World’s weirdest hotel room

Sure, everyone loves the opulent luxury of a stay at The Four Seasons. Or, the opposite, equally soothing effect of sleeping in tent under the stars. But when you want to get a little weird, there are hotel rooms around the world geared towards the strange and downright bizarre. Some cater to a curiosity for the occult, while others top out the trappings. Whether you want to sleep suspended from a tree or drink Merlot five floors below the ground, these hotels have a special room just for you.

The Mine Suite at the Sala Silvermine
Vdstmanland County, Sweden

For that inner spelunker in all of us, the kind folks at the Sala Silvermine created a romantic getaway 500 feet beneath the Earth’s surface. The deluxe underground cavern is appointed with opulent familiars, including a king-sized bed, plush duvets, the soothing glow of candles and complimentary platter of wine and cheese. The worldly comforts stop there, however. The rest of the décor inside – walls, ceiling and floor – consists of the cavern’s solid, stark, black rock. Temperatures hover at a consistent 38 degrees this far below the ground – a perfect way to ensure that complimentary wine and cheese remains cool. An intercom radio allows for communication, should you need to request fresh linens, more champagne, or immediate evacuation upon realizing you suddenly suffer from claustrophobia.

Bonus: It’s handicapped accessible.
Approximate Cost: $560 per night

 

source link: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/world-s-weirdest-hotel-rooms-20120720.html?page=all

PLDT ready to seal GMA deal this year

PHILIPPINE LONG Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is ready to meet the yearend deadline for an acceptable offer to acquire control of GMA Network, Inc., an official yesterday said.

PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the telco is prepared to seal a deal to acquire the broadcaster within the deadline earlier given by GMA Network Chairman Felipe L. Gozon.

“We have an appreciation of that deadline,” Mr. Pangilinan said, noting however that this excludes delays that may be posed by regulators.

“We can agree, but if somebody else approves the transaction, it’s beyond our control,” said Mr. Pangilinan, who nodded when reporters asked if funding for the acquisition is at hand.

Mr. Pangilinan said last month that his camp has moved to approach banks for funding.

PLDT was also seen selling off assets, such as its 26% stake in PhilWeb Corp.

Mr. Gozon last week said Mr. Pangilinan’s camp is now the sole party negotiating with GMA Network after interests of other companies in the TV network fizzled out.

If no agreement will be reached, Mr. Gozon said he would continue running the company, which has challenged Lopez-led ABS-CBN Corp. in the TV ratings game in the past decade.

Mr. Pangilinan said in March that the company remained to be interested in GMA after several attempts to make an investment in the TV network in the past years.

He had said that aside from being profitable, GMA Network’s content could help PLDT prepare for the anticipated convergence of telco and media platforms.

Mr. Pangilinan already runs TV5 and has interests in several local broadsheets, including BusinessWorld, through Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.

Mr. Gozon had said that major shareholders of GMA — the Gozons, Duavits, and the Jimenezes — were willing to sell their combined 75% stake in the company at the “right price.”

In the meantime, Mr. Gozon had said the company is on track to meet the P2.8-P3 billion profit guidance for this year, with favorable indications beginning June.

So far, the company had booked P388 million in profits in the first quarter, down by 27% from P533.6 million in the same period last year.

The broadcaster’s consolidated revenues fell by 6% to P2.56 billion from P2.69 billion last year which was largely blamed on the period as lean month exacerbated by “the protracted crises in the global markets.”

Total operating expenses rose by 3% to P2.046 billion from P1.989 billion in the same period last year on “increase in talent fees and salaries and other employee benefits.”

Shares of GMA Network fell by 0.96% to P10.30 apiece yesterday while those of PLDT also dropped by 1.09% to P2,728 apiece at the close of trading.

source link: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Corporate&title=PLDT-ready-to-seal-GMA-deal-this-year&id=56582

Samsung top cell phone maker, though Apple’s no slouch

Samsung has been crowned the king of mobile phones by yet another research firm.

The Korean handset maker sold 86.6 million mobile phones in the first quarter, according to the latest stats from Gartner — a 25.9 percent jump from the year-ago quarter. That gave Samsung a 20.7 percent share of the market and helped it win back the top spot for smartphone sales from Apple.

Samsung sold 38 million smartphones last quarter, accounting for more than 40 percent of all Android phones around the world. That figure was by far in the lead since no another Android vendor captured more than 10 percent of the market.

Second-place Nokia gave up its almost 15-year lock as the leading mobile phone vendor to Samsung.

