Or maybe this isn't such a big deal? As @stevesi quite reasonably responded to inquiring Twitter user Albert Jelica, it's not odd for a big time executive to be using phones made by the competition.
That makes perfect business sense, even if it's kind of a PR nightmare. [9To5Mac]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/5975733/gasp-microsofts-former-windows-chief-uses-an-iphone
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Published on: 14th Jan 2013
?Apple has been reducing orders it places with iPhone component suppliers, apparently due to weaker than expected demand for its latest smartphone.
Apple?s orders for display screens in this financial quarter are down by a half on previous expectations, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two people familiar with the situation.
Countering possibilities that the company has stock-piled display screens or was looking at other suppliers, the company has also reportedly cut back orders for other essential components across its supply chain.
Normally a reduction in component orders is taken as a hint that the company is winding down production of an older model in favour of a replacement, but these cuts are reductions in expected orders and outside the company?s usual handset replacement cycle.
Apple has been coming under increasing pressure from Android and Samsung in particular and suggestions of weak sales will increase calls for the company to expand its product range away from just the one high-end handset to the larger mid-market consumer base.
Apple is due to report its financial results later this month.
On the web: Wall Street Journal
Tags: [apple iphone]?
Source: http://www.iphoneeinstein.com/2013/01/14/apple-cutting-back-its-orders-for-iphone-components/
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WASHINGTON ? Missed flu-shot day at the office last fall? And all those "get vaccinated" ads? A scramble for shots is under way as late-comers seek protection from a miserable flu strain already spreading through much of the country.
Federal health officials said Friday that there is still some flu vaccine available and it's not too late to benefit from it. But people may have to call around to find a clinic with shots still on the shelf, or wait a few days for a new shipment.
"We're hearing of spot shortages," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Colorado offers an example. Kaiser Permanente, which has 535,000 members in the state, stopped giving flu shots this week. But it expected to resume vaccinations when new shipments arrive, expected this weekend.
Some questions and answers about flu vaccines:
Q: Are we running out of vaccine?
A: It's January ? we shouldn't have a lot left. The traditional time to get vaccinated is in the fall, so that people are protected before influenza starts spreading.
Indeed, manufacturers already have shipped nearly 130 million doses to doctors' offices, drugstores and wholesalers, out of the 135 million doses they had planned to make for this year's flu season. At least 112 million have been used so far.
The nation's largest manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, said Friday that it still has supplies of two specialty vaccines, a high-dose shot for seniors, and an under-the-skin shot for certain adults, available for immediate shipment. But it also is working to eke out a limited supply of its traditional shots ? some doses that it initially hadn't packaged into syringes, said spokesman Michael Szumera. They should be available late this month.
And MedImmune, the maker of the nasal spray vaccine FluMist, said it has 620,000 extra doses available.
Q: Can't they just make more?
A: No. Flu vaccine is complicated to brew, with supplies for each winter made months in advance and at the numbers expected to sell. Although health officials recommend a yearly flu vaccination for nearly everybody, last year 52 percent of children and just 39 percent of adults were immunized. Most years, leftover doses have to be thrown out.
Q: Should I still hunt for a vaccine?
A: It does take two weeks for full protection to kick in. Still, health officials say it's a good idea to be vaccinated even this late, especially for older people, young children and anyone with medical conditions such as heart or lung diseases that put them at high risk of dangerous flu complications. Flu season does tend to be worst in January and February, but it can run through March.
Q: I heard that a new flu strain is spreading. Does the vaccine really work?
A: Flu strains constantly evolve, the reason that people need an updated vaccine every year. But the CDC says this year's is a good match to the types that are circulating, including a new kind of the tough H3N2 strain. That family tends to be harsher than other flu types ? and health officials warned last fall that it was coming, and meant this winter would likely be tougher than last year's flu season, the mildest on record.
Q: But don't some people get vaccinated and still get sick?
A: Flu vaccine never is 100 percent effective, and unfortunately it tends to protect younger people better than older ones. But the CDC released a study Friday showing that so far this year, the vaccine appears 62 percent effective, meaning it's working about as well as it has in past flu seasons.
While that may strike some people as low, Frieden said it's the best protection available. "It's a glass 62 percent full," he said. "It's well worth the effort."
Q: What else can I do?
A: Wash your hands often, and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Viruses can spread by hand, not just through the air. Also, cough in your elbow, not your hand. When you're sick, protect others by staying home.
