A Brief History of China's Music Industry ? Part 4: The Contemporary ...

The music industry of China is an unknown continent from a Western music business research perspective. Therefore it is very meritorious that John Fangjun Li, a lecturer and PhD candidate (2008-2012) at Macquarie University, provides one of the first overviews of the history of China?s music industry for an international readership. In a series of four blog contributions he highlights the development of the recorded music industry in more than 100 years from the final period of Imperial China to the current Peoples Republic of China. He gives an overview of the impact of Western major recorded music companies in the first half of the 20th century and of the emergence of serveral state operated but also privately owned Chinese companies after the Great Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing and other large cities. He also highlights the current digital music business in China that has been dominating the recorded music industry since the the mid 2000s.

In the fourth and final part of the series on China?s music industry, John Fangjun Li highlights the current situation in the recorded music industry in China, which is totally occupied by digital online and mobile music services.

Guest post by John Fangjun Li

This part highlights the brief history of the music industry in China in the 21^st century. Due to both the rapid spread, development and convergence of digital technologies related to computing, telecommunication and music, and the special preference and enthusiasm of Chinese people for new and popular technologies (Zhang, 2007), the progress of China?s digital music industry was almost similar to the Western countries (Sun, 2006; Chen, 2010). The digital music industry has sat center-stage in the music industry?s value chain and greatly influenced China?s music industry during the first decade of the century (ibid).

The online and mobile digital music market initially emerged in the Western countries during the mid-1980s and the early 1990s (Hayward, Orrock, 1995; Bozina, Dumancic and Knezevic, 2006; Tschmuck, 2006). However, digital technology and, in particular certain digital music business models (such as P2P file sharing), have greatly influenced China?s digital music industry in the 2000s (Li, 2006; Sun, 2006; Chen, 2011).

Telecommunication and computer companies have been engaged in China?s music industry in China since the late 1990s (Li and Morrow, 2012) by distributing and transmitting music in China on the Internet (ibid; Montgomery, 2010). Certain major digital music business firms were established and mainly developed the online music business in this period. The most representative firms were ?9sky? (9sky.com, 1999), the ?Wanwa? (wangwa.com, 2000), and the ?A8 Music Group? (a8.com, 2000), the ?163888? (163888.net/www.ifenbei.com/fenbei.me, 2003), ?Top100? (ju jing, top100.cn, 2005), the ?Alliance of Digital Music Distribution? (taijoy.com, 2005), ?Baidu MP3?, ?Kuro?s P2P?, and so on (Sun, 2006, 2007; Li, 2006).

?9Sky? and the ?A8 Music Group? were the first music companies that started their online music business in 1999 and mobile music business in 2000 respectively; these two years mark the emergence of the commercial online and mobile music business in China.

The convergence of telecommunication and computing with the music industry played an essential role in the digitalization of the music industry in China, especially in the recorded music sector. This intensive convergence process increased the complexity of the structures of China?s music industry compared to the 20^th century.

Thus, China?s digital music industry is faced by the serious problem of music piracy in the first decade of the 21^st century (Sun, 2009; Montgomery, 2010). Despite the presence of digital piracy, the value of digital music sales (mainly online and mobile music) reached 3.6 billion Yuan (approximately 57 million US dollars) and exceeded those of recorded music sales (such as CDs) in 2005 (Chen (2010) and Hu (2006)). The year 2005 is, therefore, also called ?The First Year of Digital Music? (ibid; Sun, 2006). Thus, the digital music industry played an essential and even leading role in China?s music industry since the 2000s, particularly after the mid-2000s.

The mobile music industry emerged in the early 2000s in China (Yao, 2007) ? slightly later than the online music business (Montgomery, 2010). The ?A8 Music Group? is one of the first music companies that have been involved in the mobile music business since 2001 (a8.com). Moreover, the ?Taihe Rye Music Firm? (TRMF) developed the business of polyphonic ring-tones in collaboration with the ?China Mobile Group? (CMG) in 2003 (Wang, 2012). The China mobile music web ?www.10086.cn? (formally named ?www.12530.com?) can be regarded as the largest online music store in China; it was established in 2009 and offers mobile ring-tones (Sun, 2006).

The ?Shanghai Synergy Culture and Entertainment Group? (?SSCEG?) also played an essential role for the development of China?s mobile music business. This industry group includes two of the leading record companies: the ?Shanghai Audio-Visual Press? and the ?Shanghai Audio-Visual Company?. Both are involved in the digital music industry, in particular in the mobile music business (Li and Morrow, 2012). According to Sun (2009), ?SSCEG? signed agreements with ?China Unicom?[1] and ?Sina.com?[2] to cooperate on digital music market in 2009.

Another remarkable development was the establishment of copyright agencies such as ?R2G?, which was established in 2003. This agency mainly adopted legal action against piracy and played an essential role in China?s digital music industry during the second half of the 2000s (The R2G, 2004-2009). According to Jin (2007), the three international major record companies, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group but also other international independent record companies charged ?Baidu? company for copyright infringing behavior of its users, but finally Baidu won this law case in 2006. However, the international majors also charged the operator of ?Yahoo China? ? the Alibaba Information Technology Co., LTD ? for copyright infringement and in this case they were successful (ibid).

More legal activities influenced China?s digital music industry during the 2000s. The ?Chinese Music Copyright Society?, the ?Chinese Audio-Visual Copyright Society?, and the ?International Federation of the Phonographic Industry? issued a joint statement in 2008 to oppose Baidu?s operations (Jin, 2010: 71). According to Li (2012) all these legal activities had positive impact on China?s digital music industry in the second half of the 2000s.

