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LAS VEGAS, Aug.迷你倉 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at ITEXPO West, UberConference announced the launch of HD audio in its award-winning teleconferencing service. UberConference is the first teleconferencing service to offer High Definition audio to those dialing in through WebRTC on Google Chrome.By using the HD audio codec OPUS, which dynamically adapts to changes in available network bandwidth, UberConference offers the best possible sound quality for each call. With OPUS, UberConference can transmit much more of the audio spectrum and produce calls that are lifelike and realistic, often making participants feel like they are in the same room."Until today, conference calls couldn't deliver the rich audio of in-person meetings," explains UberConference CEO and Co-Founder, Craig Walker. "Now, with OPUS and UberConference, the quality of your conference calls is truly amazing."Walker will be speaking and judging at ITEXPO West, which takes place August 26-29 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV.He will speak on two IT keynote panels:-- "Servic自存倉 Providers: Smart Ecosystem Facilitators or Dumb Pipes?" on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. -- "Five Technologies Critical to the Future of Business" on Thursday at 9:00 a.m.He was also selected to judge the ITEXPO Startup Camp 8. Startup Camp, a pitch event focused on the communications sector, ran on August 27 and allowed privately funded startups to present their ideas to industry leaders and ITEXPO attendees.About UberConferenceUberConference fixes all the broken and outdated aspects of traditional conference calling, making it a more productive business tool, and transforming an industry that hasn't seen real innovation in decades. UberConference's elegant UI for web and mobile makes features easy-to-use with the click of a button. Built by the teams that brought Google Voice and Yahoo! Voice to tens of millions of users, UberConference launched in 2012 and is funded by Andreessen Horowitz and Google Ventures. Learn more.UberConferenceCONTACT: Andrea Roesch, andrea@firespotter.com, 650-644-1700Web site: .uberconference.com/迷你倉新蒲崗

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（吉隆坡28日訊）全球用戶超過10億人的谷歌地圖（Google Map），迷你倉新蒲崗已網羅18個大馬地點街景，為了陸續擴大覆蓋點，“谷歌街景車”今日在大馬正式上路！　谷歌大馬經理沙吉說，在大馬旅遊局支持下，谷歌街景車（Street View Car）在大馬上路。逾50國家推出　“在大馬推出谷歌街景地圖，有助增加用戶，也透過為用戶與商家提供更多有用的地圖資訊，可推動旅遊業發展。”　沙吉今日在谷歌街景車推介儀式后的記者招待會上指出，公司除了收集旅遊景點圖像，也會擴展到其他地方，以讓國內外用戶更了解大馬更多地點。　谷歌街景迷你倉出租圖服務是谷歌地圖上一項受歡迎功能，已在超過50多個國家推出，可讓人們透過虛擬的方式，以360度全景的街頭水平圖像，搜索和暢遊各個地點。　谷歌今日起會從吉隆坡一帶開始，駕著裝有特製相機的街景車在街道取景，為谷歌街景地圖這項功能收集街道水平圖像。除了街景車，谷歌收集圖像的其他工具還包括街景腳車、街景推車和街景背包。　該公司也發布早前利用街景背包所收集，18個大馬地點的街景地圖，這些地點包括帝帝旺沙公園和黑風洞等地點。　只要到谷歌地圖網站搜索這些地點，將左邊的黃色小人偶（pegman）置入地點，便能虛擬遊走這些地點。迷你倉

蘋果即將推出廉價版iPhone 5C之說甚囂塵上，self storageAndroid陣營的手機大廠當然不會視若無睹，讓對方在入門市場予取予攜，近日開始反守為攻，集中火力加推與傳聞iPhone 5C同具4吋熒幕的入門新作，好像Sony Xperia M及Samsung Galaxy Ace 3，前者以NFC、熒幕鏡射等應用作招徠，後者則繼承同系S4的S Voice、Smart Stay等特色功能，配置相若，而約二千元的定價擺明大打親民牌。文、圖：B1807NFC享樂 Xperia M始終定位入門，今回Sony Xperia M沒有防水光環加持，但不代表新作就不怎麼樣，至少外形沿用Xperia Z/Z Ultra備受好評的OmniBalance全方位平衡設計，配合4吋FWVGA芒（解像度854×480），機身小巧輕盈，加上備有搶眼的深紫及鮮黃造型，賣相不落俗套。值得一提的是，由於操作採用虛擬鍵，熒幕下方沒任何按鍵，但廠商還是加入了閃燈作點綴，除了來電或新訊息閃出不同顏色通知燈，瀏覽相簿時亦會按相片背景亮起相應的顏色。效能方面，Xperia M採用S4 Plus 1GHz雙核心處理器配以1GB RAM，運行Android 4.1平台依然保持順暢，《安兔兔v3.4》跑分為9,915，以雙核機款來說，成績可以接受。規格要將貨就價，影音娛樂及功能應用倒是交足貨，除了500萬像素鏡頭支援HDR背光拍攝模式，預載最新版本Walkman播放器，新作也貫徹品牌無�分享特色，內置NFC晶片，簡單透過「One-touch」功能，即可跟對應的手機、平板或影音裝置配對，分享相片或音樂，又或以熒幕鏡射方式，將手機畫面搬到大電視播放。S系智慧 Galaxy Ace 3別以為只有Galaxy 迷你倉4 mini方繼承得了同系旗艦的特色功能，Samsung剛推出的雙核新成員Galaxy Ace 3，同樣找到來自Galaxy S4的人性化功能，好像懂得偵測用戶眼球自動關上熒幕的Smart Stay，提供旅遊資訊及指南的S Travel，即時將郵件、ChatON內容進行翻譯的S Translator。