And people who are in those high-risk groups should call a doctor if they develop symptoms, added CDC spokesman Tom Skinner. They might be prescribed antiviral medication, which works best if given within the first 48 hours of symptoms.
___
AP Medical Writers Lindsey Tanner and Mike Stobbe contributed to this report.
Also on HuffPost:
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/12/flu-vaccine-shortage-how-it-works-2013_n_2465044.html
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(PRWEB) December 30, 2012
Florida Physical Therapists can receive up to twelve hours of online continuing education per two year period. Florida Occupational Therapists can receive up to twelve hours of online continuing education per two year period. Utilizing Pilates to Enhance Rehab Outcomes is an online continuing education course that meets these requirements for Florida Physical Therapists and Florida Occupational Therapists and had been pre-approved by the FPTA and the FOTA.
Purchase online and get instant access to the material. Physical Therapy Continuing Education on the ipad?, smartphone, laptop or personal computer. View movies in full screen, High Definition. Once completed with the material, take the online test. Score 70% or better and print your Continuing Education Course Certificate. The Interactive DVD, filmed in High Definition is shipped to you for reference, for use in the clinic and to educate your entire team.
Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Continuing Education Course Objectives
????Understand the benefits of Pilates, specifically in the rehabilitation setting.
????Describe all the principles of Pilates and the applications of each in a clinical setting.
????Be able to perform a variety of Pilates exercises and teach patients the appropriate exercises for their conditions.
???? Understand which Pilates exercises address specific impairments encountered in the rehabilitation setting.
???? Discuss the latest evidence for integrating Pilates into the orthopedic, neurologic, and geriatric populations.
???? Demonstrate understanding in the practical application of Pilates exercises covering a variety of conditions and diagnoses that are presented in a case study format.
???? Develop progressive rehab programs utilizing the fundamentals of Pilates principles for a variety of diagnoses to include geriatric, neurological, work related injuries, orthopedic and cardiopulmonary dysfunction.
Over Eighty Pilates for Rehab exercises are integrated into the case studies in the online training program. Specific diagnoses are discussed and exercises are related to the specific diagnosis. For more information and sample videos of this online continuing education course visit http://www.healthclick.com.
Source: http://www.cardifffilmfestival.co.uk/north-american-seminars-receives-florida-continuing-education-course-approval-for-utilizing-pilates-to-enhance-rehab-outcomes-an-onlinedvd-pt-continuing-education-course/
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Source: http://ishansharma524.blogspot.com/2013/01/north-american-seminars-receives.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers on Thursday gave themselves a last chance to prevent the United States from plunging off a "fiscal cliff" by setting up a late session in Congress just about a day before taxes are due to rise for most working Americans.
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives told their members to be back in Washington from the Christmas holiday break on Sunday night in case they need to vote on budget measures.
That leaves the door open to a last-minute solution to avert big tax hikes due to begin on January 1 and deep, automatic government spending cuts set to begin on January 2 - together worth $600 billion - that could push the United States back into recession.
But the two political parties remained far apart, particularly over plans to increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans to help close the U.S. budget deficit.
"Hopefully, there is still time for an agreement of some kind that saves the taxpayers from a wholly, wholly preventable economic crisis," Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Democratic-controlled Senate, said on the Senate floor.
U.S. stocks sharply cut losses after news of the House reconvening as investors clung to hopes of an 11th-hour deal.
Earlier in the day, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the top Democrat in Congress, warned that the United States looked to be headed over the "fiscal cliff."
"It looks like that is where we're headed," he said on the Senate floor, blaming Republicans for the impasse in talks.
He called on the Republicans who control the House to prevent the worst of the fiscal shock by getting behind a Senate bill to extend existing tax cuts for all except those households earning more than $250,000 a year.
With the clock ticking toward the deadline for action, Reid offered little hope.
"I don't know time-wise how it can happen now," he said.
Referring to the House run by Speaker John Boehner - the top Republican in Congress - Reid said, "It's being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker, not allowing a vast majority of the House of Representatives to get what they want."
Boehner's failed effort last week to push his own "fiscal cliff" solution through the House was a "debacle," Reid added. He also accused Boehner of delaying "fiscal cliff" action until after he seeks re-election as House speaker on January 3.
"John Boehner seems to care more about keeping his speakership than about keeping the nation on firm financial footing," Reid added.
His comments may have been more an attempt to spur Republican rivals into action than a definitive prediction that "fiscal cliff" talks will fail.
