PHOTOS: Obama Inaugural Ride & More Presidential Limos (Auckland, New Zealand, David Lim, NZ)

Rumor has it that the new U.S. presidential limousine is sturdy enough to withstand a direct hit from an asteroid. Even if not, Barack Obama's fully customized Cadillac, which debuts on Inauguration Day, is still the place to be when disaster strikes. Specs weren't released, but experts say the limo's body probably sits on the chassis of a GM commercial truck and has a similarly hefty engine. "The Beast," as the Secret Service calls it, likely has heavy armor, five-inch-thick (12.7-centimeter-thick) bombproof glass, tough-as-nails tires, and a sealed interior that's invulnerable to chemical attack. One thing it's not is green: No car this mammoth will sport good gas mileage. —Photograph courtesy U.S. Department of the Treasur.

In 1981, Ronald Reagan started his administration in a Lincoln and ended it in a Cadillac.

The 40th president's first ride was a hand-me-down from Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. It took Ford nearly three years to complete the vehicle. The limo helped protect Ford from a 1975 assassination attempt and it was the car Reagan was entering when he was shot by John Hinckley in 1981. The Lincoln was replaced in 1984 with two Cadillac Fleetwoods.


Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson were chauffeured in what was first an open-topped Lincoln (top). A roof was added after Kennedy was shot.

Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower shared a "bubbletop" Lincoln (second from bottom). The clear back roof allowed bystanders to see the President even when it was raining.

A convertible Lincoln (bottom) was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's car of choice.



President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Sunshine Special" convertible was the first customized presidential car.

During World War II, the vehicle was retrofitted for security, after which it could reportedly stop machine gun bullets. The specs seem wimpy today: The windows were only an inch thick.




President Warren Harding was the first U.S. President to travel to the Inauguration via car, a Packard Twin-Six in 1921. The 29th president is also said to have been the first Commander in Chief who knew how to dr

"It feels like a bad dream."

"It feels like a bad dream."

HARRY NICOLAIDES, an Australian author who was sentenced to
three years in prison in Thailand for insulting the monarchy in a self-published novel.

Photo of the Day (David Lim, Auckland, New Zealand.

The extraordinary bubble eye wears marble-size, fluid-filled eye sacs like water wings. The breed is only one in a gallery of bizarre variations of the common goldfish. Developed over ten centuries by Asian breeders, this living art of the East today attracts growing numbers of Western aquarists.

E71 & Gmail: How To Set Up IMAP With The Built-In Messaging Application

I have configured and been using my hotmail, clear.net.nz pop mail, vodafone sync mail and Gmail on my Nokia E71. They all work perfectly either via my Vdoafone 3G GPRS or WiFi at home/work. This had improve my respond time to my business associate's emails based at different world location. With the help of portable web mail, I can conduct my online business with ease!

Here are the steps you take for setting up Gmail on your Nokia E71 using the built in messaging application. I find this solution to be very good, except that it doesn't download the full emails automatically, only the headers. It's not really a huge problem as it only takes 2-3 seconds to retrieve the email.

Reminder (thanks to Rita): With the E71 you don't need to do all these settings to set up Gmail imap, the E71 will find all them for you when you enter your username and password. But if your having problems like I was when outgoing messages or anything else you can go into your settings for that email account and make sure they all look like what you see below. Make sure your security ports are set right. Steps for setting up Gmail, straight from Google:

To configure IMAP for your Symbian S60 device, just follow these steps:

1. Enable IMAP in your Gmail settings.
2. Select 'Messaging' > 'Options' > 'Settings' > 'E-mail' > 'Mailboxes.'
3. If you have never set up email on your phone before, select 'Yes' to define a new mailbox. If you already have other mailboxes, select 'Options' and then 'New mailbox.'
4. Select 'Start' to begin the setup wizard.
5. Select 'IMAP4' and then 'Next.'
6. Enter your full email address (including '@gmail.com') as the email address and select 'Next.' Google Apps users, enter your full address in the format 'username@your_domain.com.'
7. Enter 'imap.gmail.com' as the incoming mail server and select 'Next.'
8. Enter 'smtp.gmail.com' as the outgoing mail server and select 'Next.'
9. Select the appropriate access point and then 'Next.'
10. Enter a descriptive name for the email account mailbox name.
11. Once your mailbox is set up, select it from the email mailbox settings screen.
12. Select 'Connection settings' > 'Incoming e-mail.'
13. Enter your address (including '@gmail.com' or '@your_domain.com') and password.
14. Select 'SSL/TLS' for your security (ports) and define your port as '993.'
15. Select 'Back.'
16. Select 'Outgoing e-mail.'
17. Enter your email address (including '@gmail.com' or '@your_domain.com') and password.
18. Select 'StartTLS' for your security (ports) and define your port as '587.'
19. Select 'Back' and change any other settings according to your preferences.

That's just for getting it set up. Once it's all set up you can configure some of your own settings. For instance under Automatic Retrievel I set it for 15 minutes and I can close my email inbox yet it stays connected and pushes new mail through just as it arrives in my real inbox. If for some reason the data connection is broken it will automatically reconnect after 15 minutes. All emails are synced perfectly with your real inbox almost instantly. If you want to delete something from your phone you can but if you choose "phone and server" it will simply archive it in Gmail, which is actually quite handy I think.

Are any of you using this as your email solution? Please leave your comments.

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