利用500萬像素鏡頭影相時，Best Photo模式會自動從八張連拍影像中挑選出最好的一張，加上可以記錄拍攝一刻聲音或說話的Sound & Shot，功能之豐富，確非一般入門手機可比擬。跟同是主攻入門市場的Xperia M一樣，Galaxy Ace 3也採用1GHz雙核心處理器及1GB RAM，4吋芒解像度為800×480，硬件規格相若，《安兔兔v3.4》跑分接近10,000水平，毋須擔心效能表現。值得一讚的是，Galaxy Ace 3預載相對較新的Android 4.2平台，系統選項更為全面，尤其Status Bar提供豐富設定的通知面板，廠商還打算於10月追加4G LTE版本，進一步提升上網速度。Galaxy Ace 3制式：WCDMA、GSM操作平台：Android 4.2內置記憶：1GB RAM、4GB ROM 外置記憶：micro SD電池容量：1,500mAh體積/重量：121×62×9.79mm/115g售價：$1,998查詢：Samsung/3698 4698Xperia M制式：WCDMA、GSM操作平台：Android 4.1內置記憶：1GB RAM、4GB ROM 外置記憶：micro SD電池容量：1,750mAh體積/重量：124×62×9.3mm/115g售價：$2,098查詢：Sony Mobile/8203 8863文件倉

韓國松島：智能道路韓國一直走在應用新技術國家的前列，儲存倉該國擁有號稱全球最快的消費互聯網，其文化也非常認可新技術的應用。因此，韓國成為首批嘗試通過挖掘互聯網潛力打造智能城市的國家之一也就不足為奇了。2001年，韓國率先通過圍海造田建立起了可供人們未來居住的高科技城市：松島。在松島，完全接入網絡的電力設施不僅能夠為城市管理者提供有關當前電量的使用信息，而且還能夠幫助當地居民控制各自的電量使用情況。松島的公共道路上也預先鋪設了交通信息傳感器，以便為城市交通部門提供交通狀況的具體信息，並讓交通管理者可以智能地對交通信號燈進行重新設置以便降低交通擁堵和交通事故的發生率，同時又能使車流和人流實現最優化配置。這些“智能道路”通過網絡與中央控制室相連，並能夠在地震發生前發揮早期預警的作用。西班牙桑坦德：城市信息實時交流西班牙桑坦德是一個中型城鎮。為了減少空氣和噪音汙染，桑坦德市已經開始尋求科技的幫助，並成為大規模傳感器配置的試驗城市之一。通過發起“智能桑坦德”項目的迷你倉價錢設，該市已經配置了約1萬台電子監控設備。每台設備都包括兩個無線電收發設備，用以與其他設備、GPS和傳感器進行通訊，並借此對城市二氧化碳排放、噪音、溫度、環境光線甚至某個特殊區域的停車位進行監控。每台監控設備都會通過互聯網進行實時信息交流，這樣司機就可以通過移動應用程序或智能信號找到下一個適合的停車場。美國城市群：智能節約在美國，幾家市政當局已經開始在城市下水管道和水道系統內安裝新型傳感器，這讓他們節省了大量的財力。比如，印第安納州的南本德市就安裝了由IBM提供的監控傳感器設備，該設備能夠聚合從不同政府部門收集來的數據，然後將這些數據轉換成有用的信息。這讓南本德市下水道泛濫事件的發生率降低了23%，並徹底杜絕了下水道堵塞事件。南本德市預計，將在不到兩年內就能夠收回安裝新技術設備的成本。在佛羅里達州的邁阿密·戴德郡，市政部門表示，使用智能傳感器能夠幫助他們更快地修復自來水泄漏事故。他們預計，這將會每年節省100萬美元資金並減少20%的用水消耗。(據新華網)迷你倉

digitalpaper.stdaily.com/http_.kjrb.com/kjrb/html/2013-08/28/content_220999.htm?div=-1...資訊走廊 8月19日，迷你倉中國電信與網易聯合推出的即時通訊軟件——“易信”上線，這是繼騰訊與廣東聯通合作推出“微信沃卡”後，又一互...

THE only survivor of a shocking car crash which killed three of his friends told a coroner's inquiry yesterday that the driver had drunk as much as 10 plastic cups of liquor before the accident.迷你倉出租It was also revealed that the two back-seat passengers were not wearing seat belts when they were flung out of the broken rear windscreen of the car.Mr Jamal Haneef Kader Sultan, 23, maintained a calm demeanour as he testified to the events which led to the tragedy in the early hours of March 2.That was the day technician Shankar Tharumalingam, 22, and student Harendran Banjatjaram, 23, died after the Honda Civic they were in crashed along Yio Chu Kang Road.The driver, 24-year-old student Rammohan Subash Nair, died the next day at Tan Tock Seng Hospital without recovering consciousness.Mr Jamal said that when he joined his friends at a void deck of a block in Serangoon North Avenue 4 at about 11.30pm the night before, they had already been drinking.They then bought more alcohol from Sengkang and returned to the block to drink.Mr Jamal told the court that he asked his "good friend" Rammohan to stop drinking as he was going to drive. But he would not listen.Later, when he asked Mr Rammohan if he was able to drive, he replied that he fe迷你倉t "okay".But once behind the wheel, Mr Rammohan's driving was "not normal", said Mr Jamal, as he nearly hit a kerb while leaving a carpark at Serangoon North Avenue 4."Maybe he was high on liquor," said the survivor, who works at the logistics department in Changi Airport.When Mr Jamal, who was belted up in the front passenger seat, saw that the car was about to crash, he ducked and covered his head as the airbag inflated.The court, along with the parents of the dead who were present, also heard that the car - which was speeding at over 95kmh - had tyres which were partially punctured.A nail was found embedded in each of the left front and right