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  • Google puts spectrum database to use in Cape Town white space broadband trial

    Microsoft recently said it intended to trial white space technology in Kenya, and now Google is also experimenting with the wireless broadband system in Africa, this time in Cape Town, South Africa.

    White spaces are the gaps in between broadcast TV channels in the radio spectrum. These gaps are left empty as buffers, in order to avoid the TV channels bleeding into each other, but they also have the capacity to carry wireless broadband. And, because the spectrum we’re talking about is quite low-frequency, it is very good at carrying that wireless broadband over great distances – hence the technology’s promise for mostly rural areas that lack good fixed-line broadband.

    The Cape Town trial, launched on Monday, is experimenting with white spaces as a way of bringing connectivity to schools. The base stations are being sited on the Tygerberg hill, which is next to several heavily-populated areas (I’m from Cape Town, as it happens), so the trial should provide a good idea of how white space broadband interferes – or hopefully doesn’t – with licensed spectrum holders in the vicinity.

    Google’s involvement extends to sponsorship and the use of its newly-launched spectrum database, while others taking part include the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa (TENET) and of course the local telecoms regulator, ICASA. The equipment comes from Neul and Carlson Wireless.

    The trial will last six months. According to TENET’s explanation, each of the 10 schools involved will get a “dedicated 2.5Mbps service with failover to ADSL” – hardly impressive speeds, but this is still an experiment after all.

    According to Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Google’s public policy manager in South Africa, Google’s intention here is partly to drive regulatory change there. Like Wi-Fi spectrum, white space spectrum can be used license-free in the U.S. This may also happen in the UK, depending on what the regulator Ofcom decides. “We hope the results of the trial will drive similar regulatory developments in South Africa and other African countries,” Mgwili-Sibanda wrote in a blog post.

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  • Evernote adds document search functionality to mark Deutsche Telekom partnership

    Evernote has struck a strategic partnership with Deutsche Telekom, which will see Telekom customers get one-year Evernote Premium subscriptions. And, to mark the occasion, Evernote has added a new Premium feature: document search.

    Evernote Premium’s existing features include higher upload limits, offline note availability, added note-sharing options and better note search. But now Premium subscribers are also able search documents, spreadsheets and presentations that are attached to notes, as long as the documents in question were created in Microsoft Office, Apple iWork or OpenOffice.

    The initial result of the Telekom tie-in is not in itself unique by any means – many Orange and Taiwan Mobile customers, for example, also got a year’s free Premium access last year. However, the use of the term “strategic partnership”, along with the companies’ insistence that this Premium deal is only “the first part” of that arrangement, suggest more is yet to come.

    For Evernote, such deals mean more reach and entrenchment, which comes at an opportune time given Google’s entry into the same market with Keep and the rise of other rivals such as Wunderlist.

    For Deutsche Telekom, the partnership is a continuation of the telco’s strategy of bundling the premium versions of popular web brands as a way of making its own services more attractive: it does much the same with Spotify for one of its youth-oriented tariffs.

    “At Deutsche Telekom, we count on partnerships to pave the way for innovations,” Telekom business development SVP Heikki Makijarvi said in a statement. “Our goal is to offer highly innovative and unique services with the easiest access possible. The cooperation with Evernote is an excellent example of two companies combining their strengths for the benefit of our customers.”

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  • European banks: slow progress

    The Cypriot crisis, stemming essentially from a banking malaise, reminds us that Europe’s banking woes are far from over. In fact, Stephen Jen and Alexandra Dreisin at SLJ Macro Partners posit in a note on Monday that five years into the crisis, European banks have barely carried out any deleveraging. A look at their loan-to-deposit ratios  (a measure of a bank’s liquidity, calculated by dividing total outstanding loans by total deposits) remain at an elevated 1.15. That’s 60 percent higher than U.S. banks which went into the crisis with a similar LTD ratio but which have since slashed it to 0.7.

    It follows therefore that if bank deleveraging really gets underway in Europe, lending will be curtailed further, notwithstanding central bankers’ easing efforts. So the economic recession is likely to be prolonged further. Jen and Dreisin write:

    We hope that European banks can do this sooner rather than later, but fear that bank deleveraging in Europe is unavoidable and will pose a powerful headwind for the economy… Assuming that European banks, over the coming years, reduce their LTD ratio from the current level of 1.15 to the level in the U.S. of 0.72, there would be a 60% reduction in cross-border lending, assuming deposits don’t rise… This would translate into total cuts in loans of some $7.3 trillion.

