Thursday, November 29, 2012

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason Has ?Tough Fight ... - Yahoo! Finance

Three news stories on Wednesday appeared that reported essentially the same thing:

Board members at Groupn (GRPN) were discussing firing the company's CEO Andrew Mason.

These news stories did not cite each other. Rather, they cited "sources" close to the situation. (Kara Swisher at All Things D broke the story.* Then Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal followed).

Often, when separate news stories contain essentially the same information and don't cite each other, it means that a person or company wants the information out there.

In the case of the Groupon, it was not immediately obvious who stood to gain from the Andrew Mason information.

It didn't help Andrew Mason, certainly.

And it didn't help the company, whose leadership was suddenly thrown into limbo.

And it didn't help the board as a whole, which looked like it was stabbing its CEO in the back.

It seemed unlikely that high-quality publications like All Things D, Bloomberg, and the Wall Street Journal would run with secondhand information. So it seemed the information had come directly from (or at the behest of) one or more of the board members who are discussing firing Mason.

Judging from the Wall Street Journal's story, which cited "fractures" and "clashes" between Andrew Mason and board members Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, it's not hard to guess who those board members might be.

In any event, leaking information like that was a cutthroat thing to do.

And it put Andrew Mason in an incredibly awkward position.

For one thing, it forced him to address in public the question of whether the board might fire him, which he did at the Business Insider Ignition conference. Mason had a good answer for that question: With the stock getting clobbered, of course the board was discussing whether he is the right guy for the job. But boards generally have those discussions in private, not in newspapers.

Importantly, if everyone on the board wanted to fire Mason, there would have been no need to leak the story. The board could just have canned Mason at the upcoming meeting and announced the news when it was a fait accompli. So it seems likely that a board member or two want to oust Mason and other board members don't--and that the ones who do want to oust him blindsided him.

(That was the impression I got in our interview, by the way--that Mason had been blindsided. He was articulate and composed, but he also seemed almost resigned to the fact that he was going to get canned).

It will be interesting to one day get the full story.

It will also be interesting to see how the situation plays out.

And inasmuch as someone on the Groupon board apparently wants us to have a public discussion about whether Andrew Mason should be canned, let's go ahead and have one.

The fire-Mason case is clear:

  • Groupon's stock has had an abysmal year since its IPO a year ago.
  • Groupon's international business is imploding.
  • The growth of Groupon's core daily deal business has slowed to a crawl, and the product still clearly needs tuning (there are too many anecdotal stories of merchants not liking the product)
  • There has been some senior management turnover
  • A big part of the problem at the company is external perception (which starts at the top)
  • Andrew Mason has only a few years of business experience and is now responsible for turning around and managing a massive global corporation, winning over Wall Street and the media, instilling passion and confidence in tens of thousands of rattled customers and employees

The give-Mason-more-time case, however, is also compelling:

  • Groupon has likely grown faster than any company in history--from zero to $2.5 billion in revenue, 12,000 employees, and profitability in less than four years
  • Groupon is still growing
  • Groupon is making money
  • Groupon has crushed almost all of its competitors
  • Groupon has successfully launched a new business--merchandise--that is already doing more than $1.5 billion of annualized revenue
  • Groupon's North American business is still doing well--it's the acquired companies in Europe that are the problem
  • Mason has a lot left to learn, but he is learning quickly
  • All companies go through rough periods.

What decision will the board make? What's the right decision?

That's a tough one.

In my opinion, it depends a lot on Andrew Mason.

Andrew Mason has led Groupon this far (and very few observers appreciate how spectacularly hard that has been to do). If Andrew Mason wants to fight to keep his job, commits to learning more about how to run a multi-national corporation and communicate better with Wall Street and the media, and remains excited and passionate about his job, then he should be given more time. Not an indefinite amount of time, but more time.

If, on the other hand, Andrew Mason has learned that managing a huge global corporation, dealing with the media and investors, and continuing to build and manage a top-notch senior executive team is just not as much fun or as rewarding as leading Groupon in the early years, then he should step aside (or get canned).

This, by the way, is not a new situation for a founder-CEO to find himself in.

The skills and leadership ability required to grow a startup are different than those required to turn around and manage a vast global corporation. And many talented entrepreneurs and executives decide that they prefer one to the other.

I have huge respect for Andrew Mason for doing the interview today. Most CEOs would have cancelled the conference appearance. I also have huge respect for what Mason and his team have accomplished at Groupon over the past three years.

If Mason wants some more time to prove himself and fix Groupon, the board should give him more time.

If he doesn't, I hope he resigns quickly, helps hire a great new CEO, and then eventually gets more credit for building the company than he has to date.

The reason that leak was so ruthless, though, is that it will be hard to recover from.

Groupon's CEO has been placed in limbo.

To resolve the situation in Mason's favor would require the resignation of the board members who want him gone. But even this wouldn't fix it. Everyone would know why these board members were quitting--because they had lost confidence in the CEO--and that wouldn't help Mason's authority, either.

Even if Andrew Mason wants to fight for his job, in other words, it will be a tough fight to win.

Whoever stabbed him in the back knew what they were doing.

Follow The Daily Ticker on Facebook!

More Groupon coverage from The Daily Ticker:

Groupon Stock Plummets After Poor Q3 Earnings: Has It Hit a Wall?

Groupon's Move into Mobile Payments: Hail Mary or Savvy Strategy?

Groupon Blows It Again, Restates Earnings as Customers Demand Refunds

Web 2.o Bust? Groupon's Early Investors Flee

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/groupon-ceo-andrew-mason-tough-fight-keep-job-160315102.html

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Kosovo ex-premier Haradinaj cleared of war crimes again

AMSTERDAM/PRISTINA (Reuters) - Ramush Haradinaj, a former guerrilla fighter in Kosovo who served briefly as prime minister, was acquitted of war crimes for a second time on Thursday, clearing the way for his return to mainstream politics but angering Serbia.

The retrial verdict by a United Nations court in The Hague comes on the heels of the acquittal on appeal two weeks ago of top Croatian general Ante Gotovina, fuelling nationalist accusations in Serbia that the court is biased against them.

The verdict, and Haradinaj's return to frontline campaigning, could undermine a new effort by the European Union to encourage Serbia and Kosovo to mend ties almost five years after the former southern Serbian province declared independence with the backing of the West.

Haradinaj was accused with two accomplices of persecuting ethnic Serbs in an effort to drive them out of Kosovo, during a 1998-99 war between guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and security forces under late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

Judges ruled there was no evidence to support the charges of crimes against humanity.

"On the contrary, the evidence establishes that, when he heard about the mistreatment of individuals, Haradinaj said no such thing should happen because this is damaging of our cause," the presiding judge, Bakone Justice Moloto, said.

There were gasps and cheers in the courtroom, and fireworks in Kosovo's capital, Pristina.

Haradinaj was prime minister for several months in 2005 but resigned when he was first charged. He was acquitted in 2008 but appeal judges ordered a partial retrial, saying the prosecution should have been given more time to make its case.

Prosecutors have long been dogged by problems of witness intimidation in Kosovo, where the KLA is still revered and clan loyalties run deep. Kosovo's government said the verdict was vindication of the guerrilla insurgency.

"This verdict is the strongest evidence that the Kosovo Liberation Army fought a just war for freedom and never committed the crimes of which we were unfairly accused," Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, himself a former KLA commander, said in a statement.

Speculation is rife in Kosovo's media that Thaci plans to reshuffle his coalition government to bring in Haradinaj's Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, possibly ceding the post of prime minister to Haradinaj and seeking the presidency for himself.

Hardinaj's lawyer said the 44-year-old former nightclub bouncer would return to Kosovo on Thursday evening, "and with the consent of the people, will soon be resuming his rightful position as the political leader of the country".

"TIME FOR RECONCILIATION"

Serbia's nationalist President Tomislav Nikolic said the ruling was further evidence the U.N. tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was "formed to try the Serbian people" for the wars of Yugoslavia's collapse in the 1990s.

He warned it would "annul" progress made so far in fledgling EU-mediated talks between Belgrade and Pristina. Progress in the talks is a key condition of Serbia's further integration with the EU, which made Belgrade an official candidate for membership in March.

But Ivica Dacic, who holds the more powerful post of prime minister in Serbia's coalition government, has said the talks must go on, regardless of the Haradinaj verdict.

Kosovo was the last throw of the dice by late Serbian strongman Milosevic after he fomented wars in Bosnia and Croatia. NATO finally intervened in 1999 with 78 days of air strikes to halt a brutal Serbian crackdown in which almost a million ethnic Albanians were expelled.

"This is a big day for our nation," said Mustafe Bislimi, one of several hundred Kosovo Albanians who watched the verdict live on a big screen in the Kosovo capital, Pristina.

"This shows that his (Hardinaj's) war was right. We need him now more than ever."

Idriz Balaj, a former commander of a special KLA unit known as the Black Eagles, and Lahi Brahimaj, Haradinaj's uncle and a member of the KLA's general staff, were also acquitted in the retrial. Brahimaj has already served the six-year sentence he was given for torture at his first trial.

Judges ruled that ethnic Serbs and Albanians had been mistreated in camps controlled by the KLA, but found that nothing linked Haradinaj to these incidents.

On one occasion, Moloto said, Haradinaj had offered food and accommodation to an escaped detainee before returning him to his family.

(Additional reporting by Radosa Milutinovic in The Hague; Writing by Matt Robinson in Belgrade; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hague-tribunal-acquits-former-kosovo-leader-haradinaj-retrial-085614097.html

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How WedPics? Eviction From Founder?s Home Spurred A Rally In Raleigh

raleighWhat seemed like a disaster turned out to be a blessing for 31-year-old entrepreneur Justin Miller, founder of Deja Mi and WedPics. After a feature story by NewsObserver left the company with an eviction notice for running the 13-employee business out of Miller's home in Raleigh, NC, the community's support led to a new working space at The Hub and a $250k investment from a local angel investors. We first met Miller at the Raleigh-Durham meetup, where we learned about his second startup WedPics, an Instagram-style private photo-sharing app for weddings. The company's first startup, another geo-based photo-sharing app called Deja Mi, and WedPics were both run out of Miller's home, until very recently.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/fDqrMH2Mbv4/

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

$550 Million Powerball: What Are Your Chances?

The odds of winning tonight's (Nov. 28) historic $550 million Powerball jackpot are estimated at 1 in 175 million. If that figure seems encouraging, then it may be time to insure yourself against a donkey attack.

That's because the probability that you'll be killed by a belligerent donkey this year is on the same order of magnitude as the probability of a win tonight.

Records on donkey-attack deaths aren't perfect, but a cautious estimate based on reported incidents puts the chance at about 1 in 300 million. Still, like lottery wins, rogue donkey murders can and do happen, and an American who's not a donkey handler does seem to have a slightly better chance of winning the lottery than succumbing to a long ear.

