Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Debuts

Posted on March 8, 2014 by admin

By Rhonda Campbell
Samsung has been developing patented technology to entertain people for 70 years. Founded in Korea, Samsung began as a trading company. Since its founding, the company has developed personal computers, televisions and mobile telephones.

Samsung continuing to be a frontrunner in the mobile technology space

Although Samsung’s hasn’t received as large a share of the mobile telephone market as Apple, it is a leader in the industry, having developed well over 800 million mobile telephones. At the start of the new year, the company released its much talked about Samsung Galaxy Tab 3. Similar to how Apple advertised its latest mobile telephone as a sleeker phone, Samsung is approaching the unveiling and advertising of the Galaxy Tab 3.

Features of the new Galaxy Tab 3 include a 7-inch display screen, direct Wi-Fi accessibility, 8 gigabytes of memory and light sensor support. CNET reports that, “To shrink the tablet and still retain a 7-inch display, Samsung moved the menu bar from the screen to the bezel.” Video chatting and a game and music hub are also built into the latest Samsung Galaxy mobile telephone.

If you work a career that requires you to create or share videos, you might be delighted to know that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 has enough room for you to store at least 1,000 titles. The wait time related to video downloads is brief; at times the download time might seem nonexistent.

Regarding the music hub, after you identify your favorite songs, you can start building your music library. Because the mobile telephone remembers the types of music you initially download, it can suggest new songs for you to add to your library. As with other search products, this can be done while surfing the Internet.

As a gamer, it’s the 8 gigabytes of memory that you might appreciate most, especially considering the amount of space some video games, with their many images can demand. If you appreciate a sleek design, the chance to slip your mobile telephone in your coat pocket or your purse without so much as a second thought, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 might prove to be a welcomed piece of advancing technology.

Posted in Entertainment | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Low paying jobs the new norm

Posted on February 25, 2014 by admin

By Charles Dundley

During 2013, more than 2.1 million jobs were added to payrolls in the United States. The fact that millions of adults landed new jobs, some after struggling through a long period of unemployment, is good news. However, many of these jobs pay less than the average annual wage American workers make.

A job isn’t always a step up
According to Bloomberg, “Occupations paying below-average wages accounted for more than half of last month’s U.S. payroll increase, a dynamic that may restrain consumer spending and the economic recovery.” In addition to paying less, employers are also hiring more part-time and contingent workers, also referred to as contractors.

Average hourly wages that American workers earned as of May 2013 was $23.89. However, in the hospitality, restaurant, amusement park and casino industries, the average hourly wage Americans earned as of 2013 was $13.45. People working in the retail industry made an average of $16.63 an hour, while temporary workers were paid an average of $15.74.

Desperation may be driving the decision to accept low paying jobs. Economist Heidi Shierholz says that, “Low-quality jobs are always available but go unfilled when there are other jobs.” She continues, “At a time like this, workers have to settle for anything they can get.”

Not only are low paying more readily available than higher paying jobs, lower paid workers are sometimes the first to be released when the economy starts to head south. In fact, during the recession 21% of the jobs that were lost were jobs that paid $13.83 an hour or less.

A downside to accepting low paying jobs, especially if a worker previously worked a higher paying job, is that it could take years to catch up to a previous, much better income level. In fact, some specialists say that if a worker falls behind in their income by 20% or more a year, they may never reach the point where they’re earning the higher wages they once brought home. If a worker in near retirement age, accepting a low paying job could also negatively impact a worker’s chances of saving enough money for retirement.

Posted in Employment and Finding Jobs | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Better jobs growth report

Posted on February 8, 2014 by admin

By Rhonda Campbell

hiring reportshiring reportsLate December saw the continuation of a historic stock market rally, the Dow Jones topping 16,000. This occurred despite the fact that the United States Federal Reserve announced that it would start trimming back on the amount of money it spends on securities. Yet, the historic stock market rise hasn’t influenced payrolls as much as many would like. Americans who continue to fill out one employment application after another only to be told they didn’t get another job, probably couldn’t care less about what’s happening at the stock market. For these Americans, getting enough money to pay their bills and enjoy a comfortable lifestyle is starting to feel out of reach.

Jobs report could disturb or calm an anxious stock market

Their employers, on the other hand, may feel differently. In fact, the securities buying not only helped a slow economic recovery continue to crawl forward, it calmed anxieties felt by financial executives and major investors. It also made Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve “friend” in the eyes of some executives at financial services organizations, not to mention to global investors.

The buying was so well received that it overshadowed a weak December 2013 jobs report. As reported by CNN Money, “Hiring slumped sharply in December, as the economy added only 74,000 jobs, according to the government. This was the weakest month for job growth since January 2011 and came as a huge surprise to economists, who were expecting an addition of 193,000 jobs.”

Yet, the likelihood that investors will seemingly shove off a weak jobs growth report may not continue to happen. Signs that China’s economy is weakening have already begun to create a stock market shakeup. Additionally, other emerging markets are sending investors running scared. This fear played a significant role in the Friday, January 24, 2014 stock market drop, a date on which United States stocks dropped a whopping 318 points.

