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Top 10 netbook deals in the UK this week

2009-02-24T19:47:00.000-08:00

TechRadar Choice: snap up a netbook for as little as £159

Call them sub-notebooks, netbooks, Mobile Internet Devices (if you're Intel); call them whatever you want.

But whatever you call them, you simply must see one of these compact-yet-versatile devices in action, because they're incredible.

The third wave of ultra-affordable machines has well and truly arrived, so you might be feeling a little left behind. But while ultra stylish netbooks such as the Asus Eee PC S101 and the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 are pushing the netbook cash barrier ever higher, there are plenty of bargains to be found amongst some of the slightly older models to get you started.

Here are some of the best netbook bargains we found online this morning:

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Asus Eee PC 2G - £159 @ Laptops Direct

The Eee PC 2G might not have been the first netbook, but it was certainly the first to introduce the concept of an ultra-portable, ultra-cheap notebook to the masses. It's now available for just £159 and it's still a worthy candidate for your cash.

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Asus Eee PC 701 £169 @ Laptops Direct

Using an Intel mobile processor and fitted with 512MB of memory, the Eee Pc is powerful enough to handle word processing and internet tasks with ease. It isn't intended to replace your main PC, but it does make a great portable companion. Instead of a mechanical hard drive, you'll find 4GB of solid state Flash built in. This limits the number of files you can store, but it will easily hold the OS and all your major files.

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HP Mini-Note 2133 - £189 @ Ebuyer

It's not the most loved netbook to have launched in the last year, but the HP Mini-Note 2133 is still a good buy at just £189. Like the two netbooks above, the 2133 was released before Intel's Atom processor was born and because of that, it's a bit under powered. Still, what more can you ask for £189?

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Acer Aspire One - £199 @ Laptops Direct

Acer bucked the trend with the Aspire One. While the likes of MSI and even Asus are focusing their latest models on the more lucrative £300 market, this little machine is aimed squarely as a replacement to the original Eee 700. That means the dream features found on the Wind or Eee PC 901 have been ignored in favour of keeping the price low, but its core functionality is excellent.

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Asus Eee PC 900 - £199 @ Laptops Direct

Inevitably, it's the larger screen that draws the eye as soon as you flip open the chassis on the Eee 900. It's largely unchanged from the older 701 model, but gone is the over-sized, plastic bevel which surrounded the 7-inch panel, making this version look every inch the serious laptop. It's a vast improvement over the slightly Fisher-Price styling of the 701 original.

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Asus Eee PC 901 - £236 @ IT247

The 901 is only marginally different to the 900, so £199 for the 900 looks pretty good to us. However, if that price were to disappear (these deals do tend to come and go pretty quickly), £236 for the 901 is still a good deal.

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MSI Wind - £254 @ Micro Warehouse

In terms of style, the Wind takes many of its designs queues from the Eee PC. It's made from white plastic - a black version will ship in July - with a 3-cell battery taking up the back of the unit. It feels great in the hand and it's certainly tough enough to carry around on a regular basis. Weighing 1kg, its weight is nicely balanced, especially considering the use of a 10-inch Super-TFT screen that has a native resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels.

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Asus Eee PC 1000 - £287 @ Oyyy

The Eee PC 1000 sports a 10-inch screen and larger keyboard than previous models. The H in the name of some 1000 versions (the 1000H) denotes the use of a mechanical hard drive, instead of the Solid State Drive (SSD) found in most Eee PC devices to date. As with previous releases, there are two versions of the Eee PC available - one with Linux and one based around Windows XP. However, unlike previous models, Asus has decided to set them apart, both in price and specification.

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Dell Inspiron Mini 9 - £297 @ Dell

Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 was one of the most eagerly awaited netbooks due to its high-profile brand. Thankfully, it was worth the wait. The slick styling, great screen, decent battery life and 3G connectivity make it one of the better netbooks we've seen. The black and silver chassis is of a very high quality. The glossy lid scratches easily, however, so it's necessary to protect it well when travelling. The sleek design makes this one of the best-looking netbooks, and the 224-minute battery life is great for commuting.

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Samsung NC10 - £302 @ Oyyy

The Samsung NC10 doesn't exactly break the mould when it comes to design. It's a standard 10.2-inch netbook that in terms of design sits squarely between the Asus Eee PC 1000 and the MSI Wind. This isn't a bad thing, as Samsung has clearly looked at what works and put its own spin on it.

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Advent 4213 - £316 @ Micro Warehouse

PC World impressed us with its first netbook, the Advent 4211, so expectations were high for its latest offering. The Advent 4213 brings with it a new design and it's also one of the first netbooks to feature mobile Broadband connectivity as standard. The 1.4kg chassis is slightly heavier than its 1.1kg predecessor, but the new design adds style. The glossy lid is prone to scratches and fingerprints, however. The 205-minute battery life is average for a netbook and suits the daily commute or use around the home.

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Now read: Netbook supertest: which one is the best?

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Teeny tiny PC makes netbooks look bloated

2009-02-24T19:45:00.000-08:00

Korean mbook arrives, but what's the point?

t's been quite a while since netbooks arrived to become the market force we know and love, so perhaps it's time for a new category in the shape of even smaller PCs?

The latest such shrunken netbook comes from South Korean firm UMID and is a 4.8-inch machine that runs either Linux or Windows XP.

Usual suspects

That tiny screen is around the same size as many popular electronic dictionaries, so it's a bit of a mystery why anyone would need a full OS on the so-called mbook anyway.

At 600,000 won (£277), the mbook isn't all that cheap, although it does have all the usual netbook components – 1.1GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, 32GB SSD and a six-hour battery.

There's no word on the weight yet, although the inclusion of WiBro, HSDPA, WiMAX, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 are all most welcome. Out soon in Korea only.

Intel unveils new Linux OS for netbooks

2009-02-24T19:44:00.000-08:00

Open-source Moblin project is light and power-frugal

Intel isn't exactly known for its dalliances with operating system software beyond that belonging to Microsoft, so it's a pleasant surprise to find out that its first Linux OS is ready and raring to go. Almost.

The company's Moblin project has borne fruit about a year and a half after it began, with the introduction of the first alpha release of the open-source OS based on Linux.

Easy on the battery

Moblin's raison d'être is to provide an OS that runs well on low-power, low-cost platforms like netbooks and other portable devices. Anyone who's struggled with Windows on a netbook will sympathise with that ideal.

As you might expect, Moblin is being developed to run first on Intel Atom-powered machines – the first confirmed to be able to handle the alpha are the Dell Mini and Acer Aspire One.

The project website says that Eee PCs can also run Moblin, but that there are teething problems with the wireless networking. After the next round of testing, we can expect to see Moblin for Core 2 CPUs and other processors in the near future.

Why Intel's Core i7 is great for games

2009-02-24T19:41:00.000-08:00

Tested and benchmarked - but is it that much better than Core 2?

As part of our thorough testing of Intel's new Core i7 architecture, we've been able to check out just what the top-end Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition can do for games. Clocked at 3.2GHz in the factory, this £1,000 quad core part means serious performance. And if there's one thing Intel's Extreme Edition chips do well, it's playing games - especially when you crank it up courtesy of the unlocked multiplier.

While compiling our review we put Core i7, alongside the outgoing Core 2 QX9770 Extreme Edition and AMD's top Phenom chip, through possibly the toughest set of tests we've yet conducted. We also gave specific features such HyperThreading a good seeing to and clocked the twangers off the poor thing in our overclocking tests. Finally, just for good measure, we pitted Core i7 against the monstrous Skulltrail, Intel's exotic dual-CPU platform. You can download all the results as a PDF from our benchmarkathon page.

The key message is that Core i7 has stunning multi-threaded performance, but it's not a massive leap forward for single-thread grunt. In key multi-threaded metrics such as video encoding and professional rendering, Core i7 utterly decimates the opposition. Single-threaded performance remains extremely important and Core i7 is strong here too, if not quite as dominant. However, it is more power-hungry than its predecessor. As for how AMD's Phenom compares, it's an absolute massacre. Intel's finest is now often twice as quick as the best AMD can deliver.

As for individual game benchmarks, the difference between the Core i7-965 Extreme Edition and AMD's top-end Phenom 9950 Black Edition is marked, though the contrast between the Core i7 Extreme Edition and its predecessor, the Core 2 QX9770 Extreme Edition, isn't anywhere near as marked. Here are the figures:

Crysis Warhead
Core i7-965 Extreme Edition: 57fps
Core 2 QX9770 Extreme Edition: 49fps
Phenom 9950 Black Edition: 25fps

Call of Duty 4
Core i7-965 Extreme Edition: 118fps
Core 2 QX9770 Extreme Edition: 108fps
Phenom 9950 Black Edition: 69fps

Lost Planet
Core i7-965 Extreme Edition: 165fps
Core 2 QX9770 Extreme Edition: 105fps
Phenom 9950 Black Edition: 75fps

Half-Life 2
Core i7-965 Extreme Edition: 236fps
Core 2 QX9770 Extreme Edition: 216fps
Phenom 9950 Black Edition: 138fps

And it's not all about performance. Installing games faster also cuts time - though not as much as you'd think due to the bottleneck of the DVD drive. Installing the popular strategy game Company of Heroes: Opposing Front is a 13-minute chore on our average-Joe machine. By contrast, the finest PC technology available to man only cuts that down by around 30 seconds.

There are three Core i7s available at launch. The entry level chip is the 2.66GHz Core i7-920, yours for £200, or perhaps a touch less. Next up is the 2.93GHz 940 processor, likely to sell for £400. Last is the 965 Extreme Edition. It costs a cool £1,000, runs at 3.2GHz and adds a few overclocking-friendly features such as an unlocked multiplier. All three chips have 8MB of L3 cache and support up to 24GB of 1,066MHz DDR3 memory.

Nvidia ends SLI lock down with Intel Core i7

2009-02-24T19:39:00.000-08:00

Multi-GPU platform will no longer require NVIDIA motherboard silicon

Nvidia has announced that it will enable support for its SLI multi-GPU graphics platform on Intel's upcoming X58 motherboard chipset. Crucially, support for SLI on the X58 will not require an NVIDIA PCI Express chip.

Instead, Nvidia will introduce a certification scheme in which motherboard makers can submit their produce to Nvidia. In return for a currently undisclosed fee, Nvidia will then test and license boards as being fit for SLI.

The news comes as Nvidia's Nvision visual computing conference in San Francisco wraps up. Prior to the announcement, Nvidia had always maintained that SLI required the use of Nvidia motherboard silicon. Typically that meant a full Nvidia motherboard chipset.

The one exception was Intel's Skulltrail dual-socket platform, which featured an SLI-enabling Nvidia nForce 200 PCI Express chip.

We hope it's an Intel chip

Indeed, it was precisely this approach – an Intel chipset plus Nvidia PCI E chip – that we were previously expecting to be the minimum requirement to enable SLI on the upcoming X58 platform.

The X58 chipset, of course, is the high-end solution for Intel's new Core i7 CPU, due out later this year. In fact, it's the Core i7's revolutionary architecture that has probably forced Nvidia hand.

Out goes Intel's creaky old front side bus and in comes the swanky new QuickPath CPU interconnect. Nvidia has said that it will not be making chipsets supporting QuickPath. And that essentially means it is getting out of the Intel CPU chipset business.

Having previously indicated it would require the use of the nForce 200 chip, it seems Nvidia has had a change of heart. Our guess is that motherboard makers didn't fancy being forced to include the ultimately pointless nForce chip.

Of course, the X58 chipset will also support AMD's competing Crossfire multi-GPU solution. The upshot of which is that it finally looks like gamers will be able to mix and match motherboard and graphics technology as they choose. That's very good news indeed.

Google wins Boring Street View case

2009-02-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

Mr and Mrs Boring lose right to web privacy

A court in Pennsylvania has found Google not guilty of privacy invasion, after a couple tried to sue the web giant over misuse of its Street View app.

Although Street View has yet to hit the UK, Google has been busy taking images of as much of America as it can for its application, including property belonging to Aaron and Christine Boring.

The Borings felt it that by showing an image of their home on Street View, Google was breaking numerous privacy laws so they decided to take them to court David and Goliath style. They lost the case and will not be getting the $25,000 (c£17,500) compensation package they requested.

"While it is easy to imagine that many whose property appears on Google's virtual maps resent the privacy implications, it is hard to believe that any – other than the most exquisitely sensitive – would suffer shame or humiliation," said Judge Hay, about the case.

"The plaintiffs' failure to take readily available steps to protect their own privacy and mitigate their alleged pain suggests to the court that the intrusion and their suffering were less severe than they contend," Hay concluded.

AdWord manipulation

This is not the only court case Google is part of. It seems everyone wants part of the Google pie, with SourceTool.com, a business-to-business search engine also looking to claim damages.

According to Bloomberg.com, the website, owned by New York company TradeComet.com LLC, has taken a lawsuit out against Google for what it calls a "manipulation of fees".

Essentially, the site believes that Google is being unfair in the revenue it takes from the site – pushing up prices of Google AdWords from 5 and 10 cents to $5 and $10 when the site exceeded 600,000 daily visitors.

This has hit the website's income so hard that its owners are claiming: "From March 2006 to December 2006 it lost approximately 90 percent of its monthly traffic from Google and millions of dollars in revenue."

Google Italy

And it's not just Google in the US who is being hit by court cases. Google Italy is being taken to court for a video it hosted on its site but did not produce.

The short film was of a group of youths abusing a boy with Down syndrome. In the video, one of the boys claims to be part of Vivi Down – a group that helps those with Down syndrome.

Because of this, Vivi Down is suing for defamation of character.

USA Today spoke to Guglielmo Pisapia, Google's lead attorney in the case, where he said: Google did not produce the video, and when they received an official complaint, they removed it within five hours.

"If the argument is that they should have evaluated the video before it was posted, then that is a dangerous precedent."

Nvidia provides Android support for Tegra

2009-02-23T06:18:00.000-08:00

MWC 2009: Chip support will lure in manufacturers

Nvidia has officially announced that it is bringing Android to its Tegra platform, allowing 'advanced user experiences that leverage web and internet content'.

The Tegra 'computer on a chip' platform has already picked up coverage, with Intel showcasing the potential for a $99 Mobile Internet Device (MID).

However, the prospect of the Google-backed Android on both smartphones and MIDs is inevitably going to have manufacturers salivating.

Welcome support

"We welcome Nvidia's support of Android on Tegra and we look forward to many more Android-based devices that deliver an outstanding consumer experience," said Andy Rubin, Google's Senior Director of Mobile Platforms.

The decision to support Android makes the entire Tegra platform more attractive to manufacturers – who can choose between Microsoft's operating system or what is ostensibly Google's.

'By supporting Android, manufacturers and operators can now easily use a Tegra processor to build mobile phones with advanced user experiences that leverage web and internet content and provide services such as mobile mash-ups and location-based applications,' explains Nvidia's press release.

Sony shoots down Intel GPU in PS4 rumour

2009-02-23T06:17:00.000-08:00

"Best fiction since Lord of the Rings" says SCEE rep

Sony Computer Entertainment has moved quickly to deny the latest rumours that Intel will be producing the graphics processing unit (GPU) for the PlayStation 4.

The Inquirer published an exclusive report this week, based on conversations with un-named Sony reps at CES, claiming that for the "PS4, XBox3 and Wii2, it looks like Intel is in, Nvidia is out."

Nvidia out, Intel in?

The report continued: "Yeah, Intel won the PS4 GPU, no shock considering how much they needed a console win to get people coding for Larrabee."

"The nice Sony engineering lady at CES told us that Intel essentially bought the win, a theoretically good architecture, no imminent threats of going bust, and not being hated by Sony all contributed too. With a couple of deliverables satisfied, the PS4 GPU belongs to Intel.

"No word if this is going to be the entire architecture, CPU as well, or not. That, from what we are told, is not final yet."

Intel leaning towards x86 for PS3 CPU?

The Inquirer continues to speculate about the PS4's CPU, suggesting that Intel "would seem to be leaning toward x86."

This is all, of course, pure rumour and speculation right now.

TechRadar spoke with a Sony Computer Entertainment Europe rep who told us in no uncertain terms, "it's nonsense, and is quite possibly the best work of fiction I've read, since Lord of the Rings."

So there we go. Let the rumour and speculation about the PS4's CPU and GPU begin!

AMD aims to bash Intel with Phenom II

2009-02-23T06:15:00.000-08:00

Competitive with Core 2 pricing and better-performing in AMD tests

AMD has launched a broadside at Intel with its new Phenom II processors. Priced competitively to undercut Intel's Core 2 line, all the new chips fit into existing AM2+ or AM3 sockets and support DDR2 and DDR3 memory.

Phenom II continues AMD's penchant for producing triple-core processors. While the purpose is to provide further differentiation between the processor ranges, the market effectiveness of the triple-core line is open to debate – customers are surely now looking for quad core chips inside new systems.

In its press bumph, AMD says that its triple-core can compete on price with dual core systems - and, as you'd expect, it's better on performance for that cost. Produced under the 45nm process (previously 65nm), the five new chips include two X3 variants running at 2.6 and 2.8GHz.

Better performance for the price

According to AMD, the Black Edition X3 720 2.8GHz gives a 20 per cent Cinebench 3D rendering performance improvement over a Core 2 Duo E8400 and is $20 cheaper.

The four-core X4 is clocked at either 2.5 (805) or 2.6GHz. (810 and 910) The X4 810 is $5 more than the Core 2 Quad but AMD claims a better 3DMark Vantage score (6,851 versus 6,483). AMD is also claiming better everyday benchmark results – 22 per cent faster in an iTunes encode, nine per cent faster in Photoshop Elements filtering and 10 per cent faster in Windows Movie Maker rendering.

AMD wants to make great weight out of the overclocking headroom of the new chips after its recent Las Vegas 6.3Ghz overclocking demo of the Phenom II.

Review: the fastest graphics card on earth

2009-02-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

The ATI Radeon 4870 X2 is the fastest card ever – but is it worth £400?

We're not big fans of multi-GPU graphics technology here on ye olde TechRadar. Whether you're talking SLI from NVIDIA or AMD's Crossfire, multi-GPU graphics solutions promise much but typically conspire to disappoint.

While they're often the most powerful cards on the market, driver support has left a lot to be desired. And so just when you're booting up Crysis in Extra Extreme Double Ultimate mode, it'll crash your machine and leave you to reboot.

If NVIDIA or ATI could solve this driver support problem, they'd sell a lot more of their dual-GPU cards.

The ATI Radeon 4870 X2 (formerly known as R700) then, has a lot of potential. The 4870 standalone card is the second most powerful single-GPU card on the market - and so this dual card is by far the most potent card out there.

It's got a theoretical maximum compute performance of 2.4TFLOPs. That's the same as the fastest supercomputer in the world from as recently as 1999.

So, has ATI provided us with a beasty card and the drivers to support it amply?

Windows 7 has a 'bioluminescent' boot

2009-02-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

Microsoft: Inspired by 'humble beauty' but not customisable

Microsoft has described the thinking behind the new Windows 7 boot animation, with the company stating that words like "bioluminescence", "organic", "humble beauty", and "atmosphere" were part of its conception.

In fairness, first impressions do last, and the Windows 7 animation is certainly an improvement on the Vista version.

But the explanation for the changes will almost certainly raise a smile with anyone who's ever run into marketing nonsense, or worked with/at Microsoft

"From a design perspective, we know that the visual presentation of a feature plays a key role in the user's perception of performance and quality," blogs Karen Wong on the Engineering Windows 7 blog.

Just 'blueskying'

"Our objective was to make Windows boot beautiful and was inspired by our Windows 7 personality of light and energy; and the way these forms reveal themselves in nature became our design palette. Words such as "bioluminescence", "organic", "humble beauty", and "atmosphere" came up frequently in our brainstorming sessions.