To sum up, despite a high level of file-sharing activity, the music industry in China, which has emerged in the late 1990s, took off in the mid-2000s due to a rapidly growing digital music market. A first step towards a domestic online music was the establishment of ?9Sky? in 1999. A year later the mobile music business emerged when the ?A8 Music Group? started its operations. In addition, the ?China Mobile Group? played a leading role in launching a sustainable mobile music market. Thus, the digital music industry can be regarded not only as an integrated industry but as the most rapidly growing and most important part of China?s music industry in the first decade of the 21^st century.

References:

Bozina, M.; Dumancic, K. and Knezevic, B. (2006). The Impact of Internet on IPR ? A Case Study of Music Industry in Croatia. Retrieved on December 12, 2011 from http://www.dime-eu.org/files/active/0/IPR-%20WORKING-PAPER-16_Bozina-et-al.pdf

Chen, J. (2010). The Annual Revenue of the Digital Music Industry Has 30 Billion Yuan (about 4.76 billion US dollars), the Content Provider Only Gets One Percent. Beijing Business Daily, on December 22, 2010.

Hayward, P. and Orrock, G. (1995). Window of Opportunity CD-ROMs, the International Music Industry and Early Australian Initiatives. Convergence, 1 (1), pp. 61-79.

Jin, H. (2006). Music Copyright Issue Caused by New Media. Western Chinese Science and Technology, (1).

Jin, W. (2010). Elementary Study on the Developmental Approach of China?s Digital Music Industry. The Journal of JiangxiFinanceCollege, 23 (1).

Li, F. (2010). A Study of the Research Activity of China?s Music Industry Since the Reform and Opening-Up and Some Other Related Issues. Huangzhong: Journal of Wuhan Conservatory of Music, (3), pp.12-23.

Li, S. (2006). The Digital Entertainment Industries. Sichuan, China:Sichuan University Press.

Li, X. (2006). The History of China?s Cultural Industries. Changsha, China: Hunan Art and Literature Press.

Li, F. (2012). China?s Music Industry: Evolution, Development and Convergence, PhD thesis at Macquarie University.

Li, F. and Morrow, G. (2012). Strategic Leadership in China?s Music Industry: A Case ?Study of the Shanghai Audio Visual Press. In the book ?Arts Leadership: International Case Studies?. Melbourne, Australia: Tilde University Press. August 2012.

Montgomery, L. (2010). China?s Creative Industries: Copyright, Social Network Market and the Business of Culture in a Digital Age. Glos, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.

Tschmuck, P. (2006). Creativity and Innovation in the Music Industry. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.

Sun, L. (2006). China Leapfrogs into a ?Digital Music Age?: International Recording Industry Giants Converge at Music Fair. Retrieved on 15 March 2011 from: http://news.xinhuanet.com/newmedia/2006-05/17/content_4555754.htm (in Chinese).

Sun, H. (2009). Shanghai Synery Group Cooperated With the Unicom and the Sina and Marched the Digital Music Industry. Chinese News Publishing Newspaper. Retrieved on December 23, 2010 from: http://www.chinaxwcb.com/xwcbpaper/html/2009-12/23/content_1782.htm.

Yao, C. (2007). A Prosperous Market of Wireless Music. Communicate Studies, 1 (28). Retrieved on October 25, 2011 from: http://www.huawei.com/publications/view.do?id=1621&cid=3162&pid=61.

Zhang, K. (2007). The Study of College Students? Internet Users? Conformity. Chinese Youth Research, (4).

John Fangjun Li is adjunct lecturer and PhD candidate (2008-2012) at Macquarie University, Sydney, Coordinator of the Australian-Chinese Music Industry Research Network, a member of IASPM (Aus-NZ). Previously he worked in Southern Cross University Australia (assistant researcher), Beijing Institute of Contemporary Music (head of the college of arts management), China Conservatory Music (associate professor), and Shanghai Synergy Cultural & Entertainment Group (music producer and marketing manager). He also obtained masters in arts management in Australia, masters in ethnomusicology, and a bachelor in music education in China. His main research interest areas are music industry, arts management, and creative industries. He published more than ten papers in international core journals and participated in some main international conferences in these areas. John Fangjun Li?s email: lifangjun17@gmail.com

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[1] ?China Unicom? is the second largest telecommunication company in the China.

[2] Sina.com is one of leading web portals in China.

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Source: http://musicbusinessresearch.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/a-brief-history-of-chinas-music-industry-part-4-the-contemporary-digital-music-industry-in-china/

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Jellyfish experts show increased blooms are a consequence of periodic global fluctuations

Dec. 31, 2012 ? Blooms, or proliferations, of jellyfish can show a substantial, visible impact on coastal populations -- clogged nets for fishermen, stinging waters for tourists, even choked cooling intake pipes for power plants -- and recent media reports have created a perception that the world's oceans are experiencing trending increases in jellyfish. Now, a new multinational collaborative study, involving the University of Southampton, suggests these trends may be overstated, finding that there is no robust evidence for a global increase in jellyfish over the past two centuries.

The results of the study, which includes lead co-author Dr Cathy Lucas, a marine biologist at the University of Southampton, appear in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The key finding of the study shows global jellyfish populations undergo concurrent fluctuations with successive decadal periods of rise and fall, including a rising phase in the 1990s and early 2000s that has contributed to the current perception of a global increase in jellyfish abundance. The previous period of high jellyfish numbers during the 1970s went unnoticed due to limited research on jellyfish at the time, less awareness of global-scale problems and a lower capacity for information sharing (e.g. no Internet).

While there has been no increase over the long-term, the authors detected a hint of a slight increase in jellyfish since 1970, although this trend was countered by the observation that there was no difference in the proportion of increasing vs. decreasing jellyfish populations over time.

