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Romanian Youth Orchestra with Christian Mandeal and violin soloist David Garrett performed on September 23, during the last week of one of the biggest classical music event in Europe, George Enescu Festival 2011.
George Enescu Festival 2011 is the 20th edition of an biennial event that honors the Romanian composer’s legacy. This year it started on September 1 and ended on September 25.
David Garrett, World’s Fastest Violinist (2008), has walked through Bucharest from his hotel to Grand Palace Hall, with no bodyguards, accompanied only by his manager and an organizers’ representative. He was carrying his violin on his back, the A. Busch Stradivarius (1716), which he has played since 2009.
David Garrett played Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal at George Enescu Festival 2011
Carrying his valuable instrument over his shoulder has been a habit for the violinist. In 2003 David Garrett got an $1 million ex Baron Von Gause violin, created in 1770 by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, emiliano luthier. In 2008 David Garrett felt when he was leaving London’s Barbican Hall after a performance. He was carrying his 18th century violin. “I had it over my shoulder in its case and I fell down a concrete flight of stairs backward. When I opened the case, much of my G.B. Guadagnini had been crushed.” He said.
David Garrett entered the Grand Palace Hall wearing boots, jeans with golden little chains and having a kind of bun-bow-tie-tail of his blond hair.
The Romanian Youth Orchestra conducted by Christian Mandeal rendered an exciting performance of George Enescu‘s Rhapsody no.1, followed by applause and cheers, then David Garrett appeared on the stage joyfully welcomed. Concerto for violin and orchestra (Beethoven), Firebird (Stravinsky), La Valse (Ravel) were performed. David gave an emotional and natural interpretation, showing in the same time he can play 13 notes per second, the record he established in 2008, when he played Hummelflug (The flight of the Bumble Bee) by Rimsky-Korsakow in 66.56 seconds.
David Garrett World's Fastest Violinist plays "A. Busch” Stradivarius (1716) since 2009
He wiped his sweat, smiled seductively, accepted and offered flowers. David is a former model who has been called the David Beckham of the classical scene. The audience cried “Encore!” and David Garrett pleased them a lot. He even performed some Michael Jackson’s hits and made the attendees to go on their feet.
During the pause he gave autographs, signing CDs, DVDs or tickets from hundreds enthusiastic fans, especially women.
The public of George Enescu Festival 2011 cried "Encore!" after David Garrett, the David Beckham of the classical scene, performed.
David Garrett, 31, German/American classical violinist, got his first violin at age four and made his first appearance with the Hamburger Philharmoniker under the direction of Gerd Albrecht when he was ten.
David was born in Aachen, Germany, and now he lives in New York. When he was 13, David gave a concert in the residence of the Federal Republic of Germany President, the Villa Hammerschmidt, at Dr. von Weizsäcker’s personal invitation. He was offered use of the famous Stradivarius San Lorenzo. Garrett signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft at age 14 as the youngest soloist ever. In 1997 David performed with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta in Delhi and Mumbai in for the 50th anniversary of India’s Independence.
On the occasion of the 60 years of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2009 he was invited by the chancellor Angela Merkel to attend the celebration.
In 2011 he received two ECHO awards for his Rock Symphonies. The DVD David Garrett: Rock Symphonies – Open Air Live was distinguished in the category Best Domestic DVD Production and as Best Artist in the category Rock/Pop Domestic.
David Garrett Legacy, the new classical album, will be released on 4th November 2011 and features Beethoven Violin concerto and works of Fritz Kreisler. David recorded the album in the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Ion Marin. The album is available for pre-order on Amazon.de
David Garrett is Honorary Judge in the category violin at the “International Music Competition Cologne”, which takes place from September 22 to October 2 and is hosted by the Conservatory of Music Cologne.
This year David Garrett played in Sweden at 34th Birthday of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland, and he attended Verbier Festival 2011 in Switzerland.
George Enescu’s Rhapsody no.1 performed at George Enescu Festival 2011 (video)
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David Garrett at George Enescu Festival 2011 (video)
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David Garrett plays Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal at George Enescu Festival 2011 (video)
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David Garrett Legacy trailer (video)
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David Garrett set new violin world speed record in 2008, playing Flight of the Bumblebee in 66.56 seconds. In 2010 UK rock violinist Ben Lee, 33, of electric violin duo Fuse, played Flight of the Bumblebee on £1M Swarovski Crystal Bridge violin in 58.515 seconds. This month Ben Lee, who sings with Linzi Stoppard, has insured his fingers and his hands for £3million.
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Connie Culp was the first person to receive a face transplant in the U.S in 2008, after her top lip, nose, roof of her mouth, one eye and both cheeks were destroyed by then husband Tom Culp, who brutally shot her in the face after flying into a rage.
Now, Connie Culp, 48, from Ohio, has bravely decided to talk about the domestic abuse and terrible shooting she endured at the hands of the man she says she still loves.
Her decision to speak out comes as her 52 year-old husband was last week released from prison after serving just seven years for the horrific crime.
Connie Culp was the first person to receive a face transplant in the U.S in 2008, after her top lip, nose, roof of her mouth, one eye and both cheeks were destroyed by then husband Tom Culp, who brutally shot her in the face after flying into a rage
Describing the moment her life changed forever, Connie Culp said:
“I remember everything. That’s what the doctors can’t believe.
“I remember him lifting the gun, and what he said to me, and then firing.
“It’s an image that will never leave me, for the rest of my life. It’s the moment everything changed forever.”
As well as suffering horrific facial disfigurement, Connie Culp was also left almost totally blind in the 2004 attack at the bar in Hopedale, Ohio, which the couple owned and ran together.
The signs, she says, were there before Tom Culp attempted to take her life.
“He only hit me a couple of times ever. It was the bullying that was worse. “Maybe it was a warning for things to come, but I never imagined what eventually happened was even possible.”
But, despite everything her ex-husband has done, Connie Culp says she still loves him.
“I’ll probably always love him because he’s the father of my kids,” admitted Connie Culp, who has two children with Tom.
“But I can’t handle being around him.”
She recently returned to the bar for the first time in eight years since that awful night when Tom Culp snapped.
“He was jealous because everyone seemed to like me so much,” Connie Culp revealed.
“It wasn’t really men. I was popular with the girls who worked with us and most of the customers.
“I think it just used to make him jealous. And money was tight with the bar. We owned it together and it used to put a strain on us.
“Sometimes he used to break things in the house when he’d get mad. Sometimes my things, like a trophy I’d won in a karate tournament.
“And then that night something just snapped. We were at the bar and he was mad. Then he just got his shotgun and shot me.”
It’s important to Connie Culp to appear like she’s coping.
“It’s the way I keep going,” she said.
“I don’t want people to feel sorry for me. I want to be treated the same as I was my whole life, before the shooting.
“If I dwell on the past I’ll have no life to live.”
After shooting his wife, Tom Culp put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger causing severe injuries to himself. But, like Connie, he survived.
“It was all just a waste,” Connie Culp said.
“He’s never acknowledged what he did. He just blames it on everyone else.”
After the shooting in September 2004, Connie Culp spent months in hospital as surgeons repeatedly tried to fix the damage caused by the gun blast.
Connie Culp before the horrific attack in 2004
Connie Culp before face transplant in 2008
Connie Culp after face transplant in 2011
With her children Steven, 30, and Alicia, 28 at her side, Connie Culp battled on, always taking comfort in the miracle that she had survived.
Connie Culp even visited her husband in prison to comfort him. But despite her unshakable determination to forgive, the events had changed things forever.
“I knew then it was over,” she said.
“I haven’t shaken that badly since he shot me. I can drink four pots of coffee and not shake. But around him I couldn’t control it.”
Chillingly, Tom Culp even got angry with the mother of his children for telling the truth to the police about the shooting.
“Tom said: <<I wouldn’t have told on you>> and I said <<I wouldn’t have shot you>>,” Connie Culp said.
“He’s mad because I make jokes about it,” she added. “How do you think I’m going to get through this?”
Anxious about her husband potential release this month, Connie Culp finally made their divorce official in May and moved out of the home they shared in Bloomingdale, Ohio, in her bid to move on.
“He’ll probably move back into the old house,” Connie Culp said.
“His family still own it. He has a restraining order but nobody knows what he’ll do.
“We’ll just have to wait and see.”
As well as her husband, Connie Culp also had to endure children reacting to her damaged face with horror.
“Children would say I was a monster,” she said.
“They didn’t mean anything by it. They were just being kids, but it made me feel worried.
“I got through it by just trying to look at the brighter side of things. I was alive, and I had my children and grandchildren.”
After all she had been through, Connie Culp was eventually put on the face transplant waiting list in October 2008 at the highly prestigious Cleveland Clinic, Ohio.
Dr. Chad Gordon, one of eight surgeons involved in the procedure, said:
“The problems were that we needed a deceased woman from the local area, so that we could get the donor’s face to Connie.
“We needed someone from her age group and of the same blood type, and one who was registered as a donor.
‘In the U.S., not many people sign to be donors, so the odds of finding a match were always slim.”
But on December 10, 2008, just two months later, the team were shocked when they found a match.
A local woman – whose family Connie Culp has now met – had died from a heart attack. It was a chance of giving Connie what she had waited more than four years for.
Calling her to tell her to race to the clinic, Dr. Chad Gordon reminded Connie Culp the procedure could end her life.
“I already had one miracle by surviving the shooting,” Connie Culp said.
“So I thought someone up there might have another one for me.”
The medical team, led by top surgeon Dr. Maria Siemionow at the Cleveland Clinicbattled for over 20 hours to attach her new face.
Doctors hollowed out the damaged section of her face before replacing it with the donor’s which they harvested using a hand-drawn template and plastic model of Connie Culp’s face to guide them.
This entire bone segment – with the donor’s face attached – was raised in one large piece and included both cheek bones, a new upper jaw, a new palate, portions of both orbits, and some donor teeth.
While the transplant has improved things, Connie Culp knows her serious medical battle will last the rest of her life.
“Everyone assumes you’re better and forgets about it after the transplant. I hope to show the world that this isn’t the case for people like me.
“You still have to fight and live with the memories of why you needed one every day.”
A nurse visits Connie Culp three times a week to check her health and make sure her body isn’t rejecting her new face.
Each day Connie Culp also takes a cocktail of prescription drugs to help her body cope.
With a tiny amount of sight left in her left eye, she struggles to see and finds it hard to do most daily tasks alone.
But Connie Culp has a number of techno gadgets to get by.
“A talking pill box in my bedroom tells me when it’s time to take my medicine and dispenses the right doses,” she said.
“My talking alarm clock lets me know what the time is every hour, and a clothes scanner tells me what colours my outfits are, so I don’t mismatch.
“Otherwise I’d be going out with odd socks on.”
Connie Culp also walks with a cane, while her local shopkeepers help her to choose the right brands of food.
A document magnifier helps Connie Culp to see her old family photographs of happier times, and read letters and bills.
And after taking her medicine each day, Connie Culp carefully applies her makeup, staring at her reflection in her bathroom mirror.
“Now I can go out and hold my head up high. It’s improved my looks so much. It’s hard for me to see exactly what I look like because I can see only shapes really, with no definition.
“I know it’s not my face, but I feel thankful that I have one now.”
Connie Culp enjoys a new love of life, playing with 4 year-old grandson Maddox, and spending time with her children Steven and Alicia, who helps with work around the house.
The attack and face transplant has given Connie Culp a new love of life and she enjoys playing with her grandson Maddox, with help from daughter Alicia
Connie Culp regularly tries one of the exercises she needs to perform to keep her face adapting.
“I hold a toothbrush between for my lips for as long as I can but I can only do a few seconds.”
“It’s the little things that are my goals. I want to be able to drink a milkshake through a straw again. But I haven’t got enough strength.
“Smiling is also tough. I can do angry when Maddox is being naughty, but I want him to see me smile too. That’s another goal.
“They say it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile, so I don’t know why so many people walk around frowning all the time. They should just smile because it’s less work.”
Connie Culp’s other goals have involved helping others. She attends conventions as an ambassador and promotes organ donation, which made her life bearable again.
“If my work can raise the number of donors and get transplant for others, then that would be a good thing.”
Connie Culp’s fighting spirit has earned her admiration from around the world.
“I was given a miracle when I survived the shooting,”she said. ” Then I got a second miracle when I survived the face transplant.”
“It’s still tough, but my life is so much better now.”
A man has been arrested and charged with filling packs of Nurofen Plus with anti-psychotic and anti-epileptic drugs, London Police have revealed.
Unemployed Christopher McGuire, 30, of no fixed abode, was arrested in London on Friday and Saturday night he was charged with one count of contamination of goods, and two counts of administering a noxious substance.
Christopher McGuire will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday.
A 30 year-old man has been arrested and charged with filling packs of Nurofen Plus with anti-psychotic and anti-epileptic drugs
Scotland Yard’s specialist crime directorate, which tackles serious and organized crime, launched an investigation after four boxes were found to contain the anti-psychotic drug Seroquel XL 50mg and one packet contained Pfizer’s anti-epileptic medication, Neurontin, in 100mg capsules.
Those four tampered packets were found in Bromley, Victoria and Beckenham in south London while another one was discovered in Northern Ireland.
Reckitt Benckiser, manufacturer of the drug, recalled the product on August 26 and halted distribution after discovering the boxes.
It estimated that 250,000 packets had not been returned.
The Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Directorate (SCD), which tackles serious and organized crime, is leading the probe and has been examining the entire production line of the drug to identify how some packs of Nurofen Plus came to contain strips of the potentially harmful drugs.
Seroquel XL is a prescription-only anti-psychotic drug used to treat several disorders including schizophrenia, mania and bipolar depression.
Seroquel XL is an anti-psychotic drug used to treat several disorders including schizophrenia, mania and bipolar depression
People who accidentally take the drug may experience sleepiness and are advised not to drive or operate any tools or machinery until they know how the tablets have affected them.
Neurontin, used to treat epilepsy and long-lasting pain caused by damage to the nerves, can also result in drowsiness and lack of coordination.
Common side-effects of the prescription-only drugs, which may be seen in more than one person in 100, include pneumonia, depression, loss of vision, breathing difficulties and nausea.
Nurofen Plus is for pain relief and contains codeine. The affected packs all contain 32 tablets.
The large capsules of Seroquel XL 50mg tablets have gold and black packaging while Neurontin, which comes in a two-piece, white capsule, is stored in white and silver blister packs.
Nurofen Plus capsules have silver and black packaging.
The study shows that prostate cancer death rate was 30 per cent lower in the group taking radium-223 and patients survived for 14 months on average compared with the other group which survived 11 months on average
A new prostate cancer treatment (a powerful alpha radiation drug) trial has been so successful researchers have decided to stop it early.
Specialists at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital, UK, were testing a powerful alpha radiation drug on 461 patients while another group of the same number was being treated with placebo.
The group taking the new drug experienced less pain, side effects and lived longer.
British doctors were so astounded with the results they decided to stop the trial and started treating all 922 patients taking part in the study because they said it would be unethical not to.
Radiation has long been used to treat tumors and damages the genetic code inside cancer cells.
Alpha particles are the most powerful radiation and consist of helium nuclei, which are bigger and strong than beta radiation – a stream of electrons.
According to Dr. Chris Parker, who is the lead researcher on the study, it was a significant step forward for cancer research.
“It’s more damaging. It takes one, two three hits to kill a cancer cell compared with thousands of hits for beta particles,” Dr. Chris Parker told the BBC.
Dr. Chris Parker also said that less damage was done to surrounding cells and added the radiation only targeted only the cancer.
Many patients with advanced prostate cancer will have little chance of survival because the tumor usually spreads to the bone.
The study originally looked at patients with these secondary cancers and used the radium-223 chloride drug, which acts like calcium and sticks to the bone.
461 patients were given the new drug and the other 461 were treated with chemotherapy and placebo (a dummy pill which had no effect).
The death rate was 30% lower in the group taking radium-223 and patients survived for 14 months on average compared with the other group which survived 11 months on average.
Dr. Chris Parker said the decision was then made to abandon the trial and treat everyone taking part because “it would have been unethical not to offer the active treatment to those taking placebo”.
British researchers said the new treatment was safe and added that those taking it suffered less side-effects than those taking placebo.
According to Cancer Research UK, the research is promising and could be an important addition to treating prostate cancer patients with secondary tumors.
Sleepbox is the first temporary bedroom which can be rented out for half-hour periods and was just introduced into Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow.
Sleepbox will allow travellers to get a light kip if their planes are delayed.
The specially equipped boxes, which work as mobile bedrooms have been created by Russian architecture company the Arch Group.
Sleepbox is the first temporary bedroom which can be rented out for half-hour periods and was just introduced into Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow
The first Sleepbox, which can be rented out for half-hour periods, have been installed at the Aeroexpress terminal of Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow.
Sleepbox represents the basic version made of MDF with a natural ash-wood veneer.
The mobile bedroom measures 2.5m by 1.6m with a height of between 2.5m and 3m.
In addition to general lighting, Sleepbox has built-in LED reading lamps while windows are equipped with electric-drive blinds for privacy
Sleepbox standard features include ventilation and sockets for notebook and mobile phone chargers.
The special container has also space for luggage under the beds which each come with a nightstand.
In addition to general lighting, Sleepbox has built-in LED reading lamps while windows are equipped with electric-drive blinds for privacy.
Sleepbox options include matted film on windows; mood lighting LED lamps with changing light colours; built-in TV and touch-screen monitor; wi-fi router; alarm; intercom and safe deposit box.
One of Sleepbox main advantages is its ability to be installed in the airport passenger areas where travellers have to spend hours waiting for their delayed flights or a transfer.
Sleepbox standard features include ventilation and sockets for notebook and mobile phone chargers
A spokesman for the architecture company Arch Group said:
“Imagine the situation where you are in a modern city, you are not a local resident, and you have not booked a hotel.
“It is not a comfortable situation because modern aggressive cities give you no opportunity to rest and relax. If you want to sleep while waiting for your plane or train, you face many security and hygiene problems.
“We believe that urban infrastructure should be more comfortable. For this purpose we have developed Sleepbox.
“It provides moments of quiet sleep and rest without wasting time in search for a hotel.”
Referring to the first Sleepbox installed in Moscow, the spokesman added:
“This Sleepbox has attracted such a great deal of interest from passengers and big companies that the chances are first commercially-operated boxes will be installed at airports and in the city by the end of this year.”
Other possible locations for Sleepbox would include railway stations, exhibition centres and shopping centres.
In countries with a warm climate, Sleepbox can be used outdoors.
Arch Group spokesman continued:
“It allows everybody in unforeseen circumstances to spend a night safely and inexpensively or simply to kill a few hours without leaving the luggage.
“Currently we offer one, two, or three-bed Sleepboxes, which can be made of MDF, metal, and glass-reinforced plastic.
“The price varies depending on the number of hours in use: the more the user pays for, the less it costs per hour.”
Kweku Adoboli, the suspected UBS rogue trader said today that he was “sorry beyond words” for the record $2.3 billion losses suffered by Swiss banking giant.
Kweku Adoboli sat in the dock at City of London magistrates’ court as his barrister Patrick Gibbs QC told the court:
“He is sorry beyond words for what has happened here.
“He went to UBS and told them what he had done and he stands now appalled at the scale of the consequences of his disastrous miscalculations.”
Kweku Adoboli will face a second count of fraud in addition to two charges of false accounting over three years at UBS
Kweku Adoboli, 31, will face a second count of fraud in addition to two charges of false accounting over three years at UBS.
