NEC NP-V260X

The back of the NEC NP-V260X ($550 street) is bristling with ports and jacks that make it a good fit for a classroom or conference room?s data projection needs. Though it?s light enough to be easily portable, it?s best suited for use within a school or company rather than being lugged by a road warrior. In our testing, its image quality was decidedly better for data than for video. The DLP-based NP-V260X has an XGA (1,024 by 768) resolution, a 4:3 aspect ratio befitting data presentations. Its brightness is rated at 2,600 lumens.

The NP-V260X, a white projector with rounded corners, measures 3.7 by 12.2 by 9.7 inches (HWD) and weighs a reasonably light 5.5 pounds. Two factors make it less portable than it could be. Unlike most projectors in its weight class, it does not come with a carrying case. It also lacks a port for a USB thumb drive, meaning that it can?t run a standalone presentation and you?ll have to have a computer or other image source on hand for it to connect to (or at least access to a network).

As for connectivity, it does have an HDMI-in port, something we?re seeing in XGA as well as higher-resolution projectors. It also has S-Video, and the three RCA jacks for composite video and audio. There are 2 VGA-in ports for connecting to computers (each with its own audio-in jack) and one VGA-out for a monitor (with an audio-out jack). An Ethernet port for LAN connectivity and an RS232 port for PC control round out the picture.

Data and Video Image Testing

Although at 2,600 lumens of rated brightness, the NP-V260X is slightly dimmer than the similar the 3,000-lumen NEC NP-V300X ($779 direct, 3.5 stars), it?s still bright enough so the image, sized to about 65 inches in a diagonal to fill our test screen, stood up well even under considerable ambient light.

In my data image testing using the DisplayMate suite, the NP-V260X showed reasonably good image quality, and should be more than adequate for use in typical business and educational presentations. There was some color fringing at the borders between very bright and very dark areas, and some minor tinting of white areas. White-on-black type was reasonably sharp except at our smallest test size, which is typical of an XGA projector.

All single-chip DLP projectors are potentially subject to the rainbow effect, in which bright areas seem to break up into little red-green-blue rainbows. People vary in their sensitivity to it. I noticed it in the data test images that tend to bring it out, but wasn?t unduly distracted by it.

Video testing was a different matter. Rainbows were readily apparent in high-contrast test scenes, such as the apocalyptic battle scene at the beginning of Terminator 2. The effect was more pronounced than is usual with DLP projector, and was distracting to me?I seem to be about average in my sensitivity to the effect.? The NP-V260X is okay for short video clips as part of a presentation, but I?d hesitate to use it for longer clips, let alone movies.

Other Issues

The projector?s built-in audio system, which employs a single 7-watt speaker, is loud enough to fill a small conference room, with about average sound quality. The NP-V260X is 3D ready, using DLP Link, though you need active shutter glasses (which cost at least $50 a pair) to view content in 3D.

The NEC NP-V260X provides many more connection choices than most of the less expensive XGA business projectors we?ve looked at; the similarly priced Epson EX5210 Multimedia Projector ($549 direct, 3.5 stars) does add a port for a USB thumb drive as well as a USB port for connecting to a PC. The NEC NP-V300X provides similar features to the NP-V260X but at a higher brightness and price. If you need much higher brightness and better data image quality (and no rainbow effect) in an XGA-resolution projector, consider the Editors? Choice Epson PowerLite 1880 MultiMedia Projector ($1,399 direct, 4 stars). But apart from sticker shock, you?ll also pay a price in reduced portability, as it weighs 7.2 pounds?and like the NP-V260X, it lacks a carrying case. The NEC NP64 ($1,099 direct, 4 stars) is far more portable (3.9 pounds), bright at 3,000 lumens, and does come with a case.

More Projector Reviews:

??? Acer X1261P
??? NEC NP-V260
??? NEC NP-V260X
??? Epson EX5210 Multimedia Projector
??? Optoma HD8300
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/Aom0jydlsss/0,2817,2399224,00.asp

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White House delays release of 2013 budget

	Essential News from The Associated Press

? ?Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-23-Obama%20Budget/id-093ede074fc846d5b25218ed2d383908

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The nations weather (AP)

Weather Underground Forecast for Monday, January 23, 2012.

