DreamWorks to make 'Kung Fu Panda 3' in China

In this photo taken on June 15, 2011, a woman walks past movie posters of Hollywood movies "Kung Fu Panda 2," left, and China's propaganda film "Beginning of the Great Revival" on display side by side outside a cinema in Beijing. DreamWorks Animation and Chinese partners announced plans Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012 to co-produce the next "Kung Fu Panda" movie and develop an entertainment district in Shanghai, expanding Hollywood?s fast-growing ties to China. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

In this photo taken on June 15, 2011, a woman walks past movie posters of Hollywood movies "Kung Fu Panda 2," left, and China's propaganda film "Beginning of the Great Revival" on display side by side outside a cinema in Beijing. DreamWorks Animation and Chinese partners announced plans Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012 to co-produce the next "Kung Fu Panda" movie and develop an entertainment district in Shanghai, expanding Hollywood?s fast-growing ties to China. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

BEIJING (AP) ? DreamWorks Animation and Chinese partners announced plans Tuesday to co-produce the next "Kung Fu Panda" movie and develop an entertainment district in Shanghai, expanding Hollywood's fast-growing ties to China.

Hollywood studios have announced a flurry of deals with local partners to gain access to Chinese financing and a government-controlled film market that is growing strongly at a time of weak ticket sales in the United States and Europe.

"Kung Fu Panda 3" will be produced in China and released in 2016, according to DreamWorks Animation SKG Ltd. and its state-owned local partners ? China Media Capital, Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Alliance Investment.

They said the movie will be produced by a new joint venture, Shanghai Oriental DreamWorks Film & Television Technology Co. DreamWorks will own 45 percent of the company and the Chinese partners will hold stakes totaling 55 percent.

Oriental DreamWorks plans to release one to three films per year and employ as many as 2,000 production professionals, the partners said. They said it aims to become the largest animation production base in China and also will explore opportunities in online games, musicals and consumer products.

The planned entertainment district in Shanghai's Xuhui area, with investment of more than 20 billion yuan ($3.2 billion), will include cinemas, theaters, restaurants and tourist attractions and is due to open in 2016, the partners said.

They said the project is modeled on London's West End and Broadway in New York City.

China Media Capital, whose owners include state-run China Development Bank, owns a controlling stake in News Corp.'s China television channels and other assets. Shanghai Media Group operates television and radio broadcasters. Shanghai Alliance Investment is an arm of the Shanghai government.

Other studios including DreamWorks rival Walt Disney Co. have announced co-production deals in China and are adding Chinese elements to films to appeal to the growing local audience.

China's box office sales rose by one-third last year to $2 billion while revenue in North America, though still far larger at $10.2 billion, has fallen for two straight years.

Disney said in April the third installment in its "Iron Man" franchise would be co-produced with Beijing-based DMG Entertainment. DMG co-produced the thriller "Looper," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt. It includes scenes filmed in Shanghai.

China's communist leaders want to build a globally competitive film industry and hope their studios can learn from Hollywood partners. They are trying to attract foreign studios to form joint ventures by promising more market access and a bigger share of ticket sales.

China has dozens of small, mostly anonymous companies that do animation work outsourced by foreign film studios and video game companies. Beijing wants to capture more of the profits by nurturing the growth of studios that can create their own popular characters and movie franchises.

The "Kung Fu Panda" movies, about a bumbling panda who becomes a martial arts hero, are hugely popular in China. They prompted debate about why a Hollywood studio was more successful than the country's own studios at creating a successful movie based on Chinese themes.

A key complaint among Chinese filmmakers is extensive government censorship and efforts to influence the content of movies.

Last year, Legendary Entertainment, producer of hits including "The Dark Knight," formed Legendary East with Chinese studio Huayi Brothers Media Corp. It plans one to two movies per year, mainly in English and based on Chinese themes.

Another studio, Relativity Media, said last year it would make movies with two Chinese partners for global audiences and distribute movies in China.

Foreign studios hope partnering with local companies will increase their access to China's tightly controlled film market.

