Snooki Takes Anderson Cooper To Get A Spray Tan (VIDEO)

Ballmer Spot-Checks Financial Analysts, Finds That 20% Are Using Paper (MSFT)


When Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer walks into a room to give a speech, he does a quick spot check to see what kind of computer everybody is using.

In the past, he's commented on people using Macs.

Today, in a room full of financial analysts, he saw that about 70% of them were using a notebook with a keyboard and mouse.

Only 10% were using a tablet.

His point was that the traditional PC market is far from dead, and Microsoft has to keep focusing on it, while at the same time extending Windows to work better on touch-screen tablets.

The most surprising part: 20% were using paper.

As Ballmer said, "hopefully paper is the one we can do most to get rid of."

People laughed, but he wasn't joking. "In a sense, there needs to be a lot of innovation before we have machines we're comfortable enough with so people are not using pencil and paper. That's a big opportunity.

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BEHIND THE SCENES AT GLENN BECK'S NEW SHOW: 'We're Going To Be The Next HBO, The Next Netflix!'


Glenn Beck

When someone says 'future of media' is the first person who jumps to mind Glenn Beck?  No?  Maybe he should be.

Beck launched his new subscription only GBTV show on Monday night.  Ahead of the launch the Wall St Journal reported that 230,000 people had already subscribed for the show at $9.95/month, which among other things put Beck's company on track to pull in $20 million this year (that's $17 million more than Beck's contract at Fox News). 

It also meant that Beck had attracted more subscribers to his Internet network than Oprah had attracted viewers to her television network in June (156,000).

Not a bad way to start. 

Naturally the proof is in the pudding and those sorts of numbers put Beck in the unusual position of being profitable before necessarily being influential.

Judging from what Beck and company tell us they have planned they don't plan on that being the case for long (the White House apparently concurs).  The big question thus far appears to be how quickly consumers will adjust to getting their TV over the Internet, and whether Beck will be able to appeal to an audience outside his already large following now that he's no longer just a click away.

Last night I visited the Glenn Beck show along with three other reporters and got a first hand look at the show followed by a set tour from the man himself. 

Perhaps not surprisingly for a man who held a rally on the National Mall in August, Beck is aiming big.

"We view GBTV as Netflix in a way, as HBO in way," said Beck. "People know when you go to HBO it's good quality.  My audience is loyal because they don't necessarily know what I'm going to do, but they know it will be worth their time, I try not to waste their time, and it will be good quality."

The show is currently being broadcast from a basement studio in midtown east, though Beck says there are plans in the works to move it to Texas early next year, where it will greatly expand. 

Thus far Beck–who is much taller, and thinner, and likable in person than the camera would lead you to believe–is doing the show in front of a small live audience, some of whom arrived with gifts for Beck last night and a number of whom weren't shy about talking back (albeit) quietly to what they were hearing (we arrived during Beck's final four points: "is Obama insane?"...answer: no).

The show is still a work is progress, with the cast and crew feeling out what can and can't be done–last night the clock ran out on comedian Brian Sack before he finished his monologue–apparently the feed cuts off at five on the dot.

It's also an hour longer than Beck's Fox show, a "marathon" he tells me, "it feels like an eternity." 

The set itself has taken the nostalgic feel of Beck's old Fox set to a new level; the walls are covered with numerous television sets from various era and there is a "library" in one corner.  It also houses a three-dimensional chalkboard, reportedly the most expensive ever made.  At one point Beck says "this is us, downscaled."  Chris Balfe, his business partner, and president of Mercury Arts, is quick to jump in: "no, it's not." 

Glenn Beck chalkboardAnd it certainly doesn't look it.  Especially for viewers at home, the show streams in better definition than many a TV set I've owned. 

“My first goal" says Beck, "was to put on a show and have people say, ‘oh, that is not a webcast.'  [The other networks] have the resources of Murdoch and Turner, we can't get into the ballpark of that on day one. Let us just stabilize this system...we are pushing the envelope and doing things we shouldn’t be doing right now. We have a lot to work out.”

Meanwhile the place they want to work to sounds like something out of Star Trek.  Beck envisions a show that will be entirely interactive so that viewers will be able to touch things they see on their screen and explanatory windows will pop up.  Or past monologues dealing with similar subjects will appear (a work-intensive feature since Beck doesn't own the rights to any of his Fox content).  

The ideal result, says Beck, will be a show that appeals to everyone: "If you're dumber than the show, great this show's for you.  If you're smarter than the show, great, this show's for you, because you can educate yourself either direction."