Dr Cathy Lucas, who is based at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, says: "Sustained monitoring is now required over the next decade to shed light with statistical confidence whether the weak increasing linear trend in jellyfish populations after 1970 is an actual shift in the baseline or part of a larger oscillation."

To date, media and scientific opinion for the current perception of a global increase in jellyfish was evidenced by a few local and regional case studies. Although there are areas where jellyfish have increased; the situation with the Giant Jellyfish in Japan and parts of the Mediterranean are classic examples, there are also areas where jellyfish numbers have remained stable, fluctuated over decadal periods, or actually decreased over time.

Increased speculation and discrepancies about current and future jellyfish blooms by the media and in climate and science reports formed the motivation for the study. "There are major consequences for getting the answer correct for tourism, fisheries and management decisions as they relate to climate change and changing ocean environments," says Dr Lucas. "The important aspect about our work is that we have provided the long-term baseline backed with all data available to science, which will enable scientists to build on and eventually repeat these analyses in a decade or two from now to determine whether there has been a real increase in jellyfish."

"The realisation that jellyfish synchronously rise and fall around the world should now lead researchers to search for the long-term natural and climate drivers of jellyfish populations, in addition to begin monitoring jellyfish in open ocean and Southern Hemisphere regions that are underrepresented in our analyses," says lead author Dr Rob Condon, marine scientist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) in Alabama.

Given the potential damage posed by jellyfish blooms to fisheries, tourism and other human industries, the findings of the group foretell recurrent phases of rise and fall in jellyfish populations that society should be prepared to face.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Southampton, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Robert H. Condon, Carlos M. Duarte, Kylie A. Pitt, Kelly L. Robinson, Cathy H. Lucas, Kelly R. Sutherland, Hermes W. Mianzan, Molly Bogeberg, Jennifer E. Purcell, Mary Beth Decker, Shin-ichi Uye, Laurence P. Madin, Richard D. Brodeur, Steven H. D. Haddock, Alenka Malej, Gregory D. Parry, Elena Eriksen, Javier Qui?ones, Marcelo Acha, Michel Harvey, James M. Arthur, and William M. Graham. Recurrent jellyfish blooms are a consequence of global oscillations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1210920110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/YmN_P5tPyko/121231180617.htm

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Going, going ... 5 signs the personal computer may be on the way ...

An attendee looks at the MacBook Pro on display at the Apple Developers Conference in San Francisco. New iPhones were among the highlights at Apple Inc.'s conference for software developers.

Keyboards? Mice? Disc drives? It may be time to pull the plugs, experts say.

After decades of monopolizing the home computing experience, the desktop PC could be on the way out. Technology experts say the rise of "second screen" devices such as smartphones and tablets represents a fundamental shift toward a "post-PC" or "PC plus" era.

In an entry to his blog Tech Broiler, ZDNet Senior Technology Editor Jason Perlow predicted that, within a decade, less than 10 percent of the current PC-using population will still require a desktop computer.

For the foreseeable future, experts say, some functions will continue to require a traditional computer, but for basic tasks, users increasingly are picking up other devices.

A purely post-PC world has not arrived, but here are five signs it is on the way.

1 THE CLOUD

Many experts say one of the most definitive signs of post-PC's arrival is the increase in the number of cloud computing services.

Using a website or a program installed on a computer, a cloud offloads the labor of running an application from the user's computer to a server to which they connect, usually via the Internet. The benefits of cloud services include reduced demand on the user's own computer hardware, automatically updated content and the ability to access files across multiple devices -- PC, smartphone, tablet -- anywhere there is an online connection.

Via a cloud, users can manage event calendars between devices, continue streaming a film on a smart TV that they started on their tablet or upload and share pictures between a smart phone and a PC.

Popular clouds include multimedia streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Spotify and OnLive, online file hosts such as Google Drive and Dropbox and web-based email providers such as Gmail and Hotmail. Google and Microsoft each have launched cloud-based productivity software suites built on subscription models: Microsoft 365 and Google Apps, respectively.

When he returned from sick leave to introduce Apple's iCloud service at the 2011 Worldwide Developers Conference, late CEO Steve Jobs suggested cloud computing was the next leap forward.

"We think this solution is our next big insight, which is that we're going to demote the PC or Mac to being just another device," Jobs said. "[We] will move the hub, the center of your digital life, into the cloud."

Some companies are building hardware entirely around a cloud-based experience. In 2011, Acer and Samsung began manufacturing Chromebooks, notebook computers based on Google's cloud-based operating system: Chrome. Because they access applications online rather than off a hard drive, Chromebooks feature small hard drives, slower processors and require an Internet connection for full functionality but also are correspondingly cheaper than traditional laptops.

2 PC SALES SLUMP This year has been especially tough for PC manufacturers. In an Oct. 10 story citing market researchers International Data Corp. and Gartner Inc., The Associated Press reports that third-quarter global PC sales fell by about 8.5 percent.

For the same period, Dell reported a 47 percent slump, and Hewlett-Packard's $8.9 billion loss was the worst in the company's 73-year history. In its October report, International Data Corp. also predicts PC shipments in 2012 likely will represent the first annual decline since 2001.

Most industry analysts blame the sluggish sales, in part, on the rising popularity of tablets and smartphones. During the third quarter, worldwide tablet and smart phone sales rose by 43 and 47 percent, respectively, from 2011, according to estimates by research firms Strategy Analytics and Gartner.

That growth is expected to accelerate. In a February forecast of the mobile market, Transparency Market Research predicted that, by 2015, annual smartphone sales would more than double 2011 numbers to reach 1 billion units. The same report suggests tablet sales in 2015 would more than triple to reach 282 million units.

In an Aug. 24 story on Wired.com, author Marcus Wohlsen says the steady decline of PC sales since 2007 is not a slump, which indicates a potential for bouncing back, but a sign of traditional PCs' obsolescence.

"The PC market may not have that well of potential waiting to be reborn," Wohlsen writes. "Does anyone expect some near-future radical innovation to come along and rescue the traditional PC from increasing irrelevance?"

3 CONVERGENCE

With the approach of the post-PC era, the line between a desktop PC and other devices is becoming increasingly blurry.

Traditionally, the computing experience was tied to a single location in the home -- wherever the computer was. In the post-PC era, however, a similar experience can be had on multiple devices, from an Internet-connected TV in the family room to a smartphone in a pocket.

"'Post-PC' means that you don't have to sit in one spot," says Dan Thompson, manager of product development at Claris Networks, an information technology support provider with offices in Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville.

"Now, the PC lives many places," he continues. "It doesn't stay in one place anymore."

Hardware and software designers are seeking ways to welcome the PC into the living room.

Earlier this year, Dell subsidiary Alienware introduced the X51, a small-case gaming PC with a video game console-like shape designed to help it fit seamlessly into entertainment centers. Similarly, the "Big Picture" function added earlier this month to the cloud-based service Steam lets PC gamers access their content via a console-like interface navigated by a game controller instead of a mouse and keyboard.

TVs similarly are borrowing from the PCs. Internet-connected smart TVs and set-top boxes such as Roku, Apple TV and Boxee Box provide access to services also offered on computers, such as social networking, web browsing and multimedia streaming services.

According to a Sept. 26 survey by market researcher The NPD Group, about 10 percent of American homes have Internet-connected TVs. The same report says that, for the first time ever, the TV has overtaken the PC as the most popular device for watching online video content at home.

Post-PC convergence also includes interaction between companion devices. The Apple TV allows users to stream the display of an iPhone or iPad onto an HDTV, a feature Google reportedly is seeking to replicate in its devices. Microsoft is pursuing a similar function with SmartGlass, which allows a smartphone or tablet to interact with the Xbox 360 game console by navigating menus and accessing supplementary information about movies, TV shows and games.

4 NO MORE DISCS

After decades of delivering content to computer users via floppy discs, CDs, DVDs and other physical media, many companies now are starting to rely exclusively on digital channels. As a result, manufacturers are beginning to remove physical drives from their latest computers.

Apple drew fire from critics around the world in 2008 when its new MacBook Air ultra-slim notebook debuted without a built-in DVD or CD drive. Since then, the company has continued the trend by also removing disc drives from the latest editions of the iMac and MacBook.

Similar to the removal of the then-outmoded floppy drive from the original iMac in 1998, Apple saw the writing on the wall, and other companies since have followed suit.

Many of Intel's Ultrabook-branded laptops, similar to the MacBook Air and Google's Chromebook, are too slim to accommodate a disc drive. According to August reports in the Japanese-language newspaper Asahi Shumbun, Sony plans in March to shutter Optiarc Inc., its division for making PC optical drives.

In October, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller explained the decision to move away from physical discs in an interview with Time Magazine, saying: "These old technologies are holding us back. They're anchors on where we want to go. ... We try to find better solutions."

5 JUST A TOUCH

For decades, the only means of navigating a computer was a keyboard and a pointer device such as a mouse or touchpad. With the shift to a post-PC era, however, users now have 10 more options at their disposal: their fingers.

With the release of OS X Lion, the eighth version of its operating system, Apple borrowed many design elements from the iOS system used in its mobile devices, including new multitouch gestures, the Mac App Store and an iPad-like desktop and file organization system.

On Oct. 26, however, Microsoft took touch integration on PCs to a new level with the release of Windows 8.

The newest version of the world's most popular operating system is a dramatic departure from previous versions, due in large part to being designed from the ground up for simultaneous use on traditional desktops and touchscreen tablets, such as Microsoft's new line of Surface devices.

Although Windows 8 still can be navigated using a mouse and keyboard, the announcement of a shift to a touch-based interface led hardware manufacturers to install touch screens in many of the recently released Windows 8-equipped desktop PCs and notebooks. Some of the latter feature removable or reversible screens that essentially turn them into hybrid tablet-a-likes.

In a Nov. 1 article on CNET, Mike Feibus, a principal analyst of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based TechKnowledge Strategies, says Microsoft's melding of tablet-like interfaces with traditional PCs is a game changer for post-PC computing.

"Touch is as big an addition as the mouse was more than 20 years ago," Feibus says. "For many tasks, it's a better way to interact with the PC. Everything is different from here on out."

Source: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/dec/30/going-going-5-signs-the-personal-Computer-may-be-o/

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Clerks 3: Coming in 2014!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/clerks-3-coming-in-2014/

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With hours remaining, US fiscal deal uncertain (Reuters)

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Golf carts, specialty license plates included in 2013 laws

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50325172/ns/local_news-omaha_ne/

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Texas awaits next step in investigation of suspended players Case McCoy, Jordan Hicks

Texas football survived the weekend with a victory in the Alamo Bowl, but the program faces a future that includes questions about two players sent home from San Antonio.

Linebacker Jordan Hicks and quarterback Case McCoy, both juniors, were suspended Friday as police investigated a sexual assault claim.

Officially, both players were banned from the Alamo Bowl and the team for violating team rules.

Further information is expected to surface on the case this week, but for now, a lawyer representing Hicks is making a defense for his client and McCoy.

"I have spent about an hour-and-a-half speaking with Jordan Hicks, and I can say based on that discussion I am very confident that everything that happened from the first drink at the bar to the time everyone said goodnight was entirely consensual and above board," Minton told the Austin American-Stateman. "Nothing that was done by him or Mr. McCoy was against the law. Period."

In an earlier interview with Austin TV station KXAN, Minton said he doubted charges would be filed in the case.

News reports indicated there was indecision on the part of the alleged victim, a 21-year-old woman, as to whether consent was involved in the contact with the men. Police and medical officials were reviewing information and evidence from the incident, which took place early Friday.

"The unfortunate thing is if you cannot remember whether or not you gave consent the state is going to have an impossible time of putting somebody in jail for it," Minton told KXAN earlier. "If this is something that truly happened the way that she lays it out then it is very unfortunate for her."

Without the two players, Texas won its bowl game 31-27 over Oregon State.

Learn more: McCoy, Hicks focus of sexual assault allegations

Source: http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2012-12-30/texas-longhorns-case-mccoy-jordan-hicks-suspended-alamo-bowl-alleged-sexual-assa

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Two men were shot dead in Amsterdam on Saturday night in what the city's mayor E...

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President Obama has had enough of Congress' decision-making on how to take actio...

The Pressure's On! President Obama Scolds Congress For Fiscal Cliff Decision Delay (DETAILS)

globalgrind.com

President Obama has had enough of Congress' decision-making on how to take action with the fiscal cliff, which he addressed in a speech give yesterday. The President stated that if the two leaders of

Source: http://www.facebook.com/globalgrind/posts/386543858103713

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Oldest Living Identical Twins, Charlotte Eisgrou and Ann Primack, Turn 103 (PHOTO)

On Monday, the world's oldest living identical twins celebrated their 103 birthday!

Charlotte Eisgrou and Ann Primack of South Florida and Daytona Beach, Fla. are still in the best of health, despite their age. Neither uses a hearing aide or reading glasses, reported the Daily Mail.

"I feel wonderful. I have all my faculties," Eisgrou told the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Although the pair was unable to spend their birthday together since they are both recovering from recent falls, they still consider each other best friends.

Story continues after photo

The twins were born two months premature in Chicago in 1909. They weighed a combined 7 lbs. Since they were born before incubators were invented, they wrapped in blankets and put in the door of a stove to keep warm, reported the Daily Mail.

From then on they remained inseparable.

Eisgrou moved to Florida in 1949, and Primack followed her in 1971. There, they enjoyed the majority of their lives, outlived their husbands, and had one son each.

They're both astonished by their record-breaking age.

"I can't believe it, that I've reached that age. The good thing is our minds are sharp. That's the only good thing," Primack told ABC.

Amazingly, the twins continue to live almost completely independently.

Eisgrou started driving at age 78, and didn't stop until four years ago, when her now 71-year-old son told her "I shouldn't get a new car with all the hijackings," reported the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

They both use a cane to walk, but are healthy and independent. Primack even survived ovarian cancer years ago.

Their longevity may in part be due to their sense of humor. They recalled to the Daytona Journal that they often used to switch husbands when they visited each other.

"I used to visit Daytona and we'd switch husbands and walk in the temple," Primack said, "And they'd say to me, 'Charlotte, you look so good.'"

"Nobody ever knew the difference. And by the time they found out, they were hysterical," Eisgrou told ABC. "We had so much fun."

"They are very funny," Jerry Primack, Ann's son, added. "They bicker constantly."

Although the sisters have always been close, they cannot agree on what has led them to live such a long life.

According to the Daily Mail, Primack credits genes and "never being fat" while her twin Eisgrou says it's because she drank lots of milk.

"Everybody asks me that. I don't know what it was," Primack told ABC. "I didn't watch my food when I was young. I smoked. We all smoked."

Eisgrou added: "I don't know the secret to a long life. And I wouldn't tell you if I knew it."

"We love each other and we always will," Primack told ABC.

Eisgrou and Primack are the second oldest twins in the world, born 39 days after non-identical twins Edith Ritchie and Evelyn Middleton from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/30/oldest-living-identical-t_n_2377822.html

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The Biggest Banks Are Risking An Endless Cycle ... - Business Insider

Large banks risk getting caught in "perpetual" cycle of bankruptcy like aerospace companies and carmakers unless they radically alter the way they do business, according to a leading industry consultant.

Alix Partners, one of the most influential advisers to senior banking executives, warns that global investment banks must tackle head-on issues such as bonuses and their addiction to the "steroids" of debt-fueled growth.

"Just look at the auto manufacturing and commercial aviation industries, where over the past two decades, changes in regulatory and operating environments combined to render formerly solid businesses into perpetual wards of the bankruptcy court," said the consultants.

According to Alix, investment banks still pay their staff far too much, pointing out that the "overpayment effect" last year was $18bn (?11bn), or close to 30pc of the world's top 15 banks' combined pre-tax profits.

Senior bankers agree lenders must change their ways if they are survive. The head of one major British bank said he agreed with the findings and that those businesses, which did not adapt to the new world, would "die".

"There was a major change in 2008 and a lot of people seem to be acting like it never happened. The choice is pretty stark; you can either carry on as you are and disappear into irrelevance, or you can change. There is no other option," he said.

Investment bank revenues have fallen by 31pc in the past three years as earnings have been hit by the combination of a slowing global growth and tougher and more costly regulation.

Despite efforts to cut costs that have seen average bonuses halve between 2007 and 2011, Alix Partners said this was just "protracting the slow, but inevitable, disappearance into irrelevance of a business that badly needs to be reinvented".

Alix recommends that global investment banks should consider "breaking up" their businesses before they are forced to by regulators. To do this, it says banks need not pursue full separation, but could allow the creation of "internal marketplace".

In practice, this would mean banks unbundling some of the services they currently provide, cooperating more with rivals to reduce costs, and outsourcing operations.

In Britain, Barclays is currently in the middle of a strategic review commissioned by its new chief executive, Antony Jenkins, that is expected to lead to a radical overhaul of its investment banking arm and the rest of its business.

Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Scotland remains under pressure from the Government to continue shrinking its investment bank, as well as considering selling off large parts of its international business, including its US retail bank.

However, while British lenders have been at the vanguard of the change, many banks remain relatively unchanged four years on from the financial crisis that saw several investment banks become extinct.

"In fact, it seems the current taxonomy of business models could have been written in 2007, with just a few amendments," said Alix Partners.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-biggest-banks-are-risking-an-endless-cycle-of-bankruptcy-2012-12

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Stomach bug knocks Nadal from Australian Open

FILE - In this June 26, 2012 file photo, Rafael Nadal of Spain returning a shot to Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil during a first round men's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - In this June 26, 2012 file photo, Rafael Nadal of Spain returning a shot to Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil during a first round men's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

MADRID (AP) ? Rafael Nadal will miss the Australian Open because of a stomach virus, further delaying his comeback after being sidelined since June.

The Australian Open, the year's first Grand Slam tournament, begins Jan. 14. The virus kept Nadal from making his return at Abu Dhabi this week.

The Spaniard said Friday his withdrawals had nothing to do with the tendinitis in his left knee, which forced him to take a break last summer following his second-round loss at Wimbledon to then 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol. Nadal also missed the London Olympics.

"My knee is much better and the rehabilitation process has gone well as predicted by the doctors," Nadal said in a statement. "But this virus didn't allow me to practice this past week, and therefore I am sorry to announce that I will not play in Doha and the Australian Open."

The former No. 1 player hopes to return at Acapulco, Mexico, starting Feb. 27. However, he did not rule out playing an earlier tournament if his recovery went well enough.

"I always said that my return to competition will be when I am in the right conditions to play," he said. "And after all this time away from the courts, I'd rather not accelerate the comeback and prefer to do things well."

Nadal, ranked No. 4, won the Australian Open in 2009. Last year, he lost to top-ranked Novak Djokovic in a title match that lasted 5 hours, 53 minutes, the longest recorded Grand Slam final.

Nadal's doctor, Angel Ruiz-Cotorro, said in the statement that Nadal needed at least a week to recover from the virus, ruling him out for the Qatar Open set to start on Jan. 2.

And Nadal's coach and uncle, Toni Nadal, explained that Nadal had opted against making his return at Melbourne since he wouldn't be physically fit to take on its five-set format.

"We consider not appropriate to play the Australian Open since we will not have enough preparation for a greater competition which is a Grand Slam tournament," said Toni Nadal in the statement. "It is simply not conceivable that his first event is a best of five sets event, he wouldn't be ready for that."

Nadal's knee injury prevented the 11-time Grand Slam winner from defending his Olympic singles gold at last summer's London Games, where he was supposed to be Spain's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.

He also had to pull out of the U.S. Open and Spain's Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic, and his teammates lost without him.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-12-28-Nadal%20Out/id-ed79cd54872746559c6de004bb66e562

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Chinese Court Orders Apple to Pay $165K in Copyright Dispute

Apple Headquarters at Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California | Wikipedia

Last Thursday, a Chinese court ruled Apple to pay 1.03 million Yuan, or about $165,000, to a group of writers. The said writers claim that their work was pirated and sold through the App Store.

Apple vs. CWWCS

A judge from Beijing?s Second Intermediate People?s Court found Apple to be liable for the sale of unlicensed works by eight local writers. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the unlicensed works were repurposed as an application and was distributed through the App Store.

Attorneys for the writers also argued that the software available on Apple?s App Store contains unlicensed digital copies of their books.

In relation to this, the fine will be meted out to the group of writers and two companies involved in the case. However, last Thursday?s decision is far from the requested compensatory damages claimed by the China Written Works Copyright Society (CWWCS). The group of writers filed a revised claim in February, which asks for 23 million Yuan or almost double the original claims.

Prior to this, the group asserted that the iPhone maker is aware of the pirated versions since July 2011. However, they were slow to remove the offending apps from their online store. The Cupertino-based company is said to have informed the group to contact the developers of the pirated app, but it was not verified.

On the other hand, Apple said that they are taking ?copyright infringement complaints very seriously.? They also added that their service is always updated to ?better assist content owners in protecting their rights.? Moreover, the company requires its developers to sign an agreement, which says that they hold the rights to the app material before bringing it to the App Store.

More Legal Disputes in China

This is the second time that Apple has to face a Chinese copyright-related loss for the past three months. Last September, the same Beijing court ruled that the company must pay $82,600 for selling unauthorized digital copies of a popular Chinese language encyclopedia.

In addition, they had a legal dispute in China last July, wherein they agreed to pay $60 million to a local arm of a Hong Kong company. The agreement is meant to settle a trademark dispute over the ?iPad? name.

Regardless, China has become a significant market for Apple, wherein their products are seen as aspiring. In fact, the company?s sale in the country for the fiscal year through September was $5.7 billion, or about 16 percent of its worldwide total.

A twenty-something Manila girl who writes regularly for AMOG. She loves to eat, read books of various genres, and write more than anything. Those are the things that keep her sane.

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Android App of the Week: WinePoynt Turns You Into a Smart Drunk

WinePoynt is a simple little app that should help you weed through the endless selection of wine you see at supermarkets and restaurants alike. When you first start using the app, you can select price range, color, and what food you?ll be eating with your wine. WinePoynt will offer a recommendation.

If you continue to use WinePoynt, you?ll be able to rate wines that you drink or buy from certain locations. On the basis of those ratings and search fields, the app will make progressively smarter recommendations. You?ll also be able to see other people?s rating for wines at various locations, and you?ll be able to spot the nearest location to you carrying a specific wine.