Magistrates remanded Kweku Adoboli in custody until October 20 at the first of two committal hearings.
Prosecutors allege Adoboli lost the cash while working at UBS’s global synthetic equities division, buying and selling exchange traded funds, which track different types of stocks, bonds or commodities such as metals.
Kweku Adoboli’s lawyer, Louise Hodges, of solicitors Kingsley Napley, has made no application so far for bail for her client.
The alleged fraud offence took place between January 1 and September 14 this year.
Kweku Adoboli, son of a former Ghanaian official to the United Nations, joined the Swiss firm in a junior capacity in 2002.
The fraud charge against the rogue trader reads:
“While occupying a position, namely being a senior trader with Global Synthetic Equities, in which you were expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of UBS Bank, you dishonestly abused that position intending thereby to make a gain for yourself, causing losses to UBS or to expose UBS to risk of loss.”
The two accusations of false accounting claim that Kweku Adoboli “falsified a record, namely an exchange traded fund transaction”
The two accusations of false accounting – which date back to 2008 – claim that Kweku Adoboli “falsified a record, namely an exchange traded fund transaction”.
After Kweku Adoboli’s first appearance in court, UBS revised upwards the cost of the rogue trading to 2.3 billion US dollars (£1.5 billion) after previously saying the incident had cost it in the range of two billion US dollars (£1.3 billion).
British Financial Services Authority and its Swiss counterpart have launched an investigation into why UBS failed to spot allegedly fraudulent trading.
The 20th edition of a great classical music event, George Enescu Festival 2011, has attracted thousands of visitors and artists from all over the world.
George Enescu Festival started on September 1 and ends on September 25. During this period lots of cultural events have taken place.
Great Orchestra of the World series has gathered world famous orchestras, Residentie Orkest/ The Hague Philharmonic with Christian Badea, Dan Grigore (piano), London Symphony Orchestra with Horia Andreescu, and Nicola Benedetti (violin), London Symphony Orchestra with Nikolai Znaider and Saleem Abboud Ashkar (piano), Choir and Orchestra of the “George Enescu” Philharmonic with Genaddy Rozhdestvensky and Iosif Ion Prunner, The Mariinsky Theathre Symphony Orchestra with Valery Gergiev and Alexander Toradze (piano), or with “Academic Choir” of the Romanian National Society, conducted by Dan Mihai Goia, Staatskapelle Berlin with Daniel Barenboim, National Radio Orchestra with James Gaffigan, Peter Donohoe (piano), Cynthia Millar (ondes Martenot), Wiener Philharmoniker with Franz Welser-Möst, Fanny Clamagirand (violin), Antoine Tamestit (viola), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with Vasily Petrenko, Midori, Alexei Volodin, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with Zubin Mehta, Vadim Repin (violin), Yefim Bronfman (piano).
George Enescu Festival 2011 has brought Orchestra Dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with conductor Antonio Pappano and piano soloist Hélène Grimaud on September 21.
They interpret Concerto no. 1 for piano and orchestra (Brahms) and Symphony no. 6 “Patetica” (Tchaikovsky).
Hélène Grimaud performs at George Enescu Festival 2011 (photo Jean-Marie Périer)
Hélène Grimaud, 42, is a French pianist. She has shared the stage with a lot of famous orchestras. She loves classical music and wolves. Hélène Grimaud helped found in 1999 Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York, wrote a book “Wild Harmonies: A Life of Music and Wolves” and made a documentary “Living with Wolves”. She underwent surgery for stomach cancer in 2010 with a long recovery. Hélène Grimaud has recorded since she was a teenager. “There is something so intense when the red light goes on. There is an erotic power to the microphone.” She said.
Orchestra Dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia was founded in 1908. It was the first Italian orchestra to dedicate exclusively to symphonic repertoire. It has performed over 15,000 concerts, and was conducted by Debussy, Strauss, Stravinsky, Toscanini.
On September 22, Orchestra Dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia performs with piano soloist Denis Matsuev. They interpret Chamber Symphony (George Enescu), Concerto no. 2 for piano and orchestra (Rachmaninov), Sheherezade (Rimsky-Korsakov).
Denis Matsuev, 36 Russian pianist, won the first prize of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1998). He was the first pianist to perform a jazz concert at Moscow Conservatory.
Denis Matsuev interprets Chamber Symphony by George Enescu at George Enescu Festival 2011.
Romanian Youth Orchestra with Christian Mandeal and violin soloist David Garrett perform on September 23 Rhapsody no.1 (George Enescu), Concerto for violin and orchestra (Beethoven), Firebird (Stravinsky), La Valse (Ravel).
Orchestre National de France with Daniele Gatti interpret Symphony no. 9 (Mahler) on September 24 and on September 25 with cello soloist Han-Na Chang, French orchestra perform Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, for orchestra (1897), Concertante Symphony for cello and orchestra (George Enescu), Ibéria (Debussy) and Boléro (Ravel).
Bucharest National Opera has began its fall season with a premiere: Oedipe opera, Orchestra and Choir of the Bucharest National Opera (with Tiberiu Soare) on September 15, part of the George Enescu festival.
Oedipe by George Enescu at Bucharest National Opera
George Enescu composed Oedipe, a lyrical tragedy, between 1921 and 1931 and its worldwide premiere was in 1936 in Paris. In Romania, it premiered in 1958, at the first edition of the George Enescu festival.
Lohengrin (Richard Wagner), El Banch / El Ballet Nacional Chileno (Bach), Magifique (Tchaikovsky), Romeo and Juliet (Berlioz) have been performed at Bucharest National Opera or at “Ion Luca Caragiale” National Theatre as part of “Opera and Ballet” series of George Enescu Festival.
Evgheni Oneghin is scheduled for September 21 and 23. A ballet gala featuring David Makhateli (first soloist at the Royal Opera House) and Razvan Mazilu takes place on September 22. Ballet Night with Ballet Company of the Bucharest National Opera follows on September 24. Ballet Night features Valse Fantaisie (Glinka), Serenade (Tchaikovsky), Falling Angels (Steve Reich) and an evening with the best known pieces of operetta can be attended on September 25.
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Standard and Poor’s dropped Italy’s credit rating from A+ to A, with the ratings agency keeping the country’s outlook on negative in a surprise move that may add to contagion fears in the debt-stressed eurozone.
Silvio Berlusconi swiftly attacked S&P, claiming the Standard and Poor agency’s action was “dictated more by newspaper stories than by reality”.
S&P cut Italy’s government debt rating from A+/A-1+ to A/A-1 and said country’s economic growth prospects were getting weaker, with planned reforms by the government not expected to help much.
S&P cut Italy's government debt rating from A+/A-1+ to A/A-1 and said country's economic growth prospects were getting weaker, with planned reforms by the government not expected to help much
“We believe the reduced pace of Italy’s economic activity to date will make the government’s revised fiscal targets difficult to achieve,” S&P said in a statement.
Italy follows eurozone partners Spain, Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus in having its credit rating downgraded this year.
Italy, which approved an austerity programme last week, currently has a debt-to-GDP ratio of 120%.
S&P took the decision after lowering its annual growth forecast for Italy to just 0.7% between 2011 and 2014, down from 1.3% a year. It also questioned whether Italy’s austerity plan would deliver the €60 billion savings that the government is aiming for.
“We believe the reduced pace of Italy’s economic activity to date will make the government’s revised fiscal targets difficult to achieve,” said S&P.
“Furthermore, what we view as the Italian government’s tentative policy response to recent market pressures suggests continuing future political uncertainty about the means of addressing Italy’s economic challenges,” S&P added.
Italian Prime Minister said in a brief statement in response to the S&P move:
“The assessments by S&P seem dictated more by newspaper stories than by reality and appear to be negatively influenced by political considerations.”
Silvio Berlusconi’s government is already taking action against ratings agencies, with police raiding the offices of Moody’s and S&P last month.
Gary Jenkins at Evolution Securities said the S&P news came just as Moody’s was expected to also downgrade Italy:
“Just when everyone was waiting for Moody’s to downgrade Italy, S&P gets in first with what is a much more damaging downgrade as its rating of Italy was already the lowest of the three agencies. The S&P move is likely to be very negative for sentiment because whilst the market was expecting a downgrade it was probably not expecting one from an agency with the lowest rating which did not even have the sovereign on credit watch, but merely a negative outlook.”
Stock markets fell early on, but later recovered, with the FTSE 100 in positive territory. Overnight the Japanese Nikkei fell by 1.6%.
Swiss banking giant UBS has admitted that the losses allegedly racked up by “rogue trader” Kweku Adoboli has risen from $2 billion to $2.3 billion.
UBS said the huge loss was caused by unauthorized trades on stock index futures made over the past three months.
It said the transactions Kweku Adoboli made were within normal limits and slipped through risk controls due to “fictitious trades” in complex financial instruments called exchange traded funds (ETFs), which were used to cover up losses.
Kweku Adoboli is charged with $2.3 billion fraud at Swiss banking giant UBS
According to UBS, “the true magnitude of the risk exposure was distorted” because the hedges that traders are required to put in place had been fabricated.
The bank also suggested that the trades involved “unauthorized speculative” bets on various S&P 500, Dax and Eurostoxx index futures, rather than on the Swiss franc, as some had thought.
Swiss banking giant also claims that the non-existent hedges entered into its records were “fictitious, forward-settling, cash ETF positions”, trades that had never actually been executed.
UBS also countered suggestions that it did not notice the trades until Kweku Adoboli came forward.
UBS said that Kweku Adoboli, who was charged on Friday with fraud and false accounting, had been responding to the bank’s inquiries.
It appears that the fraud came to light last Wednesday during a review of Kweku Adoboli’s trading book, which it has now unwound.
UBS has now launched an internal investigation regarding the failure of its risk systems.
UBS board of directors had set up a committee chaired by independent director David Sidwell, former chief financial officer at Morgan Stanley, to conduct an independent investigation into the trades and the bank’s control systems.
UBS stunned markets on Thursday when it announced unauthorized trades had lost it about $2 billion.
The figure was raised by a further $300 million on Sunday, and chief executive Oswald Gruebel said the alleged fraud would have consequences for strategy and possibly also for himself.
The huge loss is a heavy blow to the reputation of Switzerland’s biggest bank, which had just started to recover after its near collapse during the financial crisis and a damaging U.S. investigation into its aiding wealthy Americans to dodge taxes.
By 7:45 a.m. UBS shares were down 1.6% at 10.10 francs, outperforming a 2.6% slide on the European banking stocks index.
UBS CEO Oswald Gruebel said he would not be resigning, and said calls for his resignation were “purely political” and that he was “not thinking about stepping down”.
Gruebel added that while he bore ultimate responsibility, he did not feel “guilty” for failing to prevent the costly and embarrassing incident.
Gruebel defiant stance comes amid suggestions that Swiss regulators could tell the bank to hive off or close down its investment banking division, which houses the “Delta One” desk where Kweku Adoboli worked.
The Financial Services Authority and Swiss regulators have drafted in accountancy firm Deloitte to investigate the affair.
Meanwhile, UBS senior independent director David Sidwell, a former finance chief at JP Morgan Chase, is leading the bank’s own probe into the matter.
Jacqueline Kennedy’s voice on the tapes released yesterday is breathy and girlish, often using childishly simple vocabulary, but the sentiments expressed are withering.
Recorded in 1964 and released yesterday by her daughter Caroline, Jacqueline Kennedy’s intimate recollections were confided to historian and former White House aide Arthur M. Schlesinger. ABC News airs the eight-hour tapes in series starting with September 13.
The transcripts of the released tapes are published in a book form – “Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life With John. F. Kennedy”, which is launched today, September 14.
Jacqueline Kennedy talked about her disgust towards Martin Luther King
Jacqueline Kennedy was speaking just months after her husband President John F. Kennedy was gunned down in Dallas in November 1963. The former First Lady aim was to provide insider material for historians on the condition that the tapes would not be released for half a century. Her daughter, Caroline Kennedy has brought that release forward to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her father’s election as president.
The former First Lady talked about her disgust towards Martin Luther King after claimed he tried to arrange a sex party while in Washington for a march.
Jacqueline Kennedy’s relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King became strained as a result of wire taps arranged by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.
This information had been passed to her by brother-in-law Bobby Kennedy, who as attorney-general authorized the bugging.
“He told me of a tape the FBI had of Martin Luther King when he was here for the freedom march. And he said this with no bitterness or anything, how he was calling up all these girls and arranging for a party of men and women, I mean, sort of an orgy in the hotel, and everything.”
Jacqueline Kennedy says Bobby also told her that Martin Luther King made derogatory comments about Kennedy’s funeral, apparently at the expense of the Archbishop of Boston, who gave the eulogy.
“He made fun of Cardinal Cushing and said that he was drunk at it,” Jacqueline Kennedy says.
“And things about they almost dropped the coffin and – well, I mean Martin Luther King is really a tricky person.”
This is not the first time that Martin Luther King, a Baptist minister and father-of-four with his wife Cor¬etta, has been accused of leading a rampant extra-marital sex life.
It has long been known that J Edgar Hoover, the FBI chief who ran the bureau as his personal fiefdom, detested him. An FBI memo called King “the most dangerous and effective Negro leader in the country”, and Hoover kept him under constant surveillance to try to prove he was a crypto-communist.
Hoover failed to do so but the wire tapping did provide salacious details of Martin Luther King’s sex life which former FBI chief set about using to discredit him. The tapes and transcripts were passed to JFK’s successor as president Lyndon B. Johnson who told one assistant:
“God dammit, if only you could hear what that hypocritical preacher does sexually.”
According to another assistant, the transcripts were as graphic as “an erotic book” and the tapes captured the noise of bedsprings.
There is an obvious irony about Jacqueline Kennedy’s remarks given what is well known about JFK’s infidelities.
But her daughter Caroline is anxious to put the tapes in the context of her mourning and Hoover’s determination to discredit Martin Luther King.
“Obviously J Edgar Hoover had passed on something that Martin Luther King said about my father’s funeral to uncle Bobby and to mummy. And obviously she was upset about that,” Caroline Kennedy told ABC News this weekend.
“It shows you the poisonous activities of J Edgar Hoover and the idea that this is going on at the highest levels of government is really twisted. If you asked her what she thought of Martin Luther King overall – I mean she admired him tremendously.”
Jacqueline Kennedy also shares her thoughts on the tapes about Charles de Gaulle whom the Kennedys met during a state visit to France in 1961. The occasion led John F. Kennedy to joke that he was “the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris”.
Jacqueline Kennedy and JFK during the official visit in France
Charles de Gaulle claimed after JFK’s death that Jackie Kennedy was “bound to end up on the yacht of an arms dealer”. For that, she brands the French president “spiteful” as well as an “egomaniac”.
Jacqueline Kennedy also tells she met Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when the latter visited Washington in 1961 and a year later in New Delhi. The former First Lady des¬cribes Indira Ghandi as “a real prune – bitter, kind of pushy, horrible woman”.
Jackie Kennedy freely shares her husband’s derogatory attitude to Lyndon B. Johnson, his vice-president, whom he had only selected as a running mate to remove him from his powerful post in the Senate where his “enormous ego” would have led him to block Kennedy’s law-making agenda.
“Everyone was even amazed that he accepted,” she says.
JFK’s fear was that Lyndon Johnson would succeed him as president after his second term ended in 1968.
“Bobby told me this later and I know Jack said it to me sometimes. He said, <<Oh God, can you ever imagine what would happen to the country if Lyndon was president?>>. He didn’t like that idea that Lyndon would go on and be president because he was worried for the country.”
Jackie also refers to Johnson’s wife Lady Bird as a “trained hunting dog” because she followed her husband around, making notes of his conversations.
“She had every name and phone number – it was a funny kind of way of operating.”
Again Caroline Kennedy insists these were not her mother’s true feelings.
“It’s funny because she was really fond of Lyndon Johnson and really loved Lady Bird and always stayed in touch with her and they would visit.
“The description of Lyndon Johnson here is more of his capabilities as a president, more negative than she certainly felt about him as a person. I think she really appreciated the efforts that he made for her, when she was leaving the White House, and towards me and [my brother] John and she found him really amusing and warm hearted. And I think that it’s interesting because she’s able to separate those human qualities from some of his shortcomings as president.
“I also think that there’s stuff going on – again, this is a moment in time – between him and uncle Bobby. That is probably colouring her opinion here.”
Despite the former First Lady reported extra- marital relationships with married Bobby Kennedy and the unhappiness of her later marriage to tycoon Aristotle Onassis, the public image of Jacqueline Kennedy has always been that of the grieving widow who watched the handsome husband who became America’s youngest president gunned down alongside her.
Residents evacuated because of Bastrop Texas wildfire hopefully will be allowed to return to their properties by Thursday, public safety officials said.
Firefighter from the Lassen National Forest cleans up hot spots in Bastrop Texas (AP Photo/Eric Schlegel - Pool)
Depending on conditions, the re-entry plan might change. People in Tahitian Village will be allowed back in Wednesday. The Bastrop Convention Center continues to serve as a communications center for evacuees.
Circle D, Pine Valley, KC Estates and Pine Hill Estates opened on Monday and the road blocks were removed on Highway 21. All communities are scheduled to open until Thursday.
Texas Task Force 1 has completed an entire grid search of the burn zone on Monday. Two people are missing, Arlene Page and Steve Ingram. Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering do not think they have perished in the fire. “We don’t know if they’re actual residents. It may just be a summer home or something like that,” he said.
Aqua Water Supply are disinfecting water system on Monday and water should be drinkable without boiling by Tuesday afternoon. Bluebonnet Electric restored power to some homes, but those in the heavily damaged areas may not receive power until September 21.
1,350 firefighters struggles to contain the wildfire, while power and water are cut off to some areas. There are still some hot spots, fallen power lines and trees need to be cleared out while crews are trying to restore power. The fire was more than 70 percent contained, said Texas Forest Service.
A DC-10 airplane drops retardant near Magnolia, Montgomery, Texas, to help fight a large wildfire almost like ones in Bastrop Texas (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Smiley N. Pool)
The recovery program begins in Bastrop Texas.
Home destroyed in Bastrop Texas, the management of debris is very important (Doug Shupe/KXAN)
Barack Obama signed the federal disaster declaration late Friday night, then federal funds, resources and Federal Emergency Management Agency support for the victims were available for Texas.
On Sunday night the FEMA started a temporary shelter and assistance program and made wildfire victims eligible for money to pay for nights in a hotel. Rick Perry has launched a similar program this weekend. The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low interest disaster loans both to businesses and individuals affected by fire.
The debris management is very important, fallen trees have to be removed and destroyed properties will require removing large amounts of burned building materials.
On Monday children returned to school in Bastrop Texas. Schools re-opened in the Bastrop and Smithville school districts.
Bastrop Independent School District headquarters received donations of backpacks, pencils, notebooks and binders and distributed to the children.
Buses picked kids up outside their homes or made detours to shelter hotels. The school district provided breakfast and lunch for all students.
Only 6 percent of pupils were absent because were left homeless, moved in with relatives in other communities, or fell ill with smoke inhalation or other fire-related problems.
“Today has really been a smooth day. A lot of smiles from the kids. It looked from afar mostly like a normal day, except for a few more hugs and a little extra loving and attention,” said Martha Werner, principal of Mina Elementary School.
Massive damages in Bastrop Texas (Eric Gay/AP)
Over 5,000 people were evacuated by the most destructive blaze that has covered drought-stricken Texas since Labor Day weekend. Hundreds of families are homeless and lots of people remained just with little more than the clothes which they were wearing.
