now surpassed 100 million users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a call with financial analysts on Wednesday.

As a result, monthly active users who access Facebook solely using mobile devices were up to 219 million in Q2 of 2013, a 115 per cent increase from the same period a year ago.

In all, it was a solid quarter for the social network, and Wall Street was duly pleased. Facebook's shares were up 1.45 per cent by Wednesday's closing bell but rocketed up another 17 per cent in after-hours trading, to surpass $31 per share. ®

Port Of Miami Hotels - China Plays The Long Game In Latest Investment Quota Expansion

Source - http://www.cnbc.com/
By - Clement Tan
Category - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

China's surprise move to expand the size and reach of investment quotas represents the boldest reform yet this year in allowing foreign investors more access to its financial markets.

The measures unveiled by the top securities regulator on Friday are the latest in a series of steps Beijing has taken in recent months to fire up flagging investor interest, allowing foreign firms to move funds more freely into China and expanding another pilot programme to London, Singapore and elsewhere.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) almost doubled the quota of the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) scheme to $150 billion. The plan, introduced in 2002, allows investors to bring foreign currency into China to buy domestic stocks, bonds and money market instruments.

"It was a banner announcement, a signal of intent by the new CSRC chief Xiao Gang that Beijing remains committed to opening up its markets," said Chris Powers, an analyst at Shanghai-based financial consultancy Z-Ben Advisors.

But the timing of the move was surprising, as it comes at a time when appetite for Chinese shares is at its weakest in years thanks to a slowing economy, causing once-popular funds earmarked under such investment schemes to suffer heavy outflows.

Existing quotas are already underutilised.

Before the latest expansion plan, only $43 billion of the current $80 billion quota had been used so far.

Its yuan counterpart, the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) has fared no better, with less than half of the 270 billion yuan ($44 billion) quota taken up so far.

RQFII allows investors to buy Chinese stocks and bonds using offshore yuan. It is currently available only through designated institutions in Hong Kong, but will be expanded to London, Singapore, Taiwan and other unidentified locations.

Nevertheless, bankers say these steps signal authorities are focused in expanding the yuan's global clout by allowing more foreign companies and banks to use the currency in both international trade and to buy Chinese assets. Currently, about 12 percent of China's trade is denominated in its own currency.

Timing-wise, China has followed a familiar script in the four-year history of its yuan internationalisation theme, always undertaking fresh reforms when it sensed investor interest was waning.

"After a long time, we are starting to see a lot of excitement from our clients and we are getting queries on what they can do under these quotas and the other reforms," said the head of yuan trade settlement at a U.S. bank in Hong Kong.

DEBT OVER EQUITIES

Despite the buzz around the quotas, fund managers do not expect a deluge of inflows to hit China's markets soon.

The China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong and the CSI300, an index of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share, are down by 16 and 8 percent, respectively, since the start of the year.

Both are popular benchmarks for exchange traded funds (ETFs) under the two quota schemes.

Hong Kong-listed ETFs tracking mainland equity indexes have suffered net outflows since mid-January amounting to $4.9 billion, according to Thomson Reuters Lipper data.

For example, E-Fund's ETF, one of the oldest ETFs under the RQFII scheme, has lost 70 percent of the units outstanding so far this year due to investor redemptions.

"China's economy is losing some growth momentum and investors are not optimistic about the outlook for its stock market," said a fund manager with a Chinese asset management firm who has an RQFII quota.

But that may change in the longer term. Investment bank CICC says the expansion of the QFII scheme brings China's A-shares a step closer towards inclusion in the global MSCI emerging markets index, potentially signaling billions of dollars of inflows from benchmark funds.

Bonds may hold more promise for now. At nearly 5 trillion yuan, the mainland bond market is 40 times the size of the offshore yuan bond market, according to HSBC. It offers more variety to investors, though demand may be limited more to sovereign issues than often illiquid corporate bonds for now. ($1 = 6.1350 Chinese yuan)

Port Of Miami Hotels - How Will iOS 7 Boost Unified Communications?

