What are the best options for home improvement loans?

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Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700

The New Apple iPad ($499, 4.5 stars) started the resolution race, and it looks like Asus is the first to market with an Android contender?the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 ($499/32GB, $599/64GB). We first heard about this tablet?back at Mobile World Congress, and though it doesn't quite match the iPad pixel-for-pixel, its 1,920-by-1,200-pixel resolution is still pretty impressive. Aside from the screen, the TF700 looks and feels a lot like the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 ($499, 4 stars), but inside are slightly more powerful components, from a faster-clocked processor to an improved camera. While this is certainly a major step forward for Android tablets, there just aren't enough apps that take full advantage of the high-resolution screen.

Design, Features, and Camera
Much like Apple's own high-resolution tablet, the TF700 is nearly indistinguishable from its predecessor. The TF700 measures 10.35 by 7.11 by 0.33 inches (HWD) and 1.31 pounds, making it nearly identical to the TF201 (10.35 by 7.11 by 0.32 inches, 1.28 pounds). It's thinner and lighter than the new iPad (7.3 by 9.5 by 0.37 inches, 1.46 pounds). The aluminum frame feels solidly built, with the same concentric textured rings shared between all Asus tablets. There's a slight taper along the left and right edges, which gives the tablet a wedge-like appearance. On the backside, instead of a single piece of aluminum, a thin strip at the top is made from plastic?likely a revision to address any GPS signal issues. The TF700 will be available in two colors: Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold. The ports and buttons have been moved around; the Power and Volume buttons are now both on the top edge, with the headphone jack, micro HDMI, and microSD card slot found on the left. The bottom edge houses the proprietary connector for charging, syncing, and docking with the optional keyboard dock ($149). The TF700 is compatible with the keyboard dock for the TF201, but not the dock for the Asus Transformer Pad TF300?($379, 4 stars). ?

This is a Wi-Fi only tablet that connects to 802.11b/g/n networks (only at 2.4GHz), and it also features Bluetooth 3.0 and GPS. Bluetooth headsets connected fine and GPS was fast and accurate.The $499 base model comes with 32GB of internal storage, which is double that of the $499 new iPad, and you can upgrade to 64GB for $599. The 64GB iPad will run you $699. We tested the 64GB model and found that it only accepted microSD cards up to 16GB.

The camera has been upgraded from the TF201, and now features an f/2.2 aperture as opposed to the f/2.4. It's the same 8-megapixel camera found in the TF300, but with an LED flash. There's also a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Images taken with the rear camera looked good, with crisp details, accurate colors, and proper focus. Indoors, however, details were still a bit too soft for my taste. The low-light performance was acceptable, with little image noise, but some dark spots looked too dark and lost details in the shadows. Images taken with the front-facing camera were very grainy and the quality was unsuitable for anything but video chats, where quality is less of a factor. Video using the rear camera is captured at 1080p resolution and held steady at 30 frames per second both indoors and outdoors, which is an improvement over previous models that dropped frame rates indoors. The quality itself is largely the same though, and the footage is still too wobbly.

Software, Display, and Performance
The Infinity TF700 features the same Android 4.0.3 "Ice Cream Sandwich" build as the TF201 and TF300. There are some minor cosmetic changes, but the main thing you'll notice is Asus's customized quick setting panel in the notification bar, which give you access to common settings like Wi-Fi, performance modes, and screen brightness. For a more in depth look head over to the TF201 review or our hands-on with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime with Ice Cream Sandwich. There's also the usual pre-loaded software, ranging from Netflix and Kindle apps to Asus's own cloud storage and e-book reader apps.

The marquee feature here is the 10.1-inch 1,920-by-1,200-pixel IPS+ display, and it doesn't disappoint. It's not quite as densely packed as the 2,048-by-1,536-pixel Retina display, but the 224 pixels per inch is fairly close to the iPad's 264 pixels per inch. You likely won't notice the difference at normal viewing distances. The display itself is covered by Corning's new Gorilla Glass 2, which is thinner than the original and supposedly offers better touch responsiveness, but I didn't notice any difference. Much like the Transformer Prime TF201, the Infinity TF700 has a Super IPS+ mode that jacks the brightness up to 600 nits. Apple doesn't list an exact brightness for its displays, but the TF700 is much brighter than the iPad?so much so that I found myself checking to make sure the iPad was in fact set at max brightness. Viewing angle is solid and colors look pleasantly saturated in both normal and Super IPS+ modes.

