Current Events in May 2013

Few things strike more fear into the heart than being told that your computer is riddled with viruses, spyware and other malware. Your first impulse is to get the problem fixed and that's where the scammers come in.

Mikael Marczak, doing business as Virtual PC Solutions, and Sanjay Agarwalla were accused of posing as major computer security and manufacturing companies to deceive consumers that their computers had the problems mentioned above.

Complaints filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) contend the two were not actually affiliated with major computer security or manufacturing companies and they had not detected viruses, spyware or other security or performance issues on the consumers’ computers.

As part of the scheme, the defendants charged consumers hundreds of dollars to remotely access and “fix” their computers.

Settling charges

As part of the agreement to settle the FTC charges, Agarwalla and Marczak are prohibited from advertising, marketing, promoting, offering for sale or selling any computer security or computer related technical support service and from assisting others in doing so. The final order against Agarwalla requires him to pay $3,000 -- the total amount of funds he received for his role in the alleged scam operation.

While the stipulated final orders announced today resolve the FTC’s claims against Agarwalla, Marczak and Conquest Audit, litigation continues against the remaining defendants in each of these actions.

A separate scheme

Additionally, as part of its investigation into one of the schemes operated by Marczak, FTC staff discovered he was also telemarketing a debt relief program that the agency claimed violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule. These alleged violations were added, along with an additional defendant, Marczak’s corporation Conquest Audit, to the complaint against him in April.

In that settlement, Marczak and Conquest Audit are prohibited from marketing or selling debt relief services and were assessed a $984,721 judgment, which is the total amount of money lost by consumers in the scams.

Although the judgment will be stayed due to their inability to pay the full amount, Marczak and Conquest Audit will surrender almost all of their existing assets.  

Powell Company of Culver City, Calif., is recalling about 6,300 Anywhere Lounger bean bag chairs.

Bean bag chairs without a permanent zipper closure allow young children to unzip them and ingest or inhale the small beads inside of the bean bag chair, posing a suffocation and strangulation hazard. No incidents or injuries have been reported.

The recalled Anywhere Lounger bean bag chairs are 100% polyester or 100% cotton and measure about 51 inches in height with a 43 inch wide base. Recalled colors include purple (item 199-B004), chocolate (item 199-B005), bayou blue (item 199-B006), pink (item 199-B007), lime green (item 199-B008), denim (item 199-B009), black and white (item 199-B012), striped black and white (item 199-B014), natural (item 199-B016) and camo (item 199-B017). The item number is printed on the product packaging and Powell Company is printed on the label on the bean bag chairs.

The chairs, manufactured in China, were sold at furniture stores nationwide including W.S. Badcock, Value City Furniture, Nebraska Furniture Mart and online at www.Groupon.com from June 2012 to February 2013 for about $100.

Consumers should immediately take the Anywhere Lounger away from young children, inspect the bean bag chair to see if the exterior zipper can be opened. If it can, contact Powell Company to receive a free Safety Enhancement Repair Kit.

Consumers with questions should contact Powell Company at (800) 622-4456 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT.

Security experts are constantly telling us that we should have some kind of software protection for our mobile devices. Hackers and scammers are increasingly targeting the mobile world because it's a huge and growing target and it's mostly unprotected.

Fortunately there's a wide range of security software and apps that can provide protection and peace of mind, usually for less than what you pay to protect your PC. Here are a few products to consider if you are concerned about the security of your mobile device.

BullGuard Mobile Security

BullGuard Mobile Security 10 runs on Android, Symbian, Blackberry and Windows Mobile phones. In addition to providing antivirus protection, BullGuard scans all your apps, filters spam, blocks malicious code and offers a SIM card lock.

When you open an online account you have the ability to back up your smartphone data as well as lock and wipe your phone remotely, should it be lost or stolen. With a remote wipe, all you have to do is go to your PC, access your remote wipe settings and wipe. The software will access your phone and return the device to its factory settings, erasing your personal information and data.

BullGuard Mobile Security 10 costs around $21 and, while it doesn't provide protection for the iPhone, another product – Lookout Premium – does.

Lookout Premium

It offers a robust antivirus protection, scans apps, filters annoying spam, is able to lock the SIM Card and blocks malicious code. If you misplace your phone you can activate an alarm that will help you located the device or see its location using GPS.

If you suspect it has been stolen you can wipe the data using your PC and erase the data saved on the device. It allows you to back up your data to a cloud-based account so you can restore it if the device turns up. Lookout Premium costs about $30.

McAfee Mobile Security

McAfee is a familiar name in security software, having provided antivirus products for PCs for years. McAfee Mobile Security also provides real-time protection, scans files, downloads, apps and the SD card for dangerous content. An antivirus shield keeps spyware and phishing sites at bay.

The McAfee product offers unlimited cloud storage for your data, as well as videos and photographs. If a phone is lost or stolen, you can restore your data from your cloud account to a new phone.

Like other products McAfee Mobile Security allows you to lock and wipe the device, using your online account. The package costs around $30.

Norton Smartphone Security

Norton is another name from the PC security past. Norton Smartphone Security 5.0 offers antivirus, antispam and firewall protection. With the firewall, you can enable or limit access by setting the appropriate level of protection you want. This package can also reduce annoying spam in both text and multimedia formats.

Among its features, Norton Smartphone Security incorporates automatic scanning. When it detects a potentially infected file, it is placed in quarantine where it can do no harm. If your phone is lost or stolen, you can lock or wipe it by simply sending a text message to the phone with the correct command and password.

Businesses that allow their employees to use their personal smartphones to access the corporate network have a big concern. They have to ensure that an employee's tainted smartphone doesn't compromise the network.

Sophos Mobile Device Management

Sophos, an enterprise security software company, offers Mobile Device Management, which supports a number of platforms, lets companies manage and control mobile devices accessing the network – both company-owned devices and those owned by employees.

Using a web-based admin console, you can manage apps and control access to company resources such as email.