    The coming storm is also likely to hit some innocent bystanders — emerging economies.

    For years European banks have led the lending juggernaut in the developing world, accounting for 57 percent of total foreign claims in these countries. A pullback is already underway: Jen and Dreisen cite BIS data showing a 4 percent fall in European lending to EM since 2011. But with over 90 percent of cross-border lending to eastern Europe coming from European banks, more pain can certainly be expected.

  • Morning Advantage: You’re Too Busy to Innovate

    Einstein famously said that if given an hour to solve a problem, he’d spend 55 minutes defining it and 5 minutes on the solution. That’s “exactly opposite of what the vast majority of executives today would do,” writes Jeffrey Phillips in the blog Innovate on Purpose. “Most of them would simply define a solution, implement it and have 15 minutes to spare for checking email.”

    The problem, he argues, is that we’ve become too efficient. Too much of our time is optimized and streamlined, carefully delineated for this meeting or that conference call, with no time for just… thinking. “We are simply too busy to innovate, and what’s worse, we seem to enjoy the busyness over the contemplation necessary for innovation. Like a man who starves to death in a bountiful land because he is too busy to plant, many businesses will wither because they were too busy to innovate.” At least you weren’t too busy to read this.

    UNSKILLED AND UNAWARE

    Finding a Cure for Over-Confidence (Knowledge @ Australian School of Business)

    Research has long confirmed that most people tend to over-estimate their abilities, and that the least competent people are the most likely to be over-confident. But in a large field study, professor Andreas Ortmann has shown that feedback actually does calibrate people’s sense of their abilities. It just takes time. In his experiment, it took 8 weeks for his subjects (students) to learn their place in the intellectual hierarchy. Of course, the bottom 10% were still the least self-aware. But Ortmann cautions weary managers not to give up hope — or stop giving feedback. “The least competent people might just take much longer.”

    REMUNERATIVE RIVALRIES

    A Look Back at Business Feuds That Shaped Our World (Fortune)

    They say nothing in business is black and white, either/or, or yes or no, but you may find yourself thinking it’s a binary world after all when you look at Fortune’s slide show of the 50 biggest business rivalries: Coke versus Pepsi, Ford versus GM, Gates versus Jobs, Genoa versus Venice (the cities). And don’t forget Oreo versus Hydrox. Once you start thinking in terms of twin titans, you see them everywhere: Time versus Newsweek. The Beatles versus the Rolling Stones. Rodan versus Godzilla. The list could go on and on. —Andy O’Connell

    BONUS BITS:

    Survey Says

    Users Want Mobile Apps, Not Mobile Websites (CIO Insight)
    Seriously, Governments Should Be Playful (Forrester)
    Smartphones Hurt Chewing Gum Sales (Bloomberg Businessweek)

  • Vaccine victory: Widespread resistance from parents to HPV jab for daughters shows truth is spreading far and wide

    Parents with young daughters are increasingly wising up to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine scam, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics. Based on the latest figures, more than 16 percent of parents in 2010 rejected popular HPV vaccines like…

  • Cyprus bank bailout agreement is pure theft: 40% of private deposits to be looted from selected accounts

    A brand new looting arrangement has been reached concerning Cypriot banks. It involves seizing the funds of all accounts over 100,000 euros, then stealing up to 40% of those funds sometime over the next few weeks, or whenever EU bureaucrats get around to deciding exactly…

  • Urgent health warning issued over Adya Clarity detox liquid containing aluminum, sulfuric acid

    The non-profit Consumer Wellness Center (www.ConsumerWellness.org) has issued a consumer health warning over Adya Clarity, a “detox” product that was seized by the FDA in 2012 and tested at over 1200ppm aluminum. The product is currently being marketed through a series…

  • Why I totally support background checks… for members of Congress and the Obama administration

    In the midst of the big debate about “background checks,” I thought it important to weigh in on the issue and profess my full and total support for background checks…

  • Amazon Web Services ramps up mobile development

    Hold the phone! Amazon Web Services is launching a mobile applications initiative. According to a company job post, AWS seeks a software development engineer for a new iOS/Android AWS initiative to be based in Palo Alto, Calif.

    awslogojpegThe ideal candidate will have built a “top 25 app;” and want to build a “brand new service from the ground floor,” according to the job post.

    It continued:

    “In this role, you will be responsible for creating and owning world-class production tablet and web client applications across major platforms including iOS and Android . You must be willing to insist on the highest standards for quality, maintainability, and performance. You will ensure that engineering best practices are followed and that software is designed to be responsive, reliable and maintainable.”