rear tyres.The investigation officer of the case, Senior Staff Sergeant Jimmy Chan, said Mr Rammohan lost control of his vehicle, which mounted a kerb on a downwards-sloping left bend just after Jalan Kelulut.The car flipped in mid-air and hit a pedestrian crossing sign, a concrete structure, a lamp post and then a tree.Both Mr Shankar and Mr Harendran died from multiple injuries. Mr Rammohan, who had to be extricated from the wreck, was arrested for suspected drink driving.He died at 1.08am on March 3.State Coroner Imran Abdul Hamid will give his findings on Sept 18.elena@sph.com.sg儲存倉

恐龍再生 侏羅紀公園3D+2D 雖然不同地方的觀眾對3D的興趣開始減退，迷你倉價錢不過有心機做的3D電影還是應該支持，例如史提芬史匹堡二十年前的經典作品《侏羅紀公園》較早前從製成3D版再上畫，最近便推出了行版3D Blu-ray，視覺效果更突出，恐龍更活靈活現。 去年《鐵達尼號》從製成3D版獲得不少好評後，史匹堡便已著手計畫將自己的經典冒險電影《侏羅紀公園》從製成3D版，雖然是後期製成3D，不過據製作公司指都花了九個月的時間去進行加工，還好的是片中不少鏡頭在拍攝時都採用了主觀及富距離感的拍攝手法，令從製成3D版後效果更明顯。行版BD屬於雙碟3D+2D，基本上2D版跟2011年尾推出的版本內容相同。值得一讚是今次3D版本除了有中文字幕外，其字幕的位置是因應畫面的構圖而有所改變，例如畫面是一個角色的大頭特寫，字幕便會偏向畫面另一邊空間較多的位置，儘量不會影響主體。當然稱得上是3D版本，立體效果才是觀眾最關心的環節，在3DTV重播下，《侏羅紀公園3D》在不少場景都發揮了3D的優點，其中暴龍在晚上出沒襲擊吉普車一幕，雖然是晚上但仍然有不錯的距離感，此外日間的大部分場景人物主體跟背景還是有不錯的分離感。音效方面用上了dts-HD High Resolution 7.1，恐龍的咆哮聲還是能考驗重低音喇叭的質素。另外更有一個九分鐘全新的《侏羅紀公園3D》製作特輯，史匹堡會亮相講解從製3D的過程等，值得一看。 設定 3D Blu-ray本身採用了dts-HD High Resolution 7.1音效，2D版則採用dts-HD MA 7.1聲道。 試畫位置 50分鐘，男女主角遇見生病的三角恐龍，演員、恐龍及背景形成了相當不錯的立體層次。 試聲位置 64分鐘，暴龍襲擊吉普車可試低頻表現。 附錄 3D Blu-ray中特別設有一個九分鐘的全新製作特輯，同樣以3D顯示。 試畫位置 93分鐘，一群小恐龍知道暴龍逼近立即逃跑，可試高速移動的距離感及清晰度。 試聲位置 110分鐘，速龍在廚房追獵兩姊弟，可試空間感。 特別收錄：全新3D版製作特輯、花絮、拍攝過程、專訪發行：洲立影視 志玲神作迷你倉 天機：富春山居圖 《天機》這套電影未推出影碟時已經有不少較負面的評價，BD到手時我都曾經掙扎要不要花時間看，但一向「寬容度」高的我結果還是看完了全片，神片果然名不虛傳，全片劇情發展一頭霧水，雖然集合動作、愛情及奪寶等眾多元素，可惜情節零碎場景又秒速轉換，觀眾必須要相當集中精神留意劇情。那麼，為何還要介紹此BD？原因很簡單：靚人、靚景、畫清！有林志玲再加張靜初兩位美女在片中大派冰淇淋，扮盡空姐、特工、人妻等，嫌不夠的再加一班外型漂亮的女打手，單是這些已經可以叫各位忘記劇情，配合BD的清晰畫質及音效，已經有足夠理由珍藏這套「神級」大作！ 設定 BD有齊粵語及國語合共三條高清音效，當中國語Dolby TrueHD 7.1音效最自然及平衡。 試畫位置 54分鐘，林志玲扮大肚婆激走張靜初，其服飾可試解像度。 試聲位置 84分鐘，劉德華及林志玲在杜拜偷寶物，逃走時發生槍戰，可試空間感表現。 特別收錄：製作特輯、預告片 發行：寰亞電影 高清經典 現代啟示錄 一講經典戰爭電影不能不提1979年法蘭斯哥普拉的《現代啟示錄》，將戰爭對人性的侵蝕及扭曲描繪得極有深度，即使在今時今日套用到美軍的表現仍然充滿警世作用。行版BD是1979年的150分鐘版本，畫面經過修後後清晰度明顯提升，而且最重要是畫面格式是2.35:1而非之前DVD版本的2.0:1，令這套BD在電視機及投影機上能夠重現電影時的格式。音效方面行版BD用上了Dolby TrueHD 96K Upsapmling 7.1聲道，將人聲、槍炮及直昇機等音效更真實地還原，其中在空中作戰的一幕，華格納歌劇配樂「女武神的飛行」連同機槍等音效是試機的不二之選，作為一套有卅多年歷史的戰爭經典電影，《現代啟示錄》BD的聲畫表現已經相當突出。 設定 BD本身預設已經是Dolby TrueHD 96K Upsampling 7.1聲道。 試畫位置 4分鐘，男主角在酒店，可試解像度。 試聲位置 40分鐘，美軍直昇機空襲海邊村莊，可試配樂及槍炮音效。 發行：鐳射企業 Text: 基斯 / Art: dick / Editor: 劉達仁新蒲崗迷你倉

Source: Globes, Tel Aviv, IsraelAug.迷你倉 27--Traffic congestion in Israel is more than two-and-a-half times the OECD average. Furthermore, congestion, which is worsening worldwide because of population growth and other factors, is rising in Israel extremely fast. In the past two decades, congestion rose by 70 percent in Israel, despite the extensive construction of roads and interchanges.To grasp the full significance of this figure, a comparison is warranted: Denmark, which has the fastest growing traffic congestion in Europe, saw an increase of 35 percent in the past 20 years, half the rate in Israel. Traffic congestion rose by 32 percent in Switzerland and 25 percent in Belgium, and by just 7 percent in the Netherlands.Israel currently has 126 vehicles per kilometer of road, compared with an OECD average of 48. Even more worrying, the number of cars per capita in Israel is also rising -- it has increased by 50 percent in the past 20 years. According to the latest data, Israel has one car for every three people.Other transportation data are also discouraging. Although the pace of public spending on other means of transportation, such as trains, bicycles, and buses, has picked up in recent years, it is far