Windows Media Player 10 vs iTunes

Microsoft were no doubt kicking themselves back in Silicon Valley all those years ago when Apple invented the iPod. Years down the line and the only way to put songs on the incredibly popular iPod was to use iTunes. This meant that all those Windows Media Player fans were migrating over to iTunes! Not only that but Apple made it even easier recently with their wma → mp3 converter in iTunes 4.6.

Only recently did some bright spark at Microsoft say: "Hey! Hold on! Although we are already ripping all our customers off if we are not careful we will soon have none left to RIP OFF!!!" And so Windows Media Player 10 was born with its support for the iPod amongs tons of other devices in an attempt to remove Apple's dominance. It was a fair move but too little too late. Apple took full advantage of their new-found iTunes popularity after the iPod was launched and put extra effort into iTunes.

Microsoft have done very badly with their surprise and rushed Windows Media 10. They have done badly in that the player cannot read as many codecs as iTunes and their surprise was the lack of notice they gave of its release. It shows that down at Microsoft they are worried, and so they should be, as one can only imagine the possibility of a huge failure if Microsoft were to release an "msPlayer", or something similar...

Well done iTunes! Your fantastic wma converter enabled me to escape the clutches of Windows Media Player, whereas those idiots at Microsoft never thought twice about a m4a converter (an iTunes format). The reason for this exclamation is that iTunes have been thinking with their heads whereas Microsoft with their backsides.

Microsoft are just digging themselves a deeper grave! They should stick to what they are good at. There is little debate that Windows is superior to Mac OSX but unfortunately for Microsoft there is little debate to whether or not iTunes is now superior to Windows Media Player. Having tried betas of Windows Longhorn (the codename of the next Windows operating system) it looks very promising but Windows Media Player 10 just complicates things.

Microsoft need to take a step backwards and give up on the music front. Although you can understand they want to support the iPod they should realise that Windows Media Player is dying. However, it's good news for all us iTunes users, as Apple are going to have to keep improving their iTunes to stay 1 step ahead!

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Rental Properties

Rental properties are an excellent source of investment property. Many people choose to purchase apartment buildings, condominiums or homes that they rent to other people. The investor can either gain income from the rent received, or use the rent to pay the mortgage on the property.

Mortgage lenders usually require a larger down payment when mortgaging rental properties. In most cases, investors have to put 50 percent of the total cost of the property as a down payment. Some lenders, however, ask for less money down. If you are thinking of investing in rental properties, you should shop around for a lender who can offer you a lower down payment or low interest rates. Many mortgage lenders are very eager, in this depressed real estate market, to make mortgages to qualified individuals and some are offering excellent incentives such as lower down payments, lower rates and reduced fees to attract customers. Now is an excellent time to apply for a mortgage for rental properties.

Rental properties come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and are available for most budgets. Those with more capital can invest in a large apartment building with multiple tenants. Those with smaller budgets can invest in a single condominium or home to rent to others. Most mortgage lenders will require that you have a lease signed by an individual for at least a year prior to approving the mortgage. If you are purchasing the rental property from another investor, often the renter or renter is already living on the premises, in which case you can provide the old lease.

Prior to investing in rental properties, keep in mind that you will be required to fix plumbing problems, leaks or other things that may go wrong with the property. You must make sure that the property is in livable condition for your tenant at all times, or you may be subjected to local and state fines.

Rental properties can be an excellent way to invest in the real estate market, particularly for those who are handy and can fix minor problems that occur in the unit. For this reason, many real estate investors choose to purchase rental properties as a way to earn equity and money in the real estate market. Twin cities rental properties, stillwater rental properties and st paul rental properties.

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HOW THE DUCKS GOT THEIR FINE FEATHERS

Another night had come, and I made my way toward War Eagle's lodge. In the bright moonlight the dead leaves of the quaking-aspen fluttered down whenever the wind shook the trees; and over the village great flocks of ducks and geese and swan passed in a never-ending procession, calling to each other in strange tones as they sped away toward the waters that never freeze.

In the lodge War Eagle waited for his grand- children, and when they had entered, happily, he laid aside his pipe and said:

"The Duck-people are travelling to-night just as they have done since the world was
young. They are going away from winter because they cannot make a living when ice
covers the rivers.

"You have seen the Duck-people often. You have noticed that they wear fine clothes
but you do not know how they got them; so I will tell you to-night.

"It was in the fall when leaves are yellow that it happened, and long, long ago. The
Duck-people had gathered to go away, just as they are doing now. The buck-deer was coming down from the high ridges to visit friends in the lowlands along the streams as they have always done. On a lake OLD-man saw the Duck-people getting ready to go away, and at that time they all looked alike; that is, they
all wore the same colored clothes. The loons and the geese and the ducks were there and playing in the sunlight. The loons were laughing loudly and the diving was fast and merry to see. On the hill where OLD-man stood there was a great deal of moss, and he began to tear it from the ground and roll it into a great ball.
When he had gathered all he needed he shouldered the load and started for the shore of the lake, staggering under the weight of the great burden. Finally the Duck-people saw him coming with his load of moss and began to swim away from the shore.

