E.A. Fernandez asks: I recently acquired a «www.businessweek.com» from Verizon Wireless («www.businessweek.com») after being assured it came with an application to use the built-in GPS location tracking feature. Well, as you know, it doesn’t. How come all other wireless providers offer GPS capability in the 8830 but VZW can’t? They’ve given me a range of answers that do not make sense. Why don’t they activate this integral part of an otherwise wonderful new device? Do they have plans to activate it in the near future?

It’s definitely frustrating. The BlackBerry («www.businessweek.com») 8830 World Edition is an excellent smart phone with built-in GPS, which means it can pick up coordinates from the Global Positioning System of satellites orbiting the earth. Verizon Wireless offers a good navigation application in VZ Navigator from «investing.businessweek.com». But while you can use VZ Navigator on 34 different Verizon handsets, you can’t get it on the 8830.

The problem is Verizon’s legendary—or notorious, depending on how you look at it—process for hardware and software quality assurance. Verizon is known for being extremely thorough and slow in its process for qualifying phones and other devices for use on its network. A Verizon spokesperson says the company planned from the beginning to offer VZ Navigator on the 8830. But because the testing wasn’t completed in time, the company decided to release the handset without it and make it available for download “very soon.” So you will be able to add the service to your BlackBerry as soon as Verizon releases it, whenever that might be.

As you have discovered, it can be difficult to get straight answers to simple questions about all sorts of high-tech equipment, not just phones. I’m not sure whether it is deliberate obfuscation or a simple fear of saying “I don’t know,” but nonsensical answers are common. Obviously, there’s no reason why the 8830 can’t run a GPS application since you can get Sprint’s («www.businessweek.com») version of the 8830 with the «investing.businessweek.com» navigation service.

(12-11) 11:52 PST (AP) —

Text of Federal Reserve statements Tuesday:

___

The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 25 basis points to 4-1/4 percent.

Incoming information suggests that economic growth is slowing, reflecting the intensification of the housing correction and some softening in business and consumer spending. Moreover, strains in financial markets have increased in recent weeks. Today’s action, combined with the policy actions taken earlier, should help promote moderate growth over time.

Readings on core inflation have improved modestly this year, but elevated energy and commodity prices, among other factors, may put upward pressure on inflation. In this context, the Committee judges that some inflation risks remain, and it will continue to monitor inflation developments carefully.

Recent developments, including the deterioration in financial market conditions, have increased the uncertainty surrounding the outlook for economic growth and inflation. The Committee will continue to assess the effects of financial and other developments on economic prospects and will act as needed to foster price stability and sustainable economic growth.

Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; Timothy F. Geithner, Vice Chairman; Charles L. Evans; Thomas M. Hoenig; Donald L. Kohn; Randall S. Kroszner; Frederic S. Mishkin; William Poole; and Kevin M. Warsh. Voting against was Eric S. Rosengren, who preferred to lower the target for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points at this meeting.

In a related action, the Board of Governors unanimously approved a 25-basis-point decrease in the discount rate to 4-3/4 percent. In taking this action, the Board approved the requests submitted by the Boards of Directors of the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, and St. Louis.

___

On the Net: «federalreserve.gov»

‘Tis the season to be jolly, and, if the advertisers are to be believed, to go shopping, flex those credit cards and buy bucketloads of stuff to get us in the festive mood - much of which we don’t really need and which will end up in the bin come January. From here, it will very likely go on to clog up landfill and, in many cases, leach out toxic chemicals into the environment.

Sounds nasty, but fortunately the Christmas spirit doesn’t have to come from plastic baubles and fake snow. There are many great homemade alternatives that will bring a little yuletide cheer into your home, without costing the earth.

One of the easiest places to start is with decorations. The homemade homemaker will ideally choose a real «www.guardian.co.uk» grown organically in the UK.

Once the tree is in place, you can decorate it with natural goodies like pine cones, cinnamon sticks or painted eggshells, or edible treats like candy canes and gingerbread. Get crafty with homemade trinkets such as old matchboxes wrapped in scraps of unused Christmas paper or foil, ornaments made out of salt dough (two parts salt to one part each of flour and water, plus natural colouring), or swathes of lace and ribbon. Finish the whole thing off with homemade paper chains (great for kids to make), or garlands of popcorn (simply string each piece onto a very long thread with a needle), in place of synthetic tinsel.

Christmas should be a feast for all the senses, so once you’ve finished with the visuals, why not spend some time filling your home with wonderful Christmassy scents? A simple way to do this is by making some festive pot pourri - try this recipe from «www.daisygifts.co.uk» in Sussex.

3 handfuls of orange slices
5 broken up cinnamon sticks
5 whole mandarins
1 handful star anise
1 handful dried rose hips
1 handful cloves
10 drops of cinnamon and orange fragrance oils

Just put the whole lot in a plastic bag and shake, then display in a large bowl for impact. (You could also cheat by buying their «www.daisygifts.co.uk», but don’t tell anyone!)

If you’re feeling more ambitious, you could try your hand at candle making. The easiest option is to make a candle in a jar - reuse one of last year’s cranberry sauce jars to maintain the festive theme. For the serious candlemaker, there are numerous guides available with in-depth lists of specialised equipment, including a dizzying choice of waxes (paraffin, soy, palm, bayberry and beeswax, to name but a few) and wick types (zinc core or square braid, anyone?).

However, if you just want to have a go at a basic version, all you’ll need is wax and wick, a hot glue gun or readymade glue dots to stick the wax to the bottom of the jar, a pencil or pin to keep the wick centred while the wax hardens, a thermometer, and fragrance oils - seasonal choices include apple, orange, pine, cinnamon and cloves.

Start off by gluing down the wick, which should be about 2cm higher than the anticipated top of the candle. Next, melt the wax. Heating wax directly in a container is dangerous, so either use a proper bain-marie if you have one, or simply put the wax inside one container and then place that container in a saucepan part-filled with water and heat the whole thing on the hob. Heat the wax to a few degrees higher than the recommended pouring temperature (test it with the thermometer). The wax will melt more easily if you chop it up into chunks first.

Once it’s reached the required heat, stir in your fragrance oils (you could also add some coloured crayons at this stage, if you like) and then carefully pour the wax into your jar. When it’s full, rest a pencil or pin across the top of the jar and fold the end of the wick around it - this will keep the wick taut while the wax hardens. You’ll probably have to top it up at least once as the wax will shrink as it cools.

If even this sounds a bit too much like hard work, you can buy starter candle kits from craft suppliers like «www.craftmaterialsupplies.co.uk» in Somerset or «www.houseofcrafts.co.uk» in Leicester, which provide all the bits and pieces - and detailed instructions - you’ll need. Or, since it’s Christmas, let someone else do the work for you just this once, and splash out on a luxury, all natural, chemical-free festive candle like this lovely one from «www.henandhammock.co.uk». Happy holidays!