PC shipments dropped 11% worldwide in Q2, Apple's US growth slows 4.3% [u]

In its latest quarterly report, market research firm Gartner said PC shipments slid 11 percent worldwide for the second quarter of 2013, continuing the longest decline in the market's history.

Update: This article has been updated with estimates from research firm IDC.

During the April to June period, worldwide PC shipments dropped to 76 million units from the same period last year, a decline of 10.9 percent and the fifth consecutive quarter of decline.

According to the firm's statistics, all regions showed decline year-over-year, with the Asia/Pacific region seeing five consecutive negative quarters, while the Europe/Middle East/Asia (EMEA) market tallied its second quarter double-digit fall.

The U.S. market fared better in quarter two than all markets combined, with a decline of only 1.4 percent year-over-year on shipments of 15 million units. That number was good enough for quarter-on-quarter growth of 8.5 percent. Gartner points out that this quarter's decline was less than the past seven quarters.

?Our preliminary results indicate that this reduced market decline was attributed to solid growth in the professional market,? Kitagawa said. ?Three of the major professional PC suppliers, HP, Dell and Lenovo, all registered better than U.S. average growth rate. The end of Windows XP support potentially drove the remaining PC refresh in the U.S. professional market.?

HP managed to hang on to first place with 26.4 percent of the market. The company shipped almost 4 million computers for a slight decline of 0.05 percent year-over-year. Dell was only one of two top-five manufacturers to show positive growth for the quarter, with a 6.4 percent bump on shipments of 3.7 million units. The company now owns 24.6 percent of the U.S. market.

Apple came in a distant third with 11.6 percent of the market, shipping 1.7 million Macs for the quarter to be down 4.3 percent compared to the same quarter in 2012. iPads were not counted as PCs in Gartner's report.

Lenovo saw the largest growth at a whopping 19.7 percent, lifting the company into fourth place overall with a 10.1 percent share of the market.

The 11 percent worldwide decline had Lenovo out in front by a small margin, with its 12.7 million units shipped reflecting a contraction of 0.6 percent compared to the year previous. HP followed in a close second with nearly 9 million units shipped for a decline of 4.8 percent.

?We are seeing the PC market reduction directly tied to the shrinking installed base of PCs, as inexpensive tablets displace the low-end machines used primarily for consumption in mature and developed markets,? said prniciap Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa. ?In emerging markets, inexpensive tablets have become the first computing device for many people, who at best are deferring the purchase of a PC. This is also accounting for the collapse of the mini notebook market.?

Research firm IDC has also released its own estimates for the U.S. PC market, and they are a bit different than Gartner's. HP and Dell are still in the lead, though IDC sees HP's numbers dropping substantially year-over-year with a negative 4.3 percent growth rate.

IDC disagrees somewhat in regard to Apple, and found the company saw growth decline only half a percentage point to take 11.5 percent of the market with 1.8 million units shipped.

Finally instead Acer was found to finish in fifth place for the second quarter after a huge 19.5 percent shrinkage in growth, with 900 thousand units shipped.

Source: http://forums.appleinsider.com/t/158433/pc-shipments-dropped-11-worldwide-in-q2-apples-us-growth-slows-4-3-u

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4 Tips for Getting a Brighter Wedding Day Smile: Lover.ly

We?ve been planning our dream weddings since we were five years old. So it?s no surprise that we can?t get enough of?Lover.ly, a wedding inspiration site that lets you search through pics of swoon-worthy gowns, bouquets, and everything else you need for the big day. Once a week, the ladies behind Lover.ly will be sharing their best tips for getting through the craziness of the season?whether you?re standing at the altar or enjoying a view of it from the audience.

(Photo by:?Elizabeth Messina?on?The Brides Cafe?via?Lover.ly)

We figure nothing can make you smile brighter than your fianc?(e), but these teeth whitening tips could come a close second. A clean, bright smile can make you look and feel gorgeous for your?engagement photos, wedding day, and honeymoon; here are our tips for making it happen.

Gartner, IDC say 2Q PC shipments fell 11 percent

NEW YORK (AP) ? Worldwide shipments of personal computers fell 11 percent in the April-June period, according to data from research firms Gartner and IDC, as people continued to migrate to tablets and other mobile devices.

