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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Fresh off a debate performance he spent highlighting American stories, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Friday peppered his campaign stump speech with those same kinds of personal anecdotes.

During his speech, he pointed to a 14-year-old facing leukemia, a quadriplegic friend who spent his life working for spinal injury research and a woman, Jane Horton whose husband Spec. Chris was a sniper in the Oklahoma National Guard and died last year who now works to help other Gold Star families that have lost someone in battle.

This is a time when some very misguided people were protesting at the funerals of our service men and women, you recall that? And they came to the funeral for her husband, and she was asked, what do you think about this? Mr. Romney recounted. She said, Chris died for them to be able to protest. This is quite a nation we live in, with extraordinary people.

Throughout much of the campaign, Mr. Romney has struggled to connect with voters. In the most recent Washington Times/Zogby Poll released earlier this week, voters were far less likely to say they felt they knew Mr. Romney than they were to say they knew President Obama.

But in Wednesdays debate, Mr. Romney went in with a strategy of trying to exude personal warmth and it worked.

Early on, he talked about meeting a man who owns an electronics business in St. Louis who calculated he pays more than 50 percent of his revenue in federal, state and local taxes.

He then pivoted to talk about a mom he met in New Hampshire who said she couldnt afford health insurance for her son, and another couple in Wisconsin who ran a business but said they were considering dropping their insurance coverage because they could no longer afford it.

Such personal stories had been the trademark of Mr. Obamas speeches. But Mr. Romney won rave reviews for his own foray into those kinds of anecdotes at the debate, and on Friday in Florida used them to make a connection with his crowd.

He commenced telling a story of meeting World War II veterans at an airport in Toledo, Ohio, when a woman in the front of the crowd whooped.

Originally posted here:
Romney tries personal touch on campaign stump

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Mitt Romney got personal tonight in Florida, shifting the attention away from the improving unemployment rates and instead opting to share story after story about people he's met over the years.

There was the woman from Oklahoma whose husband was killed in Afghanistan, the 14-year-old Massachusetts boy who asked him to write his will before he passed away from cancer and a quadriplegic who Romney said spoke with him the day before his death.

What there wasn't was any mention of the better-than-expected jobs report, which found that the nation's unemployment rate had decreased to 7.8 percent last month, the first time it's been under 8 percent in four years.

For Romney, who had been riding a wave of momentum after his strong debate performance earlier this week, tonight served as an opportunity to continue to tackle one of the biggest criticisms against him: that he doesn't connect enough with the average American.

"I've seen America," Romney said. "I've seen the greatness of the human spirit in my fellow Americans. It's what gives me confidence in our future, knowing we can rise to the occasion time and again. I've seen it throughout my life."

"I got to meet Billy Hulse and Bill began a business, was very successful and then was involved in an accident and became quadriplegic," Romney said. "And I just saw him a couple of weeks ago - I think three weeks ago in Atlanta, he came to an event. And, it's not easy for Billy to get around [as a] quadriplegic. But his wife was there and he can't move, of course, his arms and his legs, and he can barely speak. And they brought him forward, a big crowd around him.

"I reached down and I put my hand on Billy's shoulder and I whispered into his ear, and I said, 'Billy, God bless you, I love ya.' And he whispered right back to me - and I couldn't quite hear what he said," said Romney. "He tried to speak loud enough for me to hear. He died the next day."

Next was the story of David Oparowski, the 14-year-old for whom Romney helped write a will before he died of leukemia. Oparowski's story was first told at the Republican National Convention by his mother. Tonight, Romney told it himself for the first time.

"I went to David's bedside and got a piece of legal paper, made it look very official," said Romney, of the day Oparowski summoned him to his bedside. "And then David proceeded to tell me what he wanted to give his friends. Talked about his fishing rod, and who would get that. He talked about his skateboard, who'd get that. And his rifle, that went to his brother. I've seen the character of a young man like David, who wasn't emotional or crying. He had his eyes wide open. There's a saying: clear eyes, full heart, can't lose. David couldn't lose. I loved that young man."