"'Wait, my brothers!' he called, 'I have a big load here, and I am going to give you
people a dance. Come and help me get things ready. '

"'Don't you do it,' said the gray goose to the others; 'that's OLD-man and he is up to
something bad, I am sure.'

"So the loon called to OLD-man and said they wouldn't help him at all.

"Right near the water OLD-man dropped his ball of moss and then cut twenty long poles. With the poles he built a lodge which he covered
with the moss, leaving a doorway facing the lake. Inside the lodge he built a fire and
when it grew bright he cried:

"'Say, brothers, why should you treat me this way when I am here to give you a big
dance? Come into the lodge,' but they wouldn't do that. Finally OLD-man began to
sing a song in the duck-talk, and keep time with his drum. The Duck-people liked the
music, and swam a little nearer to the shore, watching for trouble all the time, but OLD-man sang so sweetly that pretty soon they waddled up to the lodge and went inside. The loon stopped near the door, for he believed that what the gray goose had said was true, and that OLD-man was up to some mischief. The gray goose, too, was careful to stay close to the door but the ducks reached all about the fire. Politely, OLD-man passed the pipe, and they all smoked with him because it is wrong not to smoke in a person's lodge if the pipe is offered, and the Duck-people knew that.

"'Well,' said Old-man, 'this is going to be the Blind-dance, but you will have to be painted first.

"'Brother Mallard, name the colors--tell how you want me to paint you.'

"'Well,' replied the mallard drake, 'paint my head green, and put a white circle around
my throat, like a necklace. Besides that, I want a brown breast and yellow legs: but I
don't want my wife painted that way.'

"OLD-man painted him just as he asked, and his wife, too. Then the teal and the
wood-duck (it took a long time to paint the wood-duck) and the spoonbill and the blue-bill and the canvasback and the goose and the brant and the loon--all chose their paint. OLD-man painted them all just as they wanted him to, and kept singing all the time. They looked very pretty in the firelight, for it was
night before the painting was done.

"'Now,' said OLD-man, 'as this is the Blind- dance, when I beat upon my drum you must all shut your eyes tight and circle around the fire as I sing. Every one that peeks will have sore eyes forever.'

"Then the Duck-people shut their eyes and OLD-man began to sing: 'Now you come, ducks, now you come--tum-tum, tum; tum-tum, tum.'

"Around the fire they came with their eyes still shut, and as fast as they reached OLD-man, the rascal would seize them, and wring their necks. Ho! things were going fine for OLD-man, but the loon peeked a little, and saw what was going on; several others heard the fluttering and opened their eyes, too. The loon cried out, 'He's killing us--let us fly,' and they did that. There was a great squawking and quacking and fluttering as the Duck-people escaped from the lodge. Ho! but OLD-
man was angry, and he kicked the back of the loon-duck, and that is why his feet turn
from his body when he walks or tries to stand. Yes, that is why he is a cripple to-day.

"And all of the Duck-people that peeked that night at the dance still have sore eyes--
just as OLD-man told them they would have. Of course they hurt and smart no more but they stay red to pay for peeking, and always will. You have seen the mallard and the rest of the Duck-people. You can see that the colors OLD-man painted so long ago are still bright and handsome, and they will stay that way forever and forever. Ho!"

Dead Sea Scrolls San Diego

San Diego Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea scrolls consist of roughly 900 documents, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran (near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea) in the West Bank. The texts are of great religious and historical significance, as they include practically the only known surviving copies of Biblical documents made before 100 AD, and preserve evidence of considerable diversity of belief and practice within late Second Temple Judaism.
Many of the scrolls are now housed in the Shrine of the Book which is in Jerusalem.
wikipedia

Special Apples

This young man comes in to a patent office with some special apples.He walks into the office and talks to the manager.He says "I have some special apples that I would like to patent." What's so special about those apples, asks the manager? Well these apples have different tastes, go ahead try one.

The manager bytes one and says wow, that tastes like an orange,yep, well turn it around.The manager turns the apple around and bites into it and says," wow", that tasted like grapes.The young man then says try another one.He picks one up and bites into it and says ,"wow that tasted like mango."Well turn it around says ,the young man. The manager turns it around and bites into the apple and says," damn that tasted like strawberries.

The manager was exited and says ,ok, lets see what else you got now, that was amazing.The young man says, I got one that tastes like Pussy,The manager looked at the young man and smiled, really? Ok let me try that one.So the young man gives him the apple, and the manager bites into the apple, and starts chewing, before he could swallow he spits the un chewed apple out, and with a disturbed look on his face he says,"That tasted like shit".The young man looked at him and said, "well turn it around".
Joke by Rob Foster

Did you know

Dragonfly has a life expectancy during 24 hour.