Thursday, October 11, 2012
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Living With Cancer: We Are Seven
It is our luck that we are seven women grappling with various stages and types of gynecological cancer in a small group that no one in his or her right mind would want to join.
Susan Gubar writes about life with ovarian cancer.
We live in a town that boasts no program or facility to bring us together. Our group happened to happen. Patricia and Mary introduced themselves after a presentation I gave with my oncologist, who is also their doctor. Alison read a notice in the local newspaper and sent me an e-mail asking if we might correspond. Such was the start, as these three contacted three others — Diane, Judy and Sarah — and we began to meet every few weeks in a restaurant or at one of our homes. And oh the difference to me!
The elation of gathering with people who also confront the perplexities of cancer and its treatments has something to do with our being anomalies outside the group — but not inside it. Among my healthy colleagues and friends, I am the one singled out with a lethal disease. Inside the group, though, we are all normal, even though “normal” means dealing with a dire diagnosis and treatments, in the past or the present.
During the hour and a half we meet every few weeks, the (unspoken) promise we make involves not discussing our families, jobs, political affiliations, religions, entertainments or anything else except our relationship to cancer and its treatments. This might sound constraining, but for most of us the opposite rule holds true in all other social interactions. So when we are together, it feels like a relief to be able to ask a blunt question, to express a fear or a hope, to joke about mishaps. Without the supervision of a facilitator or an institution with its own agenda, no prescribed watchwords or goals confine our responses to cancer or each other.
Actually, there is another (unspoken) promise, namely that we perform acts of diligent attention when they are needed and without projecting our own watchwords or goals onto others. That means that if Judy must soon decide on whether or not to embark on a chemo-radiation “sandwich,” discussing her situation takes priority. If Alison’s doctor responds to a recurrence with surgery and Diane’s with a drug, we talk about it without formulating categorical rules about better and best. We strive for the condition of consciousness that the Romantic poet John Keats called “negative capability,” the psychological state of residing in “benign uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.” We are as open to Patricia’s belief in healing hands as to Mary’s faith in CTs.
Because of cancer and its treatments, each of us has had to learn how to tolerate the painful confusion of uncertainty — not knowing why the cancer occurred, if or when or where it will recur, whether the treatment is working or how well. Since we don’t know ourselves, we certainly would not presume to judge the decisions or, for that matter, the lifestyles and values of others.
In other regards, of course, people with cancer are as different from each other as people without cancer. We need to make room for one person’s optimism, another’s fatalism. At times it is hard to keep the various case histories in mind. Which one was misdiagnosed for how long? Whose chemo resulted in kidney damage or neuropathies? What works for me might (or might not) work for you, we surmise.
“Can she drink scotch, doctor?” a relative is reported to have asked after a debulking operation. The answer — “If it’s good scotch” — cracks us up.
Sometimes, we take turns reciting our medical tales. Because these events were so traumatic and often complicated, the stories need to be recounted recurrently. Our language may sound less communicative than chirpy: not in the sense of cheerful, but rather like the phatic calls of birds, simply emphasizing that we are still here to do the telling.
This week, one in our group will be absent. To our surprise, we were informed by her friends that she had to undergo emergency surgery. Their e-mail brings to my mind the poet who Keats thought least capable of negative capability, William Wordsworth, and in particular his poem “We Are Seven.” In it, an adult questions a little country girl about her siblings, two of whom lie in the churchyard. If two are dead, he keeps on asking her like a tendentious math teacher, “how many are you?” But she insists, “We are seven.”
Keats may have been wrong about Wordsworth, for the reader’s sympathies reside not with the rational interlocutor but with the inscrutability of the little girl who, within the mysteries of mourning, resists the finality of death.
Even with Judy gone for the next session, we will be seven. I want to think that no matter what happens to any one of us, we will always be seven. The grace of the group provides us a setting in which what is awkward or unspeakable in other contexts can be heard or said. Within it, we can experience, if only briefly, the comfort of being linked to one another.
