New iPod released as Apple chief Steve Jobs returns
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has returned to the showman role that has helped define his company leadership, taking the stage for the first time since his medical leave to announce such new products as an iPod Nano that records video.
At an event for journalists, bloggers and software partners, Jobs announced updates to Apple’s iTunes and iPhone software and unveiled a new iPod Nano with a built-in video camera.
As was expected, Apple’s announcements were mainly tied to music players and the iTunes software, though Jobs spoke briefly about the iPhone and said 30 million of the devices had been sold so far.
Apple compared the new video-camera Nano to Cisco Systems’s Flip Mino, a tiny, simple video recorder that sells for NZ$259, just like the basic, eight-gigabyte version of the overhauled Nano (The 16 GB Nano costs NZ$318). The Nano – the smallest iPod that has a screen – also has a microphone, a pedometer, a 2.2-inch display and an FM radio tuner.
The price of the iPod Shuffle has also been dropped to NZ$99 for the 4GB model. It currently sells for about NZ$155.
check it out http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/2850719/New-iPod-released-as-Apple-chief-returns
Tags: flip mino, gifts, ipod, pedometer, shuffle, the nano, video camera nano
By CAROLYN ENTING – The Dominion Post
Last updated 13:42 10/09/2009
It will be flashy, trashy, vegetarian and green, and is bound to make world headlines. The Richie Rich and Pamela Anderson show is about to hit our shores.
Rich, the flamboyant New York fashion designer of former “trash chic” label Heatherette, and Anderson, the eco-conscious “Malibu Barbie”, have decided to use New Zealand Fashion Week as the launching pad for their new eco-animal friendly label, A*Muse.
Neither has visited New Zealand but the decision has been based on the reputation of Air New Zealand Fashion Week, as well as Aotearoa’s “clean green” and “100% Pure” image. Originally the pair were to present the label at New York Fashion Week this week (September 10 to 17), and then bring the show to Auckland.
“Pamela is such an advocate for Peta [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]. I love animals. We wanted to produce a range using as many globally friendly fabrics as we could, in the spirit of being good to the world,” Rich says. “That is part of the reason we want to kick it off in New Zealand, which is so lush and green. It goes with the vibe we are feeling. At the same time the Kiwi scene is fun and the line is fun.”
A*Muse will debut at New Zealand Fashion Week on September 25, when Anderson – the muse of the collection – will make a catwalk appearance. It will undoubtedly be the hottest show ticket in town, which has made a few fashion purists snooty. “Pamela Anderson and fashion week, that’s an oxymoron”, stylist and Lucire fashion editor Samantha Hannah posted as her Facebook status update.
Anderson’s flesh-revealing style is certainly not what we Kiwis are used to, though her “if you’ve got it, flaunt it” approach has many admirers. She rocked up to the opening of an art show in Miami in December wearing an off the shoulder baggy T-shirt, a pair of underpants and vegetarian Melissa (Vivienne Westwood) plastic shoes. She is also no stranger to the catwalk having modelled for Vivienne Westwood in Paris, and for Rich’s former high profile fashion line, Heatherette, which he launched in 1999 and co-designed with Travers Reins. Last year Rich and Reins put Heatherette “on vacation”. Anderson was one of Heatherette’s biggest supporters.
Rich’s friendship with Anderson spans almost nine years, following a chance meeting at renowned fashion photographer David Lachapelle’s studio in Los Angeles. It was at a Lachapelle shoot in 2002 that Rich met Wellington fashion graduate Macky Dugan, who became Heatherette’s head designer for five years. Dugan is now producing his own menswear line Mack Dugan. “We’ve heard the best things about New Zealand from Macky so I’ve always wanted to visit,” Rich says.
Rich and Anderson will spend six days in New Zealand and plans include visiting a vineyard and whale watching.
As for A*Muse, the label, Rich says he was kicking around ideas when Anderson said, “why don’t we do it together and I will be your muse”, and that’s where the name came from. He plans to invite other “girlfriends” to collaborate with him on future collections, which will in turn reflect their individual personalities in the design and styling.