And again, the key to that widespread appeal will be attracting an audience beyond those already loyal to the Beck brand. 

To that end, GBTV intends to license older shows for broadcast (I Love Lucy and Bonanza come up but Balfe notes nothing is settled yet).  He's also making everything available on iPad and iPhone with the intention of attracting younger viewers (Balfe, who is in his early 30's, notes he watched the show in the back of a cab on his iPad).

And this may be news to some viewers, but Beck says he's not interested in being a "conservative stick in the mud.  We're going to push you up against the wall, life is about challenges."

Also?  It's not all about Glenn Beck. 

Beck says his goal is to make people forget what GBTV stands for in the same way people no longer remember what ESPN stands for.  "I don't want it about me, I want it bigger than me."  Hello, America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mortgage interest rates are at record lows these days, but fewer people than ever are qualifying for them, because of stricter lending standards at many banks. Thus, it's perhaps not much of a surprise that many folks are turning to home-equity loans for money. That's a double-edged sword, though -- presenting some danger for borrowers and banks alike.

There are some upsides to home-equity loans. For starters, if you really need access to some cash, they can be an effective way to get some. Secured by your home as collateral, they offer lower interest rates than those tied to unsecured loans, such as your credit cards. The interest you pay can also be tax-deductible in some cases.

But like regular mortgages, home equity loans leave you facing the risk that your home will lose value, and you can end up owing more than you'll get from the home if you sell it. Since your home is the collateral, you may end up losing it. And some such loans have unfavorable terms, sometimes charging you steep penalties if you try to prepay to save money. Adjustable-rate loans can suddenly present you with significantly higher and more costly rates. Finally, although interest rates for these loans are lower than many options, they're still much higher, on average, than mortgage and car-loan rates.

Banks at risk, too
Just as waves of mortgage defaults are hitting banks, home-equity loans are also potential hazards, sometimes seen as ticking time bombs. For one thing, they're not small sums. At two sample banks, for instance, the average home-equity loan or line of credit ran between $75,000 and $100,000.

And with unemployment remaining at very high levels and our economy in distress, a wave of home-equity defaults may be looming. In The New York Times, Gretchen Morgenson recently reported that even though most home-equity loans are seen as "performing," meaning that payments are arriving on time, those payments are often just for interest, leaving borrowers at risk of default later.

According to its most recent annual report, Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) sports more than $25 billion in home-equity lines of credit that are still in their revolving periods and therefore subject to drawdown by borrowers. In its most recent statement, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) reported more than $100 billion in home-equity loans and HELOCs. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) , in its most recent annual report, hinted at a possible developing problem, noting, "Weak economic conditions and housing price declines continued to drive higher estimated losses for the home equity and mortgage loan portfolios." At the end of 2010, the bank had about $113 billion in home equity loans outstanding. Also at 2010's end, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) sported a whopping $138 billion in home-equity loans.

Our economy is not yet back on its feet. Thus, our own financial health and that of banks may be on somewhat shakier ground than we think.

Looking for some promising investments? Read this free report from The Motley Fool to find the names of five stocks we own that you should, too.

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Source: http://www.fool.com/how-to-invest/personal-finance/home/2011/09/14/be-careful-with-this-bandwagon.aspx

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Personal Debt Consolidation Loans: Help With Discovering Your Best Options

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One of the reasons people choose personal debt consolidation loans to help them out of a financially difficult situation is because the money obtained can help in fixing all kinds of financial problems. Whether you need this money to remodel a home or to take a wonderful holiday you can make use of personal debt consolidation loans to solve such problems.

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Kayak Shoots Into Rapid Revenue Growth As Surging Site Traffic Drives Ad Revenues

For now, Kayak enjoys tremendous popularity in the U.S. and internationally with its airline and hotel booking queries seeing a consistent uptick.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2011/09/14/kayak-shoots-into-rapid-revenue-growth-as-surging-site-traffic-drives-ad-revenues/

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Lookup Incident To Arrest Demystified By A Imperial Beach Criminal Lawyer

Have you at any time watched the television present “Cops”? If you have, then you have undoubtedly noticed a research incident to arrest. But what constitutes a search incident to arrest, and why can the cops seem by means of your automobile after you’ve been arrested for performing a thing illegal?   Prior to I [...]

Source: http://www.legaldebthelponline.com/2011/09/13/lookup-incident-to-arrest-demystified-by-a-imperial-beach-criminal-lawyer/

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