Free Republic

The writing has been on the wall for some time, but analysts at IDC are again confirming today that the worldwide smartphone market will continue to see its overall growth slow in 2015. The firm says that global smartphone shipments will grow just 11.3 percent this year, down from 27.6 percent the year prior. The changes are attributed, in part, to the Chinese smartphone market reaching saturation, which will make 2015 the first year that China’s smartphone growth (2.5 percent) will be slower than the worldwide market. China’s slowdown will also impact Android’s growth, IDC says, as the Google-developed mobile...

London - Official figures to be published on Thursday will confirm that foreign immigration under Labour added more than three million to our population. ... How could all this have happened in the teeth of public opposition? Even the Labour government’s own survey last February showed that 77 per cent of the public wanted immigration reduced, including 54 per cent of the ethnic communities, while 50 per cent of the public wanted it reduced ‘by a lot’... The strongest evidence for conspiracy comes from one of Labour’s own. Andrew Neather, a previously unheard-of speechwriter for Blair, Straw and Blunkett, popped...

"DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland's banks were hit with downgrades Friday — one to junk bond status — as speculation mounted that an EU-IMF bailout of Ireland could require senior bondholders to help cover the massive losses. Prime Minister Brian Cowen saw his own hold on power slip another notch, as his ruling Fianna Fail party lost a special election for a long-empty seat in parliament. The winner vowed to force Cowen from office before he can pass an emergency 2011 budget being demanded as part of the international rescue. The New York-based Standard & Poor's credit ratings agency said it...

Drones May Be Allowed to Share U.S. Skies By Renae Merle Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, October 4, 2003; Page E01 NASA launched a program this month budgeted at more than $100 million aimed at allowing unmanned aircraft to share the skies with commercial airliners, bolstering what the defense industry hopes will eventually be a multibillion-dollar market for drones. The program would initially permit unmanned aerial vehicles, known as UAVs, to fly at about 40,000 feet, which is above most commercial traffic. By the end of five years, unmanned aircraft would be allowed to join general air traffic, flying as...

<p>Another powerful storm is expected to hit Northern California on Thursday, the National Weather Service forecasts.</p> <p>The upcoming storm will produce strong winds and significant rains and mountain snow.</p> <p>Winds are forecast to increase along the coastal range late Wednesday night. Winds will continue to increase over the interior Thursday as the storm moves inland.</p>