Liberty Newsprint Jan-26-10

E-reader News Edition

25/01/10 - 26/01/10

http://www.LibertyNewsprint.com

Obama gambles on reconnecting with voters… others bet on his tie

Four Plays on 4G: How to Play the Data Logjam

By David Alexander (Front Row Washington)

By Steven Halpern (BloggingStocks)

Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:37:42 AM

A lot is riding on President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Wednesday to a joint session of Congress.

The president is gambling he can reconnect with voters and turn the tide of populist anger that threatens his signature healthcare legislation.

Other folks are betting he’ll wear a red tie.

And speak between 51 and 53 minutes.

And say the words “healthcare reform” before other well-worn phrases, like “as I stand here today” or “fundamental belief.”

Paddy Power, an online Irish bookie, is taking bets on some of the less-than-weighty aspects of Obama’s State of the Union speech.

Most of the gamblers are wagering Obama will wear a red

tie. Odds are 11/10, meaning a $1 bet would pay $1.10 if he wears a predominantly red tie Wednesday evening.

The bookie is paying 6/4 odds on a blue tie and 6/1 odds on a silver tie.

Not many people are betting the U.S. president will wear an American flag tie — the odds on

that one are 100/1.

With Obama’s reputation as a speaker, most gamblers are betting the address will be on the long side. Odds on a speech lasting 51.01 to 53 minutes are 9/4. Those on a speech lasting 53.01 to 55 are 11/4.

Paddy’s Power says people are wagering “healthcare reform”

will be the first cliche out of Obama’s mouth.

Odds on the phrase are 4/1.

Other lines seen likely are “as I stand here today,” “fundamental belief,” “God Bless America,” and “defining moment,” all of which carry 12/1 odds.

Not likely at all is the line “I won’t seek re-election,” at odds of 250/1.

The cliche monitors at Paddy Power don’t seem to have been culling Obama’s speeches for fodder.

“Let me be clear,” one of the president’s favorites, is nowhere on the list.

For more Reuters political news, click here.

Photo credit: Reuters/Molly Riley (Obama in a red tie at his last speech to a joint session of Congress, in September)

Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:00:00 PM

Filed under: Newsletters, Stocks to Buy Usage and demand for wireless data services is surging; according to the U.S. FCC data use has soared by over 700% in just the past four years alone," says Neil George.

In his Stocks that Pay You, he says, "We suggest you look at four companies involved in different aspects of the developing 4G network, which will provide for easier handling of more data, particularly in mobile devices."

Continue reading Four Plays on 4G: How to Play the Data Logjam Four Plays on 4G: How to Play the Data Logjam originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Pernell Roberts obituary

By Ronald Bergan (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk) Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:28:03 AM

Outspoken actor who made his name as Adam Cartwright in the TV show Bonanza Outspoken There are certain actors who are forever defined by one role, some to their pleasure and others to their displeasure. Pernell Roberts, who has died of prostate cancer aged 81, was definitely of the latter ilk. Roberts, who played Adam Cartwright in Bonanza for 202 episodes from 1959 until 1965, thought himself capable of far greater things, and left the television horse opera at the height of his, and the show's, popularity.

With complete but refreshing disregard for his multitude of loyal fans, Roberts explained why he left the show. "I had six seasons of playing the eldest son on that show. Six seasons of feeling like a damned idiot, going around like a middle-aged teenager saying, 'Yes, Pa' 'No, Pa' on cue. It was downright disgusting – such dialogue for a grown man. I felt I wasn't being taken seriously as an actor, and that's like death to one's talent.

Stuck as Adam Cartwright, I was only able to use about one-tenth of my ability."

Unfortunately, Roberts was never able to use much of the

remaining nine-tenths of his ability in his career, which included mostly television, several plays and a few films.

Despite his extremely negative views of Bonanza, which he called "junk television that perpetuated banality and contributed to the dehumanisation of the industry" and of the character of Adam Cartwright, Roberts's dependable demeanour – tall, dark and handsome features and deep baritone voice – brought muchneeded gravitas to the enjoyable and lively familial adventures on the Ponderosa ranch.

However, for all his efforts to be taken seriously as an actor, Roberts, by then grey-bearded and bald, was drawn back into another long-running television series, Trapper John, MD, from 1979 until 1986. Granted that this spin-off from Robert Altman's 1970 anti-war satire M*A*S*H, and the character of John Francis Xavier McIntyre (played by Elliott Gould in the film) chimed with Roberts's liberal views in a new, freer era of American television, it never achieved the adoration that Bonanza created, nor did it satisfy Roberts's frustrated acting ambitions.

Roberts, who was born in Georgia, showed an early singing talent while still at high school. He attended both Georgia Tech and the University of

Maryland, but dropped out of both before joining the Marine Corps for two years. After a series of odd jobs, he started to get some stage work in the early 1950s. This gave Roberts a background in the classics, especially as a member of the Arena Stage Company in Washington, DC, where he played Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, and appeared in The Playboy of the Western World, The Glass Menagerie, The Importance of Being Earnest and Twelfth Night.

Among his Broadway appearances were his reprise of Petruchio, opposite Nina Foch as Katarina (1957), and, in the same year, in a role that suited his serious nature, Daniel de Borsola, the murderous malcontented Gentleman of the Horse to Jacqueline Brookes in the title role of The Duchess of Malfi. Leaving the classics behind him, Roberts headed for Los Angeles in 1958, where he got supporting roles in three quality films, the first being a rather theatrical adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms (1958).

Ironically, in retrospect, Roberts portrayed one of three sons of Ephraim Cabot (Burl Ives), the unbending Puritan patriarch farmer. The "60 acres of dirt" farm was not exactly the Ponderosa, but there were echoes of Bonanza. Roberts, who lustily

played the loutish Peter Cabot, unlike the more gentlemanly Adam Cartwright, had the temerity, on his first Hollywood film, to complain about the way Anthony Perkins, already a major star, kept holding up the shoot by continually asking Method-driven questions.

Roberts, who had no truck with the Method, then appeared in two westerns, The Sheepman (1958), as a villain who tangles with Glenn Ford, and Budd Boetticher's Ride Lonesome (1959), as Randolph Scott's outlaw sidekick. From there, he immediately went into Bonanza, joining "Hoss" (Dan Blocker) and "Little Joe" (Michael Landon) as sons of the thricewidowed, cruel-to-be-kind Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene, 13 years Roberts's senior). At one stage in the series, the all-male family was temporarily threatened by giving Adam a fiancee, but when the producers were overwhelmed with protests from (mostly) female fans, they dropped the idea of marriage.

Apart from a few minor feature films, Roberts spent much of the rest of his career in television, making dozens of guest appearances in series such as Gunsmoke, The Big Valley and Mission: Impossible, until settling down as Trapper John, MD. In between, he used his powerful singing voice in touring musicals including Camelot and

The King and I, and starred opposite Ingrid Bergman on Broadway in the title role in Captain Brassbound's Conversion (1972), a character described by George Bernard Shaw as a man of "handsome features, but joyless; dark eyebrows drawn towards one another; mouth set grimly; a face set to one tragic purpose. A man of few words, fewer gestures, and much significance." He might have been describing Adam Cartwright.

Roberts was an outspoken supporter of civil rights – he took part in demonstrations in the 1960s – and campaigned against racism and sexism, especially on television.

Roberts, who was divorced three times, is survived by his fourth wife, Eleanor. His son, by his first wife, was killed in a motorcycle crash in 1989.

• Pernell Elvin Roberts, actor, born 18 May 1928; died 24 January 2010 • The news on TV • United States • Soap opera Ronald Bergan guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

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Lord Goldsmith changed legal view of Iraq war in two months, says adviser

By Helen Pidd, Hélène Mulholland (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

then foreign secretary overruled his advice against military action. The revelation by Sir Michael Wood, the top Foreign Office lawyer at the time, Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:25:19 AM challenges the evidence Straw, • Wilmshurst says Goldsmith now justice secretary, gave to the change legal stance in early 2003 inquiry last week in which he • Sir Michael Wood challenges insisted that he had "very evidence given by Jack Straw reluctantly" supported the • Review the live blog for full c o n f l i c t . coverage of today's hearing Wilmshurst, who was the only The attorney general Lord civil servant to quit over the Iraq Goldsmith completely changed war, is the first witness to reveal his view about the legality of the that Goldsmith's view as late as Iraq war over a two-month January 2003 was that a second period, the Chilcot inquiry heard UN resolution may be required today. for the invasion to be legal. She Elizabeth Wilmshurst, former said said she thought it was deputy legal adviser at the unprecedented for a prime foreign and commonwealth minister to be consulted in this office (FCO), revealed that way.

Goldsmith initially sent a She told the inquiry panel, "provisional" view to Tony Blair which is looking into the legality in January 2003 that a second of the war, that she was shown UN resolution would be required this advice unofficially at the for the invasion to be legal. time. "His draft advice, his But by 7 March the position of provisional view, was that a Goldsmith, who gives evidence second resolution was needed, as to the inquiry tomorrow, was that I recall," she said. there was a reasonable case for The lawyer, who told her arguing the war would be legal superiors that an invasion without a second resolution. without UN sanction would be a Then by 17 March, just days "crime of aggression" when she before the war, he said there was quit a few days before the no need for second resolution. invasion, said today that the way In a dramatic day at the inquiry, ministers handled the legal which Blair will face on Friday, arguments over the war was Jack Straw's chief legal adviser "lamentable". at the time of the Iraq invasion Declassified documents released also today told inquiry that the by the inquiry also show that

Wood warned ministers three months before the invasion that it was not certain if military action would be legal.

David Brummell, then a senior aide to the attorney general, also revealed that Lord Goldsmith warned both No 10 and Straw in November 2002 he was "pessimistic" that UN security council resolution 1441 could be used to justify military action without a second resolution.

Today, in a collection of evidence that intensifies the pressure on Blair, the panel also released a memo written by Wood that refers to a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) cable detailing a meeting between Straw and Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, in which the foreign secretary reassured his American counterpart a year before the invasion that he was "entirely comfortable" making the case for war.

The meeting took place before Blair visited President Bush in Crawford, Texas, where the then prime minister was accused of "signing in blood" an agreement to join the US in an invasion.

This morning Wood told the inquiry panel, which is looking at the legality of the war, that he had rejected the government's argument that resolution 1441 – passed in November 2002 – requiring Saddam Hussein to

disarm was a sufficient basis for military action.

"I considered that the use of force against Iraq in March 2003 was contrary to international law," he said.

"In my opinion, that use of force had not been authorised by the security council, and had no other basis in international law."

However, when he presented his view to Straw in January 2003, he said it was dismissed out of hand.

"He took the view that I was being very dogmatic and that international law was pretty vague and that he wasn't used to people taking such a firm position," said Wood.

"When he had been at the Home Office, he had often been advised things were unlawful but he had gone ahead anyway and won in the courts."

He said this was "probably the first and only occasion" that a minister rejected his legal advice in this way.

"Obviously there are some areas of international law that can be quite uncertain. This however turned exclusively on the interpretation of a specific text and it is one on which I think that international law was pretty clear," he said.

"Because there is no court, the legal adviser and those taking decisions based on the legal advice have to be more

scrupulous in adhering to the law."

In a newly declassified letter to the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, released by the inquiry, Straw complained at the attitude taken by government lawyers.

"I have been very forcefully struck by the paradox in the culture of government lawyers, which is the less certain the law is, the more certain in their views they become," he said.

Wood said there had been a reluctance by ministers to seek the attorney general's views until very late in the day.

"They really needed advice, even if they didn't want it at that stage, in order to develop their policy in the weeks leading up to the failure to get a second resolution," he said.

• Iraq war inquiry • Politics and Iraq • Iraq • Defence policy • Jack Straw • Tony Blair • Colin Powell Helen Pidd Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

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Don't let Auschwitz be forgotten | Alan Posener

By Alan Posener (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

extreme right, that enough is enough, that too much selfexamination and breast-beating somehow damages the German Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:23:55 AM psyche, that it is time for a new Although some on the right see self-confidence, that the nation Israel as standing up to radical needs to see the Nazi crimes in Islam, Jews in Germany remain perspective. The horrors of committed to a tolerant society Stalinism, after all, and the On 27 January, Germany will murderous antisemitism of commemorate the liberation of I s l a m i s t s s u c h a s I r a n ' s the Auschwitz concentration Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, would camp by Soviet troops. Though seem to indicate that Germany's most Germans now face up to place in history is by no means their past guilt and their present singular. responsibilities, the road has not This kind of revisionism is only been easy. It wasn't until 40 to be expected. Debates on the years after the second world war i s s u e s w e e p t h e c o u n t r y that a (West) German president regularly. This year, however, found the courage to say that 8 something new has happened.

May, the day Hitler's army Jewish authors have joined the surrendered, was "a day of f r a y o n t h e s i d e o f t h e liberation for Germans, too". revisionists. In the Israeli More recently, the German newspaper Ha'aretz, the Berlinpope, Benedict XVI, used a visit based New Yorker Benjamin to Auschwitz to suggest that Weinthal writes that "Shoah Germans had been the victims of remembrance has come to "a band of criminals", who had resemble a form of obsessivegained power "by lies and terror" c o m p u l s i v e d i s o r d e r " i n and used the German people "as G e r m a n y . A n d i n B e r l i n ' s an instrument", thus denying that "Tagesspiegel", Henryk M the Nazis were perfectly open Broder mounted a vicious attack about their antisemitism, that on "wailing Jews (Jammerjuden), they came to power legally and who use every talk show to tell that hundreds of thousands of people how many relatives they Germans participated voluntarily lost in the Holocaust and how in the "Final Solution". afraid they are of the NPD" (the Even today, there is a residual German Nazi party). Broder's feeling among many Germans, attack is all the more shocking and by no means only on the for Jews in Germany, as he

himself has made a career out of attacking what he perceives as Germany's "eternal" antisemitism, a career that includes, of course, hundreds of talk show appearances.

How did this come about?