from catching up with the budgets in countries that Israel seeks to emulate. Israel's car leasing culture, which encourages employers to give employees company cars that are cheap to operate, and country's national planning strategy of dispersing the population with the objective of establishing demographic facts ("Settle the Negev" and "Judaize the Galilee"), which requires a car for every working person, do not help. Leasing and population dispersal herald a bleak future: traffic jams, pollution, noise, infrastructure waste, the loss of open spaces, and a dangerous, very dangerous, widening of social gaps, because of the lengthening distance from cheap housing in the periphery to jobs with fair pay in centers of business. In the devel新蒲崗迷你倉ped world, traffic accidents are the number one killer of children under the age of 18.A private car is a necessary means of transport in Israel; at least, this is how many people see it. The alternatives -- public transport (trains, buses, taxis, shuttles, and car-sharing), muscle power (bicycles and feet) -- suffer from a low image. The alternatives to cars are also affected by the inability to use some of them on Saturdays and holidays, and the lack of infrastructures to make them attractive and popular (such as designated bus lanes, which would make them faster).There are also encouraging facts however: municipalities which offer bicycle lanes (such as Herzliya, Hod Hasharon, Ra'anana, and Rishon LeZion), and bicycle rentals (only in Tel Aviv so far); the Jerusalem light rail, which two years ago freed the city center from burdensome motor traffic; the Metronit bus rapid transit (BRT) network in Haifa and its suburbs, which began operating in August; the strong growth in railway passenger use in the past years; and the fast lane to Tel Aviv, which alleviates traffic movement into the city from the east, along with its shuttle service to bring people into the city without their cars.Technology also helps find a way out of the private transportation maze. There is the taxi hailing app GetTaxi, and Waze, data from which "Globes" uses to monitor travel times on the roads and to slightly improve driving conditions on them.Starting in August, every month, "Globes" will publish the Israel Traffic Index. The index will present a broad picture of the means of transport people use, and the changes in the proportion of users of each method. Follow it; big things are happening in transportation in Israel, and this index will help you keep abreast of them.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Globes (Tel Aviv, Israel) Visit the Globes (Tel Aviv, Israel) at .globes.co.il/serveen/globes/nodeview.asp?fid=942 Distributed by MCT Information Servicesmini storage

Source: The Miami HeraldAug.迷你倉出租 26--On the factory floor at Goodwill Industries of South Florida, cerebral palsy doesn't stop Donnie Williams from stitching one button hole after another into the military trousers the Miami non-profit makes for the Pentagon.But workplace productivity calculations did conclude the disability prevents the 58-year-old from stitching as many button holes as would someone without the condition. As a result, Williams earns $4.22 an hour, according to a Goodwill supervisor, about 45 percent below Florida's minimum hourly wage of $7.79.The gap is allowed under a federal program designed to create jobs for people with significant disabilities, both as a way to train them for a spot in the workforce and to help them lead more active lives. Disclosure forms show Goodwill in recent years paid some workers in Miami and Fort Lauderdale