Right now that style is all Anderson, who Rich describes as “a surfer girl at heart with a Malibu sensibility”. The range will also reflect her stance on animal rights, and the pair plan to produce a leather-free shoe line. “Working with Pamela, she’ll say ‘make it sexy, clingy and punky’ – it’s definitely ready for a night out,” Rich says. “It is very sexy with a dash of a smile, but also very wearable. Everything from leggings and T-shirts to sexy dresses.”
When Rich designed Anderson’s wedding dress for her marriage to Kid Rock in 2006 (they have since split), she asked him to make it “punky, fun and Marilyn Monroe”. The Heatherette team had 24 hours’ notice with no fitting or proper measurements. Dugan, who made the dress, says: “Thank God she has a great bod, and her measurements are all over the internet.”
Rich hasn’t a bad word to say about the vegetarian animal- rights activist and former Baywatch babe – “Pamela has the same bombshell mystique as Marilyn Monroe but she is also a really good mum, and really smart. Her global appeal is very fun and sexy. She is an icon, but at the same time down to earth”.
We couldn’t speak to Anderson (she’s not doing any pre-press before the show) but on Tuesday she released a statement saying “Richie and I are soul mates. We both love to surprise people; we both love to have fun. We both love clothes, even though I don’t always manage to wear them full time! I am proud that he has annointed me his ‘muse’ for these designs and collaborating with him is a fantastic experience.”
Tags: eco-animal friendly label, eco-conscious, flashy, green, trashy, vegetarian
She calls out to the man on the street
sir, can you help me?
Its cold and Ive nowhere to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?
He walks on, doesnt look back
He pretends he cant hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there
Oh think twice, its another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh think twice, its just another day for you,
You and me in paradise
She calls out to the man on the street
He can see shes been crying
Shes got blisters on the soles of her feet
Cant walk but shes trying
Oh think twice…
Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do
Oh lord, there must be something you can say
You can tell from the lines on her face
You can see that shes been there
Probably been moved on from every place
cos she didnt fit in there
Oh think twice…
24fitmrs97
Gold prices getting higher… Petrol price still below USD70… Share market hitting higher point ….. but economy not improving…..
To all investor time to encash your profits…. wait for the next round…. 
Just my personal view….
LONDON – Gold prices rose above $1,000 per ounce on Tuesday, the highest since March 2008 — suggesting investors are wary of the U.S. dollar’s weakness and expect international interest rates to remain low for some time.
The gold contract for October delivery traded up $10.10, or 1.0 percent, at $1,005.60 per troy ounce in midday European trading on the London Metals Exchange. That is the highest since it hit a record of $1,038.60 on March 17 last year.
Gold is typically bought as an alternative to the dollar among safe-haven assets favored by investors seeking to preserve capital. So its rise often correlates to a drop in the value of the American currency.
That is what happened in the spring of 2008, when gold was last above $1,000 and worries about the financial crisis brewing in the U.S. were hurting the country’s currency.
“It is mainly the reflection of the weakness of the dollar,” said Julian Jessop, economist at Capital Economics.
The dollar fell to 92.29 yen on Tuesday from 93.05 yen the night before and slid to $1.4434 against the euro from $1.4332 as stock markets rose and investor sentiment improved.
Jessop noted, however, that gold was also being boosted by market expectations that global central banks would keep their interest rates low for some time to come. One disadvantage to holding gold is that no interest is earned — but rates on dollar-denominated assets such as government bonds have fallen sharply, lessening that disadvantage.
“Near-zero interest rates in many of the world’s largest economies reduces the opportunity cost of holding gold,” Jessop said.
The fact that 20 of the world’s rich and developing nations promised over the weekend to keep in place their stimulus measures — which include both spending as well as low interest rates — reinforced the appeal of gold.
Jessop was not convinced gold could sustain such high prices for very long or push much higher, since consumers quickly start selling gold items to take advantage of stronger prices.
