Saturday, 1 March 2014

Philip Seymour Hoffman 'killed by toxic mix of drugs'

Hoffman, shown in 2006 after winning a Golden Globe award for his role in Capote, had struggled with addiction
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died of an accidental overdose of a mixture of drugs including heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, and benzodiazepine, officials have said.

The Oscar winner, 46, was found dead at his home in New York City on 2 February with a syringe in his arm.

He had struggled with drug addiction and had recently acknowledged he had relapsed after being clean for years.

The New York medical examiner revealed the post-mortem results on Friday.

He was survived by his partner of 15 years, Mimi O'Donnell, and their three children.

After 23 years of sobriety, he reportedly checked himself into a drug treatment programme for 10 days last year after relapsing in 2012.

After a playwright and friend found his body in his flat in Manhattan's Greenwich Village neighbourhood, police arrived and discovered dozens of bags of heroin.

One of the most admired actors of his generation, Hoffman won an Academy Award in 2006 for his role as Truman Capote in Capote.

He was also nominated for Charlie Wilson's War, Doubt and The Master.
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Google Rank 3rd in World's Most Admired Companies

Google 3rd

Top 50 rank: 3
Rank in Internet Services and Retailing: 1
(Previous rank: 1)
Overall score: 8.07
Ticker:GOOG

Why it's admired:
Though it dropped a spot to Amazon.com this year, Google continues to find ways to make life easier (sometimes creepily so) via mind-blowing Internet products. It also seeks to blow minds with its innovative "moonshot projects," like the production of driverless cars. Google, which saw revenues climb 22% in 2013, acquired among other things, a handful of robotics companies and Nest, the smart thermostat company last year. --E.F.

Headquarters:
Mountain View, CA
Website: www.google.com
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Top50 World's Most Admired Companies

Amazon.com. 2nd

Top 50 rank: 2
Rank in Internet Services and Retailing: 2
(Previous rank: 2)
Overall score: 7.09
Ticker:AMZN

Why it's admired:
The e-commerce behemoth may be gobbling up brick and mortar businesses left and right, but Amazon.com's customer-centric culture and super-convenience has won the company millions of shoppers worldwide. And Amazon's ambitions show no signs of abating: it recently jumped into the art market, and has started producing video, music, and literary content. Revenues are impressive, but the Street is growing impatient for Amazon to post big profits. --E.F.

Headquarters:
Seattle, WA
Website: www.amazon.com
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World's Most Admired Companies

Apple 1st
Top 50 rank: 1
Rank in Computers: 1
(Previous rank: 1)
Overall score: 7.94
Ticker:AAPL

Why it's admired:
The iconic tech company known for the iPhone and other stylish and user-friendly products is back in the top spot on this year's list, for the seventh year in a row. Apple, the most valuable brand on the planet according to Interbrand, brought in $171 billion in revenues in FY2013 and is flush with cash, but fan boys and girls (not to mention the market) are getting antsy to see its next big product. Bets are on a smartwatch or AppleTV, but the company is also reportedly turning its attention to cars and medical devices. -- Erika Fry

Headquarters:
Cupertino, CA
Website: www.apple.com
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Trends from the world's biggest mobile show

Mobile World Congress spans the full spectrum of untethered gadgetry, from the next generation of mobile phone networks to wireless charging technology.


But it's always the consumer technology that's the star. We asked Stuff Magazine Editor-in-Chief Will Findlater to analyze the top trends from the show.

Trend 1: Getting the whole world connnected

Mark Zuckerberg used his keynote address to wax lyrical about Internet.org, "a global partnership dedicated to making internet access available to the two-thirds of the world not yet connected."

By striking deals with telecommunications companies in emerging markets, Internet.org plans to get basic web services - weather reports, Wikipedia, messaging and Facebook (naturally,) to people at no cost, in the hope that it will inspire them to explore the rest of the web and reap the benefits that it can provide. And there was plenty of hardware at MWC that should help along the way.

