According to man-about-town, Robert X. Cringely, Samsung is readying not one, but two separate Android-based phones, one of which is due in September, with another model following around Christmas. If you believe what you read (and what his tipster says), these phones will not be labeled Samsung, rather they will be released as Google-branded gPhones.

Read the Full report here

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What is Diamond Carat Weight?

When shopping for a diamond, you’ve no doubt heard references to the 4 C’s of diamonds.  Diamond carat is one of those popular ”c’s” to consider when evaluating a diamond, and it’s a term used to describe how much the diamond weighs.  A single diamond carat is equal to the weight of 200 milligrams, or .2 grams.

Diamonds are described two different ways in regards to the diamond carat.  An abbreviation of “ct” is used to describe the weight of a single diamond stone while an abbreviation of “ct TW” is used when describing the total weight of an entire piece of jewelry- when it has more than one stone in place.

It’s important to recognize that two stones may have the exact same carats, meaning they have the same weight measurement, and yet they are completely different in size and appearance.  This is due to the actual density of the gemstone.  The more dense a stone is, the more weight they have, and sometimes a smaller stone will actually weigh more than a larger stone because of density.

The Value of the Diamond is Effected by it’s Weight.

When selecting your diamond ring, you can choose between a single, solitaire style setting (a single diamond on the ring) and a setting that has multiple, smaller stones to make up the ring.  The value of a solitaire one diamond carat will actually be more than if you buy a ring that has two diamonds that add up to one carat or greater. Larger sized diamonds are more rarely found when mining diamonds, making them more valuable and expensive than purchasing the same amount of diamond carats in smaller stones.

Selecting Diamond Carat

So how do you determine what size diamond to buy?  Do you want a diamond carat of 1, or 2, or do you want a ring with multiple, smaller stones?  The answer to this will depend greatly on your budget, as well as the person who will be wearing the ring.

A diamond will look larger on a slender finger, so keep that in mind if the recipient of the ring has thin hands.  The actual diamond carat measurement is probably not as much of a concern as the appearance, shape, and setting of the ring.  Particularly because a 1 carat diamond ring will not look half the size of a 2 diamond carat ring, it’s far more important to select a ring that is pleasing to look at than it is to buy one with the most carats you can afford.

Determine how much money you have to spend, and then decide on the cut of the diamond.  Once you have these two pieces of information narrowed down, you can start browsing the diamonds in your price range, in the style you want, and find out what diamond carat you are in the market to buy.

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Astrologically Diamond is the birthstone of April. It is also the gemstone for the 10th and 60th anniversary. Diamond is supposed to strengthen the planet Venus to increase luxury and enjoyment in your life. If you are a Virgo then according to Vedic astrology Diamond is the right gemstone for you. The glittering colour, the four perfect cleavage directions and its endurability has made it the most popular gemstone.

For the interest of Chemistry student Diamond is nothing but a carbon. It is a polymorph of Carbon just like Graphite. Its chemical formula is “C” and only “C”. It’s a native element and belongs to the sub-class Non-metallic. India DiamondDiamonds are available in wide variety of colors like Blue, pink, white, yellow. The diamond processing industry values the brown diamond much more, which comes in three varieties called Champagne, Cognac and Coffee.

For the Physics students, its hardness is perfect 10 out of 10 in mohs hardness scale. Diamond is the hardest substance, gifted by nature. Just for the sake of interest, Diamond is four times harder than Sapphire or Ruby. Diamond can scratch any other mineral and the myth, “Diamond can only cut a diamond”, is true. The clarity of Diamond is transparent. The specific Gravity of Diamond is 3.5, which is well above the average. Diamond conducts heat the best. For comparison purpose, its five times better than Silver. At this scenario of this very best, the Melting point of Diamond is 3820 Kelvin and the Lattice density is also the highest. Definitely Diamond is empowered with many excellent properties to become the first choice, but again the myth of its indestructible or eternity has been proved to be a foolish notion.

Diamonds are available all over the world. Mostly it is available in Australia, Arkansas, Africa, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Congo, and Russia etc. A large mine in South Africa has started its operation just five years back.

Diamonds have been used in treatment of mankind for ages. Medical sciences have been able to find its remedial utilities in several accidental and usual disorders due to injuries, fracturing of bones etc. It is supposed to be highly effective in several brain diseases and nervous system disorders. Diamond even helps to control the hormone sequence of the human body.

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While you search the internet for that special lady…the one of your dreams…your soul-mate…the other half of yourself, you can do a lot of things right.  Sadly, you can, also, do a lot of things wrong….things that will guarantee failure and a broken heart.   Out in the “real” world, being aggressive, demanding perfection and even little white lies are all ingredients for success.  However, those same qualities are killers when you are dating online and off line, too, for that matter.