Susan Gubar is a distinguished emerita professor of English at Indiana University and the author of “Memoir of a Debulked Woman,” which explores her experience with ovarian cancer.
Susan Gubar writes about life with ovarian cancer.
View the original article here
Susan Gubar writes about life with ovarian cancer.
We live in a town that boasts no program or facility to bring us together. Our group happened to happen. Patricia and Mary introduced themselves after a presentation I gave with my oncologist, who is also their doctor. Alison read a notice in the local newspaper and sent me an e-mail asking if we might correspond. Such was the start, as these three contacted three others — Diane, Judy and Sarah — and we began to meet every few weeks in a restaurant or at one of our homes. And oh the difference to me!
The elation of gathering with people who also confront the perplexities of cancer and its treatments has something to do with our being anomalies outside the group — but not inside it. Among my healthy colleagues and friends, I am the one singled out with a lethal disease. Inside the group, though, we are all normal, even though “normal” means dealing with a dire diagnosis and treatments, in the past or the present.During the hour and a half we meet every few weeks, the (unspoken) promise we make involves not discussing our families, jobs, political affiliations, religions, entertainments or anything else except our relationship to cancer and its treatments. This might sound constraining, but for most of us the opposite rule holds true in all other social interactions. So when we are together, it feels like a relief to be able to ask a blunt question, to express a fear or a hope, to joke about mishaps. Without the supervision of a facilitator or an institution with its own agenda, no prescribed watchwords or goals confine our responses to cancer or each other.
Actually, there is another (unspoken) promise, namely that we perform acts of diligent attention when they are needed and without projecting our own watchwords or goals onto others. That means that if Judy must soon decide on whether or not to embark on a chemo-radiation “sandwich,” discussing her situation takes priority. If Alison’s doctor responds to a recurrence with surgery and Diane’s with a drug, we talk about it without formulating categorical rules about better and best. We strive for the condition of consciousness that the Romantic poet John Keats called “negative capability,” the psychological state of residing in “benign uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.” We are as open to Patricia’s belief in healing hands as to Mary’s faith in CTs.
Because of cancer and its treatments, each of us has had to learn how to tolerate the painful confusion of uncertainty — not knowing why the cancer occurred, if or when or where it will recur, whether the treatment is working or how well. Since we don’t know ourselves, we certainly would not presume to judge the decisions or, for that matter, the lifestyles and values of others.
In other regards, of course, people with cancer are as different from each other as people without cancer. We need to make room for one person’s optimism, another’s fatalism. At times it is hard to keep the various case histories in mind. Which one was misdiagnosed for how long? Whose chemo resulted in kidney damage or neuropathies? What works for me might (or might not) work for you, we surmise.
“Can she drink scotch, doctor?” a relative is reported to have asked after a debulking operation. The answer — “If it’s good scotch” — cracks us up.
Sometimes, we take turns reciting our medical tales. Because these events were so traumatic and often complicated, the stories need to be recounted recurrently. Our language may sound less communicative than chirpy: not in the sense of cheerful, but rather like the phatic calls of birds, simply emphasizing that we are still here to do the telling.
This week, one in our group will be absent. To our surprise, we were informed by her friends that she had to undergo emergency surgery. Their e-mail brings to my mind the poet who Keats thought least capable of negative capability, William Wordsworth, and in particular his poem “We Are Seven.” In it, an adult questions a little country girl about her siblings, two of whom lie in the churchyard. If two are dead, he keeps on asking her like a tendentious math teacher, “how many are you?” But she insists, “We are seven.”
Keats may have been wrong about Wordsworth, for the reader’s sympathies reside not with the rational interlocutor but with the inscrutability of the little girl who, within the mysteries of mourning, resists the finality of death.