Fed by winds whipped up by Tropical Storm Lee, over 190 wildfires statewide have burned thousands homes and killed four people. In Bastrop Texas two small fires has formed a dreadful blaze, Bastrop County Complex fire, that has destroyed more than an estimated 1,554 homes and blackened over 34,000 acres, heavily damaging Lost Pines and Bastrop State Park.
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DSK spent more than three hours in a police interview as a “witness” just over a week after charges of sexually assaulting a hotel chambermaid in New York were dropped.
Journalist Tristane Banon, 32, filed a complaint this summer alleging that Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her in a Paris apartment in 2003 where he had invited her to interview him for a book she was writing.
Tristane Banon said the fomer IMF chief lunged at her like a “rutting chimpanzee” and she had to fend him off with kicks and punches as he ignored her cries of “rape”.
DSK is suing Tristane Banon for defamation, alleging she made up the "imaginary" assault as a publicity stunt
DSK is suing Tristane Banon for defamation, alleging she made up the “imaginary” assault as a publicity stunt.
Police are now conducting a preliminary investigation into Tristane Banon’s allegations to see if there is enough evidence to press charges.
Police has already interviewed friends, family members and other politicians in the investigation, including Tristane Banon’s mother – once DSK‘s lover – and François Hollande, polled as most likely to be the Socialists’ presidential candidate.
Tristane Banon, 32, filed a complaint this summer alleging that Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her in a Paris apartment in 2003
DSK‘s lawyers Frédérique Baulieu and Henri Leclerc said on Monday:
“At the request of Mr Strauss-Kahn, this interview is taking place as early as possible in the timetable of the investigation.”
Meanwhile, Tristane Banon said over the weekend she was “sickened” by the “hero’s welcome” he received on DSK return to France from the US.
“What has been happening over the past six days makes me feel sick,” she wrote.
“I cannot believe that my country gives a hero’s welcome to a man who has not been cleared.
“I hear people telling me of their disgust, I feed off their support to remain upright, yet I am the one who bows my head and hugs the walls while others laugh at the cameras.”
She has called for a demonstration on September 24 in front of Paris’s criminal court to demand a trial.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s return has embarrassed the opposition French Socialist party, about to launch presidential primaries. Party’s former leader Martine Aubry, a presidential hopeful, said DSK “must explain himself” to party colleagues.
Before DSK arrest in New York in May, he had been the Socialist party’s favourite to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy next April, with polls predicting he would win comfortably.
Attempted rape charges were dropped in New York after prosecutors ruled that chambermaid Nafissatou Diallo had later lied to police and was “unreliable”. DSK had always insisted sex was consensual.
DSK still faces a civil lawsuit filed by Nafissatou Diallo in the US.
Started on September 3, the George Enescu International Competition closed on September 11 with an online concert Gala in Bucharest, Romania. China and South Korea won best prizes.
The competition had as jury members personalities from US, Japan, UK, Germany, France, Romania, Russia, Spain, Austria, Poland, Korea, Sweden, Finland, Italy, under the leadership of Ioan Holender.
George Enescu International Competition gathered 183 competitors: 55 at Piano, 51 at Violin, 45 at Cello, and 32 works at Composition.
The Grand Award of the The International Competition “George Enescu” went to Cello Section.
Tian Bonian won the Grand Prize at Cello Section of George Enescu International Competition
Tian Bonian (China) was awarded with first prize (the grand award), Valentin Răduţiu (Romania) won the second prize and Michal Korman (Israel) third.
All three cellists interpreted Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor.
” Every cellist is happy with scores like these as they allow you while playing to enjoy the music, which is, in fact, the most important aspect,” said Bonian when he qualified for semi-final.
“… for me most important is the music to reach the audience… while I was performing I wasn’t thinking to win the first prize, I was thinking to communicate with the public,” said Tian Bonian at the end of the competition.
Bonian, born in 1986 in Shenyang, won First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Xiamen, China (2002) and First Prize at the Davidov International Competition in Latvia (2006) . He attended the Schleswig-Holstein Festival and toured Germany for Yehudi Menuhin’s Live Music Now. He gave recitals in a private audience for Queen Margrethe of Denmark and performed concerts as a soloist with orchestras and chamber music ensembles in Canada, Denmark, Germany, Korea, China and Switzerland.
Valentin Răduţiu, as best ranked Romanian, won a prize from Liliana and Peter Ilica Foundation for the Endowment of the Arts and another one from Musicians Performers Union in Romania.
Lee Yeong-Kwang (South Korea) won a special prize as the youngest competitor.
At the Violin Section of George Enescu International Competition first prize was not awarded.
Szalai Antal won best performance of George Enescu's Sonata
Second prize went ex aequo to Kayayzan Haik and Alexandra Conunova (Republic of Moldova), and third to Szalai Antal (Hungary).
Szalai Antal was also awarded for the best performance of George Enescu’s Sonata (Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor dans le caractère populaire roumain).
At the Piano Section of George Enescu International Competition first prize was also not awarded.
Jeung Beum Sohn (Korea) won second prize, and the third was ex aequo granted to Ilya Poletaev (Canada) and Mihai Ritivoiu (Romania). Ritivoiu performed Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 2 in C minor, while Sohn and Poletaev interpreted Brahms’ Concerto No.1 in D minor.
At the Composition Section of George Enescu International Competition the jury awarded South Korea.
At the Chamber Music (ex-aequo): Kwang – Ho (Garnio) Cho with Cytisus/A-Phonie, and Mihyun Woo with The Play of Light for String Quartet.
At the Symphonic Music the award went to Chang Eunho for The Human (symphonic poem).
The first prize is 15,000 euros, the second 10,000, the third 5,000, the prize for symphonic music 10,000 euros, for chamber music 7,000 and the prize for best performance of George Enescu’s Sonata 6,000 euros.
George Enescu International Competition is a part of George Enescu International Festival, a biennial event started in 1958 to honor the Romanian composer’s legacy. George Enescu Festival 2011 ends on September 25.
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None of the images spells out the horror of the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers than the grainy pictures of those falling bodies frozen in mid-air as they fell to their deaths, tumbling in all manner of positions, after choosing to escape the suffocating smoke and dust, the flames and the steel-bending heat in the highest floors of the World Trade Centre.
In many ways, the falling bodies from WTC are tragically the forgotten victims of September 11, 2001. Even now, nobody knows for certain who they were or exactly how many they numbered. Perhaps worst of all, surprisingly few even want to know.
9/11 Falling Man, the iconic picture of falling bodies at WTC
From the first days after the 9/11 attacks, the American people and the media showed an overwhelming reluctance to dwell on those who jumped or fell from the Twin Towers.
If this was simply down to qualms at being considered intrusive or voyeuristic when individuals in the most appalling circumstances chose in desperation to die very publicly, it would be understandable.
But there are other, more complicated, reasons. In the aftermath of this attack on America’s sovereign territory — a period of intense patriotism — some considered that to choose to die rather than be killed showed a lack of courage.
And in this country of intense religious fervour, many believe that to be a “jumper” was to choose suicide rather than accept the fate of God — and suicide in whatever circumstances is considered shameful or, indeed, a sin that will send you to Hell.
Almost all of the falling people who jumped were alone, although eyewitnesses talked of a couple who held hands as they fell.
One woman, in a final act of modesty, appeared to be holding down her skirt. Other people tried to make parachutes out of curtains or tablecloths, only to have them wrenched from their grip by the force of their descent.
The fall was said to take about 10 seconds
The fall was said to take about 10 seconds, but it would vary according to the body position and how long it took to reach terminal velocity — around 125 mph (about 200 km/h) in most cases, but if someone fell head down with their body straight, as if in a dive, it could be 200 mph (more than 320 km/h).
When the body hit the pavement was not so much broken as obliterated.
A spokeswoman of the New York chief medical examiner office said this week that they did not consider these people “jumpers”. She said people fell from the 1,350 ft tall (more than 400 meters), 110-floor skyscrapers, for jumping would imply suicide.
“Jumping indicates a choice, and these people did not have that choice,” spokeswoman said.
“That is why the deaths were ruled homicide, because the actions of other people caused them to die. The force of explosion and the fire behind them forced them out of the windows.”
For those people who have discovered that their loved ones may have been among the estimated 200 or more who plunged to their deaths, this uncomfortable official reticence can only compound the suffering they have already endured.
For instance, Jack Gentul cannot possibly imagine his late wife’s torment before she died. Alayne Gentul, mother of two and the 44-year-old vice president of an investment company, was in the South Tower and had gone up to the 97th floor to help evacuate staff after the other tower was hit. In her final moments, she rang her husband to say in labouring breaths that smoke was coming into her room through vents.
“She said <<I’m scared>>. She wasn’t a person who got scared, and I said, <<Honey, it’ll be all right, it’ll be all right, you’ll get down>>.”
Alayne Gentul’s remains were found in the street outside the building across from the tower — sufficiently far from the rubble to suggest she had jumped. Her husband, Jack Gentul, who has since remarried, is not convinced she took that option but is clearly irked that some believe jumping was some sort of cop-out.
“She was a very practical person who would have done whatever she could to survive,” Jack Gentul explained.
“But how can anyone know what one would do in a situation like that, having to choose how you go from this Earth?”
Knowing that his former wife jumped is, indeed, consoling to Jack Gentul in some ways, in that she exercised an element of control over her death.
“Jumping is something you can choose to do,” Gentul says.
“To be out of the smoke and the heat, to be out in the air, it must have felt like flying.”
On the morning of 9/11, investment banker Richard Pecarello watched from his office on the other side of the river as the second plane hit. Pecarello’s fiancée Karen Juday was working as an administrator at bond traders Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower.
Richard Pecarello tried to phone her but there was no answer, and for days and weeks after he looked at photographs on the internet and wondered if she had jumped. Karen Juday was vain about her face and used anti-wrinkle cream, and he was certain she would have jumped rather than face the flames.
Richard Pecarello, 59, made contact with Associated Press photographer Richard Drew, who had captured images of many of the jumpers, and asked to look through his archives. He discoverd a couple of photographs of a woman in cream trousers and blue top which he is convinced were of his fiancée .
“There was one of her standing in a window with flames behind her and one of her falling from the building,” he said.
“It made me feel she didn’t suffer and that she chose death on her terms rather than letting them burn her up.”
Richard Pecarello has no time for suggestions that she took the easy way out.
“The people who died that day weren’t soldiers. They were everyday people — parents and housewives and brothers and sisters and children,” he said.
When Richard Pecarello tried to show the photos to Karen’s staunchly Protestant family back in Indiana, they didn’t want to know. Family go by the official version, that nobody jumped.
Nobody in US liked talking about the jumpers.
An unofficial estimate put the number of jumpers at around 200
An unofficial estimate put the number of jumpers at around 200, but it is impossible to say for certain because their bodies were indistinguishable from others after the collapse of the WTC Twin Towers. The official reports said that nearly all 2,753 victims in the WTC Twin Towers attack officially died from “blunt impact” injuries.
In 2011, more than 1,000 have yet to be identified from remains. They were vaporised because of the high temperatures; after the planes hit, raging fires pushed the temperatures to 1,800 F ( 1,000 C), sufficient to weaken the skyscrapers’ steel frames.
The steel conducted the heat through the building at a terrifying speed and it reached the upper floors long before the flames did.
There were reports of people having to stand on desks because the floor became so hot.
Fire experts say people rarely throw themselves out of burning high-rises until they have exhausted every other option. Indeed, as survivors desperate for fresh, cool air crowded at the windows smashed open by the force of the planes’ impact, it is possible some of the “jumpers” were actually pushed out in the crush.
The only research that comes close to being an official account is buried deep in an appendix of the huge report into why the towers collapsed, conducted by the National Institute for Standards and Technology(NIST).
NIST analyzed camera footage and still photographs, and counted 104 jumpers, often recording the floor and exact window from which they left.
Almost all people, excepting three, leapt from the first building to be hit — the North Tower. The second plane struck the South Tower 16 minutes later but it collapsed first, giving occupants less time to react.
The first jumper is recorded plunging from the North Tower’s 149th window of the 93rd floor on the north face of the building at 8.51 a.m., just over four minutes after it was hit by the first hijacked Boeing 757 between the 93rd and 99th floors.
Sometimes the fallers were separated by an interval of just a second. At one point nine people fell in six seconds from five adjacent windows; at another, 13 people fell in two minutes. Twenty minutes after the building was struck, two people fell simultaneously from the same window on the 95th floor.
At least four jumpers tried to climb to other windows for safety then lost their grip. One person climbed from the 93rd floor to the 92nd, clinging to the window’s edge before falling just one second after someone else plumetted from the same window — number 215 on the east face of the tower.
The first jumpers came from the crash zone where the plane entered the building — the offices of the insurance brokers Marsh & McLennan.
The last jumper fell just as the North Tower collapsed 102 minutes after the building had been hit. Former AP photographer Richard Drew said he has a picture of this person clinging to some debris while falling.
Kelly Reyher watched from the South Tower’s 78th floor as people started to fall out of “the hole” the aircraft had ripped in the North Tower. To him, they looked “completely confused” rather than consciously deciding to end it all.
“It looked like they were blinded by smoke and couldn’t breathe because their hands were over their faces,” Reyher says.
“They would just walk to the edge where the jagged floor was and just fall out.”
Six floors below Kelly Reyher, James Logozzo watched with stunned colleagues from the Morgan Stanley boardroom. He recalled that it took three or four jumpers to flash past him before he realised they were people. Then a woman fell, lying flat on her back and staring upwards.
“The look on her face was shock. She wasn’t screaming,” he recalled.
“It was slow motion. After she hit the ground, there was nothing left.”
For the people down below, the bodies landed with sickening, almost explosive thuds. Many said it was raining bodies.
One fireman, Danny Suhr, was killed as he made his way to the South Tower after a jumper landed on him, “coming out of the sky like a torpedo” and breaking his neck.
9/11 WTC: 1,000 people were vaporised because of the high temperatures
Firefighter Maureen McArdle-Schulman said she felt like she was intruding on a sacrament as the bodies fell.
“They were choosing to die and I was watching them and shouldn’t have been. So me and another guy turned away and looked at a wall and we could still hear them hit,” she said.
Bill Feehan, the deputy chief of the fire department, screamed at a man filming jumpers with a video camera: “Don’t you have any human decency?”
Fire battalion chief Joseph Pfeifer put out a desperate plea on the North Tower’s public address system. “Please don’t jump. We’re coming up for you,” he said, not realizing that nobody was listening — the system had long since been destroyed.
Images of the falling bodies disturbed and appalled all who saw them. On the first anniversary of the tragedy, an exhibition showing a work called Tumbling Woman, a bronze sculpture by artist Eric Fischl, lasted just a week in New York’s Rockefeller Centre before it was closed following protests and even bomb threats.
One picture has become an iconic image. When a man fell at 9.41 a.m. from near the top of the North Tower, Richard Drew caught a dozen frames of his descent, including one in which he is diving vertically, arms by his sides and left leg bent at the knee. The image, all the more horrific for its desolate stillness, appeared the next day in newspapers around the world.
Dubbed the Falling Man, it prompted the media to hunt for the man’s identity. None of those who jumped from the towers has ever been officially identified and, tellingly, nobody rushed to claim Falling Man as their own.
Dark-skinned, goatee-bearded, wearing an orange T-shirt under a white shirt , he was first thought to be Norberto Hernandez, a pastry chef at the restaurant Windows on the World, on the top floors of the North Tower. His deeply religious family angrily rejected the notion, insisting that for him to have jumped would have amounted to a betrayal.
“He was trying to come home to us and he knew he wasn’t going to make it by jumping out a window,” his daughter Catherine said.
Since then, the hunt for the Falling Man has moved on to another of the restaurant’s staff, Jonathan Briley, a 43-year-old sound engineer. The reaction of his deeply religious family has highlighted the deep moral complexities that suicide — whatever the circumstances — poses in a country where so many believe it is a sin, unforgivable by God.
Some of Jonathan Briley’s family have never believed he jumped, and say they were vindicated after the authorities found his largely intact body.
“I had no idea it would give me the peace years later to know that,” said his sister Gwendolyn.
“If he had fallen from the 110th floor to the ground we wouldn’t have had that.”
When a 9/11 Memorial Museum opens at Ground Zero next year, it will have a small display dedicated to the jumpers, but reflecting the intense feelings of unease the subject has provoked, it will be tucked away in an alcove, on the grounds that the images are considered too private and too distressing.
The former First Lady, Jackie Kennedy talked about her disgust towards Martin Luther King after claimed he tried to arrange a sex party while in Washington for a march.
In the interviews that will be released in series starting with September 13, Jackie Kennedy also talks about how she could barely look at images of the iconic leader after he apparently also made derogatory remarks at JFK’s funeral.
Jacqueline Kennedy’s relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King became strained as a result of wire taps arranged by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.
Those taps allegedly caught Dr. King Jr. trying to arrange a sex party in Washington, although this has been dismissed by some material concocted by Hoover to damage Martin Luther King.
Nonetheless, Jackie Kennedy branded Martin Luther King “tricky” and a “phoney” after hearing of the FBI recordings.
In the first interview that interviews to be broadcast on September 13, the former First Lady said:
“I just can’t see a picture of Martin Luther King without thinking, you know, that man’s terrible.”
Jackie Kennedy branded Luther King "tricky" and a "phoney" after hearing of the FBI recordings
Jackie Kennedy said Martin Luther King had mocked her husband’s funeral and Cardinal Richard Cushing, who celebrated Mass at the funeral.
“He made fun of Cardinal Cushing and said that he was drunk at it,” Mrs. Kennedy said.
“And things about they almost dropped the coffin.”
The Jackie Kennedy secret interviews also reveal that JFK saw U.S. participation in Vietnam as “hopeless” and scorned the idea of Lyndon Johnson succeeding him in office.
In the explosive memoirs from the secret tapes, Jackie Kennedy reveals that JFK was highly skeptical about victory in Vietnam.
The secret recordings will be revealed this month on the 50th anniversary of JFK’s first year in office, also describe how former President Kennedy feared what would happen if rival Lyndon Johnson took office.
Jackie Kennedy secret recordings will be revealed this month on the 50th anniversary of JFK's first year in office
JFK chose Lyndon Johnson, a Texas senator and former political rival, as his running mate in 1960 but later fretted about a LBJ (Lyndon Baines Johnson) presidency.
Jackie Kennedy’ secret tapes were recorded starting few months after JFk’s assassination in November 1963 by historian and former JFK aide Arthur Schlesinger.
In another interview of Jackie Kennedy with Arthur Schlesinger, she said:
“Jack said it to me sometimes. He said, <<Oh, God, can you ever imagine what would happen to the country if Lyndon were president?>>”
Jacqueline Kennedy also told how JFK and his brother, then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy even discussed ways to prevent Johnson from winning the Democratic nomination in a future contest.
“He didn’t like that idea that Lyndon would go on and be president because he was worried for the country,” she said.
“Bobby told me that he’d had some discussions with him.
“I forget exactly how they were planning or who they had in mind. It wasn’t Bobby, but somebody. Do something to name someone else in ’68.”
Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th U.S. president on Air Force One just two hours after JFK’s assassination.
LBJ was re-elected in his own right in 1964, but declined to run for presidency in 1968.