Gartner Inc. said Wednesday that the PC industry is now experiencing the longest decline in its history, as shipments dropped for the fifth consecutive quarter. Computer makers shipped 76 million PCs in the April-June period, down from 85 million in the same three months of 2012, according to Gartner.

International Data Corp., which uses slightly different methodology, essentially came to the same conclusion, though it noted that the decline was slightly smaller than expected.

"With second quarter growth so close to forecast, we are still looking for some improvement in growth during the second half of the year," said Jay Chou, senior analyst at IDC, in a statement. "Slower growth in Europe and China reflect the risks, while the improved U.S. outlook reflects potential improvement."

Gartner's Mikako Kitagawa said inexpensive tablets are displacing low-end computers in "mature" markets such as the United States. In emerging markets like China, meanwhile "inexpensive tablets have become the first computing device for many people, who at best are deferring the purchase of a PC. This is also accounting for the collapse of the mini notebook market," she added.

IDC said the numbers "reflect a market that is still struggling with the transition to touch-based systems running Windows 8." Microsoft Corp.'s latest operating system launched in October and sales have disappointed analysts. But Kitagawa said that while "Windows 8 has been blamed by some as the reason for the PC market's decline, we believe this is unfounded as it does not explain the sustained decline in PC shipments."

Lenovo was the No. 1 PC maker, beating out rival Hewlett-Packard Co. by a narrow margin, according to both firms.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-07-10-US-TEC-PC-Shipments/id-06159dbc32db4ad38aaa6512eb4e8643

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Chinese Police Opened Fire On Tibetans Celebrating The Dalai Lama's 78th Birthday

Prakash Mathema/AFP

A young exiled Tibetan Buddhist monk watches festivities in Kathmandu on July 6, 2013.

Chinese police opened fire on Tibetans marking the Dalai Lama's 78th birthday, shooting at least one monk in the head and seriously wounding several other people, two overseas groups said.

Security forces disrupted Tibetans in Sichuan province's Daofu county as they carried out rituals to honour their exiled leader, whom Beijing denounces as a separatist, said the US-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and India-based phayul.com.

Regional authorities denied the allegations.

"Two Tibetan monks were shot in the head and several others seriously injured after Chinese police opened fire at a crowd," ICT said, citing unnamed local and exile sources.

It named the monks as Tashi Sonam and Ugyen Tashi, and said both were in hospital.

Armed police and soldiers who arrived to block the group began shooting and using tear gas "without warning", it said, citing two Tibetans in exile.

At least 20 people were detained after the incident on Saturday, ICT added.

Phayul, a news site on Tibet, said police opened fire after a monk tried to "drive past the security blockade," citing an overseas Tibetan. One monk was shot in the head, Phayul said.

Police and religious affairs authorities in Daofu both told AFP: "There was no incident of this kind".

Daofu is part of Ganzi prefecture, one of southwestern China's Tibetan-majority areas.

Members of the ethnic minority have long complained of religious and cultural repression by Beijing, and more than 100 have set themselves on fire in recent years in apparent protest at Chinese rule.

Beijing insists it respects ethnic minorities and has invested heavily to develop Tibetan areas. It blames self-immolations on overseas groups seeking to push a separatist agenda.

Friction in Tibetan areas has sharpened as ethnic majority Han Chinese have increasingly settled in Tibetan areas. Reports of authorities opening fire are rare, however.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 and later founded the Tibetan government-in-exile in India.

China has denounced foreign leaders for meeting with the Nobel peace laureate.

Last month Beijing denied reports that it had relaxed its policies of publicly denouncing the Dalai Lama and banning worship of his image.

Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-police-opened-fire-on-tibetans-2013-7

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Explosion rocks Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) ? A large explosion rocked a stronghold of the Shiite militant Hezbollah group south of the Lebanese capital Tuesday, setting several cars on fire, sending a thick plume of black smoke billowing into the sky and wounding at least 18 people, security officials said.

The powerful blast in a bustling commercial and residential neighborhood came as many Lebanese Shiites began observing the holy month of Ramadan, and is the worst explosion to hit the area in years ? likely direct fallout of the civil war raging in neighboring Syria.