    TechCrunch first reported the news Sunday night.

    Developers typically access AWS from their PCs but smartphones and tablets are quickly supplanting laptops and PCs as devices of choice for more workers so it would make sense for AWS to turn more attention to those form factors.  And, the company added Android and iOS(s appl) support to the AWS management console so users can keep an eye on their services from their device of choice.

    While this posting talks about client app development rather than SDK, it is also possible that AWS will devise its own mobile backend as a service (MbaaS) — something that GigaOM Pro analyst Janakiram MSV posited in a post (subscription required) a few weeks ago. According to MSV:

    “AWS has all the required building blocks to expose mobile backend services. Amazon EC2, Amazon S3, Amazon DynamoDB, and Amazon RDS already form the backbone of many mobile applications today. The AWS SDK for Android and iOS makes it easy for developers to consume these services.”

    General purpose platforms as a service (PaaSes) neglected this mobile segment — a gap that startups like Kinvey, Parse, Stackmob, and Kii rushed to fill. Now, PaaS players are adding more mobile capabilities — witness Microsoft’s addition of mobile services to Windows Azure last summer.

    I will update this story if and when Amazon responds to requests for comment.

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  • Youth with diabetes at greater risk following transition from pediatric to adult care

    Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the body does not produce insulin and cannot convert sugar, starches and other food into energy. Generally diagnosed during childhood or adolescence, the disease requires lifelong access to medical care and intensive daily self-management.
     
    As children with Type 1 diabetes grow into young adults, they must leave their pediatric health care providers for adult providers. But the timing of this process and its impact on the young people’s health had not been fully explored.
     
    In a new study published in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics and currently available online, UCLA researchers found that young people with Type 1 diabetes who had transitioned from pediatric to adult care were 2.5 times more likely to have chronically high blood glucose levels, putting them at higher risk for heart attacks, strokes, blindness and kidney failure later in life.
     
    The estimated median age of patients when this transition occurred was 20.1 years, the researchers said, and 77 percent had left pediatric care by age 21. 
     
    The findings suggest that young adults need additional support and guidance when leaving their pediatric providers to avoid the risk of poor diabetes control.
     
    “The transition to adulthood can include changes in health care providers, insurance and often living situations as patients move from high school to college or work,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Debra Lotstein, an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA. “These transitions can be challenging for anyone, but youth with a chronic health problem like diabetes are at risk of losing the support of their health care providers and their family that helps them stay healthy. When this transition goes poorly, it increases the risk of worse health outcomes in adulthood.”  
     
    Previous research on youth with Type 1 diabetes in the U.S. had looked primarily at young people from a single diabetes specialty center or a single geographic area, or it had examined youth at just one point in time — either before or after leaving pediatric care. The current study, however, involved the largest national cohort of youth with Type 1 diabetes in the U.S. to be followed over a period of time.
     
    Researchers analyzed data from the multi-center SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study, which has tracked children and young adults with diabetes from six centers across the country since 2002. The cohort included 185 adolescents and young adults with Type 1 diabetes who were enrolled in the study in the year after their diabetes was diagnosed. The youth included in these analyses were cared for by pediatric diabetes physicians at the time of their initial study visit and were followed for an average of 4.5 years. 
     
    The authors found that a young patient’s type of insurance — public versus private insurance, for instance — made no difference in the switch to adult care, but they did observe that older patient age, lower levels of parental education and lower baseline blood-glucose levels were independently associated with increased odds of transitioning to adult care. 
     
    “One surprise was that those patients with poor diabetes control were more likely to stay with their pediatric providers, compared to others,” Lotstein said. “We theorized that that the doctors have a higher level of concern for those patients with poor control and may care for them longer in an attempt to prevent their condition from worsening.”
     
    The next stage in the research, the authors said, is to directly follow young adults transitioning to adult care to see what happens as they age and to examine how different types of support aimed at easing the transition affect health outcomes.  
     
    The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.  
     
    Additional study authors included Michael Seid (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center); Dr. Georgeanna Klingensmith (University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine); Doug Case, (Wake Forest University School of Medicine); Jean M. Lawrence, (Kaiser Permanente Southern California); Dr. Cathernine Pihoker (University of Washington); Dr. Dana Dabelea (Colorado School of Public Health); Elizabeth J. Mayer-Davis, (University of North Carolina); Dr. Lisa K. Gilliam (Kaiser Permanente Northern California) Dr. Sarah Corathers (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center); Dr. Giuseppina Imperatore (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention); Dr. Lawrence Dolan (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center); Andrea Anderson (Wake Forest University School of Medicine); Ronny A. Bell, (Wake Forest University School of Medicine); and Beth Waitzfelder, (Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente, Hawaii).
     
