Dropping the Ball – New Years in New York

Millions of people watch the Ball being dropped in Times Square in New York every year to mark the beginning of the New Year. Many gather in the city to watch it, and it is also aired on the television across North America.

Originally, the Square had been called Longacre Square, until the owner of the New York Times, Alfred Ochs; convinced the city to change the name to Times Square. To celebrate this occasion, a New Year’s party like no other was planned. It was a massive success, with over 200 000 people present for the festivities. Fireworks filled the sky as Times Square solidified itself as a primary party location in the city.

The New Year’s Ball tradition began in 1907, when the fireworks show had been disallowed in New York.

The original Ball comprised of seven hundred pounds of iron and wood, lit with lights.

Today, it is much more spectacular! The Times Square Ball is a 12 foot sphere that weighs nearly 12 thousand pounds! It hangs above the city all year, and is lowered at midnight of the New Year!

We wish you all a happy new year!

Alex B and the OnTheHub Team

Read more »

Story of the NORAD’s Santa Tracker

In what has become somewhat of a Christmas fixture, the NORAD Santa Tracker  follows the jolly man himself in his sleigh as he makes his trip around the world so the world can view his progress.

This was not always the case. In fact, it is a result of a very small mistake made by a Colorado Sears, who had advertised that children could call in and speak to Santa Claus. 

 

Unfortunately for the phone operator at Sears, who must have been crestfallen when no children called in to speak to Santa, the number in the catalogue had been misprinted. The number was off by one digit, and now calls began to pour into the Commander in Chiefs telephone at Colorado Springs Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD, which was later replaced by NORAD).

Calls made to this phone were usually of high importance, so you can imagine the surprise when he answered the phone to a child asking about Santa Claus! Making the best of the situation, he told his staff to take the calls and provide the children with information about where Santa was headed on his journey.

Since then, this has become a holiday tradition, and is broadcasted on TV and the Internet, with NORAD employees volunteering their time every year. like this story, they help embody the holiday spirit!

 

Happy Holidays!

Alex B and the OnTheHub Team

Read more »

SPSS® 19 Has Arrived!

OnTheHub is excited to announce that that IBM® SPSS® Statistics 19 & other IBM SPSS data mining solutions are now available at exclusive academic pricing via the Global OnTheHub eStore.

Students and faculty in over 25 countries are now able to upgrade to the newest version of this leading statistical software package at exclusive discounts of up to 90% off retail price and, upon successful verification and purchase, can download the software in just a few clicks. As with version 18, students and faculty are presented with 6 and 12-month licenses (rentals) of IBM SPSS software at dramatically reduced prices, rather than having to purchase the more expensive perpetual licenses.

OnTheHub is pleased to be able to offer students in North America, Europe and Asia access to this inexpensive rental download of the latest IBM SPSS software. This way, students only need to pay for the software usage that is required for them to complete their coursework.

IBM SPSS Statistics 19 offers faster performance and even more analytical power than before. With major performance enhancements, improved procedures, and even more ease-of-use features, IBM SPSS Statistics 19 speeds and simplifies analytic tasks, allowing users to get more done in less time.

In addition to providing exclusive distribution options for IBM SPSS Statistics to the academic community, OnTheHub and IBM SPSS have now expanded to provide five additional software packages at great academic discounts, these include:

IBM SPSS Statistics Premium GradPack

IBM SPSS Amos 19 GradPack

IBM SPSS Modeler 14 Premium Faculty Pack

IBM SPSS Data Collection Premium GradPack

IBM SPSS Data Collection Premium Faculty Pack

For more information about IBM SPSS Statistics 19 rentals & other IBM SPSS data mining solutions available, visit: http://www.onthehub.com/spss

Read more »