Want a new PC but hate Windows 8? Here’s where you can go to find Windows 7 machines

By Zach EpsteinJanuary 22, 2014 11:47 AM

A big fuss was made over HP’s recent declaration that Windows 7 computers were “back by popular demand.” Why? BecauseWindows 8′s reception has been beyond disappointing to PC makers and industry watchers alike. HP moving back to Windows 7 would be yet another sign that computer buyers want nothing to do with Windows 8 but according to ZDNet’s Ed Bott, the entire ordeal was “manufactured.”

“This morning I conducted a thorough check of business-focused PC channels,” Bott wrote in a post on Tuesday. “As expected, I found a huge assortment of Windows 7 PCs available for purchase there.”

Windows 7 PCs are indeed still abundantly available, as Bott noted. The key to finding them, however, is to shop on vendors’ small and medium business sites rather than on their main consumer-facing online stores.

Upon digging through HP’s business sales site, Bott found a total of 65 Windows 7 laptops and 31 Windows 7 desktops available for purchase. Interestingly, this compares with just 17 Windows 8 laptops and only 4 Windows 8 desktops.

As he claimed, it looks like HP’s “back by popular demand” Windows 7 machines never left to begin with.

A similar search on Dell’s b2b site yielded 38 Windows 7 laptop models and 23 Windows 7 desktops, so those looking for a new PC but who have no interest in embracing Windows 8 still have plenty of options to choose from.

More from BGR: CNNMoney says Samsung is failing

This article was originally published on BGR.com

The Real Story of New Coke

By:  Conversations Staff Nov 14, 2012

To hear some tell it, April 23, 1985, was a day that will live in marketing infamy. 

On that day, The Coca-Cola Company took arguably the biggest risk in consumer goods history, announcing that it was changing the formula for the world's most popular soft drink, and spawning consumer angst the likes of which no business has ever seen.

Swinging for the Fences

The Coca-Cola Company introduced reformulated Coca-Cola, often referred to as "new Coke," marking the first formula change in 99 years. The company didn't set out to create the firestorm of consumer protest that ensued; instead, The Coca-Cola Company intended to re-energize its Coca-Cola brand and the cola category in its largest market, the United States.

That firestorm ended with the return of the original formula, now called Coca-Cola classic, a few months later. The return of original formula Coca-Cola on July 11, 1985, put the cap on 79 days that revolutionized the soft-drink industry, transformed The Coca-Cola Company and stands today as testimony to the power of taking intelligent risks, even when they don't quite work as intended.

"We set out to change the dynamics of sugar colas in the United States, and we did exactly that -- albeit not in the way we had planned," then chairman and chief executive officer Roberto Goizueta said in 1995 at a special employee event honoring the 10-year anniversary of "new Coke."

"But the most significant result of 'new Coke' by far," Mr. Goizueta said, "was that it sent an incredibly powerful signal ... a signal that we really were ready to do whatever was necessary to build value for the owners of our business."

Slideshow: New Coke Cans and Advertisements From 1985

The Canadian New Coke can with a specialty illustration.

Factors That Shaped the Launch Decision

The story of "new Coke" is widely recalled, but the context is often forgotten. In 1985, TheCoca-Cola Company's share lead over its chief competitor, in its flagship market, with its flagship product, had been slowly slipping for 15 consecutive years. The cola category in general was lethargic. Consumer preference for Coca-Cola was dipping, as was consumer awareness. That changed, of course, in the summer of 1985 as the consumer outcry over "new Coke" was replaced by consumer affection for Coca-Cola classic.

The fabled secret formula for Coca-Cola was changed, adopting a formula preferred in taste tests of nearly 200,000 consumers. What these tests didn't show, of course, was the bond consumers felt with their Coca-Cola — something they didn't want anyone, including TheCoca-Cola Company, tampering with.

The events of the spring and summer of '85 — pundits blasting the "marketing blunder of the century," consumers hoarding the "old" Coke, calls of protests by the thousands — changed forever The Coca-Cola Company's thinking.

At the 10-year anniversary celebration, Mr. Goizueta characterized the "new Coke" decision as a prime example of "taking intelligent risks." He urged all employees to take intelligent risks in their jobs, saying it was critical to the company's success. Many of the employees there that day had worked for the company in 1985 and remembered the thousands of calls and consumer complaints.