    The authors have no financial ties to disclose.
     
    For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.

  • Improving the Utility and Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders: Workshop Summary

    Final Book Now Available

    Nervous system diseases and disorders are highly prevalent and substantially contribute to the overall disease burden. Despite significant information provided by the use of animal models in the understanding of the biology of nervous system disorders and the development of therapeutics; limitations have also been identified. Treatment options that are high in efficacy and low in side effects are still lacking for many diseases and, in some cases are nonexistent. A particular problem in drug development is the high rate of attrition in Phase II and III clinical trials. Why do many therapeutics show promise in preclinical animal models but then fail to elicit predicted effects when tested in humans?

    On March 28 and 29, 2012, the Institute of Medicine Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders convened the workshop “Improving Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders” to discuss potential opportunities for maximizing the translation of new therapies from animal models to clinical practice. The primary focus of the workshop was to examine mechanisms for increasing the efficiency of translational neuroscience research through discussions about how and when to use animal models most effectively and then best approaches for the interpretation of the data collected. Specifically, the workshop objectives were to: discuss key issues that contribute to poor translation of animal models in nervous system disorders, examine case studies that highlight successes and failures in the development and application of animal models, consider strategies to increase the scientific rigor of preclinical efficacy testing, explore the benefits and challenges to developing standardized animal and behavioral models. Improving the Utility and Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders: Workshop Summary also identifies methods to facilitate development of corresponding animal and clinical endpoints, indentifies methods that would maximize bidirectional translation between basic and clinical research and determines the next steps that will be critical for improvement of the development and testing of animal models of disorders of the nervous system.

    [Read the full report]

    Topics: Health and Medicine | Biology and Life Sciences

  • Monitoring Progress Toward Successful K-12 STEM Education: A Nation Advancing?

    Final Book Now Available

    Following a 2011 report by the National Research Council (NRC) on successful K-12 education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), Congress asked the National Science Foundation to identify methods for tracking progress toward the report’s recommendations. In response, the NRC convened the Committee on an Evaluation Framework for Successful K-12 STEM Education to take on this assignment. The committee developed 14 indicators linked to the 2011 report’s recommendations. By providing a focused set of key indicators related to students’ access to quality learning, educator’s capacity, and policy and funding initiatives in STEM, the committee addresses the need for research and data that can be used to monitor progress in K-12 STEM education and make informed decisions about improving it.

    The recommended indicators provide a framework for Congress and relevant deferral agencies to create and implement a national-level monitoring and reporting system that: assesses progress toward key improvements recommended by a previous National Research Council (2011) committee; measures student knowledge, interest, and participation in the STEM disciplines and STEM-related activities; tracks financial, human capital, and material investments in K-12 STEM education at the federal, state, and local levels; provides information about the capabilities of the STEM education workforce, including teachers and principals; and facilitates strategic planning for federal investments in STEM education and workforce development when used with labor force projections. All 14 indicators explained in this report are intended to form the core of this system. Monitoring Progress Toward Successful K-12 STEM Education: A Nation Advancing? summarizes the 14 indicators and tracks progress towards the initial report’s recommendations.

    [Read the full report]

    Topics: Education

  • China’s coal plants are squeezing its water supply

    There’s a looming water crisis coming for China’s water-hungry coal plants, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Roughly sixty percent of China’s power plants (most of them running on coal) are located in Northern China, but only 20 percent of the country’s fresh water is found in the North.

    The mismatch is a problem on a variety of levels. The “big five” state-owned utilities that operate many of these power plants are financially exposed to the water constraint, particularly because the Chinese government has set a cap on the country’s growing water use. And making these coal plants consume less water with the standard technology could ironically decrease the plants’ power efficiencies and boost their carbon emissions.

    China power plants

    But the water constraint will only continue to grow unless the utilities do something about it. The report says that by 2030 the amount of water used by China’s power sector could grow to 124 billion cubic meters — or even 190 billion in an aggressive estimate — from 102 billion cubic meters in 2010, due a potential tripling of the country’s power plants. 190 billion cubic meters of water would constitute a quarter of the country’s capped water supply in 2030.