Broder, it seems, has become a victim of his own prejudices against Islam. This has led him to defend some fairly unsavoury elements, for instance the Dutch populist Geert Wilders, whom Broder calls " a radical liberal".

Mainstream Jewry, on the other hand, has always extended a hand to the Muslim community in Germany, rightly feeling that xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia are natural bedfellows of antisemitism, even if some radical Muslim-haters – such as the Netherlands' Geert Wilders – say they love Israel "because it is fighting Islamic terrorism" (probably the worst possible reason for loving the Jewish state).

In the Tagesspiegel article in which he attacks "wailing Jews", Broder proves the point about the not-so-subterranean relationship between antisemitism and Islam-hatred.

Islam, he writes, is "not a religion, but an ideology of submission clothed in religious phrases".

Both Broder and Weinthal accuse Germans of caring too

much about "dead Jews" and doing too little to combat radical Islam and the Iranian threat to Israel. What they are saying is, in effect: what with millions of Muslims demanding "submission", wake up, Germany, stop beating your breast about the past, stop listening to those "wailing Jews" and join the crusade against Islam.

It's easy to see how this appeals to many Germans eager to wiggle out of their responsibility to uphold the memory of the Holocaust, especially as it allows them to indulge in xenophobia against Muslims and at the same time feel good about it. After all, they have now been given the kosher stamp of approval. The vast majority of Germany's Jews, however, remain committed to the task, however hard, of creating and fostering a multicultural, open and tolerant society in the country which once brought forth the horror that was Auschwitz.

• Holocaust • Germany Alan Posener guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Rambler Sneakers Tweet Every...

Single... Step [Twitter]

By Brian Barrett (Gizmodo) Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:00:00 PM

The creators of Rambler think that Twitter's a pretty vapid service filled with useless information. So they went out and tweeted lots of insightful things! No, of course not. They just created the most worthless Twitter account of all time.

Rambler shoes come equipped with a sensor that knows when you're walking, and a Bluetooth hookup to a cellphone that tweets each stride. For those times when the wearer isn't stepping out, the Twitter account just posts a series of periods. It goes a little something like this: You can follow it here, although it looks like it hasn't been used in a while. I hope everyone's okay!

So yes, basically, Rambler throws tainted meat on a big steaming pile of garbage and calls it "commentary." Next time just clean the garbage up, people! [ Popkalab via Fashionably Geek via The Daily What]

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Ministry of Justice lists eco-activists alongside terrorists

By Matthew Taylor, Rob Evans (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

activists, dissident Irish republicans, loyalist paramilitaries and al-Qaidainspired extremists as among groups "currently categorised as Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:23:46 AM extremist [that] may include • Campaigners lumped in with al those who have committed -Qaida and far right serious crime in pursuit of an • Government criticised for ideology or cause". tarring peaceful protesters David Howarth, the Liberal Government officials have Democrats' justice spokesman, l a b e l l e d e n v i r o n m e n t a l said tonight that the documents campaigners extremists and revealed "a quite astonishing listed them alongside dissident conflation of legitimate protest Irish republican groups and with terrorism". terrorists inspired by al-Qaida in The government has been internal documents seen by the c r i t i c i s e d f o r t a r r i n g Guardian. environmental protesters as The guidance on extremism, "domestic extremists", a term produced by the Ministry of invented by the police, who say Justice, says: "The United it can cover activists suspected of K i n g d o m l i k e m a n y o t h e r minor public order offences such countries faces a continuing as peaceful direct action and civil threat from extremists who disobedience. The internal believe they can advance their guidance from the Ministry of aims by committing acts of Justice's National Offender terrorism."

Management Service defines It was sent to probation staff domestic extremism as any who were writing court reports "unlawful action that is part of a o r s u p e r v i s i n g a r a n g e o f protest or campaign". a c t i v i s t s , i n c l u d i n g "It is often associated with a e n v i r o n m e n t a l p r o t e s t e r s . 'single issue' protest such as The advice lists "environmental animal rights, far-right and farextremists" alongside far-right left political extremism, anti- war

and environmentalist extremism.

The activity of Domestic Extremist Offenders is more criminal in its nature than that of an activist – but falls short of terrorism."

"Environmental extremists" are described as committing "criminal activity motivated by the broad philosophy and social movement centred on a concern for conservation and improvement of the natural environment".

Environmentalists reject the extremist label, saying that their protests are peaceful and nonviolent.

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the probation service union, Napo, said its members were unhappy with government attempts to lump environmental campaigners with terrorist suspects.

He said the guidance appeared to be part of a wider attempt by some government officials to interfere for political reasons in the work of criminal justice staff.

Ben Stewart, of Greenpeace, said: "The climate movement has never once sought to further its political aims by using violence,

which is something that Jack Straw, foreign secretary during the invasion of Iraq, can most certainly not claim.

"His Ministry of Justice would be better occupied reminding itself that peaceful direct action has a long and noble history in this country."

A ministry spokesman said: "It is not true to say that offenders who have committed criminal offences in connection with an extremist cause are 'all treated the same'. The National Offender Management Service has a programme of work that covers all forms of extremism."

• Activism • Terrorism policy • Protest • al-Qaida • UK security and terrorism Matthew Taylor Rob Evans guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Don’t miss your chance to win fabulous prizes!

By Scott Merrill (CrunchGear) Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:15:04 AM

Some lucky reader is going to

walk away with ten wonderful, life-enhancing gadgets. The only way you can get the SmartSwipe, Star Wars USB drives, the Pogo Sketch, and the other great swag

is to enter the contest! All you need to do is take a picture of where you work, and email it to us. That’s not too hard, is it?

5

Zombieland Blu-ray to Include Unadvertised PS3 Theme [Blu-Ray]

By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo) Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:25:00 PM

In case you were interested in picking up Zombieland on Bluray when it's released February 2nd, know that it will come with a custom PS3 theme. According to High-Def Digest: Not advertised anywhere on the package, if you put the 'Zombieland' disc in your Playstation 3, under the game tab there is an option to download a 'Zombieland' theme, which makes icons red, and includes a rotating background of some of the pieces of promotional art for the film.

It sounds like a small bonus for sure (given that the PS3 can load free user generated themes), but that doesn't make the idea any less wonderful. [ High-Def Digest via Joystiq]

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Publish and be linked to

By Paul Lewis (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

expose anti-Jewish religious attitudes. It gets about 50 hits a day.

Weissman pulls no punches on Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:41:53 AM his blog, where he accuses an An attempt to silence a student Anglican vicar from Surrey, blogger who accused a vicar of Stephen Sizer, of associating associating with Holocaust with terrorists and Holocaust d e n i e r s h a s b a c k f i r e d deniers. Sizer, it seems, took spectacularly objection, and relayed their N o t h i n g i n f u r i a t e s c i v i l concerns to police. libertarians more than the notion This resulted in the Sundayof thought police – least of all morning visit from police, which the bona fide, uniformed variety. ended with Weissman taking So it should be no surprise that a down his blogspot site. (He says visit by two cops to the home of he agreed to this, in part because a Leeds student over comments he knew that most – though not he posted on his blog is causing all – of his controversial postings an online, or Twitter-fuelled, were duplicated on another blog, controversy. (Is Twitterversy a hosted by Wordpress.) word yet?)

To read West Yorkshire police's The story begins last year. It is statement, some might wonder 10am on 29 November – a what the fuss is about. The force Sunday morning – and Joseph portrays the incident as a benign W e i s s m a n , a s l e e p i n b e d , chat after a report of harassment: receives a knock on the door not a huge deal. from two West Yorkshire police "As a result of a report of officers. Weissman, a 23-year- harassment, which was referred old graduate student at Leeds to us by Surrey police, two University, runs a blog, Seismic officers from West Yorkshire Shock, which he says seeks to police visited the author of the

blog concerned," the statement says. "The feelings of the complainant were relayed to the author, who voluntarily removed the blog. No formal action was taken."

Weissman, of course, sees things differently. He told me that during the course of the 15minute chat, which was friendly enough, one officer specifically told him to remove the blog from the internet.

"I was told to remove the blogspot," her said. "The whole entire blog. They said Stephen Sizer ... objected to being associated with terrorists and Holocaust deniers. I didn't want to argue with the police. I just wanted to acquiesce. I did say 'Can you tell me what is specifically the problem?' He just said he didn't want to get involved in the argument."

We can't know what was said, or what wasn't. But if he was seeking to avoid controversy, the police may now reflect that they could have approached matters differently. Among the many to

cover Weissman's story are the BBC,@bengoldacre, Index on Censorship and, with typical gusto, Melanie Phillips. Loads of others are weighing in, too.

The result? Weissman's blog, and allegations against Sizer, have received 6,500 views in the last 48 hours. Rather optimistically, perhaps, the blogger has started calling the saga Sizergate. Which all goes to show: try to silence critics, and they just get louder.

• Civil liberties • Police • Freedom of speech • Holocaust • UK security and terrorism • Religion • Judaism Paul Lewis guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Avatar Is Now the Highest Grossing Film of All Time, Meaning 3D Is Here to Stay [Movies]

By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo) Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:06:17 PM

After last weekend, it's a sure thing that Avatar has topped Titanic's $1.842 billion record.

Meanwhile, Papa Smurf shares a bunk with a psychotic bed wetter in a public care facility. Every day he waits for that royalty check; every day he's forceadministered drugs to battle the delusions. [ Variety via Gawker]

Honda Brings Dual Clutches to Motorcycles

By Stuart Schwartzapfel (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 1/26/2010 5:00:00 AM

The semi-auto gearbox increases fuel economy and makes shifts faster than you do.

VMware Jumps into the Cloud

By Tom Taulli (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:40:00 PM

Filed under: Earnings reports For the past year, it's been busy for VMware ( VMW), which is a top provider of infrastructure software. The company released

two major products -- vSphere and View 4 -- and acquired SpringSource and Zimbra. There was also a strong focus on cost cutting as free cash flows came in at $840 million, up 39%.

As for Q4, VMware continued to show traction. Revenues spiked 18% to $608.2 million

When making some adjustments, earnings came to $0.31 per share, which beat the consensus of $0.26 per share.

Continue reading VMware Jumps into the Cloud VMware Jumps into the Cloud and net income was $56.4 originally appeared on million, or $0.14 per share.

BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Jan

2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Climbing for Clean Water

By Susanna Donald (LWI News Center)

US Steel Dives on Q4 Loss, Q1 Outlook

By Brent Archer (BloggingStocks)

Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:19:47 AM

UPDATE: On the morning of January 10, 2010, St. Louis resident and Team Living Water member Chris Juhasz reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain. (If you missed the original story leading up to the climb, you can read it here.)

After months of preparation, six days of hard climbing, and spiking a high fever that threatened to make him turn back, he finally made it. And while reaching the summit signaled the completion of a personal goal for him, the climb was really about so much more.

“The fact that I was there in the name of Living Water made it a much more emotional and rewarding experience,” Chris says. “In fact, knowing I was there for Living Water proved to be a big motivator about halfway into the climb when I fell ill.

Knowing I was there to champion a great cause gave me strength to finish what I had

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Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:20:00 PM

Filed under: Major movement, Earnings reports, Forecasts, Bad news, U.S. Steel (X), Options, Technical Analysis US Steel ( Xoption chain) stock is trading lower today after the company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $267 million, or $1.86 per share, on revenue of $3.35 billion.

Analysts were expecting a loss of $1.44 per share on revenue of $3.09 billion. The company also forecast a first-quarter loss in come to accomplish.” from his climb on his blog.

As part of Chris’s journey, he So, what’s next for Chris? line with fourth quarter results, set out to raise enough money to While he’s not sure when he’ll whereas analysts are forecasting drill a deep water well with climb the next mountain, he’s a loss of 44 cents per share. If Living Water in Tanzania—a currently gearing up to champion you think this stock won't be well that can cost up to $16,000. the cause of the thirsty once rising too far in the coming A lofty goal, perhaps—but it was again by running the St. Louis months, then it could be a good a goal that seemed somehow to half marathon in the spring as time to look at a bearish hedged play on GE. match the challenge of climbing part of Team Living Water.

Kilimanjaro. You can donate to Five Filters featured article: This morning, X opened at the cause through Chris’s First Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: $52.66. So far today the stock G i v i n g p a g e o r a t PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, has hit a high of $53.40 and a low of $50.37. As of 12:00, X is FetchingAPailofWater.com. You Term Extraction. can also read detailed reports

trading at $51.11, down $5.12 (9.1%). The chart for X looks bearish and S&P gives X a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell ranking.

Continue reading US Steel Dives on Q4 Loss, Q1 Outlook US Steel Dives on Q4 Loss, Q1 Outlook originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video hands-on: 2010 Ford Taurus SHO

By Matt Burns (CrunchGear) Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:30:00 AM

The 2010 Ford Taurus SHO is quite possibly the geekest car to

ever wear the blue oval. It’s packed with nearly every technology option that Ford has available. Let’s call it the working-nerds Audi A8 because

while it doesn’t have an NVIDIA

Tegra-powered entertainment cluster with Google Earth and handwriting input, there are more than enough gadgets and gizmos to keep most people confused

and overwhelmed for months.

Check out the pics and video after the jump to see most of them in action.

8

Business/ Politics/

E-reader News Edition

What Will the iTablet Look Like? Everyone's Busy Guessing

By Kit Eaton (Fast Company)

believes they're real, from an Apple source who tweaked the images to make them look A meager handful of hours false...in order to "add doubt remain until Apple's fabled tablet about their authenticity" (perhaps PC is apparently due to get its to protect his job?). We're calling m o m e n t i n t h e s p o t l i g h t . shenanigans. But it looks pretty.

Speculation is reaching fever Jesus Diaz's Beautiful Art pitch, of course. And one big Gizmodo's Senior Contributing thing on everyone's mind is what Editor Jesus Diaz has hidden the hell will it look like? Below, creative skills, and long ago a few guesses and supposed crafted some concept imagery image leaks. Above, well, we based on what was assumed to couldn't resist taking a stab of be the tablet's specs. They're our own at what the tablet might h u g e l y c o n v i n c i n g . A n d look like, based on the rumors tomorrow we'll find out exactly we want to believe. how prescient Jesus turned out to Rendering or Realthing? be...

Courtesy of VentureBeat and Photo or Fraud? designer Dustin Curtis yesterday French gadget site BeGeek we got the images below. He leaked out some more photos

most compelling description is that it looks like a first-gen iPhone flattened with a rolling pin. They dug up an old concept image from an Apple fan ( Fotoboer.nl) that looks much like this, and suggested it's the best match to the real thing yet-though it lacks the home button and iPhone buttons...which the iTablet's reputed to retain.

Will any of these prove to be close to Jonathon Ive's creative efforts? We'll know tomorrow.

Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:35:22 PM

yesterday, alleging that they're real photos of a real Apple tablet --possibly a prototype, and possibly labeled iTablet from the image file names. Are they real?

They're the most convincing fakes yet, if not. And they make

us wonder about the device's ergonomics...

The iPhone Meets Rolling Pin Concept Appleinsider apparently got the skinny on the tablet's design from folks inside Apple, and the

Santa Monica Is Rebranding Itself, One Bus Stop at a Time

By Cliff Kuang (Fast Company)

architectural and branding package was first announced in June, when it was awarded to Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:47:35 PM Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects and The city hopes that flashy blue B r u c e M a u D e s i g n . L a s t bus-stops will become iconic.

Tuesday, the Santa Monica city Santa Monica has just unveiled council approved LOHA's design its new plan to redesign the city. of the bus shelters and BMD's Not a massive building. Not a wordmark. Today, the first revamped downtown. But rather, images have been revealed. bus stops would serve as a The stops themselves certainly flexible branding for the city aren't quiet, and they're different itself, becoming everpresent in from the open-faced sheds you'll 360 bus stops around town. The find in most cities. Since rain s o - c a l l e d B i g B l u e B u s isn't really a big problem in

Santa Monica, the designers focused on sunlight, which renders most designs into solar cookers in the mornings and late

corner, to maximize shade depending on where the sun falls. So for example, the cloverleafs might arranged in a diagonal or horizontal orientation, on different roads and corners.

The city is aiming to have the first stops in place by year's end.

[Check out Arch Daily for more pics and details--including lots of afternoons. The canopies won't insanely overcomplicated charts have a single arrangement. and graphs showing the solar Rather, they're a kit that can be shading thing at work] reconfigured to each street

Massachusetts: "The Educated Class" versus the People (AEI.Org: Articles)

Sorry, readability was unable to parse this page for content.

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Better Place Gets $350 Million Cash Injection for EV Charging Network

By Ariel Schwartz (Fast Company) Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:43:45 AM

It doesn't matter how many electric vehicles are on the road-they're virtually useless without some sort of EV charging network infrastructure. That's where Silicon Valley electric vehicle startup Better Place comes in. Better Place envisions a network of EVs made by Renault-Nissan that can be powered up in its charging stations using a cell phone-like pricing scheme. The company is so confident that it recently announced a prediction that in 10 years time, half of all cars sold in

countries with Better Place infrastructures will be EVs with swappable batteries. That prediction seems increasingly possible now that the company has raised $350 million for its charging network from a

consortium led by HSBC. The cash, which comes on the heels of a $200 million round of investments in 2007, will help the company test its technology in full-scale trials over the next year. It will also assist Better

9

If only this comic turned

Place in getting its infrastructure out to be true about projects in Israel and Denmark Steve Job’s off the ground by 2011.

Better Place CEO Shai Agassi, announcement number three on our Most tomorrow Creative People of 2009 list, once asked "How do you run an By Matt Burns (CrunchGear) entire country without oil, with Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:00:09 AM no new science, without government assistance, and in a time frame that's fast enough to get off oil before we run out of planet?" The answer, it seems, is to convince investors of your worthiness. [ Better Place]

Why You Should Go to Fast Company's Innovation Uncensored Conference

By Noah Robischon (Fast Company)

NIKESusan M. Lyne, CEO, GILT GROUPESean Maloney E V P / G M , I N T E L Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:03:44 PM ARCHITECTURE GROUPDave What, another conference? Yes, S t e w a r t , SINGER, and you'll want to reserve your S O N G W R I T E R , spot for this one early, because it C O F O U N D E R , w i l l t a k e y o u i n s i d e t h e EURYTHMICSTero Ojanperä, innovative companies that you EVP, NOKIAMcG, FOUNDER, CRISPIN PORTER + read about in Fast Company and WONDERLAND SOUND AND BOGUSKY FastCompany.com every day. V I S I O N ( a n d d i r e c t o r o f The conference is going to be Here's a sample of who will be Terminator: Salvation)Alex small, still intimate enough to t h e r e : M a r k P a r k e r , C E O , Bogusky, CO-CHAIRMAN,

more of you to create groundbreaking businesses for us to write about.

Innovation Uncensored takes place on Wednesday, April 21, at the Edison Ballroom on West 47th Street in New York City.

You can buy tickets right here. give you access to the business visionaries in attendance. Our goal is to start conversations and debate, and most of all inspire

10

Business/ Gadgets/ Tech/

E-reader News Edition

Acer Takes On Apple and Amazon in E-book Readers and App Downloads

By Brian White (BloggingStocks)

Nationwide No Texting Law Goes Into Effect For Buses and Trucks That Could Crush You [Cellphones]

Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:20:00 PM

The Ecorium: Eden Project of the South

By Ariel Schwartz (Fast Company)

The reserve's domed greenhouses will use systems that automatically adjust internal Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:41:41 AM conditions based on the weather In what is being billed as the o u t s i d e , a s w e l l a s " H i g h Eden Project of the South, South technology [that] tracks the sun Korea and Samoo Architecture a n d a d a p t s t h e i n t e r n a l recently revealed plans for the environment appropriately to Ecorium Project, a massive create a global eco-environment nature reserve featuring eco across the spaces". We're not domes, an environmental think entirely sure what that means, tank, and an education center. but it sounds exciting.

The 33,090-square-meter reserve No word on when the $113 is intended to further public m i l l i o n r e s e r v e w i l l b e awareness of the problems facing completed, but it will probably the environment. Once visitors be awhile considering that the get a look at the Ecorium Ecorium Project's plans were just P r o j e c t ' s g o r g e o u s s i t e , i t released to the public this month. shouldn't be too difficult to get [Via Inhabitat] them into sympathy mode.

Filed under: Competitive strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN) Taiwan's Acer became the world's second-largest PC maker in 2009 by getting very aggressive in retail with pricing and positioning its three brands across all pricing segments. The eMachines brand is entry-level, the Acer brand seems to be midlevel and Acer has positioned the Gateway brand as a premium product.

All told, Acer's might unseated Dell ( DELL) and the company shows no signs of slowing down sales. It even was an early participant in the netbook category last year, helping it

capture sales in that red-hot category as well.

Continue reading Acer Takes On Apple and Amazon in Ebook Readers and App Downloads Acer Takes On Apple and Amazon in E-book Readers and App Downloads originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

Inside Microsoft's disaster recovery center (photos) (CNET News.com) Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:57:14 AM

Claire Bonilla, director of Microsoft's disaster response effort, points out the small rack of servers and storage that Microsoft uses to coordinate its

response to global disasters.

Photo by Ina Fried/CNET Caption by Ina Fried Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

By Sean Fallon (Gizmodo) Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:49:00 PM

There isn't a nationwide ban on texting for regular drivers (yet), but starting today bus drivers and commercial truckers will have to put down the cellphone and concentrate on the road.

I think I speak for just about everyone that isn't a bus or truck driver when I say...it's about damn time. I mean, you would be a dammed fool to text while driving any sort of vehicle, but when a big rig goes down there is a much greater potential for disaster (not to mention a bus full of kids). The new ban carries fines of up to $2,750. [ Reuters via Crunchgear Image via cuteegroup]

Business/ Gadgets/ Tech/

E-reader News Edition

State of the Union to Include a Proposed Spending Freeze

By Connie Madon (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:00:00 PM

Filed under: Management, Politics, Headline news President Obama has been under severe pressure to rein in federal spending, both from Americans here at home as well as trading partners like China.

During his State of the Union message on Wednesday, Obama is expected announce a threeyear spending freeze for 1/6 of the federal budget.

The proposal will include freezes in discretionary spending in the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Energy, Transportation, Agriculture and Health and Human Services. The freeze

would affect $447 billion in spending or 17% of the total federal budget.

Continue reading State of the Union to Include a Proposed Spending Freeze State of the Union to Include a Proposed Spending Freeze originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

11

Nokia X6 16GB announced, Comes Without Music

By Joseph L. Flatley (Engadget)

and an all-new Ovi Maps(with free walk and drive navigation, Michelin and Lonely Planet Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:01:00 PM guides). Available in four colors, Nokia's just announced a 16GB including black, white, white version of its crowd pleasing, with yellow highlights, and capacitive touchscreen X6 to white with pink highlights. compliment the current 32GB Expect to see this one roll out model. As expected, the new sometime this quarter for a price handset offers many similarities to be announced. to its sibling, including a 3.2Nokia X6 16GB announced, inch widescreen capacitive Comes Without Music originally display and 5 megapixel camera appeared on Engadget on Tue, with Carl Zeiss optics and a dual 26 Jan 2010 12:01:00 EST. LED flash. Unfortunately, this (though it's not like that ever Please see our terms for use of device is Comes with Music- seemed like a big deal to begin feeds. Permalink| Nokia| Email deficient, meaning that you'll with). In addition to EA's Spore, this| Comments have to load tunes onto the this bad boy includes Asphalt4 device the old fashioned way and DJ Mix Tour by Gameloft

Hands-on with Google Voice for the iPhone

By Rafe Needleman (Webware.com)

iPhone users get somewhat better Google Voice access, still pine for a real app.

Originally posted at Rafe's Radar

HTC Supersonic maybe rendered, matches up with leaks so far

By Chris Ziegler (Engadget) Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:19:00 PM

Okay, look, we're not saying it's unpossible for someone with some incredible Illustrator skill to have thrown this together after seeing the supposed leak last night -- there are definitely

plenty of talented people out there with far too much time on their hands. That being said, this matches up perfectly with everything we know and everything we've been told so far, so even if it is fake, it probably gives us some good insight into what Sprint's

terrifying beast of a phone is

going to look like up close. The Supersonic is said to have a 4.3inch display and WiMAX alongside Sense-- so if it's all true, we strongly suggest other carriers be ready to step up their Android game. Any other leaks care to step forward today?

[Thanks, Silver]

HTC Supersonic maybe rendered, matches up with leaks so far originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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12

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AT&T Reaches $18 Million Settlement in New Jersey ETF Class Action Case [At&t]

By Brian Barrett (Gizmodo)

You: • Subscribed to wireless Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:41:33 PM telephone service from AT&T Without admitting any Mobility LLC ("AT&T wrongdoing, AT&T Mobility has Mobility") or its predecessors reached a settlement in a class and paid or were charged a flataction lawsuit alleging that their r a t e e a r l y t e r m i n a t i o n f e e flat-rate early termination fee ("ETF") at any time after January was unlawful. If the settlement is 1, 1998; or approved, AT&T will pay out a • Your contract included a flattotal of $16 million in cash and rate ETF provision at any time $2 million in "non-cash benefits" after January 1, 1998. to NJ residents whose AT&T A proposed Settlement has been wireless contract included a flat- reached in a class action alleging rate ETF provision any time after that AT&T Mobility's flat-rate 1998.

ETF (generally between $150 Again, there's no wrongdoing and $175) was unlawful. The admitted here and it's only one Settlement resolves several other state, but still significant that cases that challenge AT&T AT&T doesn't feel confident Mobility's flat-rate ETF. AT&T enough in their case to see it Mobility strongly denies any through to the end. wrongdoing, but has agreed to Important Notice from the settle to avoid the burden and United States District Court for cost of further litigation. The the District of New Jersey about sole purpose of this notice is to a Class Action Settlement inform you of the Settlement so Para ver este aviso en espanol, that you may decide what to do. v i s i t a If the Settlement is approved, a www.ATTMETFSettlement.com settlement fund of $16,000,000 /espanol in cash and $2,000,000 in nonA Class Action Settlement cash benefits will be created.

Could Affect Your Rights If Class Members who submit

Claim Forms may receive monetary or other benefits. You may also choose to exclude yourself from, or object to, the Settlement. The Court has appointed attorneys to represent the Class. You may hire your own attorney, but only at your own expense.

For a full description of the Settlement, related Court documents, and deadlines and forms, please visit www.ATTMETFSettlement.com .

• Claim Forms are due June 14, 2010, but the date may be extended.

• Requests to exclude yourself from the Settlement must be submitted to the Settlement Administrator and are due March 24, 2010.

• You or your lawyer has the right to appear before the Court and object to the Settlement. Any objections to the Settlement are due March 24, 2010, and any objections to attorneys' fees requested are due April 12, 2010.

• The Court will determine whether to approve the

Settlement at a Fairness Hearing on April 14, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

• If you do not exclude yourself

by March 24, 2010 and you are a member of the Class, you will be bound by the terms of the Settlement and give up your rights to sue in court or arbitration regarding issues in the case.

You can get a Claim Form at www.ATTMETFSettlement.com /claimform by calling 1-888-228 -0885 or by writing the AT&T Mobility ETF Settlement Claims Administrator, c/o Rust Consulting, Inc., P.O. Box 2266, Faribault, MN 55021-2386.

Questions may also be directed to Class Counsel by email at info@ATTMETFSettlement.com .

Please do not contact AT&T Mobility or the Court with questions about this Settlement.

Baltimore Accused Of Stacking The Deck For Speed Cameras

By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 1/26/2010 4:35:00 AM

We've seen over and over again that redlight cameras and speed cameras almost never have anything to do with increased safety on the roads (and some studies have even suggested they make the roads more dangerous).

Instead, in almost every case, they really appear to be about revenue generation for the local municipality. Tim DiPaula points us to what at least appears like a very sketchy situation in Baltimore where the city installed brand new 40 MPH signs... and then, about a block later, there's a sign that is partially obscured by the trees, suddenly dropping the speed limit to 30 MPH. And, of course, there's a speed camera right there. I'm sure that makes the roads much safer.

Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

Justin.tv makes it easier to start streaming Monday Night Music: Reign

By Josh Lowensohn (Webware.com) Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:00:00 AM

Justin.tv on Tuesday is rolling

out a tweaked version of its broadcasting tools that the company says is bringing in a 700 percent increase in the number of people who begin a

live stream.

Originally posted at Web Crawler

of Kindo (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 1/25/2010 5:30:21 PM

Here’s another excellent track

from the jazz-rock group Reign of Kindo, titled “October’s Storm.”[Video]

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13

We Think Open Access To Research Is Important... But The Reasons Why Are Behind This Paywall

By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 1/26/2010 7:55:00 AM

Via James Boyle, we're pointed to an editorial that supposedly is all about improving access to research via open access policies for the public -- and just so happens to be locked up behind a paywall itself. Apparently, the publisher doesn't necessarily agree with the authors' conclusions.

Permalink| Comments| Email This Story

Google Voice finally on iPhone --in the browser

Next-gen AMD Scorpius and Lynx desktop platforms leak out, Fusion still coming in 2011

By Nilay Patel (Engadget)

Intel's 32nm Clarkdale parts, and then to push forward to 32nm in Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:04:00 PM 2011 with the Scorpius platform, AMD had a little show and tell which will feature a Bulldozer with Asian press to go along CPU called Zambezi with up to 8 with those new Phenom II and cores and a "next-generation Athlon II chips it just launched, discrete graphics solution." and it revealed some of its next- Midrange desktops will get some gen plans along the way. In the "next-generation integrated short term, it looks like the plan graphics" of their own this year is to launch the 45nm Leo on the Dorado platform, while platform we've heard about later 2011 will see the Lynx platform this year to better compete with launch with the long-delayed

Fusion chip. (We were first supposed to see Fusion chips in late 2008, remember?) Fusion is also still on vapor-y track for laptops with scheduled 2011 launch of the previously-leaked Sabine platform, but AMD also tipped the new Brazos Fusionbased platform powered by the Ontario APU, which is "optimized for new form factors" -- potentially MID-sized, but we don't know for sure. Phew, that's

a lot of codenames -- we'd say we can't wait, but we're clearly going to have to learn how.

Next-gen AMD Scorpius and Lynx desktop platforms leak out, Fusion still coming in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| OCWorkbench| Email this| Comments

By Tom Krazit (Webware.com) Submitted at 1/26/2010 6:35:00 AM

Apple and Google have exchanged harsh words over the fight to get Google Voice approved for the iPhone, but a new Web version of the application will end the dispute.

Originally posted at Relevant Results

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Google beefing up new 'Social Web Team'

Seagate teams with LSI to enter PCIe-based SSD game

By Caroline McCarthy (Webware.com)

By Darren Murph (Engadget)

Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:06:00 AM Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:26:00 PM

Seagate didn't bother serving up a gaggle of new wares at CES this year, but judging by its release shot out today, it's hoping to make a serious splash in the SSD market a bit later on.

Thanks to collaboration from LSI, the outfit is expected to deliver its own line of PCI Express-based solid state storage solutions. We're guessing these devices will be similar in scope to the PCIe SSDs already outed

by Fusion-io and OCZ Technology, but at least initially, they'll be aimed squarely at the enterprise market. We're hoping that's just a beta test (of sorts) and that performance-minded

desktop users will be able to snap one up at their local Best Buy in short order -- too bad we've no assurance that these will be priced within the realm of feasibility, though.

Seagate teams with LSI to enter PCIe-based SSD game originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Hot Hardware| Email this| Comments

YouTube to host Q&A with President Obama

By Don Reisinger (Webware.com) Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:19:00 AM

Those who watch the State of the Union address on YouTube

can pose questions that President Obama will answer next week.

Originally posted at The Digital Home

Will Norris, an open-standards advocate, joins new Google hires Chris Messina and Joseph Smarr on a new squad to tackle a niche of the Web that's completely dominated by Facebook.

Originally posted at The Social

Mad Catz makes the Wii a fighter with moddable FightStick

Lizard Annex Now Open (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 1/25/2010 1:55:08 PM

With all the traveling, I forgot to mention that I’m now crossBy Donald Melanson counterparts. Most notably, that posting at True/Slant, at The (Engadget) includes a toggle switch that will Lizard Annex. Occasionally I’ll let the arcade stick control either do pieces that will only appear Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:41:00 PM the d-pad of the classic controller there, so you may want to The Wii may not be the console or the left or right analog stick, bookmark it. of choice for most fighting game meaning you'll also be able to Naturally, some of the usual anti fans, but it is starting to earn a bit use it with an array of Virtual -LGF bots have already appeared more respect with the release of Console titles. Look for this one in the comments over there, so I turned on Wordpress’s Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom and, just to set you back $80. as importantly Mad Catz's new Mad Catz makes the Wii a moderation feature. But if Arcade FightStick to go along fighter with moddable FightStick e n o u g h s a n e l i z a r d o i d with it. The best news, however, originally appeared on Engadget commenters show up to counter is that like Mad Catz's fightsticks on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:41:00 the “I hate you daddy” crowd, for other consoles, this one is EST. Please see our terms for I’ll disable moderation again. moddable for those that prefer use of feeds. Permalink| Ars some arcade authentic parts, and Technica, WiiNintendo| Email it even packs a few features not this| Comments found its Xbox 360 and PS3

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15

Nationwide no texting law Finally, a dishwasher goes into effect for buses safe carbon fiber wallet and commercial trucks

Rubio Narrowly Leads Crist in Latest Poll

By Doug Aamoth (CrunchGear)

Submitted at 1/26/2010 2:35:16 AM

By Doug Aamoth (CrunchGear)

Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:00:00 AM

Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:30:00 AM

Newsflash: Sending text messages while driving is dangerous. There’s really no safe way to send a text while behind the wheel unless you’re at a stoplight or pulled over.

And while there’s no nationwide texting ban for regular drivers, Uncle Sam has just decreed that anyone driving a large commercial truck or bus anywhere in the country can be fined up to $2,750 if caught texting while in motion.

According to Reuters, “research by trucking regulators” indicates that sending and receiving text messages causes drivers to take their eyes off the road and that drivers who text while on the road “are significantly more at

(Newsmax - Politics)

risk of getting into an accident than someone who is not texting.”

Why this theory needed to be backed up by actual research is unclear.

U.S. bans texting by truckers, bus drivers[Reuters]

Geez, not to sound ungrateful but it’s like hey wallet industry, what took you guys so long? I’ve been sitting on this dirty wallet of mine for years with no obvious way to clean it.

Thanks to the miracle of carbon fiber(it’s seriously a cool material, I’d wear a carbon fiber sweatsuit if I could), this $50 wallet from Hammacher Schlemmer “will never stretch, fade, or develop cracks like a leather billfold.”

And yes, according to the product page, “this is the wallet that withstands a gale force wind or the torrents of a dishwasher.”

So if you get caught in a hurricane you can huddle everyone under your wallet for protection. And if you get caught in a dishwasher, you have bigger problems than I’m capable of helping you overcome.

The Dishwasher Safe Wallet[Hammacher Schlemmer]

Marco Rubio, who once trailed Gov. Charlie Crist by 31 points in the 2010 Republican Senate primary, now has a narrow lead, according to a Quinnipiac University poll. The poll shows former Florida House speaker Rubio with 47 percent to Crist’s 44 percent among Republicans, according to a Palm Beach Post report. © All Rights Reserved.

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Wear Your Mac Geekery On Your Sleeve

By Christina Warren (Mashable!)

Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:51:15 AM

Conan O’Brien isn’t the only“COCO” that’s been in the news lately. Due to the impending announcement of the Apple Tablet, the Cocoa application framework(which

apps for the Mac and iPhone use) is also a hot topic — even if just among Mac and iPhone geeks.

Now you can represent your support for Objective-C in style with the aptly named,“I’m With Cocoa” T-shirt and poster, brought to you from the guys geeky, but, come on, it’s also behind Exploded Store.

We’ll admit, this is ultra, ultra Steve Jobs on a shirt!

I have the Exploded 128, iSteamMac and iSteamPhone Tshirts in my closet, and I have to give Dion Briggs and his crew credit for doing a top-notch job with the screen printing (that they do using something called soft-hand). If you’re in the market for an ultra geeky shirt for yourself or a loved one, you

might want to check this stuff out.

Who would win in a fight, Cocoa or COCO? Let us know your thoughts!

Tags: coco, cocoa, fashion, humor, mac

16

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Ten Good Reasons To Buy

By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:22:59 AM

So I already put up my post about all the Connect with Fans + Reason to Buy ( CwF+RtB) stories from last year, which kicked off with my presentation at Midem 2009 all about Trent Reznor and his business model experiments. This year, we wanted to do something a bit different at Midem and get a lot more interactive. So, we set up a brainstorming workshop to see if we could build these sorts of business models for some artists.

I did a (very) short presentation to kick off the session (no video, sorry) and then we broke up the audience into groups where we could pick specific artists and (quickly) run through the process of setting up a business model. I wanted to share a basic writeup of what I presented, and sometime later I will try to do a writeup on some of what the groups discussed.

I was going under the assumption that, by now, most people understand the basics of how to "connect with fans" (though, we keep hearing stories suggesting that many still struggle with this a lot) and wanted to focus in the presentation on understanding the "reasons to buy." One of the problems is that many people assume that "value" alone is enough to get people to buy -but as we've discussed multiple times there's a difference

between value and price -- and assuming that value alone is enough to get people to buy isn't going to cut it -- especially if the product is abundantly available.

So the key is to find scarcities -as we've said many times. But, not just any scarcities. Those scarcities must also be valuable.

Value plus scarcity is the real reason to buy. And, the intersection may be different for each kind of content creator. In fact, it should be different for each content creator, because it is essential to recognize how to express the key value that a particular creator brings to the table. To help explain that, we discussed 10 key scarcities that are helpful to think through in creating reasons to buy. The list is not complete, but is a good starting point.

• Access: Access to the actual content creators is a real scarcity and one that can often be used to make money in ways that make fans quite happy. In fact, a study released at Midem claimed that, in a recent survey, 19% of respondents claimed they would pay anything to meet their favorite star. Now, obviously, that's a bit of hyperbole, but it

a few artists (most of whom we've discussed before, so don't be surprised that you know their stories) and listed out what scarcities they appeared to use -and made sure to include artists of all types: small to big.

Among those we discussed were does suggest a high degree of that doesn't mean you should Josh Freese's hilarious tiers, as demand for access from top fans. ignore the value of tangible well as Jill Sobule's tiered offerings, noting that they • Attention: One of the most products. important scarcities in the digital • Time (saving or making): involved a combination of access age. Attention is incredibly People will pay if you can save (hanging out with the artist, scarce, and if you've got it, you them time (or give them extra private concerts, phone calls, etc.), authenticity (in both cases, can do a lot with it. time in some manner).

• Authenticity: This one also • Convenience: If you make t h e l i s t s w e r e v e r y m u c h includes "trust." The ability to things more convenient, many reflective of the individuals' be authentic carries tremendous people will buy, even if free personalities), exclusivity (many weight and is quite scarce at options are available. That's one were limited), new creation (both times. But if you can provide reason why iTunes has done so involved the ability for the artists something that is authentic and well. Apple has made the whole to write songs for the buyer), valuable, it's often a very strong process super convenient. It's tangibility (offering tangible reason to buy. also one of the top reasons why goods like CDs, t-shirts, and • Exclusivity: Many people people say they buy bottled Josh's Volvo), belonging and value having something that very water -- even if they know the patronage (big fans of both few (or perhaps no) others have. water quality is no different than wanted a chance to support the • (New) Creation: The ability to tap water. They just find it more artists they love).

We then looked at Moldover create something new is a convenient. and Motoboy who each have scarcity. This often confuses • Belonging: Never offered really cool physical people, because a digital good underestimate just how important once created is no longer scarce - a sense of belonging to a group goods (Moldover's CD case that - but the ability to create it is still or a tribe is -- and being able to doubles as a virtual theremin and very much a scarcity. provide that in an authentic Moto Boy's wonderful music • Tangibility: The granddad of manner can be a true scarcity. box). I showed off each of these scarcities: physical products. • Patronage: Definitely depends products, highlighting how they Sometimes when we discuss on the situation, but there are clearly played up the tangibility scarcities people seem to think some people who just want to scarcity as a reason to buy (as that we're only talking about support an artist, no matter what. well as things like authenticity, exclusivity, belonging and tangible products. Nothing is And that presents a scarcity. patronage) to make this work. further from the truth, as we often think that other non- So, we've got the list, but then As a final less well known artist, tangible scarcities represent what do you do with it. In my TEN page 22 much larger opportunities, but presentation, I looked quickly at

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17

4 Myths About Social Media and Business

By Leah Betancourt (Mashable!)

Media Ad-ology’s study found that 31% of small business owners Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:09:21 AM said they don’t use social media This post originally appeared on because their customers don’t the American Express OPEN use it. If that’s the case, find F o r u m , w h e r e M a s h a b l e where your customers are and regularly contributes articles the best way to reach them there. about leveraging social media Warren Sukernek, partner and a n d t e c h n o l o g y i n s m a l l vice president of strategies at business.

Lift9, said there’s a rush to get 25% of small business owners on Twitter and launch a blog said they plan to spend more on without a plan. He stressed that social networking in 2010, spending time up front doing according to the Ad-ology Small analysis, research, and goal Business Marketing Forecast. setting will make a social media Facebook ranked as the most plan easy to execute. beneficial social network for He recommended first getting small businesses, followed by active as a lurker on different LinkedIn and Twitter, according social media networks to see to the November 2009 report. what’s happening and what The 1,100 small business owners people are saying. For example, s u r v e y e d s a i d t h e b i g g e s t check out what other companies benefits of social networking are doing on Twitter and then were the abilities to generate assess what you like and don’t l e a d s , k e e p u p w i t h t h e i r like. industry, and monitor the online Sukernek also pointed out that c o n v e r s a t i o n a b o u t t h e i r social media fits more naturally business. for certain types of businesses, But despite the enormous but that doesn’t mean other growth of business presences on businesses shouldn’t be on there. social networking sites, there are It may just take more time to still many misconceptions about build an audience. how best to use social media. To “I wouldn’t dissuade that B2B help cut through the hype, here company from dipping a toe in. are a few social media myths It might make sense to dip a toe dispelled. Myth #1: Small in a different pool of water,” he Businesses Must be on Social said. He suggested that being on

efforts depends on the type of business and the goals involved, according to Sukernek. Goals should be distilled down to revenue and key performance metrics.

“Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Set some reasonable, manageable objectives,” he said. an industry-specific forum or M y t h # 3 : W o r d o f M o u t h LinkedIn might work better in P r e s e n c e I s n ’ t T h e r e some cases than being on Sukernek said small businesses Twitter. think that if no one is talking Depending on what the goals specifically about their company are, gathering competitive on social networks, they don’t intelligence might turn out to be need to be there. He disagrees. what’s most valuable to a “They’re talking about subjects business, according to Sukernek. that are germane to the brand,” “It’s hard to put a price tag on he said. that,” he said. Myth #2: Set It On the other hand, what if your and Forget It small business is being talked Don’t expect a case of build it about on social media in a bad and they will come. Sukernek way? Sukernek said people are compared it to building a brick- probably already doing that, and and-mortar store and not putting suggests it’s better for small a sign on the outside. businesses to be aware of it and “You’ve got to promote it,” he address it directly on those said. platforms. Myth #4: Social Cross promote your web site Media is Only for Broadcasting with the pages you set up on Messages social media sites. Sukernek Treating social media as a oneadvised integrating these social way communication channel is media sites into your business’ an approach that’s doomed to offline activities. For example, a fail. Check in with your fans and retailer should list their fan page f o l l o w e r s b y a s k i n g f o r URL and Twitter name along f e e d b a c k , r e s p o n d i n g t o with its company’s web site. questions and comments, and Time spent on social media b e i n g p e r s o n a b l e t o b u i l d

relationships with customers.

“It’s conversational. It’s dialogue,” Sukernek said.

Concerns of small businesses on social media aren’t much different than those of large companies. For those businesses that aren’t careful, subscribing to these social media myths can result in some big mistakes.

More business resources from Mashable: - HOW TO: Take Advantage of Social Media in Your E-mail Marketing - HOW TO: Implement a Social Media Business Strategy - 18 Online Productivity Tools for Your Business - HOW TO: Choose a News Reader for Keeping Tabs on Your Industry - The 10 Stages of Social Media Business Integration - HOW TO: Measure Social Media ROI - HOW TO: Use Social Media to Connect with Other Entrepreneurs Images courtesy of iStockphoto, narvikk, DNY59E Tags: business, entrepreneurship, facebook, linkedin, List, Lists, MARKETING, small business, social media, social networking, social networks, twitter

Pentagon Searches for 'Digital DNA' to Identify Hackers

By Noah Shachtman (Wired Top Stories)

One of the trickiest problems in Darpa, the Pentagon agency that cyber security is trying to figure created the Internet, is trying to who’s really behind an attack. fix that, with a new effort to

develop the 'cyber equivalent of fingerprints or DNA' that can identify even the best-cloaked

hackers.

18

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A view from Microsoft's disaster central (CNET News.com)

there might only be fewer than two dozen people in the main disaster response room.

R E D M O N D , W a s h . - - T h e When disaster hits, Bonilla and ground-level conference room in team activate, reaching out to the Building 25 doesn't look much nearest Microsoft subsidiary. different than many others in T h e c o m p a n y t r i e s t o buildings across Microsoft's simultaneously make sure its sprawling campus. own workers are accounted for, It has a window, though most of check in with partners and the view is obscured by a large customers, and offer immediate bush. It has the usual array of assistance to international aid outlets and Ethernet jacks, workers. screens, and projectors. During The company works with those e a r t h q u a k e s a n d f l o o d s , aid groups to quickly establish a hurricanes and tsunamis, though, portal called OneResponse, this room is ground zero for which relief workers can use to Microsoft's emergency response coordinate their efforts. That, too effort. is understated, looking like a Even then though, it can be hard Web site from a decade ago with to tell that somewhere halfway little more than a bunch of text around the world, disaster has links on the main page. s t r u c k . T h a t ' s b e c a u s e Although it is built on modern Microsoft's disaster team is a SharePoint technology, the virtual one, with much of the design of OneResponse is action taking place online. Even deliberately spartan, aiming to t h o s e w o r k i n g t o g e t h e r i n work on even the poorest of Redmond are often glued to their Internet connections--the only l a p t o p s , r a t h e r t h a n kind often available in the wake communicating with nearby of natural disaster. colleagues.

In the case of Haiti, Microsoft's "It will look like a bunch of disaster effort was up and people just sending e-mail," said running by 6 p.m. on the day of Claire Bonilla, the senior director t h e q u a k e . I n a d d i t i o n t o o f d i s a s t e r r e s p o n s e f o r conference calls with aid groups, Microsoft.

Microsoft had the added insight T h e r e a r e a b o u t 6 5 l e a d of Gisli Olafsson, who works in m e m b e r s o f M i c r o s o f t ' s Microsoft's disaster efforts but emergency response effort--and was quickly on the ground in perhaps 160 dedicated people Haiti as part of his volunteer gig overall--but even at its busiest as a member of Iceland's search Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:00:00 AM

and rescue team. Olafsson's firsthand knowledge helped give Microsoft an early sense of what the situation was like on the ground.

Microsoft, of course, is far from alone in pitching in during times of disaster. Many companies have offered their cash, services, products, and know-how in the wake of the Haiti quake.

A number of tech companies, including Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, and Google are supporters of NetHope, an organization that helps establish emergency, temporary, and permanent communications following a disaster. That has been an especially acute need in Haiti, said NetHope CEO Bill Brindley.

"The communications infrastructure in Haiti has been virtually demolished," said Brindley, whose group has worked to bring in portable satellite units that aid groups can use to provide voice communication and Internet access.

Each disaster brings its own set of needs and challenges. The fact Haiti was so impoverished even before the quake, plus the fact it struck the capital, has posed a big challenge for aid groups. In the early days, it was a challenge getting supplies into the country, Bonilla said.

"Planes circled for three hours

and sometimes had to go back to the Dominican Republic because they couldn't land," Bonilla said.

Keeping aid workers safe is also an issue.

"People are desperate for anything they can do to provide food and water to their families and that can breed security issues," Bonilla said.

By last Thursday afternoon, only Bonilla and one colleague were in the disaster room. One person did wander into the room, though he was looking for one of the many Microsoft partners that occupy the bulk of Building 25's ground floor.

MSNBC streamed in the background, though coverage had switched from Haiti to live footage of a car chase here in the U.S. "I don't think that classifies as even a minor disaster," Bonilla jokes, going back to her work.

As with many responses, Bonilla has been working for 18 to 20 hours a day. Bonilla said her job makes her glad she works in the Seattle area, known for its good coffee. Even that, she said, only carries her so far. "After awhile, caffeine loses its impact," she said. "Then it's just adrenaline."

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Anglican Vicar Uses Police To Intimidate Blogger (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 1/25/2010 10:58:39 AM

In Britain, a blogger who’s been blowing the whistle on the Holocaust denial activities of an Anglican vicar finds himself in trouble with the cops: Harry’s Place » Anglican Vicar Uses Police To Intimidate Blogger.

As some people have noticed, I’ve been rather quiet in blogging about the Reverend Stephen Sizer’s activities of late.

After all, what more can be said of a man who forwards emails from Holocaust deniers, shares platforms with Holocaust deniers, and shamelessly flaunts his anti-Zionist theology before Iran’s apocalyptic Holocaustdenying regime? As Iranian pastors are arrested and house churches closed down, why is the Khomeinist regime translating Sizer’s book on Christian Zionism into Farsi?

How many more times can I point all this out?

Yet there’s another reason why I’ve been quiet, and whilst I’ve held my tongue and my pen for a while, now is the time to speak.

At 10am on Sunday 29th November 2009, I received a visit from two policemen regarding my activities in running the Seismic Shock blog.

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19

Brian Eno Explains How The Recording Industry Is Like Whale Blubber

By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:09:00 AM

Just before I sat down to write this post, I was having a very interesting (and fun) conversation with someone about the recording industry (someone very deep in the industry, who's been there for many years), who was arguing that selling recorded music needs to be a part of the business model. I was trying to suggest it was a bygone era, and that technology had made the idea that you need to sell music obsolete (though, if you can sell recorded music directly, more power to you -- I just don't think it becomes increasingly difficult). I made the point that technology always makes certain aspects of larger industries obsolete, pointing to the usual example of how automobiles made horse buggies obsolete, but certainly didn't harm the transportation industry. We started thinking up other

examples, of industries massively changed by technology, that wiped out segments of that industry, and while I came up with a few, I was definitely searching for better examples.

Then I go back to my computer, and see an anonymous submission of a wonderfully brilliant interview with music legend Brian Eno... and right there at the end, he has a beautiful description of what's happening to the recording industry -- comparing it to whale blubber:"I think records were just a little bubble through time and those who made a living from them for a while were lucky. There is no reason why anyone should have made so much money from selling records except that everything was right for this period of time.

I always knew it would run out sooner or later. It couldn't last, and now it's running out. I don't particularly care that it is and like the way things are going.

The record age was just a blip. It was a bit like if you had a source of whale blubber in the 1840s and it could be used as fuel.

Before gas came along, if you traded in whale blubber, you were the richest man on Earth.

Then gas came along and you'd be stuck with your whale blubber. Sorry mate -- history's moving along. Recorded music equals whale blubber.

Eventually, something else will replace it." I think we've got ourselves a new analogy worth remembering.

The rest of the interview is definitely worth reading. I won't spoil it, but I will say his thoughts on Bono are quite amusing. Separately, he had an interesting story about when he was producing both U2's last album and Coldplay's last album at the same time... and got scared that the same song would end up on both albums:"It was fine. A few jokes. I felt like a -philanderer who was with another woman and might make

What's That Stuff? The Chemistry Behind Everyday Products

By Kathy Ceceri (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 1/26/2010 6:07:00 AM

Right around the time I started

writing for GeekDad, I embarked on an adventure of learning about chemistry at home with my kids. By the end of the year, though, we had performed more

than 30 experiments, most of which were pretty cool. And, we hadn’t even burned a hole in the kitchen counter.

a slip and call her by the wrong name in bed. I had one computer that had all of the Coldplay stuff and all the U2 stuff. I had to very carefully label each folder because I was paranoid that I might end up with the same basic track for each group and I wouldn't notice until it was too late. There was a chance the same track might have appeared on both albums." Given the somewhat ridiculous accusations last year about Coldplay copying music from The Cranky Boards, no, Joe Satriani no, Cat Stevens, this seemed like a fascinating admission -- but one that shows how different musicians might totally innocently end up with similar songs on their albums, not because of any vast copyright conspiracy, but through random other factors.

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Another Inspired Means of Hiding Cables in Plain Sight [Cable Management]

By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:00:50 AM

We took a shine to creatively hiding cables with unique arrangements, and one clever forum member at organization blog Unclutterer provides another design inspiration.

Photo by mpoush.

Faced with having to run phone wire to get connected in the office, he turned the otherwise ugly and distracting black cable into the center of a clever fake flower display. Flowers might not be your thing, but books, postcards, or other items you can hang might be more to your tastes. Got your own creative cable solution you've stumbled upon? Discuss, link, and post photos in the comments. Hiding cables in plain sight[Unclutterer] [Sponsored] NEC Ads by Pheedo

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U.S. wind power capacity up in 2009 Apple Is Fighting To Drop iTunes TV Episodes to $0.99 (CNET News.com)

Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:45:00 AM

WASHINGTON--U.S. wind power capacity soared 39 percent last year but job growth stalled as uncertainty about renewableenergy policies and the recession slowed manufacturing, an industry group said.

The combined power-generating capacity of new U.S. wind turbines installed last year hit more than 9,900 megawatts, up from a gain of over 8,400 MW in the previous year. Total capacity hit more than 35,000 MW, or about enough to power 9.7 million homes, the American Wind Energy Association said.

Total U.S. jobs associated with wind energy, stalled at 85,000, about flat from the previous year as the recession took a toll on manufacturing. In 2008, job growth surged as the sector added 35,000 positions.

Denise Bode, chief executive of AWEA, said jobs stalled because of tight financing and uncertainty about wind power incentives, including long-term tax credits and a national mandate for renewable energy.

She said President Barack Obama's recovery act that set

aside billions of dollars for renewable energy helped prevent job losses. Some 1,500 to 2,000 jobs were lost in wind power manufacturing, but those jobs were made up for with gains in construction and maintenance at wind power farms, she said.

AWEA wants Congress to pass national mandates for generating renewable power, which are expected to be included in a compromise climate bill to be considered by the Senate this year.

"We are trying to convince European wind manufacturers to invest in the United States but first they want to know what policies will be in place," said Bode.

The United States overtook Germany in 2008 as the world's top wind power generator. But China, which unlike the United States, has set national cleanenergy targets, may take the top spot for 2009 when the results are finalized.

"We are in a foot race with the Chinese who are providing more and more incentives and mandates for the industry," said

Bode.

Texas led the country in added wind capacity last year with nearly 2,300 MW, followed by Indiana with 905 MW and Iowa with 879 MW. The gains came despite billionaire oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens' announcement last summer that he would postpone construction of a huge wind farm in Texas.

Wind accounted for about 6 percent of the electricity produced last year in Texas, according to the state.

Wind power generated only about 1 percent of power supply for the entire country last year.

Bode said if the country adopted national renewable-electricity mandates investors would put more money into building transmission lines to carry more wind from the gusty center of the country to cities with high power demand.

Story Copyright (c) 2010 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

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'Leaked' Apple Tablet Photos! (Nice Try)

By Charlie Sorrel (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 1/26/2010 7:11:00 AM

These wonderful fake tablet photos come supposedly show the Jesus Tablet atop a 15-inch MacBook Pro, Unlike many

blurry-cam spy-shots, these are based on solid Photoshop abilities.

By Samuel Axon (Mashable!)

Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:15:48 AM

The Financial Times reports that Apple is trying to convince television networks in the United States to sign on to a drastic price cut for TV shows available for download through iTunes.

Standard definition episodes currently cost $1.99; Apple wants to bring that down to $0.99. It’s unclear what Apple wants to do with prices for HD episodes, which cost $2.99.

Apple believes that $1.99 is more than a lot of people are willing to pay, and that the change would greatly increase sales, offsetting the loss of revenue from the price drop.

Apple and TV networks probably don’t see eye to eye, though; Apple’s interest is in increasing sales through its online store, but the TV networks have stable and lucrative deals in traditional distribution. They’re likely concerned that making digital sales more attractive would hurt their numbers on broadcast, satellite and cable.

Rumors circulated previously that Apple has been trying to get networks to sign on to a $30-per-

month subscription agreement that would compete with cable and satellite plans, but we haven’t heard anything new about that in a while. There’s also a rumor going around that Hulu will launch a subscriptionbased service with an expanded selection of entertainment, so Apple might be concerned that its steep per-episode prices will make it difficult to compete.

The timing is also intriguing: The Apple tablet probably launches tomorrow morning. It’s fair to assume that the device will play TV shows, so maybe Apple is putting the pressure on TV networks so that it can make its new product even more appealing by offering more accessible content.

Tags: apple, apple canvas, Apple Tablet, hulu, ipad, iSlate, iTablet, itunes, television, tv

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iPhone devsugar: PLJukebox (Coverflow) license reduced to $50 for indie devs

By Erica Sadun (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

Drowning in a Sea of Rumors? There's an App for That

By Charlie Sorrel (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 1/26/2010 6:54:00 AM

Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:30:00 PM

Filed under: Developer Coverflow provides one of the most visually appealing elements in the iPhone GUI repertoire. It's the view that you see when rifling through albums in the iPod application while holding the device in landscape orientation. Although Apple has included a full working implementation of their technology in the iPhone's UIKit library, it's not part of the official SDK. (You can find sample code for using the unpublished Coverflow API over at Google Code). These unpublished APIs are not App Store friendly and they may break at any time.

A number of developers have looked at Coverflow, and provided their own implementation libraries.

Coverflow basically consists of some core animation for the movement between covers, geometric transforms to create the right perspectives, gesture interpretation for selecting or swiping through the covers, and a bit of finessing between artistic presentation and deceleration algorithms to make it all look and feel just right.

21

Just in time for the biggest rumor-fest of the year, Apple has approved a simple iPhone application that aggregates tech rumors and lets you pick which are the winners (iTablet: tomorrow) and which are the lame ducks (Zune phone: ever).

What You Missed Last Night: Bill Gates talks about his foundation (and robots that love)

By Bob Sassone (TV Squad) Submitted at 1/26/2010 11:02:00 AM

If you're looking for an App Store friendly Coverflow implementation and don't really care for Apple's rather clunky "Covert Flow" (sic) sample code, head on over to Plausible Labs, Landon Fuller's shop. His team has dropped the indie dev licensing fee to $50 for PLJukebox licensing. PLJukebox represents one of the nicest third party Coverflow libraries out there. It's so nice that Apple rejected Fuller's Peeps app back in the days when they were a lot crankier during App review. It looked and performed like the

UIKit version.

As a final note, the fees for PLJukebox help underwrite other Plausible Labs projects like the open source PLBlocks project, which introduces programmatic blocks (it's a programming abstraction similar to lambda expressions) into Objective-C and PLCrashReporter, which provides enhanced crash reports from iPhone and Mac OS X apps. You might also want to investigate the open source OpenFlow project, which is hosted at github.

If you have any questions about

any of these projects or want to learn about corporate licensing, contact Fuller directly via his websites.

TUAW iPhone devsugar: PLJukebox (Coverflow) license reduced to $50 for indie devs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is an interesting Daily Show interview with Bill Gates where he talks about the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but I'm posting it because of a funny question that Jon Stewart asks him about a certain Microsoft competitor.

[Watch clips and episodes of The Daily Show and other shows at SlashControl.]

Filed under: Late Night, Video, The Daily Show, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

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Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad Already Creating Online Buzz

By Adam Ostrow (Mashable!)

seen in the past 24 hours: Now, CBS is in the difficult decision of figuring out what to We’re still almost two weeks do. Online buzz will only grow away from the Super Bowl – and during the two week lead up to all of its wannabe viral the Super Bowl, and for an event commercials – but at least one that tries to be as uncontroversial yet-to-be-seen ad is already as possible (especially since capturing the imaginations of the nipplegate), having the pre-game Web: a pro-life spot featuring and others who might feel focus be on the issue of abortion college football star Tim Tebow. shunned by more conservative presents a challenge.

The ad is being paid for by a churches.”

Meanwhile, if the ad does air, group called Focus on the Of course, that was before the look for it to be absolutely huge Family, and will star Tebow and days of Facebook, Twitter, on the Web, where online video his mother, who went against YouTube, and millions of blogs, sites already look to capitalize on doctor’s advice and decided to where the Tebow story is quickly the buzz created by Super Bowl keep Tim despite medical risks. gaining momentum on both sides c o m m e r c i a l s b y l a u n c h i n g Women’s groups want CBS to of the issue. A Facebook Group features dedicated to just the ads. drop the ad, but so far, the calling for CBS not to air the ad What do you think CBS will do? network is standing behind it. – in part because they rejected What do you think they should This isn’t the first time CBS has the 2004 United Church of do? Share your thoughts in the run into controversy regarding its Christ commercial – has already comments.

Super Bowl ads. According to g r o w n t o 5 , 0 0 0 u s e r s .

Tags: advertising, cbs, the AP, the network caught heat Meanwhile, several groups (like MARKETING, media, Super in 2004 when it rejected a Super this one) urging CBS to air the Bowl, super bowl commercials, Bowl ad buy from the “liberal- ad have hundreds of users spread tim tebow, tv commercials leaning United Church of Christ across them. h i g h l i g h t i n g t h e U C C ’ s You can also see the big spike welcoming stance toward gays of tweets about Tebow we’ve Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:17:30 AM

TEN continued from page 16

we looked at Matthew Ebel, whose experiments with giving fans a subscription service that provides new music and additional opportunities for access are working quite well. In that case, he's obviously using access, authenticity and exclusivity along with belonging and patronage.

Of course, this isn't just a model for small or up-and-coming artists. It can work quite well for big name artist, as well -- and on that front we discussed both Pearl Jam and Mariah Carey. As you may recall, Carey and her team put together a whole issue of Elle magazine, all about Carey, where Carey's team was allowed to sell the ads and keep the money. Some of the ads were for Carey-branded products, such as perfume. In this case, with a star this big, that particular aspect of the model is not about access (which is regularly used by smaller artists), but about belonging and tangibility (the magazine is

tangible, as is the makeup that Carey was selling). But perhaps an even bigger point is that Carey was really selling her biggest fans' attention in selling advertising directed at them. As for Pearl Jam, they have their "Ten Club," which gives fans earlier access to the best tickets at shows (convenience, time saving, belonging, exclusivity) along with special physical goods, such as a special vinyl single, a magazine and other members' only contests and giveaways (tangibility, exclusivity).

Of course, there's a lot more that goes into building good "reasons to buy," but using these ten scarcities as a starting point is an excellent way to start a brainstorming process - as we did ourselves at the conference.

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Live Coverage of Apple’s January 27 Media Event

By Josh Pigford (TheAppleBlog)

TheAppleBlog will be there providing you a steady stream of updates on everything Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:22:58 AM announced.

Tomorrow morning at 10AM You can get your live coverage PST Apple will be holding its fix via two methods tomorrow.

“Latest Creation” Media Event. TheAppleBlog Live— This is

the fastest way to get updates

and the most interactive. In addition to our own updates (with text and photos), you can s e n d i n a comment/thought/observation and if we feel it’s relevant, we’ll post it for the thousands of others

reading the updates. Our coverage will start around an hour before the event begins.

TheAppleBlog Twitter— We’ll be tweeting updates here, so be sure to follow@theappleblog.

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23

Rumor: Apple's TV subscription plans stall on "tablet eve"

By Dave Caolo (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

see it on Hulu for free? Sure, I can get a HD (720p) version from iTunes, but I'm willing to Submitted at 1/26/2010 11:30:00 AM go with 480p from Hulu when Filed under: Apple Corporate, it's free. I pay $40/mo to the iTS, Rumors With less than 24 cable company now and the vast hours to go before the tablet's majority of shows/networks I likely introduction, the New never watch. Why pay for them?

York Times is reporting that the $1.99 to $0.99, which jibes with When Apple first introduced TV networks are resisting a story on Financial Times this television to the iTunes Store, Apple's proposed subscription morning. only a handful of networks were model of distribution. For $30 I'd welcome a subscription on board. Now there's a laundry p e r m o n t h , A p p l e w o u l d model for TV and movies. For list of participants. I imagine that supposedly allow customers all- $30 per month, I could stream we'll see a similar growth pattern you-can-eat access to their any TV show or movie in with the tablet. library of television content. Apple's library to any approved *Define "asks" as you will.

However, TV execs fear Apple's device: Apple TV, iPhone, iPod, TUAW Rumor: Apple's TV recent stance on individual song computer or tablet. This would subscription plans stall on "tablet pricing in the iTunes Store, prevent the last-minute shuffle of eve" originally appeared on The which spurred track sales but files as I prep my machines for a U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g dampened sales of albums. hotel stay and more importantly, (TUAW) on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 AppleInsider suggests that eliminate the "You missed your 11:30:00 EST. Please see our there's a contingency plan in show" tax. terms for use of feeds. place, in which Apple asks* the If I miss an episode of "The Read| Permalink| Email this| networks to change the price of Office," why should I pay two Comments an individual TV episode from bucks just to catch up when I can

Howard Berman Concerned About Internet-Repressive Regimes, Except If They Help His Friends In Hollywood

By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

foundation of Chinese internet censorship.

Nick also points out how We were just discussing the vast amusing it is that, at the same similarities between China's time, Berman, in his role as internet censorship and what is chairman of the House Foreign being proposed in ACTA -- but, Affairs Committee has also been of course, not everyone seems to knocking China for not doing realize those similarities. Nick e n o u g h t o s t o p c o p y r i g h t Dynice points us to the news that infringement online, complaining Rep. Howard Berman (who a b o u t t h e i r " w e a k a n d represents Hollywood and is i n e f f e c t u a l " m e a s u r e s . sometimes referred to as "the So, apparently, using secondary Representative from Disney" liability to stop stuff Berman given his longstanding support wants stopped is good, but using for any law that increases the it to stop stuff Berman doesn't scope of copyright law) is want stopped is bad. But why is apparently speaking out against it that Howard Berman gets to "repressive internet regimes" decide when it's appropriate to such as those in China, while at force ISPs to block content and the very same time being a when it's not? strong supporter of ACTA which Permalink| Comments| Email could push for very similar This Story "secondary liability" rules for ISPs in the US that are the Submitted at 1/26/2010 6:37:00 AM

Denise Richards: Charlie Sheen Called Me from Jail (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:02:00 AM

Denise Richards breaks her silence for the first time since her ex-husband Charlie Sheen's

alleged domestic dispute that took place on Christmas day with his current wife Brooke Mueller.

Richards tells Oprah Winfrey that Sheen called her collect

from jail, saying that he didn't want the day to go by without saying Merry Christmas to their daughters, Lola and Sam. "It's sad. It's a sad situation. ... Their dad was in jail on Christmas,"

Richards says, adding that her daughter learned that her father was behind bars from a child in her kindergarten class.

When asked if she thinks Sheen has a problem, Richards

responds, "Yeah, I think that Charlie has a very sharp tongue. ... He played on my insecurities."

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Access Google Voice from the iPhone via Safari

By Dave Caolo (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

instance, it won't access your iPhone's contact list or push incoming SMS. Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:30:00 PM Unless they're going to limit the Filed under: Software, Internet, capabilities of the iPhone's Internet Tools, iPhone Earlier browser, or somehow block today, Google made a mobile access, there isn't much Apple web version of Google Voice can do to prevent users from available for the iPhone. To trying it out. understand the significance of Note that this is limited to the this move, here's a bit of back US. To try it out, point Mobile story.

S a f a r i t o Apple pulled all Google Voice T h e m o b i l e w e b v e r s i o n http://m.google.com/voice. Pro related apps from the App Store announced today (iPhone 3.0 tip: Add a bookmark to your back in July, which led to an required), while not the first, iPhone's home screen to launch FCC inquiry, which led Apple to utilizes HTML 5 to accomplish with a tap. claim they had not rejected but some new and impressive tasks. [Via ZDnet] were "studying" Google Voice, For example, it lets you display TUAW Access Google Voice which Google contradicted. The your Google Voice number on from the iPhone via Safari biggest surprise in the whole outgoing calls and provides easy originally appeared on The scenario is that AT&T said that access to voice mail plus text U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g they had no problem with messaging (send and receive). (TUAW) on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 Google Voice on the iPhone. Additionally, you can dial with 13:30:00 EST. Please see our Months later, there's still no the virtual keypad and read terms for use of feeds. official Google Voice app in the transcripts of messages.

Read| Permalink| Email this| App Store. You can view the It's not all roses, of course. For Comments long version of the story here.

Aluminum Keyboard Firmware Update 1.1 available

By Dave Caolo (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:30:00 AM

Filed under: Hardware, Software Earlier this month, we reported on an issue with the Magic Mouse and Apple's aluminum Bluetooth keyboard.

Specifically, users were reporting that the mouse was draining the keyboard's batteries at an alarming rate. Now, Apple has released a fix.