Source - http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/
By - Iain Pemberton
Category - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By -  Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

Last month, Apple unveiled the next version of its iOS mobile operating system. And with the second beta of the tool available now for developers, iPhone and iPad owners can expect some exciting developments in the coming months that take advantage of the new capabilities of the software.

So what will this mean for enterprise users? Apple devices have exploded in popularity among businesses in the last year or so and the firms is clearly keen to capitalize on this, as it has been promoting a range of new features that are said to be particularly suited to the workplace.

iOS 7′s improved multitasking will allow you to collaborate via your iPhone more easily than before.

Apple is highlighting features such as the ability to configure VPNs on a per-app basis for more fine-tuned control over corporate network access, new mobile device management options such as the ability to wirelessly set up managed apps and printers, and much tougher security solutions – encryption using the user’s passcode – that should please the chief information officer.

However, it could also be a great choice for individuals looking to improve their communication and collaboration thanks to the range of new additions.

For instance, the new Notification Center can let you know instantly about new messages, missed calls and much more, while integration with your calendar offer a convenient summary of what your agenda is.

Individuals who need to chat to colleagues and refer back to critical documents can also take advantage of the easier multi-tasking features. Apple claims these have been made much smarter, so you can simply switch between collaboration apps to get the full picture at a glance.

The iOS 7 system also features improved voice capabilities. For starters, its Siri virtual assistant has been enhanced, so it can take on extra tasks such as returning calls and playing voicemail. TechCrunch also noted Apple has re-introduced Voice Memos, after this feature was left out of the first beta.

It noted that the interface and icon have been completely redesigned, to bring it in line with the design changes seen throughout iOS7, getting rid of the skeuomorphic rendition of a mic that dominated the previous version and flattening out controls and interfaces.

Port Of Miami Hotels - More Frozen Fruit Recalled Over Hepatitis A Outbreak

Source - http://www.cbsnews.com/
By - Ryan Jaslow
Category - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

 

Port Of Miami Hotels

An ongoing hepatitis A outbreak has prompted another Oregon fruit company to recall some frozen fruit products.

Scenic Fruit Company of Gresham, Ore. announced Wednesday it was issuing a voluntary recall of more than 61,000 bags  of Woodstock Frozen Organic Pomegranate Kernels.

No illnesses are currently associated with Scenic Fruit's products, and product testing so far has found no presence of the liver-damaging virus on its pomegranate seeds, which were imported from Turkey. The outbreak, however, is being conducted out of an abundance of caution because of an ongoing hepatitis A outbreak linked to frozen pomegranate seeds of Turkish origin.

Townsend Farms of Fairview, Ore. recalled its Organic Anti-Oxidant Blend of frozen berries in early June after its products, which were purchased from Costco markets, were linked to a five-state hepatitis A outbreak which at the time had sickened 30 people.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports as of June 26, 122 cases of hepatitis A have been linked to the Townsend Farms' frozen berries across eight states: Arizona (17 cases), California (62), Colorado (25), Hawaii (5), New Mexico (5), Nevada (5), Utah (2) and Wisconsin (one case, but the person was exposed to the product while in California).

Hepatitis A is a potentially dangerous virus that's highly contagious, and most often transmitted through contaminated food or drinking water. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dark urine, yellowing of the skin (jaundice), joint pain and grey-colored stools. Not everyone infected will develop symptoms, according to the CDC, but those that do typically experience them within two to sex weeks of infection. In rare cases, hepatitis A can lead to liver failure and death.

    Hepatitis A victim shocked organic berries almost led to liver transplant

A vaccine can prevent illness if given within two weeks of exposure to a contaminated food.

The strain of hepatitis A that is implicated in the multi-state outbreak is rarely seen in the U.S. but circulates in North Africa and the Middle East, according to the CDC.

Of the 122 cases linked to the current outbreak, 54 people have been hospitalized and no deaths have been reported.

The new recall of Woodstock Frozen Organic Pomegranate Kernels involves products that were shipped from February 2013 through May 2013 to distribution centers in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington State. Distribution centers may have shipped the products to other states.

They're sold in 8-ounce reasalable plastic pouches with UPC Code 0 42563 01628 9, which can be found on the back of pouches below the zip-lock seal. 