As smartphone have proliferated there has been a debate about the need for and effectiveness of mobile security apps. Lately, many experts are arguing they are well worth the investment.

Popular Mechanics recently suggested that skipping security software was high among "The 10 Worst Things You're Doing With Your Smartphone." The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says fewer than one in 20 smartphones and tablets are equipped with security software and less than 50% of smartphone owners use password protection on their devices.

Three Ford owners are suing Ford Motor Co., claiming the company's 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost engine is defective and can shake, misfire and lose power at highway speeds.

The suit charges that the defect can cause moisture to build up in the enginer's intercooler, which can cause the engine to run poorly under acceleration, when the moisture is sucked into the engine. In February, Consumer Reports magazine was highly critical of turbo-charged engines, including the EcoBoost, saying they often fail to return the acceleration and fuel economy. 

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division in Columbus, charges that Ford has known of the problem for some time because it has published several technical service bulletins about the problem, Automotive News reported.

Vehicles affected by the alleged defect include the popular F-150 pickup, the Ford Flex crossover, Taurus SHO and Lincoln MKT and MKS sedan from various model years. The engine was introduced in 2009  

Two of the plaintiffs in the suit say their 2010 Ford Taurus SHO lost power and stalled several times. Another plaintiff says his F-150 pickup lost power while accelerating.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received nearly 100 complaints about the engine, the lawsuit states.

NHTSA complaints

In one complaint filed with NHTSA in April, the owner of an F-150 pickup reported problems similar to those alleged in the lawsuit.

"I have a Ford 2011 FX4 EcoBoost," the consumer wrote in his NHTSA complaint. "Whole truck started shuddering as I was getting onto the freeway. Check engine light was flashing and vehicle had loss of power."

The dealer replaced the catalytic converter but the consumer said the same thing happened again on March 4, 2013, when the truck had about 30,000 miles on it. The dealer replace the ignition coil and spark plug. But the truck stalled again on April 27 with 34,000 miles on the odometer.

"It is very dangeorus driving on the freeway when you cannot get the truck to drive without shuddering and jerking anytime you give it gas," the F-150 owner said. "The dealer has been fixing whatever the code states. However, there is an underlying condition that is causing this to happen that needs to be addressed."

In another complaint, filed May 15,  the owner of a 2011 Taurus SHO described a similar problem. 

"I have the Taurus SHO with the EcoBoost engine. The vehicle occasionally shudders when accelerating. ... It will 'miss' and then 'catch' and accelerate when pressing the gas pedal," the Ford owner said. "I took the vehicle to the dealer in December 2012 and they claimed they could not replicate the issue. They indicated no awareness that this was a 'known issue' with the car."

NHTSA has not opened a defect investigation and Ford has not issued a recall. 

The lawsuit does not apply to vehicles with the three- and four-cylinder EcoBoost engines.

It's the first time it has happened: One vehicle -- the 2014 Subaru Forester -- has aced every aspect of the challenging small overlap front crash test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). In fact, it was the only one of 13 small SUVs to earn an overall rating of good in the test.

The Forester and the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, which earned acceptable, are the latest vehicles to qualify for the Institute’s recently inaugurated top honor, "Top Safety Pick+." Each of the other 11 SUVs tested earned either a poor or marginal rating.

“With the redesigned Forester, Subaru’s engineers set out to do well in our new test, and they succeeded,” says Joe Nolan, the Institute’s vice president for vehicle research. “This is exactly how we hoped manufacturers would respond to improve protection for people in these kinds of serious frontal crashes.”

This is not the first time that the Forester has stood out in a new IIHS crash test. When the Institute first rated small SUVs for side protection in 2003, the Subaru model performed the best and was one of only two to earn good ratings.

Small overlap test

IIHS added the small overlap test to its lineup of vehicle safety evaluations last year. It replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle strikes another vehicle or an object like a tree or a utility pole. In the test, 25 percent of a vehicle’s front end on the driver side strikes a 5-foot-tall rigid barrier at 40 mph. A 50th percentile male Hybrid III dummy is belted in the driver seat.

Most vehicles today are designed to do well in the government’s full-width front crash test and in the Institute’s moderate overlap front test, but that is no guarantee of good performance in a small overlap crash. In a 2009 IIHS study of vehicles with good ratings for frontal crash protection, small overlap crashes accounted for nearly a quarter of the frontal crashes involving serious or fatal injury to front seat occupants.

In many vehicles the impact at a 25 percent overlap misses the primary structures designed to manage crash energy. That increases the risk of severe damage to or collapse of the occupant compartment structure. Also, vehicles tend to rotate and slide sideways during this type of collision, and that can move the driver’s head outboard, away from the protection of the frontal airbag.

Small SUV susceptibility

Those difficulties were apparent in the small SUV group. Two-thirds of the vehicles had poor ratings for structure, and about half of them were poor or marginal for restraints and kinematics, meaning the dummy’s movements weren’t well-controlled to prevent contact with hard surfaces.

In one example of poor structure, the front pillar of the Nissan Rogue’s door frame was pushed far inside the occupant compartment and after the crash was almost touching the driver seat. The Jeep Patriot was among the worst for restraints and kinematics.

The dummy’s head slid off the frontal airbag as the steering wheel moved 8 inches up and nearly 6 inches to the right. The side curtain airbag didn’t deploy, and the safety belt allowed the dummy’s head and torso to move too far forward.

In contrast, the Forester had good ratings for structure, restraints and kinematics, and all four injury measures on the dummy. The airbags worked as intended, and the space around the dummy was well-maintained. The Outlander Sport was acceptable for structure and restraints and kinematics and also had good injury measures.

IIHS ratings

The Forester and the Outlander Sport bring the number of Top Safety Pick+ winners to 20. The award is based on performance in the small overlap front test, as well as in the moderate overlap front, side, rollover and rear tests. To qualify, a vehicle must earn good ratings in 4 of the 5 tests and no less than acceptable in the fifth.