    The good news is there are some options for the utilities. They could build more of their future power plants outside of the North and particularly in some of the more wet regions. In addition, clean power like solar panels and wind turbines don’t require as much water resources, so these renewable technologies could start to look more competitive to utilities. These options could also be more attractive than retrofitting the plants to the more water efficient, but more power inefficient, kind which would cost them collectively $20 billion for 100 GW.

    There could also be next-generation technologies that could help solve this water, power plant problem in China, too. Are any of the cleantech companies out there working on innovative solutions that could help?

    As the world gets 9 billion people by 2050, and countries like China, Brazil and India start to consume more energy per capita, water will become an increasingly constrained resource. New water management, conservation, and recycling technologies will emerge to meet this challenge.

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  • Thanks Google Keep! EverNote sees uptick in downloads, usage

    When I called Phil Libin, Evernote CEO earlier this morning to chat about Keep, in his typical matter-of-fact manner he explained that Google’s Keep app is both good and bad for his company. Bad, because he now has more competition in the market. And good because now more people are going to be aware of the overall category, which means more attention for Evernote.

    Evernote CEO Phil Libin

    Evernote CEO Phil Libin

    Libin reasons that just as the Weather App on iPhone helped jump start interest in other apps like the one from say the Weather Channel, Google Keep will push the interest higher in note-taking and clipping apps like Evernote. His arguments are backed by an uptick in downloads of the Android-version of Evernote since the Keep news came out last week.

    Libin wouldn’t offer any specific details (or numbers) except he acknowledged that when compared to a week ago downloads and usage are up – enough for him to notice. That said, he is of the belief that Keep wouldn’t have any impact on his company’s relationship with Google and its flourishing platform. Evernote is one of the more successful apps on most mobile platforms – iOS and Android included.

    Google Keep, is Google playing catch up with rivals such as Apple, Blackberry and Microsoft (a MSFT). Most expect Google to boost the number of stock apps on Android.

    Related: Sorry Google, Keep it to yourself & More on why I won’t use Google Keep: it’s not personal, it’s business.

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  • The Right Way To Unload A Flatbed

    Sure, you could unload this the “traditional” way, but this method is so much easier.

    Click here to view the embedded video.

    What do you think? Click “read more” to comment.

    Thanks!

    The post The Right Way To Unload A Flatbed appeared first on Tundra Headquarters Blog.

  • Hurd? Capellas? Let’s be bold. How about Gerstner, Bradley, Bartz, Otellini as new Dell chief?

    As a couple of private equity firms sorted out their bids for Dell last week a couple of names bubbled to the top of the list of prospective new (that is non-Michael Dell) CEOs.

    Former IBM CEO and Chairman Louis Gerstner.

    Former IBM CEO and Chairman Louis Gerstner.

    Blackstone, a PE firs interested in bidding against  Silver Lake Partners and Michael Dell for the company, reportedly reached out to Mark Hurd, co-president of Oracle and former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Dell’s nemesis. Hurd is charged, in part,  with making Oracle’s hardware business as margin rich as its software business, and so far that effort has been underwhelming. Financier Carl Icahn is also pursuing Dell, according to published reports.

    Some have also mentioned Michael Capellas, the former CEO of Compaq who helped engineer its sale to HP for $25 billion in 2001. Then-HP CEO Carly Fiorina drove that deal. Capellas was more recently involved with The VCE Co.  created by EMC and VMware.

    Dave Donatelli, EVP and GM of HP's Enterprise Group.

    Dave Donatelli, EVP and GM of HP’s Enterprise Group.

    But seriously people, if we’re going to play guessing games, let’s really play. Hurd and Capellas? Puh-leaze. Why not Louis Gerstner? Gerstner, who is credited with turning IBM around during his tenure there,  has “got one more in him,” according to one of my  panel of experts on Twitter.

    Or how about Todd Bradley, HP’s PC guy who was passed over as CEO at least once and perhaps twice. What better way to strut his stuff than to reinvent HP’s biggest PC-and-server rival?

    Former HP CEO and Chairman Mark Hurd

    Former HP CEO and Chairman Mark Hurd

    Or Dave Donatelli? The HP storage-and-servers guy  is clearly not afraid to jump ship. His departure from EMC for rival HP in 2009 sparked a lawsuit.

    As EVP and GM of HP’s Enterprise Group, Donatelli is responsible for “the development and delivery of server, storage, networking and technology services solutions.” That pretty much sounds like Dell’s mission statement — except for the enterprise part. As Dell’s president of software told me a week ago, Dell is more focused on SMBs than the largest enterprises, where IBM reigns.