Groups of outraged Hezbollah supporters marched in the area after the blast, carrying pictures of Hezbollah chief Sheik Hassan Nasrallah and shouting slogans in support of their leader. Hezbollah operatives fired in the air to disperse people who attacked the interior minister with stones after he inspected the scene of the blast, trapping him for 45 minutes in a building before he was escorted through a backdoor.

With skirmishes between Shiites and Sunnis on the rise around the country, religiously mixed and dangerously fragile Lebanon is increasingly buffeted by powerful forces that are dividing the Arab world along sectarian lines. Some Syrian rebel groups, which are predominantly Sunni, have threatened to strike in Lebanon after Hezbollah joined Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops in their battle against opposition fighters.

"This is a message, but we will not bow," said Ziad Waked, a municipal official speaking to Hezbollah's Al-Manar television.

Tuesday's explosion struck the area of Beir el-Abed, and was most likely caused by a car bomb, officials said on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. They said the blast was in the parking near the Islamic Coop, a supermarket usually packed with shoppers, and a petrol station.

"I was riding my motorcycle on my way to a sweets shop and then there was this massive explosion that knocked me off and I fell on the ground," said a 52-year-old employee of a private company.

"At first I thought it was an earthquake," said the man who declined to be named out of security concerns. He said he was fasting on the first day of Ramadan and was on his way to shop for the evening meal that would break his daylong fast.

Al-Manar and security officials said 18 people were wounded. Red Cross head of operations George Kattaneh put the number at 37, saying they were all light injuries, many of them from breaking glass.

The area is near what is known as Hezbollah's "security square" where many of the party's officials live and have offices. Tuesday's explosion is one of the biggest in the area since the end of the country's 15-year civil war, which ended in 1990.

Television footage from the scene of the explosion revived memories of that conflict, when car bombs set by sectarian groups were common. There have been numerous car bombs targeting politicians and journalists since then, but random car bombs have been rare.

Hezbollah operatives in civilian clothes, some of them carrying Kalashnikov rifles, cordoned off the site of the explosion with yellow ribbons. They and Lebanese security officials barred journalists from approaching the site itself.

Ambulances and fire engines, their sirens wailing, raced to the area and witnesses said casualties were rushed to the nearby Bahman and Rasoul al-Atham hospitals. Immediately after the blast, people could be seen running in the street away from the site of the explosion which set several cars on fire.

The power of the explosion shattered windows and damaged several buildings in the busy residential and commercial area.

In May, two rockets slammed into a Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut, wounding four people. The rockets struck hours after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah vowed in a speech to help propel Assad to victory in Syria's civil war.

In June, a rocket slammed into the same area, causing no casualties.

Hezbollah has openly joined the fight in Syria, and the group's fighters were instrumental in a recent regime victory when government forces regained control of the strategic town of Qusair near the Lebanese border.

Lebanon's Sunni Muslims mostly back the overwhelmingly Sunni rebels in Syria, while many Shiites support Assad, who is a member of Syria's minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

"It is not a surprise for Dahyeh, the stronghold of resistance, to be targeted by such lowly, treacherous attacks that bear the fingerprints of the Israeli enemy and its tools," said Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar, referring to the name by which the suburb south of Beirut is known.

Hezbollah, much like the Syrian regime, accuses Syrian rebels of being agents of the U.S. and Israel.

___

Associated Press writer Zeina Karam contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/explosion-rocks-hezbollah-stronghold-lebanon-085803231.html

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Bodybuilding Tips To Improve Your Health And Fitness

No matter what your age, weight training is a fun and healthy way to get into amazing shape. The following article offers plenty of helpful advice on how you can get the most out of your workouts, and enjoy the benefits of a smart and suitable bodybuilding program. Read on for some tried and true advice.

Don?t cut out carbs when building muscle. Carbohydrates provide the energy required to complete your weight-training exercises; if you don?t consume enough of them, your body will turn to protein for its energy needs, slowing down your progress. Eat the correct amount of carbohydrates to get your body through its workout.

TIP! It seems a lot of people that work out go for speed over technique. Try doing your usual routine slower to focus on the techniques.

Try to focus on multiple muscles during one workout, such as the hamstrings for quads and chest dips for the chest. Doing this allows a muscle to rest during the time the other one is working. This will result in an increase in the intensity of your workouts, allowing you to be more effective in less time.