IIHS continues to award Top Safety Pick (without the “+”) to vehicles with good ratings in the moderate overlap front, side, rollover and rear tests, regardless of their small overlap ratings. Of the small SUV test group, nine earn Top Safety Pick, including the BMW X1 and the Buick Encore, which are new to the U.S. market for 2013.

The others are the Ford Escape, the Honda CR-V, the Hyundai Tucson and its twin, the Kia Sportage, the Mazda CX-5, the Volkswagen Tiguan and the 2014 Patriot. The 2013 Patriot also qualifies for Top Safety Pick when equipped with optional side torso airbags. Another small SUV, the 2013 Toyota RAV4, earns Top Safety Pick, but it won’t be put through the small overlap test until later this year. Toyota asked for the delay so it could make changes to the RAV4 to improve performance in the test.

The test group also includes the Rogue and the Jeep Wrangler 2-door. Aside from the Forester, all small SUVs tested are 2013 or 2012 models. The small overlap ratings of the 2012 vehicles carry over to 2013 models because no significant design changes were made.  

Consumers spend billions of dollars on medication to control high blood pressure but getting plenty of vitamin D might help too. Research continues to suggest that the vitamin, present in dairy foods and sunlight, has benefits for the circulatory system.

In March researchers at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital conducted a study that suggested moderate amounts of vitamin D supplements could reduce high blood pressure. Since African Americans tend to have high higher incidence of hypertension, the study followed 250 African American adults.

"We found that vitamin D supplementation modestly but effectively lowered blood pressure," said Dr. John Forman, who led the research team. "And people who were taking a placebo had a slight increase in their blood pressure."

Vitamin D has long been thought to have some benefits when it comes to blood pressure. Some previous students on animals achieved that result, though the findings have not been universally accepted.

No proof

“In population studies, people with low levels of vitamin D seem to have a high risk of developing high blood pressure than those with higher levels of vitamin D,” according to researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center. “However, there's no proof that low levels of vitamin D cause high blood pressure in healthy people.”

Dr. Sheldon G. Sheps, of the Mayo Clinic, agrees that the role too little vitamin D plays in developing high blood pressure is not exactly clear. But he says a vitamin D deficiency may be linked to heart disease and a higher risk of high blood pressure. It's too early to know, he says. More research is needed.

However, there appears to be a growing consensus that it could be beneficial. Researchers at Edinburgh University in the UK are so convinced that vitamin D is effective in reducing high blood pressure, as well as heart attack and stroke risk, that they suggest getting vitamin D from sunlight has benefits that may far outweigh skin cancer risks. Their research focuses on ultra violet (UV) rays, which reportedly release a compound in the body that lowers blood pressure.

Growing threat

High blood pressure is a growing threat, especially to the aging population. While being overweight, getting little exercise and consuming excessive levels of sodium are all contributors, not all of its causes are understood.

High blood pressure occurs when the heart has to work harder to move blood through veins and arteries, usually because of rigidity in the blood vessels. Prolonged high blood pressure can cause the heart to enlarge. The high pressure of the blood flowing through the veins can eventually cause a blood vessel to break, causing a stroke.

If increasing vitamin D intake can be shown to prevent high blood pressure, it could provide an easy and effective treatment. It might also save money on prescription medications.

What to do

There are many sources of vitamin D that could probe healthy in other ways, even if it doesn't reduce high blood pressure. Spending time outdoors, with exposure to the sun, is one way but should be measured against the risk of skin cancer.

Some foods also are rich sources of vitamin D. Dairy products, like milk, cheese and yogurt are good sources. You can also get vitamin D from salmon, tuna, flounder, cereal, pork, eggs, mushrooms and liver.

Vitamin D is also available in supplements. Popular brands cost about $25 for 120 capsules, a four month supply. As with any health or diet issue, discuss the role of vitamin D in your diet, and as a tool to control blood pressure, with your physician.

There's been a major push the last few years to get Americans to consumer less salt in their but a new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) says it's important to not go too far in salt reduction efforts.

“[N]ew studies support previous findings that reducing sodium from very high intake levels to moderate levels improves health,” said Brian Strom, George S. Pepper Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, who chaired the IOM committee studying the matter. “But they also suggest that lowering sodium intake too much may actually increase a person’s risk of some health problems.”

While it's true that many Americans consumer too much salt, evidence from the new studies reviewed by the IOM committee do not support reduction in sodium intake to below 2,300 mg per day, the IOM committee concluded.

That finding is not going down too well with some health advocates. 

"What the committee failed to emphasize is that most Americans are deep in the red zone, consuming 3,500 to 4,000 milligrams of sodium a day," said Bonnie Liebman of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "It's clear that those excessive levels increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes. Whether we aim for 2,300 or 1,500 milligrams a day is irrelevant until we move down out of the red zone."

Whether the report emphasized it or not, the IOM committee did find that the average American consumes 3,400 mg or more of sodium a day – equivalent to about 1 ½ teaspoons of salt. The current Dietary Guidelines for Americansurge most people ages 14 to 50 to limit their sodium intake to 2,300 mg daily.

Subgroup issues

People ages 51 or older, African Americans, and people with hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease – groups that together make up more than 50 percent of the U.S. population – are advised to follow an even stricter limit of 1,500 mg per day, the IOM committee said.

These recommendations are based largely on a body of research that links higher sodium intakes to certain “surrogate markers” such as high blood pressure, an established risk factor for heart disease. 

After reviewing the new studies, the IOM committee, while cautioning that numbers in the studies were small, concluded that: 

• evidence supports a positive relationship between higher levels of sodium intake and risk of heart disease;

• studies on health outcomes are inconsistent in quality and insufficient in quantity to conclude that lowering sodium intake levels below 2,300 mg/day either increases or decreases the risk of heart disease, stroke, or all-cause mortality in the general U.S. population; and

• evidence indicates that low sodium intake may lead to risk of adverse health effects among those with mid- to late-stage heart failure who are receiving aggressive treatment for their disease.

