Today's Top Headlines: May 15, 2012

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

"Nakationers" are convening in Las Vegas to discuss all things naked and vacations; Henry Kissinger was treated like the rest of us at the TSA (but they forgot he won the Nobel Peace Prize); Paramount Pictures wants to open a bunch of hotels with movie themes; the TSA is showing a gaping hole in tracking and correcting security issues; and Oceana Cruises broke an enormous (seriously, like more than 250 lbs.) bottle of Champagne to christen its new ship. Here's the news we're poring over this morning.

Las Vegas hosts convention for naked vacations.

Las Vegas is no stranger to naked people or conventions. And so it is that on June 1 and 2, naked vacationers ("nakationers") are convening in Las Vegas for the "Nudist Clubhouse Nudist Expo 2012" where they'll discuss nudist resorts, travel agents that specialize in nakations, nude cruises, and more. A day-pass is $20 and while clothes are required inside the convention, the nightly pool parties will be largely fabric-free. {USA Today}

Henry Kissinger gets airport pat-down.

Even Kissinger is not safe. At New York's LaGuardia Airport last Friday, Henry Kissinger was given a full on pat-down by the TSA despite, you know, serving under two presidents and winning a Nobel Peace Prize. Kissinger was in a wheelchair because of the long walk to his gate, and an eyewitness told ABC News that "None of the agents seemed to know who he was." He was reportedly heading to Toronto. {ABC News}

Paramount proposing more movie-themed hotels.

Themed hotels run the gamut, but they tend to border on (or fully live in) pretty kitschy, corny territory. But Paramount Pictures is talking about launching Paramount Hotels and Resorts, which would roll out properties in Brazil, the Caribbean, Russia, Qatar, Oman, South Africa, Indonesia, and the UK. They would be inspired by Paramount films, and each will feature mini-theaters for guests. {HotelChatter}

Report shows 'gaping hole' in airport security measures.

New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg requested an investigation last year into the security measures at Newark Liberty Airport after a series of breaches. The results were recently released, showing that the TSA does a "poor job of centrally tracking security breaches." The TSA reportedly only took action on 42% of breaches at Newark in a little more than a year as a result of no working, central mechanism for gathering and correcting larger security issues. {MSNBC}

Oceana Cruises christens new ship with enormous bottle of Champagne.

Oceana Cruises christened a new ship in Barcelona yesterday, with U.S. restaurateur Cat Cora on hand to help celebrate. It is set to depart on a maiden 10-day voyage, stopping in 20 ports of call from France to Greece to Montenegro to Morocco. But our favorite part of this story? They christened it with a nearly 4 gallon Nebuchadnezzar of Veuve Clicquot Champagne weighing more than 250 lbs. {Travel Weekly}

Photo credits: Paramount Pictures via Gerry Boughan/Shutterstock; Cruise Ship via Shutterstock

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Today's Top Headlines: May 16, 2012

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Military families are getting free annual passes to the country's national parks; you're probably going to buy a Space Shuttle food truck soon; Cathay Pacific brings luxe and comfort to Premium Economy; an elderly couple gets kicked off a cruise for playing hooky during a safety briefing; and a Florence hotel collection wants to help you make new friends. Here's what we're perusing this morning.

Military families can go to National Parks for free.

It was announced Tuesday that an annual pass, called the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Annual Pass and valued at $80, will be made available to members of the military and their families for free in an effort to thank them for their service. It will give them access to more than 2,000 national parks and wildlife refuges. {MSNBC}

It's high time you bought a Space Shuttle food truck.

Been wondering what to do with that extra $150,000 you've got laying around? Well, you're welcome because we figured it out. On sale now on eBay is a "Space Shuttle Café," which is a DC3 airplane that supposedly flew in World War II before being converted for street use in the '70s with a totally tricked out kitchen. {Eater}

Cathay Pacific unveils new Premium Economy cabin.

Cathay Pacific recently unveiled their newly redesigned Premium Economy class cabin complete with wider seats and deeper reclines. Jaunted took a look, reporting that on top of the expected upgrades, the cabin also offers noise-cancelling headphones, larger armrests, a cocktail table and larger meal table, USB port, eco-friendly amenity kit, full-sized water bottles, better meal options, and much, much more. {Jaunted}

Elderly cruisers kicked off Seabourn ship.

