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ZTE shows off recent smartphones at Wireless Japan
China's ZTE is still sticking to the low end in North America, but in its home country, the manufacturer is a huge player. Evidence of that lies strewn about ZTE's booth at Wireless Japan this week, where it's showing a pair of WinMo devices plus a Linux-based model that look ripe to compete with some of the best in the world. First up, the RAISE and XIANG do WinMo and HSPA for China Unicom's Wo network, rocking 5 and 3.2 megapixel cameras, respectively. The D820 reps the open-source world (though we're not sure what kind of Linux distro is running on it -- it's not Android, if we had to guess) and runs CDMA with WiFi, GPS, and a 2 megapixel camera. We're not sure if ZTE is using phones like these as warmups for more global launches, but given what we're seeing here -- and the low price points they're likely looking to hit -- we're all for it.[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]
Hail Mandy: The Druid's Soulstone
We've all wiped in an instance from time to time. It is significantly easier to keep going when a rezzer has a self-rez ability so the group doesn't have to waste time running back to the instance. Soulstone and Reincarnation are wonderful things. The Druid's Rebirth spell can also be used occasionally to save the party the walk of shame back to the instance. I call this maneuver the "Hail Mandy." I started doing this when I was multiboxing my Paladin and Druid. When the Paladin, who was tanking, died and the Druid was going down, I would cast rebirth on the Pally. Then after the Druid was killed and the mobs reset, I would accept the rez. This allowed me to raise both characters and start back up on my merry, dualboxing way- just like using a Soulstone.
AMD denies Ruiz raise, says it's just a misunderstanding
Last week, we reported that Hector Ruiz -- CEO of chipmaker AMD -- had received a 7.4-percent raise even though the company has been struggling as of late and its stock has dropped considerably over the past year. Now, according to reports, the rumors of the pay increase have turned out to be the product of a misinterpreted SEC filing -- or so say the public relations people at Advanced Micro Devices. Apparently, the confusion stems from a pay raise that the honcho received in 2006; somehow the change in figures halfway through the year led to a proxy statement of $1,046,358 -- the supposed new salary. The "clarification" still leaves a few questions unanswered, but at least for now we can sleep soundly knowing that Hector Ruiz, the highest paid CEO in the semiconductor industry, will only be earning a paltry $1,124,000 this year.
AMD's financial woes don't stop Hector Ruiz from nabbing a raise
In most jobs, if you cost the company money and generally screw up, you can expect a solid dressing-down from the management and then a swift boot out the door. Unless you run a major corporation like AMD. If you're Hector Ruiz, CEO of the ailing chipmaker, you can freely and openly admit to fouling up the works and still get yourself a tidy raise, it seems. "We blew it and we're very humbled by it and we learned from it and we're not going to do it again," Ruiz said on Thursday, just before the board of directors raised his $1,046,358 salary to $1,124,000 -- a 7.4-percent gain. Oh, did we mention the nearly $13 million in stock options too? Hey, just because you tacked on $3.7 billion dollars in long term debt and your stock plummeted 56.2-percent doesn't mean you're doing a bad job... although we can't think of another way to describe it.
Nintendo raises profit forecast....again
Nintendo's stock has been going up like ... like, um ... like Apple's stock! But not even the bookies could predict such a dominating performance (sorry, I just couldn't resist that link ... go Gators!), and as such, Nintendo has had to once again raises its profits forecast thanks to extremely strong game sales for both the Nintendo DS and the Wii. How much, you ask? One billion dollars. That's USD, folks.We also have a gem of a quote from one Edwin Merner, president of Atlantis Investment Research Corp. in Tokyo: "Nintendo is going like gangbusters, and the Wii consoles are selling like hotcakes." Gangbusters, huh? According to UrbanDictionary.com, a gangbuster is: "a sexual advance made by someone in an attempt to turn on another person." Hot, Edwin. Very hot.
TiVo fundraising with self-branded toasters / snowglobes
While just about everyone has experienced their fair share of ups and downs with TiVo, it's great to see the smiley TV box raising funds for two meaningful causes. The firm is offering up self-branded toasters and snowglobes (for $45 and $28, respectively) to its employees in order to raise money for the James Kim Memorial Fund and The Katrina Fund. Of course, it could be slightly difficult to get your hands on either of these adornments if you can't badge into TiVo HQ everyday, but perhaps a saintly reader could be a liaison for a group buy? Regardless, even if you're still using one of the eight toasters you got as a graduation gift or you've severed all ties with TiVo (and jumped ship), here's to lending a helping hand to those in need. Keep reading for a taste of TiVo toast...[Via PVRWire]