WinePoynt is available now on Google Play for free. A premium version is also available, which is priced at $0.99 per month or $4.99 for a whole year. It?s nice to know that your Smartphone can encourage your drinking habits.Google+

Tags: android

Source: http://www.chipchick.com/2012/12/winepoynt.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=winepoynt

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I'm I'm Gini Dietrich, Founder of Arment Dietrich and Spin Sucks, and ...

?

Firmology?s How I Power My Business?series?profiles the technology?business owners?use to run and grow their business.

How I Power My Business
By Gini Dietrich of Arment Dietrich and Spin Sucks

What?s the story behind Arment Dietrich and Spin Sucks?

In true entrepreneurial fashion, I run not one, not even two, but three businesses (unless you count speaking and book writing as separate businesses, in which case there are five).

The core business is Arment Dietrich, which is an integrated marketing communications firm in Chicago. A little more than a year ago, we went virtual (hence no photo of me in front of the business) and we experienced 200 percent growth this year. I truly believe there are two reasons for that: I have an amazing team with really talented professionals who are doing what they?re meant to do and our overhead went from thousands of dollars a month to almost nothing.

Six years ago, we launched Spin Sucks ? the blog ? and nearly three years ago, we began to use it to generate revenue. Today it is the number two driver of new clients for Arment Dietrich.

And we have Spin Sucks Pro in beta right now, which is a professional development site for PR and marketing pros. We are developing this because there isn?t anywhere, other than annual conferences, where our profession can learn about new technologies, new initiatives, and new campaigns. Because things are changing so quickly, it?s important to have a place to learn every day versus once a year.

What apps, software, service or gadgets are essential to the operations of your business?

Because we?re a virtual company and because we have clients in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, it?s important for us to use technology to stay connected, be productive, and manage our time most effectively.

• WordPress powers our website, our blog, and Spin Sucks Pro.
• Dropbox serves as our document sharing server.
• Skype serves as both our telephone system and our instant messaging.
• Google Docs is used for our editorial calendars and client documents.
• BusyCal is my go-to choice for my calendar and task list.
• Passbook is fantastic for traveling. You add your boarding pass through your airline?s app and you can use your phone for your ticket.
• We all use most of the social networks to connect with one another in public ways that builds our culture.

What time-saver or money-saver would you love your fellow business owners to know about?

There are a few things that have made us more efficient:

• Dropbox is only $10 per month and it allows us to not only share documents, but access them from anywhere in the world, including on planes without Internet access. Not having the server anymore saves significant expenses each month.
• VirtualPBX allows us to have a main office number that rings directly to people?s cell phones. I think it?s something like $49 a month.
• I mentioned BusyCal above. It was $50, but it?s worth every penny. I couldn?t find anything I liked better than my paper task lists before I found BusyCal. Now I use it for everything.

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If you?d like to be featured on Firmology?s How I Power My Business series, here?s what we need from you:

1. Read this example post first:?Wanted: Businesses for How I Power My Business Series
2. Headshot/Company Photo: Ideally, we?d like a picture of you standing in front of or in your business, but we?ll take your profile headshot by itself or two separate photos too!
3. Company Logo: Who doesn?t have a logo now-a-days? If you don?t have the file, just send us your website link and we?ll grab it from there.
4. Description of Business: Tell us about your business! What is your product or service? Extra points if you have a story of how or why you launched your business.
5. How You Power Your Business: What apps, software, service or gadgets do you use to power your business?

Email the above information to contact@firmology.com with the subject line: How I Power My Business

---

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Source: http://www.firmology.com/2012/12/28/im-im-gini-dietrich-founder-of-arment-dietrich-and-spin-sucks-and-this-is-how-i-power-my-business/

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Global shares sag as U.S. races to avoid fiscal cliff

LONDON (Reuters) - World shares sagged and the dollar climbed on Friday as U.S. lawmakers prepared to resume talks to avoid a fiscal crunch, while expectations Japan will inject drastic new stimulus into its economy pushed the yen to a two-year low.

President Barack Obama and lawmakers are set to have a last round of talks before a New Year's deadline to reach a deal and avoid massive tax hikes and spending cuts which could drag the economy, and others around the world, into recession.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will meet congressional leaders from both parties at the White House at 3.00 p.m. ET.

As midday approached in Europe, the MSCI all-world share index <.miwd00000pus> had lost the momentum of an earlier rally in Asian shares to stand almost unchanged at 338.83.

With London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> also flagging after a positive start, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.fteu3> fell back into negative territory and on track for a small weekly loss.

Members of Congress and economists were divided on the odds of success at the U.S. budget talks but Daiwa Securities economist Emily Nicols said the chances of a deal before year-end were slipping. "Markets in Europe are now down and that is reflecting the U.S. situation."

"The Republicans are not coming back until Sunday so it looks increasingly unlikely that a solution will be found before the end of the year, although markets still expect a deal eventually even if it does go into January," she added.

YEN LOW

U.S. stock futures pointed to falls on Wall Street when trading resumes later. <.n/>

Earlier in Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei index hit a 21-month high as markets prepared for a huge injection of stimulus by the Bank of Japan following the election of a new government. The expectations also pushed the yen to a new two year low versus the dollar.

Japan's newly appointed Finance Minister Taro Aso said he wants the government and the Bank of Japan to agree on an inflation target in January before the central bank's next policy meeting and stressed a willingness to intervene in FX markets.

"The Japanese equity market has turned positive, providing good sentiment for global investors, with many making money and putting the money into commodity markets such as the oil market," said Tetsu Emori, a commodity fund manager at Astmax in Tokyo.

The dollar rose as high as 86.64 yen. The yen has now fallen roughly 10.5 percent against the dollar in 2012, its biggest annual drop since 2005. At the same time the Nikkei share index is now up 22 percent for the year.

