Wireless world offers study tools for exams

While technology like smartphones, iPads and the Internet are usually considered to be a distraction from finals studying, there are also ways to use them to your advantage while you’re trying to cram for exams. Whether you’re calculating the grades you need to pass or trying to memorize facts, as always, there’s an app for that.

SelfControl for Mac

This OS X application will block access to certain websites, but still allow you to get to the rest of the Web. For example, you can set the app to block your Facebook, email, Twitter and any other distractions for a certain length of time, such as 30 minutes or three hours. The best — and worst — part: Once you start the timer, there’s no stopping it. Even if you delete the program or turn off your computer, you can’t get to those sites until the time runs out. There’s no turning back!

Flash Card Apps

Flash cards are a key study tool, but carrying them everywhere can be a hassle. Fortunately, there are apps for Mac, iPhone, Android and iPad that provide the usefulness of flash cards with the convenience of constantly having them with you. There are a lot of applications out there for this, both free and with a low cost. Some even allow you to upload premade flash cards from certain websites, along with the option of making your own. The best part is that you can easily review your cards anywhere, from the library to the bus ride to class, without having to deal with the stack of paper.

Content-Specific Apps

There are plenty of applications out there to be your personal tutor in whatever subject you need. Depending on your market, you can download apps for history, physics, psychology and many other topics. Some are better and more specific than others, so reading the reviews before downloading is always a good idea.

iTunes U

This treasure trove is full of podcast lectures on various topics. Although the University does not have much available, there are lectures by professors at other major universities on everything from U.S. history to anatomy to computer programming. This is a useful tool if you’re suddenly realizing that you’ve, ahem, missed a few classes this semester and are looking for a basic overview of the topic. Keep in mind, however, that these podcasts are given by professors teaching other classes and may not be specific to what you need to know for your own exams.

Grade Calculators

If you’re trying to figure out how hard to study for that final in order to pass the class, these apps will make your life easier.

There are plenty available on the markets, and each works differently, but this app will allow you to calculate the exact scores you need to pull off a certain grade in the class.

Basically, you’ll put in the percentages each assignment in a class is worth and keep track of what grades you have received. From there, you can estimate your final exam results to predict a final grade or choose a goal for your final grade and calculate how well you need to do on the exam.

U of I’s GPA Calculator

Luckily for students, the University provides simple ways to calculate and predict your GPA, app-free. Online, the Office of the Registrar gives simple instructions on how to figure out yourGPA for the semester and directions for how to find your cumulative GPA on your transcripts. The advising department also provides a very easy to use GPA calculator online — just type in your cumulative GPA, total graded hours and grade and credit hours for each class you’re taking this semester, and it will compute your semester and cumulative GPA so far.

Eva Longoria Shoots Down Matt Barnes Dating Rumors

Eva Longoria is not happy being romantically linked to Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes. The 36-year-old actress has slammed the recent dating speculations by writing on her Who Say account, "First Jessica Simpson, now this. Once again, press gets it wrong, Matt Barnes and I are not dating!"

"We are doing a charity event together for Padres and Athletes vs. Cancer," so the Gabrielle Solis of "Desperate Housewives" insisted. She went on to question, "Why is the truth never the headline? Why did I bother to comment when they put your statement at end of articles? #stillannoying."

Eva, who divorced San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker in 2010, was rumored to be dating Matt after New York Post's Page Six came out with a report on Sunday, October 30 that the Texas-born actress "may have her eye on a new baller". It was said that the two were "very flirty" while dining with friends at Il Mulino, Greenwich Village on Thursday night, October 27.

Speaking of the rumored pair, an onlooker claimed, "There was definitely a spark between Eva and Matt." The source added, "They weren't seated next to each other, but you could tell there was something between them. There was a little hand-holding over the table and a lot of eye contact."

A representative for Eva, however, stated that there was no truth in the rumors. "Eva and Matt are friends and are working together doing charity work for Eva's Padres Contra El Cancer," her rep insisted. "She was at the dinner amongst her other friends."

