Landslide in Nghe An kills 16 quarry workers

A serious mountain slide occurred next to a quarry in Nghe An province’s Yen Thanh district 8 a.m. this morning, killing at least 16 workers and injuring 5 others, local authorities reported.

The landslide broke out at the quarry’s rock mining site next to Len Co Mount in the district’s Nam Thanh commune. 

There were 40 workers at that scene when the slide broke out. Of these, 35 were buried by about 1,000 cubic meters of rocks, said Colonel Nguyen Huu Cau, deputy director of the Nghe An province Police Department. 

Of the buried workers, 16 have been found dead, including 7 women, he said.

Those who died at the scene include Truong Ngoc Manh, Nguyen Thi Quyen, Phan Cong Mai, Ngo Tri An, Nguyen Dinh Phu, Phan Thi That, Nguyen Thi Thuc, Nguyen Thi Thuy, Nguyen Thi Loc, Nguyen Thi Mui, Nguyen Thi The, Nguyen Thi Ngan, Nguyen Thi Quy, Phan Thi Tam and an unidentified person.

The other man, Dinh Trong Luc, one of the injured victims, died at hospital at 4:20 p.m., taking the death toll to a total of 16.

All of them were local residents. 

The province has mobilized 300 policemen, soldiers, health workers and specialized vehicles to take part in the rescue. 

The provincial authorities have offered support in cash to families of the victims.

Chin Men Quarry Exploitation Co. and some other companies are the exploiters of the quarry, with five rock exploiting areas set up there.

The search for victims in the ruins is continuing but faces difficulties due to complex terrain.

tuoitrenews

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Posted in: Society

Libya air raid 'killed civilians

Dr Suleiman Refardi said a missile hit a truck carrying ammunition, sending out shrapnel

Seven civilians died and 25 were hurt in a coalition air strike on a pro-Gaddafi convoy in eastern Libya, a doctor there has told the BBC.

Dr Suleiman Refardi said Wednesday's raid happened in the village of Zawia el Argobe, 15km (9 miles) from Brega.

The strike hit a truck carrying ammunition, and the resulting explosion destroyed two nearby homes.

All the dead were between the ages of 12 and 20, Dr Refardi said. Nato says it is investigating the claim.

The news comes as the chairman of the rebel Transitional National Council, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, said it would agree to a ceasefire if Col Muammar Gaddafi's troops withdrew from cities.

"We agree on a ceasefire on the condition that our brothers in the western cities have freedom of expression and also that the forces that are besieging the cities withdraw," he told a news conference in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

But he said the rebels would not back down on their demand that Col Gaddafi must go.

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim dismissed the offer by its former justice minister, telling reporters: "The rebels never offered peace. They don't offer peace. They are making impossible demands."

"We will not leave our cities. We are the government, not them."

'No anger'

Dr Refardi told the BBC that the Libyan government convoy had included tanks, artillery and trucks carrying ammunition.

A direct hit on an ammunition truck and trailer in a street in Zawia el Argobe sent a hail of shrapnel into nearby houses, he said.

Four of the dead were female, including three children from the same family, aged between 12 and 16, the BBC's Ben Brown reports from Brega.

Three boys, aged between 14 and 20, were also killed.

Dr Refardi said he had spoken to the family of the girls who had been killed and "there was no anger" at the coalition forces.

"If these tanks had entered Ajdabiya it would have been a massacre," he said.

"They [the Libyan people] are expecting more than this, because they know the Gaddafi forces are using civilians as a shield."

Nato officials told the BBC they were making inquiries "down our operations chain to find out if indeed there is any information on the operation side that would support this claim".

Later, Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said six civilians had been killed by the "immoral" air strike, and described it as a "crime against humanity".

The Nato-led air strikes are targeting Libyan government
tanks and ammunition supply convoys

"Some mad and criminal prime ministers and presidents of Europe are leading a crusade against an Arab Muslim nation," he told a news conference in Tripoli. "Sounds familiar? It's a crime against humanity."

Meanwhile, the BBC's Wyre Davies in Ajdabiya says rebel forces there are pressing on to the front line around the oil town of Brega.

Plenty of enthusiastic, if disorganised, insurgents are driving through in pick-up trucks with heavy-duty machine-guns mounted on the back, he reports.

The BBC's Nick Springate in Brega says the flagging morale of rebel fighters - in general poorly equipped and untrained - has been boosted by a number of well-armed, apparently well-trained soldiers in full military uniform. It is not clear where they have come from, our correspondent adds.

Gen Abdel-Fatah Younis, the former Libyan interior minister who defected to the rebels, has also addressed rebels outside Brega.

Earlier, the BBC learned that a Libyan government envoy, Mohammed Ismail, had been in London in the past few days for talks with UK authorities.

The UK Foreign Office says that in all its contacts with Libyan officials, it had made it clear that "Gaddafi has to go".

News of the visit emerged after former Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa flew to Britain and was said to have resigned his post.

There have since been other unconfirmed reports that more senior Libyans are defecting.

Al-Jazeera TV said the intelligence minister, deputy foreign minister and General People's Congress speaker were awaiting flights in Tunisia. Oil minister Shukri Ghanim has denied reports he is to leave Libya.He told the BBC's Today radio programme: "I am in Tripoli working in my office. I am trying my best to keep this oil industry as one industry, trying to minimise the damage that is happening to the installation, trying to secure the safety of the staff and the personnel [and] trying to prevent the looting of the industry."

Source: BBC

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Posted in: Politics

Scientists Reach Beyond the Clouds With a Mobile Phone App to Explore the Outer Atmosphere

ScienceDaily  — Engineering scientists at the University of Southampton have reached above the clouds in a first-of-its-kind experiment to develop new technologies that probe the stratosphere using an unmanned vehicle.

The test flight was part of the ASTRA (Atmospheric Science Through Robotic Aircraft) project, and it demonstrated how a low-cost high altitude platform could be used to send a payload with atmospheric monitoring equipment into the upper atmosphere. The balloon-borne aircraft harnessed the power of 'cloud computing' using an on-demand computing and storage resource, via the GSM mobile phone network.

Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing resources and services on demand via the Internet.

University scientists worked with Microsoft and University spin-out company Segoz to develop a Windows Phone 7 application for on-board data logging and payload tracking. During the one-hour flight, the phone running the Windows Phone 7 operating system, served as the on-board data logger, tracking tool and communications relay. The phone streamed data to a cloud application built on Windows Azure, designed to continuously update the landing site prediction. The app running on ground-based phones had a 'tracker mode' so the ASTRA team were able to track the payload during its flight, over 70,000 feet high, enabling its safe recovery.