The last story Romney told was about Jane Horton, a woman from Oklahoma the candidate met at the Republican convention. Horton's husband was killed in Afghanistan days before the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and his funeral was protested by members of the Westboro Baptist Church.

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Mitt Romney Gets Personal in Florida

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Mitt Romney got personal Friday night in Florida, shifting the attention away from the improving unemployment rates and instead opting to share story after story about people he's met over the years.

There was the woman from Oklahoma whose husband was killed in Afghanistan, the 14-year-old Massachusetts boy who asked him to write his will before he passed away from cancer and a quadriplegic who Romney said spoke with him the day before his death.

What there wasn't was any mention of the better-than-expected jobs report, which found that the nation's unemployment rate had decreased to 7.8 percent last month, the first time it's been under 8 percent in four years.

For Romney, who had been riding a wave of momentum after his strong debate performance earlier this week, tonight served as an opportunity to continue to tackle one of the biggest criticisms against him: that he doesn't connect enough with the average American.

"I've seen America," Romney said. "I've seen the greatness of the human spirit in my fellow Americans. It's what gives me confidence in our future, knowing we can rise to the occasion time and again. I've seen it throughout my life."

"I got to meet Billy Hulse and Bill began a business, was very successful and then was involved in an accident and became quadriplegic," Romney said. "And I just saw him a couple of weeks ago - I think three weeks ago in Atlanta, he came to an event. And, it's not easy for Billy to get around [as a] quadriplegic. But his wife was there and he can't move, of course, his arms and his legs, and he can barely speak. And they brought him forward, a big crowd around him.

"I reached down and I put my hand on Billy's shoulder and I whispered into his ear, and I said, 'Billy, God bless you, I love ya.' And he whispered right back to me - and I couldn't quite hear what he said," said Romney. "He tried to speak loud enough for me to hear. He died the next day."

Next was the story of David Oparowski, the 14-year-old for whom Romney helped write a will before he died of leukemia. Oparowski's story was first told at the Republican National Convention by his mother. On Friday, Romney told it himself for the first time.

"I went to David's bedside and got a piece of legal paper, made it look very official," said Romney, of the day Oparowski summoned him to his bedside. "And then David proceeded to tell me what he wanted to give his friends. Talked about his fishing rod, and who would get that. He talked about his skateboard, who'd get that. And his rifle, that went to his brother. I've seen the character of a young man like David, who wasn't emotional or crying. He had his eyes wide open. There's a saying: clear eyes, full heart, can't lose. David couldn't lose. I loved that young man."

The last story Romney told was about Jane Horton, a woman from Oklahoma the candidate met at the Republican convention. Horton's husband was killed in Afghanistan days before the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and his funeral was protested by members of the Westboro Baptist Church.

Continued here:
Mitt Romney gets personal in Florida speech

Intel is diving into the personal cloud storage space with a new Atom-based platform targeted towards both consumers and small businesses.

SAN FRANCISCO--Intel is getting into the personal cloud storage game with the introduction of its own Atom processor-based storage solutions aimed towards both consumers and small businesses.

Essentially, these are network-attached storage appliances powered by either the Intel Atom D2550 or D2500 processors for securing, backing up and sharing content through the cloud. The cloud technology comes in through an exposed HTML IP address (with a secure log-in), and the end user can access that IP address either through a regular desktop browser or it can look like a drive.

Intel said it has been focused on developing reference architectures to meet the costs and performance points they need on both personal and public clouds on systems running on Atom chips.

"Ballooning data is a fact of life," according to David Tuhy, general manager of Intel's Storage Group, while presenting the processor giant's new cloud storage platform during a media briefing yesterday morning.

While this might seem like a bit of an understatement, managing data (whether it be personal data, big data, or any other kind), presents a both major opportunity and challenge for every arm of technology.

Citing recent research from the Aberdeen Group, Intel reports that SMB storage volumes are increasing by 30 percent annually, while consumer digital storage needs will grow from 329 exabytes to 4.1 zettabytes.

One of the things challenging for small businesses are growing requirements and policy driven on them by data retention. Tuhy cited HIPAA, in particular, which has rules that vary by state by state but does require healthcare organizations to retain up to five years worth of data to the life of the patient.

He argued that all of this speaks to fact that both consumers and businesses need a better way to maintain their data integrity.

Tuhy listed what Intel believes SMBs and consumers want most, citing protection and privacy as the two foremost concerns. That includes automated backup functionality but also sharing files across connected devices while being able to selectively grant remote access.

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Intel shows off personal cloud for consumers, small business

By DR. JESUS P. ESTANISLAO

MANILA, Philippines Resulting from the work we do, which we are duty-bound to do as well as we can, we gain access to economic and financial resources. We get rewarded for our work. From the fruits of our work, we acquire claims to material resources with which to sustain our life and move forward towards prosperity. Indeed, the economic and financial perspectives of our personal life are shaped mainly by the work we do.

The link between work and its economic and financial consequences underscores our duty to be productive. We do not go about our work irresponsibly. Rather, we work with productive results in view. We deliver results. We add value. Before we ever ask, what is in it for me, we should first ask, what contribution am I making? What positive difference am I bringing to the table through the work I do? Indeed, what is my added value?

The answer we give to the question about the value we add is critical for our personal self-worth as well as for the economic worth we are entitled to, arising from the work we do.

Our sense of self-worth comes, in part, from an appreciation of our productivity. At any time, our productivity is at a given level, taking into account a whole set of factors and circumstances that help define the results we actually deliver, e.g., our training and motivation, the tools and equipment we have at hand, and the organizational infrastructure that supports our work. It is also clear that as we strive to improve and perfect ourselves through our work, our productivity should continuously be rising. It should always be going higher; and over time, we progress towards much higher levels. Sometimes, our productivity takes a leap. It may on occasion jump, unrestrained by a few bounds.

Our level of productivity or the standard of efficiency and effectiveness we achieve at any given time helps determine our personal worth. It links with our economic and financial worth: Our pay is closely tied up with our level of performance at any given time. Over time, pay should move up progressively with performance. This is how, in broad terms, we should make progress in economic and financial terms.

It is for this reason that in our work we should always be open to training, new learning, a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness arising from innovation and the application of new knowledge and technology. Since we have to do our work well, we seek to do it with the use of science properly applied to our actual circumstances. Most of the technology we adopt we simply get from elsewhere, e.g., off the shelf. But at least a portion of the technology we use may have to be home-grown: We need to do a lot of creative, innovative work in tweaking readily available technology so it is duly fitted to the proper requirements and specific demands of the work we carry out.

We can innovate and adapt new technology to our own work circumstances, only if we make continuing investments; and investments are possible only if we observe the practice of setting aside some savings. We just do not spend everything we earn; our income should generally be higher than our expenses. It is imperative for us to save resources, i.e., both time and money, for training and re-tooling. We are duty-bound, therefore, to bring our operations to a productive and efficient level where we can set aside some savings for prudent and smart deployment in investments on improved processes and newer, significantly more efficient technology.

The old Pauline dictum still holds: we work, and so we eat. We should also work very well, so in addition to eating (and consuming), we can save as well, and thereby invest for sustaining growth and development.

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Personal, Economic, And Financial Concerns

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Small businesses are grappling with how to manage the dramatic growth of critical files, email and media. Meanwhile consumers are creating and purchasing vast amounts of digital content, including music, movies, photos, e-books and videos. To help them have greater control over of their data, Intel Corporation today announced its next-generation Intel Atom processor-based storage solution.

Recognizing the ongoing, real-time growth of storage demands, this solution, powered by the Intel Atom processor D2550 or the Intel Atom processor D2500, combines impressive multimedia capabilities, energy efficiency and excellent performance to deliver the personal cloud to businesses and consumers.

Intels next-generation Atom processor provides an ideal solution for powering intelligent storage system designs that will act as a personal cloud inside the office or home, and will deliver better ways to store and access data, said David Tuhy, general manager, Intel Storage Division. With a range of systems designers on board, the Intel Atom processor-based storage solution raises the bar in how data is stored, managed and shared.

Meeting the Business Challenge: A Personal Cloud

Businesses such as retailers, financial services firms, medical and legal offices require on-site solutions to store and access data locally, as well as the ability to access that data remotely. With this solution, businesses can provide their employees with a personal cloud storage experience so they can have fast, secure access to files from work, home or on the road from any connected device. This solution also supports multiple file transfer protocols so companies can share data and content regardless of the operating system.

Broad Security Capabilities

With security of paramount concern to businesses, this solution is supported by the McAfee AV SDK and VirusScan which will give small businesses a valuable tool for protection against data corruption and virus attacks. Centralized backup of all devices also assures businesses that their data is protected. Businesses with video surveillance systems can attach up to two monitors to a single platform-based storage device and view up to four camera feeds that feature HD-quality clarity.

Content Vault for Consumers

Devices featuring this storage solution also act as centralized media platforms for storing movies, music, video, games, photos and other content.

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Next-Generation Intel® Atom™ Processor-Based Storage Platform Powers Personal Cloud for Small Businesses and Consumers

Kotak MoneyWatch is a white labeled solution offered by Kotak Mahindra Bank to its customer for Personal Finance management. This Personal Finance tool is powered by Perfios Solution. A link of the Perfios Solutions website will be given on Kotak Mahindra Bank website. Customer will have to click on this link and register for usage of this tool. Currently only Platinum service is being offered and Kotak customers will be able to enjoy this Free of cost till March 2013. Post March 2013, the standard service will be made available and hence Kotak customers who have availed the Platinum services will be downgraded to Standard Perfios user, which can be upgraded by paying a discounted cost.

Benefits

Kotak MoneyWatch offers a 360 degree view of ones personal finance in an automated way. The tool also helps in tracking, monitoring and managing finance with very little manual intervention. EASY CONSOLIDATION The tools can add all the financial relationships such as bank accounts, fixed deposits, insurances, ULIPs, gold, mutual funds, PPF, credit cards, loans, equities etc. so as to give a complete picture of all finances at one glance. EASY INTELLIGENCE Simple upload of e-statements to the site, and MoneyWatch will automatically pull out all financial data, to update the records. EASY ANALYSIS Various transactions are auto-categorized so as to ascertain a variety of analysis on the spending patterns, Capital Gains, Profit and Loss reports, etc. EASY TAX The Income Tax Wizard helps in Income Tax computation and Tax Filing automatically from the stored data. It can generate various reports such as Balance Sheet, AIR, Cash Flow Statements and Capital Gain Reports. EASY BILLING Add various billers such as telephone, electricity, gas, internet, etc. MoneyWatch sends alerts so due date is not missed EASY STORAGE Important financial documents like PAN Card, Form 16, Tax Returns, etc. can be securely stored for easy retrieval and access from anywhere, anytime. EASY PLANNING Track the movement of various investments, so as to know their performance over various time periods. The patterns thus revealed will help to have a better control over personal finances of self as well as that of the entire family. EASY ACCESS You can access MoneyWatch from a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone, no matter where you are.

Salient Features

1) Steps to Register:

Customer has to Signup for Kotak MoneyWatch using his/her email id. He/she can visit http://www.kotakmoneywatch.com to Sign-up for Kotak MoneyWatch. The registration for Kotak MoneyWatch is done for Platinum service offered by Perfios. Platinum service is free only upto March 2013. Post March 2013, the user will be converted to Standard Perfios user.

2) Benefits of Platinum Services are as follows: Unlimited number of accounts, auto updates, statement uploads and e-mail forwarding, number of accounts that can be shared to other Perfios users, SMS alerts and reminders, document storage. Automatic handling that includes Equity Bonus, Dividents, Split etc. Reports in different formats, Windows-only smart update tool, Perfios mobile, export data, Income Tax Wizard, No ads, Password back-up and reports among others.

3) Login to Kotak MoneyWatch:

Customer to login from http://www.kotakmoneywatch.com. Customers to login with their email id & password. In case the customer faces any issue, he can write down an email to kotak@perfios.com for all his queries.

4) Linking of accounts/uploading data:

The rest is here:
Kotak MoneyWatch (Your One Stop for Personal Finance Management)

Summary: Intel is diving into the personal cloud storage space with a new Atom-based platform targeted towards both consumers and small businesses.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Intel is getting into the personal cloud storage game with the introduction of its own Atom processor-based storage solutions aimed towards both consumers and small businesses.

Essentially, these are network-attached storage appliances powered by either the Intel Atom D2550 or D2500 processors for securing, backing up and sharing content through the cloud. The cloud technology comes in through an exposed HTML IP address (with a secure login), and the end user can access that IP address either through a regular desktop browser or it can look like a drive.

Intel said it has been focused on developing reference architectures to meet the costs and performance points they need on both personal and public clouds on systems running on Atom chips.

"Ballooning data is a fact of life," according to David Tuhy, general manager of Intel's Storage Group, while presenting the processor giant's new cloud storage platform during a media briefing on Thursday morning.

While this might seem like a bit of an understatement, managing data (whether it be personal data, big data, or any other kind), presents a both major opportunity and challenge for every arm of technology.

Citing recent research from the Aberdeen Group, Intel reports that SMB storage volumes are increasing by 30 percent annually, while consumer digital storage needs will grow from 329 exabytes to 4.1 zettabytes.

One of the things challenging for small businesses are growing requirements and policy driven on them by data retention. Tuhy cited HIPAA, in particular, which has rules that vary by state by state but does require healthcare organizations to retain up to five years worth of data to the life of the patient.

"Data loss is far too common," Tuhy asserted, citing more research from the University of North Carolina that 2,000 laptops are stolen or lost every day while 32 percent of data loss is caused by human error.

He argued that all of this speaks to fact that both consumers and businesses need a better way to maintain their data integrity.

See the article here:
Intel unveils personal cloud platform for SMBs, consumers

(MoneyWatch) Are you ever in a professional or personal setting where you feel intimidated, unsure of your abilities, nervous, awkward or downright scared? No more.

What would your life look like if you had more confidence and felt more powerful? Would you perform better at work, during a job interview or while giving a presentation? Would you be able to engage with members of the opposite sex more freely and have a little more swag in your step? Get ready to learn a simple and proven technique to boost your confidence instantly. It's a big promise to be sure and not one I make lightly. I really hate hyperbole and promises of quick fixes and easy solutions, but once in a while I come across something that really has the power to change lives. This is one of those times.

So what's the secret to a powerful performance? Preparation for sure, but don't make the mistake of thinking all you need is to be prepared. Even if you know your stuff inside and out, if you aren't confident you will fail to perform. You've seen this a thousand times -- the presentation where you focus more on the timid and awkward delivery than the message. There is no worse feeling than knowing you could have killed it if it hadn't been for your nerves, self-doubt or hesitation. When you get your shot, you have to be more than prepared.

The real "X" factor that determines who gets the job, the promotion and other rewards in life is confidence. Since confidence is the magical pixie dust that can mean the difference between success and failure, you should spend just as much time on your mental game as you do on your work. But if you're in a pressure situation and you don't have your sports psychologist on speed dial, there is another option that research shows can immediately boost your confidence.

It turns out mom was right. When she told you to stand up straight, she instinctively knew that how others view you can influence their perception of you. But what she didn't know is that when we stand up straight we not only influence how others perceive us, but how we see ourselves.As an executive coach working with individuals who need to perform at peak performance, I've long known that how clients' move their bodies can influence their confidence, outlook and performance. Now it turns out we have some research to back this up.

Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy has shown that even if we "fake" body postures that convey confidence and power -- what she calls "power posing" -- even for as little as two minutes, it "changes our testosterone and cortisol levels, increases our appetite for risk, causes us to perform better in job interviews and generally configures our brains to cope well in stressful situations."

Building on such research, ere is how you can immediately boost your confidence:

1. Preparation: Get big for two minutes. If you want confidence, it's all about becoming big. Before the presentation or job interview (or frankly anytime you want to have more confidence), move and expand your body. Stretch your arms outward or to the ceiling. Exaggerate your movements. Put your hands behind your back and your feet up on the desk. Do whatever you can to become as physically big as possible. The research shows that all it takes is just two minutes of this kind of movement in order to increase your confidence.

2. Performance: Fill the space. Now that it's game time, you don't want to make such exaggerated movements and you don't want to try to overpower someone who is naturally in a more powerful role, like someone interviewing you for a job. Nor do you want to shrink into a passive position like so many others do. You need to walk a fine line between being too much and too little. Cuddy's advice is to be as "big" as you can comfortably be by standing tall, keeping your shoulders back and having your feet apart. If you are sitting, don't sink into your chair. Sit up straight and keep your arms loose and on the armrests of the chair. Resist the natural tendency to shrink in this situations by doing what you can to "fill the room."

Success is about dreaming big, playing big and now, it seems, becoming big. Just remember to expand your body to expand your confidence.

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How to boost your confidence in 2 minutes

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - Oct 3, 2012) - New research from SilkRoad Technology reveals that even in organizations that don't restrict access, the vast majority of employees use their mobile devices to check social media websites on a daily basis.Released today, SilkRoad's "Social Media and Workplace 2012 Report" surveyed more than 1,100 employees in North America to understand how people are using social media at work to communicate and collaborate with co-workers, customers, partners and acquaintances.A copy of the full report can be found here.

To tweet this report, simply click here: http://clicktotweet.me/d1E5gfp9

"Employees will use social media during the workday.These findings make it clear: companies can either find ways to use social media to achieve measureable business results, or they can ignore it at their own peril," said Flip Filipowski, CEO, SilkRoad Technology."There is a common misperception that people only use social media for personal reasons.This research proves that people are looking to social media to help them be better at their jobs -- including connecting with co-workers and customers."

The survey revealed attitudes and common practices from all three generations currently in the workforce, including Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials.Notable findings include:

The Social Media and Workplace 2012 Report was conducted from July-August 2012 through an online survey amongst a sample of 1,105 employees of corporations and not-for-profit organizations across the United States.Of the respondents, 33 percent came from organizations having more than 1,000 employees, 44 percent were from Generation X, 44 percent were Millennials and 12 percent were Baby Boomers.

About SilkRoad Technology SilkRoad is a leading global provider of cloud-based social talent management software.Their passion for creating the finest employee experience drives everything they do.The award-winning SilkRoad Life Suite is an integrated set of employer-branded TM/HCM solutions that power businesses with the latest Web 2.0 and social media innovations: OpenHire for recruiting, RedCarpet for onboarding and life events, WingSpan for performance management, GreenLight for learning management, Point and Eprise for Social Collaboration and Content, and HeartBeat for trusted HRMS.The Life Suite is ideally suited for businesses of every size because of its unique and open "start anywhere" architecture -- implement the complete suite or begin with one solution and add functionality as you need it.Either way, it's the fastest path to develop more productive and empowered employees who can rapidly boost business performance.Visit http://www.silkroad.com, follow them on Twitter @SilkRoadTweetsor call 866-329-3363 (U.S. toll free) or +1-336-201-5100.

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75 Percent of Employees Access Social Media From Personal Mobile Devices at Work According to Research From SilkRoad