The Finnish phone maker grabbed a mobile phone market share of 19.8 percent last quarter, according to Gartner. Nokia’s handset sales dropped to 83.2 million, a 22.7 percent decline from last year’s first quarter. The company has seen its sales and market share plummet as more consumers have gravitated to smartphones.

“Smartphone sales are becoming of paramount importance at a worldwide level,” Gartner principal research analyst Anshul Gupta said in a statement. “For example, smartphone volumes contributed to approximately 43.9 percent of overall sales for Samsung as opposed to 16 percent for Nokia.”

Apple took third place in the global mobile phone market. The iPhone maker scored 7.9 percent share in the first quarter, up from 3.9 percent a year ago. The iPhone 4S helped boost Apple’s handset sales by 96.2 percent. The company’s expansion into other countries and carriers also provided a healthy kick.

Accounting for iPhone unit sales of more than 5 million, China is now the second largest market for Apple, just behind the U.S.

RIM continues to struggle, ekeing out a worldwide market share of just 2.4 percent, down from 3 percent a year ago The company sold 9.9 million phones last quarter, down from 13 million in 2011’s first quarter. The company is counting on its new BlackBerry 10 platform to turn the tide but faces several challenges.

“RIM desperately needs to deliver winning BB10 products to retain users and stay competitive,” Gupta said. “This will be very challenging, because BB10 lacks strong developer support, and a new BB10 device will only be available in the fourth quarter of 2012.”

The mobile industry as a whole witnessed a slight dip in sales last quarter.

Global sales of mobile phones rang in at 419 million, a 2 percent drop from a year ago. Gartner blamed the downturn on weaker demand in the Asia/Pacific region triggered by a lack of new product launches and efforts by users to delay purchases in hopes of scoring better deals later this year.

 

source link: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57435257-93/samsung-top-cell-phone-maker-though-apples-no-slouch/

New York Times says in talks to sell About.com

The New York Times Company has confirmed it is in talks to sell off its how-to website About.com, but insisted that no definitive deal had been reached.

“The negotiations are ongoing and there can be no assurances that an agreement will be reached or that a transaction will be completed,” the media group said in a statement Wednesday.

“No definitive agreement has been reached.”

An article on the newspaper’s Media Decoder blog, citing a person familiar with the deal, said the company had a letter of intent to sell the site to rival Answers.com for $270 million.

The group took a major hit in the second quarter, posting a $88.1 million loss in part due to a $194.7 million writedown of About.com. But chairman and interim chief executive Arthur Sulzberger insisted the company would see better results in the second half thanks to a repositioning strategy.

The media group, which also publishes The Boston Globe, bought About.com for more than $400 million in 2005.

Selling off the website would fit into the strategy followed by the Times in recent months, which included the sale of its remaining stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team, and of its regional newspaper group.

“Given the performance of About.com over the last few quarters, this doesn’t come as a surprise to us,” said Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar, adding that an eventual sale would allow the Times to have no net debt.

Shares in the New York Times Company rose 6.06 percent to close at $8.57 after reports emerged about the potential sale.

 

source link: http://news.ph.msn.com/sci-tech/new-york-times-says-in-talks-to-sell-aboutcom-1

 

Boracay beats Santorini, Greece and Bali, Indonesia as ‘World’s Best Island’

MANILA, Philippines – Move over, Santorini and Bali. Boracay in the Philippines is now No. 1 among island destinations in the world.

Boracay emerged as the “World’s Best Island” in the annual survey of US-based magazine Travel + Leisure, leaping from its spot at No. 4 in 2011’s list.

Respondents of the magazine’s survey, now on its 17th year, were asked to rank their favored islands according to these criteria: Natural attractions, activities/sights, restaurants/food, people, and value.

The results came after the magazine readers, who were screened for ‘integrity,’ participated in a survey that a third party conducted from December 1, 2010 to March 31, 2012.

See the survey results below. Note how the islands moved up or down the list.

Rank	2011	2012
1	Santorini, Greece	Boracay, Philippines
2	Bali, Indonesia	Bali, Indonesia
3	Cape Breton, Canada	Galápagos, Ecuador
4	Boracay, Philippines	Maui, Hawaii
5	Great Barrier Reef Islands, Australia	Great Barrier Reef Islands, Australia
6	Sicily, Italy	Santorini, Greece
7	Big Island, Hawaii	Kauai, Hawaii
8	Kauai, Hawaii	Big Island, Hawaii
9	Maui, Hawaii	Sicily, Italy
10	Galápagos, Ecuador	Vancouver Island, British Columbia

T+L features editor Nilou Mohammed told a Today show interview that Boracay is important because it is “something you should know about when you’re interested in culture and value. It’s a place that’s not really on everyone’s radar but not only does it have hotels that start at US$50 but also incredible hotels like the Shangri-La So you get the high and low.”