    Todd Bradley, EVP of HP's personal systems and printing group.

    Todd Bradley, EVP of HP’s personal systems and printing group.

    And heck, if former HP CEOs carry a premium (why that might be is a mystery to some), why not Fiorina herself?

    Others think Gerry Smith, who heads up Lenovo’s U.S. operations, would be an interesting pick. Or Carol Bartz, former CEO of Autodesk and then Yahoo.

    Or, Y.K. Kim, CEO of  Samsung Electronics America. Now there’s a company that knows from success.

    Intel’s outgoing CEO Paul Otellini could be looking for work.

    But, since Dell is fashioning itself as a sort of IBM for the small and medium business (SMB) set, it really needs more Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) expertise. Maybe they should hire someone from Saleforce.com or Box?

    One of my Twitter experts put it this way: ”The market for SMB is pure SaaS plus cloud and only enterprises, [service providers], and government [accounts] will be buying hardware,” he noted.

    If the new bids from Blackstone and activist Carl Icahn gel , Dell’s board has a few more days to sort through them and make its decision. Dealbook has a good explanation  of the process as it will unfold now.

    Of course, this new CEO discussion, as entertaining as it is,  may be moot if the Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners buyout bid wins the day. If that’s the case, presumably Mr. Dell will remain CEO if he so desires.  If not, let the games begin again.

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  • Wacom Cintiq 22HD Vs. Modbook Pro: Screen Real Estate Takes On Portability For The Digital Artist

    modbookpro-vs-cintiq22hd

    Tablets are everywhere these days thanks to the iPad, but they lack a certain finesse necessary for fine digital arts work. That’s where longtime players like Wacom and Modbook still excel. Recently, I’ve had both a Wacom Cintiq 22HD and a new Modbook Pro in the studio for testing, and both have proven immensely handy for digital drawing, painting and photo editing.

    One’s clearly a desktop affair, while the other’s much more portable, but if you’ve only got the budget for one (it’s $2,000 for the Cintiq and around $3,200 for the Modbook), which to choose?

    The Modbook Pro is a modified MacBook Pro, from a company that has been hacking Apple’s notebooks together with Wacom pressure sensitive screens and turning out Frankenstein Apple tablets since long before the days of the iPad. The latest Modbook Pro is based on the mid-2012 version of the non-Retina MacBook Pro, with some amazing specs to boot. Some highlights (as tested):

    • 2.9GHz Intel Core i7
    • 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM
    • Intel HD Graphics 4000 512MB
    • 480GB SSD
    • $4519 price as tested
    • Product info page

    The Modbook also retains most of the ports of the MacBook Pro, with one Ethernet, one Firewire 800, a Thunderbolt port and one USB 3.0, plus the SD and audio in/out ports. The other USB 3.0 on a standard MBP is used to power the Wacom digitizer built into the Modbook’s display, which offers 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity with the included stylus, which slides into a holster built right into the case.

    You also get a slot-loading Superdrive on the Modbook Pro, along with a power button and sync button, which you press to make sure the pen is properly calibrated with the display whenever you power it on. The display itself is a matte, 13.3-inch 1280 x 800 pixel LCD, which has a textured feel that resembles paper when drawing with the included stylus.






    The hardware is impressive, and feels sturdy and durable. Very sturdy, in fact, which accounts for one of its biggest drawbacks: it’s very, very heavy. At 5.4 pounds, it’s almost a pound heavier than a 13-inch MBP on its own, and since it’s a tablet designed for portability you quickly notice how hefty it actually is. Despite what you may think, it manages to not get too hot when in use, which is a huge bonus for a device that you’ll want to lie flat on your lap most of the time.

    Weight issues aside, the Modbook Pro delivers as a drawing tablet. It feels very natural, and mimics the experience of paper well. With the caveat that you’re writing on that paper on top of a stone tablet from biblical times. But it meets the definition of portable, if only just, and gives you access to full Mac and Windows (through Boot Camp) programs, including Sketchbook Pro, Photoshop, Manga Studio and many other industry stand-bys. The problem is that you often want to use it on desks and other flat surfaces, and there’s no good way to change the angle.

    It meets the definition of portable, if only just, and gives you access to full Mac and Windows programs.

    Another issue is the on-screen keyboard. It’s the default one built into OS X, which many may not even know exists. It’s clunky, it only works with the stylus (no touchscreen input here), and it quickly has you diving for a Bluetooth keyboard if you’re doing anything other than opening and closing a drawing program. A good thing for comfort is that you can rotate the screen from the menu bar easily for portrait use.