Dr András Sóbester, University of Southampton Lecturer and a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow, says: "We are excited that this constitutes a unique opportunity to collect important data that will give new insight into how the upper atmosphere affects Earth's climate and environment, using affordable technology."

Dr Steven Johnston, from the University of Southampton's Microsoft Institute of High Performance Computing, adds: "Our software solution couples together Windows Phone 7 mobile computing with powerful cloud computing resources to analyse the data we are collecting in real-time."

The flight carried the payload through the tropopause and deep into stratosphere, where the temperature dropped below -50C. The phone and the rest of the equipment was protected by a high-grade foam enclosure (manufactured using a computer-controlled laser cutter at the University's Engineering Design and Manufacturing Centre). This ensured the reliable operation of the on-board electronics in such extreme environmental conditions.

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Posted in: Science

Four New Features Coming to Ubuntu 11.04 'Natty Narwhal'

The combination of Ubuntu Linux's growing popularity with all the big changes coming up in the next version mean that Natty Narwhal, or Ubuntu 11.04, might just be the most widely and anxiously anticipated release of the open source operating system ever.
Due to launch officially on April 28, Natty Narwhal will be the first version of Ubuntu to reflect a number of radical changes. The Wayland graphics system won't be ready in time, but 3D-enabled Unity has already replaced the GNOME shell as the default desktop interface, for example.


A 2D version of Unity is also available, and Ubuntu 11.04 uses the Compiz window manager rather than Mutter by default. LibreOffice is now included, and a raft of other changes are planned for the software as well. The first beta version of Natty Narwhal was just released on Thursday.
Meanwhile, news of several additional features has emerged in recent weeks that will likely further heighten anticipation of the final release. Here are the four that have most recently stood out.
1. Try Before You Buy
Starting with Ubuntu 11.04, the Ubuntu Software Center will reportedly let you test out applications without actually installing them, much the way Android users now can on the Amazon Appstore. A WebUpd8 video on YouTube demonstrates the new Ubuntu capability in action.
2. 'Love Handles'
Those using touchscreen devices will surely appreciate Ubuntu's upcoming "Love Handles," which are designed to make it easier to resize or move windows when using Ubuntu on a tablet or other touchscreen device. Available as a Compiz plug-in, Love Handles reportedly let users resize a window by tapping on arrows or grabbing a corner. An OMG! Ubuntu! video demonstrates how Love Handles work.

3. No Third-Party Installs by Default
After considering the possibility of enabling by default the option to "install third-party software" when installing Ubuntu, the Ubuntu Technical Board voted last week not to do that. Both legal and usability reasons were cited for voting down the proposed change.
"There is a low tolerance for failure in common and basic use cases," the board meeting notes explain. "In the world we want to get to, all the functionality users expect will be deliverable with open source software."
Flash, for example, will be downloadable from within Ubuntu, but the option won't be selected by default.
4. No More Netbook Edition
Finally, a few weeks ago we learned that Canonical is planning to discontinue its separate Netbook Edition of Ubuntu starting with the Natty Narwhal release. Rather, there will be a single core product that you run on "anything you like from a netbook to a notebook to a desktop," the company explained on a recent blog. Ubuntu Server, meanwhile, will be maintained separately.
Work has already begun, of course, on Ubuntu 11.10, or Oneiric Ocelot. But with so much exciting new functionality coming to Natty Narwhal, there's plenty to look forward to in the much closer future.

soure : pcworld

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Posted in: Computer

Very very strawberry

Being not only one of the most popular flavors for ice creams and jams, strawberry can also act as a diuretic, cool the body and support treatment for various ailments including tuberculosis, rheumatism, gout and high bloo. 

Once known in tropical countries as one of the most popular flavors for ice creams and jams, but almost never eaten fresh, strawberries have become more easily available and are consumed in many forms nowadays, including in alcoholic drinks.
But there is more than color, flavor and taste to this sour-sweet red fruit. It acts as a diuretic, cools the body and supports treatment for various ailments including tuberculosis, rheumatism, gout and high blood pressure because it contains ellagic acid (anti-carcinogenic properties), malic acid (carbohydrate and oxygen-sparing effects), citric acid, vitamins A, B1, B2, and C as well as iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium.
Strawberries also contain pectin, which helps decrease cholesterol in the blood and reduce the number of calories absorbed by the body. So there you have it. Strawberries can prevent you from getting fat. According to Japanese researchers, strawberries can even prevent formation of the carcinogenic chemical nitrosamine. The strawberry is an antioxidant, and can reduce the risk of contracting a degenerative eye disease.
To get some of the healthy benefits of strawberries, here are some recipes and remedies.
- Strawberry juice: 100g of fresh strawberries, one teaspoon of syrup and one teaspoon of lemon concentrate. First, fill a glass half full with warm water and add a little salt. Wash and put the strawberries in a blender and juice them. Then add the warm water, syrup and lemon, and stir. Pour the beverage in a glass and decorate with a strawberry on the top.
- Strawberry and rock sugar: Wash and blend 100g of fresh strawberries. Pour 100ml of water into a blender. Filter the juice and pour into a glass. Add 30g of beaten rock sugar. Stir and swallow to fortify the lungs.
- Strawberry and pomelo beverage: Put 200g strawberries, 100g pomelos, 100g sugar and 500ml water in a pot and cook for three minutes over a high flame. The beverage, which should be drunk cool, stimulates the appetite and cures indigestion.
- Banana, strawberry and orange beverage: Put one banana, 100g strawberry and 50ml orange juice in a blender, and carry on.
- Strawberry dessert: Put five strawberries in a bowl, add yoghurt and enjoy after breakfast.
- Strawberry wine: Wash and blend one kilogram of strawberries. Boil 400ml water with one kilogram of sugar until the liquid becomes syrupy, and leave to cool. Mash the strawberries, put them in a glass along with the syrup, and mix well. Then filter the liquid through a clean cloth to get its essence, and put in a bowl with one liter of white alcohol. Now you have the beverage, which should be kept in a bottle with a tight lid. It nourishes the body and treats bodily depression arising from chronic disease, malnutrition and anemia.
- Strawberry, kiwi fruit (Chinese gooseberry) and pineapple cocktail: Wash and blend eight strawberries and one sliced kiwi fruit together. Then pour a half glass of water in a blender, add half a pineapple sliced, and make pineapple juice. Pour this in the strawberry and kiwi fruit mix and stir together. Though the cocktail doesn’t influence your skin directly, it beautifies the skin after being absorbed by the body, and so helps to combat acne, according to scientists.

Source: Agencies

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Posted in: Health

Radiation reaches Vietnam, no health risk: experts

Greenpeace radiation expert Jacob Namminga of the Netherlands checks his colleague's boots for traces of radioactivity during decontamination procedures in Kawamata, 60km from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, on March 26.

The radiation leaking from Japan’s quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant has reached Vietnam over the past several days but the levels are so small that there is no health risk, authorities say.

Dang Thanh Luong, vice director of the Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety under the Ministry of Science and Technology said that the ionizing radiation, iodine-131, was detected in the air in Hanoi on March 28.

“The iodine-131 level was 500,000 times below the level deemed safe and it will not affect human health,” he told Thanh Nien.

According to a statement by the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute released on March 29, the radioiodine has been found in the atmosphere by monitoring stations in Lang Son and Hanoi in the north, Lam Dong in the Central Highlands and Ho Chi Minh City in the south.

Satellite images on March 30 showed that the plume from Japan’s nuclear power plant was located at sea and yet to spread to Vietnam, the institute said.

However, iodine-131 could spread in the air even faster than the radiation plume, as has happened in Russia, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Germany, where radiation detecting stations found its presence while the plume was still far away, the institute said.

Iodine-131 can cause mutation and death in cells that it penetrates, and in other cells up to several millimeters away. Exposure to I-131 may increase a person's risk of developing thyroid cancer.

Tran Dai Phuc, a nuclear expert who has worked in the sector for the past 45 years, said that the levels of radiation in Vietnam are far below the safe level and residents should not be overanxious.

Phuc’s reassurance came after residents expressed fears that rains over the past days in Hanoi could be radioactive and affect human health.

Nguyen Nhi Dien, director of the Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute in Lam Dong Province, said that radiation levels are expected to become even lower in the coming days because iodine-131 is relatively short-lived, with an eight day half-life.

Meanwhile, international experts have said that critically damaged reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant are still leaking radioactive pollution into the air, and probably into the soil and sea.

Tests have shown "a very high concentration - equivalent to a dose of 1,000 millisieverts (mSv) per hour - in reactor 2, and 750 mSv in reactor 3," AFP cited France's Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) as saying on March 28.

"Someone who stands next to such water will, within 15 minutes, absorb the maximum dose a nuclear facility worker in Japan is allowed to take in during an entire year," or 250 mSv, said Thierry Charles, head of France's Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN).

Even the 250 mSv limit - set at the outset of the Fukushimia crisis – is two-and-a-half times the earlier, long-standing ceiling.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), acknowledged on March 28 for the first time that highly radioactive water has leaked from the buildings housing both of these reactors, and has already reached the Pacific Ocean.

Traces of radiation had in fact drifted all the way to the US, with rainwater in Ohio found to have been contaminated the same day.

People and governments living in countries neighboring Japan had already taken a range of precautionary measures as they watched the crisis escalate.

Authorities across the region began testing Japanese food imports for radiation, while some vegetables grown near Fukushima were banned altogether.

Travelers returning from Japan were also screened at some airports for radiation.

Safety first

PREVENTING RADIATION CONTAMINATION

Protection from external contamination: - Move as far as possible from the source of radiation - Keep radiation exposure to the minimum possible - Enter buildings made from concrete Protection from internal contamination: - Prevent inhalation: wear a mask or a handkerchief - Prevent ingestion: do not eat polluted water or food Once in an indoor shelter: - Shut all doors and windows, - Wash your hands and face well, if you were outside - Stop ventilation and heater fans - Take a shower and shampoo your hair if advised. - Place food in airtight containers and wrap it - Remove the clothes you wore, place in a plastic bag and seal tightly, if you are advised to dispose of your clothes as they may have been exposed. - Secure drinking water in a sealable container. (Source: Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety)

Amidst rising concerns over nuclear safety following the

Fukushima incident, the Vietnamese Government presented to the National Assembly a report on plans to build a nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan on Tuesday, March 29.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan said the government has assigned the Ministry of Science and Technology to coordinate with the Ninh Thuan administration and prepare a plan to deal with possible problems at the future plant, based on experiences from other countries and guidance from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Electricity of Vietnam, the national power utility, has been tasked with preparing detailed rescue plans, the report said.

“Besides following strictly the process of construction, operation and maintenance to ensure absolute safety, there will be personnel trained to cope with any problems that occur,” Nhan said.

The Fukushima incident would be taken as a lesson while constructing the nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan, he added.

The Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant project is expected to begin in the third quarter this year with a feasibility study and an approval application for its location. A contractor will be chosen in February 2014 and the ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for December 2014.

The first reactor is to go operational in 2020 and the second in 2021.

Construction of the Ninh Thuan 2 Nuclear Power Plant is expected to break ground in May 2015 and its two reactors to begin operations in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Uong Chu Luu, deputy chairman of the National Assembly, said that the plants must use the latest technology to ensure absolute safety.

“The government has to conduct a thorough research study on impacts of seismic fault lines and structure, climate change and sea level increases at the places designated for the plants,” he said, adding that the government must also report to the National Assembly before construction of the first reactor begins.

In another action aimed at ensuring nuclear safety, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on March 25 approved a plan proposed by the Ministry of Public Security on “execution of security measures in the atomic energy sector.”

The plan includes a VND40 billion (US$1.9 million) investment in building a legal system, infrastructure and human resources in maintaining atomic energy security, VND200 billion ($9.57 million) for activities to prevent, detect and handle violations, and another VND60 billion ($2.87 million) for building security infrastructure at the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plants.

Reported by Thanh Nien Staff 

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Posted in: Society

Gates Defends Action in Libya

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen testify at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Operation Odyssey Dawn and U.S. Military Operations in Libya, Mar 31 2011

Several influential congressional leaders have spoken out against the United States arming Libyan rebels, warning that too little is known about what they really stand for. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates conceded to the panel that the rebels are not a well-known or cohesive unit.

"To be honest, other than a relative handful of leaders, we do not have much visibility into those who have risen against Gadhafi," said Gates. "But I think that in a way speaking of the quote unquote opposition is a misnomer. Because it is very disparate, it is very scattered and probably each element has its own agenda."
Gates said the lack of unity and coordination is one of the Libyan rebels' biggest problems in their fight against Gadhafi's forces. He said what the rebels need most right now is training, but made clear that should not be up to the United States.
"The truth is in terms of providing that training, in terms of providing assistance to them, frankly there are many countries that can do that, that is not a unique capability for the United States and as far as I am concerned somebody else should do that," Gates said.
Admiral Mike Mullen agreed with Gates, saying it would be best if a country that is not a member of NATO would provide arms to the rebels and to give them basic training on how to use them.

Gates and Mullen faced questions from lawmakers of both major parties about why President Barack Obama did not consult with Congress earlier during his decision-making process, instead of just informing them only hours before the military action began.

"We do not understand what he is doing still, and I do not think he has the support of this Congress, but that is my personal opinion. I yield back," Miller said.

One of the few voices who spoke up in firm support of the president's handling of Libya was Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper from Tennessee, who intimated that some of the criticism of the president may be politically-motivated.
"I do not think it has been mentioned so far here today, that the Senate, the U.S. Senate, on March 1 unanimously called for a no-fly zone over Libya," Cooper said."The House did not have a similar action, but that is at least some sign of congressional involvement earlier on in this process. It is no secret that this is a period of domestic tension in this country politically, but it makes me yearn for the days when politics stopped at the water's edge and we could gather behind the commander-in-chief."
Gates added that both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the House had also called for a no-fly zone over Libya.

Secretary Gates assured lawmakers there would be no U.S ground forces, as he put it, "no boots on the ground" as long as he holds his job.

He said the United States and the world may not know much about the Libyan opposition, but they know all too well what Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is capable of.
"This guy has been a huge problem for the United States for a long time. And the reason the Arab League came together, and the reason that the U.N. voted and the reason NATO has supported this is not because they know a lot about the opposition but because they know a lot about Gadhafi," Gates said. "And they know what Gadhafi was not only going to do to his own people, but his potentional for disrupting everything that is going on in the Middle East right now."
Gates said Arab countries in the region decided that Gadhafi had become a threat to them, and Britain and France were concerned about the killing of innocent people on a massive scale, and a major problem of thousands of refugees crossing the borders into Tunisia and Egypt.
He said the international coalition aims to keep the pressure on Gadhafi to prevent him from killing his own people and to prevent him from destabilizing the entire region.  Gates says the United States believes military, economic and political pressure will drive Gadhafi from power.

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Posted in: Politics

Exits are natural part of private equity business

Thomas Lanyi, Investment Director of Mekong Capital

Year to date, the stock market has remained volatile given the economic uncertainty, with the VN-Index shedding about 5%. Foreign funds have found it hard to raise capital here in the domestic stock market as a result. The Saigon Times Daily had an email exchange with Thomas Lanyi, investment director of Mekong Capital, over the outlook of the market. Excerpts:

The Saigon Times Daily: The stock market has been fluctuating since 2008. How long will this situation last given the current macro economy of Vietnam?
- Thomas Lanyi: How long the market’s volatility will last is hard to predict. Sensitivity of the local and foreign investor to macro-economic developments, whether it be inflation, interest rates or currency devaluation naturally create uncertainty in the near-term and lead to volatility in trading volumes and prices. In the long-run however, as the Vietnamese economy stabilizes, so will the stock markets.
Vietnam’s price per earning ratio (PE) is lower than in regional countries. What do you comment on this comparison considering policy and foreign exchange risks in Vietnam?
- A certain risk premium for Vietnamese companies in comparison with more developed and arguably safer investment environments is justified and priced into equities. However, remember that the higher risks of investing in Vietnam are mirrored by substantially higher growth in earnings of the Vietnamese companies. Vietnamese equities are attractively priced on a PE to growth (PEG ratio) basis, in both absolute and comparative terms.
Many fund management firms planned to launch new funds from early 2010 but none of them have translated into reality. Is Vietnam’s economic instability the cause?
- More importantly, capital has become more selective, which has made fund raising more difficult to some. An enormous amount of capital was destroyed in the recent financial crisis, reducing substantial excess liquidity in the global financial system. As funds are returning to the region, investors are more selective in choosing their investment managers. The current fund raising environment clearly favors the best players in the field.
Are the current Vietnamese economic conditions to blame for making it hard for private equity funds like Mekong Capital to raise funds and invest?
- A complete track record (based on realized exits), a proven post-investment value creation program, an elite investment team, and access to solid deal flow are crucial components for successful private equity fund raising these days. Mekong Capital is among few investment firms in Vietnam that have those components in place on Thursday. As such, we are confident we will raise our next fund (MEF III) successfully when we come to market.

The life spans of many investment funds almost come to an end. Do you think the recent exits will affect the capital market in Vietnam? Will the investment management firms leave Vietnam forever after their exits?
- While, our funds have 10-year life times, we hold our portfolio companies for 5 years on average. During that time, our team works closely with the companies’ management teams to fulfill their long-term visions and business objectives. Exits are a natural part of the private equity business model and are a positive for the local capital market. Our companies are often market leading businesses, fast growing and complying with highest corporate governance standards. Introducing them to the local stock market during exit catalyses liquidity, and raises the standards and potentially overall perception of the local capital markets in the international investor’s view. Alternatively, selling a portfolio company to a strategic investor, often foreign, may attract more capital into Vietnam in future, and enhances Vietnam’s reputation as a destination for foreign investment.

The Saigon Times Daily

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Posted in: Business

Metro to develop integrated fish chain

HCMC – German-invested wholesale chain operator Metro Cash & Carry looks set to build up a high quality integrated fresh fish chain for the Vietnamese domestic market.