Jackie Kennedy also told how JFK and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy even discussed ways to prevent Johnson from winning the Democratic nomination in a future contest
The “Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy,” book includes a series of revealing interviews with the former first lady.
Jackie Kennedy said JFK was highly about victory in Vietnam, a central battleground of the Cold War and the conflict that brought down Johnson’s presidency.
She also said that President Kennedy, a Democrat, had named Henry Cabot Lodge, a Republican he had defeated for a Massachusetts Senate seat in 1952, as U.S. ambassador to Vietnam because JFK was so doubtful of military success there.
“I think he probably did it… rather thinking it might be such a brilliant thing to do because Vietnam was rather hopeless anyway, and put a Republican there,” Jackie Kennedy said.
Kennedy increased the U.S. presence in Vietnam throughout his brief administration, adding military advisers to help train the South Vietnamese military.
Lyndon Johnson, while was president, escalated the war in Vietnam by later committing ground troops to the conflict despite initial promises not to. Historians still debate whether Kennedy would have done the same.
The interviews where the former first lady speaks candidly about life in the White House have been sealed in a safe until this year.
Over seven sessions with Schlesinger thought to have been recorded just months after Kennedy’s death, she recalled conversations on topics ranging from her husband’s reading habits to the botched Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba.
According to previous reports, the tapes would contain explosive content and include details of JFK’s affair with a White House intern and even theories that LBJ and a cabal of Texas tycoons were involved in JFK’s assassination.
Originally planned for one hour, the interviews will be aired during a two-hour ABC special on September 13, before being released in book form, “Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy” on September 14.
After Jackie Kennedy did the interviews, she steadfastly refused to publicly discuss any details with anyone else about that time in her life.
Jackie Kennedy had ordered that the tapes should not be released until 50 years after her death, with some reports suggesting she feared that her revelations might make her family targets for revenge.
An ABC source said last month that the tapes also revealed that she too had affairs – one with Hollywood star William Holden and another with Fiat founder Gianni Agnelli – as a result of the president’s indiscretions.
Jackie Kennedy died in 1994 from cancer aged 64 and now her daughter, Caroline Kennedy, has agreed to release the recordings early.
Watch online on the Romanian National Televison website (starts at 19:30 local time, 16:30 UTC, today, September 8, 2011)!
Nicola Benedetti plays at George Enescu Festival 2011
London Symphony Orchestra (Conductor: Horia Andreescu, Soloist: Nicola Benedetti – violin) of Great Orchestras of the World series is performing Glazunov’s Concerto for violin and orchestra and Mahler’s Symphony no. 6
Nicola Benedetti, 24, a pretty Scottish violinist plays a 1723 Stradivarius that took its sobriquet from Princess Diana’s grandfather, the 6th Earl Spencer.
The 20th edition of one of the biggest Europe’s classical music event, George Enescu Festival 2011, started on September 1 in Bucharest, Romania, and some of its concerts are broadcasted live on the Internet.
The festival opening with Residentie Orkest / The Hague Philharmonic conducted by Christian Badea was available online on September 1, as well as the performances of the London Symphony Orchestra (conductor Horia Andreescu and violin soloist Nicola Benedetti) on September 8.
Other concerts of the Great Orchestras of the World series of George Enescu Festival 2011 (held at Grand Palace Hall) can be watch live on the National Romanian Television website (http://www.tvr.ro/festivalenescu/):
On September 9 at 16:30 UTC, London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Nikolai Znaider, with piano soloist Saleem Abboud Ashkar, interpreting Wagner’s Overture to “The Mastersingers of Nuremberg”, Beethoven’s Concerto no.1 for piano and orchestra, Brahms’ Symphony no. 4;
On September 11 at 16:30 UTC, the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Valerie Gergiev, with piano soloist Alexander Toradze performing Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture, Scriabin’s Prometheus, Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben;
On September 25 at 14:30 UTC Orchestre National De France (conductor Danielle Gatti, cello soloist Han-Na Chang) performing Brahms’ Tragic ouverture, Enescu’s Concertante Symphony for cello and orchestra, Debussy’s Ibéria, Ravel’s Boléro.
From George Enescu Festival 2011 By Midnight series (held at The Romanian Atheneum):
On September 23 at 19:30 UTC Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with Choir of the Enlightenment, conducted by Trevor Pinnock, and soloists Christina Landshamer (soprano), Toby Spence (tenor), Matthew Rose (bass), interpreting Haydn’s The Chreation – Oratorio;
On September 24, at 19:30 UTC Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with Choir of the Enlightenment, conducted by Adam Fischer, and soloists Simona Saturova (soprano), Bernard Richter (tenor), Matthew Rose (bass) performing Haydn’s The Seasons – Oratorio.
George Enescu International Competition will also be available online on the next days.
George Enescu Festival 2011: Magic exists online
On September 9 at 13:00 UTC The Final of The Cello section (with the participation of “Banatul” Philharmonic Orchestra from Timişoara, conductor Radu Popa) will be broadcasted live from “George Enescu” Hall of the National University of Music Bucharest.
On September 10 at 7:00 UTC The Final of The Piano section (With the participation of “Transilvania” State Philharmonic Orchestra Cluj, conductor : Mihail Agafiţa ) and at 13:00 UTC The Final of the Violin section (with the participation of “Moldova” State Philharmonic Orchestra Iaşi conductor : Gheorghe Costin) will be transmited live from “Mihail Jora” Hall of the Romanian Radio Society.
On September 11 at 13:00 UTC Gala Concert of the “George Enescu” International Competition (with “Moldova” State Philharmonic Orchestra Iaşi conductor : Gheorghe Costin) from “Mihail Jora” Hall of the Romanian Radio Society will be available for live watching.
Other online broadcastings of George Enescu Festival 2011 will be from the Festival’s Square on September 10 at 15:30 and 17:30 UTC and on September 11 at 15:00 and 17:00 UTC.
George Enescu Festival 2011 has a mobile companion available in English for iPhone and iPad.
The application can be downloaded free in Apple App Store. George Enescu Festival app features Festival’s news, locations with Google Maps, daily programme, information from Facebook and Twitter pages of the Festival. With a WiFi, 3G or EDGE connection, you can listen to the live broadcast provided by Radio Romania Music. The organizers (Artexim) and the developers (Infoideea) of the George Enescu Festival application are analyzing the possibility of designing a version for Android operation systems.
[youtube BmHyR_bR88Q]
A huge crane toppled Wednesday at the Washington National Cathedral amid heavy thunderstorms, damaging two buildings and several cars.
No serious injuries were reported and officials are still investigating what caused the crane to tip over.
A huge crane toppled Wednesday at the Washington National Cathedral
D.C. fire department spokesman, Oscar Mendez, said the crane flipped backward about 11a.m. on Wednesday.
The spokesman also said the crane damaged three to five cars and cathedral buildings.
Cathedral’s spokesman, Richard Weinberg said that the crane damaged Herb Cottage, which houses the cathedral’s gift shop, and Church House, which houses members of the diocese.
Richard Weinberg added that all 20 people inside the buildings when the crane collapsed were not hurt, and the cathedral itself was not damaged.
Washington National Cathedral is set to host memorial events for 9/11 starting Friday and continuing this weekend.
All 20 people inside the buildings when the crane collapsed were not hurt and Washington National Cathedral itself was not damaged
Until now, no decision had been made as to whether the events would go on as planned, according to cathedral’s spokesman.
Weinberg said the crane was at the cathedral to work on repairs needed because of damage caused by the East Coast earthquake on August 23, when the cathedral’s limestone exterior towers and some interior areas have been damaged.
Firefighters’ representative said the incident could have been a lot worse.
“If it had gone any other direction it would have hit another building, which would have been bad,” fire Battalion Chief John Donnelly said.
[youtube -EywHcm1HGw]
The 46th annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon was broadcasted nationwide from 6 p.m. to midnight in every U.S. time zone on Sunday and the iconic show attracted outstanding talents on its first time without Jerry Lewis’ hosting.
One of the biggest stars participating to the MDA Telethon 2011 was Celine Dion, who performed in the opening hour.
“It’s always a privilege to be part of the MDA Labor Day Telethon,” said Celine Dion.
“I hope by taking part in this great cause, I can help MDA in its mission to make life better for families who are fighting muscle diseases. From supporting scientists who are searching for treatments and cures, to helping children go to MDA summer camp, MDA provides love and care in so many ways.”
Celine Dion’s motivation was shared by other artists who participated in Sunday’s prime-time Telethon, which has been broadcasted by more than 150 television stations nationwide.
Jordin Sparks At MDA Telethon 2011
In a group message so typical of their harmonious sound, Boyz II Men members Shawn Stockton, and Nathan and Wanya Morris said:
“We’re excited to be part of the MDA Labor Day Telethon this year and lend our voices to a such a good cause. We remember watching it growing up, and it’s great to be a part of something so historic that benefits so many people every day. Be sure to tune in to catch us on the Telethon this Sunday.”
Also, Tony Award-winning choreographer Twyla Tharp, when confirming that “Come Fly Away” principal dancers would perform two Telethon dance segments to the legendary original vocals of Frank Sinatra, noted that:
“Dance has the power to move people with nothing more than the flow of bodies and the expression of emotion. Progressive muscle diseases rob people of the power to move but not the experience of emotion or humanity. Hopefully, our dance performance will move us one step closer to preserving free motion for people with muscle diseases.”
[youtube V4gNaPiFW2g]
When people tuned in to watch the prime-time Telethon on Sunday, they have immediately been engaged by the “Make a Muscle, Make a Difference”® show opening using dance, music and striking visuals of everyday people flexing their biceps muscles to immediately let America know how important it is to “Be the Next to Flex”® for MDA.
Followed by the incredible magic of Penn & Teller, plus the intergalactic fun of music phenomenon Voca People, and an unforgettable performance by Celine Dion, the show’s first hour, which also introduced Telethon co-hosts Nigel Lythgoe (“American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance”), Nancy O’Dell (“Entertainment Tonight”), Alison Sweeney (NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” and author of The Mommy Diet), and Jann Carl (Emmy-winning journalist and independent producer).
The second hour of the MDA Labor Day Telethon has been full of many memorable moments, too.
Darius Rucker performed solo and also sang a duet with MDA National Goodwill Ambassador Abbey Umali of Redlands, Calif. Other performances on the Telethon stage in the second hour included the JabbaWockeeZ, winners of the MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew” competition; the incredibly popular Italian trio II Volo; and Ellen DeGeneres protégé Greyson Chance.
“The View’s” Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, as well as NFL running back Reggie Bush have made special appeals.
The third hour of the Telethon has been full of extraordinary entertainers, too. Lady Antebellum, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Feinstein, and renowned Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel appeared to encourage even greater public support to help advance MDA’s lifesaving mission.
Plus, “One Step Away,” the teenage Boston band making their network television debut, has rocked the house for MDA. One “Step Away” is one of three winners of the second annual iHeartRadio.com “Get Discovered!” talent competition entered by more than 7,800 artists.
[youtube pApsYAhPod8]
The fourth hour presented the exceptional musical stylings of Jimmy Webb, Richie Sambora, Jon Secada and Maureen McGovern, as well as the first of two “Come Fly Away” dance performances to the legendary original vocals of Frank Sinatra.
These powerful performances have been reinforced by appeals from R&B singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson and NFL legend Kurt Warner, as well as by a high-energy performance by the Universal Cheerleaders Association all-stars, 36 of the nation’s best cheerleaders representing 17 states.
Sensational entertainers continued to appear for MDA Telethon in the fifth hour, with Grammy-nominated platinum recording artist Jordin Sparks, Martina McBride, Steven Tyler, Randy Jackson, and a second “Come Fly Away” dance performance to the sizzling vocals of “Ol’ Blue Eyes.”
The soap stars of “General Hospital’s” rock band Port Chuck, Tony Award-winning ventriloquist Jay Johnson, and Brokedown Cadillac (upbeat country group which also won 2011 iHeartRadio.com “Get Discovered!” competition to secure its live network television performance opportunity on the Telethon), also performed from the national Telethon stage at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Four-time Grammy Award-winning group, Boyz II Men, has opened the sixth and final hour of the 2011 prime-time Telethon. They have been followed by Rootdown, the Oregon-based “Get Discovered!”-winning band with a Reggae hip-hop sound. Then, Billy Ray Cyrus performed his new single “Nineteen,” and “Glee’s” Max Adler made “Make a Muscle, Make a Difference” for MDA leading up to a spectacular America tribute involving more than 100 performers. Scored with a patriotic medley, the finale was anchored by Jordin Sparks, Jon Secada, Maureen McGovern, Richie Sambora, Tommy Emanuel and 70 kids from the Clark County Children’s choir.
[youtube eiN4WYqnwDs]
Anonymous
Four persons have been arrested in different areas of the UK by police investigating the hacker groups Anonymous and LulzSec.
The four suspects – from Doncaster, Warminster, Northampton and London – are being questioned by Scotland Yard’s e-Crime unit.
The arrests are part of a wider operation involving UK law enforcement and the FBI.
At the same time other 14 suspected members of Anonymous appeared in a US court.
Authorities from worldwide have been rounding up suspects following a wave of attacks by both groups on major corporations and government institutions.
Amazon, PayPal, the CIA, US Senate and the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency have all suffered either intrusions or denial of service attacks, designed to take their websites offline.
In the latest arrests, British police detained Christopher Weatherhead, 20, from Northampton and Ashley Rhodes, 26, from Kennington, near London.
Both suspects are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on September 7.
Police also arrested a 24-year-old man from Doncaster, and a 20-year-old from Wiltshire for conspiring to commit offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.
In US, a mass court appearance saw 14 suspected Anonymous members appear before a judge in San Jose, California.
All of them denied being involved in a denial of service attack on PayPal’s website in December 2010.
Anonymous had publicly declared its intent to target both PayPal and Amazon for, what the group perceived as, “their complicity in isolating whistle blowing website Wikileaks”.
Following the leaking of confidential US State Department memos, PayPal stopped processing donations to Wikileaks, while Amazon kicked the site off its web hosting service.
Anonymous is known as a hacktivist group, pursuing its agenda through online attacks.
The fire sale of HP TouchPads for $99 stimulated a purchasing madness. Experts point out tablets in the $200 to $300 range might be in shops for the approaching Christmas season.
Tech giant Hewlett-Packard Co. could not market its TouchPad tablets right up until it decreased the cost to $99, cutting a lot of money from the initial price. They then flew off the racks.
The incredibly popular promotion, in the wake of HP stating it was giving up the tablet business, might have many people convinced that $99 is definitely the tipping point, when tablets will change from being the desired gadget of the several to an item which practically every person possesses like a mobile phone or notebook.
- HP TouchPad Review
For the time being, experts point out, $99 isn’t a reasonable price for a tablet pc that isn’t some sort of plaything.
“The TouchPad was an anomaly in the market. They are exiting the market and they’re losing a lot of money by selling the tablets that cheap.” said Rhoda Alexander, director of monitor research at IHS iSuppli.
The HP TouchPad is made up of lot more than $300 component pieces, as outlined by a tear-down evaluation by iSuppli, excluding or labor costs. That’s like the $326 value of components in the runaway top seller amongst tablets, Apple Inc.’s iPad 2. The co-founder of teardown expert iFixit Kevin Wiens stated:
“From a manufacturing standpoint, there is no way you can make a quality tablet for $100 right now . It’s basically impossible. The cheaper tablets out there are very, very poorly made.”
An iPad – that have 85% from global tablet income this past year, based on ABI Research – today begins at $499, and professionals claim it’ll most likely stay at or close to this cost for the near future.
The HP Touchpad, pre-fire sale, was initially priced at $399 for the basic model.
However because tablets carry on to extend their appeal beyond tech fanatics to regular customers, there’s increasing motivation to provide a great gadget at a cheaper cost.
The cost at this point stands as the top consideration for 65% of individuals buying a tablet, based on a newly released study from Forrester Research. However buyers might possibly not have a realistic view of just how much the products cost in shops.
These people taking part in the survey anticipated to spend around $257 for a tablet, maybe due to the fact that’s about the cost a few e-readers cost.
But reality may well satisfy anticipations for tablet rates just before the year is finished.
Tony Berkman, chief executive of ITG Investment Research, mentioned the need is so very strong that brandnames apart from Apple may reveal a small selection of tablets within the $200 to $300 range for the approaching holidays. One electronic products firm, Lenovo, explained recently that it’ll release a $199 tablet at the end of September.
“Within a year, we’ll start seeing quite a few decent tablets in that price range for sale,” Berkman forecasted.
Amazon, that is rumored to be rolling out a tablet of its own this autumn, is the greatest competitor for providing a great item inexpensively, experts claim.
“Amazon could sell a tablet at cost, or even at a loss, because they think they can make money through selling digital content,” Berkman said. “Or other companies can sell at a loss because they want to grab a piece of the market.”
Amazon has refused to reply to the gossips.
“The cheaper tablets probably would not have all the bells and whistles of the current top models”, Berkman stated.
However iSuppli estimates that by 2015, tablets generally will certainly drop to an ordinary cost below $300.
“I wouldn’t totally rule out someone offering a good tablet for $100 in a few years,” Alexander said. “The market is changing fast.”
- HP TouchPad On Sale
Michelle Lapid, 22, of Hawthorne wasn’t ready to delay. Once the $99 TouchPad was released and rapidly turned out to be a hard-to-find product, the current California State Northridge graduate student went on what she called a “crazy bargain-hunting fever” hunt for one, going through three tanks of gasoline in four days.
This ultimately paid back. A close friend who works at a local Best Buy informed her that a delivery of TouchPads could be arriving at a store. “I had to get in line at 4 a.m.,” she said, “but it was worth it. I’m so happy.”
Other people may still have a chance. HP reported earlier this week that it would definitely launch an additional batch of TouchPads, yet the company wouldn’t say just how many would be arriving.
And HP wouldn’t suggest if the new TouchPads could be offered at the magic $99 value.
George Enescu Festival 2011 celebrates George Enescu 130th birthday anniversary
The 20th edition of one of the most appreciated classical music events in Europe, George Enescu Festival 2011, starts on September 1, in Bucharest, Romania.
Its new brand, Magic Exists, features distinguished, stylish events, classical music, contemporary melodies, and modern echoes of traditional music, folk, tango, soul and jazz.
Most of the festival series are premieres: Great Orchestras of the World, Recitals and Chamber Music, By Midnight (midnight concerts), World Music, Opera and Ballet, 21st Century Music, Enescu and His Contemporaries.
George Enescu Festival 2011 also features George Enescu International Competition and concerts outside Bucharest, in Busteni, Arad, Cluj, Sibiu, Targu-Mures, Craiova, Iasi, Timisoara.
In Bucharest the events are held at the Romanian Athenaeum, Palace Hall, Radio Hall, National Opera, National Theatre, National University of Music and Festival’s Square (Revolution Square).
George Enescu Festival 2011 opens at the Grand Palace Hall
The Residentie Orkest (with Christian Badea) will open George Enescu Festival 2011 on Thursday, September 1, at the Grand Palace Hall.
The Hague Philharmonic will perform George Enescu‘s Symphony no. 1 and Dmitri Shostakovitch’s Symphony no. 10. The concert starts at 19:30 local time (16:30 UTC) and it will be streamed live on the Internet. The web cast will be available on www.tvr.ro/festivalenescu/. The concert will also be broadcasted live by the Romanian National Televison. TVR1, TVR Cultural, TVR HD and TVR International will simulcast the first part, while the second part will be aired by TVR HD and TVR Cultural at 20:30 (17:30 UTC).