Port Of Miami Hotels - Apple: E-book Pricing Verdict Could Have 'Chilling Effect'

Source - http://news.cnet.com/
By - Shara Tibken
Category - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

Apple warned that a guilty verdict in its e-book price-fixing case could have a negative impact on how digital media deals are negotiated in the U.S, the company said Thursday in its closing arguments.

But the U.S. Department of Justice, which initially sued Apple and a handful of the nation's largest publishers early last year, said Apple and the publishers had two objectives when making their deals: raise e-book prices and restrain retail price competition to hurt Amazon.

Declaring that Apple violated antitrust laws and served as the ringleader in a conspiracy to change the digital book market would impact how the company and many others operate, said Apple's lead attorney, Orin Snyder. They would have to hold "hermetically sealed" meetings so no other companies know they're taking place, and all deals would have to have very different terms.

"That's not how it works," Snyder said during the final day of the trial. He noted such a ruling would have a "chilling and confounding effect not only on commerce but specifically on content markets throughout this country. ... That precedent will send shudders through the business community."

And Snyder also said during his two and a half hour summation Thursday morning that the U.S. Department of Justice didn't meet its burden of proof. He reiterated arguments Apple made repeatedly throughout the course of the trial -- namely, that it was acting alone and in its own best interests when reaching deals with publishers, not seeking to upend the digital book market.

In addition, Apple's negotiations with publishers were legitimate and common tactics used by many companies, including its rivals in the e-books market -- Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Google, Snyder said.

"Apple loves $9.99 but not when they're not getting all the books ... and losing $3 on every book," Snyder said.

Justice Department attorney Mark Ryan, however, used Apple's own words in documents and court testimony to try to prove that a conspiracy took place. He noted that Eddy Cue, Apple senior vice president of software and services, testified in court that he knew publishers wanted to raise prices, he gave the ability to do it, and he provided reassurances the publishers needed so they didn't fear retaliation from Amazon. They were "consciously committed" to the scheme to raise prices, Ryan said.

"The price that had been set in a competitive marketplace was not the price they liked," Ryan said.

The Justice Department contends that Apple colluded with publishers to move to a sales model that inflated the prices of digital books and hurt consumers. The government says Apple was the ringleader in the conspiracy to move the entire e-book selling industry to an agency model, in which publishers set the prices, and away from the traditional wholesale business, which typically results in lower prices for the consumer.

The trial played out over three weeks in district court in Manhattan. Judge Denise Cote, who will decide Apple's guilt or innocence, didn't make a ruling Thursday, but a decision is expected in about two months.

Snyder appeared very comfortable during his summation and was clearly in his element. The court audience laughed at several comments he made, including remarks about publishers delaying the digital release of new, popular books like those about Edward Kennedy and Sarah Palin. Snyder gushed about Kennedy's book, which was mentioned many times during the trial, but he didn't have as much to say about Palin's tome.

"I didn't read it, but I'm told" it was great, Snyder said.

He argued that Apple was thrown in the middle of a market already in turmoil. Windowing, or delaying the digital release of new books by several months, was a particular concern for Apple when forming its deals. And that threat from publishers, not Apple's deals with the companies, caused Amazon to agree to different deals, Snyder said. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, in an internal e-mail presented as evidence, had called windowing an "absolute declaration of war."

"Amazon made the exact same, intelligent business decision to move to agency as Apple and Barnes & Noble," Snyder said. "They recognized that without all titles on their inferior e-reading device ... it would be a disaster, and its 90 percent share would plummet."

However, the Justice Department disputed Apple's characterization of Amazon's shift, saying that every Amazon executive and publishing industry witness testified that Amazon resisted changing deal terms.

"I think 'ultimatum' is the right word, not 'choice,'" Ryan said.

The Justice Department also argued that just because a market is in turmoil or a company is a new entrant doesn't mean it can make deals to set pricing or hurt low-cost rivals.

"Because you're a new entrant, you can fix prices?" Ryan said during his closing argument. "Where is that provision cited in the law of our country? ... Apple had a choice. It could enter the market and compete freely ... or stay out of the market."