The strong storm system of the Plains will continue to provide active weather to the East on Monday as the system lifts northeastward from the Central Plains to Wisconsin by the morning and Lake Superior by Monday evening. Moderate to heavy snowfall will fall in the northern edge of this system from the Mid-Mississippi Valley through the Upper Great Lakes. Meanwhile, abundant moisture ahead of this system will trigger a mix of rain, freezing rain, and snow in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Significant ice and snow accumulations will be possible by Monday evening. To the south, widely scattered showers with periods of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms will develop ahead of an associated frontal boundary moving through the Eastern Valleys and Gulf Coast States. Light to moderate showers will also be possible in the Mid-Atlantic, to the north of an associated warm front.

In the West, a powerful storm system carrying a significant plume of moisture will provide more rain showers and heavy high elevation snowfall to northern and central California. Isolated thunderstorms will also be possible across much of central California with locally heavy rain, gusty winds and small hail. Precipitation from this system will spread into the Central Great Basin, southern California, and the Southwest. Meanwhile, precipitation is expected to continue in the Northern Intermountain West. Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Sunday have ranged from a morning low of -28 degrees at Clayton Lake, Maine to a high of 84 degrees at Robstown, Texas

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_re_us/us_weatherpage_weather

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Video: TreeHouse Foods Lowers Q4 Forecast

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46072339/

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6 Things to Know Before Starting a Business

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

An entrepreneur?s life can be a real roller coaster. Having started a few businesses in my career, I thought it would be useful to highlight some of the hard-won experience I?ve learned throughout the process ? the kind of advice I wish I?d known when I started my first, or even second, business.

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1. Don?t Underestimate a Business Plan

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If you?re not seeking outside funding at the start, it?s tempting to forgo writing out a formal business plan. However, taking the time to write out your business plan, forecasts and marketing strategy is a particularly effective way to hone your vision. All planning should center around two essential questions: How is my business serving a particular need or pain point, and does this represent a major market opportunity?

In addition, don?t overlook the exit strategy at the beginning. Do you want your children to take over the company? Do you want to sell it? It?s critical to think about these questions from the start, as the building blocks of your company (such as legal structure) should vary depending on your preferred final outcome.

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2. Don?t Get Stuck in the Past

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My husband and I launched our first online legal document filing service in 1997, and then re-entered the market with our second company in 2009. While our previous experience certainly gave us a leg up the second time around, we soon realized the market landscape had changed dramatically since our first company. We had to stop dwelling on previous competitors, customer needs and service expectations and write a brand new playbook.

The marketplace and your business plan are living entities; they?re continually in flux. Whether it?s your first company or fifth in a given market, you?ve got to keep asking: What do we need to do today?

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3. Don?t Hire Friends

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I form bonds quickly and make fast friends with people around me. While I generally consider this a positive trait, it has created some difficult situations when running a business. At times I have been reluctant to let employees go even though I know it?s not a good fit. If things aren?t working out between an employee and startup, it?s time to put feelings aside and trust that the person will find a better situation elsewhere.

Unfortunately, I?ve also learned that people can let you down, ranging from laziness to fraud. I still believe that faith in people is a good thing. However, blind faith can bring trouble.

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4. Don?t Dive in Without a Plan

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Just like the business plan, it?s critical to think through any initiative you wish to launch. When you?re in the midst of startup fever, it?s easy to get wrapped up with every new idea. However, be careful of losing focus. Moving forward is critical for any startup, and constantly switching directions can impede this forward progress. With each new idea, step back and think how it fits into your company?s overall goal and vision, then create a plan for how to make it happen.

---

5. Don?t Fall Into a Discount Trap

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At the beginning, too many young companies feel the pressure to heavily discount their prices in order to win business. While customer acquisition is important, attracting customers at unsustainable price levels will just result in a race to the bottom. After all, raising your prices on goods and certain services can be a tricky proposition. I?ve learned that you?re better off in the long run focusing on how to bring more value to customers, rather than simply slashing your prices.

