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Enough.

I've had it with people and their smartphones, iPads, Kindles or whatever who are interrupting my experiences at the movies, during a play or while dining at restaurants. I'm fed up with the loud conversations over cellphones on buses and trains.

The one plus to my frustration is that I'm saving money. Because I can't stand to be disrupted by rude people talking, texting and playing games on their devices, I've cut back on going out.

I can't help but think about Verizon's advertising slogan, "Can you hear me now?"

Yes, we can all hear you, and it's extremely annoying. And it's surely going to get worse.

Virgin Atlantic recently announced that passengers flying between New York and London on its new Airbus A330-300 planes can make and receive phone calls while in the air. The airline said that the service is intended for use in exceptional situations and will be limited to six users at any time.

How soon will this "service" be expanded to other airlines like the checked-bag fee, which started with a few carriers and became a done deal for most of the industry? There will be people who will pay the premium price to talk while flying. And to be sure, fellow passengers, with no place to move, will be disturbed. As if flying isn't frustrating enough.

I don't go to the movies as often as I would like because I know I'll have to leave the feature to fetch a manager to tell some patron to shut off his or her cellphone. I refuse to spend my money for a movie that will be ruined by the glare of cellphones being constantly popped open to read and text or even make calls.

It's jarring to be sitting in a dark theater only to be jolted by a phone with a screen so bright it could be used to land an aircraft. One man's Bluetooth headpiece kept blinking a bright blue. I tried to ignore it, but every time it flashed, my head would snap in the direction of the light. When I asked the guy to remove the earpiece, he looked irritated. He glared at me when the movie was over.

I love taking the train and typically enjoy the ride. It can be so peaceful, and you don't have the stress that comes with flying. But if I don't get a seat in the "quiet car" that Amtrak has designated for those us who want peace, I'm privy to some conversations that should only be conducted in private.

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The Color of Money: Our digital devolvement

Its rare for trader Karen Finerman to call a bottom in a stock, so when she does, our ears perk up.

To make her call that much more intriguing, as a somewhat conservative investor, the stock that she picked Digital Generation

Shares have declined more than 70% in the period of a year. Typically this isnt the place where Finerman plays.

But not this time.

After such a prolonged decline the stock turned higher on Tuesday. Its gone down, down, down until now. This I believe is the bottom, she says.

Finerman points to a Reuters story as a catalyst; according to the report, the firm has hired Goldman Sachs and is weighing a potential sale.

The report also says Digital Generation has drawn interest from several private equity firms and rival companies.

I actually think it will get done, she says.

Posted by CNBC's Lee Brodie

Current DateTime: 04:58:31 29 May 2012 LinksList Documentid: 26256943

The rest is here:
Digital Generation Bottomed Out: Finerman

After a surprising result in which the Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers in the first semifinal matchup of PFWs In the Trenches bracket, its time to determine who will face them in the championship. Who has the best offense in the NFL? The New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints battle it out for a spot in the finals.

Heres a sampling of what the PFW staff had to say about the matchup:

Associate editor Kevin Fishbain: Patriots: This was the toughest matchup to decide to this point. The QB matchup is essentially a wash, Brady and Brees are two of the best quarterbacks in the game. I know Darren Sproles and Jimmy Graham provide some unique, effective weapons for Brees, but I went with the Patriots because Brady simply has more at his disposal. He has Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker, and now Brandon Lloyd and Jabar Gaffney. There is more depth among the Pats' pass catchers than there is in New Orleans. I would also take New England's O-line over the Saints'.

Editor-in-chief Keith Schleiden: Few teams in the NFL boast offenses as dynamic as those of the Saints and Patriots. It all starts under center, with Drew Brees and Tom Brady both surpassing Dan Marinos single-season passing yardage mark in 2011 a record that had stood since 1984. Thanks to a large pool of playmakers at his disposal, Brees captains an offense that ranked No. 1 in yards and No. 2 in points last season. Brady, with a similarly deep group of offensive talent, led the Patriots to a No. 2 finish in yards and No. 3 in points scored. Pretty even. Where I give the Saints a slight edge is in the balance department. With the likes of Darren Sproles, Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas, the Saints have a deep backfield that racked up 132.9 yards (No. 6) on the ground a season ago compared to New Englands 110.3 (No. 20).

Senior editor Mike Wilkening: The Patriots get a slight edge entering 2012 with the Saints losing head coach/top-caliber play-caller Sean Payton for the season. Both attacks are absolutely loaded, and you dont need me to tell you how good Tom Brady and Drew Brees are. Also, dont overlook how the skill of each clubs offensive line.