The Residentie Orkest has perform its first concert in 1904 and since then it has become one of the Netherlands’ major symphony orchestras.
Christian Badea, Romanian opera and symphonic conductor, studied at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg (with Herbert von Karajan) and at the Juilliard School of Music in New York (with Leonard Bernstein). He has conducted Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, La Orquesta Nacional de España, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra.
Orchestre National de France (with Daniele Gatti) performing Brahms’ Tragic ouverture Enescu’s Concertante Symphony for cello and orchestra, Debussy’s Ibéria and Ravel’s Boléro will close George Enescu Festival 2011 on September 25.
George Enescu Festival 2011 is the 20th edition of an event started in 1958.
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Seven snakes and three tortoises were packed in women’s pantyhose and found in the man’s pants
A man was arrested in Florida last week at the Miami Airport after he tried to smuggle 10 reptiles on a flight by carrying the animals in his pants.
Seven snakes and three tortoises were packed in women’s pantyhose and found in the man’s pants as he waited to board a flight to Brazil.
The man, who was not named, was arrested by U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife officers and charged with “harbouring animals in an unnatural habitat”, according to the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) Blog.
TSA used specific imaging technology, which allows agents to find potential threats when they found the animals.
The reptiles’ incident came few days after a similar one happened in California, when a woman tried to board a flight to China with endangered birds strapped to her body.
Transportation Security Administration officers found one of the bright yellow birds taped to the woman’s chest and another was taped to her leg as she tried to get onto a flight at Los Angeles Airport.
TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said unusual items are often found on passengers, but the agency was surprised by two creature-smuggling attempts in the same week.
The reptiles found in man’s trousers were confiscated by the US Department of Fish and Wildlife officers
Lisa Farbstein told the New York Daily News:
“All of our jaws dropped. It just goes to show the lengths that people will go to try to sneak something past officials.”
The reptiles found in man’s trousers were confiscated by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife officers.
Although you won’t be able to find th HP tablet in stock at regular retailers, Canadian or US, there is one more place where you will find it at less than retail prices which is still going to be a bargain.
$99 HP TouchPad Tablet in stock links below:
HP’s fire sale on its TouchPad tablets in stock this week has killed all inventory from Canada, and details on U.S. stock remains a bit unknown, but there is still hope for a bargain. Read below for a HP TouchPad in stock at on-line and off-line retailers. Please bookmark this page and come back for updates.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @BELLENEWS FOR UPDATES
Where to buy
Updates for 9/9: PC World has a great deal
For all those who missed out the first time.. Bit more as it’s bundled with case and charging dock but still worth it if you felt like you missed out before!!
HEWLETPACK TouchPad Tablet PC – 16GB + TouchPad Touchstone Wireless Charging Dock + TouchPad Case
HEWLETPACK TouchPad 32GB Tablet PC + TouchPad Case + Wireless Charging Dock
16gb : Product code: 268777
32gb : Product code: 835434
Use code TABLET5 for 5% discount – total price £189 delivered.
Updates for 9/7: B&T, Datavis, POSGlobal
– RueDuCommerce sold 1000 units in 10 minutes. The TouchPads are gone!
Les 1000 Touchpad sont principalement partis entre 7h10 et 7h20. Avant 7h10, personne n’avait les liens (cf le cache sur la home Tablettes)
There is still a chance that new tablets will surface in the next month. The limited quantity will come from assembled spare parts. Bookmark this page or sign-up to be notified!
“HP will be manufacturing a limited quantity of TouchPads with webOS during our fourth fiscal quarter 2011, which ends October 31.”
Team TouchDroid installed the latest Android version with touchscreen drivers capability. 10 point multi-touch, watch the video below:
[youtube MZwhbJiad8Y]
Android 2.3.5 with working touchscreen drivers!
This was made possible by our team member Flemmard.
http://team-touchdroid.com
Updates for 9/5: Erwin Comp, Expansys USA, HHGregg, HP Home/Office, HP Small Business, KMart, NewEgg, Office Depot, PC Mall Gov, PC Richard, POSGlobal, Staples
News Update By DigiTimes:
Hewlett-Packard (HP) plans to launch a second sales promotion for its 9.7-inch TouchPads in late October in an attempt to clear out inventories of components in the supply chain, according to industry sources.
HP originally released orders for 900,000-1.1 million 9.7-inch TouchPads to Inventec and has taken deliveries of 800,000-900,000 units, said the sources, noting that the shipped TouchPads were nearly all sold out after the vendor slashed the tablet’s price to US$99.
In an effort to mend its relationship with component suppliers and channel operators, HP decided to help them clear out inventories, including touch panels, batteries and chassis, equivalent to 100,000-200,000 units of 9.7-inch TouchPads, the sources pointed out.
HP has apparently abandoned its production plan for a 7-inch tablet PC model, with its ODM partner Inventec noting at a recently held investors conference that there will be no more follow-up orders for TouchPads from HP.
Ten must have free apps for your TouchPad
Updates for 9/3: Rue Du Commerce announced that they’re only allowing delivery addresses in France, Belgium and Luxembourg
Info1: Quand on sélectionne un point relais, on doit quand même justifier d’une adresse de livraison, qui doit être en France.
Info2: on ne peut pas limiter les commandes aux IP françaises, car bon nombre de nos compatriotes habitent dans le monde entier!
Info3: si un Italien commande sur notre site en pt relais avec une adresse de livraison bidon, bonne chance pour passer la vérif’ 😉
Oui RDC livre Belgique et Luxembourg depuis 10 ans !
Updates for 9/2: Rue Du Commerce is selling 1000 pieces (starting 9/7/2011 at 5AM UTC)
As expected, we look forward to seeing you on September 7th on www.rueducommerce.fr at 07:00 (check out France Time here)
On this occasion, we will sell this batch of tablets HP TouchPad on our site.
Some practical information:
– There will be 500 HP TouchPad 16 GB tablets for € 99 and 500 HP TouchPad 32 GB tablets for €129
– Only one tablet per household will be considered
– Of course, you can add to your cart accessory or article of your choice
– We have not received HP Pre3
(Source: Facebook Page of RueDuCommerce)
Updates for 9/1:
B&T, Erwin Comp, NewEgg, MacMall
RueDuCommerce.com announced in stock HP TouchPads on their Facebook Page but no price yet
Rue Du Commerce HP TouchPad Tablet Stock – 1000 units
Updates for 8/31:
See below for individual updates.
B&T, Erwin Comp, NewEgg, Office Max, PC Richard, PC Mall Gov
Updates for 8/30 HP Small Business:
Just got an email response from HP:
“Since we sold out of the current stock, we are building new units in order to fulfill orders received through 4am Monday, Aug 22. This means a delivery date in the 6 – 8 week range. Your order will be fulfilled.”
Order was placed Saturday August 20th 3:50 PM.
Updates for 8/29:
No update from HP yet and they have stopped taking email notifications. Every other retailer is sold out at promotional price.
HP Bryna Twitter Update:https://twitter.com/#!/BrynaAtHP
Directron briefly had units, possibly sams, but both now OOS
Newegg has a limited quantity and contacted people who set up alerts for the touchpad. This is first come, first serve – another batch will go out tomorrow if Newegg still has more to sell.
Updates for 8/28:
Staples also says “Out Of Stock”, because Touchpads are Out Of Stock. Staples sold out on Touchpads a week ago and did not get any more in. You cannot order any online or at a kiosk contrary to their site. SDers have gone to Staples and at the kiosk it is OOS also. They do not have Touchpads.
Updates for 8/27:
– Most Best Buy stores have no lines even as late at 7-10 am. There were a couple of exceptions in FL, VA and TX. Most stores have no new orders inbound. Come back to this article for the most up to date info.
-HP.com appears to be the last option. Tweeted 8/26/2011 – MarkAtHP and BrynaAtHP ( https://twitter.com/#!/BrynaAtHP/ ) confirmed that there will be no word on stock of TPs today or over the weekend so just go out and enjoy the weekend. https://twitter.com/#!/BrynaAtHP/status/107165812061769728
Please stop Quoting BrynaAtHP. There has never been any specific information given out by Bryna so far. It’s all something we already know. Unless a HP rep confirms it, its all speculation(while I agree Bryna/Mark seem to be little more then patsy’s for unwanted attention, they are in fact HP reps).
— So the notification site at HP is not specific information? Unless you can come up with something better than an HP employee, I think that’s the best there is for now.
or you can just keep checking for changes here after the weekend: HP tablet check stock at store
HP TouchPad Tablet
HP Tablet In Stock Recent UPDATES
Adorama
– One user received tracking number, ordered Sunday 9.55 AM CST.
– Another received tracking number, ordered Sunday 4:31 PM EST
Amazon.com (Lightning Deal)
– Nearly all orders should ship, many have reported shipping/delivery
– NO RETURNS ACCEPTED
– Rep. claimed more will be sold within a week (8/25)
B and T Commodities Back Up
– 9/6 4:52 P.M. – By Timothy Lawson
Quote from Timothy Lawson :
We have been working all day on getting these orders shipped!!!! We began with 1247 and have now stopped on Order Number 2115 we are awaiting for the bulk upload on the tracking numbers to enter into the database as soon as we receive those. We will be imputing those in. We will begin in the morning with order number 2116 and will update as we go along thanks to all customers for you patience ad understanding throughout this whole HP Fiasco.
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– 9/6 7:51 A.M. – By Timothy Lawson
Quote from Timothy Lawson :
Good Morning!! Had a wonderful Holiday,hope you all had one as well! We are now at the end of this HP Mess as I call it.All Orders will begin to be shipped today as promised. We will start with the order number 1247 once we begin you will see your status change from Awaiting fulfillment to awaiting shipment once we receive the tracking numbers your order status at that time will be Shipped please be patient as we have a lot of orders to process today please hold all calls unless it’s to cancel or place a new order for products other than the HP Touchpads!For questions or updates we will be Updating Facebook, Twitter, and Site throughout the day. Thanks for everyone’s patient’s and Understanding we hope to got out as many orders as we can today and finish the rest by tomorrow! we will let everyone know which order number we stopped with and which one we will begin with in the morning.
– New Lawson Touchpad update page!:
Update 09/01/2011 4:58PM By Timothy Lawson Called HP as promised this morning, left a message for Renata Wallace and Stephan Jensen the have not returned my calls. I called them again and Left Messages Still no returned call. I just called one more time for both and Left a final message to call me first thing in the morning. I will also call them first thing in the morning as well and try to get a definative answer from them. I have also had a meeting with Dell this morning for the Streak 7 will have a definative answer on those Tuesday due to Monday being a holiday. I have also been in negotiations with Toshiba on the Thrive today as well as Fujitsu on the Q550’s to hope to have some good news for all of you guys tomorrow everyone have a blessed night. Timothy Lawson
– 8/31/2011 3:22 PM from Tim Lawson Per the phone Call I have had with HP today. The lady who has our PO on Hold will be in the Office first thing in the morning and she will release the hold and get our Purchace Order shipped to the warehouse tomorrow.
– 8/30 – 7:49 PM EST HP is still saying we as partners will receive our shipment this week what was placed on the site is just some extra information we received from them to keep you guys updated on all HP news
– 8/30 – 12:35 PST Called B&T and spoke with Tim Lawson. They said they are still expecting a shipment to be received this week. however they are unsure of the exact date. He stressed that if anyone wanted to get a refund to please call them and they would do so right away.It sounds like they are still going to be shipping out as soon as possible, and that they were in talks with other brand companies that make tablets just as a backup.
– 8/26 – 10:00 AM PST Just spoke with B&T, they said they have confirmed shipment from 3 different distributors, however, they are closing the office immediately to prepare for hurricane as it was about to hit them (they were already getting strong winds and heavy rain), and they expect the hurricane to interrupt business and deliveries for about 3 to 4 days, maybe longer. They are still going to attempt a mid-next-week shipment for the touchpads, but safety comes first, and they may miss that target date depending on the hurricane damage and how long travel/deliveries are out, and the damage at their distributors. Be Safe B&T Employees, and Everyone on East Coast!
– Twitter Update on 8/25
Quote :
Update: We have received a conformation email for HP!!! all orders will be processed no later than middle of next week as Promised!
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– Note that they are charging $129.99 for 16GB. Price match to $99? — They will NOT price match – price will remain at $129.99.
– Received an order email from both Lawson Electronics and Paypal confirming order was placed…it is in Awaiting Fulfillment status
Subject: HP UPDATE FROM CEO
All Customers Who have placed an Order for the HP Touchpads we will be honoring all orders and not cancel any orders. All Orders are currently in the Awaiting Fullfillment Status. what this means is that we are waiting on HP who has allocated 7000 16GB and 7000 32GB Pads to deliver to our warehouse. As soon as we receive them we will then process everyones shipment and email tracking numbers to all. We are asking all customers to please be patient as we will have all orders shipped by middle of next week so please bear with Us! If any one has any Questions or concerns please call us at 1-888-887-7892 M-F 8:00am to 5:00pm EST
or email us at bt.c@live .com also if any wish to cancel their order please email the Order number and name to Kathy and we will process all refunds as soon as possible! Keep in mind that nobody else have these in stock! Be Very Careful of Scams! Make sure to please research all companies before paying your money! Thanks to all for your Business! Hope to make a lot of customers for life.
Timothy Lawson
CEO
Lawson Electronix
Barnes & Noble
UPDATE — IF YOU ORDERED A TOUCHPAD FROM BN.COM and the order was CANCELED, CHECK YOUR EMAIL — YOU MIGHT HAVE RECEIVED A $20 eGiftCard from Barnes and Noble!
B&H
– Some have received UPS tracking numbers showing delivery as early as Wednesday for most and even Tuesday if you live close to NY
Best Buy
WARNING: Watch out for anyone who claims to be able to provide you with real time inventories for stores. Please do not fall for this trick.
8/26 UPDATE: Lots of Best Buy B&M stores had stock on a first come first served basis. People stood in queues 3 hours prior to store opening & got one unit per person. Two of my friends & I were personally was at a BB B&M & was able to get 3 total 32GB touchpads. NO MORE STOCK EXPECTED. Some stores might still have it on Saturday! YMMV.
8/25 UPDATE : Picked up two from BB B&M this morning, and apparently there IS additional stock coming into *SOME* BB B&M. (Best way to find out is to go into a BB, with the SKU of the Touchpad you want, and ask them to LOOK UP THE SKU only. Dont mention Touchpad. See which stores have some “in transit”).So far I’ve gone to about 5 Best Buys and most tell me the same thing “We aren’t selling them anymore”, “No more are coming in”, “Our display models are showing up as in-stock online”. What this really means is that they are holding them until the morning so they can hand out vouchers (or holding them for employees). So far two stores that told me they will not get any more in did vouchers in the morning when they showed up as “in-store only”. In addition, being pushy with a manager made him change his story from “We aren’t getting any more in” to “Well we are getting them in, but we don’t know when”.
– Many B&M purchases. The majority of purchases from a B&M store will be from here. BB’s are getting sporadic shipments at MOST of their stores throughout this week.
If you want to try and get a HP Touchpad at BB you need to use the links below to check the 16GB & 32GB BB store inventory. If the tracker shows ‘in store only’ inventory late at night or early in the morning, it’s a good chance that store will have them available for sale and will hand out vouchers before they open. Expect a big line and you will need to camp out at least 2-3 hours before the store opens to have a chance. If you get a blank page after entering your zip code/city try using a different browser or clearing your cookies for the tracker to work again:
16GB HP Tablet in stock at BestBuy
32GB HP Tablet in stock at BestBuy
BJ’s HP Tablet In Stock
– Got back from BJ’s 08/23 12.30 pm with 1 successfull price match(purchase with full price on sunday). BJs drop price on website now. Sorry Sold Out
Aaron’s B&M HP Tablet In Stock
-Aaron’s has recently slashed the price of their in store HP TouchPad tablets. This has only been advertised in store and might not last long. I have successfully bought two 16GB HP TouchPads for $140.30 each after taxes. Please note that these include a pleather case and not the OEM one like in the title. As seen on this thread, only the Corporate stores are participating in this deal (deal won’t be available in franchise stores). You might find a hard time getting your hands on one because overzealous Store Managers want to bundle this with the lease of other items. There have also been reports of Store Managers refusing to sell it for the “retail price” that I paid. The only reason I believe the thread has negative votes is because I could not upload the proof [imgur.com] until I got home.
Buy.com
– Price was never lowered on website. Some users bought at full price on Friday/Saturday FROM Buy.com (not another vendor)–those orders are starting to ship as of Monday, 8/22. Buy.com has sent out emails confirming they will be crediting back the difference in price (at least, for the 16GB model), so customers will only end up paying $99 shipped.
Edit: I have not received an email yet (my full price order has shipped), so I did an online chat, and they did confirm that they will credit back the difference
User who bought full price seems to be being price adjusted for a couple of SKUS, but not for others. I bough full price and they admantanly refuse to adjust mine. Gave me a pre-paid return label for retuen, so i dont need to pay return shipping.
BuyDig
– NONE
CDW
– Several have reported shipment, while many others have reported cancellations
CompUSA/CircuitCity/GlobalComputer
– At least one order confirmed shipped from CC for 16g
-One order for a 16g has already been shipped and received from Global Computer.
CostCentral
-Up to date information about shipments on this thread. Go there and collaborate.
Costco
– All stock was sent back, but if you paid full price while they were in stock, there was an recent email from Corporate sent to EVERY store with a coupon to scan giving $350 off the purchase price. Just bring your original receipt. Some stores are still unaware of the email, and will tell you they will not price match ever. They are wrong, but call ahead to make sure. My refund actually included tax, so my full refund was $380.63. Total price pad for 32GB TP w/ a sleeve was $141.
Datavis
– 9/6 – 8:08 AM EST – Received email from DataVision stating a system error mistakenly regenerated a second email confirmation. They are removing the order from their system but are retaining contact information to re-notify when new shipments arrive.
– 9/5 – 7:15 PM EST – Just received an e-mail from DataVision “thanking” me for my order for the HP TouchPad even though it was previously canceled. Did they end up getting some in?
DataVis’s Facebook page
– 8/30 – 7:40 PM EST Datavision is cancelling all remaining orders. They have offered a 20% off coupon (up to $50) toward your next Datavis eBay purchase, and first crack at any additional touchpads they may receive. Please note that it is NOT a $50 certificate, but a 20% off coupon worth up to $50. This was confirmed by DataVision on Facebook. HP TouchPad Tablet letter
– 8/30 on Datavis Facebook Wall
- From Datavis facebook comments: Some people are now reporting that all orders will be cancelled as confirmed by reps over the phone. Can anyone here confirm as we I trust the users here more than those on facebook.
- Datavision just deleted all comments from their facebook page regarding the touchpad issue.
- Thanks again everyone. Nothing is being swept under the rug or deleted. We are fully aware of what was sent on record on email blasts, etc. It has to do with cursing, threats, and accusations. We are doing our best here to answer each person and email.
8/29/2011 8:38 on Datavis Facebook Wall
- Thank you for your patience, and we are sorry for the delay. This was our first day in from being closed for Irene. We unfortunately have not received the tracking as I hoped to have passed on to you at this point. The money has been drawn from our account, which we assumed was a good sign. We will give this another day or two before we decide what to do. If you have questions, please EMAIL us directly, as your names do not have contact info/order details and we would like to address everyone.