Customers inspect fish at Metro An Phu store's fresh fish section

The company on Wednesday organized a seminar to introduce a buying project for the Mekong Delta’s aquaculture produce and a METROGAP project in the domestic fish supply chain. Metro plans to set up a fish buying station in the Mekong Delta and launch METROGAP standards for domestic fish suppliers.
The seminar was to raise fish farm owners’ awareness of the need to improve the quality of their fish production and of the benefits the project will bring to them. Some 150 fish farm owners in the delta participated in the seminar.
The fish buying station is part of Metro’s fish platform project designed to strengthen its fish value chain to supply its customers good quality fresh fish that is produced in a sustainable way and processed under Metro’s international hygiene and food safety standards, according to the company.
“Direct sourcing is one of the key buying strategies of Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam that we have successfully developed in fruits and vegetables. Now is the fish,” Randy Guttery, managing director of Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam, said in a statement.
The fish platform project targets to supply fresh and high quality fish to the Metro wholesale centers throughout the country. The company is working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to set up and develop METROGAP standards for fishery. A comprehensive training program on the Metro fish platform and METROGAP has been placed for 2,000 farmers.
The seminar also presented the company’s strategies for ultra fresh purchasing in which sustainable production and food safety and hygiene are focuses. The seminar also introduced the METROGAP standards and their implementation along the entire fish supply chain from farms to the Metro stores.
The company also has trained 20,000 farmers, including fish farmers, and certified thousands of farmers who supply quality products for Metro.
The company now has about one million registered customers.
Metro opened its first wholesale center in Vietnam in 2002. On Thursday the number of its stores has risen to 13 and they are located in HCMC, Hanoi, Haiphong, Danang, Can Tho, Bien Hoa (Dong Nai), Long Xuyen (An Giang), Quy Nhon (Binh Dinh), Binh Duong, and Vung Tau. In addition, it has two distribution platforms – one in Binh Duong and the other in Lam Dong.

The Saigon Times Daily

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Posted in: Business

Billions dollar worth of jewelries exported to Switzerland

Billions dollar worth of high-grade jewelries have been exported in the last two years from Vietnam to Switzerland, where the jewelries are smelted to get gold.

The Financial Times has reported that there has been a growing tendency over the past two years that Vietnamese businessmen have been trying to export high-grade gold jewelry to Switzerland as a trick to “dodge” the current laws which prohibits bullion gold exports.
In Switzerland, the jewelries are smelted and then cast into bullion gold. Vietnamese businessmen want to export jewelry to Switzerland because the country in the north of Europe is famous for the smelting industry which can turn all gold-made products into gold bullions with international standards.
Statistics showed that before 2008, Vietnam only exported a small amount of gold of 3.2 tons of jewelry to Switzerland, earning 71 million francs or 77.5 million dollars. However, things have changed in the last two years, as Vietnam has become a big source of imported gold products for Switzerland. Most of the jewelry from Vietnam has come to the furnaces of big manufacturers such as Argor-Heraeus, Metalor, MKS Finance and Valcambi.
The newspaper has quoted Cameron Alexander, a senior analyst of GFMS precious metals consultancy as saying that in Vietnam, enterprises are not allowed to export high grade bullion gold. The ban has prompted Vietnamese enterprises to process bullion gold into jewelry with high title of gold and export the jewelryfor dollars. The problem is that Vietnam prohibits businessmen from exporting bullion gold, but does not prohibit them from exporting jewelry. This is a big loophole of the laws and many businessmen have exploited it.
In 2010 alone, Vietnam exported nearly 61 tons of precious metals to Switzerland, mostly under the mode of gold-made products, reaping 2.6 billion francs, or 2.8 billion dollars, according to the Swiss Federal Customs Administration. The figures were 54 tons and 1.9 billion francs in 2009 (the figures do not include the exports of bullion gold). Especially, the exports to Switzerland increased sharply a few times when the gold prices in Vietnam were lower than the prices in the world market.
Local newspaper VnExpress has quoted a representative from an enterprise which is a member of the Vietnam Gold Business Association, as saying that “Vietnamese enterprises have to take a roundabout to export gold, when the domestic prices are much lower than the world’s prices”. The executive said that in 2009 and 2010, enterprises must be granted quotas to be able to export bullion gold. Meanwhile, quotas were granted a few times and with limited export volumes. Therefore, enterprises decided to export jewelry because it was much easier to export jewelry, while the exports were not imposed tax. And the enterprises turned bullion gold into jewelry to export.
The executive has revealed that Swiss importers pay for the jewelry the same prices as they pay for bullion gold. “As such, exporters could not earn money for the processing into jewelry. However, they still could earn fat profit, when the domestic prices were lower than the world’s prices,” he said.
“The strict control over the gold exports has forced enterprises to play such a trick,” he added.
In Vietnam, bullion gold is considered “monetary gold”, therefore, the government has decided that bullion gold imports and exports must be strictly controlled and have quotas.
He also said that he knew a gold company which exported 7-8 tons of jewelry at once in 2009-2010, and that he thinks the statistics released by the Swiss agency can truly reflect the real exports.
In fact, Vietnamese management agencies have realized that enterprises played tricks to circumvent the laws. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance decided to impose the tax rate of 10 percent, starting from January 1, 2011, on material gold and high grade jewelry instead of the zero tax rate that was previously applied.
According to the General Department of Customs, in 2010, Vietnam imported 1.1 billion dollars worth of precious stones, precious metals and products, an increase of 124.7 percent over the last year. Meanwhile, Vietnam exported 2.82 billion dollars worth of products, up by 3.4 percent. Meanwhile in 2009, the export turnover of the products was 2.73 billion dollars, while the import turnover was modest at 492.1 million dollars.

VietNamNet, VnExpress

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Posted in: Business,Vietnam

Maritime Bank to prioritize loans for core business projects

HCMC – Maritime Bank will prioritize lending to corporate clients, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), to implement projects within their core business areas.

Nguyen Dinh Tung, deputy general director of Maritime Bank, told reporters in HCMC on Tuesday that the bank was restructuring its credit portfolio with more loans for SMEs operating in the manufacturing sector.
Tung said Maritime Bank was preparing to launch some loan packages with preferential interest rates for SMEs in dire need of funds for their production. He told the Daily that the planned interest rates could be 1-2 percentage points lower than market levels and that the bank would manage to reduce operational costs and increase profitability from other activities to compensate for this difference.
Tung said the bank planned to provide loans that it could break even to certain enterprises but did not explain about the beneficiaries of these special loans.
Maritime Bank had total chartered capital of VND5 trillion (some US$240 million) and total assets of VND116 trillion (over US$5.5 billion) as of December 31 last year.
The bank had some 2,500 regular corporate borrowers, Tung said after signing an agreement with Doanh Nhan Sai Gon for a program aimed to help enterprises address their financing issues.
Economic and commercial experts will be invited to advise on fund seeking as part of the program. Tung said this long-term program would also provide enterprises, particularly SMEs with appropriate supporting packages that also included solutions to finance management and corporate governance in addition to bank loans.

The Saigon Times Daily

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Posted in: Business

Microsoft takes Google complaint to EU

Microsoft is to take an anti-competition complaint against Google to the European Commission.