On the other hand, an American is also close to 20,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning in her lifetime than she is to win tonight. The odds of being hit by lightning during an 80-year life are about 1 in 10,000.

But those who insist on keeping a sunny outlook about tonight's drawing might draw faith from Roy Sullivan, a Virginia park ranger who beat the odds and managed to be struck by lightning seven times in a span of just 35 years, surviving each time. (Tragically, Sullivan also joined another rarified statistical group, when he chose to kill himself at age 71 over an unrequited love.)

Anyone who still likes their Powerball odds will probably have competition from at least 19 new mothers in Minneapolis. They're likely feeling lucky after contributing to a streak of 19 male births in a row over the weekend at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, as reported by the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

In any given hospital at any given moment, there's about a 1 out of 500,000 probability that the next 19 births will all be boys.

So, if you find a doctor to give you betting odds on another 19-boy streak (Life's Little Mysteries does not endorse illegal gambling), your chances of winning big are 350 times better than with a Powerball ticket.?

Follow Life's Little?Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.

Copyright 2012 Lifes Little Mysteries, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/550-million-powerball-chances-202208667.html

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Afghans protest against death sentence for soldier who killed French troops

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Source: www.hizb.org.uk --- Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Students protest at death sentence for Abdul Saboor when western Troops are not executed for civilian deaths Hundreds of Afghan students have demanded the release of an Afghan soldier sentenced to death for killing five French soldiers, in a rowdy protest that was a reminder of hostility to western forces and the central government in many parts of Afghanistan. Abdul Saboor was given the death penalty by a military court for opening fire on French forces during a joint operation in eastern Kapisa province in January. The deaths contributed to France?s decision to withdraw its Troops early, and highlighted the growing problem of insider attacks by Afghan police and soldiers against the foreign soldiers training them. The shootings have become one of the biggest challenges for Nato commanders in Afghanistan. This year so far more than 60 foreigners have been killed in 45 such attacks, around 15% of military deaths in the country. The rising trend has pushed the United States to restrict contacts with Afghan Troops and raised questions about the long-term future of the training mission. Afghan forces have suffered similar or higher losses to attackers from inside their own ranks, and have stepped up screening procedures to try to limit what they see as treacherous attacks. But about 500 university students who blocked the main highway between the capital Kabul and the eastern hub of Jalalabad for more than an hour on Monday morning ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HTBrss/~3/W4FNrYJ5S5I/afghans-protest-against-death-sentence-for-soldier-who-killed-french-troops

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What is CSS Website Design?

Mark-up language like CSS, HTML, and XHTML are the building blocks of any website design.? It provides the written instruction of what your website will look like upon viewing in the internet.? Most we resent on reading and learning more when we encounter these symbols.? Nevertheless, if you are in for the ride, these basics need refreshing and absorbing for better understanding of website design creation.

Let us first understand what exactly the meaning of CSS is.? Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is use to describe the appearance of documents written in any mark-up language.? It separates the presentation code from the actual content of the website design.? CSS web pages written in HTML or XHTML is the best and even better in a sense of incorporating it to just any kind of XML document.? A set of CSS style rules are display this way .cuss extension.? This file is then link from the web pages using a HTML link tag.? There is several benefits gain in using CSS.? Here are three possible ways to go about it.

?Every website aims to make it to the top of search engines such as Google.? Likewise, the search engines send their robots to a variety of websites to get new and relevant content.? Websites compete for the same thing and that is website popularity.? Search engine robots inspect your site to discover what content you have and the easier to find, the better, because they do not waste much time looking.? So having said this, what is the point of bogging down your pages with lots of unnecessary presentation mark-up that could quite easily be stored off in a separate CSS file?? This often means removing any irrelevant table tags and replacing them with a smaller number of HTML tags, which are format using CSS rules.? This removes the majority of presentational markup and leaves you with well-formatted content that the search engines will love and can easily find and index.

?Search engines place a massive amount of importance on the header tags - h1, h2, and h3 that they find in your web design.? The thing that puts most inexperienced website designers off using header tags is that by default modern browsers render them in huge black text that looks really awful.? This is where CSS comes in.? CSS make your header tags appear in nicely formatted, attractive text that both scores well with search engines and are pleasing to the eye of the user.

Traditionally, rollover images are created using two graphics for the on and off states that are toggled using some complex JavaScript code.? This JavaScript code can swell your web pages and since it is not content and just appears as nonsense to search engines.? Having lots of embedded JavaScript within your web pages can affect your rankings to.? A much better way to achieve the same web design effect is to use CSS.? Simply by making the link a block level element in your HTML, setting it to a height and width and then defining it 2 different background images, 1 for when the link is in its 'off state' and when for when the user is hovering over the link.

?Cascading style sheets are a very powerful way of separating presentation code from your actual website content.? The Search engine optimization benefits the CSS will bring to your web design are undeniable.? Do your homework and start researching on how to utilize CSS in your own means.

Source: http://website.ezinemark.com/what-is-css-website-design-7d382630128d.html

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Game-Changers: The Next Generation of Business Innovation - Adzag

The rising influence of technology, increasing?transparency, consumer voice, shifting retail models, global accessibility,?accelerating?veticalisation of brands, smartphone ubiquity, the list goes on and its why many people believe we are in the midst of an economic shift on par with the change experienced during the industrial revolution. ?The world we live in is altered everyday by the continued impact of digital. ?Some days the increments are small, others its huge. ?Brands and businesses rise and fall, products get smarter or more connected, platforms and experiences appear and?disappear, it all adds up to what Peter Fisk?succinctly?calls,?Game-changers. ?A presentation well worth a read.

?

Source: http://www.adzag.co/2012/11/27/game-changers-the-next-generation-of-business-innovation/

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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Larry Birkhead Defends Dannielynn Modeling Gig

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/11/larry-birkhead-defends-dannielynn-modeling-gig/

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Aiding the Doctor Who Feels Cancer's Toll - NYTimes.com

The woman was terminally ill with advanced cancer, and the oncologist who had been treating her for three years thought the next step might be to deliver chemotherapy directly to her brain. It was a risky treatment that he knew would not, could not, help her.

When Dr. Diane E. Meier asked what he thought the futile therapy would accomplish, the oncologist replied, ?I don?t want Judy to think I?m abandoning her.?

In a recent interview, Dr. Meier said, ?Most physicians have no other strategies, no other arrows in their quiver beyond administering tests and treatments.?

?To avoid feeling that they?ve abandoned their patients, doctors throw procedures at them,? she said.

Dr. Meier, a renowned expert on palliative care at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, was the keynote speaker this month at the Buddhist Contemplative Care Symposium, organized by the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care and the Garrison Institute. She described contemplative care as ?the discipline of being present, of listening before acting.?

?Counter to how the American medical system is structured, which pays for what gets done,? she said, ?its approach is, ?Don?t just do something, stand there.???

But the idea is not to do just that. Rather, she said, the goal is to ?restore the patient to the center of the enterprise.?

Under the Affordable Care Act, she said, unnecessary procedures may decline as more doctors are reimbursed for doing what is best for their patients over time, not just for administering tests and treatments. But more could be done if physicians were able to step away from the misperception that everything that can be done should be done.

Dr. Meier?s question prompted Judy?s doctor to realize that what his patient needed most at the end of her life was not more chemotherapy, but for him to sit down with her, to promise to do his best to keep her comfortable and to be there for the rest of her days.

Doctors Suffer, Too

Patients and families may not realize it, but doctors who care for people with incurable illness, and especially the terminally ill, often grieve with their patients. Unable to cope with their own feelings of frustration, failure and helplessness, doctors may react with anger, abruptness and avoidance.

Visits may be reduced to a quick review of the medical chart, and phone calls may not be returned. Even though their doctors are still there, incurably ill patients may feel neglected and depressed. Dr. Michael K. Kearney, a palliative care physician at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, told the Contemplative Care conference that doctors, especially those who care for terminally ill patients, are subject to two serious forms of occupational stress: burnout and compassion fatigue.

He described burnout as ?the end stage of stresses between the individual and the work environment? that can result in emotional and physical exhaustion, a sense of detachment and a feeling of never being able to achieve one?s professional goals.

He likened compassion fatigue to ?secondary post-traumatic stress disorder, or vicarious traumatization ? trauma suffered when someone close to you is suffering.?

A doctor with compassion fatigue may avoid thoughts and feelings associated with a patient?s pain, become irritable and easily angered, and face physical and emotional distress when reminded of work with the dying. Compassion fatigue can lead to burnout.

In one study of 18 oncologists, published in 2008 in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, those who saw their role as both biomedical and psychosocial found end-of-life care very satisfying. But those ?who described a primarily biomedical role reported a more distant relationship with the patient, a sense of failure at not being able to alter the course of the disease and an absence of collegial support,? the authors noted.

Healing the Healer

For doctors at risk of becoming overwhelmed by the stresses of their jobs, Dr. Kearney recommends adopting the time-honored Buddhist practice of ?mindfulness meditation,? which involves cultivating mental techniques for stress reduction that are native to all of us but practiced by too few. He likened meditation to ?learning to breathe underwater, or finding sources of renewal within work itself.?

To achieve it, a person sits quietly, paying attention to one?s breathing and whenever a distracting thought intrudes, turning one?s attention back to the sensation of breathing. This can help calm the mind and prepare it for a clearer perspective.

Dr. Kearney said this practice could help doctors ?really pay attention and be tuned into their patients and what the patients are experiencing.?

?Patients, in turn,? he said, ?experience a doctor who?s not just focused on a medical agenda but who really listens to them.?

He said mindfulness meditation helps doctors become more self-aware, empathetic and patient-focused, and to make fewer medical errors. It enables doctors to notice what is going on within themselves and to consider rational options instead of just reacting.

?It?s like pressing an internal pause button,? Dr. Kearney said. ?The doctor is able to recognize he?s being stressed, and it prevents him from invoking the survival defense mechanisms of fight (?Let?s do another course of chemotherapy?), flight (?There?s nothing more I can do for you ? I?ll go get the chaplain?) and freeze (the doctor goes blank and does nothing).? Such reactions can be highly distressing to a dying patient.

When a patient asks for the impossible, like ?Promise me I?m not going to die,? the mindful doctor is more likely to step back and say, ?I can promise you I?ll do everything I can to help you. I?m going to continue to care for you and support you as best as I can. I?ll be back to see you later today and again tomorrow,? Dr. Kearney said.

Although Dr. Kearney does mindfulness meditation for 30 minutes every morning, he said as little as 8 to 10 minutes a day has been shown helpful to practicing physicians.

In addition, doctors can factor moments of meditation into the course of the workday ? say, while washing their hands, having a snack or coffee or pausing before entering the next patient room to focus on breathing.

To deal with the emotional flood that can come after a traumatic event, he suggested taking a brief timeout or calling a colleague to say ?I need a walk.?

