Saturday, November 9, 2013

Connie Britton Rightfully Enters Texas Abortion Debate

Actress Connie Britton knows where she’s needed. Heeding the call of meme arbiters who say Britton should play Wendy Davis in the Lifetime movie version of Davis’s difficult upbringing and heroic filibuster (a story recently co-opted by Rick Perry), the actress has weighed in on the Texas abortion debate. USA Today reports Britton has teamed up with Planned Parenthood Action Fund on a T-shirt that refers to a strong, pro-choice Texas woman she’s already portrayed — Friday Night Lights’ Tami Taylor. “What Would Tami Taylor Do?” ask the $22 to $32 orange and white shirts. “I have been inspired by how people around the country have united to stand with the women of Texas,” Britton said in a statement, “and I can't help but think that, in this moment, we all have the opportunity to join with and become strong, powerful Texas men and women.”


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Nokia buys controlling stake of Nokia Siemens Networks for $2.2b

Nokia to fully acquire Siemens' stake in Nokia Siemens Networks

Nokia Corporation
Stock Exchange Release
July 1, 2013 at 07.00 (CET +1)

Espoo, Finland and Munich, Germany - Nokia Corporation and Siemens AG today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Nokia acquires Siemens' entire 50% stake in their joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks. The acquisition has been approved by the Board of Directors of Nokia as well as the Managing and Supervisory Boards of Siemens, and is subject to the customary regulatory approval process.

The purchase price for Siemens' stake is EUR 1.7 billion and the transaction is expected to close during the third calendar quarter of 2013. Upon closing of the planned acquisition, Nokia Siemens Networks will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nokia.

Stephen Elop, President and CEO of Nokia, commented: "With its clear strategic focus and strong leadership team, Nokia Siemens Networks has structurally improved its operational and financial performance. Furthermore, Nokia Siemens Networks has established a clear leadership position in LTE, which provides an attractive growth opportunity. Nokia is pleased with these developments and looks forward to continue supporting these efforts to create more shareholder value for the Nokia group."

Joe Kaeser, Siemens CFO, commented: "With this transaction, we continue our efforts to strengthen our focus on Siemens' Core areas of Energy management, Industry and Infrastructure as well as Healthcare. The full acquisition of Nokia Siemens Networks by Nokia offers an attractive opportunity to actively shape the telecom equipment market for the future and create sustainable value."

Nokia Siemens Networks was established on April 1, 2007, as a joint venture combining Nokia's Networks Business Group and Siemens' carrier-related operations for fixed and mobile networks. Nokia Siemens Networks has since become a leading global provider of telecommunications infrastructure, deploying networks that help people stay connected in more than 150 countries around the world. The company's focus is in offering innovative mobile broadband technology and services.

Nokia will continue to consolidate Nokia Siemens Networks for financial reporting purposes as well as continue to strengthen the company as a more independent entity.

Accordingly, Nokia plans to retain the existing management and governance structure at Nokia Siemens Networks, with Rajeev Suri continuing as CEO and Jesper Ovesen continuing as Executive Chairman of the Nokia Siemens Networks Board of Directors, which will adjust to the changing ownership structure.

Nokia Siemens Networks' operational headquarters will remain in Espoo, Finland, and the company will continue to have a strong regional presence in Germany, including its major hub in Munich. Nokia supports the current management plan, including the already in-progress Nokia Siemens Networks restructuring plan that remains unchanged as a result of this announcement.

In accordance with this transaction, the Siemens name will be phased out from Nokia Siemens Networks' company name and branding. Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks plan to confirm the new name and brand at the closing of the transaction.

The purchase price totals EUR 1.7 billion, of which EUR 1.2 billion will be paid in cash at the closing of the transaction. The balance of EUR 0.5 billion will be paid in the form of a secured loan from Siemens due one year from closing. Nokia has obtained committed bank financing for the EUR 1.2 billion cash portion.

At the end of the first quarter 2013, Nokia had gross cash of EUR 10.1 billion and net cash of EUR 4.5 billion. Nokia currently estimates that at the end of the second quarter 2013, Nokia had gross cash of between EUR 9.2 billion - EUR 9.7 billion and net cash of between EUR 3.7 billion - EUR 4.2 billion. For comparison purposes, if the transaction to purchase Siemens' 50% stake had been closed during the second quarter 2013, Nokia currently estimates that it would have ended the second quarter of 2013 with gross cash of between EUR 9.2 billion - EUR 9.7 billion and net cash of between EUR 2.0 billion - EUR 2.5 billion, reflecting the deduction of the purchase price of EUR 1.7 billion from Nokia net cash.