Apple, meanwhile, said that were it conspiring with publishers, negotiations should have been much easier. But the Justice Department noted that entities working together could still disagree about certain elements of their deal. Ryan cited the example of oil-producing companies arguing about how much supply to release.

"The fact it might be hard to hammer out details of a conspiracy is no defense for a conspiracy," he said.

Port Of Miami Hotels - Worried About Type 2 Diabetes? Walk After Every Meal

Source - http://www.usatoday.com/
By - Nanci Hellmich
Category - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

If you're at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, then take a 15-minute walk after every meal.

A study, out today, shows that moderately-paced walks after meals work as well at regulating overall blood sugar in adults with pre-diabetes as a 45-minute walk once a day.

And there's an added benefit of walking after every meal, especially dinner: It helps lower post-meal blood sugar for three hours or more, the research found.

Walking after a meal "really blunts the rise in blood sugar," says the study's lead author Loretta DiPietro, professor and chair of the department of exercise science at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.

"You eat a meal. You wait a half-hour and then you go for a 15-minute walk, and it has proven effective in controlling blood sugar levels, but you have to do it every day after every meal. This amount of walking is not a prescription for weight loss or cardiovascular fitness — it's a prescription for controlling blood sugar," she says.

The Italians call the walk after dinner a passeggiata and know it aids in digestion, DiPietro says. "Now we know it also helps the clearance of blood sugar."

Currently, almost 26 million children and adults (8.3% of the population) in the USA have diabetes, and about 79 million Americans have pre-diabetes. In diabetes, the body does not make enough of the hormone insulin, or it doesn't use it properly. Insulin helps glucose (sugar) get into cells, where it is used for energy. If there's an insulin problem, sugar builds up in the blood, damaging nerves and blood vessels.

DiPietro and colleagues worked with 10 overweight, sedentary volunteers, who were an average age of 71. All had higher than normal blood sugar levels and were considered pre-diabetic, which means they were at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, the most common type.

Each participant stayed in a metabolic chamber, a special room that helps researchers track the calories burned by the volunteers, for two days on three separate occasions.The first day on each occasion was considered a control day, and participants did no physical activity.

On the second day, the participants did one of three things: They walked at an easy to moderate pace (about 3 mph) on a treadmill for 15 minutes — about a half hour after each meal.

On the other days the participants either walked for 45 minutes at 10:30 a.m. or they walked the same amount of time at 4:30 p.m. Their blood sugar levels were measured continuously throughout the two-day period.

The research, published in the June issue of Diabetes Care, shows that the timing of walks is important for providing health benefits, DiPietro says. Walking is beneficial because the muscle contractions "help to clear blood sugar," she says.

After dinner is a good time to get up and walk with your partner, a neighbor or your dog, she says. If you can't go outside, then march in place for 15 minutes, she says.

After lunch, many employees go and sit down for another four hours, but based on these findings, companies and businesses should make it easier for employees to go out and take a walk after lunch, says Tim Church, director of preventive medicine research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

John Anderson, president of medicine and science for the American Diabetes Association, says it makes sense that a short walk would lower post-meal blood sugar. "What we don't know is if it is going to make a big difference over time in people's progression from prediabetes to diabetes — any more than the standard exercise advice of walking 30 minutes a day five days a week."

Other research shows that amount of exercise and a weight loss of 5% to 7% helps reduce the risk of developing the disease, Anderson says.

DiPietro says the results of this study may also apply to pregnant women who are at risk for gestational diabetes, and the findings may also be helpful to people who aren't able to walk for 45 minutes at a time but are able to do 15 minutes.

The study was sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health.

The government's exercise guidelines recommend that:

• Adults get at least 2½ hours of moderate-intensity physical activity each week, such as brisk walking, or 1¼ hours of a vigorous-intensity activity, such as jogging or swimming laps, or a combination of the two types, to get the most health benefits from exercise. These aerobic activities should be done in at least 10-minute bouts.

• To get even more health benefits, people should do five hours of moderate-intensity physical activity each week or 2½ hours of vigorous activity.