    This Wacom drawing tablet is the latest in the Cintiq line (though the 13HD will soon change that, when it hits retail). Unlike the Modbook, it isn’t a self-contained computer and must be connected to a Mac or Windows machine to work. It does have a much larger display, however, capable of true HD 1920×1080 resolution. Here’s a bit more about this bad boy:

    • Features 16 customizable ExpressKeys and 2 touch strips
    • 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity
    • Built-in adjustable stand
    • $1,999
    • Product info page

    The Cintiq 22HD has two big differences from the Modbook, but in a way, they actually act as pretty equal trade-offs. The Modbook Pro costs a lot more, but that price difference is about the same as you’d pay for a MacBook Pro on its own, which is exactly what you’ll need to already own if you want the Cintiq 22HD to actually do anything, since it needs to plug into a computer.






    There’s also the portability factor: the Cintiq simply isn’t. It’s like any 20+ inch display, but slightly bigger on account of the adjustable angle stand and the built-in ExpressKey and touch strip controls. Plus it’s tethered to your computer via a DVI cable (and whatever adapter you require, perhaps to Thunderbolt or HDMI) and a USB cable that handles the pressure sensitivity duties. But, you can actually slide the Cintiq 22HD off its stand, should you want to lay it in your lap for comfort’s sake, though you’d better have a pretty wide and accommodating lap to use it this way.

    That said, the Cintiq 22HD is a dedicated drawing tablet and its dedication to that task shows. Despite the fact that both devices use the excellent Wacom pen tech, the 22HD has double the pressure sensitivity, so it picks up more subtle changes in pen pressure, ships with a much better and more comfortable drawing stylus, and has a better, brighter display that also hase a much better viewing angle. Like the Modbook, it supports display rotation, and on its handy swivel stand, is actually easier to manhandle when used on flat surfaces.

    the 22HD has double the pressure sensitivity, so it picks up more subtle changes in pen pressure.

    The Cintiq is also easier to use without a keyboard, thanks to the programmable ExpressKeys. You can assign them and the touch panels to zoom, pan, scroll, undo, delete, select all, or perform virtually any function you can do with a keystroke combination. That means a lot less cause to resort to keying in commands, which ultimately saves a lot of frustration.

    In some ways, comparing these two devices is like comparing an iMac to a MacBook Pro; if you need portability, you’re going to go with the latter regardless of the relative virtues of either. And the Modbook Pro is an excellent choice for demanding graphics professionals who need a portable device that has none of the trade-offs in terms of performance or software compatibility of something like an iPad or Galaxy Note 10.1.

    But if you fall within a broader group of pros and prosumers who are looking at either the entry-level Cintiq or the Modbook as a standalone solution, I’d have to go with the Cintiq. The Modbook’s portability is actually a hindrance in terms of making it comfortable for long-term use, and the Cintiq is just a better performer with more advanced, more nuanced tech on board for digital drawing and photo manipulation. Coming from the older Cintiq 12WX, the 22HD is a massive improvement, and that’s saying a lot considering how thrilled I was with the 12WX.

    The Modbook Pro is a remarkable achievement and perfect for those who demand portability, but it’s much more of a niche device. The Cintiq 22HD will disappoint no one who’s in the market for this sort of thing and has the budget to buy it. The main question that remains for that group of people is whether the just-announced 13HD can suit their needs instead, and I’ll let you know the answer to that in our upcoming review.

  • News story: PM call with President Putin of Russia

    The Prime Minister spoke to President Putin earlier today on a range of bilateral issues.

    On trade, both leaders welcomed the recent deal between BP and Rosneft and commented that it was very positive to see trade between the UK and Russia on the rise. The Prime Minister added that he was looking forward to welcoming President Putin to Northern Ireland for the G8 summit.

    On Syria, the Prime Minister set out the urgent need to find a political solution to the crisis. Both leaders agreed that a stable Syria was in everyone’s interest.

    On the ongoing situation in Cyprus, the Prime Minister and President agreed it was important that a swift resolution was reached between Cyprus and other members of the Eurozone.

  • News story: Immigration speech by the Prime Minister

    Prime Minister David Cameron has today outlined plans for a cross-Government immigration system that seeks to favour those who work hard to get on in life.

    The Prime Minister will said that immigration continues to have huge benefits to our nation and we can be proud of how open and diverse we are. He explained that he believes a sensible debate will help ensure that everyone who comes here pays their way and gives something back.

