The iRiver Cover Story is one elegantly designed e-reader from
start to finish. Its case is constructed of a heavy-duty, creamy plastic that,
contrary to one's expectations of the material, feels smooth and luxurious in
the hands. A rounded bezel frames the device, into which are set the power,
volume and menu buttons almost flush with the surface.
Feeling further
around the edge, a flap conceals the mini-USB port and SD card slot. You'll also
find a tiny microphone, audio jack and, on the top of the right edge, a stylus
discreetly slots in.
Each Cover Story also comes equipped with a plastic
cover. It's slightly magnetised, so it will stick to the front of the device,
but come off easily ¡ª and, when you're reading, you just slip it over to the
back, where the cut-out hole for the button sits neatly over the speaker. You
can purchase different coloured covers, but we quite like the uniformity
presented by the default cream-coloured one.
Features
The Cover
Story is loaded with features. As you might have guessed from the mention of the
stylus, it has a resistive touchscreen, and other clues point to audio
capabilities. In fact, the Cover Story can both play audio files (great for
audio books or music), as well as record audio notes.
The touchscreen
opens up a range of capabilities: you can make scribbled notes directly in the
text, place bookmarks easily, press and hold on a word to open its dictionary
definition, and even open a separate application to make either text or drawn
memos.
It also supports a wide range of file types. One we liked is the
ZIP support: you can put a zipped file of image files in the comics viewer, and
read it like a book, using the page turn button to scroll through the files.
However (and we had this problem with the Cybook Orizon, too), the
resistive touch layer, which is laid over the E Ink display, is highly
reflective ¡ª much more than other e-readers,Choose from one of the major
categories of oil painting supplies,
removing one of the attractions of the display. It is bearable, but can be
distracting when reading near a light source.
Performance
Reading on
the Cover Story is almost as pleasurable as holding it. Thanks to the
touchscreen, navigation is simple and intuitive, and the library even has a
handy search function so you can quickly and easily find a title rather than
scrolling through the entire thing. You can also sort by books you are currently
reading and books you have added to your list of favourites.
We did find
that it took quite a while to boot up from shut down, but you can tweak the
power settings so that the Cover Story will only power down if you haven't used
it for three, six, 12, 15 or 24 hours; if you read everyday, the 24-hour setting
means it will only put itself to sleep if you leave it idle, and it only takes a
couple of seconds to wake up.
It also struggles a bit with large files.
George R. R. Martin's monstrous tome,For all DVS promotional usb in PDF format. A Song of Ice
and Fire, takes a minute or two. If you're somewhere you can toddle off and fix
yourself a cup of tea, that's maybe not such a big deal, but it can get annoying
on the bus. It also means that leaving the book and using the Cover Story for
something else is less attractive; luckily, though, it handles smaller books
with much better efficiency, and page turns are prompt no matter how big the
book is.
The combination of E Ink and touchscreen is still a fiddly one,
and it still doesn't work as well with resistive as it does with infrared. You
have to move fairly slowly; text input will skip letters if you work too fast,
and drawing will end up an unrecognisable mess if you scrawl too fast. You'll
also need to calibrate it so that your line doesn't end up a centimetre away
from the actual contact point on the screen. It's a simple process, but unless
you take a good prowl around the device or read the manual cover to cover, you
might not find it in the Settings menu.
The audio options are probably
its weakest point. Audio playback is fine enough if you have headphones, but the
speaker is very weak and the highest volume not much greater than a sotto voce
mumble. Recording is even worse; it barely picked up voices right next to it,We
are professional blu ray burner,
yet still manages to capture a lot of background hiss. Played back on the
speaker, we could hardly hear anything at all, and the headphones weren't much
better.
Unusually, the Cover Story did manage to almost last the
advertised battery life, coming in at just under two weeks.When the stone sits
in the oil painting reproduction,
Impressive,you will need to get an Wholesale
pet supplies. and probably the best we've seen yet. It's just a shame that
the Wi-Fi version (retailing in the US for US$399) isn't available here;
although for the regular Cover Story's price, we would have hoped that would
have been an inclusion, and were surprised not to find it.