OBAMA RETURNS TO WASHINGTON
President Barack Obama arrived back at the White House from a brief vacation in Hawaii to try to restart stalled negotiations with Congress.
The House and Senate passed bills months ago reflecting their own sharply divergent positions on the expiring low tax rates, which went into effect during the administration of Republican former President George W. Bush.
Democrats want to allow the tax cuts to expire on the wealthiest Americans and leave them in place for everyone else. Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for everyone.
In another sign that Americans are increasingly worrying about their finances as Washington fails to fix the budget crisis, consumer confidence fell to a four-month low in December. The fiscal cliff wrangling in Congress sapped what had been a growing sense of optimism about the economy, a report released on Thursday showed.
"People are hearing about (the "fiscal cliff") and it negatively impacts confidence and investor sentiment and even holiday sales," said Todd Schoenberger, managing partner at Landcolt Capital in New York.
Americans blame Republicans in Congress more than congressional Democrats or Obama for the "fiscal cliff" crisis, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.
When asked who they held more responsible for the "fiscal cliff" situation, 27 percent blamed Republicans in Congress, 16 percent blamed Obama and 6 percent pointed to Democrats in Congress. The largest percentage - 31 percent - blamed "all of the above."
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Will Dunham)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-heads-back-washington-cliff-deadline-nears-142954670--business.html
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BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) ? Energy companies behind the oil boom on the Northern Plains are increasingly turning to an industrial-age workhorse ? the locomotive ? to move their crude to refineries across the U.S., as plans for new pipelines stall and existing lines can't keep up with demand.
Delivering oil thousands of miles by rail from the heartland to refineries on the East, West and Gulf coasts costs more, but it can mean increased profits ? up to $10 or more a barrel ? because of higher oil prices on the coasts. That works out to about $700,000 per train.
The parade of mile-long trains carrying hazardous material out of North Dakota and Montana and across the country has experts and federal regulators concerned. Rail transport is less safe than pipelines, they say, and the proliferation of oil trains raises the risk of a major derailment and spill.
Since 2009, the number of train cars carrying crude hauled by major railroads has jumped from about 10,000 a year to a projected 200,000 in 2012. Much of that has been in the Northern Plains' Bakken crude patch, but companies say oil trains are rolling or will be soon from Texas, Colorado and western Canada.
"This is all occurring very rapidly, and history teaches that when those things happen, unfortunately, the next thing that is going to occur would be some sort of disaster," said Jim Hall, a transportation consultant and former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Rail companies said the industry places a priority on safety and has invested heavily in track upgrades, provided emergency training and taken other measures to guard against accidents. There have been no major oil train derailments from the Bakken, according to federal regulators.
Union Pacific Railroad CEO Jack Koraleski said hauling oil out of places like North Dakota will be a long-term business for railroads because trains are faster than pipelines, reliable and offer a variety of destinations.
"The railroads are looking at this as a unique opportunity, a game-changing opportunity for their business," said Jeffery Elliot, a rail expert with the New York-based consulting firm Oliver Wyman.
BNSF Railway Co., the prime player in the Bakken, has bolstered its oil train capacity to a million barrels a day and expects that figure to increase further. To accommodate the growth, in part, the railroad is sinking $197 million into track upgrades and other improvements in Montana and North Dakota.
BNSF is also increasing train sizes, from 100 oil cars per train to as many as 118.
Larger trains are harder to control, and that increases the chances of something going wrong, safety experts said. State and local emergency officials worry about a derailment in a population center or an environmentally sensitive area such as a river crossing.
Rail accidents occur 34 times more frequently than pipeline ones for every ton of crude or other hazardous material shipped comparable distances, according to a recent study by the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. The Association of American Railroads contends the study was flawed but acknowledges the likelihood of a rail accident is double or triple the chance of a pipeline problem.
The environmental fears carry an ironic twist: Oil trains are gaining popularity in part because of a shortage of pipeline capacity ? a problem that has been worsened by environmental opposition to such projects as TransCanada's stalled Keystone XL pipeline. That project would carry Bakken and Canadian crude to the Gulf of Mexico.
Wayde Schafer, a North Dakota spokesman for the Sierra Club, described rail as "the greater of two evils" because trains pass through cities, over waterways and through wetlands that pipelines can be built to avoid.
"It's an accident waiting to happen. It's going to be a mess and we don't know where that mess is going to be," Schafer said.