Even with Judy gone for the next session, we will be seven. I want to think that no matter what happens to any one of us, we will always be seven. The grace of the group provides us a setting in which what is awkward or unspeakable in other contexts can be heard or said. Within it, we can experience, if only briefly, the comfort of being linked to one another.Susan Gubar is a distinguished emerita professor of English at Indiana University and the author of “Memoir of a Debulked Woman,” which explores her experience with ovarian cancer.
Susan Gubar writes about life with ovarian cancer.
View the original article here
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Private health insurance used to be the ticket to a doctor’s appointment. But that’s no longer the case in some affluent metropolitan enclaves, where many physicians no longer accept insurance and require upfront payment from patients — cash, checks and credit cards accepted.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, it’s not unusual for a pregnant woman to pay $13,000 out of pocket in advance for childbirth and prenatal care to a physician who does not participate in any health plan. Some gynecologists are charging $650 for an annual checkup. And for pediatricians who shun insurance, parents on the Upper East Side are shelling out $150 to $250 whenever a child falls or runs a high fever.
Efforts by insurers to rein in health care costs by holding down physician fees — especially for primary care doctors, who play a critical role in health care though they are among the lowest paid doctors — appear to be accelerating the trend, and some patients say it’s getting harder to find an in-network physician.
Orlene Paxson, 33, a stay-at-home mom on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was unable to find an obstetrician she liked who would accept her insurance. Many were not accepting new patients, and one highly recommended doctor did not return her call for five days and did not want to see her until 12 weeks into the pregnancy. It was Mrs. Paxson’s first pregnancy and she did not want to wait, so even though her policy does not cover any out-of-network services, she and her husband chose a doctor who doesn’t take insurance and paid the entire $13,000 fee themselves.
Once their daughter was born 20 months ago, Mrs. Paxson needed a pediatrician but could not find one who was in her plan, accepting new patients and within walking distance. So she again chose an out-of-network doctor.
“We stayed with her for a year and a half because we loved her,” Mrs. Paxson said. At her first scheduled visit after the baby was born, the doctor “talked to me for almost three hours. She knew it was our first baby.”
But three months ago, Mrs. Paxson switched to an in-network pediatrician, largely because of the cost of the vaccines. “They didn’t cover a dime of it,” Mrs. Paxson said of her insurance, adding that she was not complaining. “I made informed decisions.”
Though data on private practices is scanty, a new survey of 13,575 doctors from around the country by The Physicians Foundation found that over the next one to three years, more than 50 percent plan to take steps that reduce patient access to their services, and nearly 7 percent plan to switch to cash-only or concierge practices, in which patients pay an annual fee or retainer in addition to other fees.
When doctors stop taking regular insurance or drop a health plan, patients are free to take their business elsewhere. If they have health plans that cover out-of-network expenses, these patients may be reimbursed for fees they pay in cash, but probably not for the entire sum.
The cash-upfront trend raises an uncomfortable question. Can the Affordable Care Act, intended to widen access to health care, succeed by expanding insurance coverage if primary-care doctors are walking away from insurance?
“If all it means is that doctors who serve the wealthy are figuring out ways to avoid the hassles of insurance, I’m not sure it’s a public policy problem,” said Marsha Gold, a senior fellow at Mathematica Policy Research in Washington and an expert on health care financing. “The real problem comes in if it really restricts the choices people have and makes it worse than it is now. We don’t really have the data to know.”
The country is already facing a shortage of physicians, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. By 2025, the nation will have 100,000 fewer doctors than needed, according to the association. With fewer medical students choosing to go into primary care, shortages in this area are expected to become especially acute.
Physicians are increasingly feeling shortchanged by insurance companies, said Dr. Bob Hughes, an otolaryngologist in Saratoga Springs who is president of the Medical Society of the State of New York. “Insurance companies do not negotiate with physicians. It’s all take-it-or-leave-it contracts,” he said.
A June report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress and focuses primarily on the government plan for seniors, suggests adults ages 50 to 64 are having more trouble getting an appointment with a new physician. Some 30 percent of privately insured individuals who were looking for a new primary care doctor in 2011 reported problems finding one, compared with 26 percent in 2008. (Only 14 percent had a problem finding a specialist in 2011.)
Cash-only practices may exacerbate the access problem. Since her doctor stopped accepting her insurance, Kathryn Vanasek, 43, a mother of two in Manhattan, hasn’t been back for a checkup or preventive screenings, relying on a new walk-in clinic for urgent problems like an ear infection.
Her annual physical would cost at least $250 out of pocket, Ms. Vanasek said, but she would not get any money back from her insurer until she met the deductible.
“You are making a decision between preventive medicine and reactive medicine,” she said.
If you choose to see a physician who will not accept insurance, experts advise a few precautions:
¶Read the fine print on your health insurance policy. Though many plans provide out-of-network coverage, the reimbursement may cover only a fraction of your costs.
¶Try to estimate your out-of-pocket costs in advance so you can pay the physician with money saved in a flexible spending account, which is sheltered from taxes.
¶Ask yourself whether you really must see a doctor who does not take insurance. Is the care really better? Ask acquaintances outside your regular circle for references. If you are willing to travel, you may find a highly recommended physician who takes your insurance.
¶Keep track of your expenses and receipts, file out-of-network claims promptly and keep copies for yourself. Call your insurer to follow up; it is not unusual for an insurance company to lose paperwork.
¶Watch for expenses that will not be reimbursed. Children’s vaccines, for instance, may not be reimbursed even if you have out-of-network coverage. The global fee quoted by an obstetrician for childbirth should encompass all care required unless you have complications, need to see another specialist or require a last-minute Caesarean section.
¶Doctors who don’t take insurance are likely to refer to others who don’t. Make every effort to ensure that expensive services, such as hospitalizations and surgery, are with network providers and that you have the required approvals from your insurer.
The rising costs of the U.S. health care system.
View the original article here
[ Read More ]
When Doctors Stop Taking Insurance
Private health insurance used to be the ticket to a doctor’s appointment. But that’s no longer the case in some affluent metropolitan enclaves, where many physicians no longer accept insurance and require upfront payment from patients — cash, checks and credit cards accepted.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, it’s not unusual for a pregnant woman to pay $13,000 out of pocket in advance for childbirth and prenatal care to a physician who does not participate in any health plan. Some gynecologists are charging $650 for an annual checkup. And for pediatricians who shun insurance, parents on the Upper East Side are shelling out $150 to $250 whenever a child falls or runs a high fever.
Efforts by insurers to rein in health care costs by holding down physician fees — especially for primary care doctors, who play a critical role in health care though they are among the lowest paid doctors — appear to be accelerating the trend, and some patients say it’s getting harder to find an in-network physician.
Orlene Paxson, 33, a stay-at-home mom on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was unable to find an obstetrician she liked who would accept her insurance. Many were not accepting new patients, and one highly recommended doctor did not return her call for five days and did not want to see her until 12 weeks into the pregnancy. It was Mrs. Paxson’s first pregnancy and she did not want to wait, so even though her policy does not cover any out-of-network services, she and her husband chose a doctor who doesn’t take insurance and paid the entire $13,000 fee themselves.
Once their daughter was born 20 months ago, Mrs. Paxson needed a pediatrician but could not find one who was in her plan, accepting new patients and within walking distance. So she again chose an out-of-network doctor.
“We stayed with her for a year and a half because we loved her,” Mrs. Paxson said. At her first scheduled visit after the baby was born, the doctor “talked to me for almost three hours. She knew it was our first baby.”
But three months ago, Mrs. Paxson switched to an in-network pediatrician, largely because of the cost of the vaccines. “They didn’t cover a dime of it,” Mrs. Paxson said of her insurance, adding that she was not complaining. “I made informed decisions.”