This is the second of two columns about communication and cancer. Read the first: ?When Treating Cancer Is Not an Option?

Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/aiding-the-doctor-who-feels-cancers-toll/

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State immigration law bogs down medical licensing | Online Athens

ATLANTA ? Officials say Georgia's law cracking down on illegal immigration is causing administrative problems for doctors and creating more work for the state regulators who license them.

The law, passed last year to make it tougher for people to live and work in the state without proper documentation, includes a provision that requires all licensed professionals to prove their citizenship.

The Medical Association of Georgia said the law has created an administrative burden for physicians, and the small staff of Georgia's Medical Composite Board is bogged down trying to process license renewals for Georgia's 41,000 doctors and other medical professionals because of the requirement.

WSB-TV (http://bit.ly/SeVydN ) reported that some medical professionals have had to briefly stop seeing patients because of the delays.

Doctor's licenses must be renewed every two years. The task previously was done on a state website; doctors received immediate confirmation of their renewals after a few clicks and a payment.

Now, applicants must submit a notarized affidavit and identification proving U.S. citizenship, and the staff of the Medical Composite Board must review the information. The state said nearly a third of doctors are experiencing a delay of 10 or more days in renewing their licenses.

No one has been found who was living in the state illegally despite all the work.

"I can tell you that we have not found one yet, and so far we've processed about 28,000 of these," said Bob Jeffrey, operations director for the agency. "So far, everyone is legal."

The Medical Association of Georgia said it has been barraged with calls from doctors who are frantic about problems. The law prohibits unlicensed doctors from practicing medicine.

"We've received a number of complaints from our physician members discussing they've had a number of licensure delays," said Donald Palmisano Jr., executive director of the association.

Palmisano said the law has affected the way some doctors practice medicine.

"It's added another administrative burden to physicians, so it's taken away some time from their focus on patient care, and that's where the real concern is," Palmisano said.

Many groups are pushing lawmakers to make adjustments during their next session.

Source: http://onlineathens.com/breaking-news/2012-11-25/state-immigration-law-bogs-down-medical-licensing

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Monday, November 26, 2012

List Building ? Strategies I'm Using ? Chad Nicely

I?m sure you are all aware that I am focused on three main strategies in my business. ?Everything else, like I demonstrated in all my training videos is used as an engine to get traffic to those strategies. ? ?So I know you?re saying, buy wait Chad? you?re the big video guy. ?Are you saying that video is not one of your strategies? ?What I am saying is that video is an engine I use to drive traffic to one of my three strategies, as well as?Authority?Blogging, ?Social Media, and the list goes on and on right?

Ok so the one strategy we?re going to focus on in this post is List Building and Email Marketing. ?List?building?does not have to be?difficult? ?I?m going to see if I can?t get you started in this post.

Now for those of you that don?t understand, you simply build your list by obtaining somebody?s email, with permission of course. ?Once you have that email in your Aweber?list or?similar?type of autorsponder you are then able to market that individual with different types of products, or services. ?It really is that easy! ?Don?t make it anymore complicated.

?A common MYTH about?List-building?is that you need to have something of value to get the individuals email address. ?A good example might be a free report, or membership course.

This couldn?t be further from the truth. ?In-fact all you need is CURIOSITY! ?

Check out this optin form below, and tell me you would not click that! ?Be honest!

?

Make Sure You Optin To That Form Here, and Get On My List! ?: http://succeedwithchad.com?

I always have some kind of bus or special offer happening!

Ok so do you get it? ?I don?t have to give away anything. ?All I need to do is peak their curiosity! ?That?s it. ?Once you have done that, your optin rates will go through the roof. ?I like to refer to it as the ?SHOCK n? AWE? Factor. ?Alright so now that you know what kind of page you need to create lets talk about ways you can build up your lists.

List Building Strategies

Sell Something (Buyers) ? This is massive! ?This is the best kind of subscriber you can have! ?Why? ?Simply?because?somebody has taken out their wallet and actually laid down cash. ?They took action! ?I?m sure by now you?re familiar with the Warrior Forum. ?What do you see?happening?all the time? ?You see product creators and Warriors bringing their front end product out at a very low cost. They offer the affiliate 100% commission on that front end offer, and they price it so low, that is an?irresistible?offer. ?The reason is simple, they are building up a list off that front end product so that they can market to you in the future. ?You treat your buyers like GOLD!

Authority Blogs ?- This is a very big tactic as well. ?Now I?m currently not utilizing this very much, because of the rework I?have?going on in my site. ?However I usually have?Popup Domination?or a similar tool opening a light box as soon as you enter the site. ?I will usually give away some course, or ebook that I have created in return for?their?email. ?I also just apply the?Shock?n? Awe factor as well. ?It goes without saying, but I think you can tell that these leads are not as powerful as your buyers, and will not convert as well as a result.

Free WSO?s ? This is a strategy very few marketers are doing. ?When I did this a year ago, I was able to make over 3,000 leads with a $40 investment. ?If I could find the time I would still be doing this. ?The strategy is very simple. ?You create a 20-page pdf report or?something?similar?that contains something of value. ?It could be about email marketing, list building, making money online, internet marketing, whatever you want to write about. ?Some new tip strategy or resource you are using or have discovered. ?You can then pay the Warrior Forum $40 to list this FREE offer as a ?Warrior Special Offer? (WSO). ?Instead of having a buy button in your sales page you simply have a link that the warriors will optin to receive their free gift. ?That?s it! ?SIMPLE!

JV Giveaways ? This is also a very effective strategy for finding leads. ?However, I?ll be honest with you, the quality of these subscribers are not that great. ?Reason being most people use a junk email address before they join any of these giveaways. ?It doesn?t mean that you will not get good leads. ?It?s up to you to handle that list properly and convert them into a good subscriber. ?It can be done. ?Now if you really want to go all out, instead of just participating in the JV Giveaway as a contributor, you should do like I do and try and run your own giveaway. ?When you do this you not only get all the contributes emails addressed in your list, but you also get every single member as they have to register with the giveaway. ?When I ran the ?IM Dream Event? a few months ago I received over 6,000 subscribers. ? I used a script called the Ultimate JV Giveaway Script. ?Take my advice pay the owner the $50 to install the script for you :)

?

Boost Your List Building Efforts!

Now guys this is so simple. ?Once you start building your list you want to get to a few hundred subscribers. ?That should not take any time at all! ?Seriously, I just gave you these methods on a platter. ?It?s up to you to take action. ?Build up your list to those few hundred subscribers, then you are going to find people that lists the same size in the same niche! ?So if I have list of 500 people in the Make Money Online niche then I am going to find another person that has 500 people online in the same or?similar?niche!

Once I find that person I am simply going to set up what they call an ad swap. ?Which means if you have a list of 500 and I have a list of 500 I will send an email to my list using your optin-form and you will send an email to your list using my optin form. ?Now what will happen is you will start getting?unsubscribes. ?That?s ok. ?What you want to have happen is for every (1)?unsubscribe, you want to be getting (2) subscribers. ?Double your efforts. ?Do you get it?

The service I use for that is called Safe Swaps, they have a free program as well as paid program. ?Very simple to use. ?Start swapping your lists today! ?Oh and whatever you do guys? Don?t swap BUYERS! ?Treat them like GOLD!

?

Have your list built for you! ?Students making $8,000 a Month! ?Guaranteed?Solo Ad Buys, 4 License Rights, So Much More!

?

Finally I have saved the best for last. ?You can do all the?strategies?and methods I outlined today. ?They work! ?You will reach your goals. ?However, there is a faster, and more powerful way to get there. ?That is simply by paying somebody else to build your list for you! ?I?m not kidding I am in this program as we speak, it is?unbelievable? ?So if you join, you will be one of my partners in this community. ?If you join real soon it means will be meeting each other in Vegas here in a few months!

This service that I pay for every month is UNREAL! ?Seriously, by month #4 you will be in the profit zone, with a massive list, and not only that but you will have a?guaranteed?buy for clicks on your list. ?Let me say that again, you will have somebody that will buy your clicks from you. ?Throw in a whole ton of bonuses and other ways to make money and you guys are seeing one of the greatest opportunities ever to hit the Internet Marketing sector. ?Seriously!

So I know you?re pumped up and want to learn more. ?The first thing you need to do is watch this webinar below. ?Now it is like a 3-hour webinar, they teach you everything you need to know about email marketing and making money with solo ads. ?It?s off the hook guys. ?There is a charge up front for the webinar, but don?t worry if you do not fee like the webinar was for you then you don?t have to pay. ?I can promise you, this will impress you. ?This is the?only?individual and mentor I have in this business. ?To give you an idea I am heading out to San Diego to attend a $10,000 Master Mind with the same individual. ?If you are looking to make it online, I am escalating you success with this resource.

Trust me, I wouldn?t be spending all this money if this was not ROCK SOLID INFORMATION! ?It?s AWESOME!

Click the link below and let me know what you thought of the webinar in the comments section. ?Thanks guys!

Click Here For That Webinar?

?

?

  • Blog Net Dominion FE Finally a real private blog network, with instructions on how to use and safeguards against detection and penetration by Google.\n\nWe are expressly not doing a WSO, because it is pretty certain that Google buys all WSOs.
  • Covert Messenger New WordPress Plugin Lets You Easily Create Cool \"Intant Messenger\" Ads On Your Blogs - These Ads Will Suck Your Visitors In and Literally Force Them To Click On Any Link You Want!
  • IM Video Creation - WSO You are going to love the \"IM Video Creation\" training course. The reviews that have came in have been absolutely KILLER! \n\nThis really is a simple ROCK SOLID product, that will force you to TAKE ACTION. \"NO-FLUFF\",\"NO-HYPE\"
  • The YouTube Keyword Code! Unlock The Secrets of The YouTube Keyword Code! Learn how to give YouTube EXACTLY what it wants to rank your videos by making sure your Keywords are impossible for it to ignore!

Source: http://www.chadnicely.com/list-building-strategies-im-using/

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Blogging Technology: Keeping Your Computer Up To Date and Safe ...

We all are looking for software that will keep our computers clean and running smoothly. I recently was looking at a software website that makes your computers run like new, it is called Simplitec.com.

The software that I really like for our PC is Simplisafe; because it claims to that it will digitally delete your digital footprint. ?That means that your cookies will not be tracked back to your computer to see where you are surfing on the internet.

Other Benefits from the Simplitec software

-defragment your files
-recover data, update your files
-delete internet history and cookies to protect your privacy

For secure software, visit Simplitec?s website because they are experienced and have been in business for 18 years. That is a long time for computer companies. When it comes to software for safety and making our computers run faster it can be tough; but with much research you can find the right one that suits your needs.

While I am on the subject of software and safety, I wanted to share some great tips on safety while shopping online.

For all sorts of software information and reviews CNET?is a good resource. If I am unfamiliar with a particular software I always try to get an opinion on what experts say about it.