"We know that in isolation these might sound a bit corny, but this is all part of the overall goals of Windows 7."

Outside of the nonsense, it sounds like a good deal of engineering has gone into improving the boot up process although there has been confirmation that the OS will not support custom boot sequences.

"We know many of you might be asking if you could include your own animation or customise this sequence. This is not something we will support in Windows 7," adds Wong.

"We've talked about and shown a great many "personalisation" elements of Windows 7 already, such as the new theme packs which you can try out in the beta. The reasons for this should be pretty clear, which is that we cannot guarantee the security of the system to allow for arbitrary elements to be loaded into memory at boot time."

Sneaky instant-on boot system for Windows

2009-02-21T19:08:00.000-08:00

Asrock adds trickery to motherboards, but it's still kinda clever

There are plenty of laptops and netbooks these days with 'instant on' modes that grant access to a few simple functions wAsrock adds trickery to motherboards, but it's still kinda clever

There are plenty of laptops and netbooks these days with 'instant on' modes that grant access to a few simple functions without having to go through a full OS boot. Now, a Taiwanese motherboard maker says it has done the same for Windows.

Asrock's Instant Boot is a low-level application that can be installed on any of the company's recent boards to perform a sneaky trick that approximates to instant-on flash-based platforms such as Splashtop Linux.

Smoke and mirrors

Instant Boot springs into action when a Windows machine is shut down after a session. It silently closes the OS and reboots it into a standby or hibernate state, from which it takes just three or four seconds to stat up next time the power switch is pressed.

While it's really just an illusion – after all, anyone can put their computer to sleep manually – Asrock says the Instant Boot solution is effective, as it offers quick access to a clean boot of Windows free from memory leak and other problems associated with the OS.

ithout having to go through a full OS boot. Now, a Taiwanese motherboard maker says it has done the same for Windows.

Smoke and mirrors

Phantom updates on the way for Windows 7

2009-02-21T19:07:00.000-08:00

Microsoft testing the updater, not adding features

Microsoft has revealed that it will be releasing 'up to five' test updates to PCs running the Windows 7 beta, but insists that they will not bring any new features.

In a short blog from Brandon LeBlanc, Microsoft confirmed that it would be releasing several updates for Windows 7 from February 24, but only to test how the OS' updater will work.

"…we will be releasing up to 5 test updates to PCs running the Windows 7 Beta (Build 7000) via Windows Update," said LeBlanc.

Test and verify

"These updates allow us to test and verify our ability to deliver and manage the updating of Windows 7. We typically verify servicing scenarios during a beta," he added.

The blog points out that the updates will not automatically install, even if the user has turned on automatic updates – and will need to be manually installed through Windows Update.

"These updates do not deliver new features or bug fixes," added LeBlanc

"The test updates simply replace system files with the same version of the file currently on the system."

Core i7: Your essential guide to Intel's new killer

2009-02-21T19:05:00.001-08:00

New multi-threaded monster headed for your next PC

The launch of yet another new CPU architecture from Intel is nearly upon us. But what exactly can you expect when Core i7, the processor formerly known as Nehalem, arrives next month?

First up, Core i7 is the latest installment of Intel's "Tick-Tock" strategy of annual processor updates. Lest you have forgotten, with Tick-Tock Intel has committed for the foreseeable future to rolling out a brand new CPU architecture one year followed by a shrink in transistor size the next.

Core i7 is a "Tick" and therefore represents a new architecture built on Intel's existing (and extremely successful) 45nm high-K silicon process. The big noise with the Nehalem architecture is improved multi -threaded performance scaling.

Nokia 500 Auto Navigator

2009-02-21T18:33:00.001-08:00

Nokia tried to bet its lucky by releasing a cell phone for GPS, namely Nokia 500 Auto Navigation. The first look of the 500 Auto Navigation will give you a perspective that this phone has a strange size. Actually this Auto Navigation was launched last year in Europe. Now, you can purchase the Nokia 500 Auto Navigation in USA.

Compared with other new GPS navigators, it is thicker. The horn-shaped window mount seems to be the odd feature I’ve ever seen.

If the users have the address they want to go, they will not any difficulty to choose the destination. However, the database does not help you more because it is out of date. Uf!

There are three US voices offered to us and you can understand the pronunciation easily. The users also will enjoy the navigating process because of its simple way. You only need quick time (only 3 seconds) to reroute.

Besides acting as a navigating system, there are some good features there, such as a photo viewer, an audio player, Bluetooth phones, and video player. The storage card is about 2GB. Substituting the storage into 16GB is possible too although you need to load maps from a DVD which is included. Even, you will not get any obstacle to load media and run it by using the onboard software. The music formats which are supported are MP3, AAC, WMA, and eAAC+. The users may see videos in the formats of MPEG-4, 3GP, and WMV. The photos formats which are supported are GIF, JPEG, PNG, and BMP.

The big mistake there is the weak sounds produced by the FM transmitter.

Strengths:
• Rerouting is so fast
• For hands-free calling, Bluetooth is very useful
• It has good features related to video, photo, and music.
• The users will not any difficulty in understanding the street names because the pronunciation is good and clear.

Weaknesses:
• The size is large.
• The colors of the maps are not bright
• The FM transmitter produces weak sounds
• The POI list is out of date

Price: $339.99 - $499.95

Samsung Omnia i900 WM6.1

2009-02-21T18:29:00.000-08:00

Samsung Onmia i900 seems to be iPhone’s rival. It has a 3.2-inch touchscreen. The features offered are WiFi, 3G, and GPS. There are two kinds of storage capacity: 16GB and 8GB.
Samsung Omnia i900 has a great build quality. It is solid with 127 g weight. In the box, there are a handsfree and an AC adaptor.

The 3.2-inch screen does not have rich colors. But, it is bright. You can change picture format from portrait to landscape by using the accelerometer. There is a haptic feedback above the handset. If you touch the screen, it will vibrate quickly. This little tweak in touch-screen technology gives mobile phone fanatics another thing to look forward to. Just recently we’ve been treated to the awesome demo of O2 phones features and now this. Omnia could very well be a mere peek to the future of mobile phone computing.

Like HTC, Samsung uses a great graphical interface which is “user-friendly” to Windows Mobile.

Omnia will be great entertaining smartphone from Samsung because of the existence of its great entertainment functionality. Windows Media Player is replaced by the ‘Touch Player’. There are also an FM radio, TV out cable, and a bevy of video codecs. Omnia also produces great quality sounds.

Different with iPhone 3G and the Touch Diamond, Omnia has a microSDHC slot content.However, Omnia has less responsive screen. Compared with iPhone’s, Omnia’s screen is less sensitive. Therefore, it makes inaccurate and jerky handset. It means that the users have to gesture it in a regular pressure degree.

Mint V10 Projector: The Smallest Projector in the World

Mint V10 Projector is claimed to be the smallest projector in the world by its producer, Mint Trading. This projector is sized 4.9 x 2.2 x 0.9 inches. It can show 50-inch pictures with 640×480 resolution from 5.9 feet.

Although it does not have HD quality, it is so small and can be connected into almost all of the devices. It is facilitated with LED. Mint V10 projector is able to show PowerPoint presentation into 20,000 hours. Some bonus features included, such as: internal memory capacity into 1GB, SD memory card, stereo speaker stereo and the ability to play in the form of MP3, MP4, and AVI.

This projector is sold next month with the price about US$600. Because it is so expensive, I suggest you for waiting small projector from MIcrovision or Dell.

Sony Ericsson W980i

2009-02-21T18:24:00.000-08:00

The basics

The Sony Ericsson W980i is a medium clamshell mobile phone that weighs about 100 grams. The W980i is not just a fashion phone but a Walkman branded music phone that could spice up your life with music while enjoying its mobile capabilities. It comes in a black glossy finish with 8GB internal memory. This handy phone supports Bluetooth and has a web browser and a 3.2 megapixel camera. Standby time is 12 days and 16 hours of music playback.
The good

The music-phone market is more competitive than an American Little Miss beauty pageant, so it's going to need something special to stand out. The W980i has a few things, starting with its compact clamshell which belies the fact it can stomach 2,000 MP3s. Another tick is the superbly bright hi-res screen and a music player that can be controlled without opening the phone. Sound quality too has been improved by the Clear Audio Experience technology - it's cleaner, tauter and louder than previous Walkman phones. And the battery seems to last forever, too.
The bad

The W980i's fingerprint-loving mirrored finish and overly plastic shell doesn't scream high-end, while the lack of integrated 3.5mm headphone jack is annoying. The built-in FM transmitter is a good idea, but when we streamed tunes to a car stereo the sound quality was definitely compromised.
The bottom line

The best Walkman phone we've ever clapped eyes on. Or should that be ears? Either way, the sonic brilliance coupled with a superb screen and stunning battery outweighs its dodgy design.

Sony Ericsson W910i

The basics

Sony Ericsson W910i is a mobile phone with the tag, 'Walkman in style.' The mobile phone has a thin but elegant slider, and has 3.6 Mbps HSDPA, Bluetooth, and EDGE and uses Walkman 3.0. It boasts of a fast photo browser and powerful loudspeaker. The camera, however, is 2 megapixels without autofocus and flash.
The good

Like that wet kid from the Sixth Sense or Annette Fielding, the W910i has an freaky extra sense – SenseMe – which automatically creates playlists based on your tagged songs. For instance if you tag Boccelli you’ll get other operatic numbers, or if you tag Madonna, you’ll get other overrated tosh… possibly. It’s a nifty little feature on a nifty little phone. The audio performance – as with most Walkman mobiles – is fantastic via the wireless, Bluetooth-enabled headphones. But, like Sarah Jessica Parker’s nose, the most prominent feature here is the motion-sensitive control system. Flick the phone to the left or right and you skip tracks. Alternatively, just waggle the phone to shuffle them. The same sensor also flips videos from landscape to portrait depending on how you hold the phone.
The bad

If we’re hyper-critical we’d say it’s plasticky and the two-megapixel camera’s stingy, but that’s all. Move on now. Nothing else to see here.
The bottom line

Sony Ericsson truly is a music-mobile maestro (try saying that when you’re drunk!). With SenseMe, HSDPA, and a new motion sensor, the W910i is like the Lloyd Webber of the tuneful phone industry, only better looking.

Yahoo! Search: A Brief History of the Yahoo! Search Engine

2009-01-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

Yahoo! Search has changed dramatically in recent years from its previous incarnation as the leading directory on the Internet. As one of the first search services to be developed in the early years of the World Wide Web, Yahoo! became a highly regarding directory of sites, categorised by human editors and providing an extensive listing of websites from around the world, supported by a network of regional directory versions.

In 2001 there was uproar in the search community as Yahoo! started to charge businesses for a listing on the directory - with an annual listing fee in the US and a slightly more acceptable once-off submission fee in the UK. However, as the web was growing at a rapid rate, this was Yahoo!'s way of trying to control the number of sites being submitted and to cover their costs and make some revenue from the market.

However, in recent years all directories have struggled to keep pace with the growth in the numbers of new websites and Yahoo! was no exception, so that the decision was made to offer an automated search engine service as the dominant service to support the other areas provided by the company - including mail, shopping and news services. Yahoo! had always used a secondary search engine service to support its directory listings, initially through Inktomi, then with a brief spell partnering with Google, and then back to Inktomi again.

Yahoo!'s intentions became clear in 2004 when it purchased the Overture pay-per-click service, who had only months previously purchased AltaVista and AlltheWeb. Yahoo! also acquired the Inktomi search database and so, in a few months, had become a prominent player in the search market, with access to some of the best search database technology and the founding company of pay-per-click technology.

Yahoo! has now absorbed these tools together into its own search service, with its original directory now relegated to a secondary service behind the main search index results. The index is predominantly based on the Inktomi technology although this will have been combined with any strengths from the once dominant AltaVista search engine and AlltheWeb - both of which are now simply clones of the main Yahoo! search results. Overture has also been renamed Yahoo! Search Marketing and provides a revenue source from paid search advertising, although a large share of this market will be removed once MSN Search launches its own PPC service in 2006.

MSN Search: a brief history of the MSN search engine

2009-01-23T23:57:00.000-08:00

MSN Search is a service offered as part of the Microsoft network of web services, although it only developed its own search index at the start of 2005. Prior to this, MSN Search used to display search results from our services, most notably Inktomi, which was the leading 'white label' search provider for many years.

Microsoft was surprisingly slow to enter this field, with Bill Gates famously doubting the opportunities being offered by the Internet during the 1990's. However, once Microsoft realised that there was potential here, they launched their Internet Explorer browser (to the detriment of the established Netscape product) and started to dominate the market in their usual fashion of 'bundling' products together with their operating system and core software products. Microsoft was slow to recognise the potential of search and have watched Google establish itself as the leading force in this market - and potentially a serious competitor to some of Microsoft's other established areas of market dominance.

Microsoft started to commit to search in 2003 and, rather than purchase an established service, they developed their own search database, which was launched in Spring 2005. They have also developed their own pay-per-click advertising service, rather than continue to share revenues with Overture (which is owned by Yahoo) and following initial testing, this launched in Spring 2006 with a range of new management functions not seen elsewhere.

The story has been the same with MSN Search. This is an impressive search engine that reflects much of what is good about Google, although the overall quality of results has yet to be proven. Despite this, the search functions offer some new filtering tools and Microsoft is also developing local search, image search and news search options to compete with Google and Yahoo. Supported by the Microsoft network and product integration, MSN Search is already a significant player in the search market and is likely to be the main challenger to Google's current dominance.

Google: a brief history of the Google search engine

2009-01-23T23:56:00.000-08:00

Google is now the most dominant search tool on the web, setting the standards that others try to follow and better, as yet unsuccessfully. It was founded in 1998 - relatively late compared to many of the popular search engines - by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were graduate students from Stanford University.

Page and Brin had been working together on a search engine they called "BackRub" since early 1996, but with the encouragement of Yahoo! co-founder David Filo, they decided to start a company in 1998 and went looking for investors to back them. Google, Inc. was established on September 7, 1998. The founders hired Craig Silverstein - who was later to become Director of Technology - as their first employee, and started the business in a friend's garage.

Google was still in an alpha stage, with an index of just 25 million pages, but it was handling 10,000 search queries every day. The search engine and the company grew quickly through word of mouth, initially with regular web users coming across the tool and finding the results to their liking.

Usage spread rapidly through press coverage, awards and recommendations, whilst Google's effectiveness and relevance, its speed and reliability, plus clean visual effects and 'quirky' nature all contributed to a rapid increase in the number of new advocates.

Google took a major step forward in 2000 when it replaced Inktomi as the provider of supplementary search results on Yahoo. Following this it won further successes and provided search data to Yahoo as its primary results, as well as to AOL, Netscape, Freeserve and BBCi in the UK. This gave Google exceptional coverage of web searches and established its reputation as one of the most reliable and accurate search tools, making it the clear market leader.

Despite losing the Yahoo relationship in 2004, Google continued to increase its coverage of the web search market and developed numerous regional versions of its search tool, both in English and other languages, so that its global dominance grew. In the UK, Google now accounts for over 70% of web searches that are made.

Google has also been actively developing a range of search options, including an image search, news search, shopping search (Froogle) and local search options. In addition, following Google's IPO in early 2005 it has set itself on a course for Internet domination and to challenge the position of Microsoft as the leading provider of computer services. There has been a series of announcements of new products, including the email service Gmail, the impressive Google Earth product, Google Talk to compete in the growing VoIP market, Google Base and Google Book Search, which is part of its ambitious project to make the content of thousands of books searchable online

Google has become synonymous with search and has entered the dictionary as a verb - 'to google' something. The expansion and integration of all Google's different services is making it a dominant player in the online market, but to many websites, Google is also the ultimate ranking target that will make a significant difference between the volumes of traffic received from prospective customer ssearching the web.

Chinese New Year:Congratulations and be prosperous

2009-01-20T21:25:00.000-08:00

Kung Hei Fat Choi at Lee Theatre Plaza, Hong Kong

simplified Chinese: 恭喜发财; traditional Chinese: 恭喜發財; pinyin: Gōngxǐ fācái; Hokkien: Keong hee huat chye (POJ: Kiong-hí hoat-châi); Cantonese: Kung Hei Fat Choi; Hakka: Gong hei fat choi, which loosely translates to "Congratulations and be prosperous". Often mistakenly assumed to be synonymous with "Happy new year", its usage dates back several centuries. While the first two words of this phrase had a much longer historical significance (legend has it that the congratulatory messages were traded for surviving the ravaging beast of Nian, although in practical terms it may also involve surviving the harsh winter conditions), the last two words were added later as ideas of capitalism and consumerism became more significant in Chinese societies around the world. The saying is now commonly heard in English speaking communities for greetings during Chinese New Year in parts of the world where there is a sizable Chinese-speaking community, including overseas Chinese communities that have been resident for several generations, relatively recent immigrants from Greater China, and those who are transit migrants (particularly students).

Other greetings

Numerous other greetings exist, some of which may be exclaimed out loud to no one in particular in specific situations. For example, as breaking objects during the new year is considered inauspicious, one may then say 歲歲平安 (Suìsuì píng'ān) immediately, which means everlasting peace year after year. 歲 (Suì, meaning "age") is homophonous with 碎 (meaning "shatter"), in demonstration of the Chinese love for wordplay in auspicious phrases. Similarly, 年年有餘 (Niánnián yǒuyú), a wish for surpluses and bountiful harvests every year, plays on the word yú to also refer to 魚 (meaning fish), making it a catch phrase for fish-based Chinese new year dishes and for paintings or graphics of fish that are hung on walls or presented as gifts.

These greetings or phrases may also be used just before children receive their red packets, when gifts are exchanged, when visiting temples, or even when tossing the shredded ingredients of yusheng particularly popular in Malaysia and Singapore.

Irreverent children and teenagers sometimes jokingly use the phrase (Traditional Chinese:恭喜發財,紅包拿來, Simplified Chinese: 恭喜发财，红包拿来) (Mandarin PinYin: Gōngxǐ fācái, hóngbāo nálái) (Cantonese: 恭喜發財,利是逗來), roughly translated as "Congratulations and be prosperous, now give me a red envelope!"

Back in the 1970s, children in Hong Kong used the saying: 恭喜發財,利是逗來,伍毫嫌少,壹蚊唔愛 (Cantonese), roughly translated as, "Congratulations and be prosperous, now give me a red envelope, fifty cents is too little, don't want a dollar either." It basically meant that they disliked small change – coins which were called "hard substance" (Cantonese: 硬嘢). Instead, they wanted "soft substance" (Cantonese: 軟嘢), which was either a ten dollar or a twenty dollar bill.

