Popular iPad 3 helps Argos out of trading slump

Gadget fans who flocked to Argos to buy the new iPad 3 gave the troubled chain a welcome sales lift.Improved sales of electronics goods, driven by the highly-anticipated release of the latest iPad in March, eased the recent decline at the catalogue stores.

But the wash-out weather proved a dampener for Home Retail's other chain Homebase, which saw soggy sales in the past few months.

Popular gadget: iPad 3 drives forecast-busting sales at ArgoBoss Terry Duddy was nevertheless upbeat about the group's summer prospects, saying he had already detected signs of some consumer cheer ahead of the Olympics.'One of the things that may be coming through here is a bit of a feelgood factor as far as consumers are concerned - people are getting out there and continuing to enjoy themselves,' he said.

Gazebos sold well over the wet Jubilee weekend as Britons looked for cover from the rain, while Union Jack items such as deckchairs were also in demand.Argos saw like-for-like sales decline by a much better than expected 0.2 per cent in the three months to June 2. Analysts had expected Argos first quarter sales to fall by around 4 per cent.

The improved trading followed an 8.7 per cent decline in the previous six months as Argos struggled amid a tough consumer electronics market and dire high street trading conditions.

Two Argos stores were shut in the past quarter, leaving it with 746. Home Retail plans to close 10 this year, but continues to resist calls for widespread closures, claiming its stores support its presence online and that only seven are loss-making.

Meanwhile, DIY chain Homebase suffered an 8.3 per cent slide in like-for-like sales. Seasonal products, which account for around 40 per cent of sales in the 341-strong business, plunged by around 15 per cent after the wet start to the summer.The dismal weather in April accounted for 80 per cent of the first quarter sales decline at Homebase, but it outperformed competitors in a difficult market, according to Home Retail.

Kingfisher-owned rival DIY chain B&Q recently unveiled a 12 per cent slide in sales due to poor demand for outdoor products and building materials.Duddy claimed they were 'victims' of the weather, with Homebase heavily weighted towards garden products.

THis article comes from:http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2161471/iPad-3-helps-lift-Argos-trading-slump.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Switch Poker iPad App Becomes First To Allow Multitable Display

Mobile poker operator SwitchPoker.com today announces an innovative new feature on its iPad app which allows players to view four tables on screen at the same time.

The app is the world's first to allow up to four poker tables to be viewed simultaneously on an iPad joining the company's Android app, which is also the only one in the world to allow more than one table to be viewed on screen at the same time.

The app also uses high-resolution graphics to take advantage of the iPad's retina display.

A SwitchPoker.com spokesperson said, "Previously the app allowed 4 tables to be played at once, but only one table could be displayed at a time. Now all 4 can be placed on screen at a time.

"As this feature helps players play more hands more quickly we are going to run a 'hands race' as part of the launch."

To celebrate the company is giving away EUR1,000 to the 10 players who play the most hands between 6 p.m. GMT on Friday June 1 and 3 p.m. GMT on Tuesday June 5.
Elsewhere at the site players can now play EUR10/EUR20 heads up and six-max no-limit hold'em, up from the previous highest stakes of EUR5/EUR10 and new depositors can avail of a 100 percent bonus for new depositors.

Players can deposit up to EUR600 and will receive the full amount of the initial deposit back as they play.

Simply deposit at the site for the first time using the code 20TO600 and the bonus will be paid in increments of EUR10 for every 2,500 Switch Poker Points earned.

SwitchPoker.com, launched in October 2010, offers a simple solution to online poker players who wish to play their favourite games on the move. Simply visit SwitchPoker.com using your mobile device, sign up for an account and start playing immediately.

About Switchpoker.com
Switchpoker.com is the world's first real money online poker site for use with iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android mobile devices. The software company which developed the platform used by Switch Poker was formed in Ireland in 2010.

This article comes from:http://finance.yahoo.com/news/switch-poker-ipad-app-becomes-105100873.html;_ylt=A2KJ3CX32MVPnVUAR1_QtDMD

Better search on your iPhone with Bang On

If you are like me, you use the Google app or the Google search bar in Safari to perform Web searches on your iPhone. And then you use the search function within your various apps to search for something in a particular app. Well, no more! Spend $1.99 on Bang On, and you'll be able to search more quickly and efficiently.

Bang On is a universal app in more ways than one. It's a universal app in the sense that it works on both the iPhone and the iPad. It is also a universal search app in that you can use it to perform Web searches as well as search apps on your phone such as Instagram, Pandora, Spotify, Twitter, and YouTube.

You can also create custom searches, which the app calls "bangs," to search specific apps, search engines, or Web sites. And owners of the iPhone 4S or the new iPad can use the dictation button to search by voice.

(Credit: Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET)

Bang On is a souped-up, paid version of the DuckDuckGo app. With DuckDuckGo, you can perform Web searches but not the other apps on your phone as you can with Bang On.

When you launch Bang On, you'll see a standard search field at the top with a swipeable belt of bangs below it. You can type in a search term and then tap one of the bangs to narrow your search.

For example, if you wanted to read what people are saying on Twitter about Mick Jagger's turn as host of Saturday Night Live, you can type in "Mick Jagger SNL" and then tap the Twitter button.

