The light weight comes thanks, in part, to the fact that the company didn't beef up the battery, instead offering up some software bumps it says compensate for the additional battery drain that comes with things like a revved-up display.

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Though some Social Security experts believe that a relatively small additional increase could both stop the immediate cash drain and build adequate reserves to handle the 21st century demographic dilemma, the idea makes politicians shudder.

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This may not sound onerous, but in places such as Mozambique, where the annual budget for fighting malaria is less than 30 cents a person, any additional bureaucracy could prove to be a big drain on resources.

ECONOMIST: DDT