With investors wary about the outcome of the fiscal cliff negotiations, the dollar <.dxy> and German government bonds, both seen as safe-haven assets because of their liquidity, strengthened.

In contrast, with markets starting to focus on uncertain elections at the end of February, Italy's 10-year borrowing costs rose to the highest since October at its first auction for long-term debt to be settled in 2013.

Mirroring equities, the euro gave up early gains to slip back under $1.32. It came as France reported it had managed just 0.1 percent growth in the third quarter.

COPPER

Despite the tensions over the U.S. budget talks, the mood in financial markets has been improving in recent weeks. Data from key emerging economies have shown signs of a pick-up while analysts are hopeful that Europe may also soon bottom out.

Fresh signs that top consumer China's economy is improving saw growth-attuned copper prices climb as high as $7,955 a metric ton, on track for the biggest weekly rise in four weeks.

A new Reuters poll showed economists think China's factory activity probably expanded at its fastest pace in eight months in December.

The U.S. uncertainty weighed on other commodities though. Brent crude was down 0.25 percent just below $111 a barrel by 1100 GMT and on course to post a full-year increase of about 3.6 percent, which would be its smallest gain in four years.

Gold also gave up early gains to drop to $1,658.40 an ounce. However, it looks set to notch its first weekly rise in a month and for the year is up around 6 percent.

"We do expect a ... (U.S. budget) deal to happen at the last minute, but it will be a minimal deal," said Dominic Schnider, an analyst at UBS Wealth Management in Singapore. "I think that should be gold supportive."

(Additional reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yen-extends-fall-asian-shares-capped-u-fiscal-002858594--finance.html

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Blackburn euphonium player gains prestigious music college place

Blackburn euphonium player gains prestigious music college place

2:00pm Saturday 29th December 2012 in Blackburn

A TEENAGE Blackburn musician has proven he has the key to success after being accepted at the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

Daniel Thomas, 17, who attends St Wilfrid?s High School in Blackburn, has been playing the euphonium since the age of seven.

He is delighted to be one of the chosen few to be selected for the coveted places at the nationally acclaimed school for aspiring musicians.

Daniel, of Heartwood Close, Blackburn, said his dad, who is the head of music at St Bede?s RC High School, and his mum, who plays the cornet, have always encouraged him to be involved in music.

He said: ?I was delighted when I found out I had been accepted. I couldn?t believe it.

?It was my first choice and it?s the best place in the world for a euphonium player to go.?

Daniel will start the four year musical performance degree next September and is eager to start.

He said: ?The course will give me time to make sure I know the instrument inside and out and master the instrument. I will be able to go around the country, and possibly around the world, playing in some of the best brass bands.

?To be accepted is an honour and a privilege and I can?t wait to start. This offer had helped to set me in the right direction for the future.

?I have always enjoyed playing. I practice every day for an hour and perform in concerts with the Blackburn and Darwen Brass Band.

?I am also learning to play the trombone so that I can play in the orchestra for musicals in the pit.

?My parents are especially happy.?

Last year Daniel was named the most improved player of the year and bandsman of the year at the Blackburn and Darwen Brass Band?s annual awards.

Source: http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/blackburn/10131382.Blackburn_euphonium_player_gains_prestigious_music_college_place/?ref=rss

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Best of Travelife 2012: A simple philosophy for living. Just for today.

Life is usually very good for me -- my best friend used to always say I lead "a charmed life." And just three days ago, another equally old friend from school days said exactly the same thing.

I have to agree. I'm luckier than a lot of people. I have to admit this, especially as I'm typing this out from the best suite in the entire Philippines, and, boy, is it pretty fabulous. More on this in a later entry.?

Scroll down to read more...

But back to my luck. Never have I been luckier than this year, perhaps, which was full of simply amazing moments in a Travelife --?and not a few of them were shared with good friends and people close to me.

I'm not one for overly sentimental or emotional writings, but let me share with you a simple and inspiring poem that I came across over 20 years ago.?

A SIMPLE PHILOSOPHY FOR LIFE

I kept this in my wallet for a very long time to remind me of how to live each day as well as possible and how to deal with the arrows of life when they came. I only finally threw it away when I realized I'd imbibed this philosophy so much that I didn't need the piece of paper in my wallet anymore.

If there's one philosophy that has kept me going throughout the year, it's certainly been this. And I intend to live this way into 2013 and basically forever.

Just for today, I will try to live through this day only,

and not tackle all of my life's problems at once.

I can do something for twelve hours

if I felt that I had to keep it up for a lifetime.

Just for today, I will be happy.

I will remember what Abraham Lincoln once said:

"most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Just for today, I will try to strengthen my mind.

I will study. I will learn something useful.

I will not be a mental loafer.

I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.

Just for today, I will adjust myself to what is,

and not try to adjust everything to my own desires.

I will take my "luck" as it comes,

Just for today, I will exercise my soul in three ways:

I will do somebody a good turn, and not get found out.

I will do at least two things I don't want to do--just for exercise.

I will not show anyone that my feelings are hurt.

They may be hurt, but today I will not show it.

Just for today, I will be agreeable.

I will look as well as I can,

dress becomingly, talk low, act courteously, and criticize not one bit.

I will not find fault with anything

and I will try not to improve or regulate anybody except myself.

Just for today, I will have a program.

I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it.

I will save myself from two pests: hurry and indecision.

Just for today, I will have a quiet half hour all by myself to relax.

During this half hour, I will try to get a better perspective of my life.

Just for today, I will be unafraid.

Especially I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful,

to have faith in the good,

and to believe that as I give to the world,
so the world will give to me. Just for today. In a never-ending, and never-endingly eventful Travelife.

Source: http://www.travelifemagazine.com/2012/12/best-of-travelife-2012-simple.html

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