less than 40 cents an hour, while the average wage hit $4.76 for nearly 300 garment workers like Williams in the program.Williams started at Goodwill nine years ago, and said the job treats him well. "I like working here," he said during a brief interview at his sewing station. "I enjoy the people." As for his paycheck, the Miami Gardens resident said part of it goes to pay rent and that he puts some of it away when he can. "I try to save it a little bit," he said.About 3,000 organizations across the country use the program, which has come under national scrutiny this summer on the heels of a critical NBC News report and a revived effort by advocacy groups to end the practice. A congressman in Mississippi with an adult son with a disability has introduced legislation to end the program. Critics contend the low wages help sustain charity executives' six-figure salaries, and discourage the organizations from trying harder to move disabled workers into regular jobs"Even a person with a significant disability can do one thing and do it well," said Anil Lewis, director of advocacy for the National Federation of the Blind. "Goodwill says they train people with disabilities. But if they're still getting sub-minimum wages, how is that training?"South Florida Goodwill executives note only about 400 of their 2,500 workers earn the sub-minimum wages allowed by the federal program, and that the lower payroll costs allow them to employ far more people with disabilities than they could otherwise afford."Could we operate with people earning 100 percent" of a regular wage, asked Dennis Pastrana, president of Goodwill of South Florida's since 1979. "Yes. But we would have to eliminate the people who have limited abilities ... Many of them will not be employable anywhere."South Florida Goodwill reported serving more than 4,000 people last year, with revenues topping $93 million. The non-profit and other organizations using the program say the low wages make easy targets but that critics ignore the steep challenge of finding productive jobs for people with significant disabilities. "It's really easy to say, 'Oh, my gosh, they're not paying the minimum wage,' " said Michael Messer, president of Miami's the Arc of South Florida, which runs a packing center that employs people with disabilities and is not affiliated with Goodwill. "But I want as many people as possible to be in the program."This summer's negative publicity has caused some fundraising concerns at the local Goodwill operation and helped fuel criticism from competitors of its latest venture: a $14 million healthcare laundry that has already prompted one existing facility to announce layoffs over contracts lost to the charity.Goodwill is pledging to forgo the federal program and pay all 200 workers at its new laundry near Liberty City at least $9 an hour. The non-profit sees the modern facility as meeting a need for South Florida's expanding healthcare industry. Goodwill laundry facilities in Colorado and Virginia do use the federal program to pay less, and the practice has brought accusations of unfair competition."We feel on a level playing field we can compete with any of the players out there," said Christian Luneburg, vice president of Florida Linen Services in Pompano Beach, which plans to dismiss 20 workers once the University of Miami hospital system shifts its business to the cheaper price offered at the Goodwill facility."We know that if Goodwill is able to have lower labor costs it allows them to charge significantly less per pound," Luneburg said. "That is something we won't be able to compete