They provide the user with basic guidelines on whether to go left, right, or straight ahead during their journey and some even offer verbal alerts such as when you are travelling over the speed limit or are approaching a red-light camera.

For those looking for more functional voice upgrades, forking out a little extra cash will fund the more sophisticated text-to-speech capabilities currently inhabiting products at the top end of the market which will read out street names.

Yesterday's top story: Palladium stars as investors focus on future ...

The report said an 'impressive wave of funds' had moved into the metal's two ETFs since last November and the funds saw a further increase in February.

However, the trend in positions in Nymex platinum futures was an 'atypical near inverse relationship to the price', with net longs declining by almost 270,000 ounces (or 36%) from their recent peak in January.

The report said this was suggestive of Nymex speculators taking profits in February, in part selling into strong demand from ETF investors.

Platinum Technical Analysis

Standard Bank advised reduced long positions in platinum as the 'bull trend' has reached the $2,150 level and there were currently no further upside projections. (Although the metal price is now around $100 higher than this level.)

The report said the move off the $2,192 high was threatening the sustainability of the bull trend from a near term perspective and the bank now took a mildly bearish view.

Coulier becomes 'Mr. Clean'

A priest, a rabbi and Dave Coulier walk into a club.And they all have a good time.No awkward moments, no red faces.Now that is Coulier's kind of place. The comedian who played Joey on the TVshow "Full House" swears it's possible to bring good, clean comedy to the masses.Or, rather, he doesn't swear.Ever. At least not on stage.He's created the CleanGuys of Comedy Tour, and one of its first stops is in Bismarck."We're just firing this up," Coulier said Tuesday from his home in the Los Angeles area. "We're promoting it as anyone can come and listen to this and walk away laughing. We've played some dates to test it out, and the response has been overwhelming."Coulier and comedians Ryan Hamilton and Heath Hyche will perform two shows March 1 at the Belle Mehus Auditorium downtown.He said this tour - not the 192 episodes of "Full House" or the four years hosting "America's Funniest People" on ABC - might be the pinnacle of his career."(They) were both top-20 shows that certainly brought me into the spotlight in front of America," Coulier said.

Felton's job status is uncertain as Georgia's season comes to a close

Two freshmen, Jeremy Jacob and Chris Barnes, were lost to season-ending injuries. Another top reserve, Rashaad Singleton, quit the team after he lost a starting job to freshman Jeremy Price.

Saturday's game will be the final home game for seniors David Bliss, the starting center, and Sundiata Gaines, the team's leading scorer and top overall player.

Enormous Jurassic Sea Predator, Pliosaur, Discovered In Norway

The 150 million year-old Jurassic fossil was discovered on the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, at 78 degrees north latitude, approximately 1300 km (800 miles) from the North Pole. It was found in the summer of 2006 by a team of Norwegian paleontologists and volunteers from the University of Oslo Natural History Museum, led by Dr. Jørn Hurum. The fossil was excavated in the summer of 2007 and has until now been prepared and conserved by a team at the Natural History Museum in Oslo .

A pliosaur is a type of plesiosaur, a group of extinct reptiles that lived in the world's oceans during the age of dinosaurs. Pliosaurs had a tear-drop shaped body and two sets of powerful paddles that it used to "fly" through the water. Their short neck supported a massive skull full of an impressive set of teeth.

Swimming World Partners

There's nothing in competitive swimming quite like the FINA/Arena World Cup circuit, which had plenty of world, regional and national records. 10 SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY by John Lohn The American record book required a significant edit after some very fast short course yards meets at the end of the year. 13 OLYMPIC SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING PREVIEW by Taylor Payne For years, the United States and Canada dominated the sport of synchronized swimming, but Russia emerged as the world powerhouse at the turn of the century. 16 2008 OLYMPIC PREVIEW: AFRICA by Jason Marsteller 53 NAG TOP 16 (LONG COURSE) DEPARTMENTS: 6 A VOICE for the SPORT 35 CAMP DIRECTORY 49 FOR THE RECORD 59 CALENDAR 62 PARTING SHOT In the Swimming Technique portion of the magazine you will find the following: 24 Q&A WITH COACH MATT KREDICH by Michael J.

Fluorine Innovator Halocarbon Products Earns INNOVATION AWARD for ...

Halocarbon Products Corp., one of the world's leading producers of specialty fluorochemicals, has earned the ICIS Publications' INNOVATION AWARD in the SME category for its novel route to the inhalation anesthetic desflurane. The company also recently applied for follow-on patents related to its already patented process to make the inhalation anesthetic sevoflurane. The company also has a patent for isoflurane production.

N.H. inns prepare for civil union guests

If the rainbow-painted deck chairs, fluttering rainbow flag and purple shutters don't make it clear, the Highlands Inn's toll-free number, 877-LES-B-INN, leaves no doubt as to whom this White Mountains resort caters to.Innkeeper Grace Newman began hosting commitment ceremonies at this self-proclaimed "lesbian paradise" — in the 1980s. Newman says she has lost track of the number of commitment ceremonies that have happened there; she estimates about 300 couples have honeymooned at the inn after getting civil unions in Vermont or marriages in Quebec, Canada, both short drives away.In 2008, the inn's 25th anniversary coincides with another milestone: legal recognition of civil unions by New Hampshire beginning Jan. 1. Newman, veteran host and overseer of many a union, isn't wasting any time. Two New Hampshire couples have agreed to get civil unions during the inn's annual New Year's Eve dance after the clock strikes 12.From the North Country to the Statehouse steps, other gay couples are making similar plans."It would be pretty easy to take a little break from the party and celebrate some civil unions," said Newman, who plans to get her own civil union with longtime partner Maria Doyle in September at the inn.The new law plants another rainbow-colored flag in New England, which has grown increasingly gay-friendly since neighboring Vermont became the first state to legalize civil unions in 2000.

Appriss to Serve as Local Host of 2008 NOVA Conference

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) -- an advocacy group dedicated to the recognition and implementation of victims' rights and services -- has chosen Louisville as the site of its 34th National Conference on Victim Assistance. Appriss Inc. -- a technology provider for local, state, and Federal government agencies -- will be the local host of the event, scheduled for September 28-October 2, 2008.

The theme of the 2008 conference, "Advocacy: Turning Survivors into Thrivers," was chosen by NOVA members through an online survey tool on the organization's Web site, http://www.trynova.org/. In October 2007, members were invited to submit theme suggestions which were posted online. Members then had the opportunity to rate those submissions for their preferred theme.