Saturday, March 2, 2013

Software Eats Meat: AgLocal Disrupts The Food Industry From Farmer To Fork, Launches In NYC With 20 Celeb Chefs On Board

aglocal-logoAgLocal, the Andreessen Horowitz-backed marketplace that connects farmers to meat buyers and distributors, is now launching in New York City with 20 celebrity, top-rated and otherwise widely known chefs on board. Currently in a private testing period, AgLocal introduces technology into an ordering system that, to date, has largely operated offline through phone calls, faxes and, yes, sometimes even Post-It notes.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ihui2KVmZpM/

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Kerry: Egypt needs political, economic viability

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gives a statement to the media at the start of a meeting with business leaders in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Cairo is the sixth leg of Kerry's first official overseas trip and begins the Middle East portion of his nine-day journey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gives a statement to the media at the start of a meeting with business leaders in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Cairo is the sixth leg of Kerry's first official overseas trip and begins the Middle East portion of his nine-day journey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, shakes hands for a photograph with Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby, after their meeting in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Cairo is the sixth leg of Kerry's first official overseas trip and begins the Middle East portion of his nine-day journey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, second from right, meets with members of Egyptian political parties including Ayman Nour, left, Egypt on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Cairo is the sixth leg of Kerry's first official overseas trip and begins the Middle East portion of his nine-day journey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, poses for a photograph with Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby, after their meeting in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Cairo is the sixth leg of Kerry's first official overseas trip and begins the Middle East portion of his nine-day journey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

(AP) ? Egypt's bickering government and opposition need to create "a sense of political and economic viability," giving businesses confidence and setting the stage for a vital international aid deal, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday.

Kerry stressed to business leaders the importance of Egyptians coming together around human rights, freedom and speech and religious tolerance. Equally essential, he said, is uniting "to meet the economic challenge of this particular moment."

He arrived in Cairo, the latest stop on his first overseas trip as a member of President Barack Obama's second-term Cabinet, intending to press all sides to come to a basic agreement on Egypt's direction ahead of parliamentary elections that begin next month.

Of great concern, too, is the ability of Egypt to undertake the reforms necessary to qualify for a $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan package. Steps could include increasing tax collections and curbing energy subsidies.

Agreement with the IMF, contingent on ending the political chaos that has ensued since President Mohammed Morsi's election, would unlock significant U.S. assistance, including portions of Obama's $1 billion pledge last April.

"It is paramount, essential, urgent," Kerry told business leaders, "that the Egyptian economy gets stronger, gets back on its feet and it's very clear that there is a circle of connections in how that can happen.

"To attract capital, to bring money back here, to give business the confidence to move forward, there has to be sense of security, there has to be a sense of political and economic viability."

Kerry, who was to meet with Morsi on Sunday, said he would tell the president that that U.S. assistance would depend on Egyptian reforms and the IMF agreement.

"It is clear to us that the IMF arrangement needs to be reached and we need to give the market place some confidence," Kerry said.

Several hundred people protested outside the government offices where Kerry planned to meet with Foreign Minister Amr Kamel. They burned Kerry's pictures and chanted that Washington was siding with Morsi's ruling Muslim Brotherhood.

The political turmoil has scared away tourists and foreign investors, eroding Egypt's foreign reserves by nearly two-thirds of what it was before the uprising. Those reserves, which stand at less than $14 billion, are needed to pay for subsidies that millions of poor Egyptians rely on for survival.

Kerry met with opposition figures before a round-table discussion with members of the business community. He described the first session as "very, very spirited."

According to the U.S. State Department, Kerry also spoke by telephone with Mohammed ElBaradei, a Nobel laureate who heads the National Salvation Front, an opposition coalition calling for an election boycott.

Kerry met with Amr Moussa, a former minister under ex-President Hosni Mubarak who's now aligned with the Salvation Front. Moussa, an ex-Arab League head, ran for president last summer.

A statement from Moussa's office said the two talked about how the U.S. could support Egypt economically.

Kerry's talks with the league's current leader, Nabil Elaraby, covered the uprising in Syria, where 70,000 people have died in fighting over nearly two years.

The Salvation Front says it could consider participating in elections if parts of a new constitution are changed, police stop using excessive force against protesters and if an inclusive government of the Christian minority, women, and liberals is formed.

They say now is not the time for elections that will further polarize the country while violent clashes continue to take place between protesters and security forces, further shaking the faltering economy.

They accuse Morsi and the Brotherhood of dominating power in Egypt, effectively stepping in to the same role as Mubarak and failing to carry out reforms while also seeking to instill a more religiously conservative system.

Morsi's administration and the Brotherhood say their opponents, who have trailed significantly behind Islamists in all elections since the uprising, are running away from the challenge of the ballot box and are trying to overturn democratic gains.

Egypt has been locked in political crisis for months amid successive waves of protests against Morsi that have turned into deadly clashes and rioting.

As Kerry was meeting with opposition figures, including some who have joined the election boycott, activists in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura say a 35-year-old protester was killed when an armored police vehicle crushed him to death during violent anti-Morsi protests before dawn on Saturday.

A 14-year-old boy was reported to be shot in the head and critically wounded.

In the restive Suez Canal city of Port Said, a police vehicle ran over five people Saturday after protesters marching along a main street refused to allow the car through.