Microsoft claims that Google has tried to restrict
its growth in the search market

The software maker claims that Google used its dominant position in the search market to restrict the growth of Microsoft services.
It cites a number of practices, including Google limiting the ability of Microsoft Bing to index web content.
Google said it was not surprised by the move and would happily explain itself.
In a detailed blog, Microsoft's general counsel, Brad Smith, outlined the company's grievances.
He wrote: "Our filing today focuses on a pattern of actions that Google has taken to entrench its dominance in the markets for online search and search advertising to the detriment of European consumers."
The post goes on to list five different ways in which Google, according to Microsoft, has sought to control the search market.
Those are:

• Using technical measures to stop Microsoft's search engine Bing from indexing content on Google-owned YouTube.
• Blocking Microsoft Smartphones from operating properly with YouTube.
• Controlling access to online copies of out-of-copyright books.
• Limiting the ability of businesses to reclaim "their own information" generated through Google advertising campaigns for use elsewhere.
• Compelling leading websites to only use Google search boxes on their pages.

Heavy fines The European Commission launched an investigation into allegations of anti-competitive practices by Google last November, at the behest of several internet companies, including Ciao, a shopping site owned by Microsoft.
It is likely, if the Commission accepts the latest round of complaints from Microsoft, that they would be rolled into the same investigation.
For the Microsoft case to be accepted, the company would have to prove two things - firstly that Google was dominant in a particular market, namely search, and secondly that it had abused that position.
In a statement, Google said it would cooperate with any investigation.
"We're not surprised that Microsoft has done this, since one of their subsidiaries was one of the original complainants. For our part, we continue to discuss the case with the European Commission and we're happy to explain to anyone how our business works," is stated.
Penalties for companies found to have engaged in anti-competitive practices in Europe can be severe. The EC has the power to impose fines up to 10% of global earnings.
That will likely have a bearing on how the case proceeds, according to Mark Tricker, an antitrust lawyer with the law firm Norton Rose.
He told BBC News: "Once the Commission has formulated its claims then I suspect that Google will enter into a dialogue with them to address those concerns so it does not have to reach a judgement."
Role reversal Microsoft's position as accuser in an anti-competition case is something of a role reversal.

Microsoft's Bing search engine suffered because of Google's actions, it alleges

In the past, the world's leading software company has been the target of similar actions.
A 2003 EC ruling determined that Microsoft had unfairly advantaged its Windows Media Player software over other streaming technologies by embedding it into the Windows operating system.
It was fined £381m, followed by a further £194m in 2006 for failing to comply with elements of the original ruling.
To date, the largest fine levied by the EC was £948m against Intel in 2009.
The microchip maker was found to have offered financial incentives to manufacturers to favour its products over those of its rivals.

 Source: BBC

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Posted in: Computer,Science

Ivory Coast: 'Heavy fighting' near Gbagbo residence

Hamadoun Toure, spokesman for the UN's special representative for Ivory Coast: ''The countdown has started''

There has been heavy fighting in Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan, between forces loyal to the UN-recognised president, Alassane Ouattara, and supporters of incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.

Witnesses have reported hearing intense gunfire near Mr Gbagbo's residence, while Mr Ouattara's supporters say they have taken control of state television.
His government earlier closed Ivory Coast's borders and declared a curfew.
Mr Gbagbo has refused to relinquish the presidency since November's election.
But the national army has put up almost no resistance since Mr Ouattara's supporters launched an offensive on Monday.
Pro-Ouattara forces reportedly now control about 80% of the country.
'Final assault' As the battle for control of the country appeared to reach a climax, gunfire was heard around several strategic buildings in Abidjan.

"[My troops] have come to restore democracy and ensure respect of the vote by the people” Alassane Outtara

Heavy fighting was reported close to the headquarters of RTI state TV and Mr Gbagbo's residence, both in the northern district of Cocody.

"The gunfire has been intense and they're shooting in four or five directions at a time. There's a lot of people," a resident told the AFP news agency. "It looks like a final assault."
A spokesman for Mr Ouattara's government, Patrick Achi, said the former president had so far shown no signs of giving up.
Mr Gbagbo has not been seen in public for weeks. His residence is mainly protected by members of the elite presidential guard, and is located on a peninsula in Abidjan's lagoon.
Mr Achi also said Ouattara loyalists had taken control of RTI. This could not be confirmed, but the channel went off-air late on Thursday.
Earlier, Mr Ouattara's government said Ivory Coast's land, sea and air borders had been closed until further notice. It also declared that there would be a curfew from 2100 GMT to 0600 GMT in Abidjan until Sunday.

And after looting was reported in several parts of the city, UN and French peacekeepers took control of Abidjan's international airport.

The BBC's John James in Bouake says growing panic seems to be setting in among Mr Gbagbo supporters, especially following the decision of the head of the army, Gen Phillippe Mangou, to seek refuge with his wife and five children at the home of the South African ambassador.
On Thursday evening, Mr Ouattara's television channel featured several high-level military officers pledging allegiance to his government. A source also told the BBC that the head of the gendarmerie, Edouard Kassarate, had defected.
The head of the UN mission, Choi Young-jin said that as many as 50,000 soldiers, police and gendarmes had abandoned Mr Gbagbo, with only the Republican Guard and special forces personnel remaining loyal.
"[My troops] have come to restore democracy and ensure respect of the vote by the people," Mr Ouattara said in an address. "To all those who are still hesitating, whether you are generals, superior officers, officers, sub officers, rank-and-file... there is still time to join your brothers-in-arms."
Western diplomats say it is only a matter of time now before Mr Gbagbo flees or is captured, our correspondent says.
Mr Ouattara's government is giving assurances that the outgoing president will not be harmed, he adds. They say, instead, that Mr Gbagbo will be made available to the International Criminal Court.
Lightning advances Earlier, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon again demanded that Mr Gbagbo immediately cede power to Mr Ouattara "to enable the full transition of state institutions to the legitimate authorities".

The US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, urged both sides to exercise restraint and protect civilians. Both Mr Gbagbo and his wife would be held accountable if significant violence broke out, he added.

Mr Ouattara was internationally recognised as president last year, after the electoral commission declared him winner of the November run-off vote.
The UN, which helped organise the vote, certified it as legitimate. However, Mr Gbagbo claimed victory after the Constitutional Council overturned Mr Ouattara's win.
The forces supporting Mr Ouattara have made lightning advances since Monday, moving out from their base in the northern half of the country.
On Wednesday, his fighters captured Ivory Coast's capital, Yamoussoukro, and the key port of San Pedro. Mr Gbagbo's hometown of Gagnoa also fell.
Since the crisis began in December, one million people have fled the violence - mostly from Abidjan - and at least 473 people have been killed, according to the UN.
Sanctions and a boycott on cocoa exports in what is the world's biggest producer of cocoa beans have brought West Africa's second-biggest economy to its knees, with banks closed for more than a month.
An armed rebellion in 2002 split the nation in two - a division the elections were meant to heal.

Source: BBC

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Posted in: Politics

Diseases, rising costs wipe out pig farmers

High interest rates, epidemics, and rising feed prices are making life tough for pig farmers in the southeastern region.
K., who owns a farm in Dong Nai with 2,000 sows, says the profession has never been as hard as it is today though pork prices are going up.
“The price of pigs is increasing at a slower rate than that of animal feed,” he explains.
“Since 90 percent of inputs for animal feed, such as soybean and corn, is imported, any change in global prices immediately affects the local price.”
In 2008 K. established a modern pig farm with an investment of VND14 billion (US$666,000), which included a bank loan under the government’s demand stimulus program.
He hoped to make a profit of VND100 million a month, but the blue-ear epidemic last year put paid to that.
The price of meat on the hoof fell by VND26,000 to VND30,000 for a kilogram, causing him losses of VND400,000 for every pig he sold.
To cut his losses, K. had to reduce the size of his herd by selling breeding stock for low prices.
Then the interest rate on his bank loan doubled to 1.6 percent a month.
K. could no longer repay his debt and had to sell his land. But with the pig-farming in the doldrums, the price of pig farms too fell. “When pig prices were high, people offered VND28 billion but now I can only get VND16 billion,” he laments.
With many farmers wiped out, the number of heads of pig in Dong Nai has fallen by nearly 30 percent.
Many farms have reduced their scale or stopped farming pigs. Nguyen Tri Cong, owner of Tri Cong Pig Farm, says even large farms cannot survive without government support.
15% loss Van Duc Muoi, general director of food company Vissan Ltd, says animal husbandry in Vietnam faces serious risks due to poor disease-control capability.
Veteran animal farmer Tran Quang Trung, who has a farm with 1,000 pigs in Dong Nai’s Thong Nhat District, says veterinary and epidemiology standards are poor, allowing epidemics to become widespread and more severe.
Even four or five years ago animal losses in pig farming was not more than 5 percent.
“Last year my farm was free from epidemics,” Trung says.
“I myself raised and slaughtered the pigs to supply pork to wholesale markets but still made a loss of VND1.2 billion. Other farms incurred bigger losses.”
In the last few years, blue-ear pig disease has broken out every year in many provinces but authorities only culled pigs in epidemic areas. “That is a way to destroy the raisers, not the epidemic,” says a farm owner.
The best way to contain the epidemic, according to many pig farmers, is by using vaccines but it is not always possible to vaccinate a large herd since the vaccines are imported.
Certain vaccines, which are distributed only by veterinary agencies, are usually unavialble.
“The foot-and-mouth epidemic has spread to many places but when I asked to buy (vaccines) at a veterinary agency they said they were unavailable,” says B., who owns a farm with more than 3,000 pigs in Dong Nai.
“So how can we prevent the epidemic now?”
Feed prices keep rising
The relentless rise in feed prices is a major cause of concern for pig farmers. In the last 12 months the prices of some feed inputs like corn, soybean, and fish powder have risen by more than 30 percent.
According to the Vietnam Animal Feed Association, feed prices keep rising because Vietnam has to import 55-60 percent of inputs like corn, wheat, soybean, fish powder, bone, and meat powder.
Feed accounts for 70 percent of farmers’ costs and its prices are also affected by high interest rates, freight, exchange rates, and other factors.
Businesses fear feed prices will rise further soon since the cost of other imputs like power and gasoline have increased.

source: tuoitre

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Posted in: Business

Obama Hits Low Point in New Poll and Libya Does Not Help

A new public-opinion poll suggests trouble ahead for President Barack Obama and indicates most Americans oppose U.S. military involvement in Libya.

President Barack Obama speaks about Libya at the National Defense
University in Washington, March 28, 201

The monthly Quinnipiac University poll found voters oppose U.S. involvement in Libya by a margin of 47 to 41 percent, even though 65 percent in the same poll favor the use of force to protect Libyan civilians.

The Quinnipiac poll was conducted mostly before President Obama’s Monday speech on Libya aimed at building domestic support.

Quinnipiac pollster Peter Brown tells VOA that the poll results make it clear that the president will have to continue to build support for any U.S. involvement in Libya.

“In a nutshell, Americans are skeptical," said Brown. "He has a substantial selling job, for want of a better way of putting it, that will have to be ongoing if the U.S. effort is ongoing.”

With that in mind, Mr. Obama has been talking a lot about the necessity of U.S. and international intervention in Libya this week, including a Tuesday speech in New York.

“In Libya, we are showing what is possible when we find our courage and when we fulfill our responsibilities," said President Obama.

Pollster Peter Brown says the American public appears to be suffering from war fatigue, given the ongoing U.S. military commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“I do not think there is any doubt that the involvement in Afghanistan, the involvement in Iraq and now the involvement in Libya has for many Americans raised questions about the wisdom of these policies," he said.

Congressional reaction to the president’s Libya policy has been varied.

Some Republicans want the president to push harder for the ouster of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, even as Mr. Obama insists that is not the goal of the international alliance enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya.

Among them is the president’s 2008 Republican presidential opponent, Senator John McCain of Arizona:

“If our strategy does not succeed in forcing Gadhafi to leave power sooner rather than later, we run the risk of prolonged and bloody stalemate," said McCain.

But Republicans are by no means unanimous on what the United States should do in Libya.  The issue has become a major talking point among the growing number of Republicans who are considering a run for president next year, including Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

Bachmann told NBC’s Today program the president’s decision to use force in Libya for humanitarian reasons could open the way for similar U.S. military involvement in any number of countries facing civil strife.

“That would be the basis for the United States to enter into one country after another," said Bachmann. "I do not think that is in the American interest.”

Most Democrats seem to support the president on Libya, but there have been a handful urging the president not to get involved, including Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich.

“Things are falling apart at home, while we are searching the world looking for dragons to slay," said Kucinich.

An earlier poll by the Pew Research Center found 47 percent of those surveyed supported U.S. involvement in the Libyan airstrikes, while 36 percent opposed and 17 percent had no opinion.

Stephen Hess is a presidential scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington.  Hess says most Americans seem open to a narrow military involvement in Libya to protect civilians, but generally remain focused on domestic issues like the economy and jobs.

