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A rare snow-white lion cub met the media on Monday, making its first official appearance since it was born Sept. 14 at Leon's Zoo in the city of Leon, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.

White lions are not albinos. They are color mutations of a certain subspecies of lion, and quite rare. When they occurred in the wild in South Africa, the locals regarded them as divine. We think this little guy is pretty divine too!

Windows 8 ads leak to the Web

Advertisements for Microsoft's forthcoming operating system have found their way online, with a keen focus on teaching users how to work the new software.

 

Four Windows 8 television advertisements have leaked online, ahead of the operating system's launch later this month.
The advertisements, which first appeared on Israeli technology site TechIt, show off some of the main features of the operating system, but focus on the learning experience for new and existing Windows users.
A number of early adopters have complained that the new user interface is difficult to understand, too complicated or not designed with traditional desktop PCs and laptops in mind. Many reviewers and technology blogs and sites -- including CNET -- have noted that the navigation is tricky and the learning curve is "steep."

Microsoft's advertisements hope to change that. In the four videos, many common features of the new Windows 8 experience (formerly known as Metro) are explained by a user performing seemingly ordinary, everyday tasks -- such as switching between apps and snapping two apps side by side on the display.
Viewers may notice that the majority of the videos show Windows 8 running on a generic-looking tablet.
In spite of the occasional desktop view, the focus of the videos is on the tablet experience -- a keen insight on Microsoft's need to engage with the tablet market.
Microsoft Surface, the software giant's own branded tablet, does not appear in the videos, likely to appease the firm's hardware partners who continue to announce Windows 8 tablets.

Microsoft has already faced criticism from Acer chief executive JT Wang, who called on the software giant to "think twice" about launching its own branded tablet, the Surface. Separately, Intel chief executive Paul Otellini slammed Windows 8 during an employee meeting in Taiwan, warning that the operating system -- now only a fortnight away from launch -- still has bugs and is not ready for release.

How to Manage Your Usage

There are many ways to generate significant Internet usage. Below you will find the most common activities that can cause you to exceed your free usage limit, and tips on how to reduce your usage.

Turn it Off

Turn your computer off when it is not being used. Many reasons for excessive usage occur without your knowledge when your computer is left on.

Downloading Videos and Accessing Streaming Video sites

Downloading movies and videos can consume a large amount of bandwidth. For example, downloading a full-length movie will consume approximately 2-3 Gigabytes of usage. Watching streaming videos on sites such as YouTube use less bandwidth than downloading videos, but if you are streaming video for long periods of time, the bandwidth can add up quickly.
Reduction Tips:

• Check the size of a video before downloading and monitor the number of videos you download each month.
• Keep track of how much time you spend on streaming video sites. Monitor your usage online at nwtel.ca to check how much of your monthly limit you have used before downloading large files.

Peer-to-Peer Networks

Downloading and uploading files from peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, such as BitTorrent, KaZaa, Morpheus, Gnutella, and BearShare, use a lot of your monthly limit. These programs share files from your hard drive to other Internet users, possibly creating excessive usage without your knowledge.

Reduction Tips:

• Limit your use of file sharing programs. These programs create a large amount of traffic (usage) when downloading and sharing files.
• If you use P2P networks, turn off file sharing when possible and close any file sharing program when you’re not using it.

Viruses

Viruses often send mass emails from your computer without your knowledge.

Reduction Tip:

• Northwestel offers business customers a PC Protection Plus service that serves as your first line of defense, to keep hackers out and stop them from implanting viruses on your computer.
• Make sure you have recent anti-virus and anti-spam software installed on your computer.

Spyware and Adware

Spyware gathers information from your computer to share with advertisers or other agencies. Adware allows advertising banners to pop-up on your screen. It is not always obvious if you have spyware or adware on your computer.

Reduction Tip:

• Make sure you have anti-spyware software and pop-up blockers installed on your computer. There are several programs that block pop-ups and remove spyware, such as Lavasoft’s Ad-aware and Spybot.

Large Email Files

Sending lots of emails or large email files generates a significant amount of usage. Emails with photos or other files attached are generally large emails.

Reduction Tip:

• Before sending large email attachments, compress them to reduce their size. You can do this by checking if your operating system has file compression capability, and if not, obtain a file compression program such as WinZip or Stuffit.

Significant Web Surfing

If you visit lots of websites, you will increase your usage.

Reduction Tip:

• While web surfing usually does not create excessive usage, you can still reduce the amount of usage this generates. Increasing the size of your web browser cache allows your computer to access files from your hard drive instead of the Internet.

Hackers

Hackers can access your computer and then use it in fraudulent ways, which can create excessive usage.

Reduction Tip:

• Add an anti-virus program to protect yourself from hackers. If you think a hacker has already hacked your computer, contact the computer vendor.

Online Gaming

Gaming significantly increases your usage.

Reduction Tip:

• Keep track of the amount of data transfer if you’re playing games online.
  Check your usage regularly.
  

Non-Encrypted Wireless Router/Network

If you have a wireless router/network that is not password protected, someone may be accessing it without your knowledge.

Reduction Tips:

• Make sure your wireless router/network is password protected. Your router’s user manual will tell you how to password protect your Internet service and guide you through the configuration settings necessary to password protect your router/network.

In a world that judges people by their number, Zero faces constant prejudice and persecution. He walks a lonely path until a chance encounter changes his life forever: he meets a female zero. Together they prove that through determination, courage, and love, nothing can be truly something.

Zero has screened in over 50 festivals and has won 15 awards including 'Best Animation' from LA Shorts Fest and the Rhode Island International Film Festival and has been nominated for an AFI Award in the 'Best Short Animation' category.

Since its release on YouTube in May 25, 2011, Zero has been translated into over 34 languages by its many enthusiastic fans. To create translations in your language, visit this page:
http://www.zeroshortfilm.com/news/translate-zero-into-your-language/