For the past decade, China's state-run film distributors have allowed in only 20 foreign films per year for national distribution. The foreign share of ticket sales is limited to a range of 13.5 to 17.5 percent.

In March, the government announced it will allow in an additional 14 foreign films if they are made in 3-D or for the big-screen Imax format. It raised the foreign share of ticket sales to 25 percent.

___

DreamWorks Animation SKG Ltd.: http://www.dreamworksanimation.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-08-07-AP-AS-China-DreamWorks/id-6293cb32a4e342c7bdd9894fc7b57ea6

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Thousands of fish die as Midwest streams heat up

In this July 26, 2012 photo, dead fish float in a drying pond near Rock Port, Mo. Multitudes of fish are dying in the Midwest as the sizzling summer dries up rivers and raises water temperatures in some spots to nearly 100 degrees. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

In this July 26, 2012 photo, dead fish float in a drying pond near Rock Port, Mo. Multitudes of fish are dying in the Midwest as the sizzling summer dries up rivers and raises water temperatures in some spots to nearly 100 degrees. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

In this July 26, 2012 photo, dead fish decompose in a drying pond near Rock Port, Mo. Multitudes of fish are dying in the Midwest as the sizzling summer dries up rivers and raises water temperatures in some spots to nearly 100 degrees. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

In this July 26, 2012 photo, dead fish float in a drying pond near Rock Port, Mo., as a turkey vulture paces the shore. Multitudes of fish are dying in the Midwest as the sizzling summer dries up rivers and raises water temperatures in some spots to nearly 100 degrees. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) ? Thousands of fish are dying in the Midwest as the hot, dry summer dries up rivers and causes water temperatures to climb in some spots to nearly 100 degrees.

About 40,000 shovelnose sturgeon were killed in Iowa last week as water temperatures reached 97 degrees. Nebraska fishery officials said they've seen thousands of dead sturgeon, catfish, carp, and other species in the Lower Platte River, including the endangered pallid sturgeon. And biologists in Illinois said the hot weather has killed tens of thousands of large- and smallmouth bass and channel catfish and is threatening the population of the greater redhorse fish, a state-endangered species.

So many fish died in one Illinois lake that the carcasses clogged an intake screen near a power plant, lowering water levels to the point that the station had to shut down one of its generators.

"It's something I've never seen in my career, and I've been here for more than 17 years," said Mark Flammang, a fisheries biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. "I think what we're mainly dealing with here are the extremely low flows and this unparalleled heat."

The fish are victims of one of the driest and warmest summers in history. The federal U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly two-thirds of the lower 48 states are experiencing some form of drought, and the Department of Agriculture has declared more than half of the nation's counties ? nearly 1,600 in 32 states ? as natural disaster areas. More than 3,000 heat records were broken over the last month.

Iowa DNR officials said the sturgeon found dead in the Des Moines River were worth nearly $10 million, a high value based in part on their highly sought eggs, which are used for caviar. The fish are valued at more than $110 a pound.

Gavin Gibbons, a spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute, said the sturgeon kills don't appear to have reduced the supply enough to hurt regional caviar suppliers.

Flammang said weekend rain improved some of Iowa's rivers and lakes, but temperatures were rising again and straining a sturgeon population that develops health problems when water temperatures climb into the 80s.

"Those fish have been in these rivers for thousands of thousands of years, and they're accustomed to all sorts of weather conditions," he said. "But sometimes, you have conditions occur that are outside their realm of tolerance."

In Illinois, heat and lack of rain has dried up a large swath of Aux Sable Creek, the state's largest habitat for the endangered greater redhorse, a large bottom-feeding fish, said Dan Stephenson, a biologist with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

"We're talking hundreds of thousands (killed), maybe millions by now," Stephenson said. "If you're only talking about game fish, it's probably in the thousands. But for all fish, it's probably in the millions if you look statewide."

Stephenson said fish kills happen most summers in small private ponds and streams, but the hot weather this year has made the situation much worse.

"This year has been really, really bad ? disproportionately bad, compared to our other years," he said.

