Why Some Business Moguls Still make Use of ancient mobile Phones

When it comes to consumer technology, many people are used to coveting the newest and shiniest gadget. So it may come as a surprise that a number of top executives and dealmakers are still clinging to ancient mobile phones.
Of these outmoded mobiles, one stands out as the clear favorite. By all appearances, it's the Nokia 6310, a model that was discontinued more than six years ago. Among its devotees, according to the Financial Times, are Martin Schulz, the president of the European Union's parliament; retail mogul Philip Green; and Julian Dunkerton, chief executive of clothing company SuperGroup, which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of more than $1.6 billion.
Why would global leaders hang on to obsolete technology, especially in the high-flying, status-conscious set they move in?
For one thing, old Nokias were built to last: They are hard to damage (no touchscreen to worry about) and have a long battery life. Also, being less connected can actually be an advantage, improving your focus on what's important. With the Nokia 6310, "I'm not bombarded with emails every minute, allowing me to deal with the crucial stuff," Dunkerton told the FT.
And it turns out, an old "dumb phone" can actually serve as a status symbol. It signals to associates that you can't be bothered to check email every 10 minutes. Other people actually like the retro aesthetics.
If you feel the urge to go back to the future, you would do well to check online marketplaces. A search of eBay turns up a number of Nokia 6310 phones for sale, with "buy it now" prices ranging from $44 to $64. Not a bad price for a decent phone -- and a little bit of history.

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Mario Balotelli struggles with his short at training

What's Mario Balotelli up to now? Liverpool’s £16million striker was sporting an odd new look at training.

Whether the 24-year-old carried on training like this was unclear but it had echoes of when he struggled to put on a bib during his time with Manchester City.

Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre revealed yesterday the club sold huge numbers of Balotelli shirts on the day the Italian moved to Anfield from AC Milan last month.

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Buddhist monk enters trance in bid to meditate himself to death

A Buddhist monk who said it's time for him to die has decided to lay in a coffin and 'meditate himself to death'.

The Thai holyman told his followers that if he did indeed pass away, the coffin would self-combust on Thursday.

The monk, Phra Khru Weruwan Chantarungsi, 65, who is also known as Luang Pu Pim, is the abbot of Wat Weruwan temple in Tambon Thung Phra in Thailand - and is in good health, according to temple representatives.

However, his daughter, 41-year-old Chanakarn Srisombat, insisted that he was poorly, according to the Bangkok Post.

She added that he'd died once before in a cave but that a miracle had brought him back to life.

Mr Pim's coffin was placed outside his living quarters on Tuesday after he'd delivered his last sermon, in which he explained that death something that comes to everyone.

Detractors of Mr Pim's actions say that he's being anti-Buddhist, by 'showing off'. However, his followers strongly refute that he's seeking attention.

Many of them have stayed at the temple to witness the coffin being consumed by fire.

The coffin has several holes in it, to allow Mr Pim to breathe.

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Khloe Kardashian and French Montana split after eight months of dating

Khloe Kardashian is reportedly single again. The "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star has allegedly split from rapper French Montana after eight months of dating. Us Weekly claims the couple was "on a break" and Khloe just needed her space. Meanwhile, E! News says they were done for good but French "won't really accept it."

Rumors suggest French was using Khloe for fame. Even her family including momager Kris Jenner and sister Kim Kardashian thought so, but the reality TV star didn't seem too concerned about it. What really turned her off was reportedly his "needy" behavior. "It grated on her that he became so dependent on her," a source told Us Weekly.

French, whose real name is Karim Kharbouch, is allegedly trying to save their romance, "but eventually they will be totally broken up," an insider says to E!. "For all intents and purposes, Khloe is single again." The source adds, "She's just decided to move on. Khloe thinks he's a great guy but it just wasn't working out."

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Manchester United aim Premier League top three this season with Louis Van Gaal in charge

Louis van Gaal is expected to take Manchester United back into the top three in the Premier League this season — and he will have to do it without any major signings in January.

The target was revealed by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward as he detailed the club’s accounts for last season and made forecasts for this campaign.

Figures published show United had record income of £433.2million for the 2013-14 season, but that is expected to plunge to £395m because the club are not in the Champions League, from which they made about £55m last season.

Getting back into Europe is an urgent priority for United and Woodward confirmed Van Gaal’s target when he said: ‘We assume third in our budgets.’

Another consequence of David Moyes’ miserable year in charge was £5.2m in ‘exceptional costs’, most of which represented compensation payments to the former manager and his staff.

Woodward gave the strongest indication yet that there will not be a further splurge in January to follow the £153.1m spent on Angel Di Maria, Daley Blind, Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Radamel Falcao. ‘We don’t intend to significantly increase capital expenditure [by buying players] in January,’ he said during a conference call aimed at investors in the 10 per cent of the club that is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

‘We will continue to monitor in association with Louis his view of the squad and which areas we want to strengthen and which areas we want to sell. I wouldn’t have expectations for January but if there is a willingness from the manager, we will engage with him and if there is an opportunity, we will try and take that as we did last January.’

Woodward said the club was ‘very proud’ of the record income figures and added: ‘With Louis van Gaal at the helm as manager, and the recent signing of some of the world’s leading players to further strengthen our squad, we are very excited about the future and believe it’s the start of a new chapter in the club’s history.

‘Louis’ footballing philosophy fits very well with Manchester United and he has an impressive track record of success throughout his career, winning league titles with every club he has managed.’

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