Kerry's visit to Egypt is the sixth leg of a nine-nation trip through Europe and the Middle East.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-02-Kerry/id-ed80774da8e04b96bc950e37085a9600

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FCC looking into ban on unlocking on-contract iPhones and other phones

FCC may step in to let you unlock your phone

The FCC is going to look into the ban on unlocking phones. The ban, which came into effect on January 26 of this year, made it illegal to unlock an on-contract device for use on another carrier. Citing concerns over innovations, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that the commission would be looking into the matter. According to TechCrunch:

Genachowski isn?t sure what authority he has, but if he finds any, given the tone of the conversation, it?s likely he will exert his influence to reverse the decision. ?It?s something that we will look at at the FCC to see if we can and should enable consumers to use unlocked phones.?

The illegality of unlocking phones benefits carriers by keeping you locked into your contract. Of course, you can still pay an early termination fee, but now you have to get a new device when you move to a new carrier. This increases the hassle of the switching process, which carriers already make as hard as possible. Expect the carriers to fight back, because anything that makes it even a little easier for a customer to take their money elsewhere is a threat to their bottom line.

Are you glad that the FCC is investigating? Have you ever unlocked or considered unlocking your phone?

Source: TechCrunch



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/_u9NphDbGeY/story01.htm

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Friday, March 1, 2013

Best Desktop Search Application?

Best Desktop Search Application? You saved a file somewhere on your system, and all you can remember is a phrase or snippet of text you wrote inside of it. How do you go about finding the file? If you know the filename, it can be easy with your OS's built-in tools, but if you're searching contents, file types, or created/modified dates, it can get tough. Thankfully there are desktop search utilities that help, and this week we want to know which ones you think are the best.

It's been a long time since we last touched on this topic, and some of the ones we loved back then (including Google Desktop Search), are long gone now. Have you found a favorite that you've stuck with over the years, or has the need for these tools diminished since then? Sound off with your nomination in the discussions below.

Hive Five nominations take place in the discussions, where you post your favorite tool for the job. We get hundreds of nominations, so to make your nomination clear, please include it at the top of your post like so: VOTE: BEST DESKTOP SEARCH APPLICATION. Please don't include your vote in a reply to another person. Nominations emailed to us will not be counted. Instead, make your vote and reply separate discussions. After you've made your nomination, let us know what makes it stand out from the competition.

About the Hive Five: The Hive Five feature series asks readers to answer the most frequently asked question we get: "Which tool is the best?" Once a week we'll put out a call for contenders looking for the best solution to a certain problem, then YOU tell us your favorite tools to get the job done. Every weekend, we'll report back with the top five recommendations and give you a chance to vote on which is best. For an example, check out last week's five best a/v receivers.

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it?it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/tr3gIqZ-JSk/best-desktop-search-application

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Taylor Swift: Number-One! On Two Charts!

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Egypt invites IMF to resume loan talks

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's government said Thursday that it invited an International Monetary Fund delegation to the country in March to resume talks on a $4.8 billion dollar loan desperately needed to boost the ailing economy, the official news agency said.

The Middle East News Agency, MENA, quoted Investment Minister Osama Saleh as saying the government will present the delegation with changes to its economic reform program. He didn't offer any details on the changes.

Egypt's ongoing political unrest has cast doubts over its ability to secure the loan, which is considered crucial to shoring up investor confidence and freeing up a wave of loans that Cairo has requested from other lenders.

The loan would cover part of a growing budget deficit. But it would also send an important signal to investors that Egypt is again a safe bet after two years of instability that began with the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

"Egypt was about to seal the deal with the fund in December, but political disturbances halted" talks, Saleh was quoted as saying by state-owned daily Al-Ahram.

Yet loan talks were set back after Egypt backtracked on tax hikes late last year.

Earlier this month, debt rating agency Fitch downgraded Egypt and said the country is not likely to get the IMF loan before parliamentary elections, set to begin in April and run in four stages through June.

Fitch said there could be political pushback against austerity measures until the end of the year and others have questioned whether President Mohammed Morsi would have the political will to implement unpopular economic reforms that could hurt his Muslim Brotherhood group at the polls.

Fitch warned that a prolonged delay in implementing an IMF austerity program could lead to a strain on external finances, an abrupt depletion of reserves and a disorderly devaluation of the currency. Another concern is Egypt's widening budget deficit.

Over the past months, Egypt's foreign currency reserves sharply declined. The central bank said the reserves fell to $13.61 billion in January from $15.01 billion a month earlier, a $1.4 billion decline that provided stark new evidence of a dangerous deterioration in the economy. Foreign reserves stood at $36 billion before Egypt's uprising began in January 2011.

Morsi has resisted implementing austerity measures while struggling to contain spreading calls for civil disobedience and strikes across the country.

The opposition political group The National Salvation Front has declared it will boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections in a sign that the political turmoil will be prolonged. The group is demanding that Morsi provide assurances on amending the newly adopted constitution, form a national unity government and guarantee free and fair elections.

Recently, the government said that it will not touch basic commodities and subsidies ? on which millions of poor Egyptians live ? but will raise sales tax on cigarettes, liquor, cement, and steel. Cutting energy subsidies is also at the top of the agenda.

The Islamist government has been also searching for alternative ways to increase revenues.

On Wednesday, it approved a draft law that allows the state to issue Islamic bonds and sent it to the transitional parliament. The government believes that it can raise some $10 billion dollars from the bonds, which according to Islamic principles do not pay interest.

This week, the government sent a delegation to Iran in another sign of warming ties after decades of strain. Egypt wants to lure Iranians to shore up its ailing tourism industry, a key earner of foreign revenue.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-invites-imf-resume-loan-talks-161712811--finance.html

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Bipper App Lands Hollywood Investment, Courtesy Of Actress Jada Pinkett Smith

bipperThe bSafe 'panic alarm' app and service on iOS and Android by the startup called Bipper launched into the U.S. mid last year.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/0ewDSVC5SjA/

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