Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Online sales tax bill seen stalling in Republican-led House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate was expected to vote on Monday to give states the power to enforce their sales tax laws on online purchases, but the legislation was likely to stall in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Many House Republicans will oppose the measure as a tax increase. House Speaker John Boehner plans to send the bill to the House Judiciary Committee, a senior Republican aide said.

That could mean time-consuming hearings ahead. The Senate uncharacteristically by-passed this step.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte, a Republican, has reservations about the legislation, including its complexity and potential impact on small businesses, a spokeswoman said.

Goodlatte has no plans yet for a hearing on it, she said.

Backers of the measure include major traditional retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Best Buy Co Inc, as well as e-tailing giant Amazon.com Inc, which wants to simplify its U.S. state sales tax payments. Cash-strapped state governments are also strong supporters of the bill.

Opponents include many other online merchants such as eBay Inc and anti-tax activist Grover Norquist.

The bipartisan proposal cleared a Senate procedural hurdle last month, after 63 members in the 100-seat Senate backed it.

States that charge sales tax have largely been unable to require e-tailers to collect it from purchasers unless the e-tailer had a physical presence in the state. Otherwise, consumers are supposed to pay the tax, but very few do. Some states have made separate arrangements with Amazon on the issue, while others have not.

The bill would let states require out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax on purchases made over the Internet, even if the e-tailer has no physical presence in the purchaser's state.

The bill would allow states to do this but not require them to do so. It would also exempt merchants with online annual out-of-state sales of $1 million or less.

"We place a 30 percent probability that the bill is signed into law by the end of the year" primarily due to opposition in the House, said Guggenheim Securities analyst Chris Krueger.

"Our odds will increase following passage of this bill in the Senate provided it receives a big vote of support," he said.

POLICY OPTION REPORT

The online sales tax bill debate is moving on a separate track from efforts in Congress on a broader tax overhaul.

The main obstacle on that front remains the dispute between Republicans who refuse to consider new federal revenue from ending tax breaks that would be part of tax reform, and Democrats who insist that such new revenue is vital.

Despite this divide, Representative Dave Camp, the Republican chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, has vowed to move a bill forward this year.

On Monday, the Joint Committee on Taxation - a non-partisan tax research arm of Congress - is expected to release a report that will spell out options for the top-to-bottom tax code revamp that is envisioned by Camp.

The Michigan lawmaker has divided the Ways and Means committee members into groups to study tax topics ranging from real estate to financial products.

The U.S. government has not thoroughly refashioned the nation's tax system since 1986, despite wide, bipartisan agreement that the code has become encrusted with scores of deductions and other special interest tax breaks.

"If it was easy, it would have been done a long time ago," said Dorothy Coleman, a tax lobbyist for the National Association of Manufacturers, which represents 11,000 companies.

FOREIGN PROFITS

Many businesses are lobbying Congress for a cut in the 35 percent corporate income tax, while pushing at the same time for preservation of special-interest tax breaks that spare a great number of them from having to pay that top rate.

Some businesses are seeking a new law that would let them bring foreign profits into the United States with little or no tax due. Other companies have pushed for a one-time "tax holiday" to do the same thing.

As much as $2 trillion in foreign profits is now parked offshore by U.S. corporations avoiding the U.S. corporate income tax, which only applies to foreign profits when they are brought into the United States, or repatriated.

Technology giant Apple Inc's sale last week of $17 billion of bonds, the largest-ever corporate issue, was seen by some as motivated by tax concerns. The bond proceeds will allow Apple to buy back shares and pay dividends without incurring the tax hit it would take on repatriating cash held abroad.

Borrowing that kind of money, rather than bringing cash on hand into the country, is "proof positive that we've got a system that's completely wacko," said veteran tax lobbyist Ken Kies, managing director of the Federal Policy Group, a Washington tax advisory firm.

Still, most Democrats oppose a tax holiday on overseas profits, citing studies that show during an earlier such tax holiday, most of the profits brought into the country from abroad were not used for hiring or capital investment.

A spokesman for Senator Charles Schumer denied a story in the New York Post last week that suggested the New York Democrat was floating the idea of a repatriation tax holiday in exchange for a bank to fund infrastructure projects.

"He's busy with guns and immigration reform right now, so while it's possible he revisits the idea in the future, he's not doing anything on it right now," said Democratic Policy and Communications Center spokesman Matt House.