“This rally is sowing the seeds of its own destruction,” he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090908/ap_on_bi_ge/gold_prices
Tags: alert, becareful, economy forecast, gold price, share price, year high
Don’t fall for a pair of fake Crocs
THEY say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Crocs isn’t biting. Following a story in The Washington Post last July that reported “the impending demise of Crocs,” there has been a proliferation of fake Crocs from China flooding the Malaysian market, touting themselves to be the real deal with marked down prices.
Described by some people as “bizarre gardening shoes”, the colourful Crocs was an overnight success, having sold 100 million pairs in seven years.
However, given the current worldwide recession, the company took a beating in 2008 and one financial commentator, Damon Vickers, who manages an investment fund at Nine Points Capital Partners in Seattle, went as far as to say: “The company’s toast.’’
The real thing: When viewed up close, you can see the difference in the logo between the real and fake pair of crocs (the fake is on the right).
This, apparently, is far from the truth, as the financial results for the second quarter (Q2) from Crocs announced last month that the innovative footwear brand is still going strong, contrary to the mischievous rumours.
While it was true that the company was in the red and downsizing at one point, the latest results were highly satisfactory with revenue in Asia up 30.5% in Q2 of 2009 from Q2 of 2008, overcoming the initial challenges from rapid growth. Crocs has also completely repaid the US$17.3mil (RM60.5mil) borrowed under the company’s credit facility as of June 30 this year.
Due to the growing popularity of the brand, there has been a growing presence of counterfeit Crocs products. In the past, Crocs was not too bothered as the imitation products often bore different design elements, didn’t carry logos and were branded differently. These appealed to consumers who clearly knew that they were not original Crocs but were willing to accept the inferior quality by paying much lower prices.
However, thanks to market gossip of how Crocs is currently “stuck with a surplus of shoes” and “facing bankruptcy”, fuelled further by the Washington Post article, importers of counterfeit Crocs are having a field day.
The fakes come with hangtags, plastic bags, logos and embossed wording that is similar to original Crocs, and being sold as “marked down real Crocs” for anything between RM35 and RM100. These are often seen at night and morning markets, in residential areas and are also sold via several blogs and websites.
According to these pirates, the “original Crocs are now being sold cheaply” because the company is dumping stocks, to explain why they are now available outside of Crocs concept stores and authorised dealers.
The most often cited reasons are “Crocs owes its suppliers in China a lot of money, the company along with the China factory is closing down, and therefore the China suppliers are disposing of the shoes at cost to recover their money.” The counterfeiters use these excuses to justify why they only have limited colours and sizes compared to Crocs concept stores and authorised dealers.
Conversely, Kinderdijk, the official distributor of Crocs in Malaysia, says such rumours are unfounded and Crocs Asia is doing better than ever before.
“In fact, Asia was the first to come up with concept stores while Crocs were still being sold online, at small booths or in shoe stores along with other brands in the United States. This has stamped the idea that Crocs is a serious brand. The financial crisis is not so bad in Asia and our stores have been doing well as our marketing approach is more aggressive. Only now the States is going into concept stores as well,” explains managing director Gwei Tze-Co.
“Crocs is such an easy shoe to copy. The difference lies in the material used. The patented material Crosslite is odourless, slip resistance, anti-bacterial and offers unparalleled comfort in that it moulds to your feet. The fakes use really poor quality plastic and you can feel a difference when your wear them,” explains senior marketing manager Warren Chan.
The only other authorised dealer in the country is Pinang Medical Suppliers, and its stores carry similar models to those brought in by Kinderdijk as well as the Crocs RX (medical shoes) exclusively.
Altogether, there are 18 Crocs concept stores nationwide, and the shoes are also sold by authorised dealers at department stores like Parkson and Isetan which stock some exclusive designs. The only authorised factory outlet is located at the Mines Shopping Fair in Balakong, Kuala Lumpur, which sell out-of-season models at discounted prices.
“Any other ‘warehouses’, ‘online sales’ and unofficial setups touting to offer discounted Crocs are selling fakes. In fact, there is no way the factory in China could have ‘overruns’ or ‘rejects’ as there is never any excess of material supplied by the United States for the shoes. And, even if there are ‘mistakes’, these are recyclable, and thrown back in the mould and remade. In a worst-case scenario if the shoes are problematic, these are recalled and incinerated, and this has to be verified by insurance to ensure that things are properly done,” says Gwei.