The new screen enhances text so Web browsing and emails look great, but few apps have been optimized for the high-res display. The problem lies not with the TF700, but rather with the Android apps themselves. Text elements and pictures with high enough resolution look incredibly sharp and detailed, but many games don't take advantage of the new screen. Riptide GP and Shadowgun, two games optimized for the Tegra 3 processor, look the same on the TF700 and the low-cost TF300. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and most apps scale very well to the higher resolution. In some cases, apps do look better. For example, the birds in Angry Birds Space look clear and detailed when fully zoomed out, making the same rendered birds on the TF300 look like pixelated blobs.

The question is, will developers begin to optimize apps for the high resolution displays? They have yet to optimize many games for even standard resolution Android tablets, so I remain skeptical. The Google Play app market pales in comparison with the over 200,000 tablet-oriented apps in the Apple App Store. Most Android apps are made to run on smaller phone screens, and generally look bad on 10-inch tablets, with far too much wasted space. There are options like the Tablified Market ($1.49, 4 stars), which offers around 1,500 apps, and Nvidia's Tegra Zone, which features a few dozen apps specifically made to take advantage of Tegra processors.

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BlkSportsOnline: remember the rule, never believe anything in NBA Free Agency, not matter what the "sources" say

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UKMobileReview: Weekend Read: Windows Phone 8; worth the wait? http://t.co/S6fX2XBk #Nokia #WP8 #Microsoft #Lumia by @Nirave

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Lebanon to take part in regional energy forum in Cyprus next week

BEIRUT: Lebanon will be one of the main participants in a major regional energy forum in Cyprus next week with a special emphasis on oil and gas exploration in the Middle East.

Energy and Water Minister Gebran Bassil will be one of the key speakers in the event to be held at Cyprus University on June 26.

Lebanon will start its first bidding round for offshore oil and natural gas exploration licenses this year after approving regulatory laws in January.

Meanwhile, Cyprus is expected to offer a second licensing round on some 12 offshore fields. Critics have suggested that Lebanon has been slow off the mark in becoming a regional player, let alone actually bidding for involvement.

Information company Gulf Intelligence, organizer of the Levant Energy Forum 2012, noted that an estimated 122 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, recoverable natural gas are in the Levant Basin Province in the eastern Mediterranean region, which includes the coastal areas off Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

?The Levant Basin also holds an estimated 1.7 billion barrels of undiscovered, recoverable oil. Noble Energy Inc. reported in December that it had made another natural gas discovery near Cyprus, building on a string of successes in the eastern Mediterranean. The oil-and-gas explorer and its partners have now made five discoveries in the greater Levant basin,? Gulf Intelligence said in a statement.

?The gas finds are estimated at 33 trillion cubic feet. The newest well offshore [from] Cyprus was drilled at a water depth of about 1.6 km, and about 5.5 km into the ocean floor. Noble said it could yield up to 8 trillion cubic feet of gas,? it added.

Noble, which is based in Houston, operates the well with a 70 percent working interest, and Delek Drilling LP and Avner Oil Exploration LP will each have 15 percent, subject to final approval by the government of Cyprus.

Cyprus? President Demetris Christofias will be keynoting at the forum in addition to the country?s Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Minister Neoklis Sylikiotis

Moderating the event is Sean Evers, managing partner of Gulf Intelligence. Evers is a former correspondent for the Financial Times and Bloomberg, and founded Gulf Intelligence in 2009. The Dubai-based strategic communications and public affairs consultancy produces industry forums and roundtable discussion sessions globally.

Also speaking is Roudi Baroudi, the secretary-general World Energy Council Lebanon, leading energy expert and the CEO of Qatari-based Energy & Environment Holding.

