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When Blue Shield of CA tried to pull a big increase like this not too long ago, they described themselves as a “non-profit” whose profit was “only” two percent. (Always misleading to use percentages instead of numbers — from looking at their financial information, I’d guess that two percent was close to a billion.) While strictly speaking, the company is a non-profit, they neglect to mention their wholly-owned subsidiary, Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Company and its affiliate, CareAmerica Life Insurance Company: Another big California health insurer has stunned individual policyholders with huge rate increases — this time it’s Blue Shield of California seeking cumulative hikes of as much as 59% for tens of thousands of customers March 1. Blue Shield’s action comes less than a year after Anthem Blue Cross tried and failed to raise rates as much as 39% for about 700,000 California customers. San Francisco-based Blue Shield said the increases were the result of fast-rising healthcare costs and other expenses resulting from new healthcare laws. “We raise rates only when absolutely necessary to pay the accelerating cost of medical care for our members,” the nonprofit insurer told customers last month. In all, Blue Shield said, 193,000 policyholders would see increases averaging 30% to 35%, the result of three separate rate hikes since October.

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MMT’s DisplayLink-equipped 15.4-inch Monitor2Go hands-on at CES 2011 (video)

We just happened upon MMT’s Monitor2Go at CES’s ShowStoppers event here in Vegas, and… well, it’s a Mimo monitor, but huge. The new version — which is expected to ship in a few months here in the US for $279 — lacks the number pad that was on last year’s model. That one was aimed primarily at accountants on the run, whereas this DisplayLink-equipped version is aimed at everyone else. You can catch up on all of the specifications and such here , but the actual display felt satisfactorily light, the swiveling hinge was rock solid and the screen itself was acceptable for a secondary solution. The low resolution won’t dazzle anyone, and it’s certainly no replacement for a legitimate monitor, but it’s definitely easier to lug around than a new ST2220T . Head on past the break for a quick video demonstration. Gallery: MMT’s DisplayLink-equipped 15.4-inch Monitor2Go hands-on at CES 2011 Continue reading MMT’s DisplayLink-equipped 15.4-inch Monitor2Go hands-on at CES 2011 (video) MMT’s DisplayLink-equipped 15.4-inch Monitor2Go hands-on at CES 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Samsung Series 9 hands-on preview (video)

Do we deliver or what? Just as promised , we went back for seconds with the Samsung 9 Series laptop , and man, it is one beautiful laptop. As you already know, it is incredibly thin, but it also has a very rigid construction thanks to its duralium build. (Fun fact: apparently they build planes out of the same stuff.) As you will see in the video below, the design is very clean and the sharp edges have been designed to make the system look even slimmer. The lead designer of the system Youngkyu Choi told us that the 9 Series was inspired by nature’s beauty, including waves, leaves, and water. But it’s not just the outside of the system that’s beautiful — the matte 400nit, 13-inch display is incredibly bright and crisp and the viewing angles are just top notch. Below that screen is one very nice chiclet keyboard with matte keys. Sammy’s gone with a single button ClickPad, which in our short time with the laptop seemed fine for navigating with our index finger while keeping our thumb on the bottom. Naturally, we weren’t able to get a real sense of the Core i5 performance, but we did notice that the system resumed from sleep rather quickly thanks to its 128GB SSD. Truth is we haven’t been this excited about a Windows ultraportable since the Dell Adamo XPS , we just hope the 9 Series really brings the brawn with the beauty. Gallery: Samsung 9 Series hands-on Continue reading Samsung Series 9 hands-on preview (video) Samsung Series 9 hands-on preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Verizon Reveals First 4G Wireless Tablets, Phone

The big national wireless carriers are racing to stake their claims in the new frontier of service: ultra-fast data access. This week, Verizon Wireless revealed 10 gadgets with built-in access to its new high-speed network at the Consumer Electronics Show

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Homeless Man With Golden Voice Reunited With Mom

A homeless Ohio man whose silky announcing voice has catapulted him to national fame says he’s done a commercial for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. And MSNBC reports he’s accepted an offer from the network to do voiceover ads. (Jan. 6)

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Lady Gaga and Polaroid launch Grey Label Instant Camera, Printer, and insane Camera Glasses