Though data on private practices is scanty, a new survey of 13,575 doctors from around the country by The Physicians Foundation found that over the next one to three years, more than 50 percent plan to take steps that reduce patient access to their services, and nearly 7 percent plan to switch to cash-only or concierge practices, in which patients pay an annual fee or retainer in addition to other fees.
When doctors stop taking regular insurance or drop a health plan, patients are free to take their business elsewhere. If they have health plans that cover out-of-network expenses, these patients may be reimbursed for fees they pay in cash, but probably not for the entire sum.
The cash-upfront trend raises an uncomfortable question. Can the Affordable Care Act, intended to widen access to health care, succeed by expanding insurance coverage if primary-care doctors are walking away from insurance?
“If all it means is that doctors who serve the wealthy are figuring out ways to avoid the hassles of insurance, I’m not sure it’s a public policy problem,” said Marsha Gold, a senior fellow at Mathematica Policy Research in Washington and an expert on health care financing. “The real problem comes in if it really restricts the choices people have and makes it worse than it is now. We don’t really have the data to know.”
The country is already facing a shortage of physicians, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. By 2025, the nation will have 100,000 fewer doctors than needed, according to the association. With fewer medical students choosing to go into primary care, shortages in this area are expected to become especially acute.
Physicians are increasingly feeling shortchanged by insurance companies, said Dr. Bob Hughes, an otolaryngologist in Saratoga Springs who is president of the Medical Society of the State of New York. “Insurance companies do not negotiate with physicians. It’s all take-it-or-leave-it contracts,” he said.
A June report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress and focuses primarily on the government plan for seniors, suggests adults ages 50 to 64 are having more trouble getting an appointment with a new physician. Some 30 percent of privately insured individuals who were looking for a new primary care doctor in 2011 reported problems finding one, compared with 26 percent in 2008. (Only 14 percent had a problem finding a specialist in 2011.)
Cash-only practices may exacerbate the access problem. Since her doctor stopped accepting her insurance, Kathryn Vanasek, 43, a mother of two in Manhattan, hasn’t been back for a checkup or preventive screenings, relying on a new walk-in clinic for urgent problems like an ear infection.
Her annual physical would cost at least $250 out of pocket, Ms. Vanasek said, but she would not get any money back from her insurer until she met the deductible.
“You are making a decision between preventive medicine and reactive medicine,” she said.
If you choose to see a physician who will not accept insurance, experts advise a few precautions:
¶Read the fine print on your health insurance policy. Though many plans provide out-of-network coverage, the reimbursement may cover only a fraction of your costs.
¶Try to estimate your out-of-pocket costs in advance so you can pay the physician with money saved in a flexible spending account, which is sheltered from taxes.
¶Ask yourself whether you really must see a doctor who does not take insurance. Is the care really better? Ask acquaintances outside your regular circle for references. If you are willing to travel, you may find a highly recommended physician who takes your insurance.
¶Keep track of your expenses and receipts, file out-of-network claims promptly and keep copies for yourself. Call your insurer to follow up; it is not unusual for an insurance company to lose paperwork.
¶Watch for expenses that will not be reimbursed. Children’s vaccines, for instance, may not be reimbursed even if you have out-of-network coverage. The global fee quoted by an obstetrician for childbirth should encompass all care required unless you have complications, need to see another specialist or require a last-minute Caesarean section.
¶Doctors who don’t take insurance are likely to refer to others who don’t. Make every effort to ensure that expensive services, such as hospitalizations and surgery, are with network providers and that you have the required approvals from your insurer.
The rising costs of the U.S. health care system.
