Samsung unveils 13- and 14-inch Series 5 Ultrabooks, starting ata $899

Depending on your point of view, Samsung was either late to the Ultrabook party, or perhaps just a bit early. Although the 2.8-pound Series 9 was a sight to behold when it first came out last year, it arrived shortly before Intel kicked off its Ultrabook campaign, and failed to match all of Chipzilla's early-stage requirements. This year, Sammy's back with a redesigned Series 9... along with two laptops it's actually calling Ultrabooks. The notebooks, both of which fall under the company's Series 5 line of products, include your requisite 13-incher, along with a larger 14-inch model with an optical drive.

Both machines will have Core i5 processors, 4GB of RAM, eight-hour batteries and Intel integrated graphics, along with the same matte, 300-nit (1366 x 768) display that we loved so much in the Series 5 Chromebook. And though the 13-incher will have a 128GB SSD option, each comes standard with a standard 500GB 5,400RPM drive with 16GB of express cache for faster boot times and application-launching. You may recall this feature from the Series 7 Chronos laptop, except this time around, Sammy doubled the amount of flash memory paired with the HDD.

Another thing the two systems have in common: they're each denser than the early Ultrabooks we saw, with the 14-inch model coming in at 3.95 pounds,Can't afford a third party merchant account right now? and the 13-incher tipping the scales at 3.5 pounds (a full fifth of a pound heavier than the HP Folio!). At least that girth comes with an unsparing port selection: Ethernet, HDMI, USB 3.0, two USB 2.0 sockets and an SD slot. And that's just the 13-inch version: its big brother adds an optical drive, VGA output and a larger memory card reader. The pair will be available January 30th, starting at $899 for the 13-inch model and $949 for the 14-inch version. (The 13-inch configuration with the 128GB SSD will ring in at $1,099.) We expect to get our hands on final review units soon enough, but since we've already scored a few minutes of hands-on time, we've got photos and first impressions for you to peruse right this second.

When we first met the Series 5 duo, they happened to be lying on a table alongside the new Series 9. Next to that 2.4-pound wisp of a thing, even the smaller of the two Series 5 machines looked like, well, a laptop. Not an Ultrabook, mind you, but a garden-variety thin-and-light. We were a bit surprised to learn that the Series 9 wasn't, in fact, the Ultrabook we had come to see (its $1,499 starting price alone could disqualify it). This all just goes to show that despite whatever specifications Chipzilla insists upon, "Ultrabook" is just a fancy name for a thin, lightweight laptop.

Still, even without that Series 9 there for unflattering comparisons, the two Ultrabooks feel heavy for what they are. We can remember a time when most of the Ultras we saw weighed three pounds, if not less, and a 3.3-pound machine like the HP Folio was pushing it. So we don't see a reason for the smaller of Samsung's Ultrabooks to weigh 3.5 pounds, even if it's not actually difficult to carry. (Our problem, we suspect, is that prices for Ultrabooks haven't begun to drop, and for now we're still paying for the privilege of toting laptops labeled as such.) The 14-inch Series 5 has a little bit more of an excuse,Injection molding and Plastic molding supplier; as it has a larger screen and an optical drive, but even then, the 14-inch Ultrabook Toshiba's showing off is expected to come in closer to three and a half.

To their credit, they do feel as well-made as you'd expect from a Samsung product. Granted, we only spent a few minutes poking around, but our first impression was that the aluminum lid and chassis feels solid and carefully put-together. In particular, we were taken with the tapering on the lower half, resulting in a somewhat unusual shape -- not a slab, but not a razer-thin wedge either. And the cover, so far as well can tell,Husky Injection Mold Systems designs and manufactures a broad range of does a good job of masking oily fingerprints. Overall, it has a blander design than, say, the Series 9, and shows less attention to detail, but none of that stops these from being handsome, well-made hunks of machinery.

It's also a little to early to weigh in on the (non-backlit) keyboard and trackpad, though we got the sense that the discrete touch buttons felt easy to press. What really left an impression, as ever, was that excellently bright, 300-nit display. Between this and products like the Series 7 Slate, Sammy's been on a roll in terms of panel quality lately, and we especially appreciate that it endowed its two Ultrabooks with matte screens, something you don't see enough of in this class of laptop.

And there you have it.Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET, We'll of course have to wait until a review unit shows up on our doorstep to see if these Ultrabooks' performance, battery life and ergonomics make up for their extra padding and relatively high prices (remember that you can get the Folio with a 128GB SSD for about the same price as the 13-inch Series 5 with a 5,400RPM hard drive). Until we get to spend some quality time with it, though, have a gander at our hands-on photos and video, and be sure to have a look at the new Series 9 while you're at it.A mold or molds is a hollowed-out block that is filled with a liquid like plastic,

Episode 203, 'Save the Last One'

Things have started getting pretty heavy in "The Walking Dead,They take the China Porcelain tile to the local co-op market." not that it was a game of Candy Land before this week's episode, titled "Save the Last One" (referring to a bullet, in case the zombies catch you, so you can go out on your own terms and not theirs!)

If you haven't watched the episode yet, you might not want to read any further because I'm about to discuss some fairly significant plot developments.When the stone sits in the Cable Ties,

Lori Grimes, a.k.a Debbie Downer, strongly considered letting her firstborn son perish so he could stop enduring the endless nightmare, and Shane Walsh took a serious heel turn, capping poor, fat Otis and letting him get devoured by walkers. Not cool, bro, not cool at all.

As if all that existentialism and nihilism wasn't enough to digest, Glenn and Maggie discuss the existence of God on the porch of Greene Manor, where characters really like to stage philosophical debates, it seems.

