Ramping Up Your Laptop's RAM

One of the simplest ways to improve performance on a laptop is to add more RAM, or random access memory. RAM prices have been steadily dropping over the years, and it's now possible to see a significant performance boost with an investment of twenty or thirty dollars. If your machine is sluggish, you might need additional memory. Even if your machine is new, a memory upgrade is worth investigating.

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William Niskanen, A Life Well Lived (Powerlineblog)

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Thai censors say out, damned spot, out to Macbeth film adaptation

The maker of 'Shakespeare Must Die' is appealing the decision, but Thai bureaucrats are nervous about the movie's political overtones.

The banning of a Thai cinema adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' is causing a stir in Thailand. The censors ruled that the movie ?has content that causes divisiveness among the people of the nation."

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In a country where the royal family is protected from criticism by possibly the world's strictest lese-majeste laws (designed to prevent public criticism or ridicule of royals), any drama featuring regicide might be deemed taboo. But?Shakespeare Must Die?seems also to have touched a raw nerve with its depiction of Shakespeare's ambitious but guilt-ridden usurper blended in with scenes of protest and violence redolent of Thailand's recent past.

The country has been beset by on again, off again street protests since 2005. To some, the Macbeth character in the movie is reminiscent of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose apparent vaulting ambition prompted royalist suspicions that he had a real-life anti-monarchy agenda.

Thailand's Culture Ministry told director Samanrat Kanjanavanit that she could only proceed with a bowdlerized version of the government-funded movie, but the filmmakers held their ground.

A red-clad Grim Reaper in the movie was deemed too evocative of the red-shirt demonstrators who took to Bangkok's streets in 2010, in protests that turned violent with more than 90 killed. Another scene inspired by a gruesome massacre of student demonstrators in 1976 was also deemed unacceptable.

Director Samanrat, better known as Ing K., says the censorship makes little sense. "Why do they (the censors) find a 400-year-dead poet so threatening?,? she told the Monitor.? The original Macbeth was penned during a fractious period in English history, probably shortly after the 1605 "Gunpowder Plot," when Catholics aggrieved at religious discrimination sought to assassinate England's King James I, a Scot.

Now, four centuries later, Thailand's volatile politics could hold the key to the censors' anxiety over a now-archetypal tale about how power corrupts man. Mr. Thaksin was ousted from office in a 2006 coup backed by royalist street protestors and faces jail on corruption charges. But his sister Yingluck is the country's prime minister, after her Peua Thai party routed the royalist-leaning Democrats in a 2011 election.

Thailand's 84-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the world's longest-sitting monarch and remains popular, drawing vast crowds onto Bangkok's streets last December for his birthday celebrations. But the combination of color-coded antagonism ("red-shirts" for pro-Thaksin demonstrators, "yellow-shirts" for royalists)? and the King's age makes for nervy bureaucrats, and the censors' actions on the movie come after several recent high-profile jailings for lese-majeste.

While Ms. Yingluck's government has sparked renewed royalist ire by hinting that Thaksin could return to Thailand without having to do jail time, her administration simultaneously pledged not to amend Thailand's lese-majeste laws and to tighten censorship of websites containing allegedly offensive content.

Now it seems even The Bard of Avon is caught up in Thailand's censorship dragnet. Southeast Asia-based documentary filmmaker Bradley Cox saw his?Who Killed Chea Vichea? ? about a Cambodian trade unionist who was murdered in 2004 ? banned in Cambodia. Discussing?Shakespeare Must Die, Mr. Cox told the Monitor that ?it makes one think that the censors must not think that highly of the Thai people, if they feel that they cannot handle the imagery and messages contained in this movie.?

For Ing K., the censors' reaction to the movie says a lot about Thailand, where the government and the opposition are at odds over a reconciliation proposal that, to some, could mean impunity for those involved in recent political violence. ?We don't want to look at ourselves," she lamented, ?we want to forget about painful events in our history."

The trailer for "Shakespeare Must Die:"

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Generate Memes, Next Issue, and More [Android Apps Of The Week]

Magazines, memes, and tools to keep you on top of your game are coming at you in this week's best Android apps. With a crafty alarm clock, a handy note taking tool, you'll have all the help you need in taking care of your business.

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Photo of the Day (Theagitator)

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PSA: Watch Coachella on YouTube, Google devices for free this weekend

Sure, Google's previous Coachella stream ran about as smoothly as Woodstock 1999's final hours, but that's no reason to abandon the idea. Mountain View has decided to give it another go, streaming 2012's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Youtube and to properly equipped devices. Looking to get your rock on? Hit the source link below.

PSA: Watch Coachella on YouTube, Google devices for free this weekend originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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My Last Sony: The Rise And Fall Of The House Of Sonny Boy

In light of the recent layoffs by Sony to the tune of 10,000 employees, I think it's important to see where Sony currently resides in the tech ecosystem and why the company, once the darling of the CE and PC set, went so far off track. As background, I recommend you read Joel Johnson's excellent series on Sony. He wrote it two years ago on Gizmodo and it is one of the most thorough and enjoyable examinations of what was then a sputtering juggernaut. One of the funniest pieces is this man-on-the-street video that asks people what they think of Sony. The kindest praise? One lad called the company "Decent" and another said he owned a Sony TV. The last guy in the video takes a moment to compose his thoughts and says "Sony: fast, cheap, and Japanese."

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Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie Uniting Onscreen Too?

Pair reportedly may appear together in Ridley Scott's 'The Counselor,' starring Michael Fassbender.
By Fallon Prinzivalli

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox

Have you heard the news, movie fans? Seven years after meeting on the set of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are engaged! No, for real this time. Cynthia Pett-Dante, Pitt's manager, confirmed the news on Friday (April 13), saying, "It is a promise for the future and their kids are very happy."

Robert Procop, the designer of Jolie's engagement ring, released a statement to People: "Brad had a specific vision for this ring, which he realized over a yearlong collaboration with Robert. He wanted every aspect of it to be perfect, so Robert was able to locate a diamond of the finest quality and cut it to an exact custom size and shape to suit Angelina's hand."

We can hear all the ladies in our office swooning, but that's not the only exciting news for fans of the Hollywood power couple. Pitt and Jolie may star together alongside Michael Fassbender in the forthcoming movie "The Counselor."

Deadline Hollywood reports that director Ridley Scott wanted Pitt and Javier Bardem for the movie. As he's close to getting them both, rumors are circulating that Jolie might also be in talks to play the female lead. She and Scott have been collaborating on a Gertrude Bell biopic, which may have led to the rumors. With Brangelina's engagement now official, it would make sense that the actors would want to remain close to one another.

But Pitt and Jolie wouldn't be the only ones to reunite via "The Counselor." This would be the first time Scott and Pitt work together since Scott directed "Thelma & Louise," a film that undoubtedly launched Pitt's career.

"The Counselor" was written by Cormac McCarthy. It follows a well-respected lawyer (Fassbender) who gets involved in the drug business and quickly finds himself in a situation that's more than he can handle. If cast in the film, Pitt would play a shady middleman and Bardem would be Fassbender's associate. The movie is said to start filming in June and Fox is currently negotiating to distribute.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Madonna's Truth Or Dare Fragrance '15 Or 16 Years' In The Making

Queen of Pop tells MTV News that scent is for those 'daring enough to tell the truth.'
By John Mitchell, with reporting by Rob Imbriani

Madonna
Photo: MTV News

Have you ever wanted to smell like royalty? Well, now's your chance.

We may not have kings and queens here in democratic America, but we've made our celebrities — pop stars in particular — our own sort of royalty, and none is more regal than Queen of Pop Madonna.

On the heels of her acclaimed album MDNA and with a massive, largely sold-out world tour looming, Her Madgesty launched her first-ever fragrance, Truth or Dare, Thursday night in New York, and she tells MTV News that the fresh, gardenia-based scent has been a long time coming.

"This is finally the time that I developed a fragrance that I liked the smell of," Madonna said when asked why she was entering the celebrity scent game now. "I've been trying to develop a fragrance for the last 15 or 16 years."

"Madonna's Manager Confirms That 'Turn Up The Radio' Will Be Next MDNA Single"

So who is the scent perfect for? Madonna has a few thoughts.

"Someone who is daring, daring enough to tell the truth," she said before adding, "and someone who likes gardenias."

Some Madonna watchers have found it curious that the always forward-thinking pop diva would draw on something so well known from her past — her historic Blond Ambition Tour documentary "Madonna: Truth or Dare," which recently dropped on BluRay — for the name of her new fragrance. M explained that there's a very simple reason for the name choice.

"My manager [Guy Oseary], he just held a gun to my head and said, 'Call it this or you're not going to have a manager anymore,' and I said OK," Madonna deadpanned.

After clarifying that she was joking (we figured as much: No one tells Madonna what to do!), the singer elaborated that "truth or dare" is "a phrase that is related to me and my work and what I stand for. I think I've had a fairly daring career and I'm pretty honest about my work, so I think that goes with my perfume."

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Nikon D4

The Nikon D4 ($5,999.95 list, body only) represents the dream camera of many a professional photographer. It?s a huge beast that can rattle off shots at an impressive 10 frames per second, focus with speed and accuracy, and do just about anything else you need it to. On the sidelines of an NFL game? Pop on a telephoto lens and plug a cable into the Ethernet port?your photos will go straight to the wire service. Covering a wedding in available light? Reach for the 35mm f/1.4 lens and shoot at just about any ISO you can imagine?the resulting images will be printable. This is not to say that the D4 is the perfect photographic tool for every occasion?no camera is. Landscape photographers may opt for a D-SLR with an ultra-high-resolution sensor, like the 36-megapixel Nikon D800 ($2,995.95), and working pros with an investment in Canon glass are probably more interested in the EOS-1D X ($6,799) or 5D Mark III ($3,499). As it stands, the D4 is a worthy follow up to the company's D3s, easily earning our Editors' Choice award for full frame D-SLRs.

Design and Features
Far from a small camera, the D4's full-frame sensor necessitates a large, heavy optical viewfinder?one that is stunning when compared with even the finders in the best APS-C cameras. And, because the image sensor is the same size as a 35mm film frame, there is no "crop factor" when talking about lenses?your 28mm wide angle is still a wide angle, not a standard angle lens as it is on a camera with a smaller image sensor like the Nikon D5100 ($899.99, 4.5 stars).?An integrated vertical grip houses the camera's huge battery and includes dual control wheels and a shutter release to help improve ergonomics when shooting in portrait orientation. The D4 measures 6.2 by 6.3 by 3.6 inches (HWD) and weighs a whopping 2.6 pounds, and that's without a lens. The D800, which features a full frame sensor but lacks a vertical grip, is quite a bit smaller. That camera measures 4.8 by 4.7 by 3.2 inches (HWD) and weighs just under 2 pounds.

Listing all of the physical controls that are packed into the D4's body would require quite a bit of space, but rest assured that if you need to adjust a setting while shooting, chances are that it's at your fingertips. The camera's fixed rear LCD is 3.2 inches and packs 920k dots. It isn't the highest resolution display you can find?the rear LCD on the Canon EOS-1D X matches the Nikon's in size but betters it in resolution with 1.04 million dots. The D4 also has two monochrome information displays?one on top and one on the rear. The top LCD displays much of the information that is visible at the bottom of the viewfinder, including the current shooting mode, shutter speed, and aperture. The rear monochrome display shows the ISO and memory card status?it's located directly above the ISO button, so you can get some visual feedback as you adjust it when the camera is not raised to your eye.