View the original article here
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
NETZERO 4G MOBILE BROADBAND GIVES AWAY FREE WIRELESS DATA TO PARTICIPATING FACEBOOK® MEMBERS
NetZero 4G Data Share Program Gives Each Participant One Gigabyte of Free Wireless Data To Give Away To Friends Via New Facebook App
Woodland Hills, Calif. – October 9, 2012 – NetZero Wireless, Inc., a subsidiary of United Online, Inc. (NASDAQ: UNTD), today announced the launch of the NetZero 4G Data Share program. Through this new program, any of Facebook's® hundreds of millions of users can sign up at www.netzero.net/datashare and receive one free gigabyte of wireless data per month to give away to their friends via Facebook. All of the free wireless data that is given away can be claimed by the Facebook member's friends through the NetZero 4G Data Share app and can be used by NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband subscribers with any data plan, including the 200MB/month free plan.
"With the launch of this innovative program, we are remaining true to our commitment to
bridge the digital divide and bring the power of the Internet to more Americans," said Rusty
Taragan, President of NetZero Wireless. "This program has the potential to deliver an
enormous amount of free data at 4G speed to NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband subscribers to use online without being tethered to a home Internet or public Wi-Fi connection. Through this program, Facebook's hundreds of millions of members will have the opportunity to give away a significant amount of free data to their friends, claim free data from other program members, and, if they become a NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband subscriber (even those who choose to sign up for our free service), use the data to access the Internet wirelessly anywhere within our network."
NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband launched in March, 2012 as a secure, mobile, super-fast 4G
Internet service for laptops, iPads® and other tablets, and netbooks. Unlike public Wi-Fi, where personal information may be exposed to hackers and data thieves, NetZero 4G Mobile
Broadband delivers a private, protected Internet connection. NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband
subscribers are not required to sign a contract, can join on a month-to-month basis, can cancel at any time, and can upgrade their data plan at will without facing overage charges. New subscribers can also try the service for free for up to a year with the purchase of one of the two NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband devices: the NetZero 4G Stick or the NetZero 4G Hotspot. Each plan delivers 4G mobile broadband service with very fast download speeds of up to 10Mbps and upload speeds of up to 1.5Mbps.
NetZero 4G Data Share Program Details:
* Who can participate?
o Anyone with an active Facebook account can join the program and share data or claim data from their friends. To use the data, participants must sign up for any NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband data plan (including the FREE 200MB/month plan) and purchase either the NetZero 4G Stick or the NetZero 4G Hotspot connection device.
* Signing up:
o Facebook members can sign up for the NetZero 4G Data Share program at www.netzero.com/datashare.
* How does it work?
o When a Facebook member signs up for the program, the app creates a Data Share bank for that participant.
o Every month, NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband gives each participant one gigabyte of wireless data and posts a status update on their wall inviting friends to claim the data.
o When friends click on the status update, they are invited to join the program. The app walks them through the data claiming process, creates a Data Share bank for them, deposits 200 megabytes of data into the bank, and gives them one gigabyte of free data to in turn share with their friends.
o Each NetZero 4G Data Share participant can claim 200 megabytes of data per month from up to five friends, and if they are NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband subscribers, use it with their NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband data plan. There are five NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband data plans to choose from:
* Free: 200MB/month
* Basic: $9.95 for 500 MB/month
* Plus: $19.95 for 1GB/month
* Pro: $34.95 for 2GB/month
* Platinum: $49.95 for 4GB/month
Each data plan works with both the NetZero 4G Stick or the NetZero 4G Hotspot connection
device. Through the month of October, new customers can purchase the NetZero 4G Stick for $24.98 (regularly $49.95) and the NetZero 4G Hotspot for $49.98 (regularly $99.95). The NetZero 4G Stick is designed for those who use a laptop, notebook computer or a netbook. The NetZero 4G Hotspot allows up to 8 devices to be connected simultaneously and is designed to connect iPads® and other tablets, smartphones, laptops, notebooks and netbooks, as well.
