Mediaboss Marketing

First came the wax cylinder, followed by the LP, eight-track, cassette, CD, MP3, and now the digital stream. While most of the types of media on that list have dedicated players, the last two have sort of floundered when it comes to dedicated "in-home" players. USB DACs and iPod docks have been a stopgap solution, but they added unnecessary steps between your music and your ears.

Digital music players such as the Logitech Squeezebox Touch and now the Pioneer Elite N-30 Network Audio Player aim to make your music accessible, whether it's your own or from one of your favorite streaming-music services. The Squeezebox is not inexpensive at $299, but the Pioneer ups the ante by coming in at $499, and the step-up model, the Pioneer N-50, is even dearer at $699.

It's rarefied air the N-30 breathes, competing with hi-fi players such as the Cambridge Audio NP30 and Marantz NA7004. Does the Pioneer do enough to justify the expense?

Design
When you're listening to an audio device, how much of an issue is industrial design? In most cases, none; it could look like a busted UFO and still work fine. But with the Pioneer N-30, the design of the case actually detracts from its usability in a meaningful way. While the blocky casing is a little on the boring side, the brushed-aluminum finish does add a small touch of class.

It's the screen that's the letdown here, as it's only 2.5 inches across. Anyone remember Microsoft's "social" phone, the Kin? Silly question, no one does. This short-lived phone had a too-small screen that was--you guessed it--2.5 inches, but at least this was meant to be held close to your face. The Pioneer is designed to sit in your home theater about 8 feet away! But help is at hand: if you have a smartphone (not a Kin!) you'll be able to control the N-30 through a dedicated application, though as you'll soon see, not that successfully.

Is a 2.5-inch screen too small?

The N-30 comes with a brushed remote that is reassuringly heavy, as an audiophile might say. However, it's the same model that's used for the N-50, and so buttons such as "DIG IN 1" remain tantalizingly dormant. (The N-50 includes digital inputs, while the N-30 does not.)

Features
The N-30 is a music-focused network streamer with an Internet radio app. Last year, I wrote a manifesto on the 10 "must-have" features of a media player, and the Pioneer is one of the few players that comes close to fulfilling this vision, with six of the boxes ticked. Some of these pluses include simple navigation via the front panel, USB playback of mobile devices, and excellent format support--at least on paper. The N-30 supports most file types, which includes support for most music types up to 24-bit/192KHz, and this includes WAV, FLAC, MP3, WMA, AAC, and Ogg Vorbis.

I'm also disappointed to note the lack of streaming services, the provision of Net radio notwithstanding, and think that the smart consumer will at least want access to Pandora or Spotify. The days of downloading and keeping your music stored at home are coming to a close, and with recent changes to Spotify, entire swathes of 320Kbps MP3s are available over the Interwebs.

However, the N-30 does include Apple's AirPlay, and as such it streams not only your iTunes library via Wi-Fi but also compatible apps such as Spotify. Internet connection down? Spotify now lets you store Starred songs on your PC or mobile device.

The proprietary Wi-Fi adapter costs $150.

The device also comes with a dedicated iOS and Android controller app you can use to turn the device on and to pick content from the various network sources. It's free to download.

Of course, to use the streaming functions you will need an Internet connection of some sort, and the N-30 uses an Ethernet port. If, like the rest of the modernized world, you use a wireless router then you will need to plump down an extra $150 for the proprietary AS-WL300 wireless adapter. Bluetooth too is optional and costs an additional $99. To put it into perspective, the Wi-Fi adapter alone costs $50 more than the excellent WD TV Live and the BT adaptor and Wi-Fi together cost as much as the Logitech Squeezebox Touch.

Hide Review

Read more from the original source:
Pioneer N-30

Brent Bozell, the founder and president of the right-leaning Media Research Center, has decided to cancel the contraception coverage currently included in the company's employee health insurance plan after reportedly being "horrified" to discover those benefits were included in the wake of the debate surrounding President Obama's recent healthcare mandate.

In a staff-wide e-mail acquired by the Web site The Jane Dough, Bozell allegedly wrote that the company is working with BlueCross, its insurance provider, so as not to comply with the "disgusting mandate."

"[We] are working to change our insurance policy so as not to have to comply with this administration's disgusting mandate to provide contraceptive, sterilization and abortifacient services," wrote Bozell, who said he would have never approved the insurance policy in question if he had known that coverage was included.

Bozell then encouraged employees to refrain from using their birth control coverage until he is able to sort through the necessary paperwork to institute the policy changes with BlueCross, although he acknowledged he cannot force them to comply with his request. However, he added that not complying with it "is to commit a mortal sin."

Like us on Facebook

"Do not avail yourselves to these ... services, not through the MRC. They are evil, and I am unequivocal about this," Bozell wrote.

The birth control mandate, a provision of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, requires all employers to provide contraception coverage as part of their health insurance coverage. Although churches and church-sponsored organizations were exempt from the rule, religiously-affiliated organizations -- such as hospitals, universities and charities -- initially were not.

After an uproar from conservative Republicans and Catholic Church leaders who claimed the mandate violated those organizations' religious liberty, the Obama administration consented to a compromise. Now, employees who work for religious institutions that object to contraception coverage can obtain it, still free of charge, directly from their insurer.

--

To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail:
To contact the editor, e-mail:

Visit link:
Media Research Center to Eliminate "Evil" Birth Control Services from Company Health Plan

BEIRUT: After decades of living under state media control, Syrian journalists at home and abroad have established the Syrian Journalists’ Association (SJA).