Chinese New Year : good luck

2009-01-20T21:22:00.002-08:00

Good luck
• Opening windows and/or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the new year.
• Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to 'scare away' ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year.
• Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a "sweet" year.
• It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year. (however, as explained below, cleaning the house after New Year's Day is frowned upon)
• Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Asians will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity.
• Wearing a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you.
• The night before the new year, bathe yourself in pomelo leaves and some say that you will be healthy for the rest of the new year.
Bad luck
• Buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck amongst some Chinese. The character for "shoe" (鞋) is a homophone for the character 諧/谐, which means "rough" in Cantonese; in Mandarin it is also a homophone for the character for "evil" (邪).
• Getting a hair-cut in the first lunar month puts a curse on maternal uncles. Therefore, people get a hair-cut before the New Year's Eve.
• Washing your hair is also considered to be washing away one's own luck (although modern hygienic concerns take precedence over this tradition)
• Sweeping the floor is usually forbidden on the first day, as it will sweep away the good fortune and luck for the new year.
• Saying words like "finished" and "gone" is inauspicious on the New Year, so sometimes people would avoid these words by saying "I have eaten my meal so that it disappeared" rather than say "I have finished my meal."
• Talking about death is inappropriate for the first few days of Chinese New Year, as it is considered inauspicious.
• Buying books is bad luck because the character for "book" (書/书) is a homonym to the character for "lose" (輸/输).
• Avoid clothes in black and white, as black is a symbol of bad luck, and white is a traditional Chinese funeral colour.
• Foul language is inappropriate during the Chinese New Year.
• Offering anything in fours, as the number four (四), pronounced sì, can sound like "death" (死) in Chinese. See tetrophobia.
New Year parades

Lion costume for New Year parade, Los Angeles, 1953

Chinese New Year:Icon

2009-01-20T21:22:00.001-08:00

Flowers
The following are popular floral decorations for the New Year and are available at new year markets.
Icons and ornamentals
Icons Meaning Illustrations
Fish The Koi fish is usually seen in paintings. Decorated food depicting the fish can also be found. It symbolizes surplus or having additional savings so as to have more than enough to live throughout the remaining year. It coheres with the Chinese idiom (Pinyin: niánnián yŏuyú)
Yuanbao ingots The gold yuanbao (金元宝; jīn yuánbǎo) symbolizes money and/or wealth. Yuanbao shaped ingots were the standard medium of exchange in ancient China.
Lanterns These lanterns differ from those of Mid Autumn Festival in general. They will be red in colour and tend to be oval in shape. These are the traditional Chinese paper lanterns. Those lanterns, used on the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year for the Lantern Festival, are bright, colourful, and in many different sizes and shapes.
Decorations Decorations generally convey a New Year greeting. They are not advertisements. Chinese calligraphy posters show Chinese idioms. Other decorations include a New year picture, Chinese knots, and papercutting and couplets.
Dragon dance and Lion dance Dragon and lion dances are common during Chinese New Year. It is believed that the loud beats of the drum and the deafening sounds of the cymbals together with the face of the dragon or lion dancing aggressively can evict bad or evil spirits. Lion dances are also popular for opening of businesses in Hong Kong.
Fortune gods Cai Shen Ye, Che Kung,etc.
Superstitions during the New Year period
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)
The following is a list of beliefs that vary according to dialect groups / individuals.

Chinese New Year:Clothing,Symbolism

2009-01-20T21:20:00.002-08:00

Clothing
Clothing mainly featuring the colour red is commonly worn throughout the Chinese New Year because it is believed that red will scare away evil spirits and bad fortune. In addition, people typically wear new clothes from head to toe to symbolize a new beginning in the new year.
Shou Sui
守岁(守歲) (Shou Sui) occurs when members of the family gather around throughout the night after the reunion dinner and reminisce about the year that has passed while welcoming the year that has arrived. Some believe that children who Shou Sui will increase the longevity of the parents.
一夜连双岁，五更分二年 means that the night of New Year's eve (which is also the morning of the first day of the New Year) is a night that links two years. 五更 (Wu Geng – the double hour from 0300 to 0500) is the time that separates the two years.
Symbolism
During these 15 days of the Chinese New Year one will see superstitious or traditional cultural beliefs with meanings which can be puzzling in the eyes of those who do not celebrate this occasion. There is a customary reason that explains why everything, not just limited to decorations, are centered on the colour red. At times, gold is the accompanying colour for reasons that are already obvious. One best and common example is the red diamond-shaped posters with the character 福 (pinyin: fú), or "auspiciousness" which are displayed around the house and on doors. This sign is usually seen hanging upside down, since the Chinese word 倒 (pinyin: dǎo), or "upside down", sounds similar as 到 (pinyin: dào), or "arrive". Therefore, it symbolizes the arrival of luck, happiness, and prosperity.

Chinese New Year:New Year markets

2009-01-20T21:20:00.001-08:00

New Year markets

Shoppers at a New Year market in Chinatown, Singapore
Markets or village fairs are set up as the New Year is approaching.These usually open-air markets feature new year related products such as flowers, toys, clothing, and even fireworks. It is convenient for people to buy gifts for their new year visits as well as their home decoration. In some places, the practice of shopping for the perfect plum tree is not dissimilar to the Western tradition of buying a Christmas tree.
Fireworks
Local man setting off fireworks during Chinese New Year in Shanghai.
Bamboo stems filled with gunpowder that were burnt to create small explosions were once used in ancient China to drive away evil spirits. In modern times, this method has eventually evolved into the use of firecrackers during the festive season. Firecrackers are usually strung on a long fused string so it can be hung down. Each firecracker is rolled up in red papers, as red is auspicious, with gunpowders in its core. Once ignited, the firecracker lets out a loud popping noise and as they are usually strung together by the hundreds, the firecrackers are known for its deafening explosions that it is thought to scare away evil spirits. See also Myths above. The burning of firecrackers also signifies a joyful time of year and has become an integral aspect of Chinese New Year celebrations.
Firecracker ban
The use of firecrackers, although a traditional part of celebration, has over the years witnessed many unfortunate outcomes. There have been reported incidents every year of users of fireworks being blinded, losing body parts, or suffering other grievous injuries, especially during festive seasons. Hence, governments and authorities eventually enacted laws completely banning the use of firecrackers privately, primarily because of safety issues.
• Mainland China – As of 2008, most urban areas in mainland China permit firecrackers. In the first three days of the traditional New Year, it is a tradition that people compete with each other by playing with firecrackers. However, many urban areas banned them in the 1990s. For example, they were banned in Beijing's urban districts from 1993 to 2005.In 2004, 37 people were killed in a stampede when four million people gathered for a rumoured Lantern Festival firework display in nearby Miyun. Since the ban was lifted, the firecracker barrage has been tremendous. An unusual feature is that many residents in major cities look down on street-level fireworks from their tower blocks. Bans are rare in rural areas.
• Hong Kong – Fireworks are banned for security reasons – some speculate a connection between firework use and the 1967 Leftist Riot. However, the government would put on a fireworks display in Victoria Harbour on the second day of the Chinese New Year for the public. Similar displays are also held in many other cities in and outside China.
• Singapore – a partial ban on firecrackers was imposed in March 1970 after a fire killed six people and injured 68. This was extended to a total ban in August 1972, after an explosion that killed two people and an attack on two police officers attempting to stop a group from letting off firecrackers in February 1972. However, in 2003, the government allowed firecrackers to be set off during the festive season. At the Chinese New Year light-up in Chinatown, at the stroke of midnight on the first day of the Lunar New Year, firecrackers are set off under controlled conditions by the Singapore Tourism Board. Other occasions where firecrackers are allowed to be set off are determined by the tourism board or other government organizations. However, they are not allowed to be commercially sold.
• Malaysia – firecrackers are banned for the similar reasons as in Singapore. However, many Malaysians manage to smuggle them from Thailand to meet their private needs.
• Indonesia – Firecrackers and fireworks are forbidden in public during the Chinese New Year, especially in areas with significant non-Chinese population in order to avoid any conflict between the two. However, there were some exceptions. The usage of firecrackers is legal in some metropolitan areas such as Jakarta and Medan, where the degree of racial and cultural tolerance is higher.
• United States – In 2007, New York City lifted its decade-old ban on firecrackers, allowing a display of 300,000 firecrackers to be set off in Chinatown's Chatham Square. Under the supervision of the fire and police departments, Los Angeles regularly lights firecrackers every New Years Eve, mostly at temples and the shrines of benevolent associations. The San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade, the largest outside China, is accompanied by numerous firecrackers, both officially sanctioned and illicit.
• Australia – Australia does not permit the use of fireworks at all, except when used by a licensed pyrotechnician. These rules also require a permit to be sought from local government, as well as any relevant local bodies such as maritime or aviation authorities (as relevant to the types of fireworks being used) and hospitals, schools, et cetera, within a certain range.

Chinese New Year:New year cuisine

2009-01-20T21:19:00.001-08:00

New year cuisine
Niangao, Chinese New Year cake
Reunion dinner
A reunion dinner is held on New Year's Eve where members of the family, near and far away, get together for the celebration. The venue will usually be in or near the home of the most senior member of the family. The New Year's Eve dinner is very sumptuous and traditionally includes chicken and fish. In some areas, fish (simplified Chinese: 鱼; traditional Chinese: 魚; pinyin: yú) is included, but not eaten completely (and the remainder is stored overnight), as the Chinese phrase "may there be surpluses every year" (traditional Chinese: 年年有餘; simplified Chinese: 年年有余; pinyin: nián nián yǒu yú) sounds the same as "may there be fish every year."
In mainland China, many families will banter whilst watching the CCTV New Year's Gala in the hours before midnight.
Red packets for the immediate family are sometimes distributed during the reunion dinner. These packets often contain money in certain numbers that reflect good luck and honorability. Several foods are consumed to usher in wealth, happiness, and good fortune. Several of the Chinese food names are homophones for words that also mean good things.
Red packets
Red packets for sale in a Taipei, Taiwan market before the Year of the Rat
Traditionally, Red envelopes or red packets (Cantonese: lai shi or lai see) (利是, 利市 or 利事); (Mandarin: 'hóng bāo' (紅包); Hokkien: 'ang pow' (POJ: âng-pau); Hakka: 'fung bao'; are passed out during the Chinese New Year's celebrations, from married couples or the elderly to unmarried juniors. It is also common for adults or young couples to give red packets to children. Red packets are also known as 壓歲錢/压岁钱 (Ya Sui Qian, which was evolved from 壓祟錢/压祟钱, literally, the money used to suppress or put down the evil spirit ) during this period.
Red packets almost always contain money, usually varying from a couple of dollars to several hundred. Per custom, the amount of money in the red packets should be of even numbers, as odd numbers are associated with cash given during funerals (帛金 : Bai Jin). One exception is the number four as it is considered bad luck, because the word for four is a homophone for death, money in red envelopes never adds up to $4. However, the number 8 is considered lucky (for its homophone for "wealth"), and $8 is commonly found in the red envelopes. Sometimes chocolate coins are found in the red packets.
Odd and even numbers are determined by the first digit, rather than the last. Thirty and fifty, for example, are odd numbers, and are thus appropriate as funeral cash gifts. However, it is common and quite acceptable to have cash gifts in a red packet using a single bank note – with ten or fifty yuan bills used frequently.
The act of requesting for red packets is normally called (Mandarin): 討紅包, 要利是. (Cantonese):逗利是. A married person would not turn down such request as it would mean that he or she would be "out of luck" in the new year. While this practice is common in South China, in the North people give cash without any cover to their sons and daughters, nephews and nieces, and children of their relatives and friends. Unlike the South, it is common for people give ¥50, ¥100 or even more, odd or even numbers are not taken into consideration anymore.
Gift exchange
In addition to red packets, which are usually given from elder to younger, small gifts (usually of food or sweets) are also exchanged between friends or relatives (of different households) during Chinese New Year. Gifts are usually brought when visiting friends or relatives at their homes. Common gifts include fruits, cakes, biscuits, chocolates, candies, or some other small gift.

Chinese New Year

2009-01-20T21:18:00.001-08:00

First day of the new year
The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. Many people, especially Buddhists, abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure longevity for them. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year's Day, so all food to be consumed is cooked the day before.
Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended family, usually their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents.
Some families may invite a lion dance troupe as a symbolic ritual to usher in the Lunar New Year as well as to evict bad spirits from the premises. Members of the family who are married also give red packets containing cash to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers.
While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have banned them due to concerns over fire hazards, which have resulted in increased number of fires around New Years and challenged municipal fire departments' work capacity. For this reason, various city governments (e.g., Hong Kong, and Beijing, for a number of years) issued bans over fireworks and firecrackers in certain premises of the city. As a substitute, large-scale fireworks have been launched by governments in cities like Hong Kong to offer citizens the experience.
Second day of the new year
Incense is burned at the graves of ancestors as part of the offering and prayer ritual.
The second day of the Chinese New Year is for married daughters to visit their birth parents. Traditionally, daughters who have been married may not have the opportunity to visit their birth families frequently.
On the second day, the Chinese pray to their ancestors as well as to all the gods. They are extra kind to dogs and feed them well as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs.
Business people of the Cantonese dialect group will hold a 'Hoi Nin' prayer to start their business on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year. The prayer is done to pray that they will be blessed with good luck and prosperity in their business for the year.
Third and fourth days of the new year
The third and fourth day of the Chinese New Year are generally accepted as inappropriate days to visit relatives and friends due to the following schools of thought. People may subscribe to one or both thoughts.
1) It is known as "chì kǒu" (赤口), meaning that it is easy to get into arguments. It is suggested that the cause could be the fried food and visiting during the first two days of the New Year celebration.[citation needed]
2) Families who had an immediate kin deceased in the past 3 years will not go house-visiting as a form of respect to the dead, but people may visit them on this day. Some people then conclude that it is inauspicious to do any house visiting at all. The third day of the New Year is allocated to grave-visiting instead.
Fifth day of the new year
In northern China, people eat Jiǎozi (simplified Chinese: 饺子; traditional Chinese: 餃子) (dumplings) on the morning of Po Wu (破五). This is also the birthday of the Chinese god of wealth. In Taiwan, businesses traditionally re-open on this day, accompanied by firecrackers.Seventh day of the new year
The seventh day, traditionally known as renri 人日, the common man's birthday, the day when everyone grows one year older.
It is the day when tossed raw fish salad, yusheng, is eaten. This is a custom primarily among the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore. People get together to toss the colourful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity.
For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat.

Chinese New Year's celebrations, on the eighth day, in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.
Ninth day of the new year
The ninth day of the New Year is a day for Chinese to offer prayers to the Jade Emperor of Heaven (天公) in the Taoist Pantheon. The ninth day is traditionally the birthday of the Jade Emperor.
This day is especially important to Hokkiens and Teochews (Min Nan speakers). Come midnight of the eighth day of the new year, Hokkiens will offer thanks giving prayers to the Emperor of Heaven. Offerings will include sugarcane as it was the sugarcane that had protected the Hokkiens from certain extermination generations ago. Tea is served as a customary protocol for paying respect to an honored person.
Fifteenth day of the new year
The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as Yuánxiāo jié (元宵节), otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei in Fujian dialect. Rice dumplingsTangyuan (simplified Chinese: 汤圆; traditional Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tāngyuán), a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, is eaten this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the Lantern Festival, and families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns.
This day often marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities.

Chinese New Year: Chunyun

2009-01-20T21:17:00.001-08:00

Chunyun
Main article: Chunyun
The period around Chinese New Year is also the time of the largest human migration, when migrant workers in China, as well as overseas Chinese around the world travel home to have reunion dinners with their families on Chinese New Year's eve. More interurban trips are taken in mainland China in this 40-day period than the total population of China. This period is called Chunyun (春運 or 春运).
The Chinese New Year celebrations are marked by visits to kin, relatives and friends, a practice known as "new-year visits" (Chinese: 拜年; pinyin: bàinián). New clothings are usually worn to signify a new year. The colour red is liberally used in all decorations. Red packets are given to juniors and children by the married and elders. See Symbolism below for more explanation.
All these festivities may vary from region to region and from family to family.
Days before the new year
On the days before the New Year celebration Chinese families give their home a thorough cleaning. There is a Cantonese saying "Wash away the dirt on ninyabaat" (年廿八，洗邋遢), but the practice is not usually restricted on nin'ya'baat (年廿八, the 28th day of month 12). It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Brooms and dust pans are put away on the first day so that luck cannot be swept away. Some people give their homes, doors and window-frames a new coat of red paint. Homes are often decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets. Purchasing new clothing, shoes and receiving a hair-cut also symbolize a fresh start .
In many households where Buddhism or Taoism is prevalent, home altars and statues are cleaned thoroughly, and altars that were adorned with decorations from the previous year are also taken down and burned a week before the new year starts, and replaced with new decorations. Taoists (and Buddhists to a lesser extent) will also "send gods" (送神), an example would be burning a paper effigy of the Kitchen God, the recorder of family functions. This is done so that the kitchen god can report to the Jade Emperor of the family household's transgressions and good deeds.
Chinese New Year lion dance at The Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The biggest event of any Chinese New Year's Eve is the dinner every family will have. A dish consisting of fish will appear on the tables of Chinese families. It is for display for the New Year's Eve dinner. This meal is comparable to Christmas dinner in the West. In northern China, it is customary to make dumplings (Jiaozuo 饺子) after dinner and have it around midnight. Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape is like a Chinese teal. By contrast, in the South, it is customary to make a new year cake (Niangao, 年糕) after dinner and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends in the coming days of the new year. Niangao literally means increasingly prosperous year in year out. After the dinner, some families go to local temples, hours before the new year begins to pray for a prosperous new year; however in modern practice, many households hold parties and even hold a countdown to the new lunar year. Beginning in the 1980s, the CCTV New Year's Gala was broadcast minutes before the start of the New Year.
Chinese New Year fireworks in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong

Chinese New Year: History,Mythology,public holiday

2009-01-20T21:13:00.000-08:00

History
It is unclear when the beginning of the year was celebrated before the Qin Dynasty. Traditionally, the year was said to have begun with month 1 during the Xia Dynasty, month 12 during the Shang Dynasty, and month 11 during the Zhou Dynasty. However, records show that the Zhou Dynasty began its year with month 1. Intercalary months, used to keep the lunar calendar synchronized with the sun, were added after month 12 during both the Shang Dynasty (according to surviving oracle bones) and the Zhou Dynasty (according to Sima Qian). The first Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang changed the beginning of the year to month 10 in 221 BC, also changing the location of the intercalary month to after month 9. Whether the New Year was celebrated at the beginning of month 10, or month 1, or both is unknown. In 104 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established month 1 as the beginning of the year, where it remains.

Mythology
Hand-painted Chinese New Year's poetry pasted on the sides of doors leading to people's homes, Lijiang, Yunnan, China.
According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nian or "Year" in Chinese. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to devour livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One time, people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, the Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjunlaozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjunlaozu's mount.

Public holiday
Chinese New Year is observed as a public holiday in a number of countries and territories where a sizable Chinese population resides. Since Chinese New Year falls on different dates on the Gregorian calendar every year on different days of the week, some of these governments opt to shift working days in order to accommodate a longer public holiday. Also like many other countries in the world, a statutory holiday is added on the following work day when the New Year falls on a weekend.

Chinese New Year: New Year dates

2009-01-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is sometimes called the Lunar New Year, especially by people outside China. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year's Eve is known as Chúxī (除夕, abbr. for 年除夕 Niánchúxī, Chúxì in Taiwan). It literally means "Year-pass Eve".

Celebrated in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbours, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction.^{[citation needed]} These include Aboriginal Taiwanese people, Koreans, Mongolians, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese, and formerly the Japanese before 1873. In Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and other countries or regions with significant Han Chinese populations, Chinese New Year is also celebrated, and has, to varying degrees, become part of the traditional culture of these countries. In Canada, although Chinese New Year is not an official holiday, many ethnic Chinese hold large celebrations and Canada Post issues New Year's themed stamps in domestic and international rates.

Although the Chinese calendar traditionally did not use continuously numbered years, its years are now often numbered from the reign of Huangdi outside China. But at least three different years numbered 1 are now used by various writers, causing the year beginning in 2008 to be 4706, 4705, or 4645.^[2]

The 2009 date for Chinese New Year is January 26.

New Year dates

The lunisolar Chinese calendar determines Chinese New Year dates. The calendar is also used in countries that have adopted or have been influenced by Han culture (notably the Koreans, Japanese and Vietnamese) and may have a common ancestry with the similar New Years festivals outside East Asia (such as Iran, and historically, the Bulgars lands).

