WordPress 3.3 Beta 2

It’s been a quite while since I started on updating my blog again and with that, updating the look of it. And just recently, I found out that WordPress has gone into upgrades and updates which triggered my curiosity to try developing websites using the latest release. Here’s what 3.3.1 has to offer:

WordPress 3.3 is ready for beta testers.

As always, this is software still in development and we don’t recommend that you run it on a production site — set up a test site just to play with the new version. If you break it (find a bug), please report it, and if you’re a developer, try to help us fix it.

If all goes well, we hope to release WordPress 3.3 by the end of November. The more help we get with testing and fixing bugs, the sooner we will be able to release the final version. If you want to be a beta tester, you should check out the Codex article on how to report bugs. Continue reading »

White House staff lose weight, credit first lady

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE – Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Surrounded all day and most nights by delicious cakes, cookies, pies and more, Susie Morrison gave in to temptation too often during long hours at work in the White Housepastry kitchen.

But no more.

Never a runner, the assistant pastry chef has finished her first 5K run. When the weather cooperates, she pedals her bicycle 26 miles roundtrip to work. She’s eating more vegetables, limiting coffee and drinking up to a gallon of water every day — dietary changes that Morrison says helped her drop 30 pounds from her 5-foot-5 frame in about 18 months.

One person gets most of the credit for Morrison’s lifestyle makeover: Michelle Obama.

While the first lady’s campaign to lower childhood obesity rates will need time to produce results, if ever, the White House is one place where her message about eating balanced meals and getting more exercise is not only resonating, but showing results, too.

“She is a great inspiration for me to focus every day to try harder, and I have,” Morrison said.

Some of Morrison’s colleagues are also taking the message to heart — and the proof is in their waistlines. Four members of the White House residence staff — Morrison, two chef colleagues and an assistant curator — have lost more than 110 pounds since July 2010. They have kept the weight off so far.

Executive chef Cristeta Comerford, now 15 pounds lighter, said Mrs. Obama’s campaign helped the group recognize their poor eating habits.

Instead of the cookie she reached for daily, Morrison, 44, said she now snacks on an apple or a handful of grapes. Continue reading »

The Walking Dead TV Series

AMC’s critically acclaimed original series, The Walking Dead, is back with its much anticipated second season. When we last left the The Walking Dead, the characters were in the midst of a high-intensity struggle to survive, fleeing the CDC as it burst into flames. In Season 2, they are still on the move, facing more threats and obstacles than ever. Led by a remarkable ensemble cast and crew, Season 2 premieres with a 90-minute episode on Sun., Oct. 16 at 9/8c.

Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, written by Robert Kirkman, AMC’sThe Walking Dead captures the ongoing human drama following a zombie apocalypse. The series follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually, Teachers,Strike Back), who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. However, instead of the zombies, it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead. Jon Bernthal (The Pacific, The Ghost Writer) plays Shane Walsh, Rick’s sheriff’s department partner before the apocalypse, and Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break), is Rick’s wife, Lori Grimes. Additional cast include: Laurie Holden, Steven Yeun, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey DeMunn, Chandler Riggs, Iron E. Singleton and Melissa McBride. Guest stars include: Lauren Cohan, Scott Wilson and Pruitt Taylor Vince. Continue reading »

Sony Acquires Ericsson’s Stake in Sony Ericsson for $1.47 Billion

Sony Corporation has acquired Ericsson’s stake in mobile phone joint venture Sony Ericsson.

The deal will place Ericsson’s 50% stake in the joint venture under Sony’s control. Sony will also acquire five wireless technology “patent families.” The two companies have also entered into a cross-licensing agreement for their intellectual property.

As part of the transaction, Ericsson will receive a €1.05 billion cash payment from Sony. That values the deal at $1.47 billion at current market prices.

“This acquisition makes sense for Sony and Ericsson, and it will make the difference for consumers, who want to connect with content wherever they are, whenever they want,” Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer said in a statement sent to Mashable.

Sony says that acquiring all of Sony Ericsson will enhance its “four-screen strategy” — televisions, laptops, tablets and mobile phones. The company intends to not only sell devices in all four categories, but sell content there as well through the PlayStation Network and the Sony Entertainment Network. Sony also has a large presence in film as well, thanks to Sony Pictures.

Sony and Ericsson started their joint venture in 2001 in an effort to turn their unprofitable mobile handset divisions around. The company has focused on Android devices in recent years with the Xperia Arc and theXperia Play, best known as the “PlayStation Phone.”

Source: http://mashable.com/2011/10/27/sony-ericsson/