with."Pastrana said the efficiency of a modern, largely computer-automated system will make the Goodwill laundry competitive even while paying well above minimum wage. He noted that other Goodwill enterprises, including the one that runs the advertising-insert operation for Miami Herald Media Company, operate without using the minimum-wage waiver for disabled workers.Goodwill holds janitorial contracts with Miami-Dade County, and its workers with disabilities who clean buses and office buildings are covered by the county's living-wage ordinance. If Goodwill can wrest the Jackson Health System account from Florida Linen, its laundry workers would be covered by the same law. Goodwill says the janitorial teams they send into federal buildings in the Miami area also earn at least the minimum wage.Why can Goodwill run some operations with disabled workers who are productive enough to earn at least minimum wage, while paying an average hourly rate below $5 for so many manufacturing workers?Federal records show a range of disabilities and pay on the garment-factory floor, including $1.01 an hour for someone with mental retardation and $6.47 for someone with a depressive disorder and hypertension.Goodwill executives say the manufacturing operation is better suited for people with more extensive disabilities, because the non-profit can make space for a worker to perform even the most rote tasks (such as marking a button hole with a pen). The divisions paying at least minimum wage, the executives said, generally require skills or productivity that make it too difficult to employ people with the kind of disabilities that would have them qualify for lower pay.At the commercial laundry, workers will unload trucks packed with sheets, gowns and blankets, sort them by type on a conveyor belt, and feed dry linens into automatic ironing and folding machines. "This is perfect for what we do at Goodwill," general manager David Graumlich said while standing beside one of the folding machines. "It's repetitive. It's stationary. It's ergonomic."While about 75 percent of the laundry staff will have some disability, Goodwill executives said they can't provide the support and supervision available on the manufacturing floor and keep pace with washing 10,000 pounds of linen every hour ."We're not going to have counselors here," vice president of marketing Lourdes Little said during a tour. "We're not going to be set up to handle the severe disabilities."Financial records show Goodwill has depended heavily on the manufacturing arm and its corps of workers earning less than the minimum wage.Of the $40 million earned from Goodwill's four income-producing divisions between 2009 and 2012, manufacturing generated 42 percent of the net income -- about $17 million. The arm that includes the janitorial service earned just $2.3 million in four years, while the newspaper and document-destruction division posted an overall loss of $3.3 million, according to a review of financial statements posted on Goodwill's website and provided by the charity.Only Goodwill's well-known chain of thrift stores selling donated goods contributed more money to Goodwill's ope迷你倉ations: $21 million over four years, or 52 percent of the total.In the last four years, Goodwill has paid about $11 million for rehabilitation services, according to financial statements, and says its workers are enrolled in programs aimed at moving them into regular employment.Workers like Williams get paid by the number of "pieces" they can complete during a shift -- such as trousers with stitched button holes. Many private-sector factories