Eva is still dating Penelope Cruz's little brother, Eduardo Cruz. The couple first went public in February when they were spotted spending romantic weekend aboard a luxurious yacht in Miami Beach. A month later, the two were caught on tape sharing passionate kisses during a lunch date at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.

Colorado farm says Listeria found in cantaloupe

A melon farm in Colorado has issued a recall of cantaloupe following a Listeria outbreak that has killed at least two people, sickened 22 and spread to several states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the deaths from the outbreak were reported in Colorado and New Mexico, and state health departments said more deaths could be confirmed once testing comes back.
The CDC said the 22 people infected are in seven states: Colorado, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia.
Jensen Farms spokeswoman Amy Philpott said Thursday that one of the Colorado farm's Rocky Ford cantaloupes tested positive for the bacteria, but more tests are needed to determine if it's the same strain linked to the outbreak. The farm provides about 40 percent of the area's cantaloupes, Philpott said.
In cooperation with the voluntary recall, Safeway Inc. said it was recalling jumbo cantaloupes supplied by Jensen Farms and sold in Colorado; Nebraska; Aztec and Farmington, N.M.; South Dakota and Wyoming between Aug. 30 and Sept. 6. Cantaloupes currently in Safeway stores are not from the Rocky Ford region, the grocery chain said.
It is first time the bacteria has been linked to cantaloupe in the U.S. The outbreak apparently originated in Rocky Ford, a fertile melon-growing area of Colorado that is a popular destination for tourists.
Tammie Palmer, of Colorado Springs, said Thursday her 71-year-old husband remains hospitalized after eating contaminated cantaloupe and she filed a lawsuit against Jensen Farms and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., where the family said the cantaloupe was purchased.
Palmer told The Associated Press that Charles Palmer got sick Aug. 31 and was rushed to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed it as Listeria monocytogenes, the same strain blamed for the outbreak.
"He wasn't able to talk to me for five days. When I talked to him, his eyes rolled into the back of his head. It's been a nightmare," she said.
Palmer said she was contacted by the Colorado health department, which wanted to know what groceries they bought, what they ate and where they stored the food. Philpott said she had not seen the lawsuit filed Thursday and had no comment.
Walmart spokesman Greg Rossiter said Palmer's illness was the first time the company has heard that somebody might have been sickened by cantaloupe bought at a Walmart.
"We take these concerns very seriously and we wish Mr. Palmer well," he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.
Rossiter said the company removed cantaloupes on Monday and has been working with suppliers to find melons that come from safe areas.
Rossiter had not seen the lawsuit and declined to comment on specific allegations, which include selling a defective product.
Philpott said the company was informed that there was a positive test, "but we don't know if it was linked to the outbreak."
Philpott said she did not know the state or the store, or the agency that found it, and the recall was voluntary.
She said the company shipped more than 300,000 cases across the country during the period covered by the recall, but the company has recalled the entire harvest as a precaution.
The tests were first reported by KMGH-TV (The farm stopped harvesting on Monday when Colorado health officials issued an alert and notified retailers to remove the cantaloupes from shelves, Philpott said.
New Mexico has blamed three deaths on the outbreak, but epidemiologist Chad Smelser said Thursday that one death has been confirmed and the other two are pending results from the CDC.
The CDC said almost all of the victims interviewed remember eating cantaloupe and several remembered that they were from the Rocky Ford region.
The agency said about 800 cases of listeria are diagnosed in the United States each year and there are three or four outbreaks of it a year. Deli meats, hot dogs and cheese are the most frequent carriers, and outbreaks in produce are rare. Sprouts caused an outbreak in 2009, however, and celery caused an outbreak in 2010.
Cantaloupe is often a culprit in foodborne illness outbreaks, but not listeriosis. Earlier this year, state and federal authorities linked 12 salmonella illnesses, many of them in the West, to cantaloupes imported from Guatemala.
The cantaloupes were shipped between July 29 and Sept. 10 and distributed throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
Listeriosis is a serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. The disease primarily affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns and adults with weakened immune systems. Symptoms can include fever, muscle aches, diarrhea, headache, stiff neck, confusion and convulsions