In the Gregorian calendar, Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year, a date between January 21 and February 20. This means that the holiday usually falls on the second (very rarely third) new moon after the winter solstice. In traditional Chinese Culture, lichun is a solar term marking the start of spring, which occurs about February 4.

The dates for Chinese New Year from 1996 to 2019 (in the Gregorian calendar) are at the left, along with the year's presiding animal zodiac and its earthly branch. The names of the earthly branches have no English counterparts and are not the Chinese translations of the animals. Alongside the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac there is a 10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each of the ten heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Chinese astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The elements are rotated every two years while a yin and yang association alternates every year. The elements are thus distinguished: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. These produce a combined cycle that repeats every 60 years. For example, the year of the Yang Fire Rat occurred in 1936 and in 1996, 60 years apart.

Many confuse their Chinese birth-year with their Gregorian birth-year. As the Chinese New Year starts in late January to mid-February, the Chinese year dates from January 1 until that day in the new Gregorian year remain unchanged from the previous Gregorian year. For example, the 1989 year of the snake began on February 6, 1989. The year 1990 is considered by some people to be the year of the horse. However, the 1989 year of the snake officially ended on January 26, 1990. This means that anyone born from January 1 to January 25, 1990 was actually born in the year of the snake rather than the year of the horse. Many online Chinese Sign calculators do not account for the non-alignment of the two calendars, using Gregorian-calendar years rather than official Chinese New Year dates.

One scheme of continuously numbered Chinese-calendar years assigns 4706 to the year beginning January 26, 2009, but this is not universally accepted; the calendar is traditionally cyclical, not continuously numbered.

Sinusitis

2009-01-20T03:56:00.000-08:00

Symptoms

Symptoms Indicating a Bacterial Infection. Sinus symptoms are very common during a cold or flu, but in most of these cases they are due to the effects of the infecting virus and resolve when the infection does. It is important to differentiate between inflamed sinuses associated with cold or flu virus and sinusitis caused by bacteria. With true acute bacterial sinusitis, the signs and symptoms typically have the following course:

Nasal congestion and discharge comes first and is typically thick with pus that is yellowish to yellow-green.
Pain in the teeth is increased by bending over. Symptoms may vary, however, depending on the sinuses involved.
Symptoms continue for 10 days or more after the start of a cold or flu.
They worsen after 5 - 7 days, or they return after initial improvement in a cold (called double sickening).

Other symptoms of acute sinusitis that usually occur in adults include:

Severe headache and pain or pressure in specific areas in the face -- eyes may be red, bulging or painful eyes if the sinus infection occurs around the eyes; in some cases, patients may also have double vision and even temporary vision loss
A persistent cough (particularly during the day)
Fever
Fatigue (from lack of good rest)
Lack of response to decongestants or antihistamines

Sneezing, sore throat, and muscle aches may be present, but they are rarely caused by sinusitis itself. Muscle aches may be caused by fever, sore throat by post-nasal drip, and sneezing from cold or allergies.

Rare complications of sinusitis can produce additional symptoms, which may be severe or even life threatening.

Symptoms in Children. Children are most likely to develop infection in the ethmoid sinuses, located between the eyes. Children with sinusitis are also less likely to experience facial pain over the affected sinus and headache, which are the primary signs in adults. Symptoms of bacterial sinusitis may be less specific than in adults and include:

Persistent nasal discharge (of any type) and day time cough for more than 10 days, or
Severe symptoms last for at least 3 - 4 days in a row and include thick, greenish nasal discharge plus a fever of at least 102 degrees F.

Other symptoms in children may include:

Irritability
Vomiting
Gagging on mucus
Cough

General Symptoms of Recurrent Acute and Chronic Sinusitis

Recurrent acute and chronic sinusitis tend to take the following course:

Symptoms are more vague and generalized than acute sinusitis.
They last longer than 4 weeks. (Subacute sinusitis lasts longer than 4 weeks but less than 8 weeks. Chronic sinusitis lasts 8 weeks or longer.)
They occur throughout the year, even during nonallergy seasons.

Specifically symptoms may include:

Nasal congestion and obstruction
Chronic cough (day and night) -- research suggests that sinusitis is one of the main causes of chronic cough
Bad breath
Postnasal drip (which can cause repeated throat clearing)
Facial tenderness or pressure --patients do not usually experience facial pain unless the infection is in the frontal sinuses

Site-Specific Symptoms

Specific symptoms depend on the location of the infection:

Frontal sinusitis causes pain across the lower forehead.
The pain in maxillary sinusitis occurs over the cheeks and may travel to the teeth, and the hard palate in the mouth sometimes becomes swollen.
Ethmoid sinusitis causes pain behind the eyes and sometimes redness and tenderness in the area across the top of the nose.
Sphenoid sinusitis rarely occurs by itself; when it does, the pain may be experienced behind the eyes, across the forehead, or in the face.

Genealogy Web sites cast wide DNA net

2009-01-09T00:55:00.000-08:00

Users of GeneTree, Ancestry.com can contact others with matches

NEW YORK - Two services launching just a week apart tap a growing interest in DNA testing to help people find their ancestors and learn more about their lives.

GeneTree, which opened Tuesday, and Ancestry.com, which started its DNA Ancestry service a week earlier, both sell DNA kits for less than $200. Users can build online family trees and contact others with DNA matches to compare family histories.

Genealogy research has become popular in recent years as online services improve access to vast databases of immigration, military and other records from around the world. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a quarter of Internet usershave researched their ancestors online.Lately, many of them have been turning to DNA testing to uncover additional clues, said Dick Eastman, who writes a newsletter about online genealogy. Although DNA won't provide all the answers, such as names and precise dates, he said, it could open new leads.

"Anybody who's got a mystery is going to do this sooner or later, and that's a pretty high percentage of us," Eastman said.

That's particularly true of black Americans, many of whom have trouble tracing roots beyond the slavery era, Eastman said. Eastern Europeans, Jews and certain other groups also find records fragmented, he said.

GeneTree and Ancestry join services from Family Tree DNA and others.

James Lee Sorenson, GeneTree's chief executive, said he believes his site stands out for its exclusive access to records from the nonprofit Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation. The group has collected DNA samples from 100,000 individuals worldwide and conducted ancestry research on them to produce a larger database of 6 million people.

Ancestry, based in Provo, Utah, is building its DNA database largely from scratch; company officials say they are on track to capture the genetic profiles of 50,000 people within six months.

GeneTree is the latest project from Sorenson and his father, medical-device entrepreneur and billionaire James LeVoy Sorenson.The Salt Lake City-based initiative pulls technologies from theSorenson foundation and two Sorenson companies.

Both GeneTree and Ancestry use DNA test kits from SorensonGenomics.

GeneTree sends mouthwash that users swirl in their mouths, spit into a container and mail back for $99 or $149, depending on how much DNA the user wants analyzed. With Ancestry, users return a cheek swab. Ancestry offers a greater variety of tests; the one comparable to GeneTree's higher-end offering costs $179.

Besides finding matches, DNA patterns can help assess the likely origins of an individual's ancestors thousands of years ago, allowing the user to then visually trace migration backward to the first humans, widely believed to hail from Africa.

Both sites are incorporating elements of social networking, akin to those at Facebook and News Corp.'s MySpace.

With GeneTree, each family member in the online tree — whether a user of GeneTree or not — gets a personal profile page. Users may add photos, video and other documents to their own pages or those of relatives, using free tools from sister company Sorenson Media.

Ancestry already has some tools for adding photos and other files and plans additional features by year's end. For example, Ancestry will let users with the same last name compare DNA results and collaborate.

To protect privacy, individuals born within the past 100 years won't show up by name in searches. A user may try to contact that individual through GeneTree, and only with that person's approval would a name appear. Approval also allows the initial user to view the profile page and add files.Company officials also say that the segment of DNA analyzed is the portion of little value to law enforcement officials wishing to identify suspects or to insurance companies and employers looking to assess one's predisposition to certain diseases.

That portion happens to be most useful for genealogical research because it doesn't play any role in human functions, meaning it is more likely to withstand mutations over time and provide unique markers for comparison with ancestors.

Ancestry makes similar privacy pledges.

Although some people likely will resist sharing anything related to DNA, Eastman said, many like him would welcome such a research tool.

DNA testing is optional to users of either site, and users can choose to have tests taken elsewhere.

Associated Press business writer Paul Foy in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.

EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database

2009-01-09T00:51:00.000-08:00

The EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database (also known as EMBL-Bank) constitutes Europe's primary nucleotide sequence resource. Main sources for DNA and RNA sequences are direct submissions from individual researchers, genome sequencing projects and patent applications.

The database is produced in an international collaboration with GenBank (USA) and the DNA Database of Japan (DDBJ). Each of the three groups collects a portion of the total sequence data reported worldwide, and all new and updated database entries are exchanged between the groups on a daily basis. The current database release (Release 97, December 2008), with according Release notes and user manual are available from the EBI servers. A sample database entry is shown here.

A publication in Nucleic Acids Research 2009 37: D19-D25. provides further information and details.

The EMBL nucleotide sequence database is part of the The Protein and Nucleotide Database Group (PANDA). This is jointly headed by Dr. Rolf Apweiler and Dr. Ewan Birney, with Dr. Birney taking responsibility for Nucleotides.

How to Apply Eyeshadow

2009-01-07T05:06:00.000-08:00

I'm a beauty editor and yet it took me years to figure out how to apply eyeshadow that:

1. Wasn't crooked (mismatched eyes!)
2. Wasn't too dark or blotchily blended (yes, I know "blotchily" is not a word)
3. Didn't extend to the wrong, wrong, wrong upper reaches of my eyelids

After years of seeing makeup artists in action and learning numerous eyeshadow tips and tricks, here are my 10 favorites I wish someone had told me twenty years ago:

Secret #1: Blending is keyOk, well I sorta knew this, but I wasn't sure HOW TO BLEND. You use three different colors: The base, usually a very light taupe, a highlighter for the crease and a main color for the lid, but how to get them to look as if they merge into each other like the colors of a rainbow? My secret: Start light then go darker. Brush the base color, apply the lid color and THEN apply the highlighter. Also, don't be too heavy-handed or you'll have to start over. Extra tip: Practice makes perfect. Play with your makeup a few days before a big event.

Secret #2: Choose shadows that make the color of your eyes pop Gone are the days when beauty experts advised against blue shadow. Matching the color of your eye with a shadow actually brings the color out (think blue shadow on blue eyes). At the same time, contrasting colors make eyes pop too (think a deep jeweled blue shadow on deep brown eyes).

Secret #3: Never cover your browbone with deep color -- unless you're doing a cover shoot for Vogue You don't want the drama too much shadow brings. Apply shadow up to the browbone but don't apply shadow ON the bone unless it's a neutral color or a highlighter.

Secret #4: Highlighter can make or break your look When applying dark shadow to the crease of your eye, be careful to blend only on the outside edge. Get to close to the eye and you'll cause your eyes to look teeny and beady.

Secret #5: Set shadow with a great base Primers are super hot right now because they help set makeup that stays for hours. I've found the secret to keeping shadow in place for hours is a shadow base. Almost everyone makes them but I swear by

Secret #6: Shimmer is hot, but plays up wrinkles Shimmer makes eyes really pop, but it also highlights heavy lids, lines and wrinkles. A great look for shimmer is to create a 'nude' lid, but apply a bit of gold shimmer to the browbone. Gorgeous!

Secret #7: Smokey is great, but keep it to the lid Making up a smokey eye? Keep color to the lid and just under the lower lashline. Don't extend color above the crease.

Secret #8: How to pair shadow with red lips Remember the beauty rule 'Thou Shalt Not Play up the Lips AND the Mouth.' If you're going for dramatic red lips (never out of fashion), cover unsightly blue lines on lids with a concealer or shadow primer and then keep eyeshadow light.

Secret #9: Make eyes brighter A dot of white shadow or pencil on the inside of the eye near the tear duct will make eyes look brighter.

Secret #10: Go for color Taupe and lavender look great on all eye colors. Also consider mixing shades if you bought a color that's just too bold for you. Mixing an electric blue with taupe can turn out the most perfect color.

5 tricks and tips on how to apply mascara

2009-01-07T04:50:00.000-08:00

Tip #1: How to apply mascara. Ace your mascara application with a three-step process:
Step 1: Wiggle the wand left to right at the base of lashes. It's the mascara placed near the roots -- not the tips -- that gives the illusion of length.
Step 2: Pull the wand up and through lashes, wiggling as you go.
Step 3: In this final step, close the eye and place the mascara wand on top of lashes at the base and pull through to remove any clumps.
Tip #2: How to use a lash comb. For some, lash combs are simply too fussy. But for some makeup artists, they're a great invention and keep lashes glob-free and perfectly separated.
So how to use? Apply mascara at the lash base. Then wiggle the lash comb through to the tips of your lashes.
Not into the lash comb? Get rid of clumbs without them by removing excess mascara from the wand. Wipe wand on tissue, this eliminates blobs BEFORE you start.
Tip #3: Try a spoolie (a clean mascara wand). Sweep a clean, fresh mascara wand through lashes when they're wet. Don't worry, you don't have to buy them. When you finish a mascara, clean the wand in a capful of eye makeup remover, then wash with soap and dry. Keep it clean by washing it whenever you wash your makeup tools.
Tip #4: Don't shy away from colored mascara. Basic mascara rules are simple: Black works for everyone but can be harsh on blondes. Blondes should opt for brown/black by day and reserve black for night. Blue mascara, however, can brighten blue eyes while purple mascara makes brown eyes pop. The most popular mascara sold in the US is Maybelline Great Lash mascara, a great buy at under $6. The company estimates one tube is sold every 1.6 seconds in the U.S.
Tip #5: Thin, short brushes are best. A thinner brush allows you to get into the corner of eyes. Short brushes give you more control.
Tip #6: Give a few coats to the edges by blinking. Blink onto the brush to give ends an extra coat.
Tip #7: Powder under the eye before applying mascara. Sometimes mascara smudges because it's attracted to oily concealer or eye creams.
Tip #8: Use an eyelash curler Curling lashes gives eyes the appearance of being wider and brighter. Shoot warm air from your blowdryer on the mascara curler for 3-5 seconds to warm it up before curling lashes. Touch it first to make sure it's not too hot. It's a myth that you have to curl lashes before you apply mascara. You can curl lashes after mascara application, just make sure the mascara is dry first. Shu Uemura makes the most popular eyelash curler on the market ($18-$22).
Tip #9: Zig-zag the wand. Zig-zagging the wand back and forth during application helps cut down clumps.
Tip #10: For a dramatic look, apply mascara only to the upper lashes. To make eyes seem wider, apply to the bottom, too. But make sure you give lashes a light touch. Not great at getting those bottom lashes? Try putting a tissue under them before application.
Tip #11: Use a mascara primer. Primers coat lashes and separate them before you apply mascara. Makeup artists swear by mascara primer. I tried it and like it, but because it's an added step, I usually use primer only on special occasion when I spend more time on my makeup.
Tip #12: Want that 2nd coat? Just make sure to do it before the first coat dries, otherwise you'll get clumps.
Tip #13: Do NOT pump wand in and out of the tube. This only introduces air into the tube, which will cause your mascara to dry out sooner than it should.
Tip #14: Another smudge-proof tip -- bend the wand. A top makeup artist once gave his secret to his steady hand: he always bends his wand at a right angle.
Tip #15: Wait five seconds before blinking. You don't want to paint your lids, do you?

Your Self Esteem and Happiness:

2009-01-07T04:35:00.000-08:00

Listen to your inner voice and follow it for it is wisdom and knows what is best for you.
Talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
Think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best-you deserve nothing less.
Care about the happiness and success of others and offer them all the help and encouragement they need.
Forget your past mistakes and focus on your successes encouraging yourself to greater achievements in the future.
Always do your best so you can be proud that you gave it your best shot.
When you help someone ask nothing in return, you will receive your reward ten times over.

Scientists: True love can last a lifetime

2009-01-05T03:57:00.002-08:00

(CNN) -- Love's first blush fading? Lost that loving feeling? Love is not all around?

Sick of cliches?

Take heart, scientists have discovered that people can have a love that lasts a lifetime.

Using brain scans, researchers at Stony Brook University in New York have discovered a small number of couples respond with as much passion after 20 years together as most people only do during the early throes of romance, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported.

The researchers scanned the brains of couples together for 20 years and compared them with results from new lovers, the Sunday Times said.

About 10 percent of the mature couples had the same chemical reactions when shown photographs of their loved ones as those just starting out.

Previous research has suggested that the first stages of romantic love fade within 15 months and after 10 years it has gone completely, the newspaper said.

"The findings go against the traditional view of romance -- that it drops off sharply in the first decade -- but we are sure it's real," said Arthur Aron, a psychologist at Stony Brook, told the Sunday Times.

10 positive steps I do in my life

2009-01-05T03:57:00.001-08:00

1. Never judge a person straightaway until you truly get to know them first

2. Do something nice for someone when out in public as a friendly smile, chat

or an act of kindness can be the best feeling ever

3. Take time each day to enjoy just YOU as that is always important whether its

going for a quite walk, meditating or doing something relaxing

4. The more happy and postive you are from within the more wonderful results

that appear in your life !

5. View your world around you in a loving and happy nature and see how beautiful

it can really be and see the wonderful images and messages it tells you

6. Always do what feels best in your heart as that directs you on the right path

7. Always appreciate everything and what you have in your life

8. Don't worry about later, tomorrow or in the future its now that counts at this moment

9. Learn to love and believe in yourself first, have faith and be willing to open your

heart and soul and you will then find and feel the divine light of God

10. The key to life itself is LOVE and I myself have learnt and found this through the angels

Choosing a Prom Dress or Formal Gown to Compliment Your Personal Style

2009-01-04T04:52:00.000-08:00

They say the high school years are the best years of your life. Football games, time with friends, and formal dances are just a few of the highlights that will make lasting memories. But of course Prom is THE one event you can’t miss. It’s the story from high school that inevitably the grandchildren hear about. But where did it come from? What makes it so special?

The Prom was believed to have originated in the U.S. in the 1920’s in the Deep South. Girls would take short and heavily chaperoned “promenades” around the block with their dates. Of course they were dressed formally and out of respect, the southern gentlemen would give his date a flower (corsage). The details have changed slightly over the years; the attire, the dancing, and certainly the chaperones, but one thing remains the focus. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE DRESS. Every girl wants to dress up from head to toe and feel like royalty on prom night. Even if they aren’t Prom Queen, they can look like one with the right gown, hairstyle and make-up.

Sexy, but tastful, formal prom gowns.

Sexy formal wear doesn’t have to mean tiny formal wear. It’s amazing the choices of styles and sizes that are available for teens today. The junior department that once carried a handful of sizes now accommodates a large spectrum of sizes and styles for many young women looking for that perfect prom dress. From discount, to ultra expensive designer, any girl can take the dress that is right for her physique and make it shine. Specifically, Sydney’s Closet carries only plus size formal wear in sizes 14-44. They have an excellent selection of ball gowns, vintage dresses, A-line, halter and sheath designs, as well as dresses with sleeves.

Ball gowns are the most formal and true to the Prom of the 20’s, with a wide skirt and layers of tulle and crinoline over taffeta. It creates a soft feminine, hourglass effect that emulates royalty and grace. For a sleeker, sexier choice, the sheath or mermaid style gown shows off a woman’s curves and gives her that Marilyn Monroe look. (This fashion statement is highlighted even more when she adds long gloves to complete the overall look.)

Halter prom dresses are a flattering style.