According to Apple, Aluminum Keyboard Firmware Update 1.1"...improves battery performance of the 2007 aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard when used in combination with other bluetooth devices (eg. Magic Mouse, some bluetooth headsets) and addresses an issue with the 2007 aluminum Apple Keyboard and the 2007 aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard where a key may repeat unexpectedly while

typing." You'll find full installation details here.

This issue has existed for quite a while, as the support form discussion thread was started back in November. I've got the keyboard, but not the mouse, so I can't test the patch. If you do, follow up and let us know. Has your battery life improved?

Thanks for the input.

TUAW Aluminum Keyboard Firmware Update 1.1 available originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

Review: 24 - 8:00PM-9:00PM

By Jonathan Toomey (TV Squad)

After loving the first four hours in last week's two-night 24 premiere, hour five of Jack Submitted at 1/26/2010 11:21:00 AM Bauer's eighth bad day crashed ( S08E05)"I think this operation and burned pretty hard. While just blew up." - Jack the main plot involving Jack and I think this season just blew up. Renee is worth watching, it still

has one big glaring misstep that I

had a hard time getting over last night. As for the rest of the minor subplots? We can only hope they tie in to the rest of the story, because right now, very little of it is interesting.

Continue reading Review: 24 -

8:00PM-9:00PM Filed under: OpEd, 24, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

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Bill Gates spotted table-dancing at Sundance party?

(CNET News.com) Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:09:00 AM

Which of these dudes is cooler?

The one on the left is Steve Jobs, but the one on the right is reportedly a LEVEL-40 DANCE PARTY WIZARD.(Credit: Dan Farber/CNET) Somehow, recently, Bill Gates turned into Mr. Awesome. He's Tweeting and blogging, and now, according to the New York Post, he was spotted "dancing, Paris (Hilton) style, on a banquette" at a Microsoftsponsored party at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

"He gyrated in a VIP booth until 2 AM," a 'spy' told the Post's Page Six--a gossip item, so take it with a grain of salt.

"Everybody was snapping photos of him until his security rushed him out the back door after he tipped a waitress $500." Society blog Guest of a Guest has photos! Looks like Gates was fist -pumping, "Jersey Shore"-style!

Actor Bill Murray was spotted dancing at Sundance parties, too, according to the Post, but regrettably not the same soiree.

Gates and Murray would make such a killer dance-floor tagteam.

Social Is the Top Priority for Marketers in 2010 [STATS]

By Adam Ostrow (Mashable!)

Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:50:27 AM

Gates has been all over these days. He was in Park City specifically to view and promote Davis Guggenheim's "Waiting for Superman," a documentary about education reform--one of the main focuses, along with broadband connectivity and health, of the philanthropic foundation that Gates and his wife, Melinda, founded.

Gates has been speaking extensively with my colleague Ina Fried in an interview series about education, energy, and

Money spent on social mediarelated advertising is already expected to grow significantly this year, and now we also know that the medium is considered the top priority in the digital space according to a survey of senior marketers.

The research, published today in eMarketer, shows that 45.4% of respondents considered social a ‘top priority’ while another 42.2% deemed it ‘important’.

That narrowly beat out digital infrastructure for the top spot, world travel, among other with other marketing tactics like subjects. search, mobile, and blogger Hey, you know what? If he's outreach trailing significantly. doing good things, let the man Here are the full results: dance once in a while. But it's Elsewhere, eMarketer reports on not clear whether Gates gettin' the metrics that marketers care jiggy with it at the Bing lounge most about, and the results at Sundance will help or hurt support the notion that the page Microsoft's effort to take on view is declining in relevance.

Google.

The data, which was collected in Five Filters featured article: the second half of 2009, Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

L.A. to Lose Its Legal Pot? [Dude]

By Gabriel Snyder (Gawker)

25

LAT news alert: "City Council approves plan that will close

most marijuana dispensaries."

indicates that ‘time on site’ is now the metric marketers are most interested in, followed by unique page views, click-thru rate, and the traditional page view.

What does it all mean? For both the marketer and the publisher, that engagement is here to stay as the preferred way of doing business. That means both more engaging ads that leverage social media, and more engaging web sites that keep users around beyond a simple page view.

Tags: advertising, MARKETING, social media, trending

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Aziz Poonawalla on LGF (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 1/25/2010 12:59:52 PM

It’s odd reading all these articles about me, all of a sudden, and even odder to read the blog posts. Kind of like seeing movies about yourself written from hundreds of different viewpoints, some of them taking the angle that you’re the most despicable creature to walk the earth since fish grew legs.

Today Aziz Poonawalla has a positive review at BeliefNet that I really appreciate (among the

By Erica Sadun (The announcementpalooza, not the deluge of antipathy from the Unofficial Apple Weblog d a y b e f o r e . M a y b e i t ' s a right): Charles Johnson’s jihad.

(TUAW)) maintenance/infrastructure thing (Aziz still can’t resist seeing if I that needs to go live and be knee-jerk at the word “jihad.”

Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:30:00 AM tested before the big day. Maybe Heh.) Filed under: Other Events, it's 3.2. Maybe it's an attack of His article makes some good Developer, SDK rainbow unicorn puppy dog points, and in some ways comes Update 11am ET: Logins appear devs. We don't know. All we closer than the MSM versions to to be working again for the know is that the site has been the way I see LGF’s history, iPhone Dev Center, at least from down since about 5AM Eastern. specifically this part: the East Coast. If you're still (I write this at about 10:30 Johnson’s original blogging having trouble logging in, try E a s t e r n ) . i T u n e s C o n n e c t focus was the post 9/11 threat of using Firefox rather than Safari. remains unaffected by this Islamic terrorism, and also a fanatical defender of Israel.

S t i l l h e a r i n g r e p o r t s o f outage. intermittent issues (Namely TUAW The iPhone Devcenter is Where he went astray in those "Can't connect to application down... and now, back up days was in using the latter as a instance") originally appeared on The litmus test for the former; as a Isn't it weird that Apple has U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g r e s u l t h e e a r n e d q u i t e a taken down the iPhone devcenter (TUAW) on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 reputation as an Islamophobe a day before their big "newest 10:30:00 EST. Please see our which (in my opinion, unfairly) persists, to this day. But what c r e a t i o n " a n n o u n c e m e n t ? terms for use of feeds.

Normally we expect site outages Read| Permalink| Email this| makes Johnson noteworthy is how he has stood by his o n t h e d a y o f Comments principles and now left the conservative blog movement

The iPhone Devcenter is down... and now, back up

which he semi-founded. And he has paid a price for doing so, noting that “The kinds of hate mail and the kinds of attacks I am getting from the right wing are way beyond anything I got when I was criticizing the left or even radical Islam.”

I think this observation speaks volumes about our political atmosphere today. Not to mention being a pretty accurate proxy for assessing the relative threat. The right wing would love nothing more than to see Johnson silenced, rather than have him speaking out in defense of global warming, against Creationism, and domestic rightwing terrorism. Of course, Johnson remains a devoted fan of Israel, and a severe critic of Islamists and extremism. After all, in a way Johnson has never changed. It’s just that the world has - and he reacts accordingly.

It’s noteworthy that Aziz has also reappraised a few things, including a blog encounter he and I had in 2003 over his post about a bit of nasty anti-Israel propaganda: Now, I’ve my own history with Johnson - he accused me of “blood libel” against the Jewish people for a monumentally stupid post I wrote as a newbie blogger back in 2003, where I accepted at face value a nowdiscredited report in the UK’s

Sunday Times accusing Israel of developing biological weapons.

I’m not proud of how gullible I was back then (for the record, the idea of Israeli bioweapons is paranoid nonsense, but falls far short of being a blood libel).

However, though I’d only been blogging for a few years at that point, I had a record of being critical of Israeli policy but supportive of Israel overall. I’ve also always been a ferocious critic of violent Islamic extremism (ie, hirabah) and Palestinian terrorism in particular, but unfortunately it only took one gullible post to erase that credibility and undermined everything I’d written in defense of Islam to that point.

I learned a lot of valuable lessons about blogging and the blogsphere from that episode, especially about how dangerous it is to outsource your critical thinking to the mass media. By the time Johnson led the crusade against Dan Rather with incontrovertible proof of forgery, I was able to be convinced depite my partisan preferences. So to an extent I credit my thrashing at Johnson’s hands for this.

This is the LGF post to which Aziz is referring, for the record: Poonawalla Spreads Blood Libel.

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For the Love of Culture

By Lawrence Lessig (The New Republic - All Feed) Submitted at 1/25/2010 9:00:00 PM

In early 2002, the filmmaker Grace Guggenheim--the daughter of the late Charles Guggenheim, one of America’s greatest documentarians, and the sister of the filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, who made An Inconvenient Truth-decided to do something that might strike most of us as common sense. Her father had directed or produced more than a hundred documentaries. Some of these were quite famous ( Nine from Little Rock). Some were wellknown even if not known to be by him ( Monument to a Dream, the film that plays at the St. Louis arch). Some were forgotten but incredibly important for understanding American history in the twentieth century ( A Time for Justice). And some were just remarkably beautiful ( D-Day Remembered). So, as curator of his work, Grace Guggenheim decided to remaster the collection and make it all available on DVD, which was then the emerging platform for film.

Her project faced two challenges, one obvious, one not.

The obvious challenge was technical: gathering fifty years of film and restoring it digitally.

The non-obvious challenge was legal: clearing the rights to move this creative work onto this new

platform for distribution. Most people might be puzzled about just why there would be any legal issue with a child restoring her father’s life’s work. After all, when we decide to repaint our grandfather’s old desk, or sell it to a neighbor, or use it as a workbench or a kitchen table, no one thinks to call a lawyer first.

But the property that Grace Guggenheim curates is of a special kind. It is protected by copyright law.

Documentaries in particular are property of a special kind. The copyright and contract claims that burden these compilations of creativity are impossibly complex. The reason is not hard to see. A part of it is the ordinary complexity of copyright in any film. A film is made up of many different creative elements-music, plot, characters, images, and so on. Once the film is made, any effort at remaking it-moving it to DVD, for example-could require clearing permissions for each of these original elements. But documentaries add another layer of complexity to this already healthy thicket, as they typically also include quotations, in the sense of film clips. So just as a book about Franklin Delano Roosevelt by Jonathan Alter might have quotes from famous people talking about its subject, a film about civil rights produced the 1960s would include quotations--clips from news stations--from famous people of

the time talking about the issue of the day. Unlike a book, however, these quotations are in film--typically, news footage from CBS or NBC. Whenever a documentarian wanted to include these clips in his film, he would ask CBS or NBC for permission. Most of the time, at least for a healthy fee, CBS and NBC and everyone else was happy to give permission so as to be included. Sometimes they wanted to see first just how the clip would be used.

Sometimes they would veto a particular use in a particular context. But in the main there was a healthy market for securing permission to quote.

The lawyers flocked to this market for permission. (That’s their nature.) They drafted agreements to define the rights that the quoter would get.

I suspect that most filmmakers never thought for a second about how odd this “permission to quote” was. After all, does an author need to get permission from The New York Times when she quotes an article in a book about the Depression? Indeed, does anyone need permission from anyone when quoting public statements, at least in a work talking about those statements? Ordinarily, one would think that this sort of “use” is “fair,” under the rules of copyright at least. But most documentarians--indeed, most filmmakers--did not care to work through the complexity and the

uncertainty of a doctrine such as “fair use.” Instead they agreed to licenses that govern--exclusively, as they typically asserted--the rights to use the quotes that were in the film. So, for example, the license would insist that the only right to use the film came from the license itself (not fair use).

And it would then specify the scope and term of the right--five years, North American distribution, for educational use.

What that agreement means is that if the filmmaker wanted to continue to distribute the film after five years, he would have to go back to the original rights holder and ask for permission again. That task may not sound so difficult if you think about one clip in one documentary. But what about twenty, thirty, or more? And even assuming that you can find the original holders of the rights, they now have you over a barrel--as the owners of the famous series Eyes on the Prize discovered. Jon Else, the producer and cinematographer for the series, described the problem in 2004 (extraordinary efforts have now resolved it): [The series] is no longer available for purchase. It is virtually the only audiovisual purveyor of the history of the civil rights movement in America. What happened was the series was done cheaply and had a terrible fundraising problem. There was barely enough to purchase a minimum five-year rights on the archive-

heavy footage. Each episode in the series is fifty percent archival. And most of the archive shots are derived from commercial sources. The fiveyear licenses expired and the company that made the film also expired. And now we have a situation where we have this series for which there are no rights licenses. Eyes on the Prize cannot be broadcast on any TV venue anywhere, nor can it be sold. Whatever threadbare copies are available in universities around the country are the only ones that will ever exist. It will cost five hundred thousand dollars to re-up all the rights for this film.

As American University’s Center for Social Media concluded, “rights clearance costs are high, and have escalated dramatically in the last two decades,” and “limit the public’s access” to documentary film. The consequence of this ecology of creativity is that the vast majority of documentaries from the twentieth century cannot legally be restored or redistributed. They sit on film library shelves, many of them dissolving, since they were produced on nitrate-based film, and most of them forgotten, since no content company or anyone else can do anything with them. In this sense, most of these works have been made orphans FOR page 29

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There Will Be Oil

By Michael Makovsky (The New Republic - All Feed) Submitted at 1/25/2010 9:00:00 PM

Last month marked a turning point in the United States-Iraq relationship. American influence is waning, while Iraq is taking steps to get on its feet economically. We suffered no combat deaths in December, and continue to reduce our presence, expecting to withdraw all combat troops by August. And Iraq concluded a major round of production deals with oil companies.

This last development is a big deal. Oil is the key to Iraq’s economic growth and reconstruction, and, after several years of postwar stagnation, Iraqi oil production returned in 2009 to pre-war levels: 2.5 million barrels per day, of which 2 million are exported. But are these recent deals good news—for Iraq or for the United States?

The Bush administration pressed hard for the enactment of petroleum laws that would encourage foreign investment, reorganize Iraq’s oil sector, and distribute oil revenue fairly across the country—to no avail.