(Reporting By Kevin Drawbaugh, Patrick Temple-West, Kim Dixon and Nanette Byrnes; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/online-sales-tax-bill-seen-stalling-republican-led-190216860.html

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Jim DeMint: Immigration Reform Will Cost U.S. Trillions (ABC News)

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Monday, May 6, 2013

Fitbit Flex review

DNP FitBit Flex Review

We have truly entered the era of the quantified self. Editorials are shouting it from the rooftops, technologists are snickering "I told you so" and you, dear consumers, are just eating it up. If there's some sort of personal metric you'd like to monitor and view in a pretty little chart, there's a product out there to help you do it. Now, that doesn't necessarily reflect a mature market rather than a fleeting fad. But we'll say this: companies both big and small are offering a number of products for this growing niche and some have built their entire portfolio around a lineup of personal tracking devices. Fitbit is obviously one of those companies and, with the One, Zip and Aria WiFi scale already on the shelves, it's got a pretty robust set of options for those looking to turn their entire lives into a collection of infographics. With the Flex, though, it truly rounds out its offerings with a wearable band in the style of the Jawbone Up and Nike FuelBand.

There are, of course, a number of differences between all of these products -- not the least of which is price. At $100, the Flex undercuts its most direct competitors by at least $30. There's also support for Bluetooth 4.0, which delivers wireless syncing on both Android and iOS. The question is, does the Flex deliver enough at that price point to make it a clear choice?

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/06/fitbit-flex-review/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Sunday, May 5, 2013

Nikon D5200


The D5200 ($799.95 direct, body only) is Nikon's mid-level consumer D-SLR camera, offering more features and control than the entry-level D3200, but not quite rivaling the more expensive D7100. It's an impressive performer, shooting continuously at 4 frames per second and delivering clean 24-megapixel images through ISO 3200. It's not the without its drawbacks?the viewfinder isn't as large or bright as in some other SLRs, and it doesn't offer full compatibility with older Nikon lenses. But it's certainly good enough to displace its predecessor, the D5100 as our Editors' Choice for digital SLRs priced less than $1,000.

Design and Features
The D5200 is rather compact for a D-SLR, but manages to squeeze quite a few controls into its small body. It measures 3.9 by 5.1 by 3.1 inches and weighs 1.1 pounds without a lens. The Pentax K-30 is just about the same size, varying by a tenth of an inch at most, but is heavier at 1.4 pounds. The extra weight is due to the K-30's weather sealing and solid glass pentaprism viewfinder. The D5200 uses a pentamirror finder, which is lighter but not as big or bright. If you're moving up from a point-and-shoot it will be a revelation when you compare it to using an LCD for framing your shots, but photographers who cut their teeth on 35mm SLRs will likely have to adjust to the smaller size. Nikon has put one feature into the viewfinder to set it apart from other cameras?you can set it to display a rule of thirds grid overlay to help you better compose your photos.

If you opt not to enable that grid, the viewfinder displays a cross shaped overlay that displays the active autofocus area. You can tell the D5200 to automatically select the autofocus points from the 39 available, or select one manually using the directional pad on the rear of the camera. The active point will appear as a black square, but it does change to red as you move it for better visibility. Other rear controls include the "i" button, which gives you quick access to adjust shooting settings via the rear LCD, a standard control wheel, and an Auto Exposure Lock/Autofocus Lock button. There's no front control wheel, as dual wheels are a rare find on entry-level cameras. The weather-sealed Pentax K-30 has them, but other recent models are limited to one.

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That control can be programmed to work in a number of ways, but by default it locks both the current focus and exposure settings for as long as you hold it down. You do have the option of making it act as only an Auto Exposure Lock button, which is helpful for those times when you're dealing with tricky lighting, but still want the autofocus system to engage as normal when grabbing a shot. Other available functions include Autofocus Lock only, or AF-ON. This last setting disables the autofocus system when pressing the shutter, engaging it only when AE-L/AF-L is held down. Photographers who shoot with pro bodies with a dedicated rear AF button will appreciate that functionality.