Calls flooded in not just to the 800-GET-COKE phone line, but to Coca-Cola offices across the United States. By June 1985, The Coca-Cola Company was getting 1,500 calls a day on its consumer hotline, compared with 400 a day before the taste change. People seemed to hold any Coca-Cola employee — from security officers at our headquarters building to their neighbors who worked for Coke — personally responsible for the change.

Mr. Goizueta received a letter addressed to "Chief Dodo, The Coca-Cola Company." (He often said he was more upset that it was actually delivered to him!) Another person wrote to him asking for his autograph — because, in years to come, the signature of "one of the dumbest executives in American business history" would be worth a fortune.

When the taste change was announced, some consumers panicked, filling their basements with cases of Coke®. A man in San Antonio, Texas, drove to a local bottler and bought $1,000 worth of Coca-Cola. Some people got depressed over the loss of their favorite soft drink. Suddenly everyone was talking about Coca-Cola, realizing what an important role it played in his or her life.

Protest groups — such as the Society for the Preservation of the Real Thing and Old Cola Drinkers of America (which claimed to have recruited 100,000 in a drive to bring back "old" Coke) — popped up around the country. Songs were written to honor the old taste. Protesters at a Coca-Cola event in downtown Atlanta in May carried signs with "We want the real thing" and "Our children will never know refreshment."

The Return of a Classic

When the announcement of the return of "old" Coca-Cola was made in July 1985, those hoarding as many as 900 bottles in their basements could stop their self-imposed rationing and begin to drink the product as they always had — as often as they'd like.

That July day, the story that the "old" Coca-Cola was returning to store shelves as Coca-Colaclassic led two network newscasts and made the front page of virtually every major newspaper. Consumers applauded the decision. In just two days after the announcement of Coca-Colaclassic, The Coca-Cola Company received 31,600 telephone calls on the hotline. Coca-Colawas obviously more than just a soft drink.

Coca-Cola classic was sold alongside Coca-Cola ("new Coke"), and the two brands had distinct advertising campaigns, with the youthful, leading edge "Catch the Wave" campaign for the new taste of Coke and the emotional "Red, White and You" for Coca-Cola classic. Later, the name of the new taste of Coca-Cola was changed to Coke II; the product is no longer available in the United States. 

The events of 1985 changed forever the dynamics of the soft-drink industry and the success of The Coca-Cola Company, as the Coca-Cola brand soared to new heights and consumers continued to remember the love they have for Coca-Cola.

Read stories about the introduction of new Coke, or tell us your story.

Scientists Make Sweet Discovery of Jelly Doughnut on Mars Surface

Why Colorado and Washington Were Wise to Legalize Pot

By Scott Shane | Entrepreneur – Sun, Jan 19, 2014 7:30 PM EST

Like water finding a path, entrepreneurs will always figure out a way to respond to business opportunities. That's why other states should follow the example of Colorado and Washington and legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Harnessing the power of entrepreneurs is much more productive than fighting it.

On January 1, Colorado legalized the sale of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. Later this year, Washington will follow suit. Alaska, Arizona, California, D.C. and Oregon may be the next states to permit cannabis businesses.

Cultural attitudes, fairness, economics, and entrepreneurial behavior all point to extension of this trend toward legalization. Much like policy makers were caught flat-footed as American attitudes towards same-sex marriage changed, so too have they missed the shifting views toward the legalization of pot. According to an October 2013 Gallup Organization poll, 58 percent of Americans now favor legalization of marijuana - a jump of ten percentage points over the previous year. Many policymakers seem to have missed the memo showing that voters' views on the topic are fundamentally different from the late 1960s, when only one-in-nine Americans favored sanctioning it.

Related: High Hopes and Blunt Truths for the Legal Marijuana Market

Fairness, too, justifies legalizing cannabis. In the 48 states that do not permit recreational use of marijuana, smoking tobacco, which causes cancer, is legal. By contrast, smoking weed, which is used to treat the symptoms of cancer treatments, is not. Moreover, some experts believe that alcohol, which is legal in virtually all parts of the United States, is more harmful than marijuana, which is illegal in almost all of the country.

Fairness dictates that policymakers either need to play nanny and ban everything that's bad for us - from sugar-laden soda to fat-filled fast food - or they need to allow Americans to make adult decisions about what they want to put in their bodies. Making cigarettes, beer, and whiskey legal, while banning joints and hash brownies, unfairly favors the makers of certain harmful products.