A halter neckline deemphasizes a larger bosom while at the same time accentuates the bare shoulders. For a more modest look, finding a dress with either a short or a longer sleeve can be tasteful and elegant. A traditional garment such as this will not only make you feel comfortable, but it is absolutely timeless.

Where to find vintage prom dresses.

The ever increasingly popularity of vintage gowns is uniquely fun and fashionable. The side benefit of a vintage dress is that it is often less expensive than other styles and brand new gowns. This benefit is a real big size plus for the budget conscious. You can find many at dresses and gowns at eBay.com. Matching your unique personality and sense of fashion to finding a dress is the fun part. Plan ahead, and spend lots of time shopping around until you are completely satisfied.

Preparing and planning a fun prom night.

For a little boost, PromGirl.com gives you the latest in dresses, accessories, hairstyle and makeup. You can “ask fashion girl” any questions you have via email and they give great advice on how to find cheap deals for all things prom. They also offer great beauty tips and tricks to help make you look your very best on prom night. They also offer tips and suggestions of fun things to do pre-prom, during the dance, and post-prom to make it memorable! By the way, getting drunk and pregnant are definitely not on the list. Have fun, be smart, and be safe.

Organic Makeup and Eco Friendly Cosmetics For Natural Skin Care

2009-01-04T04:50:00.000-08:00

As we see our world being destroyed by pollutants which cause disease and destruction of animal habitats, we are slowly beginning to focus more on making eco friendly choices. One way we can make our daily lives “green” is to begin using organic makeup. This choice will not only make your skin more youthful and attractive, it can also prevent you from purchasing a product toxic to the environment or aiding in animal cruelty.

Safe and Natural Skin Care Products

When searching for organic makeup you want to ensure the products are safe for sensitive skin and have no parabens, petroleums, glutene or other synthetic ingredients. These chemicals should be avoided! They can cause harmful reactions including rashes, headaches, cancer and brain damage. Skin care products which are synthetic often contain compounds like mercury, lead, formaldehyde and petroleum. These artificial products can create serious and harmful reactions, especially for those with sensitive skin.

The best tip in skin care is to use products which are certified organic, such as those from companies like Lavera, Saffron Rouge and Vegan. Every cosmetic you can think of can be found in an organic product. From blush to lipstick, organic products are available!

The products available in organic forms include (but are not limited to) the following:

Concealer
Foundation
Eyeliner
Blush
Lipstick
Lotion/creams
Soap/body wash/ shampoo

These items often contain no preservatives, colorants, dyes or perfumes. It may be surprising to know the fifth largest allergen in the world is fragrance. Products with fragrance can cause headaches, rashes and more. Instead of using products with harmful ingredients, look for organic makeup containing pure organic plant oils, herbs, flower extracts and essential oils.

Some Mineral Makeups Contain Harmful Chemicals

Do not be fooled by products simply stating they are “mineral makeup” and therefore assume they’re safe for your body. Many mineral makeup products contain a powder form of titanium dioxide which when inhaled can cause effects such as those experienced by asbestos exposure and even lung cancer. Titanium dioxide is safe when used in creams, preventing inhalation.

Other ingredients to watch for include propylene glycol and diproylene glycol, which are odorless and colorless. These ingredients are simple fragrance carriers and are safe and often found in skin care products. You are also likely to see dimethicone which is a silicone based polymer found in bodily care products. It is an anti foaming agent, skin protectant and conditioning agent. It is non-toxic, non flammable and inert or having little to no ability to react. Silicone is another popular ingredient in cosmetics and is ubiquitous in the earth, making it safe for bodily use.

Eco Friendly Ingredients Matter

When you are looking for natural cosmetics or other skin care products, it’s important to pay attention to ingredients. As we become more aware of the products we use and how they affect our world, we must take action to choose the healthiest products. You can begin making your life more eco friendly today!

Tips For Finding Skirt Shapes, Styles, and Fabrics That Flatter

2009-01-04T04:49:00.000-08:00

If you dig the feminine aspects of fashion, chances are you love wearing skirts. Skirts are one of the most versatile clothing pieces ever created. While traditional skirts were made so long they almost dragged the ground, today’s skirts come in such a wide variety there are styles that flatter any body type. While some body types look better in specific skirt styles, there are a few skirt tips women of any body type can use when finding the most flattering skirt for them.

Flattering Skirt Lengths

While the focus on finding great pants is more on cut, finding a flattering skirt rides greatly on length. Most designers agree if you are over the age of 35, mini skirts are just not fashionably appropriate any longer. While there are an abundance of beautiful women over that age, the matter is not focused only on what looks good but also what is age appropriate. You may look great in a short micro mini, but is it really fitting for your age? Think about it!

Things to stay away from if you want your legs to look great in skirts are pleats, ruffles and low waist varieties. Pleats and ruffles will only make you seem girlish, instead of classic or modern. While a low waist can work on pants, it can be difficult to pull off a low waist skirt because they can easily make you appear as if you have a flat backside and no waist, which is never a good thing.

Denim Skirts for Any Fashion Occasion

Most women admit jeans are their favorite items of clothing! So, when it comes to skirts a denim fabric can be quite helpful and versatile. A dark washed denim skirt can be paired with heels, a button down, a nice jacket and scarf for a “business casual” look. The same skirt can then be worn to dinner or other semi-casual events. For a more laid back look, a lighter washed denim skirt can be paired with a trendy tee, tank or even a sweater and boots! You can find great denim skirts at every outlet, from Ann Taylor to Victoria’s Secret. Just remember, unless you’re going for the grunge look denim should never be torn or frayed.

Cuts and Fabric Styles

One giant mistake full sized or any sized woman can easily make is to choose skirts of inappropriate cuts. The cut of a skirt isn’t quite as important as the cut of pants, but it should still be given attention. One of the best cuts in skirts is the a-line. Fashion experts agree an a-line skirt can help define the waist area, help hide the tummy, hips and thigh area and give an overall balance to various body shapes. Stay away from sarong style skirts, unless you are hitting the beach where sarong skirts can be quite appealing. However, in everyday life, they can cause unflattering effects on the tummy area and unless you want to draw attention to your stomach they should be avoided!

Get the Right Size Skirt

When looking for skirts, be aware of the materials and textures of the skirts. Don’t choose skirts that cling to your body. No matter what size or shape they are, you will not get a flattering look if they hug every curve and point out every imperfection! Be sure you’re wearing a skirt size that allows you the freedom to sit or stand without the fabric bunching up and becoming tight. Finding the right size in a skirt is more about waist fit than anything else. So, be sure you aren’t trying to squeeze into a smaller size just because you can. Finding a great overall look is much more important!

Caring For and Treating Your Sensitive Skin with the Right Beauty Products

2009-01-04T04:47:00.000-08:00

For those with sensitive skin, it can prove to be difficult to find skin care products which do not irritate the skin. Sensitive skin tends to be thin and delicate. It has fine pores and may flush easily. Capillaries in the skin are susceptible to being broken and the skin is frequently plagued by allergens and can break out with a rash easily. The skin often burns easier in the sun, tends to feel tight when certain cosmetics are applied and can easily become itchy, or sting.

Treating Sensitive Skin Effectively

It may surprise you to know the number of people with sensitive skin is increasing in number. This is a result of pollutants, stress and UV exposure (due to lack of using sunscreen). Those with sensitive skin can care for their skin with the use of products designed to be gentle and caring. There are keywords to look for when choosing sensitive skin care products. Look for words including hypoallergenic, fragrance free and non-cosmogenic on the labels of any products you want to try.

Hypoallergenic means the product was created and tested to have little or no allergic reaction with the skin.
Fragrance free means no additional ingredients have been added to create or cover up fragrance. Studies show fragrance is the leading cause of skin allergy, allergic reactions, dermatitis, eczema and peeling from makeup.
Non-cosmogenic means the product does not clog the pores of the skin.

Hypoallergenic Products for Sensitive Skin

In addition to staying away from harmful ingredients, it’s important to add the right components of healthy skin care into a daily beauty regimen. Begin with a gentle and non-drying cleanser, such as those made by Cetaphil or Neutrogen brands. Cleansing facial soap will wash away and remove dirt, oil and chemicals from the environment and help you with treating and preventing blemish outbreaks and acne.

The second product needed is an exfoliant. When you exfoliate your skin, you will remove the dead skin cells and leave the skin glowing. It is recommended to use an exfoliant with salicylic acid, which is easier on the skin than those products with an alpha hydroxyl. Beware of those with a toner included, as they may be too harsh for sensitive skin areas.

Next, be sure to use a great moisturizer lotion or cream. Every skin type (from oily to dry) needs a moisturizer. You should have a daytime moisturizer with an SPF and a richer nighttime moisturizer, which better hydrates the skin in the evening.

Always Use Sunscreen!

Lastly, all beauty regimes should include a sunscreen that protects against UVA and UVB rays. UVB rays cause the skin to burn and cause skin cancer. UVA rays cause premature aging or wrinkling of the skin. You need to look for three key ingredients in your sunscreen which will ensure healthy protection. These include titanium dioxide, zinc oxide and avobenzone. These three ingredients absorb UVA and UVB rays protecting the sun from burning or other types of skin damage.

When you take care of your sensitive skin and use the tips above, you will have healthy and smooth skin that feels as good as it looks!

Sunless & Fake Tan: Natural Alternatives and Self-Bronzer Products

2009-01-04T04:44:00.000-08:00

Most stylists will happily disclose the best accessory for any outfit is a great tan! However, getting tanned skin is not always a healthy ritual to undertake. Many doctors continue to issue warnings against sun tanning and sunburns due to their relation to skin cancer. However, spending too much time in the sun not only increases the risk of skin cancer but also increases the opportunity for wrinkles, fine lines and skin damage. For ladies craving tanned skin, the best alternative to old fashioned tanning in the sun or tanning bed is sunless tanning. Getting a sunless tan has never been easier!

Natural Looking Sunless Tanning Options

Today’s self tanners offer a more natural look than ever before. The first generation of self tanners often yielded orange results, with impossible application techniques required. However, the new generations of self tanners come in less concentrated formulas. Most are bronzer products that allow users to gradually tan, over a short period of time. With the tan building with each application, there is no risk of overdoing it all at once and ending up with a deep, uneven tan. Popular brands like Hawaiian Tropic and Bain de Soleil are even creating great moisturizer self tanning cream options for those interested in self tanning.

Other options in self tanning include spray tan booths and indoor airbrush tanning salons. A spray tan booth can be a quick way for anyone to get a fast sunless tan. Typically, they require you to wear a paper bikini, step into a spray tan booth, press a button and wait to be sprayed by the booth’s airbrush system. Most booths take less than two minutes to complete the job. Those who want to ensure they’re getting a seamless application can pay to be airbrushed with self tanner. Many high end salons are now offering this service which does prove to be a bit more costly. However, the results are very natural.

Best Fake Tan Products and Self Bronzers

If you’re choosing to apply self tanning lotion or cream at home, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First, exfoliating your skin is important to getting an even application. Dead skin cells can soak in extra color pigment and leave you with splotches. It’s a good idea to apply a thin layer of lotion on your elbows, knees and ankle areas before applying self tanning lotions. This will prevent the color from sticking to these thick skinned areas. Also, be prepared to stay away from water or even rain for a few hours after your application. If you get wet shortly after using a self tanner, you may appear spotty in color.

UV Protection From Sunless Tanning Products

The bona fide best thing about sunless tanning options is the fact they are extremely safe to use. There is no risk of being exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays and thus there is a guarantee self tanning products will offer protection and often even prevention against fine lines and wrinkles.

Treatments for Preventing and Healing Dry, Cracked Feet & Heels

2009-01-04T04:36:00.000-08:00

t’s the end of your day and as you remove your shoes you are once again met with dry cracked feet. They not only feel scaly and painful, but they also look like you’ve been walking on razor blades! No matter how rough and callous your feet currently are, this does not have to be the fate of your feet forever. There are five steps you can follow to learn how to heal your dry cracked feet and prevent them from drying out in the future.

Treatment for Dry Cracked Feet

The first step for at-home treatment is to wash or soak your feet everyday in lukewarm water and a mild soap. You can add a soothing foot product to help condition your feet if you choose. Dr. Scholl’s and Burt’s Bees offer great medicated moisturizing products. However, if you’d rather use items from the kitchen, mixing one cup of honey with a gallon of water and soaking ten to fifteen minutes can drastically improve the moisture in the skin. Honey is also a natural antiseptic and is a safe cure for cracked or bleeding skin. Be careful not to use the pumice stone too vigorously on your cracked feet as it may make them worse.

Second, you’ll need to dry your feet well. Pay close attention to the skin in between the toes. If this area is not dried properly it can create a breeding ground for bacteria and lead to infection. Pat the feet and do not rub harshly or you can cause more damage!

Next, apply a foot cream, lotion or foot ointment. There are many lotions available offering moisturizers such as Vitamin E, shea butter, aloe and more. These are often helpful for dry, but not severely dry skin. Podiatrists and diabetic specialists often recommend a foot cream such as O’Keeffe’s working feet cream. This cream is not greasy, hypoallergenic, has no odor and contains no oil or alcohol. It helps replenish the skin with glycerin and protect the skin with paraffin. These ingredients help to sooth, hydrate and repair the skin tissue of the feet.

Try a Home Remedy

There are also home remedies available which are said to soothe. For instance, mixing baby lotion with spearmint and eucalyptus oil is a known remedy. It is said to create a “super lotion” which sooths, heals and smells fresh. Other natural remedy moisturizers include almond oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil and coconut milk. You can try the moisturizer of your choice to see which works best for you.

The fourth step requires you to put on clean, white cotton socks. The cotton helps to whisk away moisture while the colorless material prevents any dyes from irritating the skin. Many people choose to put their socks on at bedtime and wear them overnight for enhanced moisturizing. When you wake up your feet will feel as if you got a spa pedicure overnight!

Finally, be sure to check your feet everyday. Look for cuts or blisters and treat them promptly. Keeping your feet clean and applying moisturizer is an excellent way to care for your feet. You can also insure foot health by eating a diet rich in Vitamin A, which promotes skin health. Foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes, kale, spinach and pumpkin are all excellent sources.

In addition to the foods you eat, the amount of water you drink is important as well. Drinking six to eight glasses of water can help to keep your skin, soft and subtle naturally. The main causes for severe dry skin or xerosis (as it is known medically) is often dehydration, Vitamin A deficiency or diabetes. You do not have to suffer from dry cracked feet or feet fissures! Simply follow the steps above and you’ll be kicking up your heels with happiness.

5 Holiday Makeup & Hair Tips

2009-01-04T04:30:00.000-08:00

1. Play up the eyes or the mouth. Never do a dark, smokey eye and a red lip, unless you are performing burlesque. Choose one or the other. For eyes, consider a smokey gray this year instead of black or brown. If playing up lips, try both lipstick and gloss. First apply liner all over lips, dot lipstick with your finger and follow with a light (not heavy) gloss.

2. Keep nails short and rounded. What's not hot? long, fake talons. What's chic is short nails that are rounded, not squared. Dark colors for nails are still hot for the holidays.

3. Don't overdue the statement jewelry. Big jewelry pieces are hot, hot, hot, but make sure you wear them correctly. Don't wear a large necklace, a chunky ring and big earrings. Choose 1-2 statement pieces and keep your other jewelry quiet and subdued. You can do either a strong necklace and tiny earrings and rings OR a statement ring and statement earrings.

4. Color your hair. If you have gray hair or blah hair, get thee to the drugstore or the salon and color your hair. If you're doing it yourself, stay within a shade or two of your natural color. Covering up gray hairs and roots will add oomph to your holiday look.

5. Go for dewy skin by applying moisturizer under concealer and/or foundation. Add shimmer to eyes, cheeks or chest area, but don't overdo it with all 3. Apply a shimmer moisturizer (Jergens Soft Shimmer Skin Radiance, from drugstores) to legs if you're going bare.

Rings of Uranus :Dynamics and origin

2009-01-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

An enhanced-colour schematic of the inner rings derived from Voyager 2 images

An outstanding problem concerning the physics governing the narrow Uranian rings is their confinement. Without some mechanism to hold their particles together, the rings would quickly spread out radially. The lifetime of the Uranian rings without such a mechanism cannot be more than 1 million years. The most widely cited model for such confinement, proposed initially by Goldreich and Tremaine, is that a pair of nearby moons, outer and inner shepherds, interact gravitationally with a ring and act like sinks and donors, respectively, for excessive and insufficient angular momentum (or equivalently, energy). The shepherds thus keep ring particles in place, but gradually move away from the ring themselves. To be effective, the masses of the shepherds should exceed the mass of the ring by at least a factor of two to three. This mechanism is known to be at work in the case of the ε ring, where Cordelia and Ophelia serve as shepherds. Cordelia is also the outer shepherd of the δ ring, and Ophelia is the outer shepherd of the γ ring. However no moon larger than 10 km is known in the vicinity of other rings. The current distance of Cordelia and Ophelia from the ε ring can be used to estimate the ring’s age. The calculations show that the ε ring cannot be older than 6 × 10⁸ years.

Since the rings of Uranus appear to be young, they must be continuously renewed by the collisional fragmentation of larger bodies. The estimates show that the lifetime against collisional disruption of a moon with the size like that of Puck is a few billion years. The lifetime of a smaller satellite is much shorter. Therefore all current inner moons and rings can be products of disruption of several Puck-sized satellites during the last four and half billion years. Every such disruption would have started a collisional cascade that quickly ground almost all large bodies into much smaller particles, including dust. Eventually the majority of mass was lost, and particles survived only in positions that were stabilized by mutual resonances and shepherding. The end product of such a disruptive evolution would be a system of narrow rings. However, a few moonlets must still be embedded within the rings at present. The maximum size of such moonlets is probably around 10 km.

The origin of the dust bands is less problematic. The dust has a very short life time, 100–1000 years, and should be continuously replenished by collisions between larger ring particles, moonlets and meteoroids from outside the Uranian system. The belts of the parent moonlets and particles are themselves invisible due to their low optical depth, while the dust reveals itself in forward-scattered light. The narrow main rings and the moonlet belts that create dust bands are expected to differ in particle size distribution. The main rings have more centimetre to metre-sized bodies. Such a distribution increases the surface area of the material in the rings, leading to high optical density in back-scattered light. In contrast, the dust bands have relatively few large particles, which results in low optical depth.

Exploration

The rings were thoroughly investigated during the Voyager 2 spacecraft's flyby of Uranus in January 1986. Two new faint rings—λ and 1986U2R—were discovered bringing the total number to eleven. Rings were studied by analysing results of radio, ultravioletand optical occultations. Voyager 2 observed the rings in different geometries relative to the sun, producing images of back-scattered, forward-scattered and side-scattered light. Analysis of these images allowed derivation of the complete phase function, geometrical and bond albedo of ring particles. Two rings—ε and η—were resolved in the images revealing a complicated fine structure. Analysis of Voyager's images also led to discovery of 10 inner moons of Uranus, including the two shepherd moons of the ε ring—Cordelia and Ophelia.