pay a "piece rate," but workers are guaranteed a minimum wage. Goodwill doesn't have to abide by that rule, and a supervisor said Williams' recent hourly wage amounted to $4.22, based on his output.For those not paid by the piece, federal law requires organizations to test each worker's ability to complete a task, such as stitching button holes, against the ability of someone without a disability. If there is a gap, the wage of the worker with a disability is reduced in proportion to what the non-disabled worker would earn.Regulations allow the test to be as short as 20 minutes, and critics say it doesn't account for the impatience a person without disabilities would eventually have toward monotonous tasks that may be engaging for a person with a disability."It's mind numbing," said Lewis, of the blind advocacy program. "The nature of the disability [can make] it very comfortable for them to do these mundane tasks again and again."A bill in Congress would end the federal program allowing workers to earn less than the minimum wage. Alcee Hastings, a Democratic congressman representing parts of Broward County, signed up as a co-sponsor in part because the gap between the low pay for workers and the high pay for non-profit executives."If you're making $300,000 or $500,000, give up a little bit to pay more,'' Hastings said. "Work carries with it dignity. To pay them paltry sums, like $3 and $4 an hour, in some respects is sort of degrading."For Pastrana, who earned about $570,000 in total compensation in Goodwill's most recent tax return, the criticism on the minimum-wage issue misses the main mission of the charity's income-producing efforts.Inside a mostly silent room in Goodwill's sprawling NW 21st Street headquarters, about 50 people sit at folding tables for the day's shift. One group fills plastic jars with cinnamon sticks for the Badia spice company. Others have white pieces of paper taped in front of them, each with six or eight squares drawn in black marker. Their job: count out replacement buttons onto the squares. The buttons will then be put into packets for sale on shelves.Severe mental disabilities were evident for many, and conversation did not come easily as a visiting reporter introduced himself. It is this division that has the majority of Goodwill workers paid well below the minimum wage. In 2011, Goodwill reported wages for this division of as low as 13 cents for someone identified as both blind and having mental retardation and $1.24 for someone with autism."The activity here is not about work," Pastrana said during the tour. "They have no other place to go. It's about the ability to socialize, the ability to gain skills."Pastrana launched the manufacturing arm in the early 1990s with two sewing machines in order to make aprons for Goodwill stores in Florida. It grew after winning contracts for combat uniforms and U.S. flags used in military funerals. He recalled creating a mock assembly line as a make-work program before it had so many business ventures to offer paying jobs for people with disabilities. One line assembled bike brakes, and another line took them apart. The process repeated all day."The idea is for them to overcome barriers to employment so that at some point in the future they can become self-supporting individuals," Pastrana said.Last year Goodwill reported placing 714 of its workers into jobs with other employers, which Pastrana describes as the ultimate measure of success. But he describes that as an uphill task given the extent of the disabilities.With healthcare workers, supervisors trained to deal with mental