“The American people have been generally favorable to the airstrikes and not very favorable to anything else," said Hess. "We are already in two wars and a trio of wars is not exactly what Americans are interested in at this time when they have a very full platter of problems at home.”

The latest Quinnipiac poll also found that President Obama’s overall approval rating is now at its lowest point since he became president in January of 2009.  U.S. voters said they disapprove of the president’s job performance by a margin of 48 to 42 percent, and they oppose his re-election by a margin of 50 to 41 percent.

The survey gave Mr. Obama negative ratings on his handling of the domestic economy, the budget deficit, and foreign policy.  

source: VOA

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Posted in: Politics

Apps for Taking Inventory at Home

Compartments, left, $10, is tailored to Macs; Home Inventory is a $4.99 app for the iPhone

It’s a logistical nightmare. At any moment there are several phones, computers, video game systems and other small electronics strewn around the floor of my home office, and many more in every other part of the house.
As if that weren’t enough stuff, my family has too many other things: I’m a sucker for cooking equipment, my wife’s stash of yarn keeps the world’s shepherds in business (she’s a knitter), we both buy more books than we can read, and our baby is constantly showered with toys and clothes. Ascetic readers would advise us to pare down, to lead simple, joyful, stuff-free lives. But that’s not really my style; I’m a materialist to the core.
Instead, I set out to find a way to manage our possessions. Is there an easy way to organize everything?
The answer: not really. There are lots of bad, a few so-so, and some great computer programs to help you create an inventory. Unfortunately, even the best ones require some work — too much work, I imagine, for all but the most organized people. In other words, not me.
But if you are a neat freak — if you look forward to cleaning your closets on weekends, or rejoice at the prospect of alphabetizing your DVDs — then consider investing in a good home inventory manager. Creating and maintaining an inventory might take a few weekends, but it will help you better understand what you own — a first step toward getting rid of unnecessary things, like those three extra copies of “The Great Gatsby.”
And if you have only one copy of “Gatsby,” such a product will tell you where it is (bedroom closet? bookshelf in the den?). It will also prove handy for insurance claims, and it will avoid the “spice rack” problem, where you end up with a half-dozen bottles of chili pepper in the kitchen because you were always unsure if you had any.
Let’s start with the software I liked least: home inventory apps for the iPhone and iPad. The first app, a $4.99 iPhone program called Home Inventory, made by Gotta Have It Software, was buggy. I tried to type in descriptions of my items, but the app crashed several times. When I loaded it back up, it sometimes forgot some stuff I had already entered. An app that loses track of your home inventory isn’t a very good way to keep track of your home inventory.
Two other $4.99 apps — My Stuff, by Rick Maddy, a programmer, for the iPhone, and the Itemizer by Digital2Analog Software, for the iPad — were more reliable. Still, I found each a pain to use. To enter a new item into My Stuff, you tap on a location or category (say, Living Room, or Electronics) and then type in the object’s details.
The Itemizer process is similar. But this is easier said than done. Typing in the make, model, price and other data for all your goods would be a hassle on a regular keyboard. On a touch screen, it is maddening.
Better, I thought, to stick with home inventory software for full-size PCs.
Which brings us to Collectify Home Inventory, a $50 program for Windows that you can download and try out for 30 days without obligation. Collectify does many things right. It has an intuitive interface and a straightforward way to input your items. After listing all the rooms in your house, you add details of each object by room. Collectify offers several ways of doing this. The quickest is to photograph everything in the room and upload the pictures into Collectify.
Now comes the hard part. You click on a photo, then type in a barrage of details (if you can find or remember them): How much did you pay for that couch? What’s the model number of your TV? Setting up your inventory on Collectify is a weeks-long process, and consequently may be best just for a few large or expensive items. Don’t expect to catalog hundreds of DVDs this way. Two Mac programs I tried offer roughly the same features as Collectify, and both are much cheaper and better designed. The first, a $10 program called Compartments by LittleFin Software, has a nice feature called WarrantyGuard that tracks your items’ warranty expiration dates so that, if something goes wrong, you can quickly learn if you are still covered.
The second Mac program I liked was Home Inventory, by Binary Formations, which is $15. (Confusingly, Home Inventory for the Mac is not related to Home Inventory for the iPhone.) I found this program as quick and as easy to use as Compartments, but Home Inventory has a plus: it offers a companion “remote” that lets you take pictures and add details of your stuff with your iPhone.

The My Stuff app for the iPhone is one of several
ways to catalogue DVDs, books and other household goods

Delicious Library 2, a $25 Mac program, uses bar codes
to ease the arduous chore of inputting items.

That’s the magic of Delicious Library 2, a $25 Mac program that I found to be the best of the home inventory managers I tested. What makes Delicious Library so delicious is automation. Instead of asking you to type in, say, a book’s title, author and other details, you simply point your computer’s camera at the book’s bar code. Delicious Library scans the bar code, looks up all the product details online and adds the object to your inventory.

Delicious Library 2, a $25 Mac program, uses bar codes to ease the arduous chore of inputting items

Wil Shipley, the founder of Delicious Monster, the company that makes the software, notes that most goods you buy these days include bar codes: tools, electronics, clothes, toys, kitchen gadgets. I found Delicious Library phenomenally good at recognizing items across a wide range of categories. It was able to correctly identify virtually any CD or DVD I chose, almost every baby toy, many tools and even some of the groceries.
Two caveats: Many products have the bar code on the package, not the product, so it will be difficult to scan your TV unless you still have the box. If you don’t, you will have to enter the details manually, as with the other software I tried. But DVDs, books and CDs — the often-numerous items that are major offenders in cluttered households — usually come stamped with a code.
I found the program’s camera-based scanner to be good, doing its work quickly. For faster scanning, you can buy a bar code scanner for your computer. Delicious Monster sells an add-on wireless scanner for $215, but less sophisticated ones are available at online retailers for as little as $30.
Another advantage of Delicious Library: It automatically categorized my goods, placing toys, tools, books and DVDs in separate areas of the program. It also let me assign locations to each item. I can quickly see what I’ve got in the den, and what I have in the tool shed. Best of all, when a friend borrows anything, you can make note of it.
Indeed, this last feature is one of the reasons that Mr. Shipley set out to create an inventory manager. “I’d lost four 18-volt cordless drills in a row,” he said. “They sell for $140 each, so that just made me bitter. Now when someone borrows one of these things, I can come after them.”

source: New York times

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Posted in: Entertainment