Some economic and financial analysts saw the drop off as a natural progression, no more than the markets correcting themselves. Other analysts fear that the market as well as the national economy could be headed for another painful downturn. Yet, there is hope that the drop off could be brief.

A healthy jobs report would have sent the message to national and global investors that the American economy is rebounding faster than people expected. January’s jobs report didn’t send such a strong message. In fact, 113,000 new jobs being added to payrolls points to more weak, at best – moderate, economic growth. Fortunately, the national unemployment rate has dropped to 6.6%. There’s also the hope that a hard winter has impacted some private sector employers ability to respond to Department of Labor hiring surveys. If that’s the case, it could take another month or two to get a clear picture on true hiring trends. Another plus would be fewer companies conducting job layoffs as the new year continues to unfold.

Posted in Working With Government Agencies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

JCPenney on the ropes

Posted on February 8, 2014 by admin

By Rhonda Campbell

JC Penney retail stores

Photo by Sam Howzit

People born after the 1980s might not remember how powerful a retailer JCPenney was. During the 1970s, it wasn’t Wal-Mart that was a fierce leader in the retail industry. Instead, it was department stores like Sears, K-Mart and JCPenney that American consumers flocked to when they wanted to purchase household goods, automotive products, shoes and clothes. That trend has clearly shifted.

JCPenney is struggling to keep pace with changing retail markets
Proof that JCPenney is experiencing hard times might be best revealed in the fact that the company’s CEO, Ron Johnson, had his bonus cut substantially in 2012. In 2011, Johnson received $53.3 million in annual pay; a year later, he received $1.9 million in total compensation.

A company representative is reported as saying that the cut was due to the fact that the company was far afield of its goals. However, in regards to the drop in pay, CNN Money also reports that, “Johnson’s compensation dropped sharply from 2011 to 2012 in large part because he received a special $52.7 million stock award upon joining the company. He did not receive any stock award for 2012, and got only 44% of his target cash compensation in view of the company’s poor results.”

The company’s stock dropped more than 60% over the course of a year. Since the start of 2014, JCPenney’s stocks have slid 27%. That’s not a good sign of a turnaround. To stop the financial bleeding, the company has announced that it will close 33 of its stores and lay off about 2,000 employees. It’s a far cry from what JC Penney once was.

During the days when JCPenney was a leading retailer, the Internet wasn’t popular. People drove, walked or caught buses to get to shopping centers. These shopping centers were generally strip malls, not larger malls that housed 80 or more stores, including discount designer stores.

It might be the fact that more Americans opted to shop at large malls, business places that were generally located away from downtown areas, that helped contribute to the decline that retailers like JCPenney and Sears have been experiencing.

Posted in Business Management | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Miami Heat Greg Oden returns to the NBA

Posted on February 8, 2014 by admin

By Charles Dundley

During his basketball playing days at the University of Ohio, Greg Oden became one of the most talented and skillful center. Steve Kerr, a former NBA athlete, referred to Oden as “once in a decade player.” Teams across the NBA set their sights on the impressive center. Few, if any, paid attention to the fact that Greg Oden had surgery early in his basketball career at Ohio State.

Basketball remains in Greg Oden’s blood

That early surgery was performed to repair a ligament injury he suffered while playing basketball in high school, according to Wikipedia. In 2007, a year after he entered college, Greg Oden was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers. Many expected Oden to become a great center, similar to how Shaquille O’Neal became a dominant center while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, then later for the Miami Heat.

Yet, a series of injuries would stifle Greg Oden’s attempts to gain a strong foothold as a center in the NBA. All fans and coaches could do was imagine how talented and powerful Greg Oden would be on the court if he could get and stay clear of injuries. In 2012, after a lengthy injury, Greg Oden became a free agent.

It appeared as if he might not find a home in the NBA. But, after winning its second NBA title, the Miami Heat, the same team that acquired Shaquille O’Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers picked up Greg Oden. Rather than to start Oden at the very beginning of the season, the Miami Heat waited to unleash Greg Oden.

His first game back on the court came on January 15, 2014. The Miami Heat were playing the Washington Wizards. Although the Miami Heat lost to the Washington Wizards by a score of 114-97, sports analysts, commentators and fans were delighted to see Greg Oden back on the court.

Fox Sports reported that, “Oden played his first game in more than four years Wednesday night, and that might have been the only positive for the Heat. He played all of 8 minutes, 24 seconds and made a pair of dunks to help start a rally that had loads of promise — until it fell flat in the fourth quarter of a 114-97 loss to the Wizards on Wednesday night.”

It remains to be seen how Greg Oden will perform throughout the remainder of the NBA season. However, Miami Heat fans hope that he helps to lead them to a third NBA championship in the summer.

February 2014, after the Indiana Pacers picked up free agent, Andrew Bynum for a one year deal reported to be worth $1 million, the importance of Greg Oden showing up strong during the NBA playoffs became that much more important should Bynum play the way he did when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers. Additionally, with the way Oklahoma City Thunder has been playing of late (even without their star point guard, Russell Westbrook), if they hope to three-peat, the Miami Heat are going to need Greg Oden to provide a wealth of aggressive on the court defense.

Posted in Entertainment | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment