Visit The Belle Of The Ball In Cartagena – Columbia

No longer can Cartagena-Columbia be associated with the dangerous and wild days of cocaine. Once it was a city of danger and drug dealing, but now the city has emerged from those dark days as one of the most vivacious cities on the Colombian coastline. This tropical city is now the hot spot for many well to do Latin Americans as well as European socialites that flock to its colonial mansions and its fancy restaurants along with the charm of the Old World plazas.

 If you love to walk, then you will discover that Cartagena-Columbia is the perfect city for doing just that with all of its historical districts like the Moroccan medina, which are 300-year-old Spanish colonial structures that are painted brightly in colors of blue, burnt orange, ochre, and dusty rose. The city is surrounded by a 400 year old wall and are completely intact for more than a two mile stretch, you can even walk along the top of the west side of the wall and enjoy the view of the city streets from above.

 If delicious food is something that you are looking for, you will not be disappointed. Cartagena-Columbia offers up a wonderful array of rich foods that combine a variety of flavors and different ingredients from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean. You will find many quaint restaurants that serve classic Colombian food with a modern French flair surrounded by brick courtyards with vine draped walls, and romantic candle lighted tables with the sea breeze flowing in to cool you as you enjoy your meal.

At 1056 Feet Above The Ground

Located about 174 miles away from Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, Tatev monastery is one of the most famous and hard-to-get travel destinations of the Caucasus. The monastery is located in Syunik region (southern part of Armenia, close to the Iranian border). The history of the place goes back to pre-Christian times and begins with a pagan temple which, following the Christianization of Armenia, was replaced by a modest church, thus marking the birth of the famous monastery complex and the adjacent university.

 Today Tatev monastery is included in almost all touristic maps and is one of the most renounced travel destinations. The slopes of the surrounding hills are covered with dense vegetation which makes it a perfect spot for ecotourism. Those who prefer camping trip and adventure vacations and hiking usually set up camps in Vorotan gorge, near Devil’s Bridge.

The place got its name after a gigantic boulder that wedged into its current position falling from a cliff. The ‘bridge’ obscures the river’s course for 164 feet, giving it its name. For centuries it was used as a natural bridge to reach Tatev. The mineral springs erupting from cliff rocks at the site color the canyon and form stalactites under the bridge. A small pool of warm spring water attracts soakers for much of the year.

The road from Devil’s Bridge to the monastery takes from three to four hours on foot and about half an hour by car. The route goes up the sloppy hilltop and would be very much exhaustive but for the wonderful scenery that unveils as you climb higher.
In early October 2010 the world’s longest pipe-line was launched in Tatev, connecting the village of Halidzor to the ancient Monastery. The cable car travels at a speed of 23 miles per hour and a one-way journey takes 11 minutes. At its highest point over the gorge, the car travels 1,056 feet above ground level. This makes Tatev one of the most famous travel destinations.

 It has two cabins, each capable of carrying up to 25 passengers. Local residents will be able to ride the cable car for free while others will have to pay 3,000 Armenian drams (eight dollars/six euro.) The overall length of the pipe-line is 3.5 miles.
Tatev monastery is an excellent spot for adventure vacations, perfectly safe for both a family and individual trip. Once here you are guaranteed never to forget the free air of hills that has been the inspiration source for so many great artists.

Jury hands down verdict in US Apple vs Samsung case

The jury is back early in the biggest tech trial of the century, and it looks like Apple will come out on top.

Apple and Samsung have been duking it out in courts around the globe, fighting over patents related to their tablets and smartphones. We've seen the Galaxy Tab pulled from sale in Australia, then reinstated after court decisions. There have also been significant cases in the UK  and Germany over the sale of the devices.
But the big battle has recently been played out in a San Jose court, with the two Mega companies fighting over allegations of copying and patent infringement. It has been a dramatic case, giving a rare insight into the design processes of the two companies, and arguments wrapped up last week. For an excellent and extensive rundown of what the case is about check out this summary on the Verge.
Surprisingly the jury has already returned, maybe wanting to get it done before the weekend. The decision was long and complicated, addressing patent infringment on a per device basis. There are 700 questions in total for the jury to answer, and the initial ones are going largely Apple's way. We'll update thestory once all of the verdict has been fully announced.
Update: After some clarificiations from the Jury the case now moves onto talk of injunctions and appeals, with the next hearing set for September 20th. In the end the Jury found overwhelmingly in favour of Apple, and the final damages amount that Samsung is ordered to pay is US $1,049,343,540. With over a billion dollars at stake this this won't be the last we hear of this case, as appeals are almost certain to come from Samsung.

Clash of the Tablet Titans: Galaxy Nexus 7 Vs. Kindle Fire

By offering consumers a way to get a taste of tablet at an easy-to-swallow price point of $199, the Kindle Fire became a big hit among people who didn’t want to shell out $500 for an iPad. Though Amazon’s first tablet certainly made waves, it’s about to go under water with the launch of Google’s Nexus⁷ tablet.

