| U.S. reports first monthly decline in labor market since 2003
The Fed was likely to ease again at its next meeting in March, they said. "If you're someone who spent the last six months saying this is Wall Street making a big deal out of nothing, you've got egg on your face this morning," said Robert Barbera, chief economist at ITG. .
All at sea? Ocean can find you
It is a challenge that West Australian wireless ISP Ocean Broadband has embraced, and it is tackling the problem with the help of software from two companies that sit at the heart of the Web 2.0 revolution. Ocean has paired up its Salesforce.com platform with the mapping applications of search behemoth Google in a so-called mash-up that information systems head David Wilson says is delivering big benefits for customer service and logistics. The mash-up adds Google Earth images to Ocean's customer files to give technical support staff at the small business instant access to detailed information about where their clients live. The use of Google Earth satellite photography is also proving worthwhile in diagnosing some technical problems, such as trees growing to interfere with line-of-sight reception from wireless towers.
Good Looks Ahead: What's Next for HDTV?
Everyone is looking for a unique characteristic," notes Gagnon. "You see it in laptops, you see it in cell phones--and now everybody wants a unique statement of design in a TV." Just as cell phones, digital cameras, and laptops now come in colored packages, TVs too are moving beyond basic black. Manufacturers are also taking a cue from the sleek details found on smaller products. LG Electronics, for example, recently introduced TV sets with color and style tweaks. The 32-inch LG40 features such accents as a curved pedestal and a red front-drop bezel; the back of the LG60 is red, too, and you can see a flash of color peeking through the side and front. An even bigger emphasis this year is on thinness. Hitachi, JVC, and LG have all revealed thin sets, ranging from 1.5 inches to 1.7 inches thick.
Show me the money and the perks
Not surprisingly, that shortage is pushing up wages. The latest EMA National Salary and Wage Survey showed that it wasn't just the bosses who got the big pay rises over the year to August. Although managing directors of companies with 50 to 199 staff did very well for themselves with average pay rises of 9.5% for the year, they were eclipsed by shop assistants, who achieved average pay rises of 9.9%. Other jobs which provided pay rises well above the average 4.5%, were registered electricians (9.2%), registered nurses (9.1%), diesel mechanics (8.4%) and general clerks (6.3%). However, that may be just the tip of the iceberg. A survey of pay and conditions by remuneration consultants DSD Consulting showed that companies were having to do much more than just increase pay to attract and retain staff.
Calif. papers with sagging ad revenue to merge some operations
The move involves the loss of nine jobs at the Daily Breeze, located in Torrance, and about 10 jobs at the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, Daily Breeze editor Phillip Sanfield said Monday. In addition, Mark Ficarra, who was named publisher of the Daily Breeze in January, will also become publisher of the Press-Telegram. The positions of current Press-Telegram publisher Dave Kuta and managing editor John Futch were eliminated. They will leave the company. "We are in an incredibly difficult market right now," Sanfield said. "These are really good people on both sides, at the Breeze and the P-T, but we are just going to have to make this work in a positive way." Under a reorganization to be in place Thursday, the two papers are forming a 24-person copy editing and pagination unit at the Daily Breeze that will handle both papers.
CES: LaCie unveils new hard drives, LCD display
LaCie on Monday introduced five new products including desktop and portable hard drives and a new LCD display aimed at professionals. Some products are available today; others are coming later this month and in February. The LaCie d2 Quadra is a redesigned quadruple-interface desktop hard drive. It features USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and external Serial ATA (eSATA) connections. Featuring a large surface area, the external drive dissipates heat without needing a fan. It's available now in capacities ranging from 320GB to 1 terabyte (TB), at prices starting at $189. The Little Big Disk Quadra is a quad-interface drive designed for portability. It's fast enough to handle video editing and digital content creation on the road, but sports an aluminum heat-sink design that cools without needing a fan.
LL Cool J: Introducing Todd Smith
From Kangol caps to gold dookie ropes and leather pants, he made even the most flash-in-the-pan fashion items look good. As flurries of Hip Hop artists have raced to put out trendy clothing lines (many looking too much like the next), LL took his time to develop and carefully present his own quality line, Todd Smith.
As he began early communications with the fashion industry about his brand in 2007, retailers eagerly put in their orders for the first production. Today, Todd Smith apparel is available at select Macy's and specialty shops. To the delight of his fans, LL is kicking off his official launch of Todd Smith with several in-store events nationwide. We caught up with the always stylish Uncle L at his booth at the MAGIC Convention in Vegas to discuss his philosophy behind the new designs, and his thoughts on being one of the true fashion leaders of our day.
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