Contrary to claims that Crocs is a one-shoe company, Crocs actually offers more than 120 styles of casual, comfortable footwear, including sandals, boots, heels, wedges and flats, along with the signature model, the “Beach”. Crocs also offers functional footwear for people who work on their feet, as well as products especially designed to help people who have foot or back problems.
other related link
http://blog.samjoywallet.com/2009/09/07/telling-the-real-from-the-fake-crocs/
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/9/7/lifeliving/4603134&sec=lifeliving
Tags: anti-bacterial, bizarre gardening shoes, Crocs from china, Kinderdijk, odourless, online, slip resistance
Monday September 7, 2009
Crocs would like to warn consumers not to be deceived by those offering counterfeit products and learn to identify real Crocs products by using these simple guidelines:
1. Every pair of Crocs has its own unique barcode/serial number printed on its hangtag. If you see the same serial number appearing on the hangtags of any other pair of shoes of the same model or other models, then you definitely have an imitation in your hands.
2. Every original Crocs hangtag contains information relating to its corresponding pair of Crocs shoes such as its style name, colour description and size.
3. Check for authorised retailers and Crocs concept stores selling Crocs footwear listed in the official website at crocs.com.my. Only stores listed on the website sell genuine Crocs shoes.
4. Check the website product listing and compare the available designs and colours. If you see a shoe with the brand Crocs in a design or colour that is not shown on the website, then it is not an authentic Crocs product.
5. You can also go to facebook.com/crocsmalaysia and post a query.
>Customers can contact the official Crocs Service Centre ( 03-6203 2336) if they have any enquiries about the availability of genuine Crocs products in Malaysia.
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/9/7/lifeliving/4640755&sec=lifeliving
Other related :
http://blog.samjoywallet.com/2009/09/07/crocs-from-china-which-crocs-are-you-wearing/
Tags: barcode, crocs, hangtag, imitation, imitation crocs, Pasar malam, rm35
Auto insurance is not just about protecting the vehicle against damage due to an accident, it is also essential to secure the people sitting inside the car. A third party cover or fire and theft cover will not protect the individual against personal injuries or losses. Thus, a comprehensive insurance policy is a must buy for all car owners. Additional benefits included in a comprehensive Malaysia auto insurance policy are:
-Unlimited liability coverage against death or injury to other people.
-Covers loss or damage to car stereo, phone, route navigator.
-Extended fire and theft cover
-Coverage for travel trips to foreign countries
-Guarantee on repair work and automobile parts.
-Breakdown assistance.
An individual has the choice to buy any of these covers as per one’s individual requirements. The cost of the policy rises with the extent of cover. An individual can opt for several measures to lower down the policy premium. By raising the deductibles, the premium can be curtailed. Deductibles are the share of the claim that the policyholder has to pay before the insurance company starts paying. Having a good driving record and following the traffic rules earn discounts for the driver.
Standard Malaysia auto insurance has certain exclusions to the policy cover. These exclusions include liability against the people sitting in the insured car other than the policyholder, damage due to natural disasters, such as floods or storms, and acts of vandalism.
Hiding from the rain and snow
Trying to forget but I won’t let go
Looking at a crowded street
Listening to my own heart beat
So many people all around the world
Tell me where do I find someone like you girl
(Chorus)
Take me to your heart take me to your soul
Give me your hand before I’m old
Show me what love is – haven’t got a clue
Show me that wonders can be true
They say nothing lasts forever
We’re only here today
Love is now or never
Bring me far away
Take me to your heart take me to your soul
Give me your hand and hold me
Show me what love is – be my guiding star
It’s easy take me to your heart
Standing on a mountain high
Looking at the moon through a clear blue sky
I should go and see some friends
But they don’t really comprehend
Don’t need too much talking without saying anything
All I need is someone who makes me wanna sing
(Chorus)
Tags: Genting 2009, jacky cheung, Michael Learns to Rock, MLTR Concert, Take me to your heart
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