Top controls include the standard mode dial, which has a switch that enables Live View integrated in its design. There's also a dedicated record button that only works when Live View is enabled, an Info button that toggles what is shown on the rare display, a button to control exposure compensation, and another to control the drive mode. Like on other Nikon cameras, the power switch is integrated with the shutter release. This is a departure from most Canon bodies, including the EOS Rebel T4i, that place it around the mode dial.

The 3-inch rear LCD is mounted on a hinge. The vari-angle design rotates so it can be viewed from above, below, from the rear, or from the front, at any angle. It can also fold flat against the body facing inward our outward?the former is great for those times when you want to use the viewfinder exclusively without reviewing images. The screen is sharp at 921k dots, which lets you review images for critical focus and manually focus in Live View with precision. When you're shooting, it displays an information screen that shows the current focus point, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, as well as how many photos can be recorded on the memory card. Pressing the "i" button allows you to change the recorded file format, enable bracketing and HDR capture, adjust active lighting, white balance, and JPG output settings, and adjust the ISO. It also gives you more control over metering, the focus mode, the flash output, and the exposure settings. The directional pad is used to navigate these settings, with the center OK button there to adjust and confirm settings. A contextual accompanies each setting in case you're not sure what is appropriate for your scene?for example, a surfer is shown to indicate the function of AF-C, which continuously focuses on a moving object until you press the shutter, an ideal method for capturing action and sports scenes.

You won't find a lot of bells and whistles on the D5200. There's no GPS like there is on the Sony Alpha 65, nor do you get built-in Wi-Fi. Nikon does sell accessories to add these functions, though. The tiny $60 WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter plugs into the camera to add Wi-Fi connectivity, and the $300 GP-1A GPS Unit automatically adds location information to your photos. Serious geotaggers may want to consider the Alpha 65 as an alternative, since adding this feature to the D5200 isn't cheap. Just be aware that the Sony camera uses an OLED electronic viewfinder rather than a traditional optical one. It's an excellent EVF that's big, sharp, and bright; but some shooters may not be willing to give up tried and true optical through-the-lens viewing.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/363NB30t8Nc/0,2817,2418408,00.asp

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Saturday, May 4, 2013

Quick Review: HTC One on Sprint ? Droid Life

blinkfeed-one

Our previous review of the HTC One was an international model, running on AT&T?s network. We have now had an official U.S. model running on Sprint for the past week, so we felt it appropriate to go back and basically summarize our opinions for this device. We also felt it necessary to give a second opinion on it, since you know that no two persons are truly alike. It?s time for Tato?s take on the HTC One.

Before we begin, I should point out that the one downfall to this device is the fact that I don?t live in an area supported by Sprint?s 4G LTE, so the device is rather handicapped in that regard.?Nevertheless, if you are still on the fence about picking up HTC?s 2013 flagship over any other device, read on.?

The Good

Hardware?

When looking at the device?s specs on paper, they definitely stand out in your average crowd of devices. The One features a 4.7? 1080p display with 468ppi, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 2,300mAh non-removable battery, 4G LTE connectivity (where supported), an IR blaster for use as a remote, and comes packed with the future standard of WiFi,?802.11ac. Each one of these specs is packed inside a single piece of aluminum casing that gives off a smooth and hardened feel when handled. Possibly tied for the top spot with the One X, this is the nicest Android phone I have ever touched. It gives off just the right amount of weight, not so much to where you would call it heavy, but the perfect amount to know the device is solid and well constructed.

one-back-full

Camera?

The camera on the HTC One has been the source of many questions, given that it runs a single 4MP sensor. How could HTC put a lowly 4MP camera in their 2013 flagship against Samsung?s 13MP monster? In short without getting all scientific (since I know little about real cameras), it actually works well for this device and in the right circumstances, it works extremely well. When on a stroll through the park or inside the house, the One produces very good quality pictures, full of detail and crisp lines. You can tell that the Ultrapixel does let in good amounts of light, but it never makes a photo turn out bad by any means. The one true downside I noticed with the One?s camera is that if you zoom in beyond 45% or more, your picture will come out looking blurred and nasty. To sum up the camera, if you upload photos to Facebook and Instagram on a regular basis, it will treat you just fine.

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BoomSound?