View the original article here
[ Read More ]
New AMD Z-Series APU for Tablets Enables Immersive Experience for Upcoming Microsoft Windows 8 Platforms
-Uncompromised Performance and Amazing AMD Radeon Graphics Set the Bar for Highly Portable and Tablet Form Factors -
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Oct. 9, 2012- AMD (NYSE: AMD) announced its latest entry in the performance tablet and small form factor PC market with the AMD Z-60 Accelerated Processing Unit (APU). The AMD Z-60 is AMD's lowest power APU, delivering unprecedented performance and AMD AllDayTM power for tablet form factors as thin as 10mm. A compelling combination of features, stunning graphics, support for the latest Microsoft Windows® 8 applications and user interfaces, as well as compatibility with Windows® 7 and the full-suite of legacy Windows applications, makes the AMD Z-60 APU an ideal solution for a range of designs.
The first tablets based on the AMD Z-60 APU are expected to launch globally this year in conjunction with availability of Windows 8.
"Tablet users seeking an uncompromised experience for both creating and consuming content on the Microsoft Windows 8 platform now have a performance-driven, affordable option with the AMD Z-60 APU," said Steve Belt, corporate vice president of Ultra-Low Power Products, AMD. "We see a large gap between the lower performance and high-price competitive offerings that allow AMD to be in tablet designs that will please our customers and end users alike."
The AMD Z-60 APU comes loaded with features designed to enhance the tablet experience, including AMD Start Now technology that allows fast boot and resume from sleep times1, up to eight hours of battery life while Web browsing, and up to six hours of HD video playback2. Just as impressive is the stunning visual quality delivered by the AMD RadeonTM graphics on the APU, with support for full HD 1080p resolution, HDMI output for external displays, and impressive gaming performance with Microsoft Direct X®11 capability.
Tablets with AMD APUs can also leverage the AMD AppZone, a one-stop resource for accessing popular applications that can take advantage of the full compute capability of the processor.
Availability
The AMD Z-60 APU is shipping today to customers that are expected to launch systems later this year.
View the original article here
[ Read More ]
NetZero gives subscribers free data to share through Facebook, doles out friendship 1GB at a time
NetZero 4G Data Share Program Gives Each Participant One Gigabyte of Free Wireless Data To Give Away To Friends Via New Facebook App
Woodland Hills, Calif. – October 9, 2012 – NetZero Wireless, Inc., a subsidiary of United Online, Inc. (NASDAQ: UNTD), today announced the launch of the NetZero 4G Data Share program. Through this new program, any of Facebook's® hundreds of millions of users can sign up at www.netzero.net/datashare and receive one free gigabyte of wireless data per month to give away to their friends via Facebook. All of the free wireless data that is given away can be claimed by the Facebook member's friends through the NetZero 4G Data Share app and can be used by NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband subscribers with any data plan, including the 200MB/month free plan.
"With the launch of this innovative program, we are remaining true to our commitment to
bridge the digital divide and bring the power of the Internet to more Americans," said Rusty
Taragan, President of NetZero Wireless. "This program has the potential to deliver an
enormous amount of free data at 4G speed to NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband subscribers to use online without being tethered to a home Internet or public Wi-Fi connection. Through this program, Facebook's hundreds of millions of members will have the opportunity to give away a significant amount of free data to their friends, claim free data from other program members, and, if they become a NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband subscriber (even those who choose to sign up for our free service), use the data to access the Internet wirelessly anywhere within our network."
NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband launched in March, 2012 as a secure, mobile, super-fast 4G
Internet service for laptops, iPads® and other tablets, and netbooks. Unlike public Wi-Fi, where personal information may be exposed to hackers and data thieves, NetZero 4G Mobile
Broadband delivers a private, protected Internet connection. NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband
subscribers are not required to sign a contract, can join on a month-to-month basis, can cancel at any time, and can upgrade their data plan at will without facing overage charges. New subscribers can also try the service for free for up to a year with the purchase of one of the two NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband devices: the NetZero 4G Stick or the NetZero 4G Hotspot. Each plan delivers 4G mobile broadband service with very fast download speeds of up to 10Mbps and upload speeds of up to 1.5Mbps.