Making pot legal has economic benefits. Policymakers can tax sales of the product - and are doing so relatively heavily. Both Washington and Colorado are charging a 25 percent tax on pot sales, with even higher rates in some municipalities. The non-partisan Tax Foundation estimates that Colorado will bring in nearly $70 million in new taxes, with initial proceeds being used for school construction. Because tax revenues are expected to exceed school building needs, Colorado public officials are already thinking of additional ways to use the tax windfall.

Related: The Half-Baked Plan for Pot Legalization

By making pot legal, police can focus their attention on stopping more destructive illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin, which are more likely to cause crime and health problems. That would help financially strapped states. If all states legalized cannabis sales, the reduced drug enforcement costs and higher tax revenues would be worth more than $17 billion to them, a 2010 Cato Institute study revealed.

Legalized pot will also produce public health benefits, Forbes reports. Because alcohol consumption is more harmful to people than marijuana use, but the two are substitutes, legalizing pot will lead customers to shift to the better of the two choices.

Entrepreneurs find and pursue market opportunities wherever they are. Making a business illegal doesn't get rid of the efforts of entrepreneurs to pursue it. Everyone knows that entrepreneurs are selling marijuana for recreational use in all 48 states where it is illegal.

Making a business legal makes it easier for policymakers to tap entrepreneurial efforts to benefit society. Colorado and Washington are using taxes and regulation to channel pot entrepreneurship more productively than other states, where policy makers are wasting resources trying to stop it, and, consequently, driving it underground.

Mysterious rock found by Mars rover

Something's on Mars that might not have been there before.

As NASA's rover Opportunity continues its trek across the red planet, discoveries keep rolling in. Like, for example, a jelly doughnut-size rock that mysteriously appeared in front of the rover. 

Paging Homer Simpson. NASA needs you

The rock was discussed at a recent NASA event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Opportunity rover's landing on Mars. Scientist Steve Squyres explained to the audience that the mystery isn't so much how the rock got there (he seems to think one of the rover's wheels kicked out the rock while puttering along, but can't be sure), but rather what exactly is in the middle of the "jelly doughnut," CNN reports.

One thing is for sure. It isn't jelly. Or even custard. Sorry, Homer.

Squyres said the center of the rock is "like nothing we've ever seen before. It's very high in sulfur, it's very high in magnesium, it's got twice as much manganese as we've ever seen in anything on Mars."

He added, "We're completely confused, we're having a wonderful time, everyone on the team is arguing and fighting."

Discovery.com spoke with Squyres about the rock, nicknamed "Pinnacle Island": 

"It was a total surprise. We were like, ‘wait a second, that wasn’t there before, it can’t be right. Oh my god! It wasn’t there before!’ We were absolutely startled."

Scientists believe the rock, if it was indeed usefully flipped by the rover's wheel, landed upside-down, allowing instruments to see a side of the surface not normally visible.

The Opportunity rover landed on Mars on Jan. 25, 2004. The Spirit rover landed several weeks earlier. In 2012, the far more powerful Curiosity rover landed on the red planet, where it continues to explore and study Earth's galactic neighbor

from yahoo and

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/mystery-rock-appears-mars-rover-photo-article-1.1586227

USB loader GX

DISCLAIMER:I Take No Responsibility on what happens to your Wii If this does not Work.

Today we install the Homebrew Channel on our Wii!

LetterBomb Link: 
http://please.hackmii.com

Part 2 Install USB Loader Program:
http://youtu.be/gKPEgwbCFa8

If something doesn't work you can always look at the tutorial yourself:
http://www.wiihacks.com/recommended-f...

Have Questions? Ask me on Twitter!
twitter.com/HighTeckMan

Published on Dec 16, 2012

DISCLAIMER:I Take No Responsibility on what happens to your Wii If this does not Work & Don't Pirate Video Games!

Today we are going to install the USB Loader GX Channel to our Wii so we can use our games via USB Hard Drive

Install The Homebrew Channel Link:
http://youtu.be/m70dCXkn1CE

Files Link:
http://sendspace.com/file/7w5qxu

WBFS Manager Link:
http://wbfsmanager.codeplex.com

If something doesn't work you can always look at the tutorial yourself:
http://www.wiihacks.com/recommended-f...

Didn't Work? Follow Me on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/HighTeckMan

https://code.google.com/p/usbloader-gui/

The great chess movie: History about chess champion