After refusing to participate in the mandatory safety briefing aboard the Seabourn Sojourn this week, an 80-year-old woman and her 90-year-old husband were kicked off the ship. They were on the second leg of a three leg journey when the woman said she didn't feel well, sending her husband to attend the briefing that they'd already participated in on the first leg of the trip. {USA Today}

Florence hotels taking on new social media initiatives.

The Lungarno Collection in Florence, an uber-luxe boutique hotel collection with just four properties in Florence, Italy, is the latest hotel to adopt the LobbyFriend social media and guide app. It not only offers the chance to get to know fellow hotel guests, but is a guide to what's going on around the hotel and the city. The Lungarno Collection told HotelChatter, it "a useful tool to ensure that guests never miss out on any activities or shows, whether it's a wine tasting event at Borgo San Jacopo or an opening of the new art exhibit at GALLERY Hotel Art." The app debuted last month at New York's TRYP Hotel. {HotelChatter}

Photo credits: Florence via Shutterstock; Yosemite via Shutterstock

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OEM Software - Today's Phenomenon

Specialists in the IT sphere as well as other people are always potential clients of any software manufacturer. Engineers, accountants, architects, designers, programmers, people who start home-business and other specialists in any sphere today use a computer. But the hardware is not enough in order to work on a PC or Mac. People need software but only a minority can afford buying full versions together with necessary plugins and add-ons. Great if you work in a corporation on in a firm where "everything [software tools] is already installed". But where is an exit from the situation when you have to buy, say, Windows XP or Mac OS, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop and other? Away with questions - let's look through possible variants of solving this issue:
1) Buy any software you need directly from a manufacturer;
2) use trial versions of a brand-name company software limited in functionality;
3) try to find a similar software tool at a less famous manufacturer;
4) download pirated software from "underground" hacker-sites (illegal);
5) download cheap OEM software from manufacturers' affiliates or third-party suppliers.
The first option requires a "fat purse" of a client. Ideally in order to operate a PC or Mac, to make presentations, write and send letters, watch films, burn data CD's, listen to music and so on you need to spend thousands of dollars even if you limit yourself in your desires as well as the functions of your computer. A license even for your operating system costs more than 500$. Are you able to afford this? Yes? Then go on and enjoy fully functional brand-name software, receive free periodical updates, get a discount for a later version and receive technical and software support.
Trial versions of software from the great manufacturers like Adobe, Microsoft, Corel and other are available for download free of charge. Though you get a limited functionality and a trial period of working (from 15 till 60 days from the 1st launch), you may then decide whether you really need these programs or not. Trial software is demo programs - no great difference.
The third option is also a possible variant if you say "No" to the first two. Some software tools have open sources and any firm can make their own "brand" and money by a transformation of it. Such software is cheaper than from "the giants" of software development. But the functions are few and the new versions of software come out very rare.
It's not a secret to anyone anymore that in the Internet you can find everything... This applies even to high cost brand software - you can get it for free! together with viruses, trojans and other harmful programs. Moreover, this is illegal and be ready then to dreadful consequences.
Consider one more option - OEM software. First of all, what is "OEM software"? OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer. In general it is 100% fully functional software. But it lacks manuals, promo-discs and bulk-boxes. Consider if you really need them. It may lack live support as well as registration from a manufacturer because the license for this software has "already expired of wasn't intended for second-hand buyers". So, you may conclude that firms that sell OEM software get it from other sources, not directly from a manufacturer. But where does it come from? Well, for instance, OEM software comes from auctions, from special resellers of older versions of software, from other users who do not need this software anymore. That is why it is so cheap. Sometimes the price for OEM software is no more than 5-10% of a nominal manufacturer's price. And at the same time you may be sure that it is really LEGAL though you can't register it anymore and receive updates, but for such a low sum - it is really marvelous.
Many people sometimes do not believe in legal OEM software and they have grounds for it: some web-sites that are selling software products name them OEM but in reality they are selling pirated non-working software or trial versions that you may get for free. Beware of such firms!