Nexus 7: The Full Tablet Experience

The new Nexus tablet is quite simply the best Android tablet so far. The hardware performs better than most other Android devices out there. But it also has Jelly Bean, the latest version (4.1) of the Android operating system—it even leaves the iPad’s excellent OS in the dust in many regards. And it’s a bonus that it’s also one of the most affordable tablets out there of any size or type.
Basically, it’s the closet that you can come to the smooth, immersive experience of an iPad on the Android OS. Inputs are responsive, which has been a problem with many Android tablets. The screen is nearly as vibrant as the latest iPad’s (and much more so than any other Android), so videos and photos looks fantastic. And it runs all of the latest apps like a champion.

Fire: For Amazon Prime Fanatics

The Kindle Fire has some shortcomings, most obviously the outdated hardware and software. But the excellent integration with Amazon services has earned it a loyal following. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, and don’t need the full-on tablet experience with smooth, beautiful graphics, the Fire might be the way to go.
It’s still the only tablet that can stream video from Amazon Video-on-Demand and borrow books from the Kindle lending library. Still, it feels like an e-reader with tablet features, and its raw capabilities are limited. You’re out of luck if you want to run the latest and greatest Android apps.
The choice comes down to whether you want a first-rate tablet with excellent graphics, or you’re an Amazon Prime fanatic who wants a seamless experience. Our vote is for the Nexus ⁷, since it can do almost everything that the Fire can do, and much, much more.

Great Noise Cancelling Headphones for Comfy Air Travel

So you’re gearing up for a long flight for a vacation or work trip, and you start reading up on all the terrible things that engine noise can do to you. Noise fatigue from droning airplane engines in particular can leave you feeling awful after even a short flight, but what can be done to combat this? The answer is a good pair of noise-cancelling (or isolating) headphones.
Because it’s very hard to tell from the packaging what information is salient and what’s snake oil, we’ve dug through our archives to highlight three standout headphones for you to consider when you’re about to travel. All three are notable for noise reduction, and should see regular use among frequent flyers.

The Tried, The True: Bose QuietComfort 15.

So you’re gearing up for a long flight for a vacation or work trip, and you start reading up on all the terrible things that engine noise can do to you. Noise fatigue from droning airplane engines in particular can leave you feeling awful after even a short flight, but what can be done to combat this? The answer is a good pair of noise-cancelling (or isolating) headphones.
Because it’s very hard to tell from the packaging what information is salient and what’s snake oil, we’ve dug through our archives to highlight three standout headphones for you to consider when you’re about to travel. All three are notable for noise reduction, and should see regular use among frequent flyers.

The Tried, The True: Bose QuietComfort 15.

While the audio quality isn’t the best, the noise cancelling ability is. Keep in mind that you can’t turn the noise cancelling off to save power, so you’ll need a healthy supply of batteries for your trip. Still, if you’re looking to make the world around you melt away, it’s hard to top the Bose QuietComfort 15 set. These can be found for roughly $300.

 Less Flashy, Better Audio: Sennheiser PXC 450

If audio quality is a higher priority for you, there’s another set of headphones you can grab without sacrificing much of the options the Bose cans give you. The Sennheiser PXC 450 headphones are also a solid choice if you have trouble finding headphones to fit your copious amount of cranium. While they only have about a 90-95% reduction in outside noise, this should be enough to stave off noise fatigue in most environments. These can be had for around $350 online.

Affordable and Portable: Creative In-ear3

 If you’re looking for portability, the Creative In-Ear3 headphones are compact, and block out an impressive amount of noise simply by sealing your ear canal with soft foam. If you’re on a budget, these headphones are far more affordable, and offer the best audio quality of the bunch—all for just about $100. They’re less durable than the other two headphones listed above, but the cable management system and rigid case helps protect your investment during travel.

Panasonic Lumix G5

Panasonic is back with another G-series Micro Four Thirds mirrorless system camera. The Lumix G5 is an update to last year’s G3, sticking with largely the same formula with some incremental but noteworthy improvements.
Spec-boosts include an updated 16-megapixel Four Thirds MOS sensor, 6fps burst shooting, ISO up to 12800 at full-resolution, an even smaller body, a 920,000-pixel articulating LCD, 1080/60p video, a third Fn button and Fn lever, and faster, more accurate autofocus.
We spent some time with a pre-production G5 at a briefing last month. Read on for our first impressions.
The G5 will come in black, silver, and white bodies. Availability and pricing have yet to officially be announced, but Panasonic told us in a briefing that they expect the G5 kit (including a standard 14-42mm zoom lens) to cost $799 at launch—up from the G3’s $699 MSRP.