Conclusion
While we find the Cover Story quite pleasant to read on, it lets itself
down on a few additional points ¡ª mainly the sluggishness of the touchscreen
and the poor audio features, upon which it seems to be basing its high price
tag. It feels luxe to read upon and if that's what you're after, you may
consider it worth the price. But there are other e-readers on the market that
offer similar function sets for lower cost. As lovely as the Cover Story is,
though, we're afraid we find the price tag just a little too high.
A pilot project in rural Senegal uses text
messaging to remind women of upcoming doctor's appointments and local
health meetings.
Health reminders
The sound of a text
message, recognizable the world over, but in a small village tucked
away down the sandy back-roads of Senegal, a few short beeps can be
vital reminders. For mothers living in and around the Mbosse, receiving
an SMS (cellphone small message service,When the stone sits in the oil painting reproduction, text) from their doctor's helps keep themselves, and their babies, alive and healthy.
At
the Mbosse health clinic, a hundred kilometers northeast of Dakar,
villagers are gathered from more than a dozen nearby communities. On one
side of the courtyard are the men. They sit on white plastic chairs in
the sand and under the shade of sprawling tents. Off to the side,
three young kids put on face paint and costumes in preparation for a
skit on malaria prevention.
Next to them, on colorful woven
mats, is a group of mothers. They balance babies on their laps and
spoon-feed a grainy mixture of dried fish, millet, tomato and peanuts
into their tiny mouths. In a corner, four young women sit around a
board game called "safe motherhood" in the local Wolof language. A
young woman called Ndeye picks up a card from the deck. It is a picture
of a pregnant woman carrying a large bag on her head.
Ndeye
says this card means that a woman who is pregnant should not be
carrying heavy weight. It is a risk. It can be bad for her and bad for
the baby.
Empowering families
It is all part of a
five-year health plan funded by USAID to helping improve family health
in rural Senegal. 150 women were given cell phones to keep them
informed of upcoming doctor's appointments -- before, during and after
pregnancy -- to remind them of vital immunizations for their babies and
to invite them to different health talks at the Mbosse health clinic.
Degu¨¨ne
Fall is in charge of the community health programs for Plan
International in Thi¨¨s, one of five nongovernmental organizations
collaborating on the SMS program.
Fall says it has been an
excellent project for areas where women have difficulty in accessing
health clinics -- either financially or geographically.From standard zentai suits to advanced wire tires,
Fall says that, before the cell phone project started,Handmade Cable Ties
at museum quality, women only learned about health matters through
discussions. But many felt there was too much talking and got bored.
Fall says, when they came for their pre-natal consultations, doctors
would write their next appointment down, but most of these women are
illiterate. Even with immunizations, they would forget because they
were out working in the field or too busy helping in the house. Fall
says that now that they receive direct messages they do not usually
forget.
Fatou Tine is a 25-year-old mother of four. She joined
the text message program a year ago during her last pregnancy, but
continues to attend meetings on other health topics, such as diarrhea,
malaria prevention, HIV and family planning. Fatou is illiterate and so
is her husband.
Tine says the project has been useful for her
because her last pregnancy was a lot easier than the three before. Two
days before every doctor's appointment she got a text message. But,
because she cannot read, the person she lives with helped her. Tine
says that, in total, she received three messages during her pregnancy
and four messages after to remind her about getting her baby
vaccinated.
Health-care workers at the Mbosse clinic estimate
about 95 percent of the women who receive texts do show up for their
appointments. And, many also join in the regular health meetings,
bringing their friends or husbands along.
Program helps to keep health cost down
The
costs of visits range from about 20 cents for a child and 65 cents for
an adult. Food and nutritional advice is 30 cents and medication is
free. Although these prices are subsidized by the state, it can still
be a lot in an area where a single visit to the doctor can mean half a
day's income.
The African Child Policy Fund ranks Senegal 13th
in health expenditure, below Burkina Faso and Chad but well above
Ghana. The Senegalese government spends slightly more than 12 percent of
its annual budget on health. That is more than richer countries, such
as South Africa, Morocco or Egypt,you will need to get an Wholesale pet supplies.
but still falls short of targets, set by African leaders to spend 15
percent of GDP (gross domestic product) on health before 2015.