Rings of Uranus : Outer ring system

2009-01-02T20:41:00.000-08:00

Rings of Uranus Part 7
Outer ring system

The μ and ν rings of Uranus (R/2003 U1 and U2) in Hubble Space Telescope images from 2005
In 2003–2005, the Hubble Space Telescope detected a pair of previously unknown rings, now called the outer ring system, which brought the number of known Uranian rings to 13.[10] These rings were subsequently named the μ and ν rings. The μ ring is the outermost of the pair, and is twice the distance from the planet as the bright η ring. The outer rings differ from the inner narrow rings in a number of respects. They are broad, 17,000 and 3,800 km wide, respectively, and very faint. Their peak normal optical depths are 8.5 × 10−6 and 5.4 × 10−6, respectively. The resulting equivalent optical depths are 0.14 km and 0.012 km. The rings have triangular radial brightness profiles.
The peak brightness of the μ ring lies almost exactly on the orbit of the small Uranian moon Mab, which is probably the source of the ring’s particles. The ν ring is positioned between Portia and Rosalind and does not contain any moons inside it. A reanalysis of the Voyager 2 images of forward-scattered light clearly reveals the μ and ν rings. In this geometry the rings are much brighter, which indicates that they contain a lot of micrometre-sized dust. The outer rings of Uranus may be similar to the G and E rings of Saturn. The G ring also lacks any observable source bodies, while the E ring is extremely broad and receives dust from Enceladus.
The μ ring may consist entirely of dust, without any large particles at all. This hypothesis is supported by observations performed by the Keck telescope, which failed to detect the μ ring in the near infrared at 2.2 μm, but detected the ν ring. This failure means that the μ ring is blue in colour, which in turn indicates that very small (submicrometre) dust predominates within it. The dust may be made of water ice. In contrast, the ν ring is slightly red in colour.

Rings of Uranus : Dusty rings

2009-01-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

λ ring

A long-exposure, high phase angle (172.5°) Voyager 2 image of Uranus's inner rings. In forward-scattered light, dust bands not visible in other images can be seen, as well as the recognized rings.

The λ ring was one of two rings discovered by Voyager 2 in 1986. It is a narrow, faint ring located just inside the ε ring, between it and the shepherd moon Cordelia. This moon actually clears a dark lane just inside the λ ring. When viewed in back-scattered light^[b], the λ ring is extremely narrow—about 1–2 km—and has the equivalent optical depth 0.1–0.2 km at the wavelength 2.2 μm. The normal optical depth is 0.1–0.2. The optical depth of the λ ring shows strong wavelength dependence, which is atypical for the Uranian ring system. The equivalent depth is as high as 0.36 km in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum, which explains why λ ring was initially detected only in UV stellar occultations by Voyager 2. The detection during a stellar occultation at the wavelength 2.2 μm was only announced in 1996.

The appearance of the λ ring changed dramatically when it was observed in forward-scattered light in 1986. In this geometry the ring became the brightest feature of the Uranian ring system, outshining the ε ring. This observation, together with the wavelength dependence of the optical depth, indicates that the λ ring contains significant amount of micrometre-sized dust. The normal optical depth of this dust is 10⁻⁴–10⁻³. Observations in 2007 by the Keck telescope during the ring plane-crossing event confirmed this conclusion, because the λ ring became one of the brightest features in the Uranian ring system.

Detailed analysis of the Voyager 2 images revealed azimuthal variations in the brightness of the λ ring. The variations appear to be periodic, resembling a standing wave. The origin of this fine structure in the λ ring remains a mystery.

1986U2R/ζ ring

The discovery image of the 1986U2R ring

In 1986 Voyager 2 detected a broad and faint sheet of material inward of ring 6. This ring was given the temporary designation 1986U2R. It had a normal optical depth of 10⁻³ or less and was extremely faint. In fact, it was visible only in a single Voyager 2 image. The ring was located between 37,000 and 39,500 km from the centre of Uranus, or only about 12,000 km above the clouds. It was not observed again until 2003–2004, when the Keck telescope found a broad and faint sheet of material just inside ring 6. This ring was dubbed the ζ ring. However the position of the recovered ζ ring differs significantly from that observed in 1986. Now it is situated between 37,850 and 41,350 km from the centre of the planet. There is an inward gradually fading extension reaching to at least 32,600 km.

The ζ ring was observed again during the ring plane-crossing event in 2007 when it became the brightest feature of the ring system, outshining all other rings combined. The equivalent optical depth of this ring is near 1 km (0.6 km for the inward extension), while the normal optical depth is again less then 10⁻³. Rather different appearances of the 1986U2R and ζ rings may be caused by different viewing geometries: back-scattering geometry in 2003–2007 and side-scattering geometry in 1986. However, changes during the past 20 years in the distribution of dust, which is thought to predominate in the ring, cannot be ruled out.

Other dust bands

In addition to the 1986U2R/ζ and λ rings, there are other extremely faint dust bands in the Uranian ring system. They are invisible during occultations because they have negligible optical depth, though they are bright in forward-scattered light. Voyager 2's images of forward-scattered light revealed the existence of bright dust bands between the λ and δ rings, between the η and β rings, and between the α ring and ring 4. Many of these bands were detected again in 2003–2004 by the Keck Telescope and during the 2007 ring-plane crossing event in backscattered light, but their precise locations and relative brightnesses were different than during the Voyager observations. The normal optical depth of the dust bands is about 10⁻⁵ or less. The dust particle size distribution is thought to obey a power law with the index p = 2.5 ± 0.5.

Rings of Uranus : Narrow main rings part 2

2009-01-02T20:32:00.001-08:00

η ring

The η ring has zero orbital eccentricity and inclination. Like the δ ring, it consists of two components: a narrow optically dense component and a broad outward shoulder with low optical depth. The width of the narrow component is 1.9–2.7 km and the equivalent depth is about 0.42 km, which corresponds to the normal optical depth of about 0.16–0.25. The broad component is about 40 km wide and its equivalent depth is close to 0.85 km, indicating a low normal optical depth of 2 × 10−2. It was resolved in Voyager 2 images. In forward-scattered light, the η ring looked bright, which indicated the presence of a considerable amount of dust in this ring, probably in the broad component. The broad component is much thicker (geometrically) than the narrow one. This conclusion is supported by the observations of a ring plane-crossing event in 2007, when the η ring demonstrated increased brightness, becoming the second brightest feature in the ring system. This is consistent with the behaviour of a geometrically thick but simultaneously optically thin ring. Like the majority of other rings, the η ring shows significant azimuthal variations in the normal optical depth and width. The narrow component even vanishes in some places.

α and β rings

After the ε ring, the α and β rings are the brightest of Uranus's rings. Like the ε ring, they exhibit regular variations in brightness and width.[14] They are brightest and widest 30° from the apoapsis and dimmest and narrowest 30° from the periapsis. The α and β rings have sizable orbital eccentricity and non-negligible inclination. The widths of these rings are 4.8–10 km and 6.1–11.4 km, respectively.[21] The equivalent optical depths are 3.29 km and 2.14 km, resulting in normal optical depths of 0.3–0.7 and 0.2–0.35, respectively.[21] During a ring plane-crossing event in 2007 the rings disappeared, which means they are geometrically thin like the ε ring and devoid of dust.[16] However, the same event revealed a thick and optically thin dust band just outside the β ring, which was also observed earlier by Voyager 2. The masses of the α and β rings are estimated to be about 5 × 1015 kg (each)—half the mass of the ε ring.

Rings 6, 5 and 4

Rings 6, 5 and 4 are the innermost and dimmest of Uranus's narrow rings. They are the most inclined rings, and their orbital eccentricities are the largest excluding the ε ring. In fact, their inclinations (0.06°, 0.05° and 0.03°) were large enough for Voyager 2 to observe their elevations above the Uranian equatorial plane, which were 24–46 km. Rings 6, 5 and 4 are also the narrowest rings of Uranus, measuring 1.6–2.2 km, 1.9–4.9 km and 2.4–4.4 km wide, respectively. Their equivalent depths are 0.41 km, 0.91 and 0.71 km resulting in normal optical depth 0.18–0.25, 0.18–0.48 and 0.16–0.3. They were not visible during a ring plane-crossing event in 2007 due to their narrowness and lack of dust.

Rings of Uranus:Narrow main rings

2009-01-01T21:44:00.000-08:00

A close-up view of the ε ring of Uranus

The ε ring is the brightest and densest part of the Uranian ring system, and is responsible for about two-thirds of the light reflected by the rings. While it is the most eccentric of the Uranian rings, it has negligible orbital inclination. The ring's eccentricity causes its brightness to vary over the course of its orbit. The radially integrated brightness of the ε ring is highest near apoapsis and lowest near periapsis. The maximum/minimum brightness ratio is about 2.5–3.0. These variations are connected with the variations of the ring width, which is 19.7 km at the periapsis and 96.4 km at the apoapsis. As the ring becomes wider, the amount of shadowing between particles decreases and more of them come into view, leading to higher integrated brightness. The width variations were measured directly from Voyager 2 images, as the ε ring was one of only two rings resolved by Voyager’s cameras. Such behaviour indicates that the ring is not optically thin. Indeed, occultation observations conducted from the ground and the spacecraft showed that its normal optical depth varies between 0.5 and 2.5, being highest near the periapsis. The equivalent depthof the ε ring is around 47 km and is invariant around the orbit.

A close-up view of the (from top to bottom) δ, γ, η, β and α rings of Uranus. The resolved η ring demonstrates the optically thin broad component.

The geometric thickness of the ε ring is not precisely known, although the ring is certainly very thin—by some estimates as thin as 150 m. Despite such infinitesimal thickness, it consists of several layers of particles. The ε ring is a rather crowded place with a filling factor near the apoapsis estimated by different sources at from 0.008 to 0.06. The mean size of the ring particles is 0.2–20.0 m, and the mean separation is around 4.5 times their radius. The ring is almost devoid of dust, possibly due to the aerodynamic drag from Uranus's extended atmospheric corona. Due to its razor-thin nature the ε ring disappears when viewed edge-on. This happened in 2007 when a ring plane-crossing was observed.

The Voyager 2 spacecraft observed a strange signal from the ε ring during the radio occultation experiment. The signal looked like a strong enhancement of the forward-scattering at the wavelength 3.6 cm near ring’s apoapsis. Such strong scattering requires the existence of a coherent structure. That the ε ring does have such a fine structure has been confirmed by many occultation observations. The ε ring seems to consist of a number of narrow and optically dense ringlets, some of which may have incomplete arcs.

The ε ring is known to have interior and exterior shepherd moons—Cordelia and Ophelia, respectively. The inner edge of the ring is in 24:25 resonance with Cordelia, and the outer edge is in 14:13 resonance with Ophelia. The masses of the moons need to be at least three times the mass of the ring to confine it effectively. The mass of the ε ring is estimated to be about 10¹⁶ kg.

δ ring

Comparison of the Uranian rings in forward-scattered and back-scattered light (images obtained by Voyager 2 in 1986)

The δ ring is circular and slightly inclined. It shows significant unexplained azimuthal variations in normal optical depth and width. One possible explanation is that the ring has an azimuthal wave-like structure, excited by a small moonlet just inside it. The sharp outer edge of the δ ring is in 23:22 resonance with Cordelia. The δ ring consists of two components: a narrow optically dense component and a broad inward shoulder with low optical depth. The width of the narrow component is 4.1–6.1 km and the equivalent depth is about 2.2 km, which corresponds to a normal optical depth of about 0.3–0.6. The ring's broad component is about 10–12 km wide and its equivalent depth is close to 0.3 km, indicating a low normal optical depth of 3 × 10⁻². This is known only from occultation data because Voyager 2s' imaging experiment failed to resolve the δ ring. When observed in forward-scattering geometry by Voyager 2, the δ ring appeared relatively bright, which is compatible with the presence of dust in its broad component. The broad component is geometrically thicker than the narrow component. This is supported by the observations of a ring plane-crossing event in 2007, when the δ ring increased in brightness, which is consistent with the behaviour of a simultaneously geometrically thick and optically thin ring.

γ ring

The γ ring is narrow, optically dense and slightly eccentric. Its orbital inclination is almost zero. The width of the ring varies in the range 3.6–4.7 km, although equivalent optical depth is constant at 3.3 km. The normal optical depth of the γ ring is 0.7–0.9. During a ring plane-crossing event in 2007 the γ ring disappeared, which means it is geometrically thin like the ε ring and devoid of dust. The width and normal optical depth of the γ ring show significant azimuthal variations. The mechanism of confinement of such a narrow ring is not known, but it has been noticed that the sharp inner edge of the γ ring is in a 6:5 resonance with Ophelia.

Rings of Uranus :General properties

2009-01-01T21:43:00.000-08:00

General properties

Uranus's inner rings. The bright outer ring is the epsilon ring; eight other rings are visible.
The ring system of Uranus comprises thirteen distinct rings. In order of increasing distance from the planet they are: 1986U2R/ζ, 6, 5, 4, α, β, η, γ, δ, λ, ε, ν, μ rings. They can be divided into three groups: nine narrow main rings (6, 5, 4, α, β, η, γ, δ, ε), two dusty rings (1986U2R/ζ, λ)[12] and two outer rings (μ, ν). The rings of Uranus consist mainly of macroscopic particles and little dust, although dust is known to be present in 1986U2R/ζ, η, δ, λ, ν and μ rings. In addition to these well-known rings, there may be numerous optically thin dust bands and faint rings between them.[15] These faint rings and dust bands may exist only temporarily or consist of a number of separate arcs, which are sometimes detected during occultations. Some of them became visible during a series of ring plane-crossing events in 2007. A number of dust bands between the rings were observed in forward-scatteringgeometry by Voyager 2. All rings of Uranus show azimuthal brightness variations.
The rings are made of an extremely dark material. The geometric albedo of the ring particles does not exceed 5–6%, while the bond albedo is even lower—about 2%. The rings particles demonstrate a steep opposition surge—an increase of the albedo when the phase angle is close to zero. This means that their albedo is much lower when they are observed slightly off the opposition. The rings are slightly red in the ultraviolet and visible parts of the spectrum and grey in near-infrared. They exhibit no identifiable spectral features. The chemical composition of the ring particles is not known. However, they cannot be made of pure water ice like the rings of Saturn because they are too dark, darker than the inner moons of Uranus. This indicates that they are probably composed of a mixture of the ice and a dark material. The nature of this material is not clear, but it may be organic compounds considerably darkened by the charged particle irradiation from the Uranian magnetosphere. The rings particles may consist of a heavily processed material which was initially similar to that of the inner moons.
As a whole, the ring system of Uranus is unlike either the faint dusty rings of Jupiter or the broad and complex rings of Saturn, some of which are composed of very bright material—water ice. However, there are similarities with some parts of the latter ring system; the Saturnian F ring and the ε ring are both narrow, relatively dark and are shepherded by a pair of moons. The newly discovered outer rings of Uranus are similar to the outer G and E rings of Saturn. Narrow ringlets existing in the broad Saturnian rings also resemble the narrow rings of Uranus. In addition, dust bands observed between the main rings of Uranus may be similar to the rings of Jupiter. In contrast, the Neptunian ring system is quite similar to that of Uranus, although is less complex, darker and contains more dust; the Neptunian rings are also positioned further from the planet.

Rings of Uranus:Discovery

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Discovery

The first mention of a Uranian ring system comes from William Herschel's notes detailing his observations of Uranus in the 18th century, which include the following passage: "February 22, 1789: A ring was suspected".Herschel drew a small diagram of the ring and noted that it was "a little inclined to the red". The Keck Telescope in Hawaii has since confirmed this to be the case, at least for the ν ring. Herschel's notes were published in a Royal Society journal in 1797. However, in the two centuries between 1797 and 1977 the rings are rarely mentioned, if at all. This casts serious doubt on whether Herschel could have seen anything of the sort while hundreds of other astronomers saw nothing. Still, it has been claimed by some that Herschel actually gave accurate descriptions of the ν ring's size relative to Uranus, its changes as Uranus travelled around the Sun, and its colour.
The definitive (and accidental) discovery of the Uranian Rings was made by astronomers James L. Elliot, Edward W. Dunham, and Douglas J. Mink on March 10, 1977, using the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. They planned to use the occultation of the star SAO 158687 by Uranus to study the planet's atmosphere. However, when their observations were analyzed, they found that the star disappeared briefly from view five times both before and after it disappeared behind the planet. They concluded that there must be a ring system around the planet. The five occultation events that they observed were numbered by the Greek letters α, β, γ, δ and ε in their papers. These designations have been used as the ring's names since then. Later they found four additional rings: one between β and γ rings and three inside α ring. The former was named η ring. The latter were dubbed rings 4, 5 and 6—according to the numbering of the occultation events in one paper. Uranus's ring system was the second to be discovered in the Solar System, after that of Saturn.
The rings were directly imaged when the Voyager 2 spacecraft flew through the Uranian system in 1986. Two additional faint rings were revealed, bringing the total to eleven. The Hubble Space Telescope detected a pair of previously unknown rings in 2003–2005, bringing the total number to 13. The discovery of these outer rings doubled the known radius of the ring system. Hubble also imaged two small satellites, one of which, Mab, shares its orbit with the outermost newly discovered ring.

Rings of Uranus

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The scheme of Uranus's ring-moon system. Solid lines denote rings; dashed lines denote orbits of moons.

The planet Uranus has a system of rings intermediate in complexity between the more extensive set around Saturn and the simpler systems around Jupiter and Neptune. The rings of Uranus were discovered on March 10, 1977, by James L. Elliot, Edward W. Dunham, and Douglas J. Mink. More than 200 years ago, William Herschel also reported observing rings. However modern astronomers are skeptical that he could actually have noticed them, as they are very dark and faint. Two additional rings were discovered in 1986 in images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, and two outer rings were found in 2003–2005 in Hubble Space Telescope photos.

As of 2008 the Uranian ring system is known to consist of 13 distinct rings. In the order of increasing distance from the planet they are designated 1986U2R/ζ, 6, 5, 4, α, β, η, γ, δ, λ, ε, ν and μ. Their radii range from about 38,000 km for the 1986U2R/ζ ring to about 98,000 km for the μ ring. Additional faint dust bands and incomplete arcs may exist between the main rings. The rings are extremely dark—the bond albedo of the rings' particles does not exceed 2%. They are likely composed of water ice with the addition of some dark radiation-processed organics.

The majority of Uranus's rings are opaque and only a few kilometres wide. The ring system contains little dust overall; it consists mostly of large bodies 0.2–20 m in diameter. However, some rings are optically thin: the broad and faint 1986U2R/ζ, μ and ν rings are made of small dust particles, while the narrow and faint λ ring also contains larger bodies. The relative lack of dust in the ring system is due to aerodynamic drag from the extended Uranian exosphere—corona.

The rings of Uranus are thought to be relatively young, at not more than 600 million years. The mechanism that confines the narrow rings is not well understood. Initially it was assumed that every narrow ring had a pair of nearby shepherd moons corralling them into shape. However, in 1986 Voyager 2 discovered only one such shepherd pair (Cordelia and Ophelia) around the brightest ring (ε). The Uranian ring system probably originated from the collisional fragmentation of a number of moons that once existed around the planet. After colliding, the moons probably broke up into numerous particles, which survived as narrow and optically dense rings only in strictly confined zones of maximum stability.