• Adults should do muscle-strengthening (resistance) activities at a moderate- or high-intensity level for all major muscle groups two or more days a week. This should include exercises for the chest, back, shoulders, upper legs, hips, abdomen and lower legs. The exercises can be done with free weights or machines, resistance bands, calisthenics that use body weight for resistance (push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups), or carrying heavy loads or doing heavy gardening such as digging or hoeing.

Port Of Miami Hotels - Dollar, Shares Fall On Concerns About Japan, Fed Stimulus

Source - http://www.reuters.com/
By - Richard Hubbard
Category - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

With markets dominated by speculation on when the Federal Reserve will taper its bond-buying program, there was little reaction to data showing euro zone business activity eased slightly in May, and confirming the region's economy contracted in the first quarter.

Japan's main Nikkei share index .N225 earlier led the equity market falls, dropping 3.8 percent to a two-month low, while the dollar fell 0.5 percent against the Japanese currency to 99.50 yen.

The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS was down 0.4 percent, close to its lowest level in over a month, and the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 of top European shares fell 0.15 percent. U.S. futures pointed to a weaker start on Wall Street.

In the third tranche of measures aimed at boosting growth in Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to boost incomes and attract foreign businesses, but did not mention a proposal to encourage Japan's public funds to seek higher returns by investing more in riskier assets like equities.

"Investor expectations were for more specific growth policies and the disappointment has only exacerbated a trend for a correction in Japan's stock market," Lee Hardman, currency analyst for Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ said.

Since the Nikkei index rose to a 5-1/2 year high on May 23, up more than 50 percent this year, doubts about the effectiveness of Abe's economic reforms and the Bank of Japan's stimulus efforts have led to a steady retracement of the gains.

FOCUS ON CENTRAL BANKS

Comments late on Tuesday from two senior Federal Reserve officials highlighted divisions over the future of the central bank's stimulus program

Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher and Kansas City Fed President Esther George - both long-term critics of the bond-buying scheme - reiterated their concerns over the risks of waiting too long to cut it back. FED

"The markets are hanging on every word of the central bankers in Europe and the U.S.," said Berkeley Futures associate director Richard Griffiths.

The focus on Fed policy meant a euro zone business activity survey for May was largely ignored, as it did little to change the outlook for the region's long-running recession, now virtually certain to extend into the second quarter. ECONEZ

"Policymakers and politicians will nevertheless seek solace in the fact that the rate of decline has now eased for two consecutive months, and that Germany is stabilizing," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at survey compiler Markit.

GDP data confirmed the 17-nation region contracted by 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the January-March period.

Brighter news from Britain's big service companies boosted sterling, which climbed to high of $1.5372 and within sight of its recent three-week peak of $1.5376 struck on Monday.

British and German government bond futures fell on the UK data, which extended a run of positive readings, though Bunds later stabilized to be little changed as the weakness in equity markets lent support.

JOBS DATA EYED

Commodity markets were generally firmer, with investors keeping an eye on the dollar, which is expected to gain if jobs data including Friday's key nonfarm payrolls report support talk of an end to the Fed stimulus.

Growth-attuned copper was at a two-week high while a surprise fall in U.S. crude supplies added extra support to oil prices which climbed back above £103 a barrel for the first time in a week. <O/R>

"Overall, oil markets will remain largely choppy as investors try and gauge if stimulus measures from the U.S. Fed will continue or not," said Ben Le Brun, an analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney.

Port Of Miami Hotels - Aging Wrinkle: Spare The Sunscreen, Spoil The Hide

Source - http://www.registerguard.com/
By - Lauran Neergaard
Category - Port Of Miami Hotels
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami

Port Of Miami Hotels

If worry about skin cancer doesn’t make you slather on sunscreen, maybe vanity will: New research provides some of the strongest evidence to date that near-daily sunscreen use can slow the aging of your skin.

Ultraviolet rays that spur wrinkles and other signs of aging can quietly build up damage pretty much anytime you’re in the sun — a lunchtime stroll, school recess, walking the dog — and they even penetrate car windows.