disorders and other support, Goodwill can provide the kind of workplace that accommodates the issues that come with workers dealing with mental and developmental issues. A documentary Goodwill commissioned in 2011, For Once in My Life, shows a Goodwill employee breaking up a brief physical confrontation between two workers, and a counselor talking through the appropriate way to handle anger after another worker hit someone.Nancy Spagnolo, 59, works four days week on Goodwill's garment-factory floor. She uses a white marker to highlight the outline of pockets of military fatigues. She brought a tin of canned mandarin oranges for a snack. Her work week ends on Thursday, but Spagnolo comes back every Friday to sing in the 28-member company band."I like the work," she said, "and I like the choir."But not all workers endorse the low pay. One Goodwill worker contacted by the Herald said a recent paycheck showed an hourly wage of just under $3.40. The garment worker, who asked not to be identified out of concern of negative consequences at Goodwill, said the non-profit is not rewarding quality work."I know I'm not as fast. But I take the time to make sure it is done right," the worker said. "I should be taking home more."The worker said the $9-an-hour laundry jobs sound appealing but may not be possible. "I can't be on my feet," the worker said.While federal set-aside rules say that 75 percent of Goodwill's front-line workers must be classified as disabled, financial reports show about 45 percent of the non-profit's overall $44 million payroll goes to people with disabilities. Pastrana's total compensation package came in at about $570,000 in 2011, according to the organization's most recent tax return, and his six senior executives together earned just under $1 million that year. Pastrana's base salary and bonus equaled $353,000 for the year.Using the 293 hourly manufacturing wages listed in Goodwill's 2011 disclosure form to the U.S. Labor Department, the numbers show Goodwill would have to spend an additional $742 an hour to pay each worker Florida's minimum wage that year of $7.31. Assuming a 40-hour work week and a manufacturing floor active 52 weeks a year, the additional cost for 2011 would have been $1.5 million.The cost would have kept the manufacturing profitable most years -- it recorded peak sales of $61 million in 2010 and cleared between $3 million and $8 million between 2009 and 2011. But as the military pulled back orders amid cutbacks and the winding down of two wars, Goodwill saw its manufacturing arm post a loss of about $600,000 in 2012.The drop pushed the entire operation into three months of losses during the summer of 2012, and left Goodwill in violation of its loan agreements with banks. The banks granted Goodwill waivers on their loan agreements and internal figures show 10 straight months of operating gains through June. But Pastrana also said the crisis illustrated the unique employment model Goodwill presents people with disabilities.While manufacturing sales dropped 30 percent in 2012, its payroll paid to disabled workers in that division dropped just 2 percent, while non-disabled payroll dropped by 8 percent."A regular for-profit business simply would not have hesitated to lay off 800 people; it probably would not have experienced such a large loss as Goodwill had," Pastrana wrote in an e-mail. "However, Goodwill is a business with a social mission -- a social enterprise."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Miami Herald Visit The Miami Herald at .miamiherald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存倉