Recently, I was reading an article on CNET.com, How To Stay Safe When Security Shopping, and it had some really good tips such as changing your passwords and you can even have spaces between your passwords to make it more difficult for your password to be recognized. Another good tip was to make sure you logout of the internet web browser when you are done.

There are a lot of bad people that want to try to get your information so to have software that maximizes your computer experience is essential.

?

?

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Source: http://www.bubblingwitheleganceandgrace.com/?p=6741

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Sunday, November 25, 2012

The Journey Of the Fallen Prince

The Journey Of the Fallen Prince

The Kingdom has fallen after the royal family have been brutally murdered... The young prince is injured but is soon found...Become a part of his journey.

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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.




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Connecticut upsets No. 19 Louisville 23-20 in 3OTS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) ? Chad Christen's 30-yard field goal in the third overtime gave Connecticut a 23-20 upset of No. 19 Louisville on Saturday.

Blidi Wreh-Wilson set up the Huskies' winning score by intercepting Teddy Bridgewater's pass intended for DeVante Parker in the end zone. The Huskies ran three plays for 12 yards before Christen's second OT kick gave Connecticut (5-6, 2-4 Big East Conference) its second straight win.

Louisville (9-2, 4-2) dropped its second straight but still has a chance for a BCS bowl bid by beating first-place Rutgers (9-2, 5-1) on Thursday.

The Cardinals trailed 10-0 after three quarters and briefly lost Bridgewater with a left wrist injury before the sophomore returned to lead Louisville's fourth-quarter rally capped by his 6-yard touchdown pass to DeVante Parker with 21 seconds remaining in regulation.

After trading field goals in the first overtime, Johnny McEntee put Connecticut ahead with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Shakim Phillips before Bridgewater's 25-yard TD pass to Parker.

McEntee, who relieved an injured Chandler Whitmer in the fourth quarter, was 2 of 7 passing for 20 yards. Lyle McCombs rushed for 133 yards on 29 carries and Nick Williams scored on a 3-yard run for the Huskies.

Bridgewater completed 30 of 53 passes for 331 and two touchdowns but was sacked four times. Damian Copeland caught five passes for 95 yards while Parker added 91 on eight receptions.

Both teams were coming off byes, but the Cardinals looked like the ones still on a break.

Louisville was outgained 160-88 in the first half while being shut out for the first time since Pittsburgh did it here a year ago. Bridgewater's timing and mechanics looked particularly off with passes either underthrown or overthrown.

His receivers didn't help him by dropping passes, either. One flub by a wide-open DeVante Parker on the second drive brought an angry coach Charlie Strong on the field to yell at his players.

That still couldn't snap Louisville out of its initial funk against Connecticut's ninth-ranked defense, which was going to give up many yards to begin with.

The Huskies certainly didn't in the first quarter, forcing the Cardinals to punt four times. Connecticut cornerback Dwayne Gratz served notice how hard it would be for Louisville receivers by breaking up Bridgewater's first two passes and laying out tight end Scott Radcliff with a punishing hit that left him on the ground for several moments.

He did not return.

Connecticut's 11th-ranked run defense lived up to billing by hemming in Wright, getting the bulk of Louisville's carries following Senorise Perry's season-ending ACL tear two weeks ago at Syracuse. He gained just 25 yards on six carries while freshman Corvin Lamb got nine on three attempts.

And while Connecticut's offense wasn't great, the Huskies took advantage of their few opportunities.

After two three-and-out drives Connecticut moved 51 yards in eight plays to set up Christen's 39-yard field goal. Two drives later it was 10-0 as the Huskies drove 66 yards in 10 plays ending in Williams' 3-yard touchdown run.

Things got worse for Louisville just before the half when Bridgewater was sacked by Sio Moore and came up shaking his left wrist. He returned to the sideline midway through the third quarter and re-entered the game with 4:55 remaining.

Louisville finally got on the scoreboard early in the fourth behind Bridgewater, who connected with Damian Copeland for completions of 59 and 13 yards to reach Connecticut's 24. The drive stalled at the 2 but Wallace hit a 19-yard field goal to bring the Cardinals within 10-3.

A fake punt on Louisville's next drive gained just five yards and gave Connecticut the ball at midfield, but the Huskies soon punted to set the stage for Bridgewater's heroics in the final three minutes.

He directed a 92-yard, 13-play drive kept alive by a 28-yard pass to Eli Rogers and a 9-yarder to Wright for first down at the Huskies' 26. A 14-yard pass to Wright and a face mask foul penalty on Connecticut set up first and goal at the 6, and Bridgewater found a wide-open Parker in the end zone.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/connecticut-upsets-no-19-louisville-23-20-3ots-212524811--spt.html

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kukabotla: Great Seeking Casino Houses - Arts and Entertainment ...

Gaming on the web is made to deliver thrill and also entertainment initial for gamers. Money concerns second spot. It is quite amazing to play online, since gamblers have many bonus deals and many special offers available on a regular basis. Among all casinos accessible, no deposit casinos have one of the best offers in the marketplace. There, gamers can pick in order to gamble with gambling establishment bonuses without the need for their own real money. However, players can also opt to play with their very own real money and also double their particular
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When using on line casino bonuses, gamers should also know that are many rules to be respectable. First gamers will have to prove their own actual identity. However, casino bonuses can not be pull away directly. Initial, gamers need to play in support of after profitable gamers can cash out their particular winnings, however, not until they will make a casino purchase in order to prove their particular real identification.

Any time gamers have the probability to play on the net, they will have lots of joy. Correct now players online are free to decide how much cash they wanna invest. Naturally, they always have the chance to wager for free. Very best fun can be obtained when video gaming online. Significantly, no need to keep worrying about anything. Together with bonuses, online players actually do not danger everything.

This is the reason so many have selected to wager online. When bonuses tend to be wisely invested they might bring a lot of income to gamers. It is as easy as it sounds to experience online. All people who have your own computer attached to the web may join the great world of on the internet. So long in order to land based casinos today. Free play no deposit casinos are the future.

Source: http://blog-arts-entertainment.mysurechoice.com/3863/great-seeking-casino-houses/

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Source: http://kukabotla.blogspot.com/2012/11/great-seeking-casino-houses-arts-and.html

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Saturday, November 24, 2012

Toastmasters 4 Writers: Toastmasters4Writers Holidays and New ...

? ? ?Why not make your new years resolution today by joining Toastmasters4Writers? ?You are committing to improving your public speaking, leadership and writing skills by becoming a member in December, 2012. ?Our Toastmasters are college students, attorneys, teachers, writers, psychologists, publishers, second language learners, job-seekers and individuals willing to try a new experience with the goal of self-improvement. Risk in a safe environment, where you are rewarded for making the effort to excel. ?Toastmasters4writers will meet December 1st and 15th @ Write Brothers Software, 348 E. Olive Ave., Suite H, Burbank, CA 91502. ?The meeting gavels open @ 9:30AM and closes @ 11:30AM. ?There is plenty of parking behind the building either in the courthouse parking structure or other spaces.
? ? ?You may continue to be introverted, shy and reserved and still be a member of a public speaking improvement group Toastmasters4writers. ?See yourself become poised, confident, able to grab a microphone to speak in a single bound, forget you inhibitions while you toast your friends new years eave or lead a holiday prayer in which you give thanks to your God, your family and your newly developing public speaking skills. ?Risk with people who want you to succeed! ?We applaud your successes and help you through the difficult times with suggestions for improvement and words of encouragement.
? ? ?Business professionals, who desire to perform effectively in meetings, want to speak confidently during interviews or simply want a fun, individually paced public speaking learning environment will enjoy their time at Toastmasters4writers. ?You know for sure you are bright, competent but sometimes are less effective in speaking your ideas and opinions! ? You would benefit from a no cost mentor and supportive club! ?Become a Toastmaster4writers! ?While gaining your "Mojo" back, you will also improve your writing skills, leadership skills and human relations skills! ?Please visit our next meeting.
? ???Meetings in January through April will be on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month at the same time and location. ?Toastmasters International will provide the curriculum materials (three page lessons on a specific speaking skill), the club members will give you the encouragement and all you must do is show up and risk, first slowly and then more aggressively. ?You will improve! ?Risk by being with us as a visitor in the month of December, 2012. ?Our Holiday Party will be conducted on December 15th. Call or email with questions at 866-274-5875 or wwre9999@aol.com.

Bill Wingo,
President Toastmaster4Writers

Source: http://toastmasters4writers.blogspot.com/2012/11/toastmasters4writers-holidays-and-new.html

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Can VIA Technologies save the mobile computing future of the x86 ...

After Urgent search for an Intel savior [this same blog, Nov 21, 2012] this is a quite legitimate and important question.

Watch Cher Wang, the founder and still the chairman of the VIA Technologies (also HTC), speaking about the enterpreneurship just February this year. One of the most important traits she considers important for the success is perseverance (as she is telling at [28:50] in the Q&A session starting at [22:37]). Looking at the current, moderate by any means success of VIA, one can clearly see this attribute of her which is helping to keep VIA still afloat. One cannot resist a suspicion that she sees great opportunity for the company to come out of its current troubles of decreasing revenue. She might quite well count on the expected failure of Intel to compete effectively in the mobile computing. As the x86 (rather the 64-bit x64) is still quite important for the transition of hundreds of millions of PCs into a full mobile computing era VIA Technologies x64 chips with their very competitive Isaiah cores, as much as 4 in a package and of sufficiently low-power and low-price might indeed become the kind of saviors of that legacy hardware platform for the year 2013 and beyond. Do not forget VIA Technologies is an extremely streamlined organisation which is using the same fabless semiconductor manufacturing model as all of the ARM ecosystem.

While Intel used the Bonnell microarchitecture for its Atom processors a significantly smaller competitor, VIA Technologies (Via Technologies Inc (2388.TW)) was relying on the processor design and development work of its 100 people subsidiary, Centaur Technology to compete with the giant, using its same time introduced Isaiah microarchitecture. Both microarchitectures were developed BTW for quite a long period of 5 years* and introduced in products in 2008.
* The Bonnell story you could read in
Intel?s Atom Architecture: The Journey Begins [AnandTech, April 2, 2008]

Note that Atom-powered Windows 8 tablets will use Intel?s new Clover Trail SoC, the follow-up from Medfield. Clover Trail is effectively a dual-core version of Medfield (using Saltwell core, while Saltwell contains a 32 nm shrink of the original Bonnell), but with a souped up GPU (a dual-core SGX 544MP2 rather than a single SGX 540). It?s still 32nm ? but next year we?ll see the process-shrunk and rearchitected Silvermont-based [also the code-name of the new micro-architecture after Bonwell] Valleyview SoC, which technologically will be very exciting indeed. The ?only? question mark is the price which I would think could not go below $50 as the latest (Q1?12 intro, with the same 32nm litography) traditional Atom model D2550, having price indication publicly available, has a published tray price (i.e. for 1K units) of $47. Intel?s whole business model is standing on those extraordinary high prices by today?s standards, and these will become unsustainable in the year 2013. Here comes VIA Technologies with its x64 foundation as described here.image
(As it is a May 17, 2011 Investor Meeting slide we already know that the 22nm ?Future Product? in the upper row is ?Haswell?, and also that Silvermont will be incorporated into the same ?Shark Bay? client platform as Haswell).