With this new organization, which released its mission statement February 20, the journalists hope to counter the efforts of the government-run Syrian Journalists’ Union, which they say rather than protecting and supporting members of the press has instead pressured them to tow the government line, ever since the country’s ruling Baath party took power in 1963.

“Sadly, the Syrian Journalists’ Union didn’t act as an independent organization to support journalists. It was for propaganda,” says Ghassan Ibrahim, a founder of the SJA and head of the Arab Global Network, a news service based in London.

“We’re independent journalists who believe in freedom, and we decided to start this organization so that journalists can get access to the country and send a message.”

As for the organization’s first order of business, he says, “We’ll start by looking at where the SJU failed.”

Syrian journalists who founded the new association claim that the government-run union regularly monitors their activities.

“As soon as I registered with the union, police came to my house. I asked myself, ‘Why am I being investigated?’” recalls Ghalia Kabbani, another founding member of the association, who worked as a journalist in Syria between 1990 and 1994, during which time she was repeatedly questioned by the authorities simply for being a registered journalist.

She says she was ordered to write detailed reports on her friends and family, and was also asked to spy on any foreign journalists she knew who entered the country.

Similarly, Kinda Kanbar, publisher for four years of an independent magazine not recognized by the union, says, “I was afraid to knock on their door because the union was known to be part of the secret police department, the mukhabarat.”

Of the new organization, Kabbani emphasizes, “This is for journalists who are with the revolution. We want to say we’re not part of that [government-run] union.”

Indeed, as the bloodshed in Syria continues unabated, and with no clear resolution to the political conflict in sight, activists say it is important to develop institutions that would enable a transition to civil society. Similar associations have been set up by members of other professions, including one in December for artists and another in January for writers.

“When the regime falls, we’ll need established institutions,” Kabbani points out. And Ibrahim, of the Arab Global Network, predicts that “when the regime falls, the official union will have the same fate.”

Ibrahim also notes that no Syrian journalist will be required or pressured to join the association. Instead, he says that the group will defend media freedom and protect the rights of journalists.

It will be open to all Syrian and Syrian-born Palestinian journalists working in print, broadcast and online media whether they live inside Syria or abroad. Those interested in joining must provide a letter from their media outlet or obtain the approval of three founding members of the SJA.

As their manifesto reads, “The Syrian Journalists Association is a democratic and independent association. It is committed to the Syrian revolution’s goals and its calls for the freedom and dignity of the Syrian people, and moving towards building a democratic state that guarantees justice and equality to all Syrian citizens.”

See the rest here:
Syrian journalists look to promote media freedom with new association

23-02-2012 07:33 The Securities and Exchange Commission says scammers are selling real stocks on social networking sites.

Here is the original post:
SEC Warns About Social Media Scam - Video

Two weeks ago I asked, "What's so social about social media?" I'm very critical not of social media per se, but of the overuse of and over indulgence in it: people hanging out on Linkedin, Facebook, and all kinds of other ersatz social environments - and not getting out and doing some real networking.

The sum and substance of my disenchantment with social media from a career coach's point of view is that it's just not doing for your career what you might think it is, while concurrently contributing to an appalling loss of interpersonal, team and in-person social networking skills. So I figured it's time for my "Six Amigos" to weigh in again. If I haven't convinced you yet, read on.

Diane Young, partner, Steps to Success; founder, Unemployed Optimists, Fair Lawn

Social media is a powerful tool for job-seekers when used correctly. Overuse, misuse and abuse of social media, however, are serious issues. Overuse is spending too much time on line. Limit social media time and spend it at public places where you will encounter people with mutually beneficial opportunities. Misuse is logging in with no clear goal. Have a specific plan to update your profile, research companies, or search keywords on job boards. Abuse is collecting without connecting. Don't boast about how many connections you have. Connect with appropriate people, get to know them, and correspond with them periodically. There is no substitute for face-to-face networking with other job seekers or at informational and industry-specific events.

Alex Freund, The Landing Expert, career coach, Princeton

With great impetus, the pendulum of social media has swung all the way in one direction in its support, fueled ferociously by itself. While such self-serving activity has many positive aspects, it often leads to the question "So where did all the time go?" I also see its negative impact on job seekers. Over 27 percent of hiring companies have already stated that they're reducing their use of social media in locating candidates, as it has produced huge numbers of unqualified candidates. They also know that good candidates are harder to find, as a result. Make yourself easier to find by getting out there.

Janelle Razzino, executive recruiter, Razzino Associates, Westwood

As a recruiter for 24 years, I've always kept an open mind to many changes, new tools and now, social media channels. But (and that's a BIG sigh), I am always leery of shortcuts to accomplish enormous tasks like looking for a new opportunity. Nothing feels as good as or takes the place of a firm handshake or a great smile while networking on your feet instead of on your screen. Stop hanging out on social media sites and start hanging out in real life with other great people at your networking groups. Companies call people who know people who are well-suited for open positions.

Cathy Love, director of Career Development Center, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck

The old adage "never put all your eggs in one basket" was never as true as it is today in the job-hunting arena. Spending days on the Internet isn't enough. Use multiple approaches. Join a professional association, meeting others in your field - they may know of hidden market opportunities. Connect with job-seeker support groups to exchange information. Volunteer at your favorite non-profit; you'll feel good helping others, and it may afford networking opportunities.

Follow this link:
Career Coach: Los 'Seis Amigos' y Social Media