NetZero 4G Data Share Program Details:
* Who can participate?
o Anyone with an active Facebook account can join the program and share data or claim data from their friends. To use the data, participants must sign up for any NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband data plan (including the FREE 200MB/month plan) and purchase either the NetZero 4G Stick or the NetZero 4G Hotspot connection device.
* Signing up:
o Facebook members can sign up for the NetZero 4G Data Share program at www.netzero.com/datashare.
* How does it work?
o When a Facebook member signs up for the program, the app creates a Data Share bank for that participant.
o Every month, NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband gives each participant one gigabyte of wireless data and posts a status update on their wall inviting friends to claim the data.
o When friends click on the status update, they are invited to join the program. The app walks them through the data claiming process, creates a Data Share bank for them, deposits 200 megabytes of data into the bank, and gives them one gigabyte of free data to in turn share with their friends.
o Each NetZero 4G Data Share participant can claim 200 megabytes of data per month from up to five friends, and if they are NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband subscribers, use it with their NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband data plan. There are five NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband data plans to choose from:
* Free: 200MB/month
* Basic: $9.95 for 500 MB/month
* Plus: $19.95 for 1GB/month
* Pro: $34.95 for 2GB/month
* Platinum: $49.95 for 4GB/month
Each data plan works with both the NetZero 4G Stick or the NetZero 4G Hotspot connection
device. Through the month of October, new customers can purchase the NetZero 4G Stick for $24.98 (regularly $49.95) and the NetZero 4G Hotspot for $49.98 (regularly $99.95). The NetZero 4G Stick is designed for those who use a laptop, notebook computer or a netbook. The NetZero 4G Hotspot allows up to 8 devices to be connected simultaneously and is designed to connect iPads® and other tablets, smartphones, laptops, notebooks and netbooks, as well.
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AMD enters Windows 8 tablet fray with Z-60 chip: 'all-day' battery life, graphics 'you would never expect'
New AMD Z-Series APU for Tablets Enables Immersive Experience for Upcoming Microsoft Windows 8 Platforms
-Uncompromised Performance and Amazing AMD Radeon Graphics Set the Bar for Highly Portable and Tablet Form Factors -
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Oct. 9, 2012- AMD (NYSE: AMD) announced its latest entry in the performance tablet and small form factor PC market with the AMD Z-60 Accelerated Processing Unit (APU). The AMD Z-60 is AMD's lowest power APU, delivering unprecedented performance and AMD AllDayTM power for tablet form factors as thin as 10mm. A compelling combination of features, stunning graphics, support for the latest Microsoft Windows® 8 applications and user interfaces, as well as compatibility with Windows® 7 and the full-suite of legacy Windows applications, makes the AMD Z-60 APU an ideal solution for a range of designs.
The first tablets based on the AMD Z-60 APU are expected to launch globally this year in conjunction with availability of Windows 8.
"Tablet users seeking an uncompromised experience for both creating and consuming content on the Microsoft Windows 8 platform now have a performance-driven, affordable option with the AMD Z-60 APU," said Steve Belt, corporate vice president of Ultra-Low Power Products, AMD. "We see a large gap between the lower performance and high-price competitive offerings that allow AMD to be in tablet designs that will please our customers and end users alike."
The AMD Z-60 APU comes loaded with features designed to enhance the tablet experience, including AMD Start Now technology that allows fast boot and resume from sleep times1, up to eight hours of battery life while Web browsing, and up to six hours of HD video playback2. Just as impressive is the stunning visual quality delivered by the AMD RadeonTM graphics on the APU, with support for full HD 1080p resolution, HDMI output for external displays, and impressive gaming performance with Microsoft Direct X®11 capability.
Tablets with AMD APUs can also leverage the AMD AppZone, a one-stop resource for accessing popular applications that can take advantage of the full compute capability of the processor.
Availability
The AMD Z-60 APU is shipping today to customers that are expected to launch systems later this year.
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