If there was one feature that I showed off about this phone the most, it was BoomSound. The front facing speakers on this device sound fantastic with any type of music I played through them. I?m more of a rock/metal kind of guy and they had no issues balancing the right amount of highs and lows. While playing more bass-heavy tunes, the sounds were handled just fine and it was actually a pleasure to listen to music through. To say your phone has amazing external speakers is almost unheard of, so having BoomSound is a major advantage for anyone that loves watching media on their device or listening to music. Kellen mentioned in his review that we have never talked about the speaker experience on a phone before and that should give everyone a clue just how highly we think of them.

BlinkFeed

BlinkFeed

Kellen mostly avoided talking about BlinkFeed in his review, given that he didn?t use it all that much (until he changed his mind recently). The thing is, like he mentions, HTC sort of forces you into using it, as it is a part of your homescreen. There is no disabling it. So, I placed some basic feeds in there from car blogs and science blogs, and I actually found it somewhat useful. What I do like about it is that I am a very visual guy, so when I see the big and bright pretty pictures, I?m able to simply click on them and be taken to the story. It?s a no fuss experience. Plus, since you can add calendar events and even Twitter feeds, it?s just a simple way of staying up-to-date on everything that is going on.

The Not-so-Good

Carrier?

The HTC One that I have is on Sprint?s network and where I live, Sprint is pretty poor in terms of data speeds and mobile coverage. Like, really poor. Their service is so inconsistent that when I take my phone out with me, I have no idea if I?m going to a mobile dead zone when I leave my house. For example, I was with a friend at a restaurant in the middle of town and I couldn?t even send out a tweet. The phone showed I had 3/4 bars full of ?3G? service, yet I couldn?t even send a tweet. When your device is rendered useless because of the network it?s on, that is sort of inexcusable for me. If Sprint has good coverage in your area, then hopefully your experience will differ greatly from mine. I noticed that when the device showed it was on ?4G,? it worked just fine, but when on ?3G? don?t plan on doing any streaming, Tweeting, or Facebook?ing.

Sense 5 problems

Parts of Sense 5?

While the overall look of the Sense UI has improved greatly over the years, there are some parts of Sense 5 that are just awful. On stock Android, it takes just a single click to access the option if you want to choose a wallpaper, but on here, the option is hidden inside the settings menu. You have to drag the notification bar down, hit settings, find Personalize, hit wallpaper, then you can choose what you want to do. If you long press the homescreen on Sense 5, you can change widgets, add a homescreen, add shortcuts, but not even change the wallpaper. Why is that? It just seems overly complicated and unnecessary. To add to my frustrations with Sense, another key feature of Jelly Bean, expandable notifications, is not done properly.

In stock Android, your top notification tends to always be expanded while the older ones collapse automatically. With Sense 5, they are always collapsed and never auto expand, forcing you to always two-finger swipe down on them. Unfortunately, the gesture isn?t all that smooth and I sometimes have to swipe three times for it to work. As Kellen put it, ?dealing with notifications went from being an amazing new experience, to completely painful.?

htc one buttons

Buttons?

Navigation on the HTC One is sort of funky and to be honest, I couldn?t even find the recent apps function until just a couple of days ago. You access features with different long presses and double taps which is just crazy in my opinion. You long press the home button to access Google Now and you double tap home to bring up recent apps. And of course, that huge HTC logo doesn?t do anything at all. I am all for OEMs differentiating themselves from the competition, but it would be nice to soon have a standard from Google that says manufacturers must use on-screen buttons. That would be nice.

Device Gallery

Verdict

I believe it was on this week?s Droid Life Show when I said the HTC One is the ? Best. Smartphone. Ever. I think a part of me truly does feel that way, but at the same time there a few things I would have changed. Stop making Sense so confusing, throw in a beefy 8MP or 13MP camera without the Ultrapixel marketing gimmickry, and get it onto Verizon?s network. At the end of the day, this is currently my favorite Android smartphone of all time, so that does count for something. It is an absolute dream to feel in the hands and the device is extremely pleasing to look at. It?s the ultimate sensory-pleasing package of a phone. If you are shopping for a new Android phone, you have to check out the One from HTC.

To get your full review dose, check out Kellen?s review here.

Source: http://www.droid-life.com/2013/05/03/quick-review-htc-one-on-sprint/

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Perform Pachelbel On a Pint-Sized Playable Pop-up Paper Piano

Taking those electronic music playing greeting cards to a whole new level, Antonella Nonnis created a playable paper piano that she eventually hopes to turn into one of the awesomest pop-up books you've ever seen.

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