You'll have access to the full library of Nikon lenses, including those designed for the smaller APS-C DX sensor format. When you use one of those lenses with the camera, the area that the lens cannot cover is dimmed in the viewfinder and the resulting photo is only 6.8 megapixels in resolution. The camera can even work with very old manual focus Nikon AI lenses?it can store the focal length and aperture information for up to nine non-CPU lenses. When shooting with older lenses you'll be limited to the Aperture Priority and Manual shooting modes. Every Nikon lens produced after 1988 has a built-in CPU, but lenses produced between 1977 and 1988 do not. Lenses produced before 1977 shouldn't be mounted to the D4 without modification, as they can damage the camera.

Nikon refers to the D4 as a multimedia camera?its video capability is almost as impressive as its still features. It can record 1080p footage at 30, 25, and 24 frames per second, and supports 720p capture at 60, 50, 30, and 25 frames per second. The camera uses the QuickTime format with H.264 B-Frame compression when recording to a memory card and supports uncompressed video output via its mini HDMI port, so you can connect it to an Aja Ki Pro ($3,995) or similar field recorder so you can capture the video in the format of your choice.

The D4 can autofocus when recording video, although you'll have to trigger the function manually?it doesn't offer automatic continuous autofocus like our Editors' Choice APS-C SLR, the Sony Alpha 77 ($1,999.99, 4.5 stars). Depending on which lens you use, the sound of the focus motor can be audible, and the camera can hunt back and forth for a second before locking focus. The D4 does support a standard mic input and also includes a headphone jack so you can monitor audio while recording. The full frame sensor makes it possible to achieve a very shallow depth of field, which can give your video a true cinematic look. The D4 also has a unique video recording mode that isn't available on other cameras?it can grab 1080p footage from the exact center of its image sensor. This results in a 2.7x crop factor, which is a boon for videographers who are in need of extreme telephoto reach.

Pros who have invested heavily in CompactFlash memory have taken notice that the D4 only has one CF slot. As the first camera to support the new XQD card format, Nikon opted to release a camera that supports two different memory card formats. Our tests show that XQD delivers its promised performance, but anyone with thousands of dollars worth of CF cards is sure to look at a new format with some trepidation. The silver lining in all of this is that CF cards will still work with the D4, so you can hold off on investing heavily into the XQD format until it's clear whether or not it will take hold.

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Having money for debt management

Debt Settlement finance deals with the money of debt management that handles debts. When there is need for payment, settlement or debt issues, these debt management systems are what you need.? With this debt management of finance, there have been settled debt offences that could have been unresolved without these finance debt managements. This could be done when there is a proper utilization of money by the debtor. There is no better means of doing than debt settlement than getting a debt management of the finance that is required which would help in taking care of one?s debts and also support in managing debt crisis.? . There are so many of these debt? finance managements? systems on the internet that would help us with? our debt management processes and also fix problems of debt management breech when there is one. This breech would not be from these debt firms handling debt? system if they are set up well but may be from individuals called the debtors.

This is the objective, when getting a debt management that would handle the debt finance; we are getting those that would fit our needs and also be easier to work in a debt firm. Getting a debt management that is more challenging than our level of awareness may be something that would breech our debt management guard because we cannot understand what to do with the system if there is no money.

Now that we have spoken about handling debts, we can take about the Debt Settlement financial. There are different models of these financial handling debts that when we see some of these firms handling debt s, we are surprised at the simplicity and then features of some of them. Some of them have employed one of the best hands in the debt management industry that it would be easier to win a reduction in a debt case and also support the debtor in efficiency making them the best device for debt management protection. With the way debt financial is going in our globalized word, we need innovative handling debts that can help us take care of our finance when it comes to debt settlement. This is the reason why debt management systems should be properly taken care of and perfect handling debt s should be provided so that there would be no flaw in the debt management of the location where the debtor is.

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Bonnie Raitt: Right Down the Line (Little green footballs)

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For long road trips, is it cheaper to rent?

It depends on many factors, but a rental car may ultimately cheaper than using your own for a long trip.

Monica wrote in with a question that I thought deserved a detailed answer.

Skip to next paragraph Trent Hamm

The Simple Dollar is a blog for those of us who need both cents and sense: people fighting debt and bad spending habits while building a financially secure future and still affording a latte or two. Our busy lives are crazy enough without having to compare five hundred mutual funds ? we just want simple ways to manage our finances and save a little money.