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6. Don?t Be Afraid to Fail

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Soccer coach Sven-Goran Eriksson once said, ?The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.? An entrepreneur?s path is uncharted and sometimes a little bumpy. It?s easy to get stressed or downright panicked, but you cannot let fear prevent you from following your dreams. Think of it this way: the sooner you fail, the closer you are to discovering what works.

---

Conclusion

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While you can?t guarantee the outcome of any new venture, you can stack the odds in your favor. These are six lessons I?ve learned over time and countless others are out there. If you?re open, you can gain wisdom from everything you try and gather insight from fellow entrepreneurs. What do you wish you knew when you started your first business?

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ineskoleva

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/01/21/6-things-starting-business/

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New watchdog agency reviewing payday lending (AP)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? The Obama administration's new consumer protection agency held its first public hearing Thursday about payday lending, an industry that brings in some $7 billion a year in fees nationwide.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said testimony from the session in Birmingham ? where City Council members recently passed a six-month moratorium on new payday lending businesses amid concern over their prevalence and high interest fees ? would help guide the development of future regulations.

Director Richard Cordray said the bureau recognizes the need for short-term loans, but the lending needs to help consumers, not harm them.

"Before this month, the federal government did not examine payday lenders," Cordray said. "Some state regulators have been examining payday lenders for compliance with their state laws. We hope to use our combined resources as effectively as possible."

About 19 million American households now have payday loans, officials said. With interest rates often in the teens and easy application procedures, lenders said they generate business through radio and television advertising, plus word-of-mouth and by locating offices in areas where other small-loan lenders are located.

Many in the standing-room crowd of more than 400 were lending company customers or employees who wore "I Choose Payday Advance" stickers provided by the industry.

Tanzy Bonner told a panel she got a payday loan to cover the cost of her 6-year-old's birthday party; LaDonna Banks said she got one because she couldn't work after donating a kidney to her brother.

"I borrowed the money, I paid the money back," Banks said.

Steven Hoyt, a Birmingham City Council member who supports the moratorium, urged the agency not to be swayed by such stories because the loans come with exorbitant interest fees.

"It's fleecing by any other name," Hoyt said.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been in the spotlight because of Republican opposition to its formation and President Barack Obama's use of a recess appointment earlier this month to tap Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general, as its director.

With GOP legislators blocking the nomination because they said the agency lacks sufficient congressional oversight, Obama installed Cordray ? a move that Republicans said was an unprecedented power grab. Democrats disagreed, saying Republican presidents routinely filled vacancies by the same process. Obama nominated Cordray after congressional Republicans opposed consumer advocate and Harvard University professor Elizabeth Warren becoming director.

Republicans kept up the criticism over the bureau's formation as Thursday's hearing began. The chairman of the Alabama GOP, Bill Armistead, said Cordray's decisions "could have devastating impacts on an already fragile economy."

"The last thing we need is another big government agency putting more regulations on our businesses," Armistead said in a statement.

Often criticized by advocates for the poor, payday loans are short-term, high-interest loans that work like cash advances. Storefront payday loan operations are prevalent in middle- to lower-income areas around Alabama, sometimes taking over closed convenience stores or fast-food restaurants.

Loan amounts in Alabama are capped at $500 by state law, which limits the maximum interest rate to 17.5 percent. An industry website said the annualized interest rate for a 14-day loan of $100 tops 456 percent.

In a typical transaction, a borrower writes a check for $117.50 and gets $100 from the payday lender, who holds the check for a short period before depositing it. If the customer needs the check held another two weeks, he pays another $17.50 fee.

Officials said more than 20 percent of Alabama households have taken out loans from payday storefronts or similar businesses at more than 1,000 locations statewide. Opponents said the businesses prey on people who lack access to traditional loans when they get in a pinch for cash.

"People get churned through the system six, eight, 10 times a year," said Stephen Stetson, a policy analyst at Alabama Arise, a Montgomery-based anti-poverty organization. "If we have laws against gouging for gas and water, we ought to have laws against gouging for loans."

