The iPhone 6 is looking very tempting for many Android users

By Brad Reed

Apple is very late to the party when it comes to releasing a phone with a display larger than 5 inches, but apparently not too late to generate interest among Android users. Trade-in website Gazelle tells us that “during the week that Apple announced the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Samsung trade-ins increased with the announcement of new iPhones, jumping more than 3X week-over-week.” What’s more the company found that “one in three Android users” who are trading in old devices “say they’re likely to upgrade to the iPhone 6.”

MORE ON SWITCHING FROM ANDROID: This is what it’s like to switch from the Galaxy Note 3 to the iPhone 6 Plus

What are the reasons the iPhone 6 is luring in Android fans? It’s mostly the reasons you’d expect, as Gazelle finds 39% of them are attracted to the larger displays while 40% say they’re impressed by the improved battery life. Add in features such as the ability to add in third-party keyboard apps for the first time and you’ve got a device that plays to a lot of top Android phones’ traditional strengths.

While this doesn’t mean Android is “doomed” or anything close to it — it’s by far the most used mobile platform in the world, after all — it does seem that Apple’s new iPhones look poised to take back some of the market share it’s lost to Google over the years.

TOP 10 MOST EXPENSIVE WATCHES IN THE WORLD

1). Cartier Secret
Price : $ 2.75 million

The watch is made of White Gold made out of 18 carat white gold plated with rhodium. It also shows the 3.53 carat portrait cut diamond which makes it looks glamorous as well as trendy. To make it more luxurious it is covered with 3010 brilliantly cut diamonds. all these features makes it most expensive.

Source : dailycaller

2). Patek Philippe 1953 Heures Universelles Model 2523
Price : $ 2.9 million

This watch is the most preferred watch in the community of rich peoples. This watch was auction in the year 2006. It is made up of 18 carat yellow gold. It features a polychrome and enamel dial which resembles the North American continent. It is also included in the list of most expensive watches.

Source : agurus

3). Piaget Emperador Temple
Price : $ 3.3 million

Piaget Emperador Temple was listed in the top 10 luxurious watches. The Piaget Emperador was made up of expensive diamond in which
a). First Watch contains 207 baguette cut diamonds, 481 brilliant diamonds and emerald cut diamond
b). Second Watch contain 11 baguette cut diamonds and 162 brilliant cut diamonds.

Source : alistaday

4). Patek Philippe 1928 Single Button Chronograph
Price : $ 3.6 million

The Patek Philippe 1928 Single Button Chronograph was made up of 18 carat pure white gold. The dial of Philippe 1928 was designed with silver matte. It was manufactured at the time of crash stock market in 1928 after that it is also known as one of the most important patrons in Patek Philippe.

Source : luxehighlife

5). Patek Philippe Platinum world Time
Price : $ 4.03 million

Platinum world Time watch was produced by the world’s number one watch maker company Patek Philippe. It is made in 1939. Platinum world time is also one of the most expensive watch in the world. Philippe Platinum was a first watch that was warn on moon.

Source : megafashion360

6). Louis Moinet Meteoris
Price : $ 4.6 million

Louis Moinet Meteoris was listed on top 10 luxury watches. The dial of Louis Moinet was made up of asteroid, meteorite and ancient meteorite which are not available on earth. Louis Moinet watch is also know by the name of space watch.

Source : watchtime

7). Hublot Diamond
Price : $ 5 million

Hublot Diamond is one of the most expensive and beautiful watch in the world. It is designed by adorned.It contain 1200 diamonds which is 140 carat in weight. The Hublot Diamond watch was made up of 18 carat white gold.

Source : en.paperblog

8). Patek Philippe 1527
Price : $ 5.6 million

Patek Philippe was made in 1943. The Patek Philippe watch was made up of 18 carat yellow gold and silver matte dial. It is listed in the top 10 Vintage watches. It contains extraordinary luxury features like Chronograph, beautiful moon phase display, date indicator and perpetual calendar.

Source : patekwatch

9). Patek Philippe super complication
Price : $ 11 million

Patek Philippe is among the luxurious watch maker company. The Patek Philippe super complication is the most complicated watch in the world it is made up of 18 carat gold. Super Complication took a time period of 5 years for design and manufacturing after that it was completed in 1933.

Source : fortune

10). Chopard 201 Carat
Price : $ 25 million

The Chopard,most luxurious and beautiful watch is manufactured by the Louis Ulysee Chopard.It made up by the Swiss Company and made 12 carat diamond, 15 carat pink diamond, 11 carat white diamond and 163 carat yellow diamond. It is the most expensive watch in the world.

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So these are the most expensive watches which are not only glamorous in look but are made with style and finishing. These watches contain precious metal and stones which have been cut down in a very good manner.

