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Design and Features
The Zbox ID83 Plus measures 7.4 by 1.7 by 7.4 inches (HWD), making it smaller than the Acer Aspire AX1930-UR10P but roughly on par with the compact Giada i53 Mini PC. With a silver strip lining the outer edges of its otherwise all-black body, its two-tone finish makes for an appealingly simple design. Although the glossy black portion invariably attracts fingerprints, chances are you won't be touching the system very often, since it will likely be nestled behind your TV or monitor. Given its tiny size and quiet fan operation, there's even a good chance that you'll forget it's there. A circular blue LED on the side of the chassis provides a cool visual effect, while the opposite side of the chassis sports four rubber feet to provide a grip for horizontal positioning. Alternatively, the system ships with a stand for vertical orientation as well as a VESA monitor mount.
The Zbox ID83 Plus crams an impressive number of ports onto its limited surface area. The front panel houses headphone and microphone jacks, a 6-in-1 card reader, and a USB 2.0 port. Another USB 2.0 port can be found on the top of the system, while the rear features a pair of USB 2.0 ports, a pair of USB 3.0 ports (marked in blue to prevent confusion), an Ethernet port, an optical S/PDIF (5.1 digital audio) port, and HDMI and DVI outputs. The latter two outputs allow for two displays to be used simultaneously. Additionally, the rear sports a screw-in jack for the bundled antenna, which helps strengthen the Zbox ID83's 802.11n/g/b Wi-Fi signal. The Zbox ID83 Plus also sports Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, so users can pair it with a wireless keyboard or mouse without having to deal with wires or with dongles. Although it does come with a remote that can navigate through your preferred media-playback interface, users must nevertheless separately purchase peripherals.
Opening the ZBox Nano AD12 Plus's chassis consists of removing a pair of thumbscrews on the bottom panel and popping off the side of the chassis, revealing some room for upgrades. Our test unit's single DIMM socket was occupied by a 4GB memory module, which can be replaced with a stick as large as 16GB. The included 500GB, 5,400rpm HDD, moreover, can be swapped with a more capacious 2.5-inch HDD or a solid-state-drive (SSD).
The Zbox ID83 Plus's 500GB 5,400rpm hard drive doesn't come with any bloatware. That's mostly due to the fact that it doesn't ship with an operating system, so users must spring extra cash for Windows 7 or 8 (we installed Windows 7 on our test unit). Moreover, since the system doesn't have an optical drive like the Lenovo H520s, installing the OS may entail the additional expense of an external optical drive.
Performance
With its 2.5GHz Intel Core i3-3120M CPU and 4GB RAM, the Zbox ID83 Plus packs a decent punch beneath its trim chassis. Its PCMark 7 score of 1,855 points fell behind the rest of its peers, like the Editors' Choice-winning Gateway SX2380-UR318 (2,056 points) and, to a greater extent, the Giada i53 Mini PC (4.337 points). Nevertheless, the Zbox ID83 Plus's Cinebench R11.5 score of 2.52 points managed to outmaneuver the the Gateway SX2380-UR318 (1.50 points) and the Giada i53 Mini PC (1.50 points) while falling short of the Aspire AX1930-UR10P (3.50 points) and the class-leading Lenovo H520s (4.90 points).
Although geared primarily toward media consumption, the Zbox ID83 Plus also displayed some finesse for moderate levels of media creation. It finished our Handbrake video-encoding test in 1 minute 26 seconds, edging past the i53 Mini PC by three seconds (1:26) and the Gateway SX2380-UR318 (2:25) by over a minute. Moreover, its performance in our Photoshop CS6 test (6:39) outflanked the Gateway SX2380-UR318 (7:26) while landing behind that of the i53 Mini PC (6:39) by a fairly sizable margin. Similarly, it exhibited some surefootedness for 3D rendering, with ascore of 1,118 points in 3DMark11, which came close to the class-leading Gateway SX2380-UR318 (1,170 points) while trumping the Giada i53 Mini PC (979 points).
The Zbox ID83 Plus's integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU isn't geared towards high-end gaming, so it unsurprisingly couldn't crack the 30 frames per second (fps) playability barrier in either our Heaven or Aliens vs. Predator benchmark tests.
With its third-generation Intel "Ivy Bridge" processor, generous port selection, and support for dual-display output, the Zotac Zbox ID83 Plus has the capacity to go beyond its intended media consumption purposes. Although this helps overshadow its shortcomings, it's not enough to bump the Gateway SX2380-UR318 off its perch as our current Editors' Choice. If you're a patient person who doesn't mind separately acquiring an OS and peripherals, though, it's a good way to rev up your home entertainment center.
BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/ZZvGc-4x32M/0,2817,2416942,00.asp
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THE BEATLES SHOW
Written and Directed by Stephen Kennedy.
Odessa Club, 13 Dame Court, Dublin 2.
April 22nd ? 25th at 8pm.
The Beatles Show consists of three Beatle-related plays ? Lennon v McCartney / Death and The Beatles Fan / John Lennon?s Last Day ? plus the music of The Beatles performed live by Vyvienne Long and The Newspaper Taxi Men.
LENNON v McCARTNEY
Since the dawn of Time human beings have gathered in pubs and argued about who is greater ? John Lennon or Paul McCartney. Now, finally, here at last, and not a moment too soon, is a short play that definitively sorts out the argument once and for all. Well? sort of?
LENNON v McCARTNEY was performed a number of times on the main stage at the Adelphi in Liverpool at the 2010 International Beatle Week. It has also been performed at the Scottish Beatles Weekend, the Black Box Theatre in Belfast, the Flat Lake Festival, the Donegal Beatles Festival, the Project Arts Centre, Whelan?s, the Village, the Workman?s Club, and many other places.
?Fabulously written and brilliantly acted. This is an acute observation of pub culture, pop culture and male friendship.? Reviewed by the Dublin Book Festival 2011.
DEATH AND THE BEATLES FAN
How much would you know about The Beatles if your life depended on it?
DEATH AND THE BEATLES FAN is a short play that takes a comic look at what happens when Death attempts to collect the soul of a hardcore Beatles? fan who has no interest in dying.
?This really is the great stage play that The Seventh Seal could have been... if only Ingmar Bergman had been aware of The Beatles in 1957!? (Quote kindly supplied by a non-existent theatre critic.)
JOHN LENNON?S LAST DAY
This piece is the most complete account of John Lennon?s last day that has ever been presented. It is not a play in the traditional sense ? and is probably best described as a work of ?documentary theatre?. Basically, with the use of a single actor, a simple stage set, some projected images and some very rare audio clips, this piece guides the audience through the strange and tragic events of John Lennon?s last day.
?My work won?t be finished till I?m dead and buried ? and I hope that?s a long long time.?
Words spoken by John Lennon in an interview on Monday, December 8th, 1980 ? just a few hours before his death.
Vyvienne Long is a superb cellist and singer-songwriter who first came to prominence on the Irish music scene when she worked with Damien Rice on his albums O and 9. In 2006, Vyvienne released her debut EP, Birdtalk, which was a huge success and completely sold out within months. In 2010, Vyvienne reached a whole new audience when she released her excellent debut album, Caterpillar Sarabande, and appeared on television shows such as The Late Late Show, Other Voices and The View. Vyvienne has also built up an impressive reputation with her talent for covering other people?s songs ? and her interpretations of The Beatles? songs are nothing short of stunning. Check out her amazing cover version of ?And I Love Her? on YouTube.
THE NEWSPAPER TAXI MEN
The Newspaper Taxi Men are one of the very best Beatle tribute bands in Ireland. They have recently played brilliant support slots for John Lennon?s Original Quarrymen at the Village and Scotland?s Revolver at the Workman?s Club, and we are thrilled to have them back as part of The Beatles Show at the Odessa Club. These guys are pure quality.
STEPHEN KENNEDY
Writer and Director of The Beatles Show
Stephen Kennedy?s poetry and short fiction have appeared in various publications ? including the Irish Times, the Stinging Fly and Books Ireland ? and his plays have been performed throughout Ireland and the UK. Stephen has been nominated for the Hennessy XO Literary Awards and the RTE PJ O?Connor Awards; and, in 2010, his short play, Should've Gone to Lourdes, was presented at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC by Fishamble Theatre Company.
Stephen also organises Nighthawks at the Cobalt ? a monthly arts club in Dublin that presents different kinds of music, comedy, performance poetry, short fiction, short film and short theatre. Nighthawks has been running for almost five years now and every show has sold out completely.
Not surprisingly, Stephen is also a Beatles fanatic. His short play, Lennon v McCartney, has been performed a number of times on the main stage at the Adelphi in Liverpool at International Beatle Week. It has also been performed at the Scottish Beatles Weekend, the Black Box Theatre in Belfast, the Flat Lake Festival, the Donegal Beatles Festival, the Project Arts Centre, Whelan?s, the Village, the Workman?s Club, and many other places.
Source: http://www.britishbeatlesfanclub.co.uk/2013/03/the-beatles-show-returns-to-dublin.html
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UFC featherweight Chan Sung Jung has a fight with Ricardo Lamas coming up in July. The fight will likely have title implications, and will give "The Korean Zombie" a chance to prove he belongs at the top of the UFC's 145-lb. class. But the upcoming fight didn't keep Jung from speaking up to one of the UFC's biggest stars.
Jung posted a letter on his Facebook page to UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre about the Rising Sun symbol GSP wore to his fight with Nick Diaz.
Dear Mr. Georges St. Pierre
Hi, My name is Chan Sung Jung from South Korea. As one of many Koreans who like you as an incredible athlete, I feel like I should tell you that many Korean fans, including myself, were shocked to see you in your gi designed after the Japanese 'Rising Sun Flag'. For Asians, this flag is a symbol of war crimes, much like the German Hakenkreuzflagge. Did you know that? I hope not.Just like Nazis, the Japanese also committed atrocities under the name of 'Militarism'. You can easily learn what they've done by googling (please do), although it's only the tiny tip of an enormous iceberg.
Furthermore, the Japanese Government never gave a sincere apology, and still to this day, so many victims are dying in pain, heartbroken, without being compensated. But many westerners like to wear clothes designed after the symbol under which so many war crimes and so much tragedy happened, which is ridiculous.
I know most of them are not militarists. I know most of them do not approve unjustified invasion, torture, massacre, etc. They're just ignorant. It's such a shame that many westerners are not aware of this tragic fact. Wearing Rising Sun outfits is as bad as wearing clothes with the Nazi mark on it, if not worse.
Since you're influenced by Japanese Martial Arts, your wearing a headband designed after Japanese flag is understandable. But again, that huge 'Rising Sun' on your Gi means something else.
Many people say GSP is the best Welterweight fighter throughout history, to which I totally agree. This means you have a great influence on every single fan of yours all around the world. And I do believe your wearing 'the symbol of War Crime' is a very bad example for them, not to mention for yourself.
So, what do you reckon? Do you want to wear the same Gi next time as well?
The Rising Sun flag was used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II, and it was banned by the United Nations in 1945. Jung is not the only person to have an issue with seeing it used by an athlete. During the 2012 Olympics, Japanese gymnasts wore a leotard that was inspired by the Rising Sun, and some South Koreans were not happy about it.
When one-time MMA sponsor Hoelzer Reich used Nazi imagery on the gear UFC and WEC fighters wore into the cage, the promotions banned their items from the cage. Jung has the courage to speak up to a fighter he admittedly admires. GSP and the UFC owe him a response.
UPDATE: Both GSP and Hayabusa, the company who made GSP's gi, have apologized. GSP posted a statement from Hayabusa:
Since Georges St-Pierre wore our walkout gi at UFC 158 we have received attention surrounding the negative connotation of the rising sun graphic used. The last thing we want is to offend or alienate anyone with the choice of design on our products.
We at Hayabusa have the utmost respect for culture and history and appreciate all of our customers worldwide. As such, we accept full responsibility for this design and are taking all complaints and comments very seriously.
The gi worn by GSP will not be brought to market. In addition, we will be very conscious of this specific design element when developing future communication materials and products.
Please accept our sincerest apology for any offence this has caused. If you have any questions or comments regarding this matter, please feel free to discuss it with us at customerservice@hayabusafightwear.com. One of our representatives will be happy to assist you.
And GSP added:
I'd like to also personally apologize to anyone who was offended by this. I am very sorry, that was never my intention.
Both GSP and Hayabusa acted quickly to apologize. Though it would have been better if the symbol was never used, Jung used the moment to educate others on the issues with the symbol. For that, he should be commended.
Thanks, Bloody Elbow.
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It is suddenly cool to be a pension lawyer.
?When you told someone you were a pension lawyer, you were the most popular person in the room for people over 50 and people under 50 would try to dodge you,? said Mitch Frazer, chair of the pensions and employment practice at Torys LLP.
?Suddenly it?s a topic of interest for a much wider group of people,? added Mr. Frazer, who is listed at Band 2 for pensions in the Chambers Global 2013 guide. ?If you would?ve said pre-2008 that you would have seen a federal election campaign where the word ?pensions? was uttered in the context of the top list of people?s promises, it would have been incredibly shocking.?
Ten years ago, pension lawyers were dealing with surplus disputes rather than deficits. After the global economic crisis and with an aging population, the public is keen to protect public pension plans. With the spotlight shining on pension law, could this be a golden age for pension lawyers?
Band 2-ranked practitioner Elizabeth Brown of Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP believes so.
?I?ve been doing this since 1990 and over the course of my career, I?ve seen the role and profile of a pension lawyer go from backroom techie to centre stage,? she said. ?People are very concerned about aging and living longer. There?s a concern that retirement money will run out. People are very concerned about how much money is available and have promises been kept.?
Defined-benefit (DB) pension plans are being replaced by defined-contribution (DC) pension plans as employers try to reduce their risk in volatile economies.
?It?s a time of transition and the transition is taking place over a long period of time,? said Ian McSweeney, a Band 1 ranked pension lawyer with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.
?We?ve gone from an era of surplus, what to do with excess money, to how to plan and maintain affordable and sustainable pensions. Sponsors are looking at their current DB plans and wondering whether they?re sustainable. You add on top of that general austerity measures that are affecting both private and public plan sponsors and it?s a difficult time.?
On the plus side, the word ?pension? is on the front of newspapers and is top of mind; on the minus side, the publicity and legal changes stem from pension plans being in dire straits, said Andrew Harrison, a Band 3 practitioner with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.
?The interest in [pensions] is the result of people not getting what had been promised or what they had hoped for through the pension system. As much as it?s interesting to be asked these questions and to be involved in trying to solve them, it?s within a constrained economic environment. There?s not [enough] money to do what needs to happen.?
Meanwhile, provinces are updating their laws and a recent court ruling has pension lawyers analyzing the implications. Last month, the Supreme Court of Canada released its long-awaited decision in Sun Indalex Finance LLC vs. United Steeworkers et al., a case that pitted the claims of pensioners against those of secured creditors in a corporate bankruptcy or restructuring. The decision reversed a lower-court ruling from Ontario that had ranked pension plans ahead of interim lenders during a supervised sale of the company under a federal law called the Companies? Creditors Arrangement Act or CCAA.
?This is the greatest time of challenge because so much is happening and there is so much change. Our pension funds are global players ? how do we deal with the regulatory hurdles in Canada? How do we deal with all of the changes that are coming through in legislation?? Mr. Frazer said.
?My hope is that in five years from now, we?re going to see much more consistency and a much more effective use of pensions. Hopefully, there will be more people who have pensions, or are more conscious about retirement.?
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KABUL (AP) ? Eager to overcome a bout of bickering, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a show of unusual unity between their two nations on Monday. The friendly display came as the U.S. military ceded control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan, ending a longstanding irritant in relations.
Kerry arrived in the Afghan capital of Kabul on an unannounced visit amid concerns that Karzai may be jeopardizing progress in the war against extremism with anti-American rhetoric. After a private meeting, Kerry said he and Karzai were "on the same page" on security and reconciliation issues and brushed aside suggestions that relations were in peril.
Karzai infuriated U.S. officials earlier this month by accusing Washington of colluding with Taliban insurgents to keep Afghanistan weak even as the Obama administration pressed ahead with plans to hand off security responsibility to Afghan forces and end NATO's combat mission by the end of next year.
Hours after Karzai and Kerry met, eight suicide bombers attacked a police headquarters in the eastern city of Jalalabad, killing five officers and wounding four, police said. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attacks.
At a joint news conference after his talks with Kerry, Karzai told reporters that his comments in a nationally televised speech had been misinterpreted by the media. Kerry demurred on that point but said people sometimes say things in public that reflect ideas they have heard from others but don't necessarily agree with.
"I am confident the president (Karzai) does not believe the U.S. has any interest except to see the Taliban come to the table to make peace and that we are completely cooperative with the government of Afghanistan with respect to the protection of their efforts and their people," Kerry said. He noted that he had specifically raised the comment in question with Karzai and was satisfied with the response.
"We're on the same page," Kerry said. "I don't think there is any disagreement between us and I am very, very comfortable with the president's explanation."
For his part, Karzai said that he had been trying to make the point in his speech that if the Taliban really wanted foreign troops out of Afghanistan they should stop killing people.
In the March 9 speech, he berated the Taliban for deadly bombings in Kabul and the city of Khost that he said "showed that they are at the service of America and at the service of this phrase: 2014," ? the withdrawal date set for most international forces.
Karzai suggested in the speech that the U.S. and the Taliban were working together "trying to frighten us into thinking that if the foreigners are not in Afghanistan, we would be facing these sorts of incidents."
Standing beside Kerry on Monday, Karzai said "today was a very good day," citing the turnover of the detention facility at the U.S.-run Bagram military base north of Kabul. He also expressed gratitude for the sacrifices made for his country by Americans.
At the same time, he defended allegations he has made about American troops or their local contractors abusing Afghan civilians. He said his complaints and criticism were not meant to "offend" anyone but rather to protect his people.
"When I say something publicly, it is not meant to offend our allies but to correct the situation," he said. "I am responsible for the protection of the Afghan people. I am the president of this country. It is my job to provide all the protection I can to the people of this country."
Karzai has ordered U.S. special operations forces out of Wardak province, just outside Kabul, because of allegations that Afghans working with the commandos were involved in abusive behavior.
Kerry and Karzai's news conference came near the beginning of Kerry's 24-hour visit to the country ? his sixth since President Barack Obama took office but his first as Obama's secretary of state. Kerry referred frequently to U.S. respect for Afghan sovereignty and he said the handover of the detention facility was testament to that.
As Kerry flew to Kabul, the U.S. military ceded control of the Parwan detention facility near Bagram, a year after the two sides initially agreed on the transfer. Karzai had demanded control of Parwan as a matter of national sovereignty.
The long-running dispute over the center had thrown a pall over ongoing negotiations for a bilateral security agreement to govern the presence of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after 2014.
An initial agreement to hand over Parwan was signed a year ago, but efforts to follow through on it constantly stumbled over American concerns that the Afghan government would release prisoners that it considered dangerous. An initial deadline for the full handover passed last September; another passed earlier this month.
The U.S. concerns are not without foundation. Zakir Qayyum, a former Guantanamo detainee, was released into Afghan custody in 2007. Freed four months later, he rejoined the Taliban and reportedly has risen to become the No. 2 leader in the Taliban.
Both Kerry and Karzai lauded the transfer of the facility. Karzai said an Afghan review board would carefully consider any intelligence provided by the U.S. or others about detainees they deem to be too dangerous to free.
The pair also called on the Taliban to take advantage of the offer to open a political office in Doha, Qatar, from where they could engage in reconciliation talks with the Afghan Peace Council and potentially negotiate an end to hostilities.
Kerry said the Taliban should not ignore the opportunity because the United States is committed to Afghanistan's security beyond 2014 and will not allow gains made over the past decade to be lost. He noted that Obama has not yet decided how many U.S. troops should stay after next year and that the Taliban should not count on a complete American withdrawal.
There are about 100,000 coalition troops in Afghanistan, including about 66,000 from the United States. Although there is no decision on a residual force, U.S. officials have said as many as 12,000 U.S. and coalition forces could remain.
Karzai said that peace talks with the Taliban would require the involvement of Pakistan because any Afghan peace process without that country was doomed to failure. Pakistan, particularly its intelligence service, has close ties to members of the Taliban.
Kerry, who arrived in Kabul from Amman, Jordan, had hoped to travel to Pakistan on this trip to the region but put it off due to elections there.
Instead, he met late Sunday in Amman with Pakistani army chief for Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, U.S. officials said.
Kerry and Kayani had a private dinner at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Jordan as Pakistan continued to seethe in the aftermath of the return of former president Pervez Musharraf, himself a former army chief, from exile.
In Kabul, Kerry planned to meet again Tuesday with Karzai. He also had meetings scheduled with civic leaders and others to discuss continued U.S. assistance to the country and how to wean it from such aid as the international military operation winds down. Upcoming national elections also were on his agenda.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry walks into a meeting with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, March 25, 2013. Kerry made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on... more? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry walks into a meeting with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, March 25, 2013. Kerry made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Monday. REUTERS/Jason Reed (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: POLITICS) less? Kerry praised what he said was Afghanistan's commitment to "safe, secure" and transparent elections next year that will see a successor to Karzai voted into power.___
Patrick Quinn in Kabul and Rahim Faiez in Bagram, Afghanistan contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-karzai-bury-hatchet-kabul-meeting-182836900--politics.html
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Connecticut's two federally recognized tribes are seeking more government aid as their casinos continue to struggle, the Associated Press reports.
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation received $1 million from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 2008, right before the recession hit. The amount jumped to $2.7 million in 2011, the AP reported.
The Mohegan Tribe, is seeking more federal aid too although exact figures weren't reported. "At the end of the day, why shouldn't we apply for it? If we get approved, it's always for a good cause, usually health or jobs created, Chairman Bruce "Two Dogs" Bozsum told the AP.
Both tribes were known for returning a portion, or all, of their tribal priority allocation (TPA) funds to the BIA so that others in their region could benefit.
Get the Story: As casinos struggle, tribes seek more federal aid (AP 3/25) State Lowers Casino Revenue Expectations (The Hartford Courant 3/21) |
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