Polaroid has officially gone off the deep end, as a willing accomplice in Lady Gaga’s crazy schemes. The new Grey Label line also includes a rebirth for Polaroid as an instant camera company, with a sexy new GL30 Instant Digital Camera with built-in printer, a separate GL10 Instant Mobile Printer, and Lady Gaga’s bizarre triumph: the GL20 Camera Glasses (pictured), which include a built-in camera and dual LCDs which appear to cover your eyes when you’re wearing the oversized shades. This CES marks a full year of Polaroid’s collaboration with Lady Gaga , and while the glasses are possibly the least commercially viable device to be announced this year (in the best possible way ), the classy new camera and printer might just make up for it. Both devices are using Zink technology for the instant printing, which Polaroid has been using in a much uglier way in its OneStep cameras , but the new devices have a retro sort of look that we’re really digging. For the most part specs are light, including the GL30′s megapixel count, but the GL10 printer will be out in May for $150, while the GL30 camera and the GL20 glasses don’t have prices and will be available “later this year.” Gallery: Lady Gaga and Polaroid Continue reading Lady Gaga and Polaroid launch Grey Label Instant Camera, Printer, and insane Camera Glasses Lady Gaga and Polaroid launch Grey Label Instant Camera, Printer, and insane Camera Glasses originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Speakal Doctor Who TARDIS speaker prototype hands-on

Hardcore Doctor Who fans might argue that the faulty chameleon circuit is to be blamed here, but really, this mini TARDIS is just a forthcoming Speakal iPod speaker dock that also doubles as a Bluetooth speaker and an IR remote control. As pictured above, the dock connector lies in a pull-out tray at the bottom-front of the device, with the stereo speaker drivers hidden behind the front windows. There’s also a bass chamber inside the box, and we could see the opening through the back windows, along with the volume dial and power switch at the bottom. We were told that the final product will actually be slightly smaller than this prototype, and the lamp at the top will also have an IR emitter installed, which can control your TV via an iOS app (presumably via Bluetooth). Anyhow, expect to see this blue box on the shelves for around $130 to $150 in April. Gallery: Speakal Doctor Who TARDIS speaker prototype hands-on Filed under: Home Entertainment Speakal Doctor Who TARDIS speaker prototype hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Audi’s next-generation, Tegra-Powered MMI Touch is coming to Audi A3 first

When it comes to the proliferation of fancy infotainment systems into cars there are two schools of thought. Some, like Ford , believe that these systems should start at the lower range cars and spread across the brand. Other marques, typically higher-end ones, go the other way ’round, and Audi is definitely guilty, launching its MMI on the higher-end sedans and SUVs, like the A8 and Q7. That’s changing with the next version of MMI Touch, starting on the (relatively) attainable A3. NVIDIA was quite proud to show off the system, with Tegra providing the power behind the scenes as we saw last year. That means lovely rendering of Google Earth, in 3D no less, and of course responsive performance. According to Autoblog it looks like the system’s capacitive touchpad is being integrated into the scroll wheel, which should offer a solid usability improvement. No word on when we’ll get to experience it, though, but we wouldn’t be surprised to learn more next week in Detroit. Audi’s next-generation, Tegra-Powered MMI Touch is coming to Audi A3 first originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Samsung launching RVU-compatible D6000 series TVs in March

Remember the RVU Alliance from last year ? The idea is to use standard tech like DLNA and UPnP to move live TV and DVR’d content around the home and straight to your screens, instead of having to plug a separate set-top box into every television. Well, Samsung is about to ship the first TVs in the world that support the RVU protocol, the Samsung LED D6000, LED D6400 and LED D6420. When networked with DirecTV’s RVU server (the first of its kind), the TVs will display the UI and features from the DirecTV box, with ability to pause live content, share DVR storage, and record up to five shows simultaneously. No word on cost for the sets, but can you really put a price on the future? Continue reading Samsung launching RVU-compatible D6000 series TVs in March Samsung launching RVU-compatible D6000 series TVs in March originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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On Eve of Haiti Quake Anniversary Little Change

Driving through the streets of Haiti’s capital you’ll notice one thing, very little has changed since a catastrophic earthquake brought Port-au-Prince to its knees one year ago. (Jan. 6)

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