Forum industry partners include Noble Energy, an independent energy company with a diverse portfolio of assets and a presence in 11 countries; Premier Oil plc, a FTSE 250 independent exploration and production company with interests in the North Sea, South East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan regions; and Norman Broadbent, the U.K.-based consulting executive search firm.

The event is hosted by the University of Cyprus, which boasts six faculties and 21 departments offering a wide range of study programs.

According to energy experts, the thus-far untapped Levantine Basin is potentially comparable to other major reserves around the world.

For further information on the Levant Energy Forum: www.thegulfintelligence.com.

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Hilbert Provost, Vice President Selected for National Leadership Program

HAMBURG, N.Y. ? Christopher Holoman, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs at Hilbert College, is one of 20 college administrators selected by the Council of Independent Colleges to participate in a year-long Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission Program for prospective college and university presidents.

The seminar-based program is designed to provide individuals with the potential to serve as college and university presidents a better understanding of the fit between their personal and professional goals and the missions of institutions they may lead in the future. Program participants are senior administrators who may aspire to the presidency of an independent college or university and their spouses. Participants engage in two seminars, consult with experienced mentors, and undertake a series of readings about the vocation of college presidents and the role of vision and mission in institutional leadership.

With an increase of presidential retirements expected to be forthcoming, it is especially important for individuals who become new presidents to be well suited to the needs of the institution. Participation in programs such as the one offered by CIC will help potential presidents to enter into a presidency that will be more long-lasting, highly effective and satisfying for the president and the institution.

?The alignment of personal vocation and institutional mission emphasized in the program addresses a common challenge of presidencies. The program aims to help participants achieve great things for their institutions,? said Richard Ekman, CIC president.

?Holoman was named in 2007 as Hilbert?s provost and vice president for academic affairs, an interim post he held since 2006. Coming to the college in 1999 as a professor of political science, he has authored articles on international policy and politics in scholarly journals and co-authored a textbook on politics.

An authority on international relations, politics and trade, Holoman has been frequently interviewed as an expert source by print and broadcast news media.

Holoman earned doctorate and master?s degrees in political science, both from the University of Chicago, and a bachelor?s degree in international relations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A native of Raleigh, N.C., he resides in Amherst.

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AP IMPACT: AP trip finds Syria rebels without leader, disorganized, willing to kill prisoners

SARJEH, Syria - Rebel commander Ahmed Eissa al-Sheikh keeps a paper on his desk bearing the names of the dead from his brigade. The first 16 are neatly typed below a Quranic verse extolling martyrdom. The next 14 are handwritten and crammed into the margin, because the paper is full.

Al-Sheikh, an Islamist with a long black beard and grey fatigues, runs the Falcons of Damascus group from the mayor's office in his village, which his fighters have taken over. The list is a constant reminder of al-Sheikh's personal score with the Syrian regime: 20 of the dead are his relatives, including three brothers and his 16-year-old son, all killed fighting Syrian forces in the last year.

One of northern Syria's most powerful and best-armed commanders, Al-Sheikh boasts more than 1,000 fighters, and they don't shy away from rougher tactics themselves. They have released prisoners in bomb-laden cars and then detonated them at army checkpoints ? turning the drivers into unwitting suicide bombers.

Most of their weapons are booty, including at least two anti-aircraft guns, some anti-tank missiles and one tank, but they buy arms with donations from "honourable businessmen." Although al-Sheikh, who ran a grocery store before the uprising, wouldn't disclose the source or amount, he gets enough to pay some of his men monthly salaries of about $25, slightly more for those with wives and children. His fighters say the cash comes from Syrian expatriates and other Arabs. He was heard on the phone thanking a group in Bahrain.

"God willing, Syria will not bow to anyone but Allah after the regime falls," he said.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE: Journalist Ben Hubbard was part of a three-member Associated Press team that spent two weeks with rebels in northern Syria, gathering firsthand information on the increasingly bloody rebellion against President Bashar Assad ? the longest and deadliest uprising of the Arab Spring.