There is a big difference between being aggressive or confident and being too aggressive, over-confident, or just plain sleazy or slimy from a woman’s point of view. If you push too hard for a face-to-face, you will come across as too aggressive…maybe even, scary.  Try to remember that you are not trying to close a business deal and keep the relationship progressing at a slow but steady pace.  Patience is the key.

Nobody is perfect.  We are all flawed in some way or another…and that includes you, as well.  If you expect the woman to be absolutely perfect and demand that, you will always be disappointed.  Demanding perfectionism in your work is one thing.  Demanding perfectionism from a friend, co-worker or a lady you are interested in is not just fine.  It won’t happen.  Expect flaws and just deal with them.  Decide the ones you can live with and those you can’t.

Little white lies and false fronts won’t work.  Be honest from the beginning of a relationship.  Write your profile.  Make it interesting but don’t make false statements.  The truth will come out eventually anyway.  If you say you are a lawyer who makes a million bucks a year and you are really an electrician that makes $75,000, you have set yourself up for failure.

Remember…don’t be too aggressive, expect to ever find perfection or put on a false front.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Canaan Partners invests in visionary entrepreneurs and provides them the networks, insights and operational guidance required to build high-performance technology and healthcare companies. For 20 years, they have taken an active and committed role in the companies in which they invest, and have completed more than 69 mergers and acquisitions and 53 IPOs.

With $3 billion under management and a worldwide footprint, the firm’s technology team is committed to catalyzing the growth of innovative companies in the digital media, communications & mobility, enterprise and clean tech industries. Among its successes are DoubleClick, the leading online advertising solution, Match.com, the most popular online dating site in the world, CommerceOne, the company that pioneered B2B ecommerce; Capstone Turbine, first to market and world’s leading producer of commercially viable microturbine energy products; and VOIP equipment supplier Acme Packet, which was one of the top ten performing tech IPOs of 2006. Other Canaan technology investments include Active Networks, BharatMatrimony, Cellcast, Techtribe, Blurb, Cortina, GroundWorks, ID Analytics, Tremor Media and SuccessFactors. Canaan has offices in California, Connecticut, India and Israel.

MENLO PARK, Calif. – February 6, 2008 - Canaan Partners, a multibillion-dollar global venture capital firm, announced today the closing of the $650 million fund, Canaan VIII. Consistent with previous funds, the new fund will focus on building next generation market-leaders in both the technology and healthcare sectors and brings Canaan Partners’ total capital under management to $3 billion.

With a 20-year track record as one of the premier investors in innovative early-stage technology and healthcare companies worldwide, the creation of the new fund will enable the firm to continue its strategy of taking active and significant ownership positions in pioneering companies in the digital media, communications, enterprise, clean technology, biopharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics sectors.  In addition, the larger fund will facilitate Canaan’s sustained, global expansion by committing up to 25% of the fund to international investments.

Canaan also announced today the promotion of Dr. Stephen Bloch to general partner at the firm. Having been an entrepreneur and practicing physician, Dr. Stephen Bloch joined Canaan in 2002 and knows first hand the challenges of building successful healthcare companies.  Dr. Bloch led Canaan’s investment in Amicus Therapeutics (FOLD), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation oral therapies for the management of genetic diseases; he also sits on the boards of Advanced Biohealing, a developer of regenerative wound healing therapies, and Marinus Pharmaceuticals, a leader in development of drugs to treat serious neurological disorders. Dr. Bloch joins existing general partners: Brent Ahrens, John Balen, Wende Hutton, Maha Ibrahim, Deepak Kamra, Guy Russo and Eric Young.

Canaan plans to begin investing fund VIII this year. The firm typically leads its deals and maintains double-digit ownership stakes. Canaan’s previous funds have resulted in more than 120 positive exits, including 53 IPOs.  The firm has launched numerous market leaders and disrupters, such as SuccessFactors, the global leader in on-demand performance management solutions which went public this past November on Nasdaq; Acme Packet, maker of VoIP equipment for carriers and one of the top-10 performing tech IPOs of 2006; DoubleClick, the leading online advertising solution acquired by Google; Cerexa, one of the largest private biotech acquisitions in history; and Dexcom, the largest diagnostic IPO of 2005.

“For 20 years, Canaan has been helping innovative technology and healthcare companies achieve exceptional growth and success; the additional capital in Fund VIII will allow Canaan to seek out new, exciting companies and noteworthy entrepreneurs across the globe,” said Deepak Kamra, general partner at Canaan. “In addition to our Silicon Valley base, we have key personnel on the ground in India, Israel and the New York corridor and have already made significant investments in these regions.”