    The speech outlined Government plans to do this by:

    • stopping our benefits system from being such a “soft touch”;
    • making entitlement to our key public services something migrants earn – not an automatic right;  and
    • bringing the full force of government together to crack down on illegal working.

    Mr Cameron said:

    While I have always believed in the benefits of immigration I have also always believed that immigration has to be properly controlled.

    As I have long argued, under the last government this simply wasn’t the case. Immigration was far too high and badly out of control. Net migration needs to come down radically from hundreds of thousands a year to just tens of thousands.

    And as we bring net migration down so we must also make sure that Britain continues to benefit from it. That means ensuring that those who do come here are the brightest and the best the people we really need with the skills and entrepreneurial talent to create the British jobs and growth that will help us to win in the global race.

    And it also means ensuring that the system is fair so that we support the aspirations of hard working people who want to get on in life. This is about building that aspiration nation I have been talking about.

    New measures set out by the Prime Minister include:

    Cutting access to benefits for non-UK nationals after 6 months

    The current Home Office Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations state that someone who enters the UK in order to seek employment means they have a ‘right to reside’ as a job seeker. This means they can claim Job Seekers Allowance and other benefits.

    To ensure people cannot claim benefits indefinitely, in early 2014 we will create a statutory presumption that after 6 months an EEA national can no longer retain their status as a job seeker or retained worker and continue to claim benefits, unless they can demonstrate they have actively sought work throughout that period and have a genuine chance of finding work.

    Currently some immigrants are exploiting a loophole which allows them to claim contributory benefits based on their National Insurance contributions despite not having the right to work in the UK. This can happen when someone has worked in the UK and paid NI but then overstayed their visa. Closing this loophole will prevent payment of contributory benefits to those with no right to work in the UK at the point of their claim.

    We will strengthen the test people have to pass to see if they are eligible to claim income related benefits – the Habitual Residence Test. There will be an increase in the number and stronger range and depth of questions asked.

    Stopping ‘something for nothing’ public services

    The Government will introduce an expectation on councils to introduce a local residency test in determining who should qualify for social housing. This would mean someone would have to live in an area for say 2 or 5 years before they could even go on the waiting list.

    This will stop someone from turning up and immediately gaining access to social housing. To ensure UK nationals are protected when they are moving for genuine reasons – for example for work or because of family breakdown – local authorities will have the ability to set exceptions (e.g. in relation to work mobility, armed services personnel, for people escaping domestic violence etc).

    Stopping health tourism

    Government wants to stop the expectation that our health service is free to the entire world and we will take new steps to ensure the NHS can claim back money that is owed for NHS treatment provided to those not entitled to it. We will look to introduce stricter charging or a requirement for non-EEA temporary migrants to have private health insurance in order to access NHS care. Countries like the US and Australia already expect people to have insurance – we want to do the same. This will ensure we can reclaim costs when people are treated by the NHS.

    Crack down on illegal immigration

    Key enforcement organisations will be brought together to form more local and national taskforces to target hotspots of high employment and housing abuse and there will be tougher action on rogue businesses who employ illegal workers by doubling maximum penalties to £20,000. Biometric residence permits will make it easier to identify illegal immigrants.

    Rogue landlords

    Government will introduce a new legal requirement for landlords to check the migration status of new tenants, so they are not renting to an illegal immigrant.　 Landlords/letting agents will be expected to demand suitable evidence from tenants (passport/valid visa/Biometric Residence Permit) and to keep a record. For UK nationals proving their status will be straightforward – simply showing a passport, driving licence or birth certificate in most cases.

    Rogue landlords who flout the rules and fail to take sufficient checks will face tough consequences, which could include a fine.

  • News story: Prime Minister’s Passover message

    Prime Minister David Cameron sends greetings to Jewish communities in UK and across the world observing Pesach (Passover).

    Mr Cameron, said:

    I send my very best wishes to Jewish communities in Britain and internationally celebrating Passover this year.

    The fact that millions of people are observing a festival which is thousands of years old shows the enduring and positive strength of your faith in our world.

    And it is right that the story of the Exodus – the freeing of oppressed peoples – is not forgotten. I join you in the hope and determination that a lasting peace can be found for Israel and the wider region.

    I’d also like to take this opportunity to praise the British Jewish community for their significant historic and continued contribution to life in the UK, which has helped make Britain the richly diverse and inclusive place it is today.

    I wish you a happy and peaceful Pesach.