For oil companies, the embrace of rail is a matter of expediency. Oil-loading rail terminals can be built in a matter of months, versus three to five years for pipelines to clear regulatory hurdles and be put into service, said Justin Kringstad of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority. Although more pipelines are in the works, Kringstad said moving oil by rail will continue.
The surge comes at the right time for railroads: Coal shipments ? a mainstay of the rail industry ? have suffered because of competition from cheap natural gas.
In the eastern U.S., CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads haven't seen as much growth because oil from the Marcellus Shale area of Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York is close enough to refineries that trucks haul the crude.
Yet BNSF is beginning to haul Bakken crude east to Chicago, where it hands off the tank cars to CSX or Norfolk Southern for delivery to Eastern refineries. It has also sent oil to the West Coast, a trend that could increase if Alaska crude production falters, as some industry observers are predicting.
The growth will require significant upgrades to already congested rail lines, industry analysts said.
Overall, crude oil shipments still represent less than 1 percent of all carloads. And there are far more dangerous materials aboard the nation's trains, including explosives, poisonous gases and other industrial chemicals.
But emergency officials are increasingly wary of major accidents involving oil trains, which carry far more cargo than some other hazardous-material trains.
While oil is not as volatile as some other products, a rupture of just one car can spill 20,000 to 30,000 gallons, said Sheldon Lustig, a rail expert who consults with local governments on accidents and hazardous materials.
Recognizing the risks, Houston-based Musket Corp., an operator of oil train terminals in North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Oklahoma, has donated spill equipment and provided training to fire officials.
"You want to be a good steward in that community," said Musket managing director JP Fjeld-Hansen.
Federal Railroad Administration officials said they have coordinated hazardous-material training seminars and sought more law enforcement patrols for rail crossings to increase safety.
Federal law requires railroads to select hazardous-material routes after analyzing the potential for accidents in heavily populated areas and environmentally sensitive spots. Those analyses are confidential for security reasons.
Lustig said the railroads have considerable sway over the process.
"Under federal guidelines, the railroad makes the analysis, the railroad decides what they want to do, and the railroad does it," he said. "There is no public accountability."
__
Funk reported from Omaha, Neb. Associated Press writer James MacPherson in Bismarck, N.D., contributed to this report.
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NEW YORK (AP) ? Nielsen, the dominant source of TV ratings, on Tuesday said it had agreed to buy Arbitron for about $1.26 billion to expand into radio measurement.
Arbitron pays 70,000 people to carry around gadgets that register what stations they're listening to. Since Nielsen also collects cash register data, CEO David Calhoun said buying Arbitron will let Nielsen be a one-stop shop for advertisers who want to know how the radio advertising they buy affects product sales.
The acquisition will let Nielsen expand the amount of media consumption it tracks by about 2 hours per person per day to 7 hours, Calhoun said in an interview.
"You don't find many mediums that allow for that kind of increase," Calhoun said.
Arbitron's operations are mainly in the U.S., while Nielsen operates globally. Calhoun said another major driver for the deal is that Nielsen wants to spread Arbitron's tracking technology to other countries.
Evercore Partners analyst Douglas Arthur said Nielsen doesn't need traditional radio measurement to grow, but Arbitron seemed like a willing seller, and it will be a "nice complementary but not 'must have' platform."
Nielsen Holdings N.V. said it will pay $48 per share, which is a 26 percent premium to Arbitron's Monday closing price of $38.04. Shares of Arbitron, which is based in Columbia, Md., jumped $8.99, or 23.6 percent, to close at $47.03.
Nielsen, which went public in January 2011, has headquarters in the Netherlands and New York. Its stock added $1.30, or 4.4 percent, to close at $30.92.
Nielsen said it expects the deal to add about 13 cents per share to its adjusted earnings a year after closing and about 19 cents per share to adjusted earnings two years after closing.
Abitron's chief operating officer, Sean Creamer, is set to take over as CEO from William Kerr on Jan. 1. Calhoun said he hoped Creamer would remain with Nielsen after the deal closes.
Nielsen said it has a financing commitment for the transaction.
Nielsen was the prime source of audience ratings in the early days of radio, thanks to a device similar to Arbitron's People Meter. The Audimeter was attached to the radio set. The company's focus shifted to TV measurement in the 1950s.
On Monday, Nielsen announced a deal with Twitter to measure how much U.S. TV watchers tweet about the shows they're watching. The "Nielsen Twitter TV Rating" will debut in the fall.
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