Executive editor Dan Arkush: This is a real close call, but Ill go with the Saints because of their ground game, which ranked sixth last season (fourth in average gain per rush). New England ranked 20th. In a big game with my choice of Brady or Brees under center, I would have a really tough time making a final decision. Two obviously huge factors moving forward that could tilt the scales in the Pats favor is the absence of Sean Paytons offensive expertise this coming season due to his suspension and an unhappy Brees due to a contentious contract situation.

Managing editor Mike Holbrook: "This really could have been the title matchup rather than a semifinal. In a close call, I'm going to go with the Patriots because I believe they can beat you in a number of ways, whereas the Saints beat you through the air almost exclusively. As great as Drew Brees is, he's prone to forcing a pass and throwing an interception more often than Tom Brady is. And it's because you can't trust the Saints' running game fully."

Associate editor Eli Kaberon: The strength of the Saints' rushing attack gives them the tiniest of edges. Both teams can air it out with the best of them, and there may not be two quarterbacks I'd rather have in a big game than Tom Brady or Drew Brees. Each receiving corps is stocked with weapons, and it's impossible to say which tight end is better, Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham. But with Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles in the backfield, New Orleans has more ways to beat an opponent than New England does.

Associate editor Arthur Arkush: Since we cant just flip a coin, Im going with the Saints by the narrowest of margins. My decision boiled down to one statistic: time of possession. Both offenses are obviously elite and both defenses were lackluster last season, thus New Orleans controlling the ball over three minutes more per game than the Patriots, in turn putting less pressure on the D, tipped the scale for me. With both teams boasting first-ballot Hall of Famers under center, ridiculous weaponry in the passing game and fully sufficient protection up front, it's New Orleans decided advantage in the backfield that helps to keep defenses just a bit more honest for the Saints and perhaps move the sticks just a few more times per game.

Associate editor Dan Parr: Patriots: The Patriots are a little better on the offensive line and have a bit more depth at wide receiver/tight end, but the Saints have a significant edge at running back with the Ingram-Thomas-Sproles trio. Quarterback is almost too close to call. I like New England's depth at the position better than New Orleans'. The Saints were more productive than the Patriots last season, but the Patriots are close in overall talent and their advantage in overall depth makes them the choice.

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Better NFL offense: Patriots or Saints?

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

What does microcontroller programming have in common with Tetris? Quite a bit if you're doing it with Modkit Micro from a Kickstarter project out of Cambridge, MA., which allows almost anyone to visually set up their hardware using graphical blocks to write the code. The partially-hooded trio behind it promises that the software is ideal for use with prototyping boards from Arduino, Evil Mad Science, Lilypad, Seeed Studio, Wiring and SparkFun, and they even claim that elementary school students have used it to "take their projects from concept to reality in just a few hours." Purists should have no fear either: you can still get into a code view to see what's going on behind the scenes. A web-based Modkit Micro is being offered online starting June 1st for $25, and there'll be a desktop variant for Windows, OSX, and Linux as early as July if they reach their funding target. Check out the video after the break and then try to get your kids to wait for college before inventing version 2.0 of this.

Previous Project Update: The PressurePen stylus is a bit short of its $10,000 goal, but that could change since the campaign won't come to a close for another solid two months.

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Insert Coin: Modkit Micro asks us if we're ready for six-year-olds coding Arduino boards

30 May 2012

The Isle of Mans Chief Minister Allan Bell recently held meetings with members of the Jersey and Guernsey governments to increase cooperation in areas of mutual interest and concern..

Bell met the recently-elected Chief Minister of Jersey, Ian Gorst, and Guernseys new Chief Minister, Peter Harwood, along with the islands deputy Chief Ministers and Treasury Ministers.

Ahead of his meetings, Bell noted that: "Whilst the Isle of Man and Channel Islands are often rivals in terms of competing for new business, there are also opportunities for us to work together for our mutual benefit.

Topics discussed at the meetings included the financial challenges facing each of the territories, policies for economic growth, and international developments, including in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Each of the three Crown Dependencies have been affected recently by changes in European rules on business taxation, which has triggered each of the territories to repeal, or schedule the repeal, of their tax regimes deemed distribution provisions. In addition, Jersey and Guernsey have recently suffered from the UK government's decision to revoke low-value consignment relief, a longstanding value-added tax concession on low value goods imported to the United Kingdom.

In comments ahead of the meetings, Bell said: [With the appointment of new Chief Ministers in each of the territories in the last twelve months] this is a new political era for the Crown Dependencies.

This weeks visits will provide an opportunity for me to strike up a personal rapport with both Harwood and Gorst, and deepen our understanding of each others priorities and aspirations. We are all experiencing similar challenges in terms of rebalancing our budgets and stimulating economic growth, and I am sure that our discussions around these common issues will be very positive and productive.

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Crown Depedencies Summit Held