The committee found limited evidence addressing the association between low sodium intake and health outcomes in population subgroups, such as  those with diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, hypertension or borderline hypertension; those 51 years of age and older; and African Americans).

On balance, the report said that the evidence does not support recommendations to lower sodium intake within these subgroups to or even below 1,500 mg daily.

The report was sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

It appears women in their 40s aren't paying a lot of attention to the latest recommendations for breast cancer screenings.

New research by Johns Hopkins shows they continue to to get mammograms routinely despite national guidelines recommending otherwise.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) sifted through the evidence in 2009 and recommended that women ages 50-74 should continue to undergo mammograms every two years, but that those between 40 and 49 without a family history of breast cancer should discuss the risks and benefits of routine screening mammography with their physicians to make individual decisions.

No changes

Lauren D. Block, M.D., M.P.H., a clinical fellow in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and her colleagues expected to find fewer women in their 40s getting routine mammograms. Instead, they found no impact.

"Patients -- and likely their providers -- appear hesitant to change their behavior, even in light of evidence that routine screening in younger women carries substantial risk of false positives and unnecessary further imaging and biopsies," says Block, leader of a study published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. "Women have been bombarded with the message 'mammograms save lives,' so they want them no matter what."

Necessary vs. unnecessary

That research has shown that mammography's impact on younger women is mixed at best: routine screening increases rates of detecting cancer in young women, but doesn't reduce mortality risk by all that much.

In fact, studies show it's more likely to result in over-diagnosis, and unnecessary treatment, including biopsies, lumpectomies and mastectomies, and weeks of radiation and potentially toxic drugs. In addition, false positives result in avoidable procedures and psychological trauma, and many of the cancers detected will probably never be dangerous, but are aggressively treated.

Among older women, screening mammograms are recommended because breast cancer -- like most cancer -- is a disease of aging, and a woman's risk of breast cancer increases as she grows older.

Divergence of opinion

The original USPSTF guideline change recommended more forcefully against routine screening for women in their 40s, but a political and advocacy group backlash resulted in compromise language that counseled individual decision-making by patients and physicians. The American Cancer Society still recommends yearly mammography for women starting at age 40.

Moreover, Block says, insurance companies continue to pay for routine mammograms for women in their 40s -- a likely reason for the persistently high rate of screening.

"Breast cancer gets so much attention in the media and in society in general, despite cardiovascular disease being by far the number one killer in women. Everyone wants to feel as though they are preventing breast cancer," Block says. "You hear one anecdotal story about someone in their 40s who found cancer during a mammogram and did really well with treatment and that's enough to fly in the face of any other facts that are out there. Women want the test."  

There's been a lot of concern about the potential health effects of existing flame retardants for  furniture, fabrics and other material but now  scientists are reporting development of an “exceptionally effective" new retardant that appears safer and more environmentally friendly.

The problem is that the polyurethane foam in these items is highly flammable; upholstery furniture and mattresses are the items that ignite in about 17,000 fires each year, causing more than 870 deaths, thousands of injuries and millions of dollars in property loss.

That has caused consumer protection agencies to issue stringent safety standards to reduce flammability. 

But writing in ACS Macro Letters, researchers discuss a first-of-its-kind coating that's ideal for the polyurethane foam in couches and bedding. Jaime Grunlan and colleagues describe successful development and laboratory testing of a new flame retardant coating for polyurethane foam.

Gas blanket

The “nanocoating” is so thin that 1,000 layers of it would fit across the width of a human hair, and it is made with a relatively benign polymer that creates a “gas blanket,” preventing oxygen from fueling a fire. It is the first flame retardant that both reduces the heat released from fire and prevents the foam from dripping and spreading flames to the rest of the room or house.

“The heat release reductions are significant and likely would slow fire growth in real world fire scenarios, giving people more time to escape or to put out the foam, thus, preventing flashover events,” the report says.

ACS Macro Letters is a publication of the American Chemical Society.

March was a good month for taking a commercial flight, whether it was domestic or international.

The Transportation Department (DOT) says airlines reported no tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights, and just one exceeding four hours on an international flight during the month. The long tarmac delay involved a flight from Bogota, Colombia to Orlando, Fla., that diverted to Miami on March 24. DOT is investigating.

That represents a big improvement from February, when there were 34 domestic flights with delays of three hours or more.

Under a rule that took effect Aug. 23, 2011, all U.S. and foreign airlines operating at least one aircraft with 30 or more passenger seats must report lengthy tarmac delays at U.S. airports. Exceptions to the time limits for both domestic and international flights are allowed only for safety, security, or air traffic control-related reasons. Severe weather could cause or worsen such situations.

The full report, which includes data on on-time performance, cancellations, chronically delayed flights, and the causes of flight delays, among other things, can found here.

As most people probably know, once May and June hit, we're in the thick of graduation season. That usually means many of us will be signing graduation cards, heading to ceremonies and searching for the right gift for the graduate we know.

Some folks will just buy balloons for the graduate or stuff some cash inside a card. Others will try to buy something the graduates will need in their next phase of life.

Whether a person is graduating from middle school, high school or college, he or she will probably be looking for some sort of electronic gadget as a gift, as smartphones, tablets and other electronics are what many folks want these days.

But will buying one of these items for a graduate break the bank for you or even put a dent in it?

Flashback

According to the folks at Ben's Bargain, a website that features daily deals each week, buying a popular electronic device is cheaper now than it was in the 1980s.

For example, the Motorola DynaTAC 800x mobile phone, released in 1983, costs $3,995 at the time. In 2013 that equates to $9,312.

Ten years later the Bellsouth/IBM Simon Personal Communicator was released. The clunky 18 ounce mobile phone cost $900 at the time, which is $2,098 in today's dollars.

How times have changed

Now let's look at how much some of today's smartphones cost.

On the lower-end, there's the HTC One Android Quad-Core Smartphone that can be purchased on HSN's website for about $200.

On the higher-end, there's the Samsung Galaxy S III I9300 Smartphone that costs $629.99 on Walmart's site.

Both of these phones are far less expensive than the phones from back in the day and they obviously do way more.

The 1983 Motorola Dyna weighed 28 ounces and only offered 30 minutes of talk time before it had to be recharged. The 1993 Bellsouth phone weighed 18 ounces and offered just an hour of talk time before it needed  to be charged again.

Simply put, buying a smartphone for a graduate these days doesn't have to break the bank and may not require a lot of saving, which is probably a big relief for most parents.

But in the 80s and 90s a personal loan might have been needed to buy a mobile phone and that phone only allowed you to talk for a very short time.

The world of computers

And it's the same for computers.

In 1983 the IBM PC/XT 5160, which was a desktop that had only 128 kilobytes of RAM, was released. The cost in 1983 was $8,000 which equates to $18,648 today.

Flash to 2013 where you can purchase the Lenovo IdeaPad Yogo. It's a laptop and tablet in one and has 8 gigabytes of RAM, which pretty much allows you to do anything you want on it.

The Lenovo costs $1,099, a far cry from the IBM PC which was a whopping $6,091 more.

And if you like Lenovo tablets you can get one even cheaper.

On Best Buy's site, you can get the Lenovo Idea Tablet, with 8 gigabytes of memory for about $130, which might be another cool gift for a person graduating this year.

Tube time

Televisions have come a long way too. 

In 1993, there was the RCA 31-inch, which was one of the first TVs that came with an on-screen menu. Back then you could purchase one for $1,200.

Today you can buy an LG 39-inch LED TV for just $430. It gives you a better picture, better sound and has a much sleeker appearance. 

TVs have really come down in price from a decade ago.

The Toshiba HDTV 34-inch went for $2,699 in 2003 and didn't provide half of the good picture and sound that some of today's flat screens do.

Timing the market

One thing that's tricky about purchasing a new electronic device is knowing exactly when the price will drop. For example, some may wonder if they should buy that new laptop when it first hits the shelf or if they should wait for the cost to go down.

Rojeh Avanesian, the vice president of marketing at PriceGrabber said as long as consumers keep buying a particular gadget, the price of it won't come down.

He says this happened recently with some of today's high-end digital cameras.

"We are seeing a lot of people trading up their camera gear to something better. They are looking for advanced features and more megapixels and are willing to pay more," said Avanesian in an interview with TechHive.

And that means prices won't budge anytime soon. So you may want to wait until the mad rush for a product ends, if you want to pay less. 

For gamers

The gadget that has remained close in price over the years is video game consoles. 

In 1983 the Atari 2600 went for $125 and in 2013 the Sony PlayStation 3 Super Slim game console goes for $250. That's only a $125 difference over the last 30 years.

Of course the differences between the Atari 2600 and the Sony Play Station are night and day in terms of functionality. Perhaps some may be surprised that the price difference is so low.

When it comes to buying one of today's game consoles for a low price, you might have to wait until the holiday season, says gaming expert Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities.

"All of the price cuts for game consoles are for holiday only," he said.

So if you're looking to purchase a gadget for a graduation gift this year, it'll be far less expensive than buying a gadget that was made in 1983, which may not be that surprising, but it might be good to know.

The labor market is continuing to struggle, with more people than expected filing for first-time jobless benefits last month.

The government reports there were 360,000 initial applications for benefits in the week ending May 11 -- an increase of 32,000 from the revised figure of 328,000 the week before. The consensus estimate from Briefing.com was for 330,000 new claims.

The 4-week moving average, which is less volatile and consider a more accurate reading of the labor market, was 339,250 -- an increase of 1,250 from the previous week., a decrease of 21,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,036,250.

The full report can be found on the Labor Department's website.

Inflation

Much like inflation on the wholesale level, consumer prices were on the decline in April.

According to the Labor Department, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.4% -- the second decline in as many months and twice the decline expected by Briefing.com.

A sharp drop in gasoline prices was major factor. The energy sector overall was down 4.3%, even though electricity and natural gas costs were up decrease in the energy index. Food prices, after showing no change in March, rose 0.2%.

After stripping out food and energy because of their volatility, the “core rate” of inflation was up 0.1% -- the same as in March.

Prices for shelter, used cars and trucks, new vehicles and tobacco all increased in April, while apparel, airline fares and recreation were lower.

The full CPI report is on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.

Housing starts

The pace of new home construction slowed last month.

Housing starts plunged 16.5% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000, according to the Commerce Department -- well shy of the consensus estimate of 970,000 from Briefing.com, but more than 12% above the rate posted a year ago.

A breakdown of the figures show construction was started on 610,000 single-family homes and 234,000 for units in buildings with five units or more.

Building permits, an indicator of what developers and considering in the months ahead, shot up 14.3% to 1,017,000.  

The dramatic rise in obesity has health officials searching for answers. While there may be many contributing factors, there's no question Americans are consuming more daily calories than they did in previous generations.

Food is plentiful, relatively cheap, and packed with calories. When you prepare food at home you can carefully control your caloric intake, but it's harder to do when you dine out.

Restaurants are very competitive and they draw customers with good-tasting fare, served in large portions. The Keystone Forum, funded by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recently studied the association between food consumed away from home and Americans' tendency to put on weight. It found that the average American now eats at least four meals a week somewhere other than home.

Again, that's a change from 50 years ago when restaurants were less numerous and people ate more meals at home.

More recent changes

Even as recently as 1978 Americans only got about 18% of their calories from restaurants. By 1995 that percentage had jumped to 34%.

The Keystone Forum concluded that regularly consuming food prepared away from home is associated with obesity, higher body fat and a higher body mass index (BMI). Women who eat at restaurants more than five times per week end up with 290 more calories per week than women who dine out less often.

A number of restaurant chains, including Subway and McDonald's, post calories on their menus, to help consumers understand how many calories they are consuming when they order a triple-decker hamburger and fries.