C-17 Globemaster III :Canadian Forces Air Command

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Canadian Forces Air Command

Canadian Forces CC-177 in Louisiana
Canada has had a long-standing need for strategic airlift for humanitarian and military operations around the world. The Canadian Forces (CF) had followed a pattern similar to the Luftwaffe in using rented Antonovs and Ilyushins for many of their needs, including deploying the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to tsunami-stricken Sri Lanka in 2005. The CF was forced to rely entirely on leased An-124 Condors for a deployment to Haiti in 2003, as well as a combination of leased Condors, Ilyushins and USAF C-17s for moving heavy equipment into Afghanistan. The Canadian Forces Future Strategic Airlifter Project was initiated in 2002 to study various alternatives, including long-term leasing arrangements.
On 5 July 2006, the Canadian government issued a notice that it intended to negotiate directly with Boeing for the purchase of four airlifters. Then on 1 February 2007 Canada awarded a contract for four C-17s with delivery beginning in August 2007. Like Australia, Canada was granted airframes originally slated for the U.S. Air Force, to accelerate delivery.
On 16 June 2007, the first Canadian C-17 rolled off the assembly line at Long Beach, California and into the paint hangar for painting and addition of Canadian markings including the national logo and air force roundel. The first Canadian C-17 made its initial flight on 23 July. It was turned over to Canada on August 8, and participated at the Abbotsford Airshow on August 11 prior to arriving at its new home base at 8 Wing, CFB Trenton, Ontario on August 12. Its first operational mission was delivery of disaster relief to Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Dean. The second C-17 arrived at 8 Wing, CFB Trenton on 18 October 2007. The last of four aircraft was delivered in April 2008. The C-17 is officially designated CC-177 Globemaster III within the Canadian Forces. The aircraft are assigned to 429 Squadron based at CFB Trenton.
Future and potential operators
NATO
The Royal Danish Air Force signed a letter of intent to purchase C-17s on 19 July 2006 at the 2006 Farnborough Airshow to participate in the joint purchase and operation of C-17s within NATO, a program called the NATO Strategic Airlift Capability. A further letter of intent was announced on 12 September 2006 that includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and the United States to be part of a larger NATO joint purchase. This purchase would probably be similar to NATO's purchase of the E-3A Sentry. Later on, NATO countries Hungary and Norway, as well as Partner country Sweden also signed the Letter of Intent. Finland has also decided to join the program. The purchase is to be for two C-17s, which will operate in the same fashion as the NATO AWACS aircraft. The AWACS aircraft are jointly manned by crew from various NATO countries.
On 9 May 2008, a Foreign Military Sale Notice was posted at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notifying the US Congress of a possible sale of two C-17s and related equipment worth up to US$700 million. The sale is expected to be completed in June 2008.
To support the two NATO C-17s in the Heavy Airlift Wing to be based at Pápa Air Base in Hungary the United States Air Force will provide an additional aircraft for use by the wing.
German Luftwaffe
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and resultant tsunamis placed a strain on the global strategic airlifter pool. The performance of the C-17 in USAF and RAF service has led to Germany considering 2-4 C-17s for the Luftwaffe in a Dry lease arrangement, at least until the A400M is available in 2009. Germany's former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer stated in the German news magazine Der Spiegel that the government needed its own organic strategic transport capability to be able to respond to disasters in a better manner than it was able to for this incident. During the tsunami relief effort, Germany tried to acquire transport through its usual method of wet leasing Antonov airlifters via private companies, but found to its dismay that there were no available aircraft. While the stated goal of a C-17 lease would be to last until the A400M's arrival, the Luftwaffe may elect to retain them. The Luftwaffe acquired meanwhile airlift capacity through the NATO SALIS contract.
Swedish Armed Forces
The Swedish Armed Forces have in a spring 2006 budget proposal identified a need for a strategic airlift capability for use with the EU Nordic Battle Group led by Sweden. Repeated reports in the Swedish media suggest that the Armed Forces are lobbying hard for the airlift requirement to be satisfied with the purchase of two C-17s. A request for information on the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration website stated that Sweden must be able to deploy the battle group up to 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km) away with 6000 tons of military equipment, quarter of that being oversized. In late 2006, Sweden signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to join the NATO Strategic Airlift Capability (NSAC).[57]
Others
In September 2006, General Paul V. Hester, USAF, commander of the United States Pacific Air Forces, stated that Japan was considering purchasing C-17s to equip the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
Qatar has signed a deal for two C-17ERs for delivery in 2009.
A report in Aviation Week and Space Technology during summer 2008 stated that the Republic of Korea had allocated funds for the purchase of three or four C-17 class airplanes for use in supporting expeditionary deployments.
Commercial interest
In the mid-1990s, McDonnell Douglas began to market the C-17 to commercial civilian operators, under the name MD-17. Due to its high projected fuel, maintenance and depreciation cost for a low-cycle military design in commercial service, as well as a limited market dominated by the An-124 and A300-600ST, very little interest was expressed. After McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing, the program was renamed BC-17. However, the aircraft received no orders and Boeing is no longer offering the BC-17 for sale.

C-17 Globemaster III : Operational history

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Operational history

United States Air Force

The first production model was delivered to Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina on 14 July 1993. The first squadron of C-17s, the 17th Airlift Squadron, was declared operationally ready on 17 January 1995. The C-17 has broken 22 records for oversized payloads. The C-17 was awarded US aviation's most prestigious award, the Collier Trophy in 1994.

USAF C-17 Globemaster IIIs on a low level tactical training mission over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Air Force originally programmed to buy a total of 120 C-17s, with the last one being scheduled for delivery in November 2004. The fiscal 2000 budget funded another 14 aircraft, primarily for Air Mobility Command support of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Basing of the original 120 C-17s was with the 437th Airlift Wing and 315th Airlift Wing at Charleston AFB, South Carolina, the 62nd Airlift Wing and 446th Airlift Wing at McChord Air Force Base, Washington (first aircraft arrived in July 1999), the Air Education and Training Command's (AETC) 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus AFB, Oklahoma, and the Air Mobility Command-gained 172d Airlift Wing of the Mississippi Air National Guard at Jackson-Evers International Airport/ANGB, Mississippi.

Basing of the additional 13 aircraft went to McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, and Travis Air Force Base, California. An additional 60 units were ordered in May 2002.

A C-17 lands at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, after dropping humanitarian food rations over Afghanistan.

In FY 2006, eight C-17s were delivered to March ARB, California. Although operationally-gained by the Air Mobility Command, these C-17s are the only aircraft strictly under direct control of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC).

In 2007, Congress appropriated funds for 10 additional USAF C-17s, bringing the total planned fleet size (on order + delivered) to 190. Additional aircraft were subsequently assigned to Dover AFB, Delaware.

The C-17 was used to deliver military goods and humanitarian aid during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan as well as Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. On 26 March 2003, fifteen USAF C-17s participated in the biggest combat airdrop since the United States invasion of Panama in December, 1989: the night-time airdrop of 1,000 paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade occurred over Bashur, Iraq. It opened the northern front to combat operations and constituted the largest formation airdrop carried out by the United States since World War II.

A C-17 also accompanies the President of the United States on his visits to both domestic and foreign arrangements, consultations, and meetings. The C-17 is used to transport the Presidential Limousine and a security detachment.^{[citation needed]}

USAF C-17A taxiing to the royal internasional air tatto take off point at the, RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, England.

USAF C-17s have also been used to assist US Allies transport military equipment. This has included the transportation of Canadian armored vehicles to Afghanistan in 2003 and the redeployment of Australian forces in Australia and the Solomon Islands during the Australian-led military deployment to East Timor in 2006. In late September and early November 2006, USAF C-17s flew 15 Canadian Forces Leopard C2 tanks from Kyrgyzstan into Kandahar AF in support of the Afghanistan NATO mission.

There has been debate regarding follow-on orders for the C-17, with the Air Force requesting line shutdown, and members of Congress attempting to reinstate production. Furthermore, in FY2007, the Air Force requested $1.6 billion to deal with what it termed "excessive combat use" on operational airframes.

However, in testimony before a House of Representatives subcommittee on air and land forces, General Arthur Lichte, USAF, the commander of Air Mobility Command indicated extending production to another 15 aircraft, bringing the total to 205. Pending on the delivery of the results of two studies in 2009, Lichte opines that the Air Force may eventually have to keep the production line open for purchase of even more C-17s to satisfy airlift requirements.

C-17 Globemaster III: Recent developments

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Recent developments

Three C-17s unload supplies to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi in August 2005.
In July 2006, C-17 production was planned to end in 2009 unless Boeing received additional orders in time to allow the production pipeline to remain in operation. At the time a large follow-on order would allow Boeing to begin C-17B production in 2010. The proposed C-17B would be capable of landing on sandy beaches and other areas off-limits to the C-17A.
On 18 August 2006 Boeing announced it was telling suppliers to stop work on parts for uncommitted C-17s. This move is the first step in shutting down production if no new plane orders were received from the US Government. However, just one month later on 21 September, a House and Senate conference committee approved a US$447 billion defense bill for 2007, that includes US$2.1 billion for 10 additional C-17s. The additional purchase follows intense lobbying by Boeing, as well as by California state leaders (where the plane is manufactured), and Missouri leaders, where Boeing's defense business is based. However, this extends the life of the program for only one additional year, to 2010.
On 2 March 2007, Boeing announced the C-17 production line may end in mid-2009 due to the lack of additional US government and international orders.
A total of 190 C-17s are contracted for delivery to the USAF as of October 2007. Boeing has purchased parts for 30 new C-17s at its own expense in hopes that Congress will approve the funds requested.[19] Fifteen C-17s are earmarked in a FY2008 War Supplemental that passed the House on 10 June 2008 and the Senate on 27 June 2008. President Bush signed the measure into law in 30 June 2008. These funds will extend production from August 2009 to August 2010 and the total number of C-17s on contract will be 205, once a contract is awarded.
Design

The inside of a C-17
In recent years the size and weight of U.S. mechanized firepower and equipment have grown, which has significantly increased air mobility requirements, particularly in the area of large or heavy outsize cargo. The C-17 can airlift such cargo fairly close to a potential battle area.
The C-17 is powered by four fully reversible, F117-PW-100 turbofan engines (the Department of Defense designation for the commercial Pratt and Whitney PW2040, currently used on the Boeing 757). Each engine is rated at 40,400 lbf (180 kN) of thrust. The thrust reversers direct the flow of air upward and forward. This reduces the probability of foreign object damage and provides reverse thrust capable of backing the aircraft. Additionally, the C-17's thrust reversers can be used in flight at idle-reverse for added drag in maximum-rate descents.
The aircraft requires a crew of three (pilot, copilot, and loadmaster) for cargo operations. Cargo is loaded through a large aft door that accommodates both rolling stock (trucks, armored vehicles, trailers, etc.) and palletized cargo. The cargo floor has rollers (used for palletized cargo) that can be flipped to provide a flat floor suitable for rolling stock. One of the larger pieces of rolling stock that this aircraft can carry is the 70-ton M1 Abrams tank.

C-17 landing, showing its landing gear.
Maximum payload capacity of the C-17 is 170,900 lb (77,500 kg), and its maximum gross takeoff weight is 585,000 lb (265,350 kg). With a payload of 160,000 lb (72,600 kg) and an initial cruise altitude of 28,000 ft (8,500 m), the C-17 has an unrefueled range of approximately 2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km) on the first 71 units, and 2,800 nautical miles (5,200 km) on all subsequent units -- which are extended-range models using the sealed center wing bay as a fuel tank. These units are informally referred to by Boeing as the C-17 ER.[23] The C-17 cruise speed is approximately 450 knots (833 km/h) (0.76 Mach). The C-17 is designed to airdrop 102 paratroopers and their equipment.
The C-17 is designed to operate from runways as short as 3,500 ft (1,064 m) and as narrow as 90 ft (27 m). In addition, the C-17 can operate out of unpaved, unimproved runways (although there is the increased probability of damage to the aircraft). The thrust reversers can be used to back the aircraft and reverse direction on narrow taxiways using a three-point (or in some cases, multi-point) turn maneuver.

C-17 Globemaster III : Design phase

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Design phase

Development continued until December 1985 when a full-scale production contract was signed for 210 aircraft. Development problems and limited funding caused delays in the late 1980s. Questions were also raised about more cost-effective alternatives during this time. In April 1990, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney reduced the order from 210 to 120 aircraft. The C-17's maiden flight was on 15 September 1991 from the McDonnell Douglas west coast plant in Long Beach, California, about a year behind schedule. This aircraft (T-1) and five more production models (P1-P5) participated in extensive flight testing and evaluation at Edwards AFB. In late 1993, the DoD gave the contractor two years to solve production and cost overrun problems or face termination of the contract after the delivery of the fortieth aircraft. By accepting the 1993 terms, McDonnell Douglas incurred a loss of nearly US$1.5 billion on the development phase of the program.

In April 1994, the C-17 program was still experiencing cost overruns, and did not meet weight, fuel burn, payload and range specifications. Airflow issues caused problems with parachutes and there were various other technical problems with mission software, landing gear, etc. A July 1994 GAO document revealed that to justify investing in the C-17 rather than in the C-5, Air Force and DoD studies from 1986 and 1991 had claimed that the C-17 could use 6,400 more runways (outside the US) than the C-5. It was later discovered that this study had only considered the runway dimensions, but not their strength or Load Classification Numbers (LCN). The C-5 has a lower LCN than the C-17, although the US Air Force places both in the same broad Load Classification Group (LCG). When considering runway dimensions and their load ratings, the C-17's worldwide runway advantage over the C-5 shrank from 6,400 to 911 airfields. However, the C-17's ability to use lower quality, austere airfields was not considered.

A January 1995 GAO report revealed that while the original C-17 budget was US$41.8 billion for 210 aircraft, the 120 aircraft already ordered at that point had already cost US$39.5 billion. In March 1994, the U.S. Army had decided it no longer needed the 60,000 lb (27,000 kg) Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES) delivery that the C-17 was supposed to provide, feeling that the 42,000 lb (19,000 kg) capability of the C-130 Hercules was sufficient. It was decided not to conduct C-17 LAPES training beyond the testing of a 42,000 lb (19,000 kg) LAPES delivery. There were still airflow problems making it impossible for the C-17 to meet its original airdrop requirements. A February 1997 GAO Report revealed that a C-17 with a full payload could not land on 3,000 feet (900 m) wet runways, for simulations suggested 5,000 ft (1,500 m) was required.

By the mid-1990s, most of the problems had been resolved. The first C-17 squadron was declared operational by the U.S. Air Force in January 1995. In 1996, DoD ordered another 80 aircraft for a total of 120. In 1997 McDonnell Douglas merged with its former competitor, Boeing. In 1998, the order was increased to 134 units

C-17 Globemaster III

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The Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas) C-17 Globemaster III is a large American airlifter manufactured by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. The C-17 is operated by the United States Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Canadian Forces, while NATO and Qatar have placed orders for the airlifter.
The C-17 Globemaster III is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward bases anywhere in the world. It has the ability to rapidly deploy a combat unit to a potential battle area and sustain it with on-going supplies. The C-17 is also capable of performing tactical airlift, medical evacuation and airdrop missions. The aircraft carries on the name of two previous United States cargo aircraft, the C-74 Globemaster and the C-124 Globemaster II.
Development
Background
In the 1970s, the US Air Force began looking for a replacement for the C-130 Hercules tactical airlifter. The Advanced Medium STOL Transport (AMST) competition was held, with Boeing proposing the YC-14, and McDonnell Douglas proposing the YC-15. Despite both entrants exceeding specified requirements, the AMST competition was canceled before a winner had been selected.

The McDonnell-Douglas YC-15 design was used as the basis for the C-17.
By the early 1980s, the USAF found itself with a large fleet of aging C-141 Starlifter cargo aircraft. Some of the C-141s had major structural problems due to heavy use. Compounding matters, USAF historically never possessed sufficient strategic airlift capabilities to fulfill its airlift requirements. In response, McDonnell Douglas elected to develop a new aircraft using the YC-15 as the basis. McDonnell Douglas was awarded a contract to build its proposed aircraft, by then designated the C-17A Globemaster III, on 28 August 1981. The new aircraft differed in having swept wings, increased size, and more powerful engines. This would allow it to perform all work performed by the C-141, but to also fulfill some of the duties of the C-5 Galaxy, freeing the C-5 fleet for larger outsize cargo.

Localized celebrations

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Random gunfire and unapproved fireworks use

In several areas of the U.S., particularly major urban areas, New Year celebrations are punctuated by random celebratory gunfire which could potentially cause injuries and/or deaths. Police departments in many cities, aided by gun safety organizations, have attempted to crack down on this practice through technology and stiffer penalties Archive copy at the Internet Archive

A New Year's Eve tradition in Hawaii and other areas is the un-condoned use of fireworks by local residents. Local governments have begun to severely limit this practice in recent years for numerous reasons, including its effect on people with breathing problems, thrill-seeking but dangerous twists on fireworks use (e.g. hanging fireworks from power lines), and unintended fires. Legislation approved by the Hawaii State Legislature has implemented a system of permits for fireworks use, yet this system is still frequently circumvented by locals.

Songs

There are a few popular songs associated with New Year's Eve and it is common to hear them on the radio on, or shortly before, December 31.

"Auld Lang Syne"
"It Was A Very Good Year" by Frank Sinatra.
"It's Just Another New Year's Eve" by Barry Manilow.
"What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" recorded by various singers, most of them female.
"Same Old Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg
"Happy New Year" by ABBA
"The New Year" by Death Cab For Cutie
"A Long December" by Counting Crows
"New Year's Eve" by The Walkmen

During the festivities for the year 2000, Prince's 1999 was re-released and enjoyed increased popularity due to the song's namesake year. Will Smith also released a song entitled Will 2K, which also proved successful, owing to the lyrics' celebration of millennium parties.

Venezuela

In Venezuela, many of the traditions are very similar to the ones from Spain, with an over-emphasis in traditions who supposedly will bring good luck in the year forthcoming. Those who want to find love in the New Year are supposed to wear yellow underwear on New Year's Eve; those who want money must have a bill of high value when toast, those who want to travel must go out home while carrying some luggage, and so on.

Usually, people listen to radio specials, which give a countdown and announce the New Year according to the legal hour in Venezuela, and, in Caracas, following the twelve bells from the Cathedral of Caracas. During these special programs is a tradition to broadcast songs about the sadness on the end of the year, being popular favorites "Viejo año" ("Old year") by Gaita group Maracaibo 15 and "Cinco pa' las 12" ("Five minutes before twelve") who was versioned by several popular singers like Nestor Zavarce, Nancy Ramos and José Luis Rodríguez El Puma. The unofficial hymn for the first minutes of the New Year is "Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva" ("New Year, New Life"), by the band Billo's Caracas Boys.

Localized celebrations : Local celebrations

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Local celebrations
Many cities in the United States of America have their own local version of the celebration, even while keeping an eye on New York, and the New York-centric aspect of the holiday is diminishing. Many cities, echoing the New York tradition of ball drop, also descend or lower an object (or an enlarged representation of an object) For example, big balloon drops are traditional at the Professionals Guild singles New Years Eve parties in Sacramento and in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can see the balloon drop at the end of this video.
In some communities the objects dropped have special local significance. Orange County, California, Orange County, Texas, and Orange County, New York, all drop large oranges (Orange County, Florida, tried it briefly, but has since ceased doing so). There are also examples of things going up. In Seattle the countdown is done by raising the Space Needle's elevator and launching fireworks up the side of the tower until both reach the top at midnight.
Further information: List of objects dropped on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is a major event in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the Las Vegas Strip is shut down as several hundred thousand people party. New Year's Eve is traditionally the busiest day of the year at Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California, where the parks stay open late and the usual nightly fireworks are supplemented by an additional New-Year's-Eve-specific show at midnight. In New Orleans, Louisiana, another of the most popular New Year celebration venues in North America, similar crowds of hundreds of thousands gather in the French Quarter, particularly on Bourbon and Canal Street, to celebrate the New Year.
Many cities also celebrate First Night, a non-alcohol family-friendly New Year's Celebration, generally featuring performing artists, community events, parades, and fireworks displays. First Night began in Boston in 1976 and is now found in over 60 cities nationwide. A similar celebration is Providence, Rhode Island's Bright Night Providence,and an artist run arts celebration that started when Providence's First Night went bankrupt in 2003.