PAISAGENS DA MADEIRA Vista Aérea

ISIS Crisis Meeting: Kerry, World Leaders Discuss Threat to Iraq

France’s president said there was “no time to lose” in the fight against ISIS, as Secretary of State John Kerry joined leaders from more than 20 nations at a crisis meeting in Paris on Monday to come up with a strategy to defeat the militant group in Iraq.

Diplomats from around the world pledged to fight Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham militants "by any means necessary." Reuters reported that the countries agreed to provide Baghdad with "appropriate military aid" to combat ISIS. However, Iran and the United States ruled out coordinating with each other, leaving Baghdad's government caught between two powerful and antagonistic allies.

Kerry has spent days travelling through the Middle East to drum up financial and political support for a broad-based coalition to tackle the militants’ threat. After the conference ended, Kerry met privately with President Fouad Massoum at the Iraqi Embassy in Paris.

The beheading of British aid worker David Haines – the third Westerner executed at the hands of ISIS in recent weeks – has ramped up calls for a quick and clear strategy to destroy the militants. British Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday said the U.K. was considering all necessary steps to defeat ISIS – butstopped short of authorizing airstrikes.

French President Francois Hollande echoed the need for an international response as he opened Monday's international conference.

"The terrorist threat is global and the response must be global,” he said. “There is no time to lose.”

As the delegates from more than 20 nations gathered in Paris, French aircraft were due to begin their first reconnaissance flights over Iraq, France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told Europe 1 radio. The U.K. also has been flying reconnaissance missions over Iraq.

While Western nations agree on the need for a quick response to tackle the threat of ISIS, thus far the U.S has been the only nation carrying out airstrikes in Iraq since the militants launched their deadly campaign to consolidate a broad swath of territory straddling the country’s border with Syria.

While Obama has said the U.S. is considering airstrikes in Syria, America’s allies have been reluctant to join in. The U.K. has not ruled out participating in Syria airstrikes, but a previous attempt to gain parliamentary approval for similar military action last year failed. A statement issued after Monday's conference made no mention at all of Syria.

On Sunday's "Meet the Press," White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonoughoutlined what success would look like in the war against ISIS.

"Success looks like an [ISIS] that no longer threatens our friends in the region, no longer threatens the United States. An [ISIS] that can't accumulate followers, or threaten Muslims in Syria, Iran, Iraq, or otherwise," McDonough said.

- Cassandra Vinograd

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Hurricane Odile Slams Mexico's Cabo San Lucas Celebrity Resort

Tourists and locals in the Mexican town of Cabo San Lucas emerged from both shelters and gleaming resorts on Monday to assess the damage after Hurricane Odile roared through — the strongest ever to hit the Baja California peninsula.

Just after sunrise, it was still too early to get a sense of the destruction, but a local newspaper reported that people were hurt by flying glass and that a fire had broken out at the Cascadas resort. A phone call there from NBC News went unanswered.

Odile slammed into Cabo with 125 mph winds and dumped six months’ worth of rain in an hour. Mexican authorities evacuated coastal areas and readied shelters for up to 30,000 people.

At one shelter in Los Cabos, tourists crowded on the concrete stairs of a service area after the designated shelter area was destroyed.

Josh Morgerman, a California storm chaser, said his Cabo hotel lobby exploded in a “heap of rubble.” Writing on Twitter, he said he “escaped by crawling, scampering, running.”

Chelsea Ballenberger, a nurse from Alabama vacationing in the nearby city of La Paz, said she was forced to take refuge in the shower when her room flooded.

“As soon as we moved to the shower the windows shattered,” she wrote on Facebook. “We can hear the wind howling everywhere. ... Definitely the scariest thing I have ever been through.” Jason T. Vogt, a Canadian expatriate, simply described the scene as “total devastation” in a Facebook post.

Nick Wiltgen, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel, said he was monitoring “mind-boggling” reports of 11 inches of rain in just one hour — almost as much as the region’s yearly average of 13 inches. While this measurement could be due to storm-damaged equipment, he said reports of 7 inches were believable.

The storm was bearing down on La Paz, a city of 200,000 people, at 5:30 a.m. ET but was expected to weaken as it headed up the peninsula through Tuesday. The U.S. Southwest could see heavy rain and flash flooding on Tuesday.

• Record-Breaking Hurricane Brings 'Ferocious Winds' to Mexico Resort

Downgrading Windows: How low can you go?

Summary: It might come as no surprise that you can downgrade your Microsoft operating system one level, from Windows 8.x to Windows 7, for example, but did you know that you can limbo all the way down to Windows 95? You can.

While researching information for another article, I ran across a real gem on Microsoft's web site: a document titled, "Downgrade rights for Microsoft Volume Licensing, OEM, and full-package product licenses." As you can see in Figure 1 below, you may downgrade your desktop operating system to Windows NT 3.51 or to Windows 95 and every operating system since, from Microsoft's latest Windows 8.1 flagship. The big question is, "Why would you want to"? The answers to that simple question are far more interesting than the question itself. Microsoft has set the bar pretty low on this one.

But before I analyze the fascinating possibilities of this self-created loophole, allow me a momentary tangential pursuit. What if other products had this same downgrade capability? The most obvious one that comes to mind is automobiles. It would be cool if Chevrolet did this. I could buy a new Corvette and immediately downgrade it to a 1965 427ci, 4-speed, convertible, real metal awesome ride.

Figure 1: Downgrade matrix for Windows 8.1

OK, so there aren't that many examples where the downgraded version is that much cooler than the new purchase. The Corvette example works.

In the case of purchasing a new Canon T5i digital camera, I wouldn't want to downgrade to a Canon AE-1. I love my Canon AE-1 that I bought in 1983 but, let's be realistic, that's not a good trade.

Read this

Goodbye Windows 8, hello Windows 8.1

• Read more

However, in the case of certain operating systems (namely, Windows 8.x), one could effectively argue the point that a "downgrade" to Windows 7 is a good trade. Extended support for Windows 7 stretches out to January 2020. That means you could use Windows 7 for the next five-and-a-half years, which gives Microsoft enough time to come up with something a bit more palatable to the masses and businesses.

Honestly, I don't know of too many businesses that wouldn't appreciate the ability to make that trade. That is unless business owners want to convert all desktop hardware to Surfaces or touch screen computers. Sure, it's possible but expensive. It's less expensive and more sensible to make that downgrade.

A funny side note is that Windows Vista is a downgrade option. Seriously Microsoft, trading one Corvette for another is one thing but trading a Corvette for a Chevette is quite another. And a broken Chevette at that.

Sorry, I digressed from my already-in-progress tangent.

The document's latest update was March 2014. That means that Microsoft's much loved Windows XP was one month away from being mothballed — at least in theory it was one month away from being mothballed. Customers had other ideas.

And how long has Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51 been out of production support?

Do you see my point here?

If you decide to not support an operating system, as Microsoft has, why would you allow customers, especially Volume License customers, to downgrade to non-supported operating systems?

Windows 7 and even Windows Vista, I can see, because they're still supported but anything older and unsupported isn't just unwise, it's downright silly.

For example, I could purchase 100 brand new HP laptops, fresh from the factory with pre-installed Windows 8.1 on them, and because I'm a Volume License customer, I could instruct my IT department to reimage those 100 systems with Windows 95. 

Or, because I'm a Volume License customer, could I demand that HP preinstall Windows Vista on them instead of Windows 8.1?

Great Debate:

Can Windows 8 be saved?

Windows 8 was a bold bet by Microsoft to link PC, tablet and phone interfaces. Is it too soon to say the bet flopped?

• Read more

Yes, I'm being purposely facetious to prove a point. I'd never install Vista on anything that I didn't want thrown back at me. But I could do it according to the downgrade document.

I believe that companies will exercise this option to avoid moving to Windows 8.x. I feel that there are too many people who just aren't comfortable with Windows 8's interface, lack of a Start button, and the feeling of unfamiliarity that Windows 8.x has. I've gone back and forth on Windows 8 myself. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I hate it, and sometimes I think that I'm glad I switched to a Mac for my primary personal computer.

No, Windows 8.x isn't the first operating system to offer downgrades. They all have. I can remember back when Vista first hit the market. Users could downgrade to Windows XP. I advised as many as I possibly could to do so.

If you haven't yet gleaned the answer to the question posed in the first paragraph, "Why would you want to?,"

• Windows 8.x isn't ready for prime time business.
• Earlier versions of Windows are more user friendly.
• Users want to remain productive.
• Businesses don't want or need disruptive work environments.
• Earlier Windows versions are now "off the radar" for hackers and malware writers.
• Older versions require less hardware.
• The price to upgrade is too high.
• Not everyone wants to use a touch screen.

I think that Windows 8 was a nice try for Microsoft. And maybe it will work out in the long term. But in the short term, Windows 8 is a fail. Many companies and individuals will continue to use Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 before making the leap into the newer Metro-ized desktop systems.

I'd like to know how many Microsoft employees use Windows 8.x as opposed to how many have stayed with versions 7 and older. It wouldn't surprise me to find that at least 60 percent still use an older version. At one time, I heard that a large number of Microsoft employees used Linux, but I never verified that claim.

Any Microsoft employees want to participate in an interview with me? I won't reveal your identity, if you choose to do so.

What do you think of the downgrade options for operating systems? Would you exercise your right, use what's installed on your systems, or even chance a mass conversion to Windows 8.x? Talk back and let me know.

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• Is Windows 8 a catastrophe or a success?
• In spite of all the hate, I like Windows 8
• Windows 8.1's BYOD enhancements ready for business adoption

Topics: Windows, Enterprise Software, Microsoft, Operating Systems