In 2010, Congress passed a law requiring restaurant chains with 20 or more outlets to post calories and other nutrition information on menus and menu boards. But some nutrition and health researchers suggest that may not be enough.

Studying small restaurant calories

Researchers at Tufts University analyzed meals from independent and small-chain restaurants, which they say account for approximately 50% of the nation's restaurant locations and are exempt from the new federal rules. They discovered the average single meal was also high in calories – two to three times the estimated calorie needs of an individual adult at a single meal. In fact, the average meal, they say, had 66% of of the calories most people need in a 24-hour period.

"On average, the meals studied contained 1,327 calories, which significantly exceeds the estimated energy needs of an individual adult at a single meal," said Susan B. Roberts, the study's senior author. "Meals from all restaurant types provided substantially more energy than is needed for weight maintenance."

She said nearly three-quarters of the meals analyzed contained more than half of the FDA's daily energy recommendation of 2,000 calories, and 12 meals contained more than the entire recommended daily energy intake.

The study looked at the food typical of small, independent restaurants – Italian, American, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese. It found Italian had the highest average calories – 1,755 – and Vietnamese the lowest – 922. It's conclusion? All restaurants should be covered under the new law.

Promoting healthier choices

The National Restaurant Association, a trade group representing the nation's restaurants, has opposed regulations requiring restaurants to post calorie information. It had pushed voluntary efforts, such as 2011's Kids LiveWell program, to encourage children to choose a restaurant's healthier selections when eating out.

“We are educating consumers and their children in how to dine outside of their homes in more healthful ways and that is a great thing,” said Karen Bremer, executive director of the Georgia Restaurant Association. “As consumers ask for more healthful foods, the industry will provide it. We are one of the quickest industries to respond to our customers’ needs.”

Federal statistics show more than 19% of children ages six to 11 are considered obese, as are 18% of teens ages 12 to 19. The numbers are worse for adults – about 68% are overweight or obese.

So whiile restaurants may be responding to customers' desires, it's entirely possible they are not responding to their needs. 

Music lovers are getting a new way to access their favorite tunes online. Google is launching a new music service, to supplement its current music site that's associated with the Google Play digital media store.

It's priced at $9.99 a month after a free one-month introductory trial, about the same as other streaming services.

The new service, Google All Access, will differ from Google's current music store, as it will allow users to stream music to their MP3 players, smartphones, computers and so forth, just like Spotify, MOG, Pandora and other streaming services. 

Things have gotten a bit crowded in the world of online music stores, which is different from just a few years ago when people were still skeptical about paying for music online.

After downloading songs for free on sites like Napster and Limewire was halted for legal reasons, people were still used to either downloading songs for no cost or just streaming them. But as laws clamped down on illegal downloading, many people waved their white flags and just started paying for their music again.

24 million

Since then Spotify has been the go-to site for music lovers, as the company currently has about 24 million users and 6 million of those users pay for extra features.

Just last month Spotify announced a collection of new tabs that adds a social component to the site and allows users to get recommendations on new music and new artists.

The site's new "follow tab" allows users to connect with their favorite artists and get an idea of what music that artist is listening to.

So if you're a Shakira fan let's say, you can get a basic idea of what music she's loving at the moment and get information on things like future album release dates or new songs that she's working on.

And even though the streaming site Grooveshark is still dealing with its fair share of legal battles against record companies, the company is still trying to spruce up its site.

Recently, Grooveshark announced the release of its "Broadcast" feature that allows you to send music to all of your friends and followers in one quick shot.

The feature does other things too.

Be a broadcaster

By selecting the "Start Broadcasting" option users can actually become a virtual DJ by putting together playlists, recording their voice in-between songs and being able send out those playlists to all of their followers.

Many critics and reviewers think that the-adding-your-voice-feature is extremely cool and separates Grooveshark from its competitors a bit.

Apparently, the company is aware that many music lovers want other people to listen to what they're listening to. And the broadcast feature allows them to do that quickly and easily.

And of course we can't talk about online music stores without mentioning Apple. 

The company just inked a deal with Universal Music Group to offer a free online radio service.

Although Apple is still waiting for Sony Music and Warner Music Group to jump onboard, it looks like the company's radio feature will eventually happen, but no word yet as to when.

However, Sony and Warner have signed deals with Google.  The record label giants will be a part of Google All Access.

Jim Cady, CEO of Slacker, which is another music site, believes that Google's new music service will be good but not perfect, since there's a chance you won't be able to access it on multiple devices.

"We expect that it's going to be platform-specific and focused on the Google ecosystem," said Cady in an interview with Mashable. 

"We're huge supporters of Netflix's belief in the power of ubiquity and we think it's incredibly important for consumers to have access to their music across a variety of platforms and devices, whether it's in the car, on their Sonos, Roku or iPhone."

In addition, Cady says the fact that more online music stores are popping up and existing stores are adding new features, only proves how much the industry of online music is growing.

"We've seen several new players enter the space recently and we believe the growth and competition only validates the industry that we're in," he said.

"While there's a lot of attention on on-demand listening, we're seeing our users spending the majority of their listening time with our curated radio experience, which is a major differentiating factor for Slacker."

Since 2010, we've been down this road several times. The economy shows signs of finally turning the corner, only to fall back to an anemic growth rate.

That could be the case again, but there seem to be five indicators that – in spite of the end of the payroll tax holiday and the federal budget sequester -- the economy is showing real signs of life.

Let's start on Wall Street. The stock market has rallied strongly since January with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both hitting all time highs in May.

Much of the rally can be attributed to the Federal Reserve's policy of pumping money into the economy. But the Fed policy has been consistent for some time now. It's only been this year that stocks have taken off.

Why is this important? Because in past recessions, stocks have been a leading indicator for the overall economy. Investors seem to sense when things are turning around and the market surges about six months before the economy takes off.

Housing market

One of the more impressive recoveries has been in the housing market, which was devastated by the credit crisis, wave of foreclosures and Great Recession. In many housing markets in the U.S., home sales are rapidly rising and so are prices.