Given the deep relationship with Microsoft, many were surprised to see Nokia's mobile division adopt Android for its new devices, but Android is a platform more suited to the emerging markets at which these three devices are aimed. The X series lacks superstar specifications but do feature dual SIM slots, expandable memory and swappable cases, all of which Nokia's Windows Phone devices lack, and all of which it says the developing world wants.

Mozilla's Firefox OS might not be making huge waves in the developed world, but it could be the platform that helps spread smartphone use through emerging markets.

Key could be the Flame, a handset that costs next to nothing yet features all the traits of a smartphone: Firefox OS, a dual-core processor, 3G, Wi-Fi and a 4.5in touchscreen. It can run a selection of HTML5 apps and will cost just U.S. $25.

Mozilla suggests that people think of the Flame as a more powerful feature phone than a full-on smartphone, but as Firefox OS expands there will be access to more and more apps.
Trend 2: Wellness and wearables
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1 THING TO KEEP IN MIND FOR LONG-DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS

At some point in our lives, we may run into the issue of long-distance relationships. But don't let the distance tear you apart! There are ways to help your long-distance relationships thrive and keep them strong. Here are some great tips to keep in mind:

1. TRUST ...

The number one thing you have to make sure you have in long-distance relationships is TRUST. This little five letter word has such an impact on a relationship, regardless of distance. If you don't have trust, you really have nothing. You will constantly be worrying yourself with pointless "what ifs" and forget the bigger, more important things.
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7 CLEAR SIGNS THAT HE LOVES SPENDING TIME WITH YOU ...PHOTO CREDIT

When you're in a relationship or good friends with your crush, it can be easy to look past the signs that he loves spending time with you. We tend to jump to the worst case scenario. We worry that even though we're having a good time, the person that we're with is miserable. If you're paranoid, here are signs that he loves spending time with you:

1. MAKES THE EFFORT

If he voluntarily tries to make plans with you, he wants to see you. He wouldn't ask you to hang out if he wants nothing to do with you. One of the signs that he loves spending time with you is that he asks you to hang out, or clears his schedule when you ask him to hang out. Chances are that he leads a busy life. If he finds the time to be with you, he cares.

2. SAYS SO

If he says that he enjoys hanging out with you, take him for his word. Why would he lie? It takes a lot for someone to admit that they care about another person. If he says that he misses you when you're not around, don't doubt him.

3. INVOLVED WITH FRIENDS

If he asks you to meet his friends, he wants to show you off. You wouldn't invite someone you dislike to meet your best pals, would you? If he wants you to meet his buddies, he thinks that you'll all have a good time together. A group gathering is a great sign that he loves having you around.

4. KEEPS IN CONTACT

When you haven't seen him for a few days, he texts or calls you. He doesn't like being apart from you, so he finds a way to contact you. This means that he likes having you in his life. If he didn't want you around, it would be easy for him to push his phone aside. However, he's contacting you, because he can't stand spending his days without you.

5. LOTS OF LAUGHTER

If the time you spend together is full of laughter, he obviously enjoys hanging out with you. Some people like long, deep conversations and others prefer moments of silence. However, there's not one person who doesn't like laughter. If you never run out of things to joke about, he'll never get tired of being around you.

6. BRAGS ABOUT YOU

He could easily keep your time spent together a secret. So if he tells all of his friends about your outing, it must've gone well. No one brags about their horrible night. If he's always mentioning you in conversations to his friends, he likes you. He's more than happy to spend as much time with you as possible.

7. NEVER CANCELS

Once in a while, it's okay for him to cancel on you. Things are bound to come up that he won't be able to escape. However, if he typically never cancels your plans, he's excited to see you. There are hundreds of excuses he could use for avoiding you. If he doesn't use them, he wants to see you as much as you want to see him.

It's natural to worry about not being wanted, but chances are that your crush loves being around you. Is there a guy in your life that you absolutely love spending time with? Is he your boyfriend or just a close pal?
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