Let?s see first how VIA Technologies presented itself one and a half year ago in its
VIA Embedded Intro Video [VIAMKT YouTube channel, June 9, 2011]

VIA Embedded round-up video of silicon platform products and solutions

Then as an update see Where is VIA? An interview with Christian Caldarone [Tom?s Hardware German Edition, Aug 30, 2012]

? My name is Christian Caldarone, born in 1972, and am currently in Germany as a company spokesperson for VIA Embedded. In addition, I am also responsible for the channel business [as Europe Business Account Manager].

TH: Our younger readers may know VIA only as a manufacturer of audio chips or Firewire controllers. So could you briefly introduce the company?

CC: VIA was founded in 1987 in California. In 1992 the company moved its headquarters to Taipei, Taiwan. Towards the end of the 1990s it came to the acquisition of the processor manufacturer Cyrix / Centaur, and on the basis of purchased know-how we developed over the following years the C3 CPUs. In 2002 the VIA Embedded Platform Division was established. Since we are focusing increasingly on the embedded market [ VIA EPIA embedded platform, editor's note]. In terms of the requirements of the future one has to primarily identify VIA for low power, high performance per watt, fanless and quiet design, and miniaturization. The synthesis of these factors from the manufacturer?s perspective can be found in the developed by VIA Mini-, Nano- and Pico-ITX designs.

? <to be continued after the following short insert explaining these designs>


Embedded Boards [VIA Embedded microsite, Sept 5, 2012]

VIA Embedded Boards enable a new vision for the digital lifestyle, boasting low power consumption and rich integration on ultra compact form factors. Aimed at driving fast-emerging markets for smart connected devices, from stylish digital entertainment systems and feature-rich commercial embedded devices to mobile applications such as robotics and telematics, VIA embedded boards provide the ultimate platform for systems where size, low profile and power efficiency can be combined with a rich entertainment experience.

VIA Embedded Boards EPIA

Embedded Platform Innovative Architecture
VIA EPIA? embedded boards are the embodiment of VIA?s feature rich and power efficient platform technologies. EPIA? boards come in a variety of flavors and form factors. A mix of low-power embedded processors, core logic, networking, connectivity and multimedia components make up the wide selection of available Mini-ITX, Nano-ITX, Pico-ITX and Pico-ITXe embedded boards.

Epan Wu discuss the past and future of the [10 years old] Mini-ITX Platform [VIAMKT YouTube channel, Dec 4, 2011]

Head of the VIA Embedded Platform Division Epan Wu discusses the past and future of the 10 years old Mini-ITX Platform

The Mini-ITX was recognized as an industry open standard for small footprint embedded systems. The Nano-ITX and Pico-ITX received the same popularity for even smaller dimension embedded designs.

2002: Mini-ITX VB Series for emerging segment markets

2002: Mini-ITX Desktop Series for a wide range of uses including home media centers, PCs, and file servers

2002: EPIA Mini-ITX Series a flexible, cost effective platform for an almost unlimited variety of applications

2004: EPIA Nano-ITX Series the ideal building block for a wide variety of applications requiring even smaller dimensions

March 2009: Em-ITX Series with flexible and easy to extend functionality and I/O ports for a specific vertical application

end of 2009: NOW END OF LIFE
EPIA Mobile-ITX Series only 6 cm x 6 cm ? enabling x86 processing power in handheld system designs*

2007: EPIA Pico-ITX Series to enable x86 architecture for embedded systems where it was previously impractical for space reasons.

2007: ARM-based VAB Series ready-to-use platforms based on Pico-ITX form factor which feature ultra low power consumption, easy system integration, rich I/O and flexible software capabilities

?

* The EPIA Mobile ITX form factor was the smallest existing COM (Computer-on-module) form factor in the world. The total height of the board-to-board connectors was only 3 mm. It was meant to be used in areas of implementation such as: military, medical, robotics, industrial automation, transportation segments, and handheld devices.

VIA_ITX_mainboards_Form_Factor_Comparison1
VIA ITX Mainboards Form Factor Comparison

3000_3210_assy-1
A technical drawing of Em-ITX board and expansion module.

A video showing you how Em-ITX can be assembled in a fanless configuration, using a specially designed chassis.


now continue with Where is VIA? An interview with Christian Caldarone [Tom?s Hardware German Edition, Aug 30, 2012]

VIA currently employs about 2000 people worldwide. The majority of them work in the Embedded Division and in chipsets/CPUs.

TH: For a while, VIA chipsets were considered as viable alternatives to offerings from AMD, Intel and Nvidia. Today the company is no longer represented in this segment away from its own platforms, and also happens rather insignificant when compared to the product cycles of the above competitors. Has VIA been getting nowhere?

CC: No, VIA again and again presents innovations as well, such as the recently announced QuadCore processor. It runs at 1.2 GHz, supports 64-bit instruction sets, uses adaptive overclocking, and achieved a TDP of only 27.5 watts thanks to its low-power design. In addition, it is an out-of-order architecture. Unlike the products of some competitors there are four real cores, and systems stuck with QuadCore Processor + Vx11 can handle up to 16 GB of RAM. The Vx11 chipset also includes a DirectX 11-compatible GPU called VIA Chrome 645.

TH: Is VIA currently working on new x86 CPUs? The Nano/Nano X2 is now at least 5 years old [NOT TRUE as only the 65nm-based Nano is 5 years old, while the 40nm-based Nano X2 was introduced only in Q1 2011, see later] and is manufactured in 40 nm, and also the QuadCore processor is really just a variation of this design ? two Nano X2 on one die. [NOT TRUE as 4 cores on 2 dies with access to the same FSB (Front-Side Bus) are integrated together on a carrier package, see later]

CC: Of course, there will be new, further developed and improved processors, which is consequential, but currently there is nothing to announce. Our current products can compete well in their segment. [Note: In the article Skirmishes on the desktop: Nettop platforms compared [Tom?s Hardware German Edition, March 29, 2012] VIA?s Nano X2 beat in fact very well Intel?s current at that time Atom D2700, and in several cases could clearly outpace it.]

Our customers appreciate not only our portfolio but also the long product life cycle of five to seven years. Therefore, in order to maintain pin compatibility and to support the appropriate longevity of the platform, it is not possible, for example, to perform a simple die-shrink. It sounds so simple: ?The structure size is refined.? But the fact is that a die-shrink would require much reworking of the platforms.

? <to be continued later on>


Now see an Introduction To Centaur [Patrick Roberts YouTube channel, July 30, 2012]

Introduction To Centaur Technology ? 400 million transistors are in their current processor design ?

with the very recent Processor Whispers: About Austin powers and patents [Andreas Stiller on ?The H?, Nov 5, 2012]

Austin is not only the capital of Texas and home to Dell?s headquarters, but also a hub of processor development. After all, processors from Intel (Atom), AMD and Apple are designed here. But there is another company?

It?s been all but forgotten that, next to the big ones mentioned, you will also find a smaller processor company in Austin, the third of the remaining threesome of x86 developers: Centaur Technologies Inc. For 13 years now, the company has belonged to the Taiwanese chip manufacturer VIA technologies. ? the chief of the centaurs, Glenn Henry, was expecting me.

? In spite of dramatically poor financial figures for VIA ? with around $86 million, the numbers for the first three quarters of 2012 are 23 per cent below the ones from last year ? the 70-year-old is optimistic: ?We don?t cost much, so even a single per cent of the x86 cake is sufficient. Also, we have interesting new markets in China and increasingly in Brazil too.? For years, the number of employees at his company ? just below 100 ? has remained mostly constant. And, ultimately, VIA boss Wenchi Chen is one of the richest citizens of Taiwan, with sufficiently deep pockets.

Currently, work is being done on the CN-R, a small quad-core processor designed for TSMC?s 28nm process. About a year ago, Centaur released a processor called VIA QuadCore, internally referred to as CN-Q, which is divided onto two chips, in a similar way as the Pentium D was. Each single chip is a VIA Nano X2 manufactured in 40nm that was well able to compete with other chips of its class, like the Atom D510 and the AMD E-350. It is compatible with the classic Eden boards and a quad-core solution for mini-ITX boards was released a few weeks ago, the VIA EPIA P910.

Centaur still doesn?t have an integrated memory controller, for external communication they are still using the VIA V4 bus with 1333MHz, which is mostly identical to the bus of the Pentium 4. It serves as a link to the much bigger companion chip from VIA with north and south bridge. However, according to Henry, there are plans to integrate the chips into a SoC. But first, the CN-R is supposed to hit the market in the classic format with clock speeds between 1.2 and 2GHz around mid-2013. Which market that?s going to be, Henry doesn?t know yet: tablets seem likely, the netbook market is all but dead, but there?s still a niche market for small desktop PCs [?mini PCs?] and mini-servers as well as the embedded sector.

A few highlights could make the chip stand out among the competition: AVX2 and an advanced PadLock unit with new cryptography operations ? Atom and Bobcat/Jaguar don?t offer either. In contrast to Intel?s Haswell processor, however, CN-R will neither support fused multiply-add nor offer a transactional memory extension, as the effort would have been too expensive.

Just a few hours before I had arrived, another economically motivated cut had been decided: instead of the initially planned central L3 cache with 4MB, Centaur chose to go down to 2MB in order to save space, costs and, above all, energy. Centaur has to work on the latter in particular to be able to compete with the big players in the business.

?


And here is the continuation of Where is VIA? An interview with Christian Caldarone [Tom?s Hardware German Edition, Aug 30, 2012]

Chipsets are pass?, embedded products are the future

? Chipsets in the traditional sense, such as Northbridge, Southbridge, LPC, etc., are now almost extinct. ?

This development has to do with the current situation. All manufacturers are increasingly focused on the platform. The idea also makes sense: when everything comes from a single source, the individual components ideally suit each other ? and demands are implemented as you wish.

Eventually AMD has decided with the acquisition of ATI, to develop their own solutions and to focus only on AMD platforms. The goals of AMD and VIA were simply too different: for AMD it was important to keep up in performance, while VIA?s vision was more of energy efficient platforms.?

VIA currently has no concrete plans for the return to the chipset division. This is however not a complete rejection. A renewed commitment to the chipset segment is possible and also necessary if customer and partner needs are pronounced strongly enough.

TH: You repeatedly called the Embedded Division as VIA?s primary area of operation. The term ?embedded? is often equated with tablets, industrial PCs and control systems. What is VIA?s definition of ?embedded??