In its most recent MarketPulse report, CoreLogic found that the housing market is recovering, but doing so unevenly. The over-bought and beaten-down markets are recovering the fastest.

Most markets have reached consistent price recoveries in only the last year or two, the report finds. But the real estate recovery remains a local event and a shift is occurring.

Previously, it was the low prices of foreclosures and short sales that drove the market. Now it's new home sales. The recovery in that area, the report notes, is acting like a targeted economic stimulus package because it's leading to more construction jobs and sales of building materials.

Auto Sales

The mini-boom in new home construction has led to increased sales of trucks, helping the automotive industry enjoy an even stronger recovery. Auction prices for full-size pickup trucks are up nearly seven percent through the first four months of 2013, according to the NADA Used Car Guide.

"The recovery of home values and increased residential construction, stabilizing gasoline prices and a decline in late-model supply have resulted in higher trade-in values for full-size pickups," said Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst for the Guide.

New trucks are also selling well. Sales of the Dodge Ram helped boost Chrysler's April sales 11 percent higher. Ford and GM also had strong April sales. Sales of the Ford Escape rose 52% while GM saw a 28% rise in sales of its Silverado pick-up.

Auto sales have remained consistently strong since the end of the Great Recession, thanks mainly to low interest rates. It's also easier for consumers to borrow money for a car or truck – something that hasn't been true for housing.

Retail Sales

Make no mistake, retail sales – a measure of consumer activity – are  nothing to celebrate. Sales fell in March, with economists chalking it up to the sequester and higher taxes.

But in April, when more of the same was expected, the nation's retailers actually eked out a 0.1% gain. Core retail sales, which exclude cars, gasoline and building materials, were up a much stronger 0.5%.

Since retail sales account for about 30% of what consumers spend, the increase – small as it is – is being viewed as a hopeful sign.

Summer travel

Consumers may be spending more money on vacations this summer. TripAdvisor, a travel site, surveyed 1,200 U.S. consumers and predicts a 30% are planning to travel over the Memorial Day weekend. It also found 86% plan to take a trip during the summer.

Fifty-three percent of those who plan to travel this summer plan to spend the same on their trip this year, while 25% expect to spend more. Travelers are also looking for savings – 71% said they would take a spontaneous trip if they find a last-minute deal.

Despite these positive indicators, not all economists are sold on the idea of a recovery that has finally taken hold. Kathy Bostjancic, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis at The Conference Board, doesn't see a lot of optimism in recent indicators, especially retail sales.

“The combined fiscal drag from the increased payroll tax rate and sequester spending cuts total $225 billion for this year, which offsets the positive wealth effect created by the rise in equity prices and appreciation in home prices over the past year,” she said. “The spring swoon comes after a winter spending spree of which the window of retail opportunity has apparently closed.”

Bostjancic said she wants to see a pick-up of job and income growth in the second half of 2013 before declaring that things are finally getting better.

The days of enemy lists seem to be coming back and the Postal Service is taking the lead. Tired of being gnawed on by maddened mutts, the nation's letter carriers have been keeping a list of the cities that are the most inhospitable.

At the top of the list is Los Angeles, a city where pedestrians of any kind are regarded with suspicion. San Antonio, Seattle and Chicago are also cities where there's little love lost between mailpersons and pooches.

You might think the sorry state of its finances would keep the USPS awake at night, but no, it's those darned dogs. 

“If our letter carriers deem your loose dog to be a threat, you’ll be asked to pick up your mail at the Post Office until it’s safe to deliver,” said Ken Snavely, acting postmaster of Los Angeles, where 69 postal employees were attacked last year, placing the city as the most vicious for dog attacks. Nationwide, 5,879 postal employees were attacked.

Snavely noted that in situations where a dog roams the neighborhood, delivery to the owner’s neighbors could be curtailed as well.

Snavely also makes it known that letter carriers would like it known that when they must come to a customer's door, they would appreciate having the hounds locked up somewhere, as there have been many cases where dogs found the sight of the postal carrier so infuriating that they jumped right through screen and glass doors.

Of course, dog attacks aren't just a postal problem. Nearly 5,900 letter carriers were attacked last year, but that pales in comparison to the 4.7 million Americans annually bitten by dogs — more than half of whom are children — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The U.S. Postal Service, the medical community, veterinarians and the insurance industry are working together to educate the public that dog bites are avoidable by declaring May 19-25 as National Dog Bite Prevention Week. They're not issuing a commemorative stamp though.

“Many dogs are cherished members of their family and people believe their dog won’t bite, but given the right circumstances, any dog can attack," said Snavely. “Dogs do not reason like people do and they will react to their instinct to protect their family and territory."

Avoiding Attacks

• Never leave a baby or small child alone with a dog.
• Don’t run past a dog. The dog’s natural instinct is to chase and catch you.
• If a dog threatens you, don’t scream. Avoid eye contact. Try to remain motionless until the dog leaves, then back away slowly until the dog is out of sight.
• Never approach a strange dog, especially one that’s tethered or confined.
• Don’t disturb a dog that is sleeping, eating or caring for puppies.
• Anyone wanting to pet a dog should first obtain permission from the owner.
• Always let a dog see and sniff you before petting the animal.
• If you believe a dog is about to attack you, try to place something between yourself and the dog, such as a backpack or a bicycle.
• If you are knocked down by a dog, curl into a ball and protect your face with your hands.

Optimus Enterprise of Anaheim, Calif., is recalling about 355,000 portable Infrared Radiant Quartz electric space heaters.

The heater design can fail to prevent ignition of nearby combustible materials that come in contact with the unit, posing a fire hazard to the consumer. No incidents or injuries have been reported.

This recall involves two models of Optimus Infrared Quartz Radiant heaters with model numbers H-5210, produced in 2011 and H-5211, produced in 2012. The model number and the year of production appear on a label on the back of the heater. The recalled heaters are white and are approximately 12-inches wide by 13-inches tall by 6-inches deep. “Optimus” is printed on the top left of the heater. The control knob is located on the top right side of the heater.