Aside from the Best Island list, the magazine also revealed their readers’ favorite hotels, cities, cruise lines, airlines, car-rental agencies, spas, safari outfitters and tour operators.

Discovery Shores in Boracay also bested others in the Asian region as the “World’s Best 2012 Hotel Spa.”

“Barefoot elegance is the prevailing vibe on this tiny island, where the 2 ½-mile stretch known as White Beach is often singled out for having the softest sand in the world,” T+L said about the experience in the luxurious resort.

The magazine’s Editor in Chief Nancy Novogrod will host the awards ceremony for the top winners in each category on July 14 at the new Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel in Los Angeles.

source link: http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/8275-boracay-beats-santorini,-bali-as-world-s-best-island

Boy, 17, crowned America’s fastest texter

 

A 17-year-old boy retained his title as America’s fastest texter Wednesday in a duel of the thumbs staged before yelling fans in New York’s Times Square.

 

Austin Weirschke took home $50,000 in prize money for the second time in two years when he bested 10 other texting demons in feats of thumb speed, memory and fluency in texting shorthand.

One round was performed with contestants blindfolded and having 45 seconds to type the verse: “Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are, up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky.”

The event, sponsored by LG Electronics and using the company’s cell phones, took place on a traffic island in Times Square.

About 200 onlookers, including cheering relatives and mostly teenage texting aficionados, gathered around the stage.

Weirschke said he became a prolific texter thanks to practice with his mother, whom he dubbed “my texting coach.”

But when asked to describe his victory, he must have wished he could text his reply. Facing a microphone, the humble winner could only manage: “I don’t really know what to say.”

Weirschke faced some mean competition — 10 whiz kids from around the country, with the oldest just 24 years old and the majority in their teens.

Several contestants said they typically send hundreds of texts a day. But far from wasting their time gossiping over the miniature keyboard, these youngsters were in the cellphone equivalent of a harsh training camp.

“It’s like the Olympics of texting,” the upbeat presenter of the event said.

One young female contestant theatrically fanned herself in the New York summer heat, worrying after one round that she’d slipped up and lost the chance for that $50,000 check.

“I accidentally added a letter,” she said. “It could change your life.”

Another said: “I feel like I’m having a heart attack.”

The last two survivors of the elimination rounds, Weirschke and Kent Augustine, 16, shook hands solemnly before their final sudden-death bout.

Winning the texting championship has made Weirschke something of a star in his world.

“It’s been crazy. I’ve got to have done a lot of stuff a normal 17-year-old might never get to do in his life,” he said, mentioning being flown to Los Angeles and doing media interviews.

 

source link: http://news.ph.msn.com/weird-news/boy-17-crowned-americas-fastest-texter

 

Facebook Statistics by Country

Countries on Facebook

by: socialbakers.com

#	Country	Users	Change	(± %)	Pen.
1.	United States	159029740	+1 681 400	+1.07%	51.26%
2.	Brazil	54947380	+7 936 320	+16.88%	27.32%
3.	India	51961420	+6 135 800	+13.39%	4.43%
4.	Indonesia	41093460	-1 178 580	-2.79%	16.91%
5.	United Kingdom	37665680	+6 720 580	+21.72%	60.41%
6.	Mexico	36556540	+3 382 700	+10.20%	32.50%
7.	Turkey	31319120	+640 820	+2.09%	40.25%
8.	Philippines	28920160	+1 831 840	+6.76%	28.95%
9.	France	24329320	-18 320	-0.08%	37.56%
10.	Germany	23940480	+387 800	+1.65%	29.10%
11.	Italy	21803720	+156 860	+0.72%	37.53%
12.	Argentina	19585520	+1 239 400	+6.76%	47.37%
13.	Canada	17474940	-549 700	-3.05%	51.76%
14.	Colombia	17093160	+699 020	+4.26%	38.67%
15.	Spain	16069560	-273 480	-1.67%	34.55%

FACEBOOK USERS IN THE WORLD

Facebook Usage and Facebook Growth Statistics
By World Geographic Regions

Facebook Growth Stats for 2011 – 2012

FACEBOOK SUBSCRIBER GROWTH BETWEEN 2011 AND 2012
Geographic Regions in order by size	FB Users 31-Mar-2011	FB Users 30-Jun-2011	FB Users 31-Sept-2011	FB Users 31-Dec-2011	FB Users 31-Mar-2012
Europe	200,260,360	208,907,040	214,988,320	223,376,640	232,835,740
Asia	131,556,800	152,957,480	169,392,060	183,963,780	195,034,380
North America	173,640,240	167,999,540	172,636,960	174,586,680	173,284,940
South America	69,594,760	82,207,800	92,049,480	103,294,940	112,531,100
Central America	28,090,240	33,081,140	36,333,060	38,317,280	41,332,940
Africa	27,414,240	30,665,460	34,798,940	37,739,380	40,205,580
Middle East	15,779,440	16,125,180	17,326,520	18,241,080	20,247,900
Oceania / Australia	12,333,780	12,881,560	13,177,360	13,353,420	13,597,380
Caribbean, the	5,362,600	5,903,520	6,182,080	6,218,960	6,355,320
World Total	664,032,460	710,728,720	756,884,780	799,092,160	835,525,280

Jamaica eye sprint dominance after Bolt heroics

A day after Bolt sprinted into the pantheon of Olympic legends by becoming the first man to win back-to-back 100m and 200m titles at consecutive Games, Jamaica’s men return to the track for the 4×100 relay.

Bolt, who led a Jamaican 1-2-3 in Thursday’s 200m final, may be rested for the opening round of the relay, although the Caribbean islanders should qualify for the final with ease given their awesome strength in depth.

With the pressure off after completing his “double-double”, Bolt is targeting more glory in the relay, aiming to sign off with a world record.

“I think there’s a possibility,” Bolt said, when asked if the existing best mark of 37.10sec could be under threat.

“But you can never really say it, because it’s a relay and there’s a baton. You never know. But for me, we’re going to go out, enjoy ourselves, run as fast as possible. It would be a good way to close the show again.”

Jamaica’s women’s 4x100m relay squad meanwhile are determined to atone for their disastrous performance in the 2008 final, where a bungled changeover almost certainly cost them a gold medal.

The Jamaican quartet — anchored by 100m winner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce — qualified fourth fastest for the final, where they will battle powerful teams from the United States and Russia.

In other athletics action on Friday, the United States one-lap specialists will aim to extend their astounding record in the 4x400m relay, where they remain unbeaten on the track since 1984.

Other medals to be decided in the Olympic Stadium on Friday include the women’s 5,000m final, where Ethiopian distance legend Tirunesh Dibaba seeks to defend her crown, and the men’s pole-vault, where reigning champion Steve Hooker of Australia is favourite.

In men’s basketball, the United States and Russia could set up a dream final of the former Cold War rivals with semi-final wins over Argentina and Spain respectively.

Women’s hockey sees Argentina take on the Netherlands in the gold medal match on a day when 17 medals will be decided.

The first gold medals of the day came in swimming and sailing.

Tunisia’s Oussama Mellouli survived a late surge from his rivals to claim the men’s 10km swimming marathon, becoming the first person to win Olympic titles in both pool and open water races following his 1,500m win in Beijing.

Australians Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page won the men’s 470 Olympic sailing gold with New Zealand’s Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie taking the women’s 470 title.

Meanwhile, the Games was hit by another drugs test failure when French 5,000m runner Hassan Hirt was reported to have tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO.

A source told AFP that Hirt, who was eliminated in the heats of the event, failed a drugs test on August 3 and had been suspended.

source link: http://news.ph.msn.com/sports/jamaica-eye-sprint-dominance-after-bolt-heroics-5

Mellouli triumphs in 10km Marathon

Tunisia’s Oussama Mellouli won the men’s 10km Marathon gold in the open water of the Serpentine today.

 

Mellouli, who took bronze in the 1500m Freestyle in the pool last week, was followed home by the German Thomas Lurz who took silver.

The bronze medallist was Richard Weinberger of Canada.

When he won gold in the 1500m Freestyle in Beijing, Mellouli became the first African male to win an individual Olympic Swimming title and victory today saw him become the first swimmer to win an Olympic medal in the pool and open water at the same Games.

Although open water was only introduced four years ago, Mellouli, who beat his chest on finishing, has now set a precedent.

Mellouli said: ‘I can’t explain it, I can’t really describe it.

‘I don’t think this has ever been done before. This is probably one of the toughest things to do.

‘I’m a pretty solid guy and I never react but you saw that reaction, that says it all.’

source link: http://www.london2012.com/news/articles/mellouli-triumphs-10km-marathon.html