Fund VIII will continue Canaan’s focus on digital media investments, both in its Silicon Valley base where it has funded publishing industry-disruptors such as Blurb, and as well as in the New York corridor, where the firm has already funded digital media front-runners, such as Tremor Media, the largest pure-play video ad network; Associated Content, a leading publisher of user-generated content; and Peer39, a pioneer in targeted, semantic advertising solutions.

With its healthcare investments, Canaan has enjoyed 9 positive exits in 3 years and will continue to focus on biopharmaceutical companies with a special emphasis on combating infectious diseases, such as VaxInnate, developer of novel vaccines for pandemic and seasonal influenza; medical device companies developing next generation devices for the treatment of treat chronic and major diseases, such as ReVision Optics (RVO) whose technology corrects vision lost through the natural aging process (presbyopia); and diagnostics that are tied to specific, personalized therapies, such as Transoma Medical, a leading provider of implantable wireless diagnostic systems for patients with chronic cardiovascular disease. “We deliver superior company-building expertise to entrepreneurs, which in turn generates attractive returns for our limited partners,” said Brent Ahrens, general partner at Canaan.  “We will continue to execute on our proven investment strategy on a global scale.”

The larger fund will also allow the firm to expand its reach in India and in Israel, countries in which the firm has actively been investing via local offices. Canaan has demonstrated early momentum in these areas with key investments in companies such as BharatMatrimony, the world’s largest consumer Internet site for matrimonial services based in India; and LiveU, an innovative provider of mobile video broadcasting technology from Israel.

Tip: Indian Online innovators- keep an eye on it.

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Collecting is a fun hobby, and one of the most interesting things to collect are art collectibles. Many different items can be painted with artwork and become an art collectible. Hobby enthusiasts collect such things as saw blades, and wooden eggs which have had artwork painted on. People even collect designer rugs as art. Another art collectible hobby is collecting limited edition plates, thimbles, Christmas ornaments, and figurines produced by such companies as Bradford Exchange. And of course, many people collect fine art paintings.

The person with an art collectible hobby will probably find his or her own favorite artists whose works they appreciate. They can choose to focus on one particular artist, either past or present, or they can choose from the works of many artists. On the other hand, they may collect art and art objects around a theme they enjoy, such as cigars, wild animals, or piano music.

One may think of an art collector as a rich person who has the money to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on an original Van Gogh. A person of more modest means can collect art too, however. Post cards are a good place to start. Most art museum gift shops offer high quality, glossy postcards printed with some of their more notable acquisitions. By buying those cards one really appreciates, anyone can have an art collection.

Ebay is a good source of art collectibles whatever type of art or collectible you fancy. In fact, if you are just starting out, the choices and options can be overwhelming! Just remember that you can sell your own belongings as well as buying those of others. This should make the impact on the budget a little less powerful. Other ideas for inexpensively collecting art collectibles are scouring flea markets, thrift shops, and garage sales. You never know what treasure someone else may be getting rid of.

One nice thing about art collectibles is that artists can be found in every part of the world. The art collector should scout the local art shows, museums, and artist’s hangouts to find out just what sort of talent can be had less expensively and close to home. Because of the local flavor of some artwork, art collectibles make good travel souvenirs. For instance, the artist Linda Barnicott specializes in paintings of scenes, buildings, and landmarks found around Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Similarly, collectors can find local artist almost everywhere.

An art collectible hobby will keep you interested in life and give you a home filled with art masterpieces as well. If you enjoy pretty and interesting things around you, consider starting an art collectible hobby today.

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People have taken to online dating like a duck takes to water…because it works…or, at least, it can work.  Women are, in general, terrified of meeting a man that she has been chatting with online.  All they have heard about are the scary things that can happen…and, I must say, they have a right to be careful to the extreme.  That’s not only wise but vital.  So what’s a nice guy to do?  You aren’t a pervert, a sexual predator, or a weirdo.  You are just a nice guy looking for “the” girl for you.

You must be patient.  Don’t press her for personal information like her real name or where she lives.  Keep your conversations light and fun until she feels comfortable talking with you online.  Don’t try to rush her into meeting face-to-face.  She will think you are desperate or a pervert.  Patience.  Patience. Patience.

Be absolutely honest about your physical appearance and job.  A good relationship has never been, and will never be, built on lies and deceit.  Eventually she will find out the truth anyway and there you are back at square one.

A picture really is worth a thousand words.  Post many pictures of yourself doing your everyday activities and make them full body shots, not just head shots.  If you were dating a girl in the real world she wouldn’t just see your head.

Once the discussion has been opened about meeting face-to-face for the first time, suggest that you meet in a very public place, during daylight hours  and that she bring a friend with her.  After all, you have nothing to hide.  You’ve told her the truth about yourself and she has already seen a lot of pictures of you.  The only thing left is to make her feel safe meeting you.

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