CC: That?s right, the term ?embedded? in fact can be interpreted very differently. An early definition is that the CPU is directly soldered and a GPU is integrated.

TH: According to this definition, even AMD and Intel build? ?embedded? systems with GPU and other integrated components. What sets VIA apart?

CC: VIA has offered such designs earlier. The unique selling proposition was also lower energy consumption, allowing a higher performance per watt. Here comes the platform approach to the game again, and AMD and Intel are just gone in the direction that VIA had already taken.

There are products of higher integratin in the future, so there is a change to the name and the approach. One hears again and again: ?The desktop is dead.? If you look at the current trends, we can see that everywhere. The classic desktop is ousted, various other devices take over its role. Requirements such as Always on the Move, Cloud Computing and Desktop Virtualization are put forward, thus other devices are needed and also user behavior is changed. In the thin-client area VIA is traditionally represented strong. The reason for not so clearly connecting VIA with this segment is because this is not so strongly coming from the brand. The device (as a platform) must work.

?

TH: How VIA currently defined (and future) its market. Formerly the most visible products are gone ? which wants to make money and grow? What is the strategy? Hurts the discontinuation of Windows / PC market (in the old scale)?

CC: This is a regional issue: Europe is an important market, and we are committed to continue in the embedded space. Other countries and regions specially for us are less strong on the radar. Then there is again the BRICS region [Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, note by the editor], where it first comes to ever affordable PCs, namely to provide classical desktops. One element of this is the recently introduced APC [ a mini-PC platform with a 800 MHz ARM CPU from VIA and Android 2.3 operating system, editor's note ].

In addition to these ARM based devices, of course x86-based Mini-PCs for the desktop market continue to play a role in our strategy. Here our ARTiGO product series is to be specially mentioned. The VIA ARTiGOs are indeed classic Mini-PCs for the desktop market, but they also have some embedded features and are therefore also suitable for the semi-embedded sector. In addition to the combination of ARTiGO with Windows XP and Windows 7, we were also able to test the ARTiGO A1150 and A1200 successfully with Windows Server 2008. Besides the various Windows versions Ubuntu and SuSE are also officially supported by VIA.?

TH: Where VIA will surprise us in the future? The fields that are particularly prominent? Where does the company see its biggest opportunities?

Published on Sep 13, 2012 by VIAMKT. VIA Embedded was in attendance at the 2012 Digital Signage Workshop in Taipei, showcasing their range of complete package solutions for dynamic digital signage including the latest VIA Magic Box and 3D Holographic display.

CC: Our products will still be much smaller, we will consume even less electric power, and we will put even more features in an even smaller space. We see special opportunities in Digital Signage, Medical Computing and Thin Clients. Here, the thin client must be understood as a device with which to connect to the cloud.

? Thin Clients with a VIA CPU offer here a special advantage for security because our own integrated PadLock Security Co-processor can take over the encryption of data. Hardware encryption is classified as 100 times more secure than pure software-based encryption, loading the CPU significantly less, and this saves even more power here. Downright secure on-the-fly encryption can be seen as an essential component of cloud computing, and thus corresponds to the requirement of the customers. ?

?

TH: Tablets are a growing market. Will VIA in this segment offer a suitable (processor) solution? Does VIA has an ARM license? If not, would an x86 design for Win8 tablets be possible?

? In China, many manufacturers are already using [ARM] solutions from VIA. Exactly these markets are targeted by our subsidiary Wonder Media with the Wonder Media PRIZM SoC [an ARM-compatible, integrated processor, editor's note]. ?

There are other products ? medical devices or instruments - based on ARM designs. What they need is often enough to have a well-adjusted SoC. It is not always clear that there is a VIA-solution. As with the display and other components it is subject to special requirements (moisture, shock, heat, etc.). These customers also appreciate the long product life cycles. In the consumer sector, it is the opposite, since latest features require short product life cycles.

We will definitely have platforms for Windows 8 in the portfolio, for whatever kind of application. So you see, VIA Technologies could theoretically have both an ARM-based Win8 tablet and one driven on the x86-base.

?

TH: How VIA stands for low-power servers? After all, AMD has just bought SeaMicro, and HP and other companies are now using ARM chips in servers.

CC: This segment is one of the more interesting for VIA, and we expect a good chance. An ARM-based solution here would be particularly attractive and allow the clients to realize an effective and efficient platform. Linux versions and also Android run now everywhere, providing nothing in the way of the usage itself. An ARM-based server solution is limited by the performance and in scope ? so to say, the usage is very specific to the application. Therefore x86 is also important for the foreseeable future.

And also with our x86 CPUs we see good opportunities. There are efforts to use them as power-saving CPUs in all data centers of the world.

We have even more advantages with our quad processor alongside the low power consumption: CPU virtualization, the just mentioned security co-processor, and a large L2 cache by which it can compete quite well in performance with server processors of the competitors. In terms of cache throughput in so-called heavy-lifting tasks, such as database applications, for example, there is only seven percent difference to the Xeon 5110. I had already mentioned another benefit as well: the VX11 chipset and the QuadCore processor can manage up to 16 GB memory. With Intel?s Atom CPUs it is 4 GB.

Virtualization is a really exciting skill ? not least for the administration. It is possible, for example, to measure the average power consumption per virtual machine and to measure the system accordingly.

As the first choice it is advisable to use our platform together with the KVM [Kernel-based Virtual Machine] hypervisor since it is also officially supported by VIA. KVM is a very serious virtualization solution that for some time now is tightly integrated into the Linux kernel. The decision of the major Linux distributions Ubuntu and SuSE, to use KVM as their preferred hypervisor, has once again to be underlined. Another advantage arises also through the availability and development of the appropriate administrative and conversion tools, extensive cloud/IaaS and orchestrator solutions (see http://www.linux-kvm.org/page/Management_Tools), which have also helped to pave the way in professional, commercial use of KVM.

The combination of the VIA QuadCore and the KVM hypervisor currently has the best virtualization per watt ratio in the x86 market. Extrapolating 8 virtual machines per VIA QuadCore (27.5 watts TDP), the average per VM incurred is only 3.44 Watt, while for 10 VMs it takes only 2.75 watt. The long product life cycle of the VIA platform also enables a consistently homogeneous landscape, in which, for example, only a single hypervisor OS image is required, which can then be loaded from a central point to any number of platforms.

But not everything can be virtualized. A good example are services such as VoIP. So one needs additionally a small server that will work then in the most cost efficient and energy saving way. And in this context, a long product life cycle and high reliability are important. Especially for the latter making electromechanical parts unnecessary is useful as well. An unnecessary fan for VIA Eden just could not fail.


Now look at

the current business situation
of the VIA Technologies:

Intel?s market share was 83.3 percent in the third quarter [of 2012], growing from 80.6 percent in the same quarter the previous quarter. AMD?s market share was 16.1 percent, falling from 18.8 percent. VIA Technologies, which largely makes chips for low-cost PCs, had a 0.6 percent market share. [Mercury Research via IDG News Service]

For the full year 2011, Intel earned 80.1% overall worldwide unit market share, a loss of 0.6% compared to 2010. In 2011, AMD earned 19.7%, a gain of 0.7% compared to 2010. VIA Technologies earned 0.2%, a loss of 0.1%. [IDC]

In the full year 2010, Intel earned 80.7% unit market share, a gain of 1.1%, AMD earned 19.0%, a loss of 1.1%, and VIA Technologies earned 0.3%. [IDC]

VIA Announces October Sales Results [VIA Technologies press release, Nov 2, 2012]

Table 1: VIA October Sales Revenue In thousands of US dollars

Net Sales

2012

2011

Y-on-Y Change (%)

October

8,816

9,112

-3.25%

January through October

97,455

124,510

-21.73%

The company is selling a lot of products to the embedded market, also as boards (see: Nano based, Nano X2 based, Eden X2 based, and Quadcore E based), as well as some of its products are appearing in 3d party end-user products sold in volume globally. Below we could see some volume offerings in the end-user category which came to the market in the last 12 months.

Examples of the 3d party thin client/mini PC products:

Based on Nano and VX900 chipset (MSP):
- Devon IT Launches Dual DVI VIA-Based TC5V Thin Client [Jan 18, 2012] where Devon IT is a U.S. based company with offices in London, Shanghai and Bangalore, selling globally. The TC5VX comes with Windows Embedded Standard 7 and the Devon IT Thin Client ? TC5VX ? 2 GB RAM ? 1.3 GHz ? 0 GB HDD is currently sold in 7 stores for $438 and up; while the TC5VL with DeTOS 7 (a Linux based thin client operating system developed by Devon IT and including RDP 7.1 and offering Microsoft RemoteFX functionality for Windows Server 2008 R2) and the Devon IT Thin Client ? TC5VL ? 1 GB RAM ? 1.3 GHz ? 0 GB HDD is currently sold in 13 stores for $281 and up.

Based on Nano X2 and VX900H chipset (MSP):
- ZOTAC Launches Affordable Palm-Sized ZBOX nano VD01 Series mini-PCs [Oct 6, 2011] where ZOTAC is a Macau based manufacturer of graphics cards, mini-ITX motherboards and mini-PCs sold in all continents around the globe, and with over 6,000 workers and a combined 100,000 square-meters of factory space. ZOTAC ZBOX nano ? VD01 PLUS ? 2 GB RAM ? 1.2 GHz ? 320 GB HDD with Windows 7 is currently sold in 79 stores for $230 and up or you can buy ZOTAC ZBOX nano ? VD01 ? 0 MB RAM ? 1.2 GHz ? 0 GB HDD?with Windows 7 selling for $160 and up from 28 stores.

Based on Eden X2:
- HP Introduces Thin Clients with Unprecedented Security, Exceptional Flexibility and Performance [Feb 13, 2012]: ?? the powerful new HP t610 Flexible Series Thin Client and HP t510 Thin Client ? The HP t610 features a dual-core AMD G-series processor with integrated discrete-class AMD Radeon graphics ? at 1.65 GHz ? The HP t510 also features the VIA Eden X2 U4200 1GHz dual-core CPU ??. The HP Flexible Thin Client ? T510 ? 2 GB RAM ? 1 GHz ? 0 GB HDD is currently sold in 70 stores for $217 and up or you can the same HP Flexible Thin Client ? T510 ? 2 GB RAM ? 1 GHz ? 0 GB HDD for $195 and up from 55 stores. The HP t510 Thin client is pre-configured with one of the following:
- Genuine Windows? Embedded Standard 7
- Genuine Windows? Embedded Standard 2009
- HP ThinPro
- HP Smart Zero Client Service

Example of a 3d party POS terminal:
Based on Nano:
- Product Launch Notice-KS-6715 series [Dec 7, 2011] from the Taiwanese Posiflex Technology focusing on POS Terminals and peripherals with 350 employees and selling globally through subsidiaries in China, Malaysia, India, Germany, USA and Argentina. The Posiflex Fan-Free ? KS6715 ? 2 GB RAM ? 1.6 GHz ? 160 GB HDD (a touch based POS terminal) with Windows Embedded POSReady7 is currently sold in 12 stores for $781 and up.