David Mugawe, an executive director of the African Child Policy Fund,We are professional blu ray burner,
says traditional means of communication are being sidelined. Media is
playing a big part in creating awareness and passing on information at a
low cost. Mothers can share experiences and learn from each other.
Mugawe
says fathers are also being targeted because they make many of the
decisions at home. He says they are the breadwinners and have access to
resources, so they need to be supportive of the mother by going to
health centers with them, supporting the well-being of their children.
Solar might
be the renewable energy source that "can't get no respect," to borrow Rodney
Dangerfield's line.
Costs — while steadily dropping — are viewed as a
major obstacle to widespread adoption, and solar didn't rate much of a mention
in the B.C. government's Clean Energy Act, adopted last year, according to
speakers at the Solar West 2011 conference and trade show in Vancouver.The name
"billabong outlet" is not unique.
The B.C. solar energy industry plans to boost its public and government
profile with an awareness campaign called "Stand Up For Solar," launched Tuesday
at the conference.
"The message in B.C. and elsewhere is ‘Get on the
train now,' because when solar is conventional energy, the jurisdictions that
invest first are going to see industrial development in jobs that other
jurisdictions are not going to see," Jon Kieran,Replacement glass bottle and bulbs for Canada
and Worldwide. chairman of the Canadian Solar Industries Association, told
conference delegates.
One of the backdrops to the PR offensive is
Ontario's Green Energy Act, which has vaulted the province into a world
leadership position in renewable energy by using subsidies to lure billions of
dollars of investment in wind and solar power. B.C. has opted to focus on low
taxes and targeted funding rather than financial incentives.
The Ontario
strategy has also become a political hot potato in the run-up to the Oct. 6
provincial election, with the opposition Progressive Conservatives threatening
to scrap the subsidies.
Mark Jaccard, professor of sustainable energy at
Simon Fraser University,Park Assist is a global leader in Ipod nano 5th, told delegates that solar
has great potential due to improved economics, the global thirst for energy and
the need to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
But he
cautioned those in the fast-growing industry to temper expectations and to avoid
"delusions" and the universal tendency to be overly optimistic in their quest to
develop clean energy.
"Abandon the delusion that solar can soon compete
with fossil fuels for more than niche markets," Jaccard said. "They're using the
atmosphere as a free waste receptacle. You're not."
In 1985, solar was
expected to be cost-competitive with fossil-fuel-based energy by 2000, he said.
Similarly optimistic projections are around today, Jaccard noted, such as the
belief that solar will no longer need government incentives by 2025.
One
challenge for the renewable energy industry is the vast resource of natural gas
that exists in North America and other areas of the world. Fossil fuels are
plentiful and likely to remain cheap, Jaccard said.
Another delusion is
"naive financial analysis" that doesn't factor in the extra costs and higher
risk of investments with a long payback, Jaccard said. A homeowner, for example,
is more likely to opt for a more efficient gas furnace and see an immediate drop
in their energy bill than install costly solar panels.what are the symptoms of
sculpture,
Effective climate
policy requires higher subsidies for clean energy and more aggressive emissions
pricing, he asserted, and lobbying becomes critical because politicians won't
act without pressure from the industry and the public.Quality air Bedding tools for any tough job.
Jaccard advised the solar industry to aggressively lobby politicians for
regulations requiring solar applications in new buildings and retrofits for
existing buildings. Such technologies would be economic if emissions were priced
properly, he said.
The
University of Texas at Austin Celebrates Completion of Austin's Largest Solar
Power System
Event: The University of Texas at Austin and its
Facilities Services Department mark the completion of a solar power system
installed on the J. J. Pickle Research Campus (PRC).
When: 10:30 a.m.,
June 2
Where: J. J. Pickle Research Campus, 10100 Burnet Road. Entrance
between US 183 and Braker Lane. Maps are available online.
Background:
Consisting of two arrays of solar panels, the photovoltaic system is the largest
completed solar project at one location in Austin. The installation expands
renewable energy sources at the university and is largely funded by a grant from
the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO).
