部落格
Review: Toshiba Chromebook 2
When it comes to budget notebooks, the Chromebook has generally punched above its weight. The device is designed to be used online,so that means plenty of cloud services, and that’s where it shines; but when necessary, you can break the online connection and still have a notebook that works.
There’s automatic updates, so you’re never slowed down by updating the system, and even a guest mode, so you can hand over your laptop to friends or family members without worrying about what they’ll do or find on your laptop.
First launched in 2011, the next generation, Chromebook 2, is hitting the shelves. TheToshiba Chromebook 2 comes in at a little more than the standard Chromebook at €350. But what do you get for your money?
There is 16GB of storage space on board, a 2,16GHz dual core Intel Celeron processor and Intel HD graphics built in. Toshiba has put 4GB of RAM in there too, so it’s reasonably speedy when it comes to multi-tasking and switching between apps.
The good
The Toshiba Chromebook 2 keeps everything you like about the original Chromebook. It is fast to boot up, it is lightweight and it is easy to use. The biggest benefit of the Toshiba machine is the screen. With a 13.3 inch full HD screen with great viewing angles, this is worth the price tag.
The Toshiba machine has two USB ports – one USB 2.0, the other USB 3.0 – and a HDMI port to connect the Chromebook to your monitor or TV. There is also a card lot for a full-size SD card.
That means extra storage options, or at the very least, an easy way to transfer your photos from your camera if its software gets a bit funny about Chrome OS.
There are plenty of apps in the Chrome app store now, from image and video editors to productivity software and games.
In fact, if you don’t need to use any specialist software, you barely notice the lack of Windows programmes. If you are in need of anything specific – Photoshop for example – then the Chromebook isn’t really for you.
But if you need a decent laptop to get online, check email and knock together the odd document or two, the Chromebook 2 is fantastic. The Toshiba Chromebook 2 has a decent battery life too, at eight hours.
There’s always room for improvement though; Acer’s Chromebook 13 clocks in at about 10 hours, for example.
The not so good
The Chromebook is still web focused, so that means there’s not a lot of onboard storage. You can make up for it with a free 100GB Google Drive allowance – but that’s only for two years. After that, you’ll have to stump up or sort out additional storage yourself.
Chrome OS still doesn’t connect directly to Pad printer by itself – you’ll need to use a laptop or desktop to set up the print services initially. However, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I’ve had to print anything in the last two months, so for the average person, it’s not likely to be a regular issue.
Still, better get that printer set up just in case. That’s not specific to the Toshiba machine, though; that’s a generic Chromebook issue.
The rest
Aesthetically, the Chromebook 2 will hold its own at the more budget end of the notebook scale. I liked the textured lid – no fingerprints – but the plastic body may not be to everyone’s taste.
Still, it’s a low-cost machine, which means you were never going to get premium aluminium finishes. That plastic casing also makes it lighter, which is a trade off.
The verdict
HHHH If you feel the high-quality Screen printer is a dealbreaker, the Toshiba Chromebook 2 could be just what you’re looking for.
王金平律師盼國民黨行文最高院
喧擾一年多的立法院長王金平黨籍存在訴訟案，國民黨新任黨主席朱立倫已表明不承受訴訟，基此，最高法院將以「程序不合法」駁回上訴案定讞。王的律師團昨代王金平表示感謝，但仍呼籲國民黨必須行文最高法院，表明「不承受訴訟、不委任律師」才能走完程序，讓訴訟案落幕。
王金平黨籍保衛訴訟案，源於前檢察總長黃世銘指控王金平替立委柯建銘關說引起，馬總統緊接著大動作拔掉王的黨籍，並引爆「九月政爭」。自此，王金平黨籍假處分案、行政訴訟案、民事訴訟案進入法院攻防。
前年九月底，台北地院裁准王金平假處分案，國民黨律師團向高等法院提出抗告。
由於馬堅持訴訟，但一、二審都認定，國民黨撤銷王金平的黨籍不合法，判王勝訴，高院去年九月底宣判後，國民黨又上訴，不過最高法院未分案，接著黨主席從馬換成朱立倫後，最高法院今年二月二日行文國民黨，詢問是否承受訴訟和委任律師。
資深法官表示，依民事訴訟法第四六六條之一規定，第三審採「強制律師代理」規定，須委任律師事務所辯護不可，若朱立倫決定不要承受訴訟、也不委任律師，最高法院就會以「程序不合法」為由，駁回上訴，即王金平保有國民黨籍確定。