Researchers in sunny Australia used a unique study to measure whether sunscreens really help amid that onslaught. Participants had casts made of the top of their hands to measure fine lines and wrinkles that signal sun-caused aging.

The research found that even if you’re already middle-aged, it’s not too late to start rubbing some sunscreen on — and not just at the beach or pool. The study of 900 people under 55 compared those randomly assigned to use sunscreen daily to those who used it when they deemed it necessary.

Daily sunscreen use was tough — participants did cheat a little. But after 4½ years, those who used sunscreen regularly had younger-looking hands, with 24 percent less skin aging than those who used sunscreen only some of the time.

Both young adults and the middle-aged experienced skin-saving effects, concluded the study, financed by Australia’s government and published Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

“These are meaningful cosmetic benefits,” lead scientist Dr. Adele Green of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research said in an email interview. More importantly, she added, less sun-caused aging decreases the risk of skin cancer in the long term.

Dermatologists have long urged year-round sunscreen use — especially for constantly exposed skin on the face, hands and women’s neck and upper chest — but say too few people heed that advice. Women may have better luck, as increasingly the cosmetics industry has added sunscreen to makeup and moisturizers. Skin experts hope the new study draws attention to the issue.

“Regular use of sunscreen had an unquestionable protective effect,” said Dr. Richard Glogau, a clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco, who has long studied sun’s skin effects. He wasn’t involved with the Australian research.

The consumer message: “They can get a two-for-one with sunscreen. They can do something that will keep them healthier and also keep them better-looking,” Glogau said.

In his clinic near Philadelphia, Dr. Eric Bernstein lectures patients who insist they’re not in the sunshine enough for it to be causing their wrinkles, brown spots and dilated blood vessels. Even 15 minutes every day adds up over many years, he tells them — and if they’re using one bottle of sunscreen a year, they’re probably not using enough.

“No one thinks they’re in the sun, and they’re in the sun all the time,” said Bernstein, also a clinical professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “I say, ‘How did you get here — did you tunnel here?’”

The news comes just as tougher Food and Drug Administration rules for U.S. sunscreens are taking effect. For the first time, they ensure that sunscreens labeled “broad-spectrum” protect against both the ultraviolet-B rays that cause sunburn and those deeper-penetrating ultraviolet-A rays that are linked to premature wrinkles and skin cancers.

Sunburns, especially in childhood, have been linked to a greater risk for melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer. But overall UV exposure plays a role both in melanoma and in other skin cancers that usually are curable but can be disfiguring if not caught early.

Australia has one of the world’s highest rates of skin cancer, and Monday’s aging research actually stems from a larger cancer-prevention study done in the 1990s. Researchers tracked participants for a decade before concluding that regular sunscreen use indeed lowered their cancer risk.

Green’s team dug back through old study files to examine what’s called photoaging —using those casts that had been made of some participants’ hands.

Skin stretches and recoils thanks to elastic fibers supporting it. UV rays damage that elasticity, something scientists previously have measured using biopsies of the tissue just under the skin’s top layer. With enough damage, the skin on top starts to sag and wrinkle. Young people have very fine, barely visible lines on their skin. Sun-damaged fibers correlate with increasingly visible lines, in a sort of cross-hatch pattern. Hand casts allowed the Australian researchers to grade that amount of damage.

The researchers figured out who really used sunscreen by periodically weighing the bottles donated by a sunscreen maker. Green’s team calculated that three-quarters of the people assigned to daily sunscreen use actually applied it at least three to four days a week. Only a third of the comparison group said they used sunscreen that often.

The study also tested whether a dietary supplement, beta carotene, might slow photoaging, and found no evidence that it helped.

Sunscreens aren’t perfect, so don’t forget dermatologists’ other advice: Limit exposure during the peak UV hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and wear a hat, sunglasses and protective clothing when possible.

UCSF’s Glogau noted that today’s sunscreens are superior to those used two decades ago when the study started — meaning people who regularly use it now might see more benefit.

“I’m fond of telling people that if they start using sunscreen on a regular basis and don’t do anything else, over a period of time they’ll see an improvement in the appearance of their skin,” Glogau said. “It’s never too late.”