Windows 8: only driver support is available as follows

VIA has released Windows 8 drivers for the VX11 Media System Processor, available through the driver portal. The VX900 drivers for Windows 7 do also support Windows 8 and VIA is working with Microsoft to have them re-classified as Windows 8 drivers. Until then, the VX900 drivers for Windows 7 can be used as a solution for Windows 8, available through the driver portal.

Older VIA chipsets (than the VX900 and VX11) can run Windows 8 using the default drivers built into Windows 8, but some graphical features of Windows 8 may not be supported and it is not recommended.

(+ drivers for Windows 8 for the VIA HD audio chips)


Now it is time to have

a deep insight into the latest technology advances

made by VIA Technologies:

VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX Motherboard with a cassette tape for comparison

VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX Motherboard with a cassette tape for comparison

VIA_EPIA P910 45 with logo L_original_VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX board (measuring 10 cm x 7.2 cm) combining a 1.0GHz VIA QuadCore E-Series processor (the 2 chips on the ?smaller brown? carrier on the right) and the latest VIA VX11H MSP (single chip on the ?big brown carrier? on the left) for superior performance and outstanding display capabilities.

VIA EPIA-P910 board essential block diagramm from the datasheet

The essential block diagram of the VIA EPIA-P910 board from the datasheet

VIA Announces First QuadCore Pico-ITX Board with 3D Display Capabilities [VIA Technologies press release, Sept 6, 2012]

VIA EPIA-P910 features new VIA VX11H media system processor with DX11 support for immersive display environments

Taipei, Taiwan, 6th September, 2012 ? VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX board, the first VIA board to feature the latest VIA VX11H MSP in combination with a VIA QuadCore E-Series processor. Providing superior performance and outstanding display capabilities, the VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX provides the ideal platform for a wide array of next-generation ultra compact devices for applications in health-care, logistics, fleet management and other vertical market segments.

The VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX is the first VIA board to include the VIA VX11H MSP which provides the latest in graphic capabilities, including DirectX 11 support, for richer textures as well as 3D stereoscopic display. In combination with a 1.0GHz VIA QuadCore E-Series processor, the VIA EPIA-P910 offers high performance computing in an ultra compact, low power design with today?s latest connectivity options including HDMI and USB 3.0.

?The VIA EPIA-P910 features the most advanced technology from VIA with the latest VIA VX11H MSP and VIA QuadCore E-Series processor,? said Epan Wu Head of the VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. ?It provides superior computing performance and the richest display capabilities allowing embedded system designers to innovate for immersive embedded environments.?

About VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX

Based on the incredibly compact Pico-ITX form factor, measuring 10 cm x 7.2 cm, the VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX combines a 1.0GHz VIA QuadCore E-Series processor and the latest VIA VX11H MSP to offer superior computing performance for ultra compact systems. The VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX supports up 8GB of 1333MHz DDR3 memory, HD audio, HDMI, VGA and LVDS display connectivity as well as a high performance hardware HD video decoder in the shape of the latest VIA Chromotion 5.0 video processor.

On board pin headers and an extension board to board connector provide support for an additional 6 USB 2.0 ports, an LPC connector, SMBus connector, PS/2 support, audio jacks, LVDS, 4 pairs of DIO and two UART ports. Rear I/O includes one HDMI port, one VGA port, 2 USB 3.0 ports and 1 GigaLAN port.

For more information about the VIA EPIA-P910 please visit: http://www.viaembedded.com/en/products/boards/1950/1/EPIA-P910.html

For more information about the VIA VX11H MSP, please visit:
http://www.viaembedded.com/en/products/processors/1951/1/VX11_(Single-Chip).html

VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX Motherboard in a hand

VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX Motherboard

VIA_vx11_and_vx11H_blkdiagram_original_
VIA VX11 (and VX11H) Media System Processor (MSP)
[?chipset? on a single chip] block diagram

VIA VX11 Media System Processor: Breathing Life into 3D and High Definition Video Playback [VIA Chipsets, Sept 5, 2012]

The VIA VX11 media system processor (MSP) family is designed for next generation desktop, small form factor and all-in-one PCs, offering a world-class HD multimedia platform for media-intensive applications. The VIA VX11 features the VIA Chrome 640\645, a genuine DirectX11 graphics processor that offers richer visual and 3D contents for immersive environments.

The VIA VX11 DX11GPU is designed to leverage the power of parallel processing and provides support for sophisticated shading and texturing techniques such as tessellation for smoother 3D animation and more lifelike graphics. Including Shader 5.0 to integrate cohesive post graphic processing, DirectCompute 11 for scalable GPGPU computing, as well as better multithreading and control for parallel computing, the VIA VX11 MSP provides enhanced graphic capabilities for today?s media intensive applications and has been designed to support OpenCL?.

The VIA VX11 MSP has received SuperSpeed USB certification from USB-IF and supports up to 3 USB 3.0 ports for data transfer speeds up to ten times faster than USB 2.0 with optimized power efficiency.

The VIA VX11 MSP features the high-performance and versatile VIA Chromotion 5.0 video processor, providing ultra smooth decoding of MPEG-4, H.264, MPEG-2, and VC-1. It offers advanced filtering and cutting edge post-processing. Support for the latest connectivity standards includes Display Port, HDMI, DVP, VGA and LVDS.

The VIA VX11 MSP supports up to 16GB of the latest DDR3 system memory at speeds of up to 1600MHz and is compatible with the VIA QuadCore, VIA Nano?, and VIA Eden? processor families. Integrating all the features of a traditional North and South bridge solution into a 33mm x 33mm single chip package and leveraging the 40nm advanced manufacturing process, the VIA VX11 is a single chip solution that reduces overall silicon footprint and lowers system power consumption.

VIA VX11 Media System Processor: Key Features

  • High Performance Hardware HD Video Decoder: Smooth hardware acceleration for MPEG-4, H.264, MPEG-2, and VC-1 for advanced browser streamed video technologies
  • Advanced Display Connectivity: Supports the latest display standards including DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI and VGA in multi-display configurations
  • DX11 Graphics Performance: The VIA Chrome 640/645 integrated graphics processor is fully DirectX 11 certified and includes a 128-bit 2D engine
  • SuperSpeed USB Certification: Has received SuperSpeed USB certification form the USB-IF and supports up to 3 USB 3.0 ports
  • HD Audio support: VIA Vinyl HD Audio controller supports up to eight high definition channels with a 192kHz sampling rate, delivering a richer all-round digital media experience
  • Memory Support: Memory controller technology supports the lower power, high-bandwidth DDR3 memory modules with speeds up to 1600MHz
  • Fully Integrated technology support: Supports the low power device interfaces of SDIO 3.0, UART, SPI, LPC as well as six USB 2.0 ports

VIA Chromotion 5.0

The VIA Chromotion 5.0 is a high performance video processor supports stereoscopic decoding in MVC format bringing 3D content to life. Also boasting hardware acceleration of the H.264 HD encoding technology that is driving today?s advanced online HD video streaming services, the VIA Chromotion 5.0 video processor brings crisp, smooth 1080p HD video content to life without hogging key system resources or resorting to an additional third party decoder.

The Chromotion 5.0 video processor supports the latest video codecs including full Blu-ray support at true HD screen resolutions, including dual 1080p HD decode and playback of MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV9, VC-1 and H.264 content. Additional enhancements include H.264 HD encoder, motion compensation, transform, de-blocking, full VLD support, and AVS support.

Full frame rate playback of MPEG-2, H.264 and Windows Media Video-based codecs, including VC-1 at full 1080p resolutions, is assisted by hardware acceleration assistance and includes Advanced Profile level 4 support on WMV/VC-1 content and High Profile level 4.1 for H.264-based content.

Advanced Display Connectivity

Integrated display support includes a dedicated CRT interface, integrated LVDS transmitter, a multiplexed display interface for DisplayPort and HDMI and parallel digital video output port (DVP) to external HMDI/LVDS/DVI transmitter. The VIA VX11 MSP provides multi-monitor extended desktop support where two independent display engines can display different content at different resolutions, pixel depths and refresh rates.

VIA Vinyl HD Audio

As the PC platform increasingly becomes the central device for home entertainment, the HD Audio codecs provide home theatre quality performance with support for the latest high definition audio content in Blu-ray and other popular HD audio formats.

The VIA Vinyl HD audio codec is a low power, high-fidelity 8-channel high definition audio codec designed for desktop PC audio systems, supporting QSound, DTS Connect, Dolby1 Digital Live, Dolby PCEE program, SRS Lab and Creative technologies. HD DVD Audi Content protection is also supported for full-rate lossless DVD audio, and HD DVD audio content playback.

VIA_VX11 Chip_original_?
The VIA VX11 chip (the VX11H looks the same) on its carrier

VIA_VX11_internal_block_diagram

VIA VX11 internal block diagram

Note that it has Windows 8 support and the graphics and video capabilities in the VIA VX11 and VX11H are based on S3 Graphics technology about which we should know that VIA Technologies Announces Sale of Stake in S3 Graphics [VIA Technologies press release, July 6, 2011]:

Taipei, Taiwan, July 6, 2011 ? VIA Technologies, Inc. (?VIA?) today announced the signing of definitive agreement to sell all of its shareholding in S3 Graphics Co., Ltd. (?S3 Graphics?) to HTC Corporation (?HTC?). S3 Graphics is a leading provider of innovative graphics visualization technologies used in PCs, game consoles and, more recently, mobile devices.
VIA acquired S3 Graphics in 2001 with the intention to accelerate integration of graphics capabilities with its processor and chipset products. S3 Graphics became undercapitalized in 2005, and VIA introduced WTI Investment International, Ltd. (?WTI?) as a new investor to help fund the operations and R&D initiatives. WTI is a private investment company, in which Cher Wang, Chairman of VIA, is a significant shareholder.
Under terms of the agreement with HTC, total consideration for all outstanding shares of S3 Graphics will be US$300 million. Of which, VIA will receive US$147 million; and WTI will receive US$153 million. VIA will recognize a capital gain of US$ $37 million and paid-in-capital of US$ 115 million in this transaction.