法界指出，等朱立倫正式行文最高法院，表明國民黨不承受訴訟、不再委任律師事務所繼續訴訟，或直接撤回上訴，此案即終結；若置之不理，最高法院將裁定由朱承受訴訟，屆時朱若不委任律師，最高法院會令其補正，期限到後不補正，也會裁定駁回上訴，整個程序走完，大致仍需一個多月。
無猥褻行為 視訊交友妹不起訴
簡姓男子被控僱用少女經營脫衣視訊交友網站遭警方查獲；雄檢偵結，簡男和視訊妹等未有脅迫、猥褻等行為，罪嫌不足都獲不起訴。
高雄地檢署不起訴處分書指出，簡男及曹姓妻子被控以廣告企業社名義，僱用少女經營脫衣成人視訊網站，遭高雄市警察局三民第二分局搜索查獲，並依公然猥褻及違反人口販運防制法等罪嫌將簡男夫婦及視訊妹等17人送辦。
檢方偵結，檢察官指出，警方只查扣情趣性感內衣褲及跳蛋等，還不足引起普通一般人羞恥心或厭惡感，而屬有妨害風化的猥褻物；也未查到成人視訊妹有猥褻行為的影像紀錄，無法認定視訊過程是否曾出現含有暴力、性虐待或人獸性交等令一般人感覺不堪呈現於眾或不能忍受而排拒的猥褻行為。
檢察官也表示，依據朱姓等視訊妹供述，簡男夫婦並未以強暴、脅迫及恐嚇等方式要求她們從事視訊，因此依無其他積極事證，罪嫌不足，將簡男等17人處分不起訴。
How to fix your high electric bill
If you bother to look at your phone bill at the end of the month, you'll see exactly what costs what. You see all the charges, even the calls and texts if you feel like actually breaking it all down. But your power bill is a huge mystery. It's just a number — a measure of the power you used and a price — and that's it. So just why is it so darn high, and what on earth can you do about it? It's true that energy prices are up 3% from last year and rising, but that's not even the half of it. Here's everything you need to know to curb your power bills right now.
Take stock, seriously!
I'm going to assume you know that leaving gadgets on over long periods of time draws more power, but you might not realize just how many things in your home are actually plugged in. It's easy to lose track of the big picture when you're just sitting in your living room, but I challenge you to actually tally up the number of gadgets you have plugged in on a daily basis.
Three in the kitchen, a half dozen on the entertainment center, several more in the bedroom, and who knows what else — if it's plugged in, it's almost certainly drawing some amount of power whether you're using it or not. You're probably going to be shocked when you realize that you're powering two dozen or more energy-sucking electronics when you're not even home, and all of it is going to waste.
Standby sucks, really!
A few decades ago you had an on/off button on virtually everything that used electricity. Back then, "off" meant off, but it's a lot more complicated these days. In order to keep your devices in a constantly ready-to-use state we have "standby" modes. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, up to 10% of your home's power use comes from devices in standby mode, and it's draining your hard earned cash.
These power vampires might be making some of your daily tasks a few seconds faster, but it's costing you major cash along the way. How much? You can find that out yourself with a handy little gadget called the Kill A Watt ($19). All you do is plug it into your wall socket, then plug one of your many electronic devices into it. It measures exactly how much power your device is draining — even in standby mode — and displays the results as the dollar amount that it would cost to pay for it over a day, week, month, or year.
Identify things you don't use
How often do you use your inkjet Screen printer? Once a week? Once a month? Virtually never? And yet you keep it plugged in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and that little light on its top lets you know it's sipping your pricey power every second of the day. Remember, if it's plugged in, it's using at least a small amount of electricity, and it's costing you.
Things to unplug:
Kitchen appliances - That coffee grinder you leave on for the 23 hours of the day you're not using it needs to be yanked.
Computer accessories - Pad printer that are rarely used, scanners, and especially speaker systems (even worse if they have powered subwoofers) are adding $$ to your bill.
Entertainment systems - There's virtually no reason to keep a game console or Blu-ray player plugged in all the time unless you really can't spare a few moments whenever it needs a software update. Axe these and count the savings.
Phone chargers - Can I blow your mind? Your phone charger is sucking power every second of the day, whether you have something plugged into it or not
Anything in the guest room - If you're never in the room, why is there a clock radio, TV, cable box, and fan plugged in? Unplug, unplug, and unplug!