Speakers include Dr. Pat
Clubb,The name "billabong outlet" is
not unique. vice president of university operations; Dr.Quality air Bedding tools for any tough job. Steven
Kraal, senior associate vice president for campus planning and facilities
management; Dub Taylor, director, SECO & Stimulus Contracts, State
Comptroller¡¯s Office; Greg Smith, executive vice president of project
contractor Jamail & Smith; and Mark Rangel, general manager for
subcontractor Texas Solar Power Company of Austin. At the conclusion of remarks,
Dr. Clubb will turn on a switch, representing implementation of the system.
Staff will lead a tour of the ground mounted array and the photovoltaic
system monitors.what are the symptoms of sculpture,
In 2010, The
University of Texas at Austin received almost $1.6 million in grant funds from
SECO for installing two solar cell systems at PRC. The project consists of two
grid-tied solar power systems. One system is a ground-mounted array of solar
panels in a field south of the Microelectronics & Engineering Research
Center building. The other system is an array of panels over a newly constructed
carport west of the Bureau of Economic Geology Administration building. A
monitoring system tracks the energy generated at each installation.
Together, the systems are capable of producing 406,200 kilowatt hours of
renewable energy per year. With the new technology in place,Park Assist is a
global leader in Ipod nano 5th, PRC
expects to decrease peak demand costs and save 263 tons of CO2 from being
emitted. In addition, the project is expected to offer instructional
opportunities for academic engineering programs at PRC.Replacement glass bottle and bulbs for Canada
and Worldwide.
As Nigeria gradually moves towards the era of
mobile payment system, plastic cards (debit and credit) may soon become
old-fashioned, analysts told BusinessDay at the weekend.
This
is even as mobile money operators, regulators make every effort to
sustain the shift from card-based transaction to mobile-based
transaction. A prominent industry analyst who pleaded anonymity told
BusinessDay at the weekend that Nigerians are increasingly 'living
their lives on their mobile phones'.
A development,Park Assist is a global leader in Ipod nano 5th,
he added could drive the adoption of mobile payment services. "I
definitely believe that the mobile money will eventually replace the
plastic card. It is going to take some time though because consumer
habits take a long time to change. We hear that some of the 16 firms
granted Approval in Principle (AiP) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
to commence pilot programmes of Mobile Money services have begun
submission of trial reports to the apex bank for verification.
"We
are going to see it move beyond trials and into reality. Ultimately,
we are going to see more and more people leave their homes without
their wallets", he further maintained. In relation to m-payment,
industry watchers strongly believe that 2011 will be a dynamic year
with service providers positioning in various diverse ways to redefine
the digital payment landscape. In 2010, the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) granted 16 operators approval-in-principle to operate mobile money
services in the country.
They include; Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc,
Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Fortis MFB, UBA/Afripay, GuarantyTrust Bank
Plc/MTN and First Bank of Nigeria Plc. Others are Pagatech, Paycom,
M-Kudi, Chams, Eartholeum, E-Tranzact,Replacement glass bottle
and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. Parkway, Monitise, FET and
Corporeti. The operators were given four months (January to April this
year) to demonstrate their capacities to roll out mobile money
networks. Beyond this, millions of mobile phones capable of making
contactless payments are expected to be shipped out this year.
Recent
Pyramid Research report has projected that the global mobile money
industry would generate over $200bn by 2015. But more importantly,
industry analysts believe that the success and expected growth will be
largely dependent on subscribers' trust in the system in respective
countries.what are the symptoms of sculpture,
Onajite Regha, CEO, Electronic Payment Providers Association of
Nigeria (EPPAN) who spoke at a forum organised by the body in Lagos
recently, said the industry need to "agree on what strategy we must
adopt to create an enabling environment which will ensure the success of
m-payments to adequately protect investors and ensure credibility
within the operations to gain consumers trust."
Chuma Ezirim,
group head, eBusiness for FirstBank of Nigeria (FBN), pointed out that
the robust mobile payment ecosystem would drive incremental value
propositions to all parties involved in the scheme. "For banked
consumers,The name "billabong outlet"
is not unique. mobile payment provides new ways and places to make
payment. For Banks (Issuers & Acquirers), it helps to grow payment
revenue, merchant accounts. Mobile payments also open up new business
opportunities for financial institutions and reduce cost of service
delivery.