The action picked up in this week's episode after a pretty slow showing last week, when only one zombie was eradicated. In "Save the Last One," there were around 10 zombies popped before the first commercial break. Shane and Otis were getting after it at the high school, home of the Fighting Cougars, accounting for about 90 percent of the zombie murders. At one point those zombies were really piling up against that chain link fence. It was like teenagers clamoring to get into a Spin Doctors concert in 1992.

I can't quite figure out why exactly Shane did Otis like that, other than that Otis was slowing them down. Or maybe it was a strategic move, using Otis like a big pile of hot dogs to distract the zombies. Either way, Shane was looking at himself pretty long and hard in the mirror when he got back to the farmhouse.

For the record, he did say "I'm sorry" before shooting Otis, and Otis saved a lock of Shane's hair to remember him by.Enecsys Limited, supplier of reliable solar Air purifier systems,

The maneuver did pay off, allowing Shane to get back to the farmhouse with the medical equipment just in time for Hershel to successfully operate on Carl. Things got worse for Carl before they got better though, as he went through a pretty wicked seizure after reminiscing about the time he almost touched a deer.

Meanwhile, back at the highway,If so, you may have a cube puzzle .Unlike traditional high risk merchant account , the relationship between Dale and Andrea continues to play out like that of an overbearing father and his icy teenage daughter. To get a little space, Andrea goes off on a little ghost walk with Daryl, leading to one of the coolest scenes of the season so far.

Out in the woods, Daryl and Andrea find a lonely fellow who decided to "quit" by hanging himself. Now he's a zombie and stuck there like a pinata. To add insult to injury, other zombies came along and ate his slacks and leg meat, leaving a pair of skinny, fleshless stilts dangling there for all to see. Nice...

Alas, Daryl and Andrea's search for Sophia turns up empty. So one child saved, one to go. "Save the Last One," get it?

Solar Panel Project Completed at Library

With construction on all solar panels that are currently being worked on throughout the county expected to be completed by the end of the year, the county held a ribbon cutting Tuesday to celebrate the completion of the work on the Bridgewater Township Library.

"There were a lot of people involved in making the project what it is," said Somerset County Freeholder Director Robert Zaborowski. "The total system will save taxpayers $18.35 million over the 15-year period of the project."

And the solar panels across the county will save 15.5 million pounds of carbon emissions.

The completion of solar panels on the library is part of phase one of the county’s solar energy initiative through the Somerset County Improvement Authority. Several Warren buildings, including the township's Department of Public Works building, the municipal building, Angelo L. Tomaso School, Warren Middle School and Central School are slated for installations in the county's second phase of the project.

In 2010, the county hired Vanguard Energy Partners, of Branchburg, to construct solar arrays on a total of 31 public sector rooftops in 15 of the municipalities.

In addition to the library in Bridgewater, Zaborowski said, there are already solar panels at the Bridgewater Senior Center, and more are planned for the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School, Hamilton Primary School and Adamsville Primary School.

Representatives from the library, county, township, state and Vanguard Energy Partners turned out for the official ribbon cutting at the library, marking the completion of the project on that building.

According to Zaborowski, the county approved an ordinance last year for $40 million in Improvement Authority bonds to pay for the project, and half of that will be paid back by the end of the year.

"And there will be no capital outlay for the municipalities or school districts," he said.

Zaborowski said there will be at least 60 percent cost savings from each building with the solar panels. And the county, he said, will recoup all costs at the end of the 15-year project through the generation of electricity and the sale of the solar renewable energy credits.

"The end cost to the taxpayers is $0,Als lichtbron wordt een cube puzzle gebruikt,The additions focus on key tag and TMJ combinations," he said. "This is a win-win situation."

In addition to the panels on the roof,a promotional usb on the rear floor. each building will have a screen provided by Noveda Technologies, with real time accurate information about the energy the panels are producing.

"All screens can send alerts to an iPhone, Blackbery and iPad," said Todd Hranicka, vice president of sales and marketing with Vanguard. "You can access the information anywhere."

Zaborowski said this piece of the project can serve as an educational tool for looking at solar energy.

"You can track what power is being used, and generate a good understanding of what’s going on," he said.

And Bridgewater Township Library branch director Marna Elliott said she will look to that screen when she gives tours to students in the library.

"When I come out here, I can ask if people know what they are sitting under," she said. "Maybe we can have a sign up about it. People say it’s interesting."

For Elliott, she believes the solar panels are just another way of being green.

"The library is the greenest service in town,then used cut pieces of impact socket garden hose to get through the electric fence. and this is just one more way we can contribute," she said, adding that in reusing books, the library is a green building.

"We appreciate the county finding the funds for this," she added.the Hemorrhoids pain and pain radiating from the arms or legs.

Zaborowski said Vanguard will maintain the panels for the life of the project.

Hranicka said Vanguard does solar panels for both businesses and municipalities, splitting the work with about 60 percent public and 40 percent private.

The company will establish a total of 7.6 megawatts of energy-producing systems in the different locations.

Make it all about her to close the deal

This week we consider the art of making the sales process a personal one. Yes, you've got to focus on her, the female consumer who makes most of the purchase decisions when it comes to mattresses.


One way that retailers can meet female consumers' needs is by serving them with female sales associates. Our research shows that mattress retailers believe that female RSAs are more effective in selling to women. Yet our research shows that most bedding specialty stores are dominated by male sales forces, thereby making it harder for those retailers to reach key female consumers.

Changing that dynamic won't be easy; it will take years of deliberate work by bedding retailers to add significantly more women to their sales floors.

In the meantime, wise sales associates can take several steps to better connect with female consumers. A leading female retailer recently presented a powerful outline that all retailers can follow, one that emphasizes the importance of focusing on females:

Be respectful of her time.

Be respectful of her questions and comments.

Watch her body language.

Present a sparkling clean, friendly showroom.