Your computer is the worst
Aside from the rarely-used PC accessories that are boosting your power consumption, your computer itself can be the biggest power vampire in your entire home. According to the International Energy Agency, as much as $80 billion in electricity is being wasted by your internet-connected devices.
The funny thing is, it's not just the power to keep your gadgets up and running that is the problem — it's the power to keep them connected to the internet that really kills you in the end. Up to 80% of the power being used goes directly to maintaining your connection to the internet.
If you absolutely refuse to shut your computer down when you're not using it, the least you can do is to disable your internet connection while you're away. Simply tapping on your network icon on your desktop menu bar (located at the top of your Screen printer for Macs and the bottom for Windows PCs) and click your Wi-Fi connection off. It's a few clicks that could save you some serious cash for the course of the year, so why not give it a try?
Take it down a notch
My husband loves to keep the heat turned down to around 60-degrees in the winter. It's evil really, and I regularly let him know how unhappy I am wearing mittens and wool socks to bed. But to his credit (don't tell him I admitted it…) barely using any heat has saved us around $700 a year. According to the Alliance to Save Energy, for every one degree you lower the thermostat, you save about three percent on heating costs. Programmable thermostats are awesome for this, turning the heat down at night, while you're at work, and even off when you're away (if the pipes won't freeze and plants won't die).
Your water heater can be another big energy hog. By EnergyStar estimates, just dropping the temperature setting from 140 degrees to a still-steamy 120 degrees could save you more than $100 a year.
Both the Alliance to Save Energy and EnergyStar are chock full of other useful tips to lower your electric bill. What are some of the little things you've done to save big? Be sure to share your best tips and tricks in the comments section.
律師說鄭捷：讓被害人一刀斃命，未受到殘暴痛苦
發生在去年（2014）5月21日的台北捷運殺人案，檢辯雙方10日進行言詞辯論，鄭捷律師事務所表示，鄭捷的犯罪手法是「一刀斃命」式，被害人沒有受到殘暴痛苦，而且「憎恨並非人的工作，裁斷是神的領域」，希望法官在死刑以外能適當量刑。
21歲的鄭捷以隨機殺人的方式，在下班下課的下午4時22分至26分尖峰時段，在捷運板南線列車車廂內見人就砍或刺，造成4死22傷的慘劇，去年7月21日新北地檢署偵結，依4個殺人罪、22個殺人未遂罪起訴鄭捷，求處死刑。
新北地院今天再度開庭審理此案，鄭捷戴著黑框眼鏡、穿灰色T恤、黑長褲現身，他在最後陳詞中第一次表示懺悔，想彌補自己所造成的傷害，如果有機會，他願意接受心理諮商或輔導，能夠出獄的話，也不會再殺人了。
法庭上，鄭捷的辯護律師團律師梁家贏、劉繼蔚先後發言，針對他的教化性、心理狀態、檢方舉證及精神鑑定是否合法等提出辯詞。指出鄭捷在成長過程中不和家人談心事，以致情緒無法抒發，才會想以殺人的方式來自殺。
律師事務所還說，鄭捷個性倔強，才會不願低聲下氣，坦承自己「後悔」，但實際上已知道自己做錯，表達再來一次就不會殺人；律師團也認為，鄭捷的手法是「一刀斃命」，「被害人沒有受到殘暴痛苦」，鄭捷並非沒有矯正、教化的可能，請法官判處死刑之外的適當之刑。
今天庭訊到中午12時20分結束，裁定3月6日宣判。被害人家屬離去前接受媒體採訪，紛紛痛批律師是「替惡魔脫罪」，鄭捷的懺悔是律師教他講的，根本不是真有悔意。死者張正翰的母親說，律師像在演講一樣，讓家屬很受傷，死者解青雲的遺孀陳媛媛說，不管鄭捷有沒有教化的可能性，都應該判他死刑，家屬承受的傷痛，不是律師能感受到的。
視訊交友美女的網愛攝影
科技連接了全世界，卻在不知不覺中疏離人們之間的距離，寂寞空虛的男女從視訊聊天室尋求慰藉，色情聊天室因應時勢崛起，更不乏有視訊交友的情色演出。義大利攝影師Stefano Schirato深入探訪羅馬尼亞從事色情行業的視訊美女，《webcam girls》拍出她們的工作實況，更讓我們瞭解從事色情行業女子的內心世界！
羅馬尼亞當地的色情工作室已經盛行十多年，這次攝影師拍攝的Happy Studios，分布在大學校區附近，打出相當吸引人徵才廣告：「如果你年輕貌美、冰雪聰明，想要一份工作時間自由、收入豐厚的工作嗎？別懷疑，這裡就是你最好的選擇。」擔任成人視訊的女性，多以學生賺外快為主，其中更不乏已婚婦女。
平常擔任攝影記者的Stefano Schirato，拍下成人視訊女孩從上工到下班的工作歷程，更貼身採訪她們為什麼想要從事這一行業，以及賺了多少錢。不少高學歷大學女生也為了在短時間內賺到錢，而當作打工賺外快的兼差工作。更有以前是上班族、秘書的女性，發現坐在辦公室的收入不比當視訊女郎高，而轉換跑道。
Local SEO For Franchises Means Teamwork
SEO is commonly viewed as one of the most challenging marketing activities to orchestrate across a national-to-local network. In addition to trying to figure out how to “win” at SEO in general, franchise businesses also often face the unique dilemma of needing multiple sites from the same domain to rank well in a search results.
Localization no doubt comes to mind immediately as the solution to this problem. While this is the ultimate route to success, some very specific considerations must be factored in for a local SEO campaign for franchises to be properly executed.
Start At The Beginning
Certainly the primary website should be the first area to focus on. Duplicate content is, of course, the big no-no here. One way that franchisors can avoid this is to offer their franchisees multiple versions of the basic website.
Each version can include not only slightly different copy but also varied images. It’s important to remember that content is not synonymous with copy.
Localize With Purpose
Gone are the days when localization meant simply changing out the city and state in the body copy or a headline and keeping all other content as is. For starters, localization today should focus not just on a city or geographical region but a neighborhood or smaller locale. The pendulum is shifting back to the more personal and more local.
All localized sites and landing pages, even if they share a domain, should find ways to create H1s, H2s and URLs unique to their specific business location. In addition, the inclusion of name, address and phone number (NAP) information and store hours provides immediate differentiators.
On those landing pages, social sharing buttons should be prominently placed with links to the social accounts for the specific location.
Despite the oft-cited claim that Pigeon was created to help small businesses, the truth is that its focus is on local businesses, which are not always small. An individual franchise operation may be a small business, but the larger franchisor company is quite often a rather influential national brand. Therefore, Pigeon most definitely applies to franchise operations.
HP's Sprout uses a smart mat
For years, the design of desktop PCs has been relatively static when compared to the innovation tablets and smartphones have enjoyed.
But now, Hewlett Packard is hoping to shake up the sector with a machine that uses a touch mat and in-built Pad printer as its main controls, leaving a keyboard and mouse as optional extras.
The Sprout's projects graphics onto its mat to provide its owners with a limitless range of controls.
These can be anything from normal computer icons and alphanumeric keyboards, to piano keys and DJ mixing decks - the only limit is the software developers' imagination.
Owners can also capture objects by placing real-world products on top of the surface, allowing the items to be scanned and then reproduced as graphics that appear on the mat and can be manipulated by hand.
Alternatively, the machine can create Screen printer files that can be edited on the main Screen printer before being turned into physical objects or shared with others.
The device, which will sell for $1,900 in the US and £1,900 in the UK, was five years in the making and was almost cancelled at one point before HP decided to make it the flagship of a new Blended Reality range.
It is being launched during a period of upheaval for the company.
HP was dethroned as the world's bestselling PC-maker in 2012, when it was overtaken by China's Lenovo, but is seeking to regain pole position.
As part of that plan it intends to divide the company in two. One half will get Hewlett-Packard's Pad printer and PC business while the other half will focus on other hardware, software and services.
HP currently has an 18.8% market share of the PC market compared to Lenovo's 19.4%, according to the consultancy Gartner.
One of the advisor's analysts is a fan of Sprout, but has doubts about its potential.
"It's a great product and I really like the concept," said Mikako Kitagawa.
"The question is will it be a mainstream device, and the answer is probably not. It's not just expensive -it's also not clear how quickly users would adapt to adapt to its new way of inputting data, and this type of device is not for everyone.
"But it's still good for HP to show that it's innovative as this demonstrates that it's not just a producer of normal PCs - a commoditised market - but also has great technology behind it. And that will improve the value of its brand."
The BBC's technology desk editor, Leo Kelion, was given a demo of the Sprout by its inventor, Brad Short and HP's senior vice-president of personal devices Ron Coughlin.