Note that this $300M acquisition of S3 Graphics by HTC was based on an ongoing lawsuit against Apple by S3 Graphics to be used in negotiating with Apple. This was lost in November last year but nevertheless could have figured positively for HTC?s recent settlement with Apple (as only HTC was able to negotiate a settlement with Apple so far) in which Apple To Get $6-$8 Per Phone Fee From HTC, Analyst Says [Forbes, Nov 12, 2012]:

Apple will receive an estimated $6-$8 per phone licensing fee from HTC under the patent litigation settlement the two companies announced on Saturday, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said in a research note this morning.
?Financial terms were not disclosed but we believe AAPL is likely getting a net licensing fee due to its much stronger patent portfolio and we think position as undisputed inventor of the modern smart phone with touchscreen,? he writes. ?We view this as a positive and the big question is whether Samsung and Motorola will also reach settlement agreements.?
He estimates that at $6-$8 per HTC phone sold, the company will generate an additional $180 million to $200 million annual revenue; he says that is lower than the range that Apple initially proposed. Wu notes that there have been previous reports that HTC pays Microsoft $5 per phone running Android.
The bottom line, he notes, is that the deal is basically immaterial to Apple. ?For a lot of companies, $180-280 million in annual licensing revenue from one vendor is material but for AAPL it will likely be immaterial to its financials given its large revenue base of $193 billion and $48 billion in net income that the investment community is forecasting for FY 2013,? he writes.

World?s Smallest x86 Quad Core System, VIA ARTiGO A1250 [VIA Technologies press release, Oct 31, 2012]

ARTiGO A1250_comparison_L_medium.jpg

Features USB 3.0, stereoscopic 3D and HD video support, for an immersive multimedia experience

Taipei, Taiwan, 31st October, 2012 ? VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the world?s smallest x86 quad core system, the VIA ARTiGO A1250 slim system, featuring a 1.0GHz VIA QuadCore processor and the latest VIA VX11H media system processor (MSP), in chassis the size of a paperback novel. The ultra-compact VIA ARTiGO A1250, is suitable for a myriad of applications in the home or office, including home server, home automation, hotel management, media streaming, digital signage and surveillance as well as medical and healthcare applications.

The VIA ARTiGO A1250 leverages the VIA VX11H MSP to deliver an immersive multimedia experience complete with 3D stereoscopic and HD display support in a low power envelope, which a typical power consumption of a mere 32W TDP. The VIA ARTiGO A1200 can fit easily into any environment, whether it is behind a monitor or on the wall with a 10 x 10 cm VESA mount or placed alongside other home media devices. For system developers, VIA provides third party software security through a unique hardware/software design.

?By leveraging the ultra compact Pico-ITX form factor, the VIA ARTiGO A1250 is able to deliver a powerful x86 quad core computing experience in the smallest system design on the market,? said Epan Wu, Head of the VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. ?The VIA ARTiGO A1250 boasts the latest technology with 3D stereoscopic display and USB 3.0 support for an unparalleled ultra compact computing experience, making small truly beautiful.?

VIA ARTiGO A1250

ARTiGO A1250_with mount_L_medium.jpg

The VIA ARTiGO A1250 is the slimmest full featured quad core system on the market today with an ultra low-profile design measuring a mere 17.7cm x 12.5cm x 3.0cm (W X D X H), a full ten percent smaller than the VIA ARTiGO A1150 series. A power efficient 1.0GHz VIA QuadCore E-Series processor is combined with the latest highly integrated all-in-one VIA VX11H MSP which features the integrated VIA Chromotion 5.0 video processor with DX11 support for richer textures and 3D stereoscopic display. The VIA ARTiGO A1250 delivers an exceptional multimedia experience with advanced filtering and cutting edge post-processing to perform ultra smooth decoding of H.264, MPEG-2, VC-1, and WMV9 for smooth playback of the most demanding multimedia titles at resolutions up to 1080p without incurring a heavy CPU load.

The unique dual-sided I/O coastline interface includes one HDMI and one VGA display port, one GigaLAN Ethernet port, two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, audio jacks (Line-in/out and mic-in) and 12V DC-in power.

For more information about the VIA ARTiGO A1250 please visit:
http://www.viaembedded.com/en/products/systems/1990/1/ARTiGO_A1250_(Pico-ITX).html

Here is an introductory video looking at the VIA ARTiGO A1250. The World?s smallest x86 quad core system on the market to date. The size of the new system is compared to the A1150 (as in the press release) and the previous generation A1200 model with fanless slim design.

Current ARTiGO pricing can be checked on
E-ITX.com:

- VIA ARTiGO A1250 for $320 with VX11H MSP (for a configuration with 0 GB RAM, 0 ODD, 0 GB HDD, no IEEE802.11b/g/n WiFi Kit, no OS, no system testing and assembly) and up (when the missing things indicated are added), delivery is promised for December

- VIA ARTiGO A1150 for $259 with [VX900H MSP] Chrome9 HD DX9 3D/2D Video Processor w/HDMI & VGA Display Outputs (for a configuration with 1 GB RAM, 0 ODD, 0 GB HDD, no 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Module Kit, no Antennas for Wireless LAN Module Kit, no OS, no system testing and assembly) and up (when the missing things indicated are added), next day shipment

- VIA ARTiGO A1200 for $319 with VX900 MSP (for a configuration with 0 GB RAM, 0 ODD, 0 GB HDD, no Wireless LAN or 3G WAN Network, no WiFi Antennas, no OS, no system testing and assembly) and up (when the missing things indicated are added), next day shipment

- Windows operating system prices (w/OEM License [and DVD]):

  • Win7 Home Premium 64-bit: $120
  • Win7 Professional 64-bit: $160
  • Win7 Ultimate 64-bit: $200
  • Win XP Pro 32-bit with OEM License ONLY: $185

CPUs used:

VIA Eden X2 Unveiled at Embedded Word 2011, World?s Most Power-Efficient Dual Core Processor [VIA Technologies press release, March 1, 2011]

VIA Eden X2 processors bring unrivalled power efficiency and fanless stability to embedded markets without compromising on performance

Taipei, Taiwan, 1 March, 2011 ? VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the new VIA Eden X2 processor, the industry?s lowest power dual-core processor, optimized for fanless implementation in a broad range of industrial and commercial embedded systems. VIA Eden X2 will debut at Embedded World 2011, Nuremberg, Hall 12, Booth No. 574

VIA Eden X2 processors combine VIA?s signature ?Eden? fanless design principles, in a highly optimized, power-efficient dual-core architecture. This guarantees rock-solid stability for mission critical embedded systems without compromising on performance or features. With a component longevity guarantee of 7 years, VIA Eden X2 processors are guaranteed to extend the reach of fanless system design for years to come.

?Eden X2 shows how once again VIA is setting the pace when it comes to highly optimized, power-efficient processing,? said Daniel Wu, Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. ?Embedded developers will relish the opportunity to integrate a native 64-bit, dual-core processor in passively cooled, ultra stable systems.?

VIA_Eden_X2_processor_Front_and_back_medium.jpg?

VIA Eden X2 ? Dual-Core Processing on a Fanless Power Budget

Leveraging the latest 40nm manufacturing process, VIA Eden X2 processors combine two 64-bit, superscalar VIA Eden cores on one die, offering enhanced multi-tasking and superb multimedia performance on a rigidly low power budget. VIA Eden X2 processors are the most power-efficient processors on the market, designed to offer the ideal solution for fanless system design.

VIA Eden X2 processors bring additional features that include VIA VT virtualization, a technology that allows legacy software and applications to be used in virtual scenarios without impacting on performance. The unique VIA AES Security Engine offers hardware-based data encryption on the fly, and essential tool in content protection and system security.

VIA Eden X2 processors are natively 64-bit compatible, facilitating an essential transition for the future of the embedded industry as 64-bit operating systems such as Windows? Embedded Standard 7 allow for vastly improved data throughput per clock cycle. This makes it easier to manipulate large data sets and improves overall performance. VIA Eden X2 processors are also fully compatible with Windows CE and Linux operating systems.

VIA Eden X2 processors are based on the latest 40nm manufacturing process using a VIA NanoBGA2 package of 21mm x 21mm with a die size of 11mm x 6mm. All VIA Eden X2 processors and are fully pin-to-pin compatible with VIA Eden, VIA C7 and VIA Nano E-Series processors.?

Product Highlights

  • Industry-leading power-efficient architecture
  • 7 year longevity guarantee
  • Advanced multi-core processing
  • Native support for 64-bit operating systems
  • High-performance superscalar processing
  • Out-of-order x86 architecture
  • Most efficient speculative floating point algorithm
  • Full processor virtualization support
  • Advanced power and thermal management
  • VIA AES hardware security features
  • Pin-to-pin compatibility with VIA processors range

VIA cProcessors are sampling now to project customers. Systems and boards featuring the VIA Eden X2 will be available in Q2 2011.

For information about VIA Eden X2 processors, please visit:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/processors/edenX2/


Basic RGB

VIA Announces VIA Nano X2 Dual-Core Processor [VIA Technologies press release, Jan 4, 2011]

Brings advanced multi-core performance to energy-efficient PCs without raising the heat

Taipei, Taiwan, 4 January 2011 ? VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced its latest VIA Nano X2 processor for mainstream PC markets. Based on a 40 nanometer fabrication process, the VIA Nano X2 delivers better computational performance and improved multi-tasking ability without consuming more power.

?The VIA Nano X2 processor arrives at a time when software architectures are now optimized to for multi-thread computing,? commented Richard Brown, VP International Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. ?Improvements in semi-conductor fabrication means we can now double the number of processor cores while maintaining the same low energy consumption levels that our customers are used to.?

VIA Nano X2 processors are targeting a range of PC products that include desktop, all-in-one and mobile notebook designs while extending the reach of VIA?s processor portfolio into multitasking and performance-oriented segments. VIA Nano X2 processors offer end-users the most optimized, power-efficient computing experience on the market today.

VIA Nano X2 Processor

VIA Nano X2 processors are built using the advanced 64-bit, superscalar ?Isaiah? architecture that powers previous single-core VIA Nano processors, adopted worldwide for a growing number of market-leading mini-note, small form factor desktop, and energy-efficient server designs.

Featuring two out-of-order x86 cores, VIA Nano X2 processors deliver up to double the performance on multi-thread optimized applications and also come with SSE4, native 64-bit support, VT CPU virtualization technology, and VIA PadLock? hardware security features. VIA Nano X2 processors are also pin-to-pin compatible with previous VIA Nano, VIA C7, VIA C7-M and VIA Eden processors, facilitating easy upgrades of existing designs.

Product Highlights

  • Advanced multi-core processing
  • Power-efficient out-of-order x86 architecture
  • Full support for 64-bit operating systems
  • High-performance superscalar processing
  • Most efficient speculative floating point algorithm
  • Full processor virtualization support
  • Advanced power and thermal management
  • VIA PadLock? hardware security features
  • Pin-to-pin compatibility with other VIA processors

VIA Nano X2 processors are also compatible with all VIA media system processors and digital media chipsets including the latest VIA VX900 and VIA VN1000.

VIA Nano X2 Availability

VIA Nano X2 processors samples are currently available for OEMs and motherboard vendors, with systems<

Source: http://lazure2.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/can-via-technologies-save-the-mobile-computing-future-of-the-x86-x64-legacy-platform/

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