The heaters, manufactured in China, were sold at Best Buy Market Place, Family Dollar, Heartland, Northern Tool, Rite Aid and other stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com, ebay.com and Walmart.com from October 2011 through December 2012 for between $25 and $30.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled heaters and contact Optimus to request a free replacement heater. Consumers have the option of a comparable ceramic heater or new model quartz radiant heater, model H-5510, which will be available after August 2013.

Consumers may contact: Optimus Enterprise toll-free at (888) 672-5832 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, or by email at return.optimus@gmail.com.

Men whose prostate cancer has spread after receiving medical or surgical therapy to lower testosterone have a new option for treatment.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Xofigo (radium Ra 223 dichloride) to treat men with symptomatic late-stage (metastatic) castration-resistant prostate cancer that has spread to bones but not to other organs.

Ahead of schedule

Xofigo was approved more than three months ahead of its goal date of Aug. 14, 2013, when the agency was scheduled to complete review of the drug application. It was reviewed under FDA's priority review program, which provides for an expedited review of drugs that appear to provide safe and effective therapy when no satisfactory alternative therapy exists, or offer significant improvement compared to marketed products.

“Xofigo binds with minerals in the bone to deliver radiation directly to bone tumors, limiting the damage to the surrounding normal tissues,” said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Xofigo is the second prostate cancer drug approved by the FDA in the past year that demonstrates an ability to extend the survival of men with metastatic prostate cancer.”

In August 2012, the FDA approved Xtandi to treat men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer that has spread or recurred, even with medical or surgical therapy to minimize testosterone. Xtandi is approved for patients who have previously been treated the chemotherapy drug docetaxel.

Extending life

Xofigo’s safety and effectiveness were evaluated in a single clinical trial of 809 men randomly assigned to receive Xofigo or a placebo plus best standard of care.

Results from a pre-planned interim analysis showed men receiving Xofigo lived a median of 14 months compared to a median of 11.2 months for men receiving placebo. An exploratory updated analysis conducted later in the trial confirmed Xofigo’s ability to extend overall survival.

The most common side effects reported were nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and swelling of the leg, ankle or foot. The most common abnormalities detected during blood testing included low levels of red blood cells (anemia), lymphocytes, white blood cells, platelets and infection-fighting white blood cells.

Xofigo is marketed by Wayne, N.J.-based Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Xtandi is co-marketed by Astellas Pharma U.S., Inc. of Northbrook, Ill., and Medivation, Inc. of San Francisco, Calif.

Prostate cancer forms in a gland in the male reproductive system found below the bladder and in front of the rectum. According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 238,590 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 29,720 will die from the disease this year.

With the summer season fast approaching, many people are either purchasing a new air conditioner or repairing the one they have. And many who have central air conditioning will need a bit of maintenance to make sure it's working at full capacity.

According to the folks at Interstate, a New York City air conditioning and heating company, having routine maintenance on your air conditioner twice a year will save you a lot of money down the road.

Based on the company's statistics, the average household spends more than $2,500 a year on energy bills; $1,100 of that goes to heating and $1,400 goes toward keeping the home cool.

Saving money

A good way to save about $180 a year on air conditioning is to get a programmable thermostat. And changing the coil in your air conditioner will save you good money, too.

"A dirty coil reduces the system's ability to cool your home and causes the system to run longer, increasing your energy costs and shortening the life of your equipment," said the company in a statement. "A dirty coil can raise your bill by 30%."

According to Frank Alexander, of Alexander Heating and Air Conditioning in North Carolina, there are certain things you can do to determine if the coil in your air conditioner needs replacing.

The company's website says if a technician tells you that your coil needs replacing, he or she should be able to tell you exactly where the leak is as well. If the technician can't, you should be a little suspicious.

"Freon carries a lubricant and that residue is visible most times below the leak," writes Alexander on the site.

"It looks like dark wet spots, like burnt cooking oil. Most of the time this will be visible but it may be impossible to see it. Ask your technician how they determined the leak was in the coil. They should be able to tell you where the leak is."

Additionally, you should make sure the technician is using a Freon detector and not just going by what he or she thinks, says Alexander.

"Have the technician show that they have used a Freon detector and that detector has indicated a leak or soap bubbles and ask to see the leak with the soap bubbles," he says.

Another sign that your coil needs replacing says Alexander, is always having to add Freon to the air conditioner. When Freon leaks out of your air conditioning unit, it's a definite sign that your coil may need to be changed, he says.

Lubricating your system

Not having enough lubrication in your air conditioning unit is another reason it may not be working the way it should be.

Some experts say you may be able to add oil yourself, but you might need  a professional depending on how modern the AC's motor is. Newer motors may have sealed ports so you aren't able to add oil. You'll need to check your owners guide to verify. If you do find ports, turn the AC's power completely off and add five drops of electric motor oil.

Experts say not to use all-purpose oil, since it's not designed to lubricate your AC's bearings for a long period of time.

Regular maintenance

According to Interstate, one in five people perform maintenance on their air conditioning system themselves, and if the system does lack proper lubricant it could raise your electricity use by 5%.

In addition, the company says maintenance on your AC system twice a year will maintain up to 95% of its original efficiency and the cost it takes to keep it running properly will be made back quickly through lower electricity bills.

And central air conditioning units should last about 15 years, says Interstate.

"Maintenance doesn't cost, it pays," says the company. "Proper air conditioning maintenance can help your unit last decades." 

"On the flip-side, a neglected air conditioner loses roughly 5% of its efficiency each year that it operates without upkeep. So that green machine you bought to stay cool could start to function like the most inefficient thing on the market, if you fail to perform regular air conditioning maintenance."

Lastly, it's important to change or replace the AC's filter monthly, says Interstate. By doing so, the AC won't need to work as hard, which can save you money as well.