Localized celebrations : Communities

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Communities

Religious Communities. Many religious communities have a tradition of New Year's Eve being known as "Watch Night." The faithful of the community congregate in worship services commencing New Year's Eve night and continuing past midnight into the new year. The Watch Night is a time for giving thanks for the blessings of the outgoing year and praying for divine favor during the upcoming year. Though held by some to have begun in the African American community, watch night can actually be traced back to a sect of Christians known as the Moravians who held the first Watchnight Service in Herrnhut, Saxony, in 1732. The practice was later adopted by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Watch Night did take on special significance to African Americans on New Year's Eve 1862, however, as slaves eagerly awaited the arrival of January 1, 1863 -- the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation. This particular New Year's Eve became known as "Freedom's Eve."

Singles Communities. Unmarried people often feel very lonely during Holidays and New Years is no exception. New Years parties are often very uncomfortable for singles because they have nobody to celebrate with at midnight. To serve the needs to single people, several organizations have evolved with the purpose of providing a comfortable atmosphere for singles. For example, Meet Market Adventures, a singles events and social club hosts a New Years Eve party especially for singles at Stitch Bar and Lounge in New York. Professionals Guild hosts two New Years Eve parties for singles in Northern California, one at the Hilton Arden West Sacramento; the other at the Hilton Concord.

Localized celebrations:Turkey,United Kingdom,United states

2008-12-27T21:31:00.000-08:00

Turkey
Numerous decorations and customs traditionally associated with Christmas and Bayrams find a secular translation in Turkish New Year's Eve celebrations, where homes and streets are lit up in glittering lights, ornamented trees, and garlands as well as various traditional Turkish aesthetic practices. Small gifts are exchanged, and large family dinners are organized with family and friends, featuring roast turkey, a special Zante currant-pimento-dill iç pilav dish, dolma, hot börek, hummus, musakka and various other eggplant dishes, topped with warm pide, salep and boza.
Television and radio channels are known to continuously broadcast a variety of special New Year's Eve programs, while Municipalities all around the country organize fundraising events for the poor, in addition to celebratory public shows such as concerts and family-friendly events, as well as more traditional forms of entertainment such as the Karagöz and Hacivat shadow-theater and even performances by the Mehter - the Janissary Band that was founded during the days of the Ottoman Empire.
Public and private parties with large public attendances are organized in a number of cities and towns, particularly in the largest metropolitan areas such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana and Antalya, with the biggest celebrations taking place in Istanbul's Taksim, Beyoğlu, Nişantaşı and Kadıköy districts and Ankara's Kızılay Square, which generally feature dancing, concerts, laser and lightshows as well as the traditional countdown and fireworks display.
United Kingdom
In Edinburgh the cannon is fired at Edinburgh Castle at the stroke of midnight.
There are also major celebrations across Scotland where it is known as Hogmanay. The traditional song Auld Lang Syne was written by Robert Burns, a Scottish poet. There are large street parties held in the major cities, particularly Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party is attended by people from all over the world.
London's firework celebrations centre around the London Eye. At the start of 2005, fireworks were launched from the wheel itself for the first time.
Other large cities in Britain such as Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, and Birmingham all have large celebrations.
United States

Countdown 2006 in NYC
In the United States, New Year's Eve is a major social holiday. One of the top destination cities for New Year's Eve from 2003 to 2006 has been New York, according to hotwire.com. Las Vegas is also attracting a large number of New Year's Eve party goers with the famous Las Vegas strip being closed to vehicles and buses.
In the past 100 years the "ball dropping" on top of One Times Square in New York City, broadcast to all of America (and rebroadcast in many other countries), is a major component of the New Year celebration. The 1,070-pound, 6-foot-diameter Waterford crystal ball located high above Times Square is lowered, starting at 11:59pm and reaching the bottom of its tower 60 seconds later, at the stroke of midnight (12:00am). This is repeated for all four time zones in the continental US. It is sometimes referred to as "the big apple" like the city itself; the custom derives from the time signal that used to be given at noon in harbors.
From 1981 to 1988, New York City dropped an enlarged apple in recognition of its nickname. Since 1972, Dick Clark has hosted televised coverage of the event called Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, shown on ABC (10:00pm for the 1st edition, 11:35pm for the 2nd edition). From 1956 to 1976 on CBS, Guy Lombardo (who died in 1977) and his Royal Canadians serenaded the United States from the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue in New York City. The Royal Canadians continued on CBS until 1978, and Happy New Year, America replaced it in 1979, continuing until 1995. The song Auld Lang Syne has become a popular song to sing at midnight on New Year's Eve.

Localized celebrations:Spain,Sweden,Taiwan

2008-12-27T21:30:00.000-08:00

Spain

The Puerta Del Sol in 2005 New Year's Eve

Spanish New Year's Eve (Nochevieja, or Fin de Año) celebrations usually begin with a family dinner, traditionally including shrimp and lamb or turkey. Spanish people believe that wearing red underwear on New Year's Eve brings good luck. The actual countdown is primarily followed from the clock on top of the Casa de Correos building in Puerta del Sol square in Madrid. It is traditional to eat twelve grapes, one on each chime of the clock. This tradition has its origins in 1909, when grape growers in Alicante thought of it as a way to cut down on the large production surplus they had had that year. Nowadays, the tradition is followed by almost every Spaniard, and the twelve grapes have become synonymous with the New Year. After the clock has finished striking twelve, people greet each other and toast with sparkling wine such as cava or champagne, or alternatively with cider.

After the family dinner and the grapes, many young people attend New Year parties at pubs, discotheques and similar places (these parties are called cotillones de nochevieja, after the Spanish word cotillón, which refers to party supplies like confetti, party blowers, party hats, etc.). Parties usually last until the next morning and range from small, personal celebrations at local bars to huge parties with guests numbering the thousands at hotel convention rooms. Early next morning, party attendees usually gather to have the traditional winter breakfast of ‘’chocolate con churros’’ (hot chocolate and fried pastry).

Sweden

In Sweden, New Year's Eve is usually celebrated with families or with friends. Few hours before and after midnight, people usually party and eat a nicer dinner, often three courses. New Year's Eve is celebrated with large fireworks displays throughout the country, expecially in the cities. People over 18 are allowed to buy fireworks and is sold by local stores or by privat persons. While watching or lighting up fireworks at midnight, people usually drink champagne.

Taiwan

A fireworks display on Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan, New Year's 2008. A rare example of fireworks on a skyscraper.

Many people in Taiwan celebrate the end of the year with concerts in most of the cities and recently using a big screen on the stage to communicate with cities around the island by shouting Happy New Year to each other. The most crowded city is the capital Taipei where most people gather around Taipei 101 located in the shopping and financial area. People gather around the roads around Taipei 101 and together they shout from 10 to zero. With each number they count, one of the layers of Taipei 101 (eight floors per layer) lights up until zero, the fireworks shoot out from the top of each layer (8 layers excluding a layer under the antenna) in different directions.

Localized celebrations :New Zealand, Philippines, Russia and Former Soviet Union

2008-12-27T21:28:00.000-08:00

New Zealand

Auckland is 496.3 kilometres west of the International Date Line and thus is the first major city to see the beginning of the new year, however it is Gisborne that is the first "city" in the world to see the first sun rise for the year. In common with many other places it celebrates this with large street parties and fireworks displays. Elsewhere in New Zealand, local councils usually organise parties and street carnivals and fireworks displays. In recent years however, liquor bans have been imposed on many of the more popular areas due to disorder, vandalism and other anti-social behaviours. Traditionally young people (16 - 25) travel to beaches around the country and spend the New Year's period camping at outdoor rave type events.

During the day of New Year's Eve, in recent years, the Black Caps have played a One Day International cricket game in Queenstown.

Philippines

Filipinos usually celebrate New Year's Eve with the company of family and close friends. Traditionally, most households stage a dinner party named Media Noche in their homes. Typical dishes include pancit, Hamon and if the family could afford it, Lechon, which is usually considered as the centerpiece of the dinner table. Barbecued food is also an integral part of the menu.

Most Filipinos follow a set of traditions that are typically observed during New Year's Eve. Included among these traditions is the customary habit of wearing clothes with circular patterns like polka dots, this signifies the belief that circles attract money and fortune. Throwing coins at the stroke of midnight is said to increase riches that years. Traditions also include the serving of circularly-shaped fruits, shaking of coins inside a metal casserole while walking around the house, jumping high which is believed to cause an increase in physical height and making loud noises to drive away "evil" spirits among others. Households also spend money to buy firecrackers and pyrotechnics that would be ignited at the strike of midnight.

Urban areas are usually host to many New Year's Eve parties and countdown celebrations which are usually hosted by the private sector with the help of the local government. Notable parties include GMA Network's party at the Plaza Sulayman of Baywalk in Manila. These parties usually display their own fireworks spectacle.

Russia and Former Soviet Union

In Russia and former Soviet Union, New Year has the same cultural significance as Christmas has in the United States, but without the religious connotations. Russian and Ukrainian families traditionally install at home spruce trees, the equivalent of a Christmas tree. In Eastern Europe, there is the Ded Moroz, who looks similar to Santa Claus, except he wears robes, and instead of reindeer, he is pulled by a troika (i.e. a three-horse drawn sled). Families gather to eat a large feast and reflect on the past year. They have a large celebration, make toasts, and make wishes for a happy New Year. Families give presents to their friends as well as informal acquaintances. This is due to Russians being a closely-knit community, and it is seen as a taboo to not give presents to those the family associates with. Children stay up until midnight, waiting for the New Year. Also, during these celebrations many Russians tune to special New Year shows, which have become a long-standing tradition for the Russian TV.

New Year is often considered a "Pre-Celebration" for the Eastern Orthodox living in Eastern Europe, primarily in Russian and Ukraine, since Christmas is celebrated on January 6 according to the Eastern Orthodox tradition.

Localized celebrations:Lebanon,Mexico, Netherlands

2008-12-26T23:53:00.005-08:00

Lebanon

In Lebanon, people celebrate the New Year's Eve by the use of fireworks, and by organizing cheese and wine for family and friend gatherings. These celebrations could also take place at some fancy diners and clubs which are usually fully-booked due to the presence of foreign and domestic popular singers. Game shows are also organized where people can try their luck to win some money. The synchronised final countdown is broadcasted through the leading TV channel and the celebrations usually continue until sunrise.

Mexico

Mexicans down a grape with each of the twelve chimes of the bell during the New Year countdown, while making a wish with each one. On New Year's Eve, those who want to find love in the new year wear red underwear and yellow if they want money.^[1]

Other traditions include sweeping the dirt out, taking luggage outside as a symbol of future trips, hanging sheep dolls (mainly made out of wool) in the doorknob for prosperity, among others.

The celebrations are very similar to those of Spain (see below).

They make dolls out of old clothes

Netherlands

New Year's Eve is called Oud en Nieuw ("Old and New") or simply oudejaarsavond ("old year's evening", logical since it's still part of the old year), and is usually celebrated as a cosy evening with family or friends. Traditional snack foods are oliebollen (oil dumplings) and appelbeignets (apple slice fritters). On television, the main feature is the oudejaarsconférence, a performance by one of the major Dutch cabaretiers (comparable to stand-up comedy, but more serious; generally including a satirical review of the year's politics). In Reformed Protestant families, Psalm 90 is read, although this tradition is now fading away.^[2] At midnight, Glühwein (bisschopswijn) or Champagne is drunk. Many people fire off their own fireworks, which are on sale from a few days before; towns don't organise a central fireworks display. Public transport shuts down completely (the only scheduled time during the year) between approximately 20:00 and 01:00.

Localized celebrations :Indonesia,Ireland,Japan

2008-12-26T23:53:00.004-08:00

Indonesia
Indonesian people often celebrate New Year's Eve spectacularly. The Local Government of Jakarta often holds a music show, a new year's countdown, and fireworks party in New Year's Eve celebration. The events often held in Monumen Nasional, Taman Impian Jaya Ancol, and Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. In Bandung, people celebrates New Year's Eve in Dago openfield and Pasupati Bridge, with their families, siblings, or their friends. Trumpet and Fireworks is the most important things for Indonesian people to celebrate their new year's eve.
Ireland
Dublin has a big New Year's celebration. The display is along the River Liffey. Fireworks are launched from boats in the Liffey or alongside the river.
Other major cities in Ireland such as Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford have large New Year's celebrations.
Japan
Main article: Ōmisoka
The day is a preparation day to welcome toshigami (年神), new year's god. Therefore, traditionally, people clean their home and prepare Kadomatsu and/or Shimenawa to welcome the god before New Year's Eve.
Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times [1] on midnight, during 31 December to 1 January. This bell rings are called as joya no kane (除夜の鐘) in Japanese which means "bell rings on new year eve's night." Each bell rings represent 108 elements of bonnō (煩悩), defilements, or Kilesa in Sanskrit, which is said people have in their mind. The bells are rung to repent 108 of the bonnō.
On TV, the Red and White Year-end Song Festival is an over 50-year-old tradition involving a singing contest between male and female teams of celebrity singers.

Localized celebrations : Germany,hong kong,India

2008-12-26T23:53:00.003-08:00

Germany
Germans call New Year's Eve Silvester. Since 1972, each New Year's Eve, several German television stations broadcast a short English theatrical performance titled Dinner for One. A punch line from the comedy sketch, "same procedure as every year", has become a catch phrase in Germany. [1] Every year Berlin hosts one of the largest New Year's Eve celebrations in all of Europe which is attended by over a million people. The focal point is the Brandenburg Gate and the fireworks at midnight centered around that location. Germans have a reputation of spending large amounts of money on firecrackers and fireworks.
Hong Kong
In China, although the celebrations of the Lunar New Year are not until a few months into the new year, celebrations of the Gregorian New Year are still held in some areas. The Times Square shopping mall in Hong Kong also holds their own send-off to the ball drop held at the Times Square in New York City.
India

New Year's Eve fireworks in India
Most celebrations take place in the larger cities of India like Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Events such as, live concerts and dances by bollywood stars, Families often get together to celebrate the New Year.

Localized celebrations :Denmark,Ecuador,France

2008-12-26T23:53:00.002-08:00

Denmark
The Danes usually celebrate New Year's Eve, or nytårsaften in Danish, with their families or, more commonly nowadays, with their close friends, with fireworks and champagne. The evening meal on New Year's Eve is often more exclusive, and often consists of three courses; traditional desserts include Marzipan ring cake (Danish: kransekage, lit.: ring cake). Danes often watch the Queen's New Year's Speech on television. The climax is when the clock on the Copenhagen City Hall reaches twelve, and the thousands of gathered people at the city square cheer and set off their fireworks. As in Germany the national television station DR1 broadcasts Dinner for One (in Danish: 90 års fødselsdagen (lit.: The 90th birthday)).
Ecuador
Ecuador celebrates a unique tradition on the last day of the year. Elaborate effigies, called Años Viejos (Old Years) are created to represent people and events from the past year. Often these include political characters or leaders that the creator of the effigy may have disagreed with. The dummies are made of straw, newspaper, and old clothes, with papier-mâché masks. Often they are also stuffed with fire crackers. At midnight the effigies are lit on fire to symbolize burning away of the past year and welcoming of the new year. The origin of the tradition is unknown, but is similar to that of the British Guy Fawkes Night. It is possible the tradition began after a yellow fever epidemic left many dead. The corpses were then disposed of by burning.
Another well known tradition is the “Widow” who is usually a man dressed up as the widow of the Old Year effigy who has to make people laugh by pretending to cry. Then the people around will give this “widow” some sort of charity for her dying husband.
Other rituals are performed for the health, wealth, prosperity and protection of each member. These rituals are the following: Twelve grapes: Each person eats twelve grapes before midnight, making a wish with each grape.
Yellow underwear: One of the most popular traditions, yellow underwear are said to attract positive energies for the New Year.
Suitcase: Walking around the block with the suitcase will bring the person the journey of their dreams.

France

New Year's Eve fireworks in Paris
The French call New Year's Eve la Saint-Sylvestre. It is usually celebrated with a feast called le Réveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre. This feast customarily includes special dishes like foie gras and drinks like champagne. The celebration can be a simple, intimate dinner with friends and family or a much fancier ball (une soirée dansante).
On le Jour de l'An (New Year's Day), friends and family exchange New Year's resolutions and sometimes gifts.
The holiday period ends on January 6 for the Epiphany. On this day, they traditionally enjoy a type of cake that varies depending on where you are in France, resembling king cake in the United States.

Localized celebrations : Australia,Brazil and canada

2008-12-26T23:53:00.001-08:00

Australia

Sydney leads the world in one of the first major New Year celebrations each year.
Each major city around Australia holds New Year’s Eve celebrations, usually accompanied by a fireworks display amongst other events. Gloucester Park, a racecourse in central Perth, is the largest and most recognised display in Perth. In Brisbane 50,000 people annually gather at sites around the Brisbane River in the city to watch a fireworks display while events are held in the city and at Southbank. The two largest New Year's Eve celebrations in Australia are held in its two largest cities, Melbourne and Sydney. In Sydney the celebrations are usually accompanied by a theme which is displayed in light shows and a large symbol in the middle of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Over 1.5 million people gathered around Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) for the 2007-08 celebrations, making it the largest yet. The firework display was launched from 7 barges on the water, 10 city buildings, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Bradfield Highway. The display stretched over 6 kilometres and lasted around 14–16 minutes, making it the largest New Year's Eve firework display on the planet. Melbourne's New Year's Eve waterworks are set on from the Yarra river and from city rooftops. There is an average attendance of around 300,000 people. There was a game of poker occurring in Melbourne's Crown Casino where the loser of each round received a pie in the face.
Brazil
New Year's Eve (Véspera de Ano Novo) is one of the most exuberant holidays in Brazil. In most Brazilian cities, even those of medium size, there is a massive display of fireworks after midnight, and special musical shows. The most famous celebration is at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, which has an average attendance of 2,000,000 people. The fireworks display last from 15 to 25 minutes and is followed by music shows set on several stages throughout the beach. In recent years, a display of fireworks has also been set-up in the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas district.
The city of São Paulo also has a famous worldwide event: the Saint Silvester Marathon (Corrida de São Silvestre), which traverses streets between Paulista Avenue and the downtown area. It is contested by athletes of many countries, including such Olympic stars as the Kenyan runner Paul Tergat, who won it five times.
Canada
In Canada, New Year's traditions and celebrations vary from region to region. Generally, New Year's Eve (also known as New Year's Eve Day) in Canada is a social holiday. In major metropolitan areas such as Toronto, major celebrations with music and fireworks are often held at Midnight. In some areas, such as in rural Quebec, people ice fish and drink with their friends until the early hours of January 1. Traditions from other countries are also common due to Canada's cultural makeup.

Christmas Eve : Historical

2008-12-25T19:47:00.000-08:00

Historical events

A number of historical events have been influenced by the occurrence of Christmas Eve.

Christmas truce

A cross, left near Ypres in Belgium in 1999, to commemorate the site of the 1914Christmas Truce. The text reads 1914—The Khaki Chum's Christmas Truce—85 Years—Lest We Forget.

Main article: Christmas truce

During World War I in 1914 and 1915 an unofficial Christmas truce took place. The truce began on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1914, when German troops began decorating the area around their trenches in the region of Ypres, Belgium, for Christmas. They began by placing candles on trees, then continued the celebration by singing Christmas carols, most notably Stille Nacht (Silent Night). The British troops in the trenches across from them responded by singing English carols. The two sides shouted Christmas greetings to each other. Soon thereafter, there were calls for visits across the "No man's land" where small gifts were exchanged. The truce also allowed a breathing spell where recently-fallen soldiers could be brought back behind their lines by burial parties. Funerals took place as soldiers from both sides mourned the dead together and paid their respects. At one funeral in No Man's Land, soldiers from both sides gathered and read a passage from Psalm 23. The truce occurred in spite of opposition at higher levels of the military command. Earlier in the autumn, a call by Pope Benedict XV for an official truce between the warring governments had been ignored.