The Automotive World Has Gone Crazy Loco

What happened to the days when just about any automotive brand could be defined in a word or two? Porsche: Performance. Ford: Big Trucks. Hyundai: Cheap. Mini: Well, mini.

These days, just about every car company is reaching to be something new in order to appeal to a wider audience and sell more cars to more drivers.

For example, Ford--long known as one of the kings of big trucks and SUVs--has been surprisingly successful at selling small cars. The Focus, Fusion, and Fusion hybrid all get good ratings for quality, fuel economy and safety.

Porsche has announced plans to release several new hybrids. Hybrid Porsches? Seriously. While they claim that these vehicles use hybrid technology to enhance performance, it's difficult to believe that the primary impetus behind this is anything other than an attempt to appeal to buyers who like the idea of having a car that has "everything." If you can drive a Porsche and feel as if you're helping the environment...well, well-to-do greenies are probably putting in their pre-orders right now.

Hyundai just announced plans for a $60,000 luxury car with massaging front seats (they're optional, I admit.). But still, the mere fact that Hyundai's brand strength has improved so much over the last couple of years that it would even think of trying to sell cars for $60,000 is fascinating. And they also have turbo and hybrid models in the mix.


Add to this that Mini is releasing the Countryman next year--a crossover with available all wheel drive--and it's tough to argue that the automotive world hasn't gone nuts. With the great car "crash" of 2008, I was beginning to think that for the first time ever consumers would have fewer choices when it came to choosing a new car. But I'm beginning to think this just isn't the case. With existing car companies churning out more models than ever and new electric car companies popping up all over the place, consumers will still have more choices than any intelligent--and frankly, rational--person would ever try to research.

Of course, if nothing else, there's certainly plenty of new fodder for the automotive press. And blogs, too.

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Will Apple's iPad Revolutionize Health Care?

Apple hopes the new iPad will fill in the gap between the small mobile device and the full-size laptop. Built-in wireless internet capability (including 3G coverage in an upcoming iPad release), a touch screen display and thousands of downloadable applications give the device the potential to transform mobile technology.

But what can the iPad do for health IT?

Laptops have already become a staple for many doctors, but many tech experts believe the iPad will prove the perfect companion for physicians and other health care providers looking to embrace health IT technology.

The primary reason the iPad is thought to be a perfect fit for health care workers is convenience. Not only is the iPad far lighter than a laptop--weighing in at just 1.5 pounds--but its battery life, 10 hours, nearly doubles the 6 or so hours touted by most high-end laptops. It's small enough to fit into a medium-sized pocket, and with a starting cost of $499, it's a bargain compared to most laptops on the market today.

Just imagine: An iPad application (or even a physician-specific operating system, perhaps) designed for physicians would undoubtedly offer a user-friendly interface. And adding EHR (Electronic Health Records) technology to a sophisticated piece of equipment like the iPad would be a cinch.

Physicians who are able to pull up medical records and other necessary data quicker could spend more time speaking directly with the patient, including more eye-contact, an element studies have shown to be crucial in boosting patient satisfaction.

But even those experts who believe the iPad will become ubiquitous in the health care industry don't believe it will happen overnight. The iPad, released April 3, has been on the market just over a week, so it's too early to tell whether or not it will catch on.

The iPad can be useful for personal health, too. The iPad, like the iPhone, brings a wealth of health and medical information to your fingertips. One application, Carter's Encyclopaedia of Health and Medicine, was specifically designed for the iPad. It offers 1,800 pages of medical information, totaling 12,000 entries. It also offers full-text search, an interactive diagram of the human body, browsing history and more.

The iPad also offers applications to help users keep fit. Hundreds of applications offer information such as nutrition labels for different foods (340 calories for one cup of egg nog?), tools to track the user's daily calories consumed, body mass index, exercise history and more.

As it relates to health care, the iPad could be a game-changer, or it could be much ado about nothing. Only time will tell.

Different Types if Insurance

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Health insurance is a big topic and one that is getting much in the U.S. Attention right now. One accident or injury Needs Treatment That Can is enough to wipe you out in Financially Potentially Both the short and the long term. Many people have to declare bankruptcy due at least in part to unpaid medical and others prolong Treatment Expenses until it is too late. A health insurance policy is NECESSARY that is something for everyone from birth Until Death.

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