The head of Ohio-based Community Choice Financial Inc., which operates in Alabama and more than a dozen other states, said the industry serves some 60 million people nationally and already is regulated by states, licensing requirements and federal disclosure laws. CEO Ted Saunders said he was offended by suggestions that payday lenders take advantage of poorly informed people.

"Listening to what you heard here today, you'd think my thousands of employees go to work every day to hurt their neighbors," he said. Rather than enacting sweeping federal rules, he said, states should concentrate on getting rid of "bad actors" in the business.

A Democratic state lawmaker in Alabama also expressed concern about the potential for new regulations, defending state oversight of the industry and arguing that low-income people need access to quick, easy-to-obtain loans. Many people can't walk into a bank and get a loan or withdraw money from an automatic teller, said Rep. Oliver Robinson of Birmingham.

"The people who live in my district don't have alternatives," Robinson said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_us/us_consumer_watchdog_payday_lending

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Google results fall short, rare miss hurts shares (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) ? Google Inc's quarterly results fell short of Wall Street's heightened expectations for the holiday season as declining search advertising rates contributed to a rare miss, triggering a 9 percent slide in its shares.

The No. 1 Internet search engine underperformed on both revenue and earnings in the fourth quarter, disappointing investors who had counted on record U.S. online-commerce to prop up results.

Its shares dived to about $583 in after-hours trade, from the Nasdaq close of $639.57 before the results. Several analysts zeroed in on an 8 percent drop in cost-per-click, or money paid by advertisers to the company, versus analyst estimates of a slight increase.

"Expectations had got ahead of themselves for Google, largely because investors don't have a good feel for what happens outside the U.S.," said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Jordan Rohan. "North America has remained strong, but there are parts of the world where there's a lot of economic pressure.

"I would have to assume Europe -- particularly Germany and some others undergoing austerity measures -- the underlying demand in those countries is weak."

Google's net revenue, which excludes fees shared with partner websites, was $8.13 billion in the fourth quarter, versus $6.37 billion a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S were looking for $8.4 billion.

That shortfall marks an unusual slip-up for a company that has exceeded Wall Street's revenue targets for eight consecutive quarters.

The number of clicks on Google's search ads increased sharply during the last three months of the year, but the cost per clicks -- the money that Google charges advertisers for the ads -- decreased 8 percent from the third quarter and 8 percent from the year ago period.

Executives on a conference call blamed foreign currency effects and changes in ad quality formats.

EXPENSES SWELL AGAIN

Operating expenses increased to 32 percent of revenue during the fourth quarter, from 30 percent of revenue in the year-ago quarter.

Google said on Thursday it earned $2.71 billion, or $8.22 per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $2.54 billion, or $7.81 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding certain items, Google earned $9.50 per share, lagging estimates for $10.49 a share.

Some analysts questioned whether Google was investing heavily on projects -- such as its Android mobile software or Chrome Internet browser -- at the expense of the bottom line.

Another new initiative -- the fledgling Google+ -- appeared to be gaining momentum. Executives said three-fifths of the service's estimated 90 million users "engage" with it daily, and four-fifths do so weekly. User engagement or time spent on the social network, which Google hopes can eventually take on Facebook, is key to determining future revenue potential.

"Google+ investments are showing some results. They are investing in future revenue growth," said Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry.

For now, Wall Street wants answers on Google's mobile strategy as it dives into a fiercely competitive smartphone market through its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola.

Investors have been uneasy about Google's plans to buy Motorola, a deal the companies expect to close early this year. Chief Executive Larry Page has never fully detailed his long-term strategy for the asset other than saying it will be run as a separate company. Analysts say the company fears alienating Samsung Electronics and other Motorola rivals that helped Android become the world's foremost mobile-software system.

Executives said more than 250 million devices powered by Android had been activated since its inception.

"Google got hit with the ugly stick," said Fort Pitt Capital analyst Kim Forrest. "You've got to ask yourself, 'Where is the money going? What are they spending it on?' I have a feeling it is on platforms like Chrome and Android, and things like that."

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco; Editing by Phil Berlowitz, Edwin Chan and Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/search/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/bs_nm/us_google

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