Building muscle does not necessarily mean that you will appear ripped. Since there are so many kinds of muscle building routines, you have to figure out which is one is the best for you. Adding a supplement to your routine can help you gain muscle.

Know your limitations, and don?t stop short of exhausting them. For every set, push to continue until you cannot continue with a single additional rep. If necessary, you can use a pyramid system and decrease the number of reps as you fatigue.

TIP! If you want to build muscle, you need to eat meat on a regular basis. Eat approximately one gram of meat-protein per body pound.

You can cut corners a bit when you lift, although always be safe. If you need to use a bit of your body to get those last couple of reps in, it?s okay. In fact, this is a great way to increase your workout volume. Having said that, you should never cheat in excessive amounts. Make sure that your rep speed is controlled. Be sure not to compromise your form.

The holy trinity of exercises for adding muscle mass are the squat, the bench press, and the dead lift. All these exercises will assist you in getting in the best shape as fast as possible and build muscles. These three should be the core of your routine, and then build on additional exercises from there.

One deterrent of successful muscle-building can be slow-growing muscle groups. Fill sets are necessary to pay attention to each muscle group necessary. A fill set is 25-30 reps of an exercise specifically designed to target your weak areas as maintenance between full workouts.

TIP! Every muscle building routine should contain three classic exercises. The ?big three? muscle building exercises are: bench presses, dead lifts and squats.

You need to be mindful of your caloric intake, if you want to build muscle. Be aware that there are good calories and bad calories; incorporate more good protein calories and eliminate bad fat calories. A poor diet could be your downfall.

Working out muscles has several benefits that can help your life, despite not desiring bulkiness. You can improve your self-esteem, feel more confident, and strengthen your joints and lungs when you combine muscle development with cardio workouts.

Make your goals reasonable when trying to build muscle. You can not bulk up in a day; it requires dedication and many, many workouts. Attempting to achieve rapid muscle development by utilizing steroids, stimulants or any kind of dangerous product, increases the risk of bodily harm and potentially severe health consequences.

TIP! Remember carbs when you want to build muscles. They are essential for more energy during workouts and they supplement protein for muscle mass.

Never bypass stretching before a lifting session. Stretching helps to warm-up your muscles, which prevents injuries. Stretching after a workout helps your muscles enter recovery phase, building up more new muscle tissue. It can also be helpful to get massages to relax your muscles.

Know your body and it?s limits. This will help you to identify your current capabilities and to use those to determine realistic goals. Just take into consideration things like your composition and your body weight to evaluate and factor in when coming up with goals for yourself.

Fitness and building muscle can work at any age, which is why it can work for you too! This article has given you all the information you need to see the benefits of a bodybuilding routine, which include bigger muscles, more endurance, and better overall health.

Source: http://www.activeagingsolutions.com/bodybuilding-tips-to-improve-your-health-and-fitness/

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Let's Get Real About DIY Projects | DIY Home Staging Tips

Ever start a craft or home improvement project and give up after you?re halfway finished?

Or been disappointed when you?re done??

Yeah. We?ve all been there.

But the benefits of DIY are so compelling, we usually jump back on the DIY wagon.

Hiring a professional or buying off the shelf is fine for many home staging and decorating projects. Other times, it makes more sense to do the work yourself.

Done right, DIY saves money, gives you results that are unique and customized, and satisfies that urge to create.

What Are Problems with DIY?

But, DIY can also be a slippery slope. If you aren?t prepared with the right tools you can create more problems than you solve. You don?t want to hire someone for a do-over. If you don?t have the experience or know how, you could wind up way over budget. And still have results that look sloppy, cheap, or hack --- not what you want when you?re selling your home.

Also, safety is an issue. We've all seen enough America?s Funniest Videos to know how common falling off a ladder is, not to mention dealing with toxic paints, glues and solvents, handling unfamiliar power tools, and overusing muscles we didn?t know existed.

My safety advice is to wear the right clothing. Wear closed toe shoes when you're moving heavy objects. Wear a respirator when you spray paint. Wear goggles when you use a table saw. Wear latex gloves when you mix chemicals. And never underestimate the curiosity of small children.

Don't work on projects when you're tired, stressed, rushed or inebriated. Pay attention. Stop if you lose patience or reach a stalemate. DIY should be fun. ? ??