8/26/2011 on Datavis Facebook Wall
- We would like to again reiterate this should be a constructive venue for updates and comments. Threats for feedback will not make anything move faster. If you firmly believe HP’s problems which created an earthquake through their Authorized Dealer Networks is worthy of tarnishing one’s company 7000 times over. It is your prerogative.
- Continued: The way HP works for LARGE inventory is they allocate goods in distributor warehouses for US. We stock 99% of the items, including touchpads. The extended quantities are sometimes offered on hotter items as we have allocation and we can utilize their warehouse space.
- When the floodgates opened on Saturday (with no notice from HP), we sold this massive # in a short time. When we went to pull our stock, the distributors did not want to ship, though our goods were PAID for and confirmed. It took longer than expected and some legal threats, but the money was deducted from our account x 9500 units, which COVERS ALL OF YOU.
- Touchpads are in route and we will post a copy of our Bill of Lading as proof hopefully today. In addition, the bulk of the tracking #s will update tonight, with movement soon after. Please keep in mind we are working as fast as we can, we realize this will literally MAKE or BREAK our business. Please keep that in mind when you comment, threat, etc. tHERE IS ALSO A HURRICANE coming up our way, and we are not sure how much staff will be able to make it on Sunday. Again we will keep you posted.
- Lastly, with regard to more units after the committed batch. We believe we will get 1 last shot of them as HP is building more. YES they do cost more than $80-$90 and everyone that HP sold for $99 was a loss. You will get your item AT THE CHEAPER PRICE YOU PAID. The next batch for new orders will be considerably more. We do not know the higher price, but please also keep that in mind when complaining. Once again, thank you once again. This is one in a million $*#& storm that nobody could ever predict. We are confident it will be handled properly.
- Another mass email will also summarize the above and have further details later this evening.
eBAY
Try this search: HP Tablet in STOCK at E-BAY
eCost
Orders are being slowly processed and some orders are shipped.
8.24 Per email checking status Cancellations are on their way.
– 9/2 – Order cancelled (Order # 187824)
– 9/1 – I have not had my order cancelled or anything. Still showing no shipping information. I ordered mine @ 8:13am on 8/23.
Touchpad product page now says “OVERSOLD ON THIS PRODUCT. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY CONFUSION OR COMMUNICATION ISSUES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN MET IN A TIMELY MANNER.” erwincomp.com
Order cancelled 8/26
Update 8/28: I had an amount from ErwinComp pending on my card since I ordered it on 8/23, I finally got around to emailing them last night since I havent been able to get through via phone. I got a reply back from the Sales Team with the following message:
“We understand that you have questions regarding the availability of the Touchpad. Unfortunately, we are completely sold out of this unit at this point. Because we cannot guarantee delivery for this product within a reasonable amount of time, we have canceled your order. We have not charged your account. Pending authorizations are only temporary and should automatically drop from your account within 3-5 business days.”
– Update 8/31 Just got a cancellation email after never having tried to contact ErwinComp. It seemed until this point that only people who emailed to ask about the status of their order got the cancellation emails…I suspect everyone will be getting this:
Quote :
“Unfortunately, we are completely sold out of this unit at this point. Because we cannot guarantee delivery for this product within a reasonable amount of time, we have canceled your order.”
Expansys-usa
– Update 9/2
Quote :
Dear Customer, With regards to the HP Touchpad, We are currently still backordered on this product. There is no solid update from HP or our suppliers as to when this tablet might be avialable to fulfill your order, but the moment we receive any news we’ll update everyone. If you would like to keep your order in line we’re glad to do so, or you may cancel your order by emailing us at [email protected], or contact us at the number below. If you paid via a cash method, such as Paypal we can refund your payment at your request. Regards, Order Processing
Was told they are still waiting for stock and are hoping to ship out orders this week
email in response to inquiry of more stock: “We are expecting more stock” 8/29/11 9:30am
Frys.com
– NONE
FuturePowerPC.com
No longer listing the 32GB tablet. My order changed from “New Order” to “Processing”
order canceled. checked in paypal transaction history. ordered on 8/25 7:39 ET
HHGregg
– 9/4 – some people have reported success at stores in very limited quantities. Some stores report no stock YMMV
HP Home/Office, Academy, EPP
– 9/2 1:47 PDT – HP H&HO currently has the HP Touchstone Charging Dock back in stock for $55.99
8/26/2011 – MarkAtHP and BrynaAtHP confirmed that there will be no word on stock of TPs today or over the weekend.
8/25/2011 – 4:15a-4:30a – HP switched status from Coming Soon to OOS; there was never an option to buy.
Quote :
MarkAtHP: We have confirmed there will be no news today on #HP #TouchPad availability. There was no sale last night. #breatheasy cc: @brynatahp
BrynaAtHP Bryna Corcoran: K, you want the good news first? @markathp and I found out there was no sale last night. #phew
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– Hit or miss for those that ordered Friday night
– Anticipating new stock Wednesday, along with many other retailers
HP FAQ TABLET IN STOCK
FedEx Reference Tracking If your order “In process”, you may be able to track shipping. Put your order number into the “reference” section (beginning with H), then your country, then your zipcode.
– @HP Chat @8:43am EST 8/24 – Genevieve G. – Unfortunately no Touchpads will be released today. It would be by Monday, next week.
– when released TPs will be limited to one per customer/household
Update Noon Aug 25,I had been trying FedEx Reference Tracking with no luck. Logged in to HP Website and status was shipped. Still tracking number not in Fedex database.
HP Small Business
–9/2– Place my order on 8/20. Received email this afternoon
Quote :
Your order will be fulfilled at the discounted price. As we sold out of our existing stock very quickly, we are in the process of re-allocating stock to SMB customers. We should receive this stock within 2 weeks, at which time your order will then ship with free ground shipping. You will receive a shipping notification with a tracking number once your order has shipped. We apologize that these timelines are longer than indicated on the website at time of purchase.
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– 9/1 – Many of my friends, including myself, have had HP change their original order number for a variety of reasons and now cannot use the order status link as-is to track their order. Mine was because they credited me the expedited shipping since they didn’t ship it out in a timely manner. Because they credited my order, they also changed my order number. Using either of the order status links above takes me to the original order, but does not link to the new order number. If for whatever reason you get a message indicating that their VISTA system cannot locate your order, log in to the order status link #1 above. From within that window, paste the following javascript code into your browser, updating your customer ID (begins with an H) where the “@” symbol exists and your order number where the “#” symbol currently exists. This bypasses the initial order status update link and goes directly to their order processing system.
– So most of the orders placed during the weekend at SMB will be fulfilled. Wait for 72 hours to get the shipping notice. Even the SMB reps cannot exactly give you the status of your order because their inventory systems are overwhelmed by the number of orders that were placed so far and it needs to go through each order to acknowledge it and send out a notification to the purchaser.
– They are working on processing orders still
– They will NOT be restocking ever
– FedEx Tracker by Reference: https://www.fedex.com/AltRefTracking?cntry_code=us << Enter your HP order number as the reference, and select destination country and zip code. Shipments from Olive Branch are likely just paper. (Thanks to Divine_Madcat) ** I Ordered just the TouchPad and it’s coming in from Olive Branch, MS. So it may be TouchPad **
If package is 3.5lbs, it is the Touchpad.
If package is 5.8lbs, it is the paper for those that ordered it.
Order placed ~2pm PST on 8/20 arrived yesterday from SMB. Package weight showed as 5.0lbs (touchpad only, no paper)
Update 08/29 3:33 PM CST: I just got off the phone with HP SMB, they were not willing to give me a time more accurate then 6-8 weeks before I’d see my touchpad. Ordered 4PM CST on the 20th (Saturday)
Update 08/30 11:00 AM CST: Just got an email response from HP: “Since we sold out of the current stock, we are building new units in order to fulfill orders received through 4am Monday, Aug 22. This means a delivery date in the 6 – 8 week range. Your order will be fulfilled.” Ordered Saturday August 20th 3:50 PM.
– 9/1 Update. BrynaAtHP on Twitter – “The US SMB team is working to fulfill orders made prior to Monday, August 22 at 4am CT. Expect an email in the next 48 hrs updating you on delivery dates if you made the cut off time. Sounds like a shipping delay of a few wks.”
HP SMB Order checker:
HP SMB ORDER STATUS
– I ordered 8/21. Status showed waiting for credit approval. Later, status showed credit approved 8/23, order date 8/23. Status then showed order cancelled 8/24, order date 8/24. Later on 8/24, got conformation email. Even later on 8/24, got cancellation email. Online status still shows confirmed with order date 8/24 and ship date 8/28.
From HP SMB Website FAQ [hp.com] –
If you placed an order prior to 4am CT Monday, August 22, we are working through the large volume of orders, verifying payment details and seeking to source inventory for fulfillment. This process is taking longer than first anticipated. At this time, we cannot guarantee supply to all these orders but are working to supply as many orders as possible. If you saw a reserve hold for the amount of your order on your credit card and your order cannot be fulfilled, no actual charges have been made, and this reserve hold will be released if the order is cancelled.
Howard Computers
– Price has gone back up on their site. Those who got orders in at the discounted price are showing ship date of August 30th. *Edit* some orders are now stating “Estimated Ship Date: UNKNOWN ”
– Those who used Amazon checkout seem to be getting their orders cancelled
~
received this email august 24th
Quote :
Thank you for ordering from the Howard Technology website. As stated on our website, the HP Touchpad is on back order.
We here at Howard Technology Solutions are committed to fulfilling your order. The first 1,000 orders for the HP Touchpad have already shipped and we are in contact with Hewlett Packard and our vendors in an effort to fulfill our back orders. You will be notified when your order can be processed.
Jonathan Sieling
E-Commerce Manager
Howard Technology Solutions
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Talked with their customer support in the morning. They said mostly the order will be cancelled and money will be refunded. It does not sound like they are going to get the inventory from HP. They might have an update end of day today or tomorrow morning. I guess we are not going to get much from them!
Insight
-UPDATE: Ordered one TP on Aug 22 at the full price. Called insight.com, and CSR refused to do the price adjustment. Requested to talk to his manager and 5 mins later, the manager said “no” to me. AND 10 mins later, this manager called me again and told me they will credit those who bought TPs on Aug 22 at the full price! I believe this is official policy of insight.com
– Orders being Canceled. Your order will adjust to “Completed” and read $0.00. If you see this, you will NOT be getting a touchpad.
– I got a confirmation e-mail from Insight 8/22 @ 11PM CST. Site is back up. I can see my order in my account, no tracking.
– Talked to CS rep, everybody’s orders are on a 2 day credit hold. The orders that people can actually pay for will be processed. It is a first come first serve basis meaning if you ordered on the 23rd you probably won’t get a Touchpad as all the orders from the 22nd will take up their available inventory. Refunds will be issued for those who ordered but due to inventory insight will not be able to ship out the touchpads.
– Got an order shipped email at 4:47 AM PST; Fedex tracking number at website.
– Order was shipped on 8/23. Received it on 8/24.
J&R
– Out of stock. As of 4pm on 8/24 they’re saying they will NOT reimburse the price difference. See this thread.
Kheelan, Business Electronics
Kumputers.com (SHA Matrix, INC.)
Had some onsale for $50 above MSRP. site still shows 26 instock for the 16GB, likely OOS but worth a try. Placed an order for 3 16GB Touchpads and received a receipt/order confirmation instantly.
LaunchPadOnline.com
– Announced as live at approximately 10:40AM PDT on 8/25/11… Currently OOS!
– The site started showing this on their pages: **WE DO NOT HAVE HP TOUCHPADS IN STOCK!!**.
– Prices are currently listed as greyed-out with “CALL” next to the item listing.
– People have called in and were told that the TouchPad is OOS, and that existing orders would be canceled.
– Their item listing seems to indicate that they had inventory at one point in time, although it is extremely unclear how many they had.
– Online orders which were placed prior to the “Add to Cart” option being disabled are currently listed with a status of “Submitted”.
KMart
– 9/2 – Got a call from Kmart, they ran out of 16GB and offered free upgrade to 32GB but limit 1 per order. I have two 16GB in my order. It is the only option and I have to take it. One 32GB for $99 is not bad but I still want two 16GB for $99 each.
– Several people have reported successful price adjustments. For example see this post. +1 I had my 2 32gb PM, they are still in transit due in 8/29
– Update on an order (still listed as “Open”):
Quote :
Shaw: Christian, I have checked your order for Touchpad 16G WiFi 1 2GHz, the amount of $598.02 is refunded. Shaw: I checked for order status and see that the item is not shipping as this item is temporarily no stocked, however, it will be shipped as soon as the item is stocked. Christian: Are you expecting to receive more stock of the TouchPad? Shaw: Christian, I have checked the stocking details and see that the more HP Touchpad 16G will be stocked, as your order is already processed, the item will be shipped to you as soon as it is stocked and it will take 6 to 7 business days.
– Received a call today from Macmall saying my order will ship today 9/1/2011. My order was previously cancelled due to OOS, so you may be one of the lucky ones. If you see a call from California, make sure to pick up even if it has no caller ID.
– Just check order status, shipped with tracking number. Ordered before price drop; CSR called to confirm order and also lower the price.
– Orders made on 22nd are shipped! Even if you paid the cheapest ups shipping, it will be delivered in 2 days!
– If you ordered from the Macmall site before it went down on the 21st, and even got an order confirmation, they still likely canceled your order because they did not get the system with those orders back up until after they shipped their entire stock.
– Called MacMall 8/25 and was told shipment was cancelled after placing order on 8/21 (charges pending). Checked again online 8/26 and now shows a UPS tracking number that UPS says it can’t locate. MacMall placed another temp authorization on my card since my original one fell off.
Meijer
– Meijer is getting them in one at a time it seems. My dad works at Meijer and called me about 3:30pm on 8/25 to come buy the only Touchpad that they had. He said that he saw two other stores each had one in the area. We called the closer one and they had sold theirs. Also it seems they are only getting the 16GB in stock. Best bet is just call Meijer and ask someone in electronics to check inventory at the current store and nearby ones as well.
MicroCenter
– B&M stores will price match if you ordered online for pickup for the 32 GB version
– 9/2 – I got a call from Newegg on 08/31 and they shipped me the same day (I had placed the original order with them on August 21st but refused shipment since they did not price match so the customer service called me back and gave me a chance to re-order the same item) . Received the touchpad Yesterday. Thanks to Newegg for their excellent customer service.
– 9/2 – I got a call from Newegg at 11:08 AM Pacific (8/31) and ordered my 16gb Touchpad from Newegg. Delivered on 9/2.
– 9/1 – I got a call at 11:08 AM Pacific (8/31) and ordered my 16gb Touchpad from Newegg. Shipped UPS last night & should be delivered on 9/2.
– 8/31 – Newegg is starting to call people – $99 for 16 GB and $149 for 32 GB. I got a call from them 15 minutes ago. They are going to ask you for your e-mail and they are going to place the order online. I responded to neweggs email on 8/29/2011 at 6:33 PM pacific discussion thread
– 8/31 – I got a call at 11:08 AM Pacific and ordered my 16gb Touchpad from Newegg.
-Newegg currently has deactivated all of the TouchPads, their future status is unknown.
-Late in the week (Thursday/Friday), their inventory fluctuated between out of stock and in stock, people ordered with mixed results (stories of success and problems)
Newegg posted this on facebook during the week:
Quote :
Hi Fans! We want to let you know we are aware of the recent price drop on the HP Touchpads. We also want you to know that we will be reaching out via e-mail very soon to offer an appropriate price adjustment to all of our customers who have purchased HP Touchpads from Newegg – regardless of the date of purchase.
We apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience as we work through the details!
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People have started to receive letters.
-While it appears that newegg will be honoring the HP price drop, if you want to plan to not risk the order, here is some information.
– NO RESTOCKING FEE. free return label. Do NOT open the package.
– If your package from Newegg is being sent via UPS, you may take delivery, and if you DO NOT OPEN the package, you may give it back to UPS within 5 business days to count as REFUSED.
08-29-11 NewEgg Got this Email around 9pm:
Dear Valued Customer,
We’re pleased to inform you that you are eligible for a very limited-time opportunity to purchase the HP TouchPad tablet.
We have decided that the fairest method of selling our remaining inventory is to offer it to customers who requested an auto-notification, beginning with the earliest auto-notification request received for either model of the HP Touchpad. We are providing you with a limited window of time to purchase one (1) HP TouchPad tablet at the discounted price. Due to limited inventory, we cannot guarantee the availability of your preferred model. We want to make this opportunity available to as many customers as possible, so if you do not take advantage of this opportunity by 5:30pm PDT, 8/30/2011, your opportunity will expire.
Please reply before 5:30pm PDT, 8/30/2011 to this email to indicate your interest in purchasing an HP TouchPad. Include your desired contact phone number and time during the day you are most available. If you reply by this time, we will contact you over the phone to complete the order. Please note, that all sales will be final and Newegg will not issue refunds or exchanges for any reason.
We appreciate your patience and understanding while this decision was made. Newegg is dedicated to offering the best service possible in all situations.
Sincerely,
Newegg.com
Office Depot
– 9/2 – Received the following email:
Quote :
Great news, we now have inventory available to fill your recent order for the 32GB HP Touchpad Tablet. We have received some cancellations of confirmed orders, making a limited quantity of 32 GB Touchpad Tablets available to fill backorders. Orders will be filled in the order that they were placed, while supplies last, and subject to approval from your credit card provider. We want to be able to fill as many orders as possible so we are not accepting any new orders for this product. If you still want to receive your order, please reply to this email to confirm your interest. We must receive your reply no later than 11:59pm on Tuesday, September 6th. We expect to ship orders the week of September 12th and you will receive an updated email notification at that time. If you no longer want us to fill this order please reply to let us know and we’ll be happy to cancel it immediately. Thank you for choosing Office Depot.
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– The above email is suspicious. I called OD and they confirmed that their official communication would mention the order number and their CSRs would be able to verify every email sent out on an order. Don’t respond with any personal info/Payment info.
– 8/28: I received 2 Touchpads that I ordered using my account on 8/26. By the time, my wife ordered using her account, it was back-ordered. On 8/23, she received an email that said her order would be cancelled.
– 8/24 – Some people who got ship confirmation are not receiving product on delivery date and refunded. Check status, says not on truck for delivery. fiasco.
-Office Depot is price matching orders once they are rec’d by the customer. They will match $99.00 for the 16gb and $149.00 for the 32gb (Confirmed)
– My order from 8/20 4:07AM EDT delivered today 8/24 6:30 PM EDT. (1-32GB)
– My order from 8/20 1:11AM PDT has changed to “Delivery Scheduled” and then “Shipped” (8/23 10:30PM PDT)
– My order from 8/20 1:21AM PDT just shipped (8/24 2:44AM PDT)
– My order from 8/20 2:31AM Central RECEIVED – Called OD and they Refunded $30 to my credit card. THANKS OD!
– Some have called Customer Service and have been told that their order has either been shipped or is going to be shipped the following day and have been told to call back later for tracking #.
– Email received regarding back order :
Dear Customer:
Unfortunately, we regret to inform you that we are unable to fulfill your back order for the HP Touchpad Tablet.
– at least one shipping confirmation.
– Two shipping confirmations now. Shipping from Tukwila, WA, United States wherever the heck that is.
– Rep at 8AM said that they had 42 32GB items in stock, and 23 32GB back ordered, and they were likely going to cancel the back ordered item.
– My full price order of $435.19 for the 16GB that I made Saturday Morning shipped yesterday (8/22) and is out for delivery today (8/23). Called customer service and they gave me a $326.40 credit.