Better yet, you could just hit the dictate button and say, "search for Mick Jagger SNL on Twitter" to perform the same search. A Twitter page will load right below Bang On's search field with the results.(Credit: Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET)
 
Searching YouTube and Facebook on Bang On works the same way, though Pandora and Spotify work a bit differently. When you use Bang On to search these apps, you leave Bang On as the app opens the music app you asked it to search. Either way, it's a highly convenient way to search on your iPhone.

You can customize the shortcut belt of bangs. Tap the settings button in the upper-right corner and you can add, remove, and reorder the bangs on the favorites list. These are what appear in the swipeable belt below the search bar. Farther down on the settings page is an area where you can create your own shortcuts.

 
(Credit: Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET)

I've been using Bang On for only a few days and it has already made its way onto my home screen. I find it much quicker to use it to search for YouTube videos, Twitter, and Spotify, instead of first opening those apps to perform a search.


This article comes from:http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-57438573-285/better-search-on-your-iphone-with-bang-on/?part=rss&subj=software&tag=title

Nice tip to unhide your Mac’s Library folder even after a system update

One of Apple’s “big brother” features introduced in Mac OS X Lion 10.7 (now called plain ol’ OS X Lion) is the hiding of the user’s Library folder. While this may be a fine precaution for inexperienced users, it’s a bother for Mac pros. A recent Login Script can fix this so-called feature.

The User Library isn’t gone, it’s just hiding. You can reveal it by holding down the Option key while clicking on the Go Menu. Still, it’s a bother to remember.

Daniel Jalkut, the founder of Red Sweater Software points out on his blog that even if you tweak the folder pref and make it visible, each time the system is updated, the folder disappears again. Jalkut solved this by hacking his configuration script in the Terminal.

I solved this very early on for my own needs by adding the command-line instructions for re-showing the Library folder to my Terminal configuration script. Every time I open a new Terminal window, the Library folder is aggressively set to visible again. In practice, this has meant that since 10.7 shipped, I’ve never been bothered once by Apple’s disappearing act.

For the rest of us, Jalkut offers a Script Login item that will do the fix. He offers detailed instructions (super easy) to apply it. Login items are found in the Users & Groups preference.

This article comes from:http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/nice-tip-to-unhide-your-macs-library-folder-even-after-a-system-update/12975

FindHire Launches Recruiting App on Apple Store -- First Stand-Alone Recruiting Application Ever on the iTunes Store

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - May 15, 2012) - FindHire surprised many of the major players in the recruiting software and talent management game last week, when they released the first ever recruiting application for iPad on the iTunes store. Downloads soared the first night since the launch, purchased by both International companies and top global recruiting firms.

The launch of the iPad application was a significant step for the small company of three based in the heart of Los Angeles. It marked a milestone for them after seven months spent piecing together version 1 and getting it approved by Apple.

It was even more significant as it is the only real recruiting tool on the iTunes store that allows the user to contact, interview, and hire a new employee all through the iPad interface.

"I basically wanted to be the first to develop a recruiting iPad app for businesses that made hiring as easy as making a restaurant reservation. Once I realized how valuable this could be to small businesses I jumped right in!" CTO Ryan Herman said in an interview. Ryan designed and programmed the entire app with a little verbal guidance of long-time friend and CEO Michael Dennis, who came from the recruiting world, where he was an executive headhunter. "Ryan is a genius, he has always been a programmer since he was young kid, but now he has a real trophy to show for it by being the first to create a real game-changer in my industry," Michael noted.

FindHire's iPad application for recruiting has a very clean user interface (UI) and is extremely simple to use. The dashboard has a wood grain background similar to Wunderlist, only instead of list items, the user has a candidate gallery to flip through. The candidate's pictures are all high resolution, and it makes it a nice experience when sifting through an abundance of resumes.

Below the 'Candidate Flow' are two columns to show the user's daily and weekly interview schedule, and progress of open positions. The hiring progress bar is a great feature, but only available to the enterprise users and not available for the .99 cent download.

The toolbar at the bottom of every page is very helpful in navigating the different features of the recruiting application. The icons below let the user quickly select an option to search, schedule, or change their settings. Even the settings are easy to figure out, and let the user link to their social accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The social function is helpful to make sure that anyone in the user's network can see open positions.

The full web-based version of FindHire is also available, but fetches a slightly higher price than the .99 cent price tag of the iPad app. The added features are definitely a huge plus for anyone looking to hire more than one person.
To learn more about our application, go to: www.findhire.com or send all related inquiries to press@findhire.com.

About FindHire, Inc.
Founded in 2011 in Los Angeles, CA by top recruiter Michael Dennis and tech guru Ryan Herman, with the mission to alter the recruiting business for the better by making the process streamlined through a simple user friendly interface. FindHire takes an outdated recruiting service business model and brings it into the next generation of technology; attracting both global media companies to use the software, and gaining thousands of prospective employees in their database within the first few months after their launch in early 2012.

This article comes from:http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/findhire-launches-recruiting-app-on-apple-store-first-stand-alone-recruiting-application-1657450.htm