"In the case of telecoms operators, mobile payments
reduces airtime cost, churn and helps grow ARPU (Average Revenue per
User) and VAS (Value Added Services) and so on", Ezirim stated.
Commenting on the huge potential of mobile money in Nigeria, Luqman
Balogun, divisional head, e-Banking, UBA told Business Day in an
interview, "today, we have less than 30 million accounts in Nigeria
relative to the population of 150 million. As at the last count,
figures show that we have almost 100 million mobile subscriptions. "The
question is why don't you convert those phone lines to bank account".
The
future of mobile payments industry in Nigeria looks bright, many
industry analysts believe. However, Nigerians are doubtful about its
successful implementation. Emmanuel Okogwale, principal consultant,
Mobile Money Africa, thinks that a robust agent network drives mobile
money, not technology.
"Stakeholders should endeavor to build a
shared agent network to serve all the stakeholders. Since agency is
the Heart of mobile financial services and the agents do not sell
primary products of the licensee unlike in Mobile Network Operator
(MNO) driven ecosystem.
"There is a need to source, develop,
train and deployed agents on a shared basis. "Aside from technology
which is available off the shelf though expensive, another issue that
many of the providers are still faced with is the mind set of thinking
mobile money is a technology offering rather than an agency offering.
"Signing
the agents, recruitment, training and deploying a well developed agent
network is the major obstacle facing the providers", he posited.
According to Okogwale, many potential agents do not know on what
authorisation are these providers acting on.Quality air Bedding tools for any tough job.
He
called on the CBN to step in by allaying the fears of the agents and
also help the industry develop a standard enterprise Risk and
mitigation framework.
KWON teachers
attend Kamehameha Schools. professional development days in order to learn and
implement new strategies in their classrooms. KWON teachers attended an I Teach
K Conference, Singapore Math Training Conference and a Differentiation
Conference for which all teachers completed a collaborative project and
presented statistical and anecdotal results reflecting the worth of attending
the conference. All strategies and trainings are conducted within the framework
of student achievement in order to close the achievement gap and increase
academic achievement.
All teachers participate in Professional Learning
Communities on a weekly basis. These communities work toward (1) recognizing a
need (with a focus on leadership training), (2) organizing for change (with a
focus on leadership and infrastructure), (3) working on the building blocks
(with a focus on infrastructure, school philosophy, and vision), (4) moving as a
whole school (with a focus on the standards based change process),Our Polymax RUBBER SHEET range includes all
commercial and specialist (5) sharing results within a professional learning
community (with the focus on assessment results), (6) implementing the
curriculum (with a focus on teacher-developed curriculum guides), and (7)
engaging students and families (with the focus on portfolios, student
self-assessment, and goal setting). Initially, the communities. meeting topics
began with an assessment (by way of surveys, focus groups, and individual
interviews, along with data collection) of three components of our school:
infrastructure, classroom practices, and student outcomes. According to the
results of the assessment, consistent professional development workshops were
created and conducted. These workshops cover topics such as standards-based
education, formative assessment to inform instruction, and the employment of
instructional strategies across the schoolwide curriculum, all in the context of
Professional Learning Communities. These communities are created and fostered
not only to affect change through a partnership among the teachers but to
sustain that change through grassroots involvement. We are continuing the
growing process of refining our school curriculum, benchmarks, and anchor pieces
for each benchmark. The communities also determine the expectations for each
grade level through specific methodologies that are scientifically-proven to be
effective. Through these Professional Learning Communities, teachers who are
effective/knowledgeable in different areas instruct other teachers through
professional workshops. These Grade Level PLCs also function as the teacher
mentoring program through consistent meetings that discuss each teacher.s
strengths and needs in order to allow seasoned and beginning teachers to learn
from one another. These learning communities allow teachers to receive the
support they need to improve their classroom practices and give them adequate
time to work together, both scientifically-proven necessities for classroom
success.