– 8/24: This is to inform you that your item 23119509 on your order # XXXXXXX is shipping from a different warehouse. If there is a delay over 7 days we will contact you with an estimated ship date.
– 8/24: Orders made before 12:15 on 8/20 should be shipped today, according to the CSR. Orders made after this might be delayed.
– 8/25: Just received cancellation notice from OfficeMax, and page states it is canceled. Previously told 3 times I would receive one the next day.
– 8/26: email response: “Thank you for your email. As far as we know, we will pull the Touchpads from every possible location. We are waiting for our sources to advise if we will receive more stock. I apologize for this inconvenience.”
– 8/30: email response: “Due to HP discontinuing their TouchPads, no longer being able to source the item, and the depletion of our stock; all backorders related to these items are being canceled. ”
– 8/31: email response: “It was brought to our attention that HP may be shipping additional inventory to its suppliers. Our Merchandising team has contacted HP and is pushing to acquire enough stock to cover the orders we had to cancel. We have saved all canceled orders, and if we are successful in attaining additional HP TouchPads, we will contact you to fulfill your order. ”
OnSale via Amazon.com
Here is consolidated links where you can raise your voice regarding Onsale, pl note civilized language with reasoning is effective than cursing
Official statement from OnSale regarding HP TouchPad orders
http://store.onsale.com/n/Hp-Touc…Pages-1383
Onsale seller feedback on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/feedback/leave-customer-feedback.html?ie=UTF8&ref_=ya_38&tag=slickdeals&t= slickdeals& [amazon.com]
Reseller rating
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Onsale
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/PC_Mall
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/MacMall
Amazon product review, pl mention specifically Onsale so that other retailers/sellers are not affected
http://www.amazon.com/9-7-Touchpa…roduct_top
PCMall wikipedia page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Mall,_Inc.
Phone number of the founder Frank F. Khulusi
Phone: 310-354-5600
SD thread for onsale
http://slickdeals.net/forums/show…?t=3226796
Comments on onsale wall of FB
http://www.facebook.com/onSale?sk=wall
FB page for customer agains onsale
http://www.facebook.com/onSaleprotest
Onsale president direct email
[email protected]
PCMall websites
pcmall.com, macmall.com, pcmallgov.com, gmri.com, wareforce.com, sarcom.com, abreon.com and onsale.com
8/27 Don’t understand all the backlash on onSale but not on other companies that also cancelled many orders. I remember this forum was buzzing that there’s no way onSale had that much inventory in stock and expected their orders to be cancelled. Yet, folks continue placing orders and now trying to destroy the company. Guess I was lucky or early to the party. Received mine 16GB within 3 business days of order.
Did you recieve your OnSale order? Poll
Huge wave of cancellations went out on 8/24 just after noon PDT. Amazon has completely removed the order from my history, no sign that it ever existed A handful have received notice that their order has been shipped. OnSale thread is thread. A few have reported receiving credit from Amazon for their trouble.
Link to Amazon to leave them negative feedback:
Amazon Feedback Leave one star, just say bad experience [amazon.com]
Want to send a message via Amazon, but can’t contact them because your order vanished? Copy the code & put your order number in it
Code:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact/contact.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&orderID=104-*******-*******&sellerID=A33Y0YQUZ2NYD5
Just insert your order number in after you copy and paste the code.
Also, write a review on ResellerRatings:
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Onsale
IF YOU GOT BURNED BY THIS SHADY COMPANY MAKE SURE TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. IT TAKES 2 MINUTES.
BE SURE TO ALSO LIKE “CUSTOMERS AGAINST ONSALE” IF YOU WERE CANCELLED OR AFFECTED” http://www.facebook.com/onSaleprotest
A lot of people seem to be under the mistaken impression OnSale is being rated down for simply canceling orders or being overwhelmed by demand. This is not the case at all. Reasons people are upset include:
- By most accounts, they in fact DID NOT fulfill orders on a first come first serve basis–despite statements to the contrary on their Facebook page. There are reports from folks who ordered 1 or 2 hours into the sell receiving multiple tablets while many ordering a single unit right as it went live were unceremoniously canceled.
- By some accounts, their Amazon inventory actually went OOS a few times throughout the course of the sell but was quickly replenished. Many take this to suggest they either had a manager monitoring the sell in real time (knowingly overselling) or a script auto-replenishing inventory.
- There are allegations that Macmall (parent company of the OnSale and presumably pulling from the same warehouses/inventories) also fulfilled many orders that occurred AFTER the Amazon onslaught. Many suggest this was done to avoid the percentage Amazon takes out for their Marketplace service.
- OnSale posted on their Facebook page that people who “Liked” them would receive order priority.
- To date, OnSale themselves have attempted ZERO communication with their customers. After withholding funds for 3-4+ days with no contact whatsoever, Amazon.com has been the sole author of any and all correspondence (including cancellations). OnSale hasn’t even issued a simple apology.
Approximately 1/4 of Slickdeal members who voted in the poll received their touchpads. Interesting enough any comments that are positive from this company keep getting edited out of the wiki. That’s equally shady. OnSale screwed the pooch with overselling but MANY people did get their orders.
PC Connection
– Ordered as soon as the link went live, then posted here. Ordered 2 32gb tablets, both have shipped and should be here Wednesday.
– 9/3 – Confirmed receipt of the shipment from 8/29. Got my 16GB touchpad! Two more 32GB on their way.
– 9/2 – They appear tired due to end of government fiscal year orders (non-TP). Nice rep admitted they had gotten in ~300 and had contacted orders first come first served. Said they maybe had 50,000 orders. Only one person apparently has control of stock so others cannot talk CSRs into an order. Originally was told price was original, then said if called price will be the sale price. This one is wait & see again.
– 9/1 – There have been reports that several people are getting calls from PCMallGov asking if they’re still interested in buying TPs. Personally I ordered 2 more 32 GB models and I already have a shipping number.
– 8/31 – PCmall shipped mine on 8/29 received 8/31 Ordered on 8/21 at 8:30pm (status showed discontinued for over a week. Received no cancellation emails rec 2 TP today)
– Ordered at 4:33 PM PST on Saturday August 21st. Order actually had a shipped on 8/23/11 notice, however this is not the case. Up top on order status it shows CANCELED. No confirmation of anyone receiving a shipment from pcmallgov.com (on of the sister sites of PC Mall, Mac Mall, On sale, etc.).
– 8/27 – Order previously showed Cancelled, now shows “In Process, Automatic CC Auth”. Might be shipping soon, might be cancelled again.
– 8/29 – 3/4 of my order was cancelled (2 of each model), got a tracking number for a 16GB. Shipped! (not received yet) Scheduled Delivery on September 2nd.
PCmall shipped mine on 8/29 received 8/31 Ordered on 8/21 at 8:30pm (status showed discontinued for over a week. Received no cancellation emails rec 2 TP today)
– 9/2 – Call from PC Richard Salesperson, TouchPad available for PICKUP ONLY. Store 65.
– 8/31 – Multiple quotes from twitter:
Quote :
We will not be canceling orders until we are 100% certain that we will not be receiving more TouchPads. Still waiting to see.
|
– In reference to the last twitter posting, this confirms < 20 touchpads were given to online orders on the 30th. They treat the online store as a single B&M store.
Quote :
Yes  For this circumstance we’re counting our online orders as another “store” so they’re getting the same piece of the pie. 11 hours ago
|
– 8/30 – Update from twitter regarding brick and mortar orders. I email them and they said check back at the end of the week for online order.
Quote :
We received a shipment yesterday and each store will soon be getting less than 20 pieces each to fulfill orders in the order they were received. If you ordered from the East Brunswick store and were one of the first to do so, you’ll be hearing from them soon.
|
– http://www.tweetdeck.com/twitter/PCRichardandSon/~OxvqR
– 8/29 – Talked to CSR – He said they won’t know anything until Friday. They expect to get more touchpads from HP, just not if they’ll get enough to fill all the orders. Should know by next Monday whether orders will be cancelled or not.
– E-Mail received at 10:11PM EST:
Quote :
Dear Valued P.C. Richard & Son Customer: Due to the overwhelming and unexpected demand for HP TouchPad tablets, we are sold out. It is currently unclear whether our existing purchase orders with HP or any additional orders will be fulfilled. We are waiting for a definitive response from HP on the status of these orders and will contact you again by e-mail with more information as it becomes available. We do apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience in this matter. If you wish to cancel your order, you can write to us at [email protected] with your name, contact and invoice numbers or call us Monday through Friday at 877-727-1909 [] from 9am to 7pm for a full refund. Otherwise, please look forward to our update. Thank You, P.C. Richard & Son Internet Team
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– For people who ordered over phone. My local PC Richard & Son called me this afternoon (August 25) and said that since I ordered more than 1 HP TouchPads, I have to put more deposit down (more than 10% I initially had) or pay in full to keep my order. Otherwise my order will be cancelled. If I pay in full, my order will be put on hold guaranteed if they receive a shipment. They don’t allow paying in full over phone, have to go to the store for that.
POSGlobal
– 9/6 – The remaining order are being cancelled as expected. Both my orders placed on 9/5 at 6:04 am EST with CC’s have been cancelled.
– 9/5 – Many orders placed overnight. Those placed with credit cards received order confirmations and number immediately. Monday morning page was removed and cancellations are expected. Page appears legit but also looks like a drop seller or at least does not carry in stock. Other products on their site listed quantities whereas the touchpads said “call for availability”. By afternoon many have received cancellations although either mainly later orders and/or those using Google Checkout.
ProVantage
– NONE
Radio Shack
– NONE
Sam’s Club
– Off and on stock today (Mon)
– As of this afternoon (8/23), Sam’s Club has started sending out shipping confirmations including FedEx tracking numbers for orders placed on Saturday, 8/20.
SeaBoom
– Drop ship seller, hold charge on Paypal, no confirmation email.
– Paypal cancelled temp hold on behalf of SeaBoom’s request.
Sears
– one lucky guy got price match by chat for 16gb – mrkk http://slickdeals.net/forums/show…ount=35447
– I bought one on Saturday full price. Called on Sunday since I saw the price reduced to $149.99 on their website. Got the email with the credit given yesterday – waiting for my tablet in the mail
– Price match by calling. got price match and refund right away. took less than 5 min!!
-Out of stock forever, confirmed.
Staples
– 9/3 3 AM EST As of 3 AM EST Staples has pulled the HP TouchPad 32 GB. In-store kiosk no longer has this product.
– Staples inventory checker link.
– They had some 32GB models in store on Saturday (8/20). Some people picked some up, others did not. Most stores were OOS by Sunday (8/21)
– Never had stock online when price dropped, the people that got it for $49 bought it before Friday and got it price adjusted.
Target
– NONE
TigerDirect
– Shipping notifications have been sent out to those who were able to buy one. Check order status to confirm.
The Products Store
–16 GB [theproductsstore.com]
-32 GB [theproductsstore.com]
-Ask about availability before you order <<<< no guarantee you’ll get it quickly
-Now showing “site under maintenance” after being unresponsive all day. We actually managed to break the website. Who’s next, newegg?
Walmart
– Mostly B&M purchases
Zones.com
-08/24/11 Spoke with CSR Kevin during my first call. Apparently, they received 4500 orders for 1000 units. They have not shipped any out. They are currently going through the order and canceling all orders with multiple units ordered. That in addition to people who have been canceling they feel they will be able to finally release the 1000 units to ship by tomorrow. He said call back this afternoon as more information will be available and they may be receiving more stock from HP depending on their final order amount.
8/26/11 Spoke with CSR. She said today is when they should be learning how much they were able to receive from their incoming stock. They will use this stock to try and fufill those ordered that were backordered. If your status has changed from backorder to in process there is still no guarantee that it means you’re getting one. You can call to have a CSR request updated order status for you and they can call/email you the information.
-8/26/11 E-mailed Zones about order status. Received this e-mail:
Our current inventory is fully committed. We are working with HP to secure additional inventory if it becomes available to fulfill any backorders. Unfortunately, your order is currently on backorder status. At this time we do not have an ETA for the ITEM.
Items on backorder will not be charged to your credit card until they are shipped.
I ordered a 32GB @ 12:54PM EST on Monday. Order has been “In Process” all week, never listed as BO. Also selected FedEx 2nd Day.
-8/26/11 3:30 pm CST: my order status changed to “shipped” with a fedex tracking number. received an email confirmation of shipment about 30 minutes later. i ordered one 32gb at 11:34am CST on 8/22. Order # is 1547xxx. CSR told me this morning that my order was “in the warehouse” and that this meant the order would get shipped today. shocked to see that she was right.
Talked to Zones customer service. Apparently the cutoff was 9.00 am PST on 8/22. Mine was 8.55 am for one 16GB which shipped today. They got orders of 50 and 100 which threw their systems off. They now limited max one could order to 10.
8/27/11 9:36am MST: I got a shipping confirmation email and tracking number for my 32GB model. I ordered mine on 8/22/2011 around 10:00am MST. When I called they had just ran out of 16GB and had a few hundred 32GB left according to the CST. Yea, good luck to others still waiting.
HP Tablet in Stock STILL LOOKING?
While you’re waiting, try your luck at TouchPad Bingo: http://i.imgur.com/9HkWU.jpg
Places Previously Live With Drop (SOLD OUT):
USA:
* MacMall [macmall.com] – (Sold Out)
* OnSale via Amazon – 16GB $99 + $5.77 shipping [amazon.com] – (Sold Out)
* OnSale via Amazon – 32GB $149 + $5.77 shipping [amazon.com] – (Sold Out)
* Amazon Lightning Deals (16GB) [amazon.com] (Sold Out)
* Amazon Lightning Deals (32GB) [amazon.com] (Sold Out)
* B&H [bhphotovideo.com] (Sold Out)
* CDW (Sold Out)
* BJ’s (Sold Out)
* Conn’s, in-store only YMMV
* Datavis (priced at $120 and $170) [datavis.com](Sold Out)
* Datavis on eBay [ebay.com] (Sold Out)
* Fry’s (Sold Out)
* HP Home & Office – 16 GB [hp.com] (Sold Out)
* HP Home & Office – 32 GB (Sold Out)
* HP Small & Medium Business – Call at 1-866-625-0242 OR 1-(800)-277-8988 for ordering. (Sold Out)
* J&R(Sold Out)
* Kmart – 32GB [kmart.com] (Sold Out)
* MicroCenter – 16 GB(Sold Out)
* MicroCenter – 32 GB(Sold Out)
* Office Max [officemax.com] (Sold Out)
* Office Depot (Sold Out)
* PC Richard (Sold Out)
* Radio Shack (Sold Out)
* Sam’s Club (Sold Out)
* Target (Sold Out)
* Walmart (Sold Out)
* HHGregg [hhgregg.com] (Sold Out)
* CostCentral – (Sold Out)
* Zones.com @ $99 and $149 800-408-9663 (Sold Out)
* Staples (Sold Out)
* Sams Club HP TouchPad webOS 3.0, 32GB, 9.7″ – Wi-Fi [samsclub.com] (Sold Out)
* Sams Club HP TouchPad webOS 3.0, 16GB, 9.7″ – Wi-Fi [samsclub.com] (Sold Out)
Canada:
* Best Buy Canada (Sold Out)
* FutureShop (owned by BBY) (Sold Out)
Places Without Price Drop OOS:
* Barcodegiant (Sold Out)
* CircuitCity [circuitcity.com] (Currently Unavailable)
* Meijer (Sold Out)
* Newegg (Sold Out)
* Overstock (Sold Out)
* ProVantage (Sold Out)
* Sears — 32 GB [sears.com] (Sold Out)
* Vann’s (Sold Out)
* Buy.com (Sold Out)
* BuyDig (Sold Out)
* CompUSA.com Check in Stores
* Costco – Shipping units back to HP, possibly available in stores YMMV. They are now matching the $99 or $149 price on past purchases.
* Insight.com [32 GB](Don’t believe numbers – they won’t be selling any) [16 GB](Don’t believe numbers they won’t be selling any)
* Newegg (Sold Out)
* Tiger Direct (Sold Out)
* Geeks.com (Sold Out)
* La Curacao [16GB] [32GB]
* Zones (Sold Out) (Product page no longer available)
* CostCentral (Product page no longer available)
* CompuVest (Product page no longer available)
Places Without Price Drop In-Stock:
===============
HP Smartphone sales:
EDIT: DEAD. Just called at 6:30PM EST and they are OOS on the veer and Pre 2
All HP smartphones are also on sale for a special $49.99 if you call SMB and ask to buy one. They show “out of stock” in the home and office store, but I just ordered one and the rep told me it would be shipping later today. Received a confirmation immediately after the phone call. Wait times are currently about 5 minutes. Pre 3s are still not available in the US, but they have dropped to $74.99 in the UK if you wish to buy one.
Too bad it’s late again for many of us. I just called and waited ~10 mins. The rep told me they’ve been taking phone orders all the time till about two hours ago. I left my contact info and hopeful that they’ll get some more phones and call me back
You can try ordering one online from SMB and then calling for a pricematch, but this is not guaranteed!
Retailers of the smartphones have not yet begun to drop their prices, but keep your eyes out for that.
AFTER PURCHASING HP TABLET
Touchpad FAQ [patyuen.com]
Make sure you do a software update when you get the device!
New Touchpad Owner?? SD Thread Here: http://slickdeals.net/forums/show…&t=3245523
Polls
How Greedy? How Many Have you Purchased? Poll
Which one did you get? Poll
Why did you buy one? PollWhat OS will you ultimately put on your Touchpad? Poll
Would you buy a Touchpad(s) last week if HP discounted 50% off instead? Poll
Watching movies(avi,mpeg etc)/hulu on your Touchpad
To watch hulu, movies etc.. on your touchpad, you can use your home PC as the intermediary to do so. Make sure your firewall is properly set to do this.
Out of the box, Hulu.com won’t let you watch movies. But you can watch Hulu directly on your Touchpad by following these directions: http://claptop.com/2011/08/make-hulu-work-on-hp-touchpad/
I advise you to first overclock your Touchpad to maximize the performance you’d get from Hulu.com. Wayne Brady, Son!
Install Tversity media server on your laptop/desktop. After installation, add the files you want to view on the library tab. To add an avi file, go to Library, File system, Files and click add item on top. After the item is added, open cmd prompt on your computer, and type “ipconfig”
There you should find your IP address. Note this down.