The Kurdistan Regional Government, meanwhile, boosted its economy in the north by concluding more than two dozen oil deals in the last several years, thanks to production sharing agreements, which give companies a negotiated share of

production. The federal Iraqi oil minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, decided to cut some deals even without new oil laws, before the national elections slated for March. The first round of deals began last summer, the second in December. Shahristani did not offer production sharing agreements. Instead, he held an auction for less appealing 20year service agreements under which Iraq would pay companies a very low fee—most successful bids ranged from $1 to $3 per barrel per day (before taxes and government fees)—for production beyond a specified level.

This approach was a boon to state or national oil companies, such as China’s. National oil companies are less focused than private companies on profits, and were therefore better able to meet Iraq’s unattractive terms and offer lower bids. Some private oil companies did bid, although Chevron, despite its many dealings with Iraq before and after the war, did not.

According to Lawrence Goldstein—a leading energy expert and member of the National Petroleum Council, which advises the U.S. Secretary of Energy—with national companies controlling up to 90 percent of global oil reserves, and with foreign opportunities scarce and the need to “book” additional reserves urgent, private companies wanted to get involved even on terms that were

less than ideal. But the result of the auctions, unsurprisingly, was that only one U.S. company, ExxonMobil, was a winning bidder as a majority partner, and only one other U.S. company, Occidental Petroleum, won as a minority partner. Chinese national companies, by contrast, were part of half a dozen winning bids.

What has gone largely undiscussed is American culpability in this failure to increase U.S. business, jobs, and influence. Early in the summer of 2008, Shahristani sought to award several shorter-term service contracts to mostly Western oil companies on terms far better than those offered in 2009. But several U.S. senators and some in the media criticized those impending deals as lacking transparency and legitimacy, especially without passage of a national oil law. This criticism, according to a former senior State Department figure, emboldened the Iraqi opposition, and it took Shahristani another year to put forward a new arrangement.

Fadhel Othman, a highly regarded former senior Iraqi oil official, argues that the use of an auction was unfortunate for Iraq because greater involvement of private oil companies would have advanced Iraqi oil production. Private companies are generally technologically superior to national companies, and their need to book reserves is

an important incentive for them to perform in a timely fashion.

Thus, here was an unusual instance where an emphasis on transparency was counterproductive.

Still, on balance, the deals offer many advantages for Iraq and ultimately even for the United States. First, the entry of the conservative ExxonMobil, after years of an arms-length relationship with Iraq, offers promise for Iraq’s oil sector and is an expression of confidence in its postwar society. Second, any increased investment by oil companies should boost security for southern Iraq, as they seek to protect personnel. Third, Iraq’s treasury stands to benefit. If subsequent Iraqi governments and the winning bidders fulfill their commitments—a big “if”—and if Iraq improves its energy infrastructure, then oil production could jump from 2.5 million barrels per day to 12 million barrels per day within ten years. This would bring in over $200 billion per year in oil export revenue, based on current prices and adjusting for rising consumer demand, versus about $39 billion in 2009 and $62 billion in 2008.

Anything that improves Iraq’s economy and security benefits the United States, especially after we have invested so much blood and treasure in the country. Our economy also benefits from more oil on the market, and thus lower prices; and it is especially

advantageous to our national security when supply growth derives from a more diverse range of countries. Indeed, even if Iraq achieves only about half its stated goal, it will meet, according to Goldstein, a whopping 40 percent or more of estimated global oil demand growth over the next decade.

Finally, the global oil market is a zero-sum game, and it is perhaps Iran, which threatens U.S. interests on several fronts, that stands to be hurt most by Iraqi oil growth. Whereas Iraq seeks greater energy wealth through increased production—and the Saudis through relatively moderate prices for their ample supply—Iran requires higher prices for its shrinking output.

Iranian production has declined from 6 million barrels per day in 1974 under the shah to 3.8 million barrels per day recently because of the Islamic Republic’s technical deficiencies and its inability to attract sufficient foreign investment (owing partly to sanctions and partly to the government’s difficult negotiating approach).

Oil revenue in 2007 accounted for over half of Iranian state revenue. This income is essential to a repressive regime’s ability to calm an increasingly restive population.

Of course, while Iran may be THERE page 30

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Networking Site Boosts Conservative Student Ranks (Newsmax - Politics)

“The well-known leftist magazine ‘The Nation’ warned fellow leftists that they’ve gotta A new social media outlet on the confront this and lamented the Internet akin to Facebook could left doesn’t have anything like connect conservative collegiate this. The left is taking us very activists as never before and give seriously.” them an unprecedented tool in The site features 2,376 their struggle to counteract the individual sites for each fourleft’s stranglehold on campus. year college or university in the The Obama campaign visibly nation and gives students at each showed social media’s power to of those schools an online energize college students in 2008 community where they can meet, when it successfully brought organize and share ideas. them out to vote for Obama by “The Web site has an enormous nearly a 2-1 margin, and this site amount of information on it … could do the same for energizing that is useful to conservative young conservatives. students who want to do things The Leadership Institute says its on their campus,” Blackwell new site, CampusReform.org, said. gives the thousands of Campusreform.org features conservative student activists an c u s t o m i z a b l e p a g e s f o r opportunity to link up as never conservative student groups; a before. The group isn’t a stranger national networking and resource to helping conservative students center; more than 70 national o r g a n i z e o n c a m p u s , b u t conservative organizations; Leadership Institute founder and p u b l i c i t y r e s o u r c e s f o r President Morton Blackwell says countering the left on campus; the site gives the sort of activism and a listing of national events to his organization has fostered for train conservatives nationwide 3 0 y e a r s a n a d d e d b o o s t among others. unequalled on the left.

Blackwell says he wants “I think the left has expressed conservative students to form w o r r i e d c o n c e r n a b o u t new groups and combat “leftist CampusReform.org,” Blackwell abuses and bias on their own said. campuses” while promoting Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:45:28 AM

conservative principles.

“It’s axiomatic among conservatives that most campuses are left-wing indoctrination centers, and this is the first time that any conservative organization has systematically addressed the problem,” he said. “Now with virtually every student active online, it’s an opportunity for students who are conservative to sign up as members of the subsite for their campus and get to know each other.”

This gives formerly isolated conservative students an unprecedented ability to connect with other like-minded individuals who might otherwise not have an opportunity to connect.

Since Campusreform.org debuted on Sept. 15, 2009, it has contributed to the foundation of 50 new student groups.

“These organizations take on whatever projects the local students are interested in,” Blackwell said.

These interest-oriented conservative groups specialize in issues such as gun rights, right-to -life issues, economic libertarianism, or have an across the board conservative agenda.

“Over 100 of these 1,366 conservative student groups [we have helped organize] are independent conservative student publications , which have been founded by people who have been trained in the student publications workshops that the Leadership Institute conducts frequently,” he said.

Blackwell says students can share information about Campusreform.org through social media outlets such as Facebook or Twitter to get their friends who might not know about the site involved.

He says CampusReform.org also stands to benefit the Leadership Institute’s traditional bricks and mortar schools because many of those who join the site will likely decide to participate in one or more of the organization’s 41 different training programs — especially those related to being electorally successful. © Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

S&P cuts Japan outlook to ‘negative’ (Financial Times - US homepage)

By Robin Harding in Tokyo and Reuters Published: January 26 2010

05:15 | Last updated: January 26 Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: 2010 12:05 PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Five Filters featured article: Term Extraction.

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FOR continued from page 27

by a set of agreements concluded at their birth, which--like lead in gasoline--were introduced without any public recognition of their inevitable toxicity.

Except of course for those with a devoted heir, such as Grace Guggenheim. She was not willing to accept defeat. Instead she set herself the extraordinary task of clearing all of the rights necessary to permit her father’s films to be shown. Eight years later, she is largely done. About ten major works remain. Just last year, her father’s most famous documentary-- Robert Kennedy Remembered, made in 1968 in the two months between Kennedy’s assassination and the Democratic National Convention, and broadcast only once--was cleared for DVD release through the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center.

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The Chin Abides

By Michelle Cottle (The New Republic - All Feed)

shirts and the anonymous, overcaffeinated web barkers raging about how the sight of Submitted at 1/25/2010 9:00:00 PM Leno makes them want to puke; At long last our national at the height of this bizarre nightmare is over: Jay Leno is struggle, ABC late-night gabber headed back to his spot atop Jimmy Kimmel did a mano-a“The Tonight Show,” and Conan mano takedown of Leno that O’Brien—more adorably known ranks among the most vicious these days as Coco—has left the assaults I’ve seen on network building with his gazillion-dollar TV—and he did it on Leno’s consolation prize, quite possibly own show. (Sample bit: Asked to set up shop at Fox. about his fondness for pranks, Who would have imagined the Kimmel shot back, “I think the battle between two filthy-rich best prank I ever pulled was I l a t e - n i g h t g a b b e r s c o u l d told a guy that ‘five years from c o m m a n d s o m u c h p u b l i c now I’m going to give you my attention, overshadowing even show,’ and then when the five o u r o b s e s s i o n s w i t h J o n years came, I gave it to him and Gosselin’s love life and Tiger t h e n t o o k i t b a c k a l m o s t Woods’s compulsion to play instantly. It was hilarious.” hide-the-putter with cocktail Kimmel didn’t look amused; he waitresses? And yet, even now, looked steamed. And things only after all the articles and video got rougher from there.) WTF? clips and interviews devoted to The vilification of NBC’s Jeff NBC’s deliciously bloody Zucker I understand—and melodrama, I still don’t quite get applaud. This is, after all, the guy it: How did Jay Leno emerge as who brought us “Fear Factor” Great American Jerk, vilified and “The Apprentice.” But what across old and new media alike did Leno do that’s so appalling? as an entitled, conniving, big- Surely people aren’t whining footing back-stabber who ruined about the unfairness of the show poor Coco’s life? shuffling. Yes, Coco has been Forget all the “Team Coco” t- dealt a harsh blow. In 2004,

NBC execs made him a pinkie promise that, if he eschewed other suitors and stayed loyal to the network for five more years, he would then be handed the keys to arguably TV’s most celebrated brand. Obviously, Coco assumed he would be allowed to keep those keys for more than seven months. But lest any of us get too self-righteous, let’s recall that no one—least of all sweet little Coco—seemed especially troubled back then by the thought of kicking Leno to the curb. This despite the fact that, for about a decade, Leno had been dominating the ratings and raking in truly obscene wads of ad cash for the network. (A Fortune article from February 2004 reported that Leno’s “Tonight Show” was generating $100 million in annual earnings—roughly 15 percent of NBC’s total profits.) The eye-onthe-bottom-line calculation was that, come 2009, Leno would be a whopping 59 years old and no one, especially the all-powerful 18- to 49-year-old demographic, would want to watch his desiccated old carcass anymore.

(No matter that Johnny Carson

didn’t cede the throne until age 65; that was before advertisers’ youth fixation.) So it was that NBC execs informed Leno that, no matter how great a job he was doing, they were putting him out to pasture in five years to make way for Coco and his dewier demographic.

OK. Fair enough. TV is a bloody, mercenary business. So why now the shock and outrage that NBC would be so crass as to pull the plug on Coco for sinking below not only the ratings that Leno enjoyed as “Tonight Show” host (even among the youngest viewers, mind you) but also those of Letterman over at CBS? And even if people are riled at the network suits, why slam Leno? Sure, his 10 p.m. show turned out to be a dog, but that only upped the pressure on NBC to kill it and restore Leno asap to the perch where he had proved so valuable.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

private sector, or the potentially large role of the country next door.

Michael Makovsky, foreign policy director of the Bipartisan Policy Center, was a special assistant for Iraqi oil policy in

the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2002 to 2006.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

THERE continued from page 28

threatened by Iraqi oil production, it can also turn the tables. Iran’s recent temporary takeover of Iraq’s Fakka oil well could be just another border dispute. Or it could be Tehran’s way of letting it be known that it

could easily disrupt Iraq’s growing energy sector.

So while there’s plenty of good news in the growth of Iraqi oil production, there are also reasons to be concerned—whether about the minimal role of the U.S.

Facebook CEO's Sister Wants To Be a Pop Star [Protocelebrities]

By Ryan Tate (Gawker) Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:26:45 PM

Randi Zuckerberg insists this was a " spontaneous" performance of George Gershwin's "Summertime" at a digital lifetsyle conference in Germany. We think the cameraloving Facebook fameball doth protest too much.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg's sister is known for her lipdubs, after all, those annoying ersatz music videos uploaded to the internet.

She moved on to real music when her ad-hoc Open Source Band played a recent Silicon Valley fundraiser. And now this performance, which nicely leverages her social network's prominence into more attention for the accused social climber.

"The voice of social networking!" one critic raves. By that standard, we could do far worse than Zuckerberg. But that ain't saying much.

Politics/ Tech Tips/ Entertainment/

E-reader News Edition

Polish Bishop: Jews Use Holocaust As Propaganda (Little Green Footballs)

Jewish, Jews had monopolized it in lieu of encouraging “serious historical debate, free from Polish Catholic bishop Tadeusz prejudice and victimization.”

Pieronek, a close friend of Pieronek alleged that Jews today former pope John Paul II, is in use the Holocaust as “a weapon the Jerusalem Post today for his of propaganda, used to obtain statements about the Holocaust: b e n e f i t s w h i c h a r e o f t e n Pieronek: Jews use tragedy of unjustified,” citing as an example Holocaust as propaganda. the unconditional support for The Holocaust only receives Israel by the US. “This promotes media coverage because of a certain arrogance that I find affluent Jews’ financial backing, unbearable,” he said, explaining military might and lobbying that Israel was using its position fronts, presenting a skewed o f p o w e r a n d e x p l o i t i n g version of events to the world, a historical tragedies to treat the high-ranking Polish bishop told a Palestinians “like animals.”

Catholic news portal on Monday. The bishop stated that American Polish bishop and professor support for the Jews had not Tadeusz Pieronek told the Web always been so readily given. site Pontifex.roma that while the “What did the Jewish-American Holocaust was not exