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LumaSense Technologies, a leading provider of infrared thermography, non-contact temperature and gas sensing solutions, today announced the release of its IMPAC Portable Pyrometer Series 8 pro.
With the IMPAC product line, LumaSense Technologies offers a broad variety of advanced pyrometers. The portable pyrometer series 8 pro is a revision of the 15 year-old proven plus series which has been optimized to suit special customer requirements. The aluminum die-cast housing is specially designed for mobile, reliable and efficient use under rough industrial conditions. The instruments feature full digital signal processing, resulting in wider temperature ranges as well as higher accuracy. Depending on the application, pyrometers with different measuring ranges are available. For high temperature applications, e. g in manufacturing of steel and glass, the IS 8 pro is available in two temperature ranges between 600 and 2500°C. For the medium temperature range, e.g. in metal processing application, the IGA 8 pro comes with a measuring range of 250 to 1600°C. The IS 8-GS pro is a special foundry version for the measurement of pouring streams.

The pyrometers now feature a large multifunctional display, so that the measuring results can be viewed and analyzed directly on site. Additionally, the instruments are equipped with a user-friendly keypad to select and modify all available parameter settings.

The easily focusable precision optics provides very small spot sizes for measuring distances up to 500 mm. With the optionally available high quality conversion lenses, very small spot sizes of minimum 0.8 mm can be achieved. The bright, optimized view finder with exact spot indication and built-in temperature display facilitates the accurate aiming on the object.

The extremely short response time of 1 ms allows exact measurements of fast moving objects and a very quick detection of temperature differences. The maximum temperature can be stored in the built-in peak picker (maximum value storage). The large data storage capacity permits comprehensive documentation of all process-related measured data and their subsequent interpretation.

Moreover, comprehensive software solutions for data analysis and reporting and other accessories are available

Another major contract won by DITEC has been completed in one of the largest shopping centres in Italy: the brand new Auchan shopping centre, recently opened in Catania.
Porte di Catania is the name of this new shopping centre developed over a huge area of 52,000 square metres; a big mall boasting an Auchan hypermarket, as well as 150 shops and a Decathlon outlet.
This is the site where DITEC, with the cooperation of its area dealer Di.Tec, run by Mr. Pino Contina, has installed as many as 40 Valor sliding pedestrian doors. This type of door has proved a highly reliable door and is already installed in many other large distribution outlets.

Sixty automatic doors which operate almost all pedestrian entrances in the shopping centre – from the ground floor doors to the entrances leading to underground car parks, to the terraced areas, to Decathlon outlet doors.
DITEC Valor automatic pedestrian doors, all TÜV certified, are unique not only thanks to the wide range of models offered, to the efficient remotely controlled monitoring system (DMSC) they are fitted with, but also to the large number of additional devices, which make them highly reliable and safe, especially in high traffic areas.

However, despite their large number, Valor automatic pedestrian doors are not the only doors installed by DITEC!
DITEC has also supplied and installed, with the cooperation of Di.Tec, of Mr. Contina, and of its partners, ten Smart high speed roll up industrial doors used for goods handling and people access inside and outside the shopping centre.
Smart are sturdy flexible roll up doors, easy to install and to maintain or even repair.

Ten more industrial sectional doors have also been installed for goods loading and unloading, as well as four Qik automatic barriers fitted to control access to the car parking areas.

The Intelligent Handling : its automation skills allow MARCEAU to provide customers with complete solutions.

Our automation/industrial computing design department develops all the programs which allow to :

*** Drive the installation : selection of the functioning (manual mode, automatic mode …), drive the manual modes, selection of the orders of manufacturing
*** Visualize : operating modes (manual mode, automatic mode …), faults on the lines, the placing of pallets on the facility, the follow up of pallets, the status of sensors, the active steps to facilitate the operations of maintenance

0044 Paris’ Fall/Winter 2010 Collection seems to have been in inspired by the dark Parisian streets . The oversized items such as the outerwear and the knits give the range a nocturnal character that is comparable to the fashion construction of designers such as Rick Owens, Damir Doma, or The Virdi-Anne. For the season, 0044 Paris offers leather jackets, large cardigan knits, soft cotton pants, wool jackets, and hoodies.

Continue reading for more images.

Source: 0044 Paris

Rihanna is lashing out at the fashion industry for promoting size zero figures and claiming it is “not practical or possible” to keep a figure in that shape and she resents designers for giving girls false ideologies about how they should look.

The 22-year-old bombshell has some of the longest legs in showbusiness and is famed for her slender frame. However Rihanna says that the fashion industry is not giving a “healthy” message to women.

The singing star tells Britain’s You Magazine: You shouldn’t be pressured into trying to be thin by the fashion industry, because they only want models that are like human mannequins. They know that if we see an outfit on a mannequin in a shop window we will love it and want to buy it whatever size we are. That’s why they have size zero models – they want to sell clothes. You have to remember that it’s not practical or possible for an everyday woman to look like that. Being size zero is a career in itself so we shouldn’t try and be like them. It’s not realistic and it’s not healthy.”

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Buick

Last week, we heard rumors that Buick had finally decided to produce the Regal GS but no official announcement came from General Motors headquarters.

This morning as U.S. media gathered to drive the Regal in California, the GS officially became a reality. And while our man Michael Harley is on the launch, we also just received an email from Dayna Hart in GM communications proclaiming:

“At wave 1 of our drive program for Regal we just confirmed that the Regal GS will be added to the Buick portfolio. We are not providing any additional details at this point.”

As the quote notes, Buick isn’t sharing any other details about the GS such as timing, or what engine will be in the car. We’re expecting that Buick will stick with the 2.0-liter turbocharged and direct-injected Ecotec inline-four that was listed on the spec sheet for the concept version shown at the Detroit Auto Show last January. However, now that Hyundai has announced the Sonata Turbo with 276 horsepower, we’re expecting that Buick will try to ensure that the Regal GS will have more than the 255 hp announced back in January.

Live photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2009 Weblogs, Inc.

Officially Official: Buick Regal GS is a go! originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 May 2010 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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by Brad Johnson

Cross-posted from the Wonk Room.

On Monday, May 17, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews erupted in anger at the oil disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. Matthews expressed his rage at the profits BP continues to reap as it fails to fix the growing environmental apocalypse. He also criticized the behavior of the Obama administration, which has let the foreign oil giant control much of the disaster response. Matthews wondered why President Obama doesn’t “nationalize that industry and get the job done” and noted that in the “brutal society” of China, “they execute people for this”:

It is maddening that our government is — everybody says, “Capitalism is great. Unbridled free enterprise is great.” Look at it!

The moral hazard created by privatized profit and socialized risk has allowed bankers to cripple our economy and energy companies to destroy our planet. Matthews concluded by calling out the “millions of people in the American right” who deny the threats of climate change and other environmental catastrophes from our dependence on fossil fuels:

Millions of people in the American right who sit around and say there’s no such thing as mankind destroying his environment through climate change or whatever — there’s an example of what we’re doing right now. We can destroy our habitat on this planet, and it’s the only one we got.

Watch it:

 

 

Rush Limbaugh fired back, saying Matthews is “basically asking for a dictator” with his “delusional, deranged” commentary. Matthews has repeated his criticism of BP and the administration, telling Jay Leno on May 21 that President Obama is acting like “a Vatican observer here.” On May 19, Matthews asked for “Harry Truman to come back and do the job” — making reference to Truman’s seizure of the steel industry in 1952.

Transcript:

I have a hunch that the reason they don’t want to fix this mess down there is because they would admit who did it if they fix it.  Nobody is down — if this was a nuclear bomb ready to go off, we would be down there.  I am so angry — I don’t even want to talk about it.  I get so mad at this oil company.  Why aren’t they fixing it, first of all?

…

You know, I have a suspicion — I will go back to it again — I don’t think they’re doing their best.  I don‘t think there’s — the government is doing its best.  Why doesn’t the president go in there and nationalize that industry and get the job done for the people? There’s a national interest in this, not just a BP interest. We’re letting BP fix a national problem.

…

In China, it’s a more brutal society, a more brutal society, Kate, but they execute people for this. Major industrial leaders that commit crimes like this. Failure like this.

This is a serious, serious problem. It is not over. It continues to destroy a part of our planet, basically. Part of our habitat, our American habitat. And everybody just sits and watches television every night and says, “Oh, well, that‘s interesting.” And these guys are still drawing their paychecks, still making their profits.  The oil industry has been ballooning in profits this year, and nobody is doing anything about it, except — what are we, the Vatican observers now?  We just watch?  It is maddening that our government is — everybody says, “Capitalism is great. Unbridled free enterprise is great.”  Look at it!

…

Millions of people in the American right who sit around and say there’s no such thing as mankind destroying his environment through climate change or whatever, there’s an example of what we’re doing right now.  We can destroy our habitat on this planet, and it’s the only one we got.

Related Links:

In wake of Gulf spill, should this be the summer of energy reform?

Show how much you—and BP—care with a commemorative oil spill T-shirt

Palin critique latest twist in BP slop

From Green Right Now Reports

The eruption of a volcano in Iceland and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have drawn attention to the concept of how particles flow both in the air and in water. A pair of researchers at Virginia Tech and at École Polytechnique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium say that flow, though seemingly random, can be characterized more effectively.

Shane Ross and colleague Francois Lekien reported their findings in the publication Chaos. Their research “will aid scientists and engineers in understanding and in controlling this type of global-scale phenomena, such as pollution dispersion in the atmosphere and the ocean, and large-scale transport of biological organisms, including airborne plant pathogens and respiratory disease agents,” said Ishwar Puri, head of the Engineering Science and Mechanics department at Virginia Tech.

The current BP spill, for instance, could be modeled using Ross and Lekien’s findings to provide greater insight into how the particles might be dragged into the Gulf of Mexico’s Loop Current.

Ross and Lekien said they employed existing scientific principles of Lagrangian coherent structures, which reveals the separation of the atmosphere into dynamically distinct regions, to investigate the shapes of geophysical flow patterns. They used the 2002 discovery of the Antarctic hole in their work because they viewed it as a “prototype atmospheric event” allowing for their studies on topological divisions on the mixing and transport of atmospheric tracers.

Reviewing data from the event, they were able to determine that an isolated “blob of air” was slowly rotating over Antarctica. Lagrangian coherent structures, some which repel nearby air and some that attract it, formed inside the vortex. The vortex pinched off, sending the northwestern part of the ozone hole off into the mid latitude range while the southwestern portion returned to its regular position over the South Pole.

Consequently, they write, when there is more than one vortex flow on a sphere, such as the planet Earth, “complicated spatial structures can arise and evolve, such as the polar vortex split.” They were able to model this event, capturing some of its dynamic features.

Lenovo was once a company known strictly for enterprise-class notebooks, notably the ThinkPad line it acquired from IBM a few years back. That line has continued to remain a successful product for the company, and the newer IdeaPad line has turned into a good consumer line of notebooks. Most recently Lenovo has blurred the enterprise/ consumer distinction with the ThinkPad Edge line, but the IdeaPad is aimed directly at the mainstream consumer. I have reviewed several models from this line of notebooks, including this review of the Y460. It is clear Lenovo is getting better with each iteration of consumer notebooks it produces.

The IdeaPad Y460 is a 14.1-inch notebook that is very thin and highly mobile. Normally you don’t think of mobile in the 14-inch size, but this notebook definitely fits the description. The unit is not much bigger than the screen which keeps the size to a bare minimum, and weighs only slightly more than a 13-inch MacBook. A few special features helps make the Y460 a mobile workhorse, and powerful enough to be a full desktop replacement.

The model provided by Lenovo for review has a healthy configuration, and retails for $1,049.

• CPU: Intel Core i5,  2.4 GHz
• Memory: 4 GB
• Storage: 500GB
• Display: 14.1-inch (glossy), 1366×768 resolution
• Graphics: ATI Radeon HD5650 (1 GB) + Intel GMA (user switchable)
• Camera: low-light capable, 2 megapixel
• Optical drive: DVD recordable
• Battery: 6-cell
• Communications: 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Ports: 3-USB 2.0, VGA out, HDMI, USB/eSATA, ExpressCard, LAN, multi-format card reader slot, audio in/out combo jack
• OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
• Dimensions: 0.75 x 13.6 x 9.3 inches; 5.1 lbs.

The Y460 has a keyboard with standard keys, not those of the chiclet variety. The result is a keyboard that is much better than those of the ThinkPad Edge line. I like the chiclet keys of the Edge models, but this keyboard is simply wonderful to use for extended periods. I find I can type on this model as fast as possible, with few errors. I also like that the Delete/Home/End/PgUp/Dn keys are on a vertical row to the right of the Enter key.

The trackpad on the Y460 is a large one, although not excessively so. It does do multitouch, so if you prefer that you’re not left out. The two mouse buttons are big and responsive. While I have experienced problems with some IdeaPad trackpads in the past, I like this one.

The display of the Y460 is both a strength of the notebook and a source of great aggravation. The dual graphics system is comprised of the ATI Radeon HD5650 (dedicated graphics) and Intel GMA integrated graphics. This is similar to high-end notebooks such as the MacBook line, and is a wonderful solution. The Y460 handles graphics with good performance due to the Radeon, yet can offer longer battery life with the typical Intel solution. The user can manually switch between the two on the fly, depending on whether video performance or battery life is more important. It works very well, and I like the inclusion of this method on a relatively low-priced notebook.

The not so good side of this display is the glossy screen that Lenovo has used for the Y460. Normally I like glossy screens fine, although I know many absolutely hate them. That group will surely detest this screen as it is so glossy it even bothers me. It’s a shame as this is one of most vivid, bright displays on any Lenovo notebook. It seems to reflect even in lower lighted conditions, which means most of the time. It wouldn’t be enough to keep me from getting one of these, but only because I am fairly tolerant of glossy screens.

I have been using this notebook for a few days and overall I really like it. The combination of the good keyboard and large screen keeps me picking it up when I need to get some work done, over all others in Mobile Tech Manor. I like how thin and small it is while not sacrificing anything in usability. I was delighted today to discover it will even fit in my old Booq backpack, a first for a 14-inch laptop.

The 6-cell battery provided has yielded 4 – 4.5 hours on a charge with typical power management. This is not spectacular but fairly standard for such a large notebook with decent performance. Lenovo does not include the same power management found on the ThinkPad and ThinkPad Edge lines on this IdeaPad, and I really miss that.

Lenovo has done a good job with this IdeaPad notebook; this one is definitely improved over the first models I reviewed last year. It is solidly constructed and attractive, while remaining reasonably priced.

Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub. req’d): Are You Empowering Your Mobile Work Force?

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A lot of details have spread out all over the internet about Killzone 3, and it appears that this is an announcement that couldn’t wait for E3 2010. Guerrilla Games held a small presscon in Amsterdam and

“It stars The Fuel Girls, by their own definition a “kick-ass, ultra-sexy, fire breathing rock and roll, dance and stunt show” from the UK.

If you watch the video, you will see that the part about breathing fire is to be taken quite literally.

As you would expect from a car styling event held in the porn capital of the world, the video is somewhat heavy on skin, so please watch with care if you happen to be at a typical American office.”

You’ll learn more about tunning and restyling just checking this video …

and now please welcome the best car drivers from Eastern Europe

Dost thou love Diddy? Then do not squander Diddy, for that’s the stuff life is made of. Monster has just announced the avilability of the Diddybeats earbuds in black, white, and pink for $179. Best of all? Les Diddybeats includes a free track from Diddy’s latest album, Last Train to Paris.

But wait! There’s more. Actually, that’s it. They’ll be available at Best Buy and, because they didn’t mention much about the audio, expect these things to be a little bass-heavy and actually fairly good, although the price is a bit high. Although folks complain about Monster all the time, I’ve been impressed with the Dr. Dre Beats, so these should be on par with those.

Sean “Diddy” Combs, Monster and Beats™ by Dr. Dre™ Announce Nationwide Availability of Diddybeats™ In-Ear Headphones in Black, White and Pink Exclusively at Best Buy®

Free Track Download of “Hello Good Morning” from Diddy-Dirty Money’s Upcoming Album

“Last Train to Paris” Available with Purchase
New York, NY, May 24, 2010 – Monster, the leader in audio/video accessories, and Beats™ by Dr. Dre™, co-founded by legendary artist and producer Dr. Dre and Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman Jimmy Iovine, are proud to announce the nationwide availability of Diddybeats™ (MSRP: $179.95), now in black, white and pink versions, exclusively at Best Buy® and Best Buy® Mobile stores. The latest addition to the hugely popular Beats by Dr. Dre headphone family from Monster, Diddybeats were created in conjunction with music entrepreneur and fashion icon Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Free Track Download from Diddy-Dirty Money’s New Album Last Train to Paris

For a limited time, all headphone purchasers will receive a “ticket” with an online promotional code that entitles them to receive a free track download of the hit single “Hello Good Morning” from Diddy-Dirty Money’s upcoming album Last Train to Paris, which is scheduled for release on June 28 from Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. Purchasers may enter their special code for the free download at http://diddybeats.com/track/default.aspx. In addition to their availability at Best Buy Mobile outlets, Diddybeats are also available at www.bestbuy.com/diddybeats.

“I am excited to launch Diddybeats at Best Buy because when it comes to electronics and entertainment devices they are second to none. I trust their expertise and am confident that this partnership will be a huge success,” states Sean “Diddy” Combs.

“Dre and I wanted to design an earbud that was a combination of great style and powerful sound,” said Beats by Dr. Dre Co-Founder and Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman, Jimmy Iovine. “Diddy was the perfect choice for this because he’s a pioneer in marrying music with fashion.”

Advanced Audio Technologies from Monster Deliver Extreme Clarity and Deep Bass

Diddybeats feature advanced audio technologies that break new ground for in-ear headphone performance, combining the deepest bass tones with the clarity of high frequency production and making them ideal for use with all types of music, from hip-hop and rock to jazz and classical. The remarkable sonic performance is made possible through the use of new materials and innovative patent pending designs, allowing users to hear details in their music they may never had heard before.

Head Monster, Noel Lee noted: “The goal of Beats by Dr. Dre headphones has always been to bring serious music listeners a new way to enjoy truly great sound, and to hear every nuance of the music the way the original artist intended it to be heard. With Diddybeats, we were fortunate to be able to work closely with Diddy, one of the world’s most meticulous recording artists, to fine-tune the sound, and the results are nothing less than astounding.”

“Best Buy is proud to be the exclusive partner with Monster and Beats by Dr. Dre to launch these tremendous headphones for consumers who are looking to enhance their experiences with mobile technology,” said Shawn Score, president of Best Buy Mobile. “Smartphones are becoming the central point for staying connected to everything from work to family and from social media to music. And that is why Best Buy Mobile is so focused on featuring smartphones and accessories. Diddybeats adds to our tremendous assortment and is certain to be a great product for our customers.”

Trendsetting Design Echoes Diddy’s Sean John Fashion Label

In addition to their leading-edge sonic technologies, Diddybeats in-ear headphones also incorporate design elements that echo the sensibilities and trendsetting style of Diddy’s critically acclaimed international fashion label Sean John. As such, Diddybeats are a 21st century combination of sophisticated styling and cutting-edge technology. The elegant headphones are made from high-tech aluminum, wrapped with the look and feel of leather and polished endcaps. Customers can get more information on Diddybeats at www.diddybeats.com.

Diddybeats come in an exclusive Sean John-inspired travel case and with an assortment of eartips to ensure maximum comfort and fit for every wearer. They also feature Monster’s exclusive matching flat cable design that not only integrates into the overall look and feel of the headphones, but also makes them tangle-resistant.
Diddybeats are being made available with the Monster ControlTalk™ headphone cable*, which can be used with iPhone™ and iPod® for music playback control as well as to take hands-free calls with iPhone and many smartphones. The special Monster ControlTalk headphone cable features an integrated high-grade microphone and answer button and allows users to access their music and answer phone calls without having to reach into their pocketbook, backpack or pocket.
* The ControlTalk remote and mic functions are supported by iPod nano (4th and 5th generation), iPod classic (120GB/160GB), iPod touch (2nd generation), iPhone 3GS, and iPad. The remote is supported by iPod shuffle (3rd generation). Audio is supported by all iPod/iPhone/iPad models. Requires software version 1.0.3 for iPod nano (4th generation), 2.0.1 for iPod classic (120GB), and 2.2 or later for iPod touch (2nd generation).

Additional note regarding Diddybeats and BlackBerry®:
The white version of Diddybeats is compatible with all BlackBerry smartphones. The pink and black versions do not support volume and tracking control.

Read more

Posted by Monique Garcia at 1:55 p.m.

Gov. Pat Quinn is not boxing himself in politically as lawmakers return to Springfield today to try to finish the state budget.

Today the governor refused to say if he’ll sign a spending plan that does not include major borrowing to make a massive state worker pension payment.

Quinn says the state can’t afford the nearly $4 billion payment and therefore should borrow instead of skipping the obligation altogether. But taking out another loan would require the support of Republican lawmakers, who so far are mostly opposed to the idea.

Legislators were prepared to vote on a budget plan two weeks ago until negotiations were sidelined in part because there was no agreement on what to do about the pension payment. Since then Quinn has been holding one-on-one meetings with lawmakers to help build support for the idea, but refuses to say if he’ll settle for a budget without the borrowing plan.



"We want to do the right thing, so my focus is on that," Quinn said. "I’m not going to anticipate anything other than that."



Quinn did indicate his support for a plan to cut approximately $1.2 billion from the budget that’s being pushed by a coalition of Democratic lawmakers.



The proposal would include cutting the vehicle mileage reimbursement rate for state employees as well as renegotiating or rebiding contracts, eliminating salaries for part time board and commission members and reducing spending level for executive agencies by five percent. Other savings measures including cutting $300 million in K-12 education spending and requiring retirees to pay premiums for health care.



Supporters acknowledged some of the cuts might not go over well in Springfield, but the ideas represent a good start.



"These are first steps," said Rep. Karen Yarbrough, D-Maywood. "We’re not finished yet."

At least, that’s what the Federal Reserve should have titled the report (.pdf) it released today. Instead, it went for the incredibly boring-sounding name, “Profits and Balance Sheet Developments at U.S. Commercial Banks in 2009.” But despite the awful title, it actually has some pretty fascinating information and charts. The major theme is that times are still difficult for smaller commercial banks.

Let’s start with its chart for bank profitability:

This probably goes against the predominate theme you hear in the news that banks are doing great again. That’s because most of the banks reaping huge profits these days are the big guys. The smaller banks continue to struggle. The report says:

Profitability diverged between the largest banking institutions and the rest of the industry, primarily reflecting the ability of large banks to generate income from specialized activities in which other banks do not generally participate.

Those other activities are mostly trading and other capital markets-based profits. And that change gives you the next pair of charts:

Lots of banks have been failing or consolidating over the past, well, 20 years. There around half as many now as there were in 1990. Moreover, the market share of the 10 largest banks has risen to around 55%, from around 20% in 1990. The top 100 have around 82%. That 18% left over doesn’t provide a whole lot of business for the other 6,800 smaller banks to spread around.

One reasons why banks are having so much trouble has to do with commercial loan volume. This market is traditionally a major source of revenue for commercial banks, but it has dried up with lackluster demand for commercial and industrial loans. These loans plummeted nearly 19% in 2009:

The first chart below shows the general lack of demand that commercial banks are sensing. Demand was growing stronger, but still quite low by the end of 2009:

But the second graph is more telling. It’s important to read it carefully, however. The chart likely still indicates that lending standards are much tighter now than they were before the financial crisis, as it just says that banks have stopped tightening, and a few even began loosening. In fact, the latter part of 2009 marks the first time since early 2007 that some banks were loosening standards. They likely felt the need to do so in order to compete for the few loans being applied for out there.

The 37-page report contains a lot of other detail about the commercial banking industry, so you may want to give it a read if you find this subject fascinating. But one thing is clear: small commercial banks still have a rough road ahead. Until high-quality commercial loan applications pick up, it’s going to be increasingly difficult for them to compete with the big banks.

Google didn’t invent giving stuff away. Oprah did that. Google just made — or at least greatly popularized — the trend of companies giving their latest and greatest handsets to all the attendees of the developer events in hopes of spiking their interest.

The latest company to pull a Google: Samsung. At a Developer Day in South Africa, the company just passed out Bada Wavesto everyone around.

They also revealed a number of new details — some good, some.. not so good.

• The Bada app store will be manually moderated — if its got drugs, sexually-suggestive content, or anything that “incites violence or hate”, it’s a no go.
• In a one-on-one chat with PhoneReport, a Samsung rep confirmed that the next Bada phone will look much like the Wave with a sub-$200 pricetag, while the one after that will rock a full QWERTY keyboard. This is inline with what we saw on that leak back in April.
• The Bada App Store will launch in South Africa and 19 other (unspecified) countries, with plans to hit 80 countries within just a few months
• Apps can be free or paid
• Paid apps are paid for via credit card, though Samsung says they’re working with carriers to implement carrier billing.
• Samsung hopes to sell 10 million Bada handsets this year, and 20 million by the end of next year.

[Via PhoneReport]

Grand Isle, LA is holding an emergency meeting tonight to determine the fate of 18 summer fishing rodeos. But the outlook looks bad.

“There’s a 90% chance it won’t happen,” commissioner and rodeo director Bob Sevin said about next weekend’s Speckled Trout Rodeo. “I wouldn’t be surprised if all of them are canceled.”

The Speckled Trout Rodeo brought in thousands of visitors last year at $20-a-ticket. Money raised at the rodeo is donated to community groups, including a beach beautification program — “Just what we need with all that oil” Sevin said.

Most of Grand Isle’s fishing rodeos raise money for the community. They also bring around 150,000 visitors to the town of 1,500, generating vital trade for local businesses.

Check Out Pictures Of The Town Covered In Oil >

Disclosure: The author owns shares in BP and Transocean.

Join the conversation about this story »

How many weeks until Apple’s market cap is bigger than Microsoft’s?

Apple’s market cap is now just $5 billion away from catching Microsoft. As of this writing, Apple’s market cap is $228 billion, while Microsoft is just $233 billion.

We last took a look at the two companies’ market caps in March. At that point,  Microsoft was at $253 billion and Apple was at $202 billion.

Microsoft has lost $20 billion in market cap in the last three months! What’s the cause? The market is slowing down generally, but investors aren’t seeing much to be excited about coming out of Microsoft.

Thanks to Keith Rabois for bringing this to our attention via Twitter.

See Also: 11 Charts That Explain The Bull Case For Apple To $400

Follow the Chart Of The Day on Twitter: www.twitter.com/chartoftheday

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• CHART OF THE DAY: Here’s Why Wireless Carriers Are Hosed
• CHART OF THE DAY: Google Is Activating 100,000 Android-Based Phones Daily
• CHART OF THE DAY: In Case You Were Wondering Where Adobe’s Revenue Comes From (Hint: Not Flash)