On your touchpad, open a web browser, then type in http://:41952/flashlib
For example, mine was http://192.168.1.0:41952/flashlib
There you should be able to browse your folders to find the video you are looking for. One problem is that you can’t rewind/forward etc.. I’ll still take it
Installing Preware and Overclocking your TouchPad
*Official Preware Homebrew Documentation – [developer.palm.com]
*How to: Overclock the HP TouchPad to 1.5GHz or 1.7GHz – [webosbuzz.com]
*Another simple installation guide for Preware – [webosbuzz.com]
*Better guide for Preware for Mac Users – [johnbiehler.com]
*How to improve the performance of your new HP TouchPad – [zdnet.com]
*Great cheap metal stand – [Cheap metal stand] [goo.gl]
*Compact Bluetooth Keyboard compatible with HP Touchpad – [Compact Bluetooth Keyboard] [goo.gl]
webOS Punditry
*TechCrunch on why you should leave your Touchpad stock – [techcrunch.com]
*PCWorld on the future of WebOS – [pcworld.com]
*ThisIsMyNext on the $99 TouchPad phenomenon – [thisismynext.com]
*Blamza! Honeycomb to TouchPad port – [blamza.com] [blamza.com]
hp will refund ANYONE who purchased at full price? Link [theunlockr.com]
Free 50Gb Cloud Memory
You can get 50GB of free storage at Box.net with the activation of your TouchPad
Bringing Box to the HP TouchPad[blog.box.net]
Apps for your shiny new webOS!!
http://h41112.www4.hp.com/promo/webos/us/en/apps.html
UPDATE:
Quote from MPREZYA :
I just was toying with my 32gb Touchpad and have discovered that Amazon Video On Demand/Prime Videos works and runs rather well (SD haven’t tried HD yet). Audio holds up well but it did take me using the pop out function on the player over full screen to get it to fill the screen and not go wacky/upside down and hang. I did have it hang slightly when first starting it up but pausing and allowing it to buffer allowed it to self correct. I have video I took of it playing Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas I will try and upload (or if someone wants I can e-mail it to them to upload here).
|
===============
ACCESSORIES:
HP HOME accessories [hp.com] starts slashing prices 20% NOW 30% off
SEARCH EBAY (All USA Sellers)
“9.7” LCD Screen Protector For HP TouchPad 16GB 32GB” $3.90 shipped for one.
“3x LCD Screen Protector Guard For HP TouchPad WiFi 3G” $6.69 shipped for three.
“3pc LCD Screen Protector+Stylu?s FOR HP TouchPad Tablet” $6.99 shipped for three + a stylus.
“Hard Shell EVA Case (Black) for HP TouchPad” $10.99 shipped for a hard case.
Best Buy accessories [bestbuy.com] Best Buy has slashed many accessory prices to 50% off. Note: Save an additional 15%- 20% if you purchase 3-4 or more. Automatic discount when you add quantity of 3 or more to cart. Thanks whitedit & Digitaltj
HP TABLET KNOWLEDGE BASE
@ all the people confused about tracking #’s that show as delivered. Large companies get a pool of tracking codes that they get to use that are usually recycled. Once a company receives an order it sends the shipping company confirmation that it will use that number. you are given that # but since it is recycled it will not update the tracking info until the package is scanned at the distribution center. For people in this situation i would assume you will be receiving your package. It basically means your item is packaged up and a label has been printed it just hasn’t been scanned in by the shipping company
===============
DEMO MODELS
YMMV. As of the afternoon of 8/22/2011, several users have reported success activating their demo units with the assumption that HP has released the lock that they had against Demo models. Previously, it was not possible to create a WebOS account from a Display / Demo unit. However, some users still have no success. Fortunately, HP technical support has officially posted instructions [hpwebos.com] to contact them to ship demo units to their repair facility.
Additional notes which may be outdated:
Got Demo Models?? Here is work Around to update webOS.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1229254
Confirmed, according to HP Support Forum [hp.com], Precentral 1 [precentral.net], Precentral 2 [precentral.net] the demo TouchPad can be reset so that it won’t install the demo software, but it still will be unable to create an account. Thanks to BluMaterial, original post below.
Chat room [tinychat.com] to discuss this deal. This thread is too long and crazy.
===============
From HP Rep on Twitter – HP is Out Of Stock TEMPORARILY
as of 5pm Saturday
http://h41112.www4.hp.com/promo/webos/us/en/tablet/touchpad-availability.html – link [hp.com]
https://twitter.com/#!/BrynaAtHP/
===============
Orders from hp.com
* (HP.com) $30 off $150 – use coupon code SAVE30HP (for 32GB model add a cheap filler such as paper [hp.com] and order them one at a time) – YMMV
* (HP.com) $15 off $75 – use coupon code SAVE15HP – YMMV
* (HP.com) $30 off $150 on Online Orders with Coupon Code: TECHBARG30 – YMMV
Misc
* PayPal may or may not work on HP.com
* Signup for a new EPP account using company code: EP4297 — https://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/register_epp.do
* Signup for HP Academy (similar to EPP, gets the discount): https:…ter_app.do
===============
Orders from HP Small Business
BrynaAtHP Bryna Corcoran [twitter.com]
Update from SMB: If U ordered b4 2pm ET on Sat. U were in the 1st batch orders. Well done you were ahead of the curve. #justthemessenger
They are out of stock forever, so do not bother ordering from them now. It is uncertain how many of the weekend orders will be fulfilled, but they are trying their best to process them still.
Here is the status description table:
| Field Name |
Description |
| Admin |
Your order has been received and validated by the HP order desk. |
| Production |
Your order has been moved into manufacturing and is in the production stage. |
| Production Done |
Your product has been built and is ready for shipment. |
| Consolidation |
The consolidation order status appears for all orders that have been produced and have moved to the consolidation hub. Consolidation occurs for those products that need to be bundled together before shipment. |
| Shipped |
The products have been shipped from the HP premises and are on their way to the customer. |
| Delivered |
The products have arrived at customer facilities and Proof of Delivery is returned to HP. There may be orders for which HP is not able to receive a Proof of Delivery in which case the status of the order will remain as ‘shipped.’ |
===============
TouchPad Details
* 9.7″ 1024×768 IPS screen, 1.2ghz Snapdragon dual-core
* Discontinued by HP (along with all other WebOS devices) just 7 weeks after launch (7/1/11 US)
* There WILL BE an android port available.
RootzWiki now has a Dump of the Qualcom Android port for the HP Touchpad. Rom should be incoming shortly!!! Source: http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/08/25/android-2-2-1-system-dump-from-hp-touchpad-now-available/
Also see (latest updates + dump download): http://rootzwiki.com/showthread.php?t=3692
Link to RootzWiki Touchdroid Android Project Thread – http://rootzwiki.com/showthread.php?t=3327
Touchdroid team webpage – http://www.touch-droid.com
Hacknmod Reward (up’d to $2000) for Android on HP TouchPad as seen on Hackaday: http://hackaday.com/2011/08/22/bounty-for-an-hp-touchpad-android-port/
Link to PreCentral discussion about Ubuntu: http://forums.precentral.net/webos-development/289421-ubuntu-touchpad.html
More on Ubuntu for touchpad: Ubuntu On Touchpad [infogenra.com] Thanks LinuxKoss
Things to be careful while trying to install ubuntu:
Installed ubuntu(+xfce). Pics here: http://s1200.photobucket.com/albu…/skmslick/
This is not meant for the faint hearted or linux noobs. Must know jargon (ssh, chroot, novaterm). Try at your own risk.
Caution: 1. You MUST backup your profile to webos server before beginning with meta doctor (creation of ext3fs) but AFTER installing preware. Otherwise after creating ext3fs and rebooting, when you go to first start screen with webos credentials, your preware will be GONE
2. Also, you MUST build the metadoctor after uncommenting the line INSTALL_WIFI_PROFILES = 1. Otherwise you cannot connect to wifi.
3. Guides on lilliputing, infogenra are fairly simplistic. You must read each link they refer to and follow the instructions carefully (must definitely have an idea of architecture in which you are building – important for installing novacom drivers/palm SDK).
One user received a Touchpad that shipped with Android 2.2 – http://www.droidmatters.com/news/video-is-that-android-2-2-running-on-the-hp-touchpad/
Another detailed video of the Touchpad running on Android http://www.droidmatters.com/news/hp-touchpad-tablet-running-on-android-2-2-1-says-hi-to-mr-blurrycam-again/
HP TouchPad Tablet Teardown [designnews.com]
HP Touchpad running on Android is up for grabs for the highest bidder on eBay: http://www.droidmatters.com/news/hp-touchpad-running-on-android-is-up-for-grabs-for-the-highest-bidder-on-ebay/
Link to things to know “Before You Buy”
GPU Performance (Adreno 220): http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/touchpad-webos-tablet,2994-12.html
IPS Display Performance (Adreno 220): http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/touchpad-webos-tablet,2994-14.htmlLink to things to know “Before You Buy”
Guide/Info: http://www.smallcloudbuilder.com/tablets/reviews/417-read-this-before-you-buy-that-cheap-hp-touchpad
Bill of Materials (including detailed components/chipset list): http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/Pages/HP-TouchPad-Carries-$318-Bill-of-Materials.aspx
Illustrated HP TouchPad Repair Manual: http://www.ifixit.com/Device/HP_TouchPad
===============
WebOS its still alive! here is where you will find all the support you need…
How to: Install Preware on Your TouchPad
[webosbuzz.com]
How to: Overclock the HP TouchPad to 1.5GHz or 1.7GHz
[webosbuzz.com]
===============
A Gallery of the best WebOS Apps:
The 20 Best Apps For The HP TouchPad
http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/266394/the-20-best-apps-for-the-hp-touchpad
http://allwebosapps.com/
10 Apps for your new TouchPad
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/10-apps-for-your-new-hp-touchpad/3899
So, you just bought an HP TouchPad? Here’s what you need next…
http://www.precentral.net/new-touchpad-tips-apps-accessories
The Official HP Palm Blog – “How does a cool, refreshing, and free 6-Pack sound?” Six Free Apps
http://blog.palm.com/palm/2011/08/6-pack.html
Top 10 WebOS Apps:
http://www.precentral.net/round-table-precentral-editor-top-10-webos-apps
WebOS Apps for Newbies:
http://anotherguy.us/69/list-webos-apps-for-newbies/.
Top 15 Apps for WebOS 3.0:
http://www.precentral.net/best-hp-touchpad-apps-webos-3-0
Best Tablet optimized apps:
http://www.apptvonline.com/blog/best-tablet-optimized-webos-apps-hp-touchpad
Top 10 Apps you need:
http://www.bestappsblogger.com/2011/02/20/top-10-necessary-and-best-apps-for-hp-touch-pad/
App Gallery
http://www.precentral.net/app_gallery-app_catalog
http://www.hpwebos.com/us/support/handbooks/touchpad/HP_TouchPad_UG.pdf
Improve performance on your touchpad
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
HP Touchpad User Guide (PDF) – Learn How to use your new Touchpad and all of it’s features
http://www.hpwebos.com/us/support/handbooks/touchpad/HP_TouchPad_UG.pdf
or
Got a slow HP TouchPad? Here are 3 easy ways to speed it up
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/got-a-slow-hp-touchpad-here-are-3-easy-ways-to-speed-it-up/
Touch Pad Web OS apps support :
1 ) IF you want PULSE app for WebOS, Please do vote. click below link :
Pulse News Reader [getsatisfaction.com]
2) IF you want Wunderlist app for WebOS, Please reply, Click below link to reply :
Wunderlist Request link [6wunderkinder.com]
TouchPad battery is not user replaceable. – I guarantee you someone will make a touchpad battery available for sale and someone else will find a way to replace it.
Touchpad battery replacement DIY guide. From Ifixit.com Installing-HP-TouchPad-Battery [ifixit.com]
More HP TouchPad Repair Manuals HP TouchPad Repair Manuals [ifixit.com]
Thanks, the battery will never die!
agreed
Things to do with your new Touchpad
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391500,00.asp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msLk_Nmeo3o&feature=player_embedded
Hitler was here too! Haha.
How to improve the performance of your new HP TouchPad
How to make your HP TouchPad faster:
The first thing a new TouchPad owner should do is to minimize the logging done by the OS.:
- Go into Settings and click on “Device Info”
- On the top left menu (named “Device Info”) click on “Custom Application”
- Enter ##LOGS#
- On the subsequent Collect Logs screen, select Change Logging Levels
- Hit the Set Logging To Minimal and confirm
Another method of quitting out of apps (Minimize) without pressing the button?
When you are in an App, put your finger as low on the screen as possible, then quickly swipe upwards, this will do the same as pressing the button. Also, if you do it on the home screen then it will switch to the Launcher.
If you are having problems updating your HP. Get the latest webOS doctor. You may need to do this as current load on webOS servers is extremely heavy due to the huge influx of new touchpad users. To do this, go to your main PC (NOT your touchpad) and first visit your palm profile and log in (same username and pass as your HPTouchpad)
https://ps.palmws.com/palmcsext/console/pages/LoginPage.iface
From there, go to device options, and select webOS doctor. Once it’s downloaded, run the program.
Now, take your touchpad (still not plugged into the computer) and turn it off. Insert the USB cable into the touchpad but NOT into the computer just yet. Hold the volume button while turning on the touchpad. This will bring up the USB picture on the touchpad. Once you are at this point, run webOS doctor up until the point where the “next” button is greyed out and it asks you to plug in the touchpad.
Now plug your touchpad into the computer via the USB cable and like magic you’ll have a properly updated touchpad.
As of 8/24/2011 @ 11:00am
Update on the Android on Touchpad project:
On top of that the current project took a sour turn when they lost their best dev… many speculators believe this may be the nail in the coffin for Android on HP. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391767,00.asp
Response: Just because one member of the group stole money doesn’t mean the project will stop. All they did was shut down the twitter account and say they’re still developing but going into “stealth” mode
Counter-Response: I know the devs and without the missing dev, at best this is going to put a HUGE delay on Android.
Counter-Counter-Response: Who said they are the only devs working on porting android to the touchpad. There is even a touchpad that was shipped with android from HP, here is some proof [youtube.com]
Response: You are reading into your proof. Most experts and analysts believe they were just using the Touch Pad hardware as a testing ground for a future device and the hack has little hope of seeing daylight. http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/qualcomm-already-had-android-running-on-the-touchpad-20110823/
Counter-Response: From the article you linked 
“I’m given to understand that this might take out a lot of the steps in between having a stock TouchPad and having an Android TouchPad, and the guy who owns this tablet is rumored to now be working with the RootzWiki team. Maybe a step-by-step to getting Android onto the TouchPad is now much closer than before. I guess we’ll find out soon enough!”
Response: http://www.touch-droid.com/statement.pdf
-Regardless, the project has been dominated by internal fighting and finger pointing almost from the start so that it’s not immediately clear how quickly (if ever) an Android port will be available.
Look here to find out how to find your onsale/amazon order number to check its status on their webpage.
NOTE: thread provided as a service, source: SlickDeals
On Augus 27 is the 82th birthday anniversary of Ira Levin, mystery and suspense writer, dramatist and songwriter, awarded with The Grand Masters Award by the Mystery Writers of America in 2003.
Ira Levin‘s work generated a worldwide interest and inspired lots of famous movies. Rosemary’s Baby (the best known novel), A Kiss Before Dying (Edgar Allan Poe Award), The Boys from Brazil, The Stepford Wives, Sliver, Deathtrap (the best known play), This Perfect Day (Prometheus Hall of Fame Award) are among his writings.
Ira Levin became early attracted by mystery and writing.
When he was twelve Ira Levin was fascinated by the magicians of Tannen’s Magic Shop in Times Square and he learned about concealing reality behind illusion. He liked detective stories and had a collection of mystery books. Anagrams played major roles in Rosemarys’s Baby and Son of Rosemary. Ira Levin continued the tradition of using the transposition of letters (Lon Chaney Jr. in Son of Dracula) and basics of cryptology (Poe in The Gold Bug).
Ira Levin said he had considered being a writer from the time he was fourteen or fifteen years old. “Before that I wanted to be a magazine illustrator – I probably would have painted Gothic scenes.”
He was accused thinking ahead to the movie script while writing. He denied saying he is a playwright at heart.
Ira Levin's "Stepford Wives" entered the common vocabulary
Ira Levin‘s first novel, A Kiss Before Dying (1953) won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America as the year’s best first mystery.
The Underground Gourmet published in 1954 was adapted for TV and appeared on G.E. Theater, hosted by Ronald Reagan.
Rosemary’s Baby (horror, 1967) was a best-seller (over 5 million paperback copies in the U.S.) and it was translated into lots of languages. It became a horror classic and a milestone. It was followed by books and movies about Satan (The Omen, The Exorcist and others). Ira Levin felt somehow responsible for the rise in Christian Fundamentalism, but “I didn’t send back any of the royalty checks,” he said.
Ira Levin read Future Shock (Alvin Toffler, 1970) and was fascinated by its references to domestic robots. The animated figures in the Hall of Presidents at Disneyland also enchanted him. In this way The Stepford Wives (satirical thriller, 1972) emerged. It tells about men’s desires. The way they found to fulfilled them was considered insulting by Women’s Lib Movement. The word Stepford entered the common vocabulary, with meanings from someone who allow his/her role in society to be dictated to someone resembling an automaton, someone conformist, submissive, or unemotional, mechanical.
This Perfect Day (heroic science fiction, 1970) was often compared with Brave New World (Aldous Huxley), and 1984 (George Orwell). Generally, Ira Levin just tells the story without making any judgements regarding the basic state of the human race, but in this novel he talks about absolute control over the human emotions and desires.
Ira Levin saw an article on cloning that included a picture of Adolf Hitler and that was the beginning of The Boys From Brazil (thriller, 1976).
Three of his mystery novels begin with similar facts: Rosemary Woodhouse is sure she would enjoy living at the Bramford (Rosemary’s Baby), Joanna Eberhart thinks she has found the perfect home (The Stepford Wives), Kay Norris is delighted to move into 1300 Madison Ave (Sliver, 1991).
The basic premise of Ira Levin’s Deathtrap (1978) is: How far will someone go to have a hit play? and it was a hit play, it ran for 1,792 consecutive performances.
“Ira Levin makes the fact that we’re going to die okay. That’s one of the things that horror novels in general do.” said Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk.
Ira Levin died from a heart attack on November 12, 2007.
A very rare signed copy of the Beatles hit single Please Please Me is expected to make thousands of pounds at Beatles Memorabilia auction.
The seven-inch copy of Please Please Me is described as “very, very rare” and has an estimate of £7,000 to £8,000.
Beatles Memorabilia, the annual auction which takes place in the band’s home city of Liverpool, also includes a number of times belonging John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr as well as their manager Brian Epstein.
A very rare signed copy of the Beatles hit single Please Please Me is expected to make thousands of pounds at Beatles Memorabilia auction
Other highlights of this year auction are 3 rarely seen photographs of Beatles taken at Newcastle City Hall and the Sunderland Empire as Beatlemania was sweeping the world in November 1963.
The pictures were taken by Keith Perry, a freelance photographer, and the negatives were forgotten for 48 years.
Each photo is being sold with full, worldwide copyright and they are expected to attract a frenzy of bid.
A cap belonging to John Lennon is also expected to attract huge interest and carries an estimate of up to £4,000.
Among the more unusual items up for sale is a compulsory purchase order issued for the famous Cavern Club before it was filled in with concrete in the early 1970s.
The order, dated November 17 1970, carries an estimate of up to £5,500.
Other Beatles Memorabilia collected from the Mathew Street venue include a piece of the stage, which could fetch £1,600 to £1,800.
A programme of the Cavern Club reopening, carried out by then prime minister Harold Wilson in July 1966, has a guide price of £80 to £120.
The auction is also inviting bids for a telegram addressed to “Mr. G Starkex” sent by comedy star Peter Sellers to Ringo Starr and first wife Maureen on August 21 1968.
The message is to let them know that the weather is holding up for Sellers’ visit to see them.
“The annual sale, part of the Beatles Convention in Liverpool, is attracting huge levels of interest,” the organizers said.
Stephen Bailey, manager of the Liverpool Beatles Shop which is staging the sale, said:
“The memorabilia has just kept coming in and there’s a lot of excitement building.
“We have several signed singles this year and they always attract a lot of interest from fans and collectors.
“But it’s always the more unusual items which capture the imagination of the buyers.”
There are a total of 322 lots being sold in the auction, which will take place today in the Paul McCartney Auditorium at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
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