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I?m going to be driving from northern Minnesota to Dallas, Texas for a week this summer, then returning home. I own a 2008 Toyota Corolla with 34,000 miles on it. I?m trying to figure out if it?s more cost effective to rent a car for this trip or to drive my own car.

It?s going to be really hard to find an exact answer for you given the variables, but I can give you a good estimate that should guide you.

First, let?s get some numbers. I?m going to assume that you live in Duluth, Minnesota, so the length of your trip is 1,100 miles. We?ll assume that you?re going to drive 300 miles while in Dallas, so your round trip will be pretty close to 2,500 miles.

A 2008 Toyota Corolla gets 29 miles per gallon, according to fueleconomy.gov, which is my source for such data. At your current mileage (and making some default assumptions about your Corolla), it?s worth $11,282 according to Kelley Blue Book. After the 2,500 miles of driving, your car would devalue to $11,182, which means that the road trip would devalue your car by $100.

You?re also going to be on the hook for half of an oil change if you drive your own car. It also pushes you along on the rest of your maintenance schedule, which is difficult to estimate but does have a significant cost. Commute Solutions identifies the maintenance cost per mile for driving a car as being 5.3 cents, which means that over the course of the trip, you?ll rack up about $132.50 in maintenance costs (including oil changes).

Now, if you?re renting an economy car, you?re going to be paying about $250 for the rental for the round trip. I looked at several different rental companies that function out of Duluth such as Hertz and Enterprise and found several different estimates for a weeklong trip. I did use coupon codes to get those quotes.

A 2011 Chevy Aveo (the ?example? economy car that is mentioned on Enterprise?s website) gets 30 miles to the gallon, compared to the 29 mpg of your current car. That means, over the course of the trip, you?re going to eat up three more gallons with your own car, costing you about $12.

Now, if you were to get a 2011 Toyota Prius for that ?economy? price, you?d get 50 miles to the gallon, compared to the 29 mpg of your current car. That means, over the course of the trip, you?re going to eat up 36 more gallons than with your own car, costing you $144 (assuming gas prices are at $4 this summer).

In this example, then, the cost of renting a car with a similar fuel efficiency to your own is roughly equal over the long run. The catch, of course, is that many of the costs associated with your own car are delayed. You don?t pay for the maintenance now and the depreciation doesn?t affect you now. Those things impact you later down the road.

However, if you rent a car that?s significantly more fuel efficient than your own, you?ll likely save a little money by renting. Again, the costs of renting are up front, where many of the costs of using your own car are delayed.

Of course, this all depends on the rental rate you?re able to get and the car availability. If you?re able to lock in a highly fuel efficient car in conjunction with a strong coupon or other offer, you may find it cheaper to rent. Otherwise, you?re probably better off driving your own car on this trip.

In the end, there are some factors that make renting a more appealing option: a long trip over a short time period, an increase in fuel efficiency, and the availability of coupons or other discounts makes renting compelling. Without at least some of those factors, though, I?d lean toward driving the car I already had, and if the costs were close, I?d use my own car because of the lower hassle.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on www.thesimpledollar.com.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook to open D10 conference: yes, we'll be liveblogging

The All Things D conference has a long history of wrangling an impressive speaker list, and this year's gala is no different. The outlet has just confirmed that Apple CEO Tim Cook will be the keynote speaker for D10's opening night, just two years after the late Steve Jobs last sat down on those very red chairs in a keynote interview of his own. In fact, Cook's sit-down will come three years after the historic Jobs + Gates discussion from D7, and we're told that this will be Cook's first onstage event that isn't run by Apple or for an investor group as the company's head honcho. As ever, we'll be on site liveblogging the back-and-forth, and we'll be hanging around to hear from NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, FCC chairman Jon Leibowitz and a whole host of others. Cook's appearance will kick things off on the evening of May 29th from Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Apple CEO Tim Cook to open D10 conference: yes, we'll be liveblogging originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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