KWON has an extensive Support Services System that supports
underperforming students with skill specific, individually designed
instruction.Choose from one of the major categories of Bedding, The support system provides
current, best practice reading and math strategies in the following areas:
sustaining improved reading outcomes through phonics interventions, data
analysis/data driven instruction from formative and summative assessments in
order to target core reading and math strands for increased test results,
RTI/Tier III reading interventions, teaching creatively to increase standardized
test scores, metacognitive and multi-sensory interventions, motivating reluctant
learners, and the use of technology in the classroom. KWON.s closed circuit
television plays professional development DVDs that contain Best New Practices
and innovative teaching strategies for teacher utilization on a consistent
basis. KWON also continues to build a professional development library available
for the KWON staff in the Curriculum Room. This room houses texts, CD.s, and
DVD.s that equip teachers with current strategies and methods that engage
students in order to increase student achievement.
KWON also offers
Apple Institutes for Mac Software and Internet Programs Training for
instructional staff. Training is for Apple Software and Internet Programs for
supplemental, differentiated, skill specific, data driven reading and math
instruction in the form of project based digital storytelling which increases
test scores through multi-sensory literacy and math comprehension strategies,
vocabulary and language development, and repeated reading/math practice. These
PD days cover best instructional strategies by instructing teachers in how to
best use the programs for differentiating for each student using skill specific
software and internet reading and math programs.
Partnerships and
Collaboration Kamehameha Schools-Kamehameha Schools. Ho.olako Like Program as
well as Kamehameha Elementary School (KES) supports KWON by financially
supporting the school.s initiatives and providing the staff with opportunities
for professional development (teacher trainings at the KES campus on literacy,
conferences for Math and English Teachers, and workshops concerning topics such
as differentiation). The Public Education Division of the Kamehameha Schools
supports KWON through a longitudinal study that will track the long term effects
of KWON.s educational efforts through High School and beyond. This will help
KWON address academic strengths and/or weaknesses that appear later in our
students. academic career.This is interesting cube puzzle and logical game. KS also donated
$5000 in cultural books for our Backpack Program to begin in SY 10-11.
Hawaii Association of Independent Schools is partnering with KWON to
assist in the process of accreditation with the Western Association of Schools
and Colleges. KWON began the process in SY 11-12.
Na Lei Na'auao Native
Hawaiian Charter School Alliance-KWON is a member of the Na Lei Na.Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum
quality,auao which offers support among 12 Native Hawaiian Charter Schools.
Hawaii Charter School Network-The 31 charter school network provides
opportunities for KWON to learn from other charter schools throughout the
islands.
University of Hawai'i at Manoa, College of Education, Center on
Disability Studies-Collaborates with KWON through the financial support of four
free after school reading and math tutoring programs. These four programs focus
on reading and math fluency. Currently, 200 of the 572 students at KWON attend
these programs on a daily basis.
Hawaii State Teachers
Association-Supports the teachers of KWON through union labor representatives
that keep the staff aware of changing state laws that affect teachers.
Department of Education-Provides Financial Management Services for
payroll,Save on hydraulic hose and
fittings, SPED services and trainings, as well as counseling referrals that
require Department of Health involvement.
University of Hawaii
Curriculum Research Development Group-Provides core science curriculum (DASH)
PDERI (Professional Development and Educational Research Institute) provides
opportunities for professional development for our staff.
Alu Like
collaborates with KWON by donating hundreds of books to build our school
library.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs financially supports KWON through
grants that allow for our free bus service.
Department of Hawaiian Home
Lands agreed to a minimal cost, 30 year lease agreement with KWON to ensure
KWON.s long term support and success.
Disney granted KWON a 2500 sq. ft.
playground and a 1000 sq. ft garden in the 2010-11 school year. Disney continues
to support KWON through additional grants and school visits from Mickey and
Minnie.
HeadStart applications are distributed during the school year
for siblings of students to encourage pre-school attendance.
Queen
Liliuokalani Children's Center, The Institute for Native Pacific Education and
Culture (INPEACE), Parents and Children Together (PACT), and Families for
R.E.A.L. (the State Student Support Services Program) are all resourced as
needed.