Stephenson said a large number of dead fish were sucked into an intake screen near Powerton Lake in central Illinois, lowering water levels and forcing a temporary shutdown at a nearby power plant. A spokesman for Edison International, which runs the coal-fired plant, said workers shut down one of its two generators for several hours two weeks ago because of extreme heat and low water levels at the lake, which is used for cooling.

In Nebraska, a stretch of the Platte River from Kearney in the central part of the state to Columbus in the east has gone dry and killed a "significant number" of sturgeon, catfish and minnows, said fisheries program manager Daryl Bauer. Bauer said the warm, shallow water has also killed an unknown number of endangered pallid sturgeon.

"It's a lot of miles of river, and a lot of fish," Bauer said. "Most of those fish are barely identifiable. In this heat, they decay really fast."

Bauer said a single dry year usually isn't enough to hurt the fish population. But he worries dry conditions in Nebraska could continue, repeating a stretch in the mid-2000s that weakened fish populations.

Kansas also has seen declining water levels that pulled younger, smaller game fish away from the vegetation-rich shore lines and forced them to cluster, making them easier targets for predators, said fisheries chief Doug Nygren of the Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.

Nygren said he expects a drop in adult walleye populations in the state's shallower, wind-swept lakes in southern Kansas. But he said other species, such as large-mouth bass, can tolerate the heat and may multiply faster without competition from walleye.

"These last two years are the hottest we've ever seen," Nygren said. "That really can play a role in changing populations, shifting it in favor of some species over others. The walleye won't benefit from these high-water temperatures, but other species that are more tolerant may take advantage of their declining population."

Geno Adams, a fisheries program administrator in South Dakota, said there have been reports of isolated fish kills in its manmade lakes on the Missouri River and others in the eastern part of the state. But it's unclear how much of a role the heat played in the deaths.

One large batch of carp at Lewis and Clark Lake in the state's southeast corner had lesions, a sign they were suffering from a bacterial infection. Adams said the fish are more prone to sickness with low water levels and extreme heat. But he added that other fish habitat have seen a record number this year thanks to the 2011 floods.

"When we're in a drought, there's a struggle for water and it's going in all different directions," Adams said. "Keeping it in the reservoir for recreational fisheries is not at the top of the priority list."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-08-05-Drought-Dead%20Fish/id-d38a23b9ca1449378a004953cc397f57

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Debt Management Advice ? How to Legally Eliminate 60% of Your ...

A credit card debt normally is over loaded with ? 1. Late payment fee 2. Penal interest charges 3. Finance charges 4. Interest on Finance charges 5. Payment collection charges

When a customer sees his bill it completely unsettles him and it is difficult for him to see the principle amount for which he should be charged. These are some of the common problems which people face from companies dealing with unsecured loans. The only option left with the customer is to resort for debt management advice. The American market has thousands or more of debt settlement companies ready to advice customers. Not all companies are worthy of being referred to as most of them do not resort to fair trade practice. The customer rather than saving money might loose more money and be rendered ineffective to pay back his debts. There are millions of Americans who have got affected by the recessionary trend in the market. The basic problem that they are facing is the cost of their own sustenance. So repaying credit card bills on time is a major issue. Individuals and customers need to look for good debt management advice from good debt consultants with proven track record. By the receipt of the stimulus package today financial institutions are more into the frame of mind to negotiate with the customers and receive the principal amount invested. It makes complete sense to speak to debt Settlement Company to bring down the overall debt bill and interest rate charged on it. Creditors are enthusiastic about getting back the original amount invested and helping the customer with is credit bill. Individual need to look for good debt Settlement Company to settle down their bills. A good debt settlement company can be approached thought the debt settlement network which registers only the very best with them. If you want to get out of debt and hire a debt settlement company for debt negotiation then I have an important piece of advice. Do Not go directly to a particular debt settlement company but rather first go to a debt relief network who is affiliated with several legitimate debt companies. In order to be in the debt relief network, the debt settlement companies must prove a track record of successfully negotiating and eliminating debt. They must also pass an ethical standards test. Going through a debt relief network will ensure that the debt company you are provided with is a legitimate and respected company. This is the most efficient way in finding the best debt settlement companies and increasing your chances of eliminating your debt. FreeDebtSettlementAdvice.com is one of the largest and most respected debt relief networks on the marketplace today. To find a debt settlement company through FreeDebtSettlementAdvice.com check out the following link: Free Debt Advice

Related Articles ?
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Source: http://hotnews.blogspages.com/2012/08/06/debt-management-advice-%E2%80%93-how-to-legally-eliminate-60-of-your-unsecured-debt/

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Legal Process Outsourcing: SOME WILL SOME WON'T: An ...

By the time I will post this blog I am sure the legal market will get few more post on this topic. However, being associated with an Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) company I could not stop myself to look for the prominent aspects and benefits of this industry. Outsourcing/Offshoring legal work was not a burning topic few years back but with the emergence of quality outsourcing companies, law firms/attorneys in US and UK are approving this concept and using the experience of global talents to enrich and add value to their core jobs. Countries like: India, Philippines, Ireland, South Africa, Mauritius, China and Brazil are proving to be effective players. Among them India being the second largest democracy with new age technology charting new grounds every moment, more than 200,000 fresh law graduate passing every year and 150 + LPO companies already providing their quality services, is leading the show. Now, when big law firms and general counsels are supporting outsourcing and find it cost effective, its time for the small and medium sized law firms and solo attorneys to look for ways to grow their reach and give their best to their clients. By sending low end jobs to the outsourcing/offshoring partner they are not only able to give more time to their core jobs but this also gives them freedom to use the credentials of their partner to add value and services to their current profiles. Below are the few points on legal process outsourcing industry specific to Indian market.

What is Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO)?

LPO refers to the service industry wherein legal and paralegal support services of the client?s firm or an individual is performed by the outsourcing party. Cost, resource and speed advantage are the levers responsible for the mushrooming of this phenomenon across the world. The common law system, huge pool of English educated attorneys, time zone advantage, quality, confidentiality and security are the factors supporting the growth of legal process outsourcing industry.

Three eminent aspects of an LPO transaction:

• The Client: From where work comes. In other words, who gives work to execute.

• The Provider/Vendor: The organization that provides the LPO services and processes the work according to needs of the clients.

• The Project: The task/work which needs to be executed.

The services provided by the LPO industry ranges from preparation of pleadings, drafting of contracts, litigation support, legal transaction, IPR, proof reading, research and due diligence. The growth and development of the legal outsourcing/offshoring industry in India will help bringing a change in the way legal services are delivered in the west. This will also help in improving the economies of different countries.

LPO industry is mounting because of mutual benefits of clients and service providers. The increasing prominence of the LPO industry in the world today, is owing to the benefits listed below:

• Cost Effectiveness: Outsourcing legal work to LPOs (India, Argentina, Philippines etc) results to a cost saving of 50-70% which facilitates an organization to gain efficiency and staying profitable in the competitive world of business. Outsourcing/Offshoring legal work is very cost effective for law firms/corporate in the UK and the USA.

• Time Zone: The time difference and the availability of 24?7 support staff encourage outsourcing of legal work even more. By outsourcing research and paralegal tasks, the in-house counsel are able to concentrate on core legal issues. As law firm attorneys or in-house counsel in the West have their dinner, their assigned work is attended to and completed in India due to the time zone advantage.

• Language: English being the language for education and business in world is an advantage. There can never be a communication gap as lawyers are well versed in English and all courts in India and many other countries function in English.

• Eminence: The Indians are known for their intelligence and intellect. The same may be applied to Indian legal brains. Indian legal professionals have brilliant proficiency in working with the tools and systems in the outsourcing industry. Their writing skills and legal knowledge enhancement has resulted in making them an important pillar of the outsourcing operations.

• Confidentiality: The most important factor in outsourcing legal services is the privacy of information of attorneys. The data outsourced by an attorney to an LPO is always privileged information. This information has to be protected so as to maintain the confidentiality of the client. At all levels, confidentiality is being maintained.

• Variety of Services: An LPO provides variety of services to its clients. Law firms and Attorneys not only cut their costs but also get various services from one service provider. Law firms/Attorneys can broaden their areas of working by relying on the back office support of an LPO.

• Resources: By outsourcing, the foreign law firm or the corporation frees its resources to concentrate on its core competencies thus increasing the client base and court appearances vis-a?vis the competitors.

Though this list above is not mutually exhaustive but is indicative of the main triggers of the industry and I would look for more points to share in my next post.

Draft n Craft specializes in outsourcing of legal and paralegal services. We have provided more than a handful of advanced solutions to various clients in the U.K. and the U.S.A.; we take immense pleasure in serving all business needs, from the very basic legal undertakings to the most complex and farthest orientations. Contact Us

Source: http://draftncraft.blogspot.com/2012/08/some-will-some-wont-attorneys-dilemma_7.html

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Where to Get Money in Oregon - Finance Plan | FinancePlan.info

Are you in a tight financial need? Check the following financial institutions in Oregon and see where your monetary needs fit.

Oregon is a state located in the Pacific Northwest portion of the United States. Oregon shares border with Washington to the northern portion, California to the south and Nevada to the southeastern portion. It has a total population of 3,871,859 making it the 27th most populated states of the US. The total land area is approximately 255,026 km2 or 98,381 square miles. The people in Oregon are also referred to as Oregonian. The state?s capital is the city of Portland.

The earliest name of the state of Oregon was Ouragon; it was included on an appeal written by Major Robert Rogers that was sent to the Kingdom of Great Britain. Oregon?s name originated from the mythical river Ouragon, also known as the River of the West. Oregon?s only National Park is the Crater Lake National Park that is located in southern region of Oregon. In 1851, this state was incorporated to the Union.

If you live in the state of Oregon and you urgently need financial help, there are different ways of securing one. If you are an employee working in Oregon, you can always try to get a payday loan. A payday loan is a loan given to those employees who needs money while waiting for their paycheck. The process of applying for payday loan is very easy; you don?t need to submit other things just to get your loan approved. As a matter of fact, you can still get one even if you have an existing loan. You can loan up to $500 and you can return the loan in your own choice of date.

A certified Oregonian can also get a home equity loan at WeAdvice.com. This loan uses your own home as guarantee or collateral for the money that you will loan. Basically, home equity loan is used in financing major expenses like home improvement projects, college funds or paying medical bills.

If you live in Oregon and you served the military, you are also qualified for VA loans. The financial help that you?ll receive from this loan can be used for purchasing new house or making and improvement in your home. For those successful applicants who received their VA loans, they can enjoy the following benefits: 1. 0% down payment. 2. 0% penalties 3. 0% mortgage insurance. Truly, applying for VA loans in Oregon is very simple and easy.

Source: http://www.financeplan.info/where-to-get-money-in-oregon/

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Russia prosecutors seek 3 years for punk rockers

Yuri Kochetkov / EPA

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the Pussy Riot punk group, is escorted Tuesday to Khamovnichesky district court for the next session of her trial in Moscow.

By The Associated Press

MOSCOW --?Prosecutors on Tuesday called for three-year sentences for the members of a feminist punk band who performed an anti-Vladimir Putin stunt in Moscow's main cathedral, ignoring demands by human rights groups that the three women be set free.

Prosecutor Alexander Nikiforov portrayed the request as lenient, saying it takes into account the fact that two of the defendants are young mothers and that they have good references.

---

The hooliganism charges the three women face can carry a sentence of up to 7 years in prison.

The three women ? Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23; Maria Alekhina, 24; and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29 ? have been in custody for five months following the February stunt, in which they took over a church pulpit in Christ the Savior cathedral for less than a minute, singing, high-kicking and dancing.

Their case is part of a widening government crackdown on dissent that followed Putin's election in March and caused strong protests in Russia and abroad. Musicians including Madonna, the Who's Pete Townshend and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys have urged their release, and Amnesty International has called them prisoners of conscience.

The verdict is expected this week.

Divisive trial
The trial has sharply divided Russia. Some believers felt insulted by the act, while rights groups have declared the women prisoners of conscience.

Don't judge Pussy Riot too harshly, Putin says

Orthodox leaders have ignored calls by many believers to pardon the women and urge the court to dismiss the case.

The defendants have said their goal was to express their resentment over Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill's support for Putin's rule. But prosecutors have insisted throughout the trial that there were no political motives behind the performance.

"They set themselves off against the Orthodox world and sought to devalue traditions and dogmas that have been formed for the centuries," Nikiforov said Tuesday.

From March 2012: Anti-Putin activists pay high price, but refuse to back down

'Punk prayer'
Members of the band say they did not mean to hurt anyone's religious feelings when they performed the "punk prayer."

Larisa Pavlova, a lawyer for the church employees who were described as the injured party in the case told the court on Tuesday that she supports the sentencing recommendation.

More on this story from British broadcaster ITV News

Pavlova said most hooliganism in Russia is committed when people are drunk and they often regret what they have done ? but the defendants "thoroughly planned, rehearsed (their performance) and were fully aware of what they were doing."

"And they had the audacity to say in court that they did the right thing, that it's OK and that they're ready to keep on doing such things," Pavlova said.

Tolokonnikova chuckled as Pavlova mentioned in her speech that feminism in Russia is incompatible with Orthodox faith.

Three female punk rockers are put on trial in Russia after taking over the pulpit at an Orthodox cathedral and performing a controversial song criticizing President Putin. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

Pussy Riot lawyer Violetta Volkova voiced the band's complaint that the women had been deprived of sleep and food throughout the trial, describing it as "torture."

Russian lawyers say Pussy Riot women mistreated

"In this trial, authorities, not the girls, have dealt a crushing blow on the Russian Orthodox Church," Volkova said. "Time has turned back ? back to the Middle Ages."

The trial has sharply divided Russia. Some believers felt insulted by the act, while rights groups have declared the women prisoners of conscience.

PhotoBlog:?Punk rockers Pussy Riot in court over anti-Putin protest

Orthodox leaders have ignored calls by many believers to pardon the women and urge the court to dismiss the case.

Lawyer: Disproportionate charges
Mark Feygin, a lawyer for the band, told the court that the charges the women are facing are disproportionate to what they have done:

"Many of the things they have done were clumsy and too shocking, but there are no grounds for criminal prosecution here," he told the court.

More Russia coverage from NBCNews.com

Feygin said that the guilty verdict would "break a bond between the government and people for good" and that "society will never forgive the state for persecuting the innocent."

Russian veteran rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva told the Interfax news agency that a jail sentence for Pussy Riot would be "a disgrace for Russia and the Orthodox Church."

Amnesty International has said it considers the three women to be prisoners of conscience "detained solely for the peaceful expression of their beliefs."

Complete international coverage on NBCNews.com

Archdeacon Andrei Kurayev, an influential Orthodox blogger and Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, warned in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday that jail time for Pussy Riot would "turn them into martyrs" and would only feed hostility toward the church.

More world stories from NBC News:

?

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/07/13162029-russian-prosecutors-seek-3-year-sentences-for-pussy-riot-rockers?lite

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Asana

For me, the worst part of testing task-management apps is going too far down the rabbit hole. An endless?list maker, I can get sucked into a great to-do list app and forget that I'm only testing it, that I probably shouldn't try to meet too many real-life organizational needs in an app I'm only supposed to use for a few days. When I started playing with Web-based Asana (prices vary; free version available), I once again forgot to restrain myself. Asana can function as a personal to-do list and organizer; collaborative personal to-do list if you want to interact with, say,?family members only; or a?project management app for small teams. I was so excited to schedule and assign every task and necessary purchase to complete a kitchen remodel that I never wrote them down elsewhere. I'm now locked into using Asana to see my kitchen makeover and couple other projects through to completion?and that is by no means a bad thing. ?

?

Asana offers all the right tools for managing?teamwork,?light collaboration, and tasks, such as deadline settings, priority and label options, and a flexible and nimble work environment.?

Although Asana can also be a project-management app,?I wouldn't recommend using the free version?for complex projects?in place of specialized PM software, such as Basecamp or Huddle.?The free version?conquers basic teamwork and personal projects with ease, but it doesn't expand in a way that would accommodate complex projects well. For that, you'll have to pay.?

Pricing
For the low, low price of nothing,?Asana doles out some pretty extraordinary services. The free account supports up to 30 members and unlimited projects and tasks. Paid account holders get a few additional features, such as project permissions and priority support, and the cost?scales up depending on the number of users: $300 per month for 50 members, $550 per month for 75 members, $800 per month for 100 members.?

Design and Features
Thoughtful design makes the main workspace in Asana bend to your needs. The dashboard is divided into three sections.?A rail along the left shows your workspace overview, containing all your groups and projects. From this pane, you can add a new member, start a new project, create a group, and manage tags. The middle section changes based on which project you select on the left to show?all the tasks contained therein. Select an item in this middle section, and the?third pane on the far right drills down into more details about that item. For example, if I select my Kitchen Work project, and highlight the task "Purchase floor files," I can see on the far right that I've assigned this task to my partner to complete by September 4. I can also see the image of tiles I like uploaded and attached to the task.

The ability to move tasks around in Asana, ad hoc, makes the Web app unique. Tasks glide across the screen when you simply?click and?drag them to change their order?(the app was built in HTML 5). It's a piece of cake to reprioritize, say, purchasing that kitchen tile, without actually changing the due date by simply dragging up to the top of the list.?

Asana's fluidity makes it?feels similar to a great iPad app that leverages all possibilities of multitouch gestures in its design, such as Flipboard, for example. The list of projects, however, is fixed in alphabetical order. I'd love to be able to reorder those, too.?

When you resize the browser window, Asana likewise?resizes appropriately to preserve the middle and right panes while hiding the left one?but not entirely. It peeks out so you can see it and access it quickly.?

Asana didn't skimp on features. When you create a task, you can assign it to a member, schedule a due date, upload associated documents, write comments, add tags, and even subscribe or unsubscribe to notifications regarding changes to the task.?Asana gives each member an inbox for mail, and that's where?notifications appear.??

Interactive checkboxes let you tick off tasks as you complete them?and just as easily untick them if you or another Asana member strikes something off in error.?

Someone at Asana had power users in mind when it came time to put the final touches on the?interface design because a short list of essential keyboard shortcuts appears on the footer. Also along the bottom are quick links to tutorial videos, which you can hide if you prefer. ?

I do have one issue with the design, but it doesn't really apply so much to individuals as to larger teams. Asana doesn't compartmentalize much. Everything you want to find is, for the most part, located on one screen, rather than tucked away under a series of tabs, or windows-within-windows, as it were. What this means for larger project management tasks and bigger group projects is that Asana can look very cluttered, which is a productivity inhibitor.?

No Downloadable Version
While Asana's speed and responsiveness in testing never faltered, and I love the fact that I can access Asana from anywhere I have an Internet connection,?I do wish the app were available offline, too. Currently, Asana is Web-only. Even its iOS app requires a connection to work.?

As much as I believe in "the cloud," I still prefer hybrid approaches to software, apps that allow me to work offline when I need to, but automatically sync my changes to my Web account when I'm through. Rely on an always-on Internet connection, and you have no failsafe for Internet service or power outages, or other times when you can't get online. And it's not like these things are rare.?Anyone who lives or works in a developing country or a region with nasty weather (Texas in summer?) simply doesn't expect hiccup-free Internet 24/7. Frequent travelers, too, often prefer to work offline than connect to airport Wi-Fi for a measly 25 minutes every time they're waiting to board. Asana already flies very high, but?if?users also had an option to work offline on a?downloadable app,?it could soar.?

Asana for Personal Task-Management and Light Teamwork
Asana's thoughtful design, fluid interactive elements, and generous member allotment in its free version make it a powerful task-management app for personal projects and light teamwork. The paid version provides the few extra features you'd need to use it for more complex?project management (except for offline access). Depending on your needs, however, the free version of Basecamp, our Editors' Choice for free Web-based PM software, may be a better bet.?

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