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Vodafone launches a 4G mobile hotspot, suffers from premature dispensation

Vodafone launches a 4G mobile hotspot, suffers from premature dispensation data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 320};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20643493' !== '') ? 'bsd:20643493' : ''; var postID = '20643493'; var modalMNo = '93319229', modalVideoMNo = '93320648', modalGalleryMNo = '93304207'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"acp-ld39.websys.aol.com",channel:"us.engadget", s_account: "aolwbengadget,aolsvc", short_url: "",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,",prop1:"article",prop2:"peripherals",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"", prop22:"daniel-cooper", prop54:"blogsmith",mmxgo: true }); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("348-14-15-14d",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93319229", "LB", "LB"); adSetType("");}}); EngadgetMenu NewsReviews Features Galleries VideosEventsPodcasts Engadget ShowTopics Buyers Guides Sagas Store Hands On More Betterer HD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Blackberry Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93308280", "215", "35",'AJAX','ajaxsponsor');}});Vodafone launches a 4G mobile hotspot, suffers from premature dispensation MobileBypostedJul 1st, 2013 at 8:47 AM 0

Vodafone launches a 4G mobile hotspot, suffers from premature dispensation

Camping outside a store for weeks on end has been done to death now, so what can you do to score some early adopter cred? How about buying a device to use on a service that doesn't exist... yet. That's Vodafone's thinking behind launching its first 4G wireless hotspot, two months before its LTE service begins rolling out. The Vodafone R212 will connect up to 10 devices simultaneously, comes with a 32GB SD card reader, a 2,800mAh battery and will, thankfully, connect to the company's 3G network as well. It'll set you back £39 up-front if you sign up for a plan offering you 1GB of monthly data for £10 a month.

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Lightning electric motorcycle bests gas-powered bikes at Pikes Peak

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Lightning electric motorcycle bests gas-powered bikes at Pikes Peak

With 156 turns over its 12.42 miles (19.99 km) course and elevation changes ranging from 4,720 ft (1,440 m) to 14,110 ft (4,300 m), Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is one of the most grueling races in the world for both humans and machines. It's particularly challenging for gas-powered vehicles, since the air contains less oxygen at higher altitudes. As a result, electric cars and motorcycles have gained popularity at the event in recent years. In fact, 2013 marks the first time an electric bike's beaten its gas-powered rivals, with Carlin Dunne and Lightning Motorcycles finishing the race in 10 minutes 0.694 seconds -- ahead of Bruno Langlois who managed 10 minutes and 21.323 seconds on a Ducati Multistrada 1200 S. While electric vehicles are expected to dominate Pikes Peak in the near future, it's going to take a few more years before autonomous cars win the event.

[Image Credit: Jensen Beeler / Asphalt & Rubber]

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EU reduces roaming charges across Europe today, makes data 36 percent cheaper and teases further cuts

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EU officially caps roaming charges across Europe, makes data 36 percent cheaper and teases further cuts

Starting today, anyone hopping between EU member countries with their smartphone will see roaming charge caps substantially cut across networks and services. As promised by the EU Commission's VP Neelie Kroes last week, new price caps will drop call charges by "at least 17 percent," while receiving calls are reduced by 12 percent per minute starting today. Text message costs are down 11 percent, while (perhaps most importantly) data charges across networks in Europe have been cut by 36 percent, down to 45 Euro cents per MB -- 91 percent cheaper than they were in 2007.

The commission says it has managed achieve price reductions of over 80 percent across mobile services in the last six years, but it isn't done there. Further price caps are promised for the same time next year too, as you can see after the break, with roaming data charges set to be further halved (down to 20 cents) by July 2014, with voice calls and text charges also seeing further, admittedly less substantial, reductions. Now, let's see how the EU fares on those ridding the old country of throttled data speeds.

Image credit: Die Bundeskanzlerin

EU officially caps roaming charges across Europe, makes data 36 percent cheaper and teases further cuts

Show full PR textNew lower price caps for mobile roaming from 1 July: data 36% cheaper; roaming in Croatia 15 times cheaper

From 1 July 2013, the European Union's Roaming Regulation will lower the price caps for data downloads by 36%, making it much cheaper to use maps, watch videos, check emails and update social networks while travelling across the EU. Data roaming will now be up to 91% cheaper in 2013 compared to 2007. During this period the volume of the data roaming market has grown 630%. These two trends mean both consumers and mobile operators have significant new opportunities thanks to EU efforts.

The EU has achieved retail price reductions across calls, SMS and data of over 80% since 2007.

Each year, Europeans make several million visits to Croatia, which joins the EU on 1 July. This year visitors to Croatia will enjoy spectacular savings as the cost for data decreases almost 15 times and sending a SMS or making a phone call elsewhere in the EU will be 10 times cheaper.

Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes said: "The EU has to be relevant to people's lives. The latest price cuts put more money in your pocket for summer, and are a critical step towards getting rid of these premiums once and for all. This is good for both consumers and companies, because it takes fear out of the market, and it grows the market.

The new prices caps, which enter into force on 1st July 2013, are:

Downloading data or browsing the Internet - 45 cents / Megabyte (MB) (charged per Kilobyte used) + VAT. (36% reduction compared to 2012)
Making calls - 24 cents / minute + VAT (17% reduction compared to 2012)
Receiving a call - 7 cents / minute + VAT (12.5% reduction compared to 2012)
Sending a text message - 8 cents + VAT (11% reduction compared to 2012)
Operators are free to offer cheaper rates, and some have already begun to remove roaming premiums altogether for voice and SMS, or offer a roaming-free area region across one section of Europe or another.

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