Learn How to Win the DIY War

The main reason most of us DIY is to save money. So, don?t jinx yourself by overspending.

Whether you are upcycling hand-me-downs, garage sale bargains, or knockoffs from the dollar store, starting with economical purchases lets you take creative risks fearlessly. Ruining a family heirloom or wasting expensive supplies is discouraging.

Success breeds more success, so make yourself a winner by starting with goof-proof materials.

Know where to buy. Be creative about sourcing. Learn the local and online sources for getting supplies you need, especially when buying in bulk.

Visit places like dollar stores, second hand stores, office supply stores, wholesale distributors, pawn shops, salvage yards, closeout bargain stores, and consignment shops. Search Craigslist, Freecycle, and eBay. Check sales at government offices, colleges, camps and other institutions because they sell furniture and equipment when they remodel.

Don?t forget Mother Nature as a source for natural materials like grapevines, logs, moss, leaves, branches, flowers, rocks, sand, and shells, to name some favorites.

Stay on the lookout for remodeling jobs or construction projects, and befriend the workers, where you can often walk away with doors, windows, lumber and other raw materials for projects of your own.

Just today I was visiting my friend Wendy, and she showed me some lumber she said she got free from Lowes. I said, "Lowes gives away lumber?" She told me she goes to where they cut lumber and if there are scraps she asks for them, sometimes big scraps. She told me the secret is to always ask for "Big Mike." She's made a friend.

Dumpster diving and curbside shopping are other common ways to acquire the makings of your home improvement projects, as long as you don?t turn your garage into a junkyard. My motto is, ?Don?t pay for new when second hand will do.? ???

Don?t buy tools you won?t need again. Power tools and special crafting tools are usually pricey. Even small tools can add up to a hefty bill.

Some supplies are sold only in bulk quantities. Consider borrowing or renting what you don?t have to own, such as an extension ladder, tile cutter, power washer, or miter saw. Renting a piece of equipment comes with the additional benefit of training. Tool rental places will give you a demonstration, something you don?t get from an instruction manual.

Take advantage of services that businesses offer. Home improvement stores will cut to order lumber, PVC pipe, wire, and glass for free or a small fee. (Ask for Big Mike first.) Frame departments at craft stores can frame your DIY artwork.

If your project requires a step that?s outside your skill set, go to the ?Gigs? section of Craigslist, and you will find local people available for work. Sometimes you can trade skills or products. A friend of mine babysits her neighbor?s toddler while the neighbor gives her an equal amount of yardwork time.

Prepare Mentally

Do your homework. Trial and error can be costly. Read what others have done. Don't depend on just one source of advice. Research where to buy both tools and supplies. Talk to any professionals you know who have been there. Look on Pinterest, or google your project for online tutorials and videos. Take a class at the local craft store, garden center, or home improvement store.

A word about collecting materials for a DIY project: plan to have some oops if you?re new to a particular craft. Mistakes happen. It?s good to have that extra fabric, some spare nails, more paint than the plans call for, or scrap paper to practice on. Also, plan on a project taking more time than the craft books, HGTV, and YouTube tutorials suggest. I estimate my completion time, and multiply by three! ? ? ? ?

If you get bored or disappointed with the project, take a break. Call on someone more knowledgeable to advise you. If things go wrong, just remind yourself that creative processes often take unexpected turns, sometimes with surprisingly good results.?

For tedious or repetitive projects, develop a system to be efficient. Work from left to right, or vice versa if that works better. Keep all tools handy and visible, not scattered around your home or work area. ? ?

Pretend that the Y in DIY stands for ?yourselves.? Whether it?s your spouse, roommate, friend, sibling, or teenager, an extra pair of hands and the additional brainpower can make the difference between completing a fabulous task and giving up in frustration.

It?s very disappointing to begin a DIY project all bright-eyed and then abandon it in despair, or else finish it with less than satisfactory results. Know your limits. Know when to hire someone to do the job. If you?re excited about creating an ambitious home improvement project, review the steps and check your budget. You may decide you?re dreaming of a DDIY ? a don?t-do-it-yourself.

For solid, foolproof advice on staging your own home on a shoestring, order my $5 eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Fast and For Top Dollar.?

Source: http://diyhomestagingtips.blogspot.com/2013/07/lets-get-real-about-diy-projects.html

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