___

Al-Sheikh is one face of the rebel movement in Syria. There are many more.

During two weeks in northern Syria, three Associated Press journalists counted more than 20 rebel groups, with anywhere from fewer than 100 to more than 1,000 fighters each. They go by names like the Idlib Martyrs Brigade and the Shield of the Revolution, and while all share a deep hatred of President Bashar Assad's regime, their unity stops there.

Simply put, no one is in charge.

This comes at a time when efforts to end 15 months of strife in Syria are collapsing, and the rebel movement has taken the lead in the struggle against Assad. Some countries have talked of boosting the rebels' capabilities against the regime, and U.S. officials have told the AP that U.S. operatives are sifting among the rebel groups to determine which should receive arms from other Arab nations.

Rebel co-ordination rarely extends beyond neighbouring towns and villages and never to the provincial or national level. Many rebels don't even know the commanders in towns two hours away.

While the regime has been brutal, so have some of the rebels ? another cause of concern for the West.

Opposition activists filter most information about the rebels sent outside the country, making it hard to get an accurate picture. But several groups said they had sent captured soldiers "to Cyprus," which the rebels use as a euphemism for execution usually by gunfire.

One group said it had killed two brothers caught collaborating with the regime ? one during interrogation, the other by firing squad.

Rebels have scored small victories against regime forces throughout Syria's northern Idlib province. Armed with bought, looted or homemade weapons, they have destroyed government army posts and littered main highways with charred army vehicles.

In the countryside, they roam freely in much more territory than was previously known, their bearded, camouflaged gunmen on motorcycles zipping through strings of towns and villages with no remaining police or security presence. Children often hail the fighters with V-for-victory signs and calls of "May God protect you!"

But Syria's army retains a chokehold on many large towns and cities with tanks, attack helicopters and heavy artillery, weapons that the rebels' current arms can't challenge.

Indeed, more than two dozen rebel commanders, fighters and activists said that without better arms they can do no more than chip away at the regime ? a recipe for a long, deadly insurgency.

"If we get military aid, the end will come quickly," said Ahmed Abdel-Qader, a rebel co-ordinator in the village of Koreen. "If not, we have no idea how this will end. We are here. We're not going back. God will decide the rest."

Even groups associated with the Free Syrian Army, which claims to represent the armed opposition, bemoan the failure of its Turkey-based leadership to deliver aid. While they wait, most rely on guerrilla tactics.

One afternoon, 50 fighters in a vast olive grove crawled under barbed wire, leaped over oil drums and dove through flaming hoops in training for future attacks. Most were in their 20s and 30s and had fled the provincial capital of Idlib when the army seized it in March. Their rifles can't match the tanks guarding the city, and they can't afford better weapons.

Commander Maan Dahnin said a Kalashnikov rifle now costs $1,500 and bullets are $4 each. That's why when they lined up for target practice, most fighters fired only a few times.

Some weapons come from neighbouring Iraq, though many are duds, and some from Turkey, he said. The best come from corrupt officers in the Syrian army itself.

"There are those who worry that the regime is going to fall, so they want to fill their pockets first," Dahnin said.

For now, his group's 1,000 men never gather in one place, so that if they are shelled or come under fire, not everyone will die. Meanwhile, they focus on roadside bombs built with dynamite, sugar and fertilizer and detonated by remote control.

Like most rebel commanders, Dahnin said his group gets no outside support.

"Here's the biggest proof," he said, pointing to a fighter wearing plastic flip-flops. "He's only good for one thing: toothpaste advertisements," he said, prying open the man's mouth to reveal a row of rotten teeth.

The conflict in Syria has already killed more than 14,000 people and appears headed for civil war. The Syrian government has ignored popular demands for reform, instead blaming the violence on armed gangs and foreign-backed terrorists. Others have warned against an influx of Islamists. The AP journalists saw no evidence of foreign fighters.

The uprising reached Idlib in April 2011, about a month after Syrian protesters inspired by other Arab Spring revolts first took to the streets and faced violent security crackdowns.

The protests started small in Ariha, a busy commercial centre on the face of a round-topped mountain, but residents were shocked when regime forces shot and killed five protesters in one day, said Khalid Naif, a doctor. Many more people then joined in, armed first with hunting guns and later with attack rifles.

A year ago, the army surrounded the city and took over a downtown building, paralyzing the city centre, Naif said. He easily named many of the dozens of people he has treated for gunshot and shrapnel wounds since. Others died before reaching the clinic.

Early this month, when a military convoy arrived to quash the city's opposition, rebel fighters blew up tanks and armoured cars in a hail of gunfire and grenades and stormed the army position downtown.

Weeks later, battle scars remain. Three destroyed tanks sit in the main boulevard, their tops blown off like bottle caps. The former army post is charred black, and walls of nearby buildings are pockmarked with bullet holes.

Graffiti on one wall reads, in English, "The people wants SOS." Elsewhere: "We bow only for God."

But the rebel victory was limited. Some stores have reopened and shoppers have returned to downtown, but a ring of army checkpoints restricts movement in and out, forcing many residents to sneak out on foot. Military helicopters and snipers still target the city, wounding more people every week.

The city's rebel commander, Jamal Akta, who ran a unisex barber shop before the uprising, said the battle had killed 10 civilians and no rebels. While proud of the fight, he said his men could do no more.

"If we get more weapons, we can get rid of all the checkpoints," he said. "But the ammunition we have now is enough to defend the city, no more than that."

A ring of checkpoints with a central army post full of snipers and armoured vehicles also strangles Khan Sheikhoun, a dusty, sun-baked city further south, on the country's main north-south highway. Local rebels can't clear out the army, so they blast military vehicles on the highway with rocket-propelled grenades. Two destroyed armoured vehicles, one still on its trailer, now lie in the road, and local fighters say the army has changed its route.

"We can't face the regime as an army face to face, so we have to fight like street gangs," said Waddah Sirmani, head of one of the town's half-dozen rebel brigades.

Fighters have also surrounded the central base and fire on supply vehicles to keep the soldiers inside hungry and short of ammunition, he said.

"You could say that those soldiers are imprisoned among us," said activist Hisham Nijim.

Almost all the rebels the AP journalists met were from Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, and many consider the fight a religious cause. When asked what they are fighting for, most said they are fed up with corruption, harassment by security services and a system that gives preference to members of the ruling Baath party and the Alawite sect, to which Assad belongs. The word they used most often was dignity.

"If I go to the beach, I don't want an Alawite to call me a dog and I can't respond," said Ahmed Salim, 27, who left the police for the rebels in October. "I don't want to be treated like an animal. I want to be treated like a human."

Most fighters said they did not target other sects, only those who had fought for the regime.

There was little evidence of rebel attacks on civilians, but they were often merciless with regime troops. For most, the fight to topple Assad has become personal after they have been chased from their cities, their friends and relatives killed. Many frequently flip through "martyr" photos on their cellphones for inspiration.

One night at al-Sheikh's headquarters in Sarjeh, a group of fighters flipped through brigade photos on a laptop.

"Martyr, martyr, martyr, martyr, martyr," they said, pointing out those who had died fighting.

Videos of the group's attacks showed roadside bombs destroying tanks and flipping over army buses, as Islamic chanting played in the background. In one video, a booby-trapped van sped toward a checkpoint and blew up, splattering two soldiers into nearby trees.

The group was still high on a recent attack that had destroyed a military camp nearby. In the end, they photographed the dead bodies of 35 soldiers, drove off a tank they now park under a tree in the village graveyard and held trials for five captured soldiers. All were found guilty of killing other Syrians.

"They travelled to Cyprus," al-Sheikh said with a grin. "On a fast plane."

EDITOR'S NOTE _ Journalist Ben Hubbard was part of a three-member Associated Press team that spent two weeks with rebels in northern Syria, gathering firsthand information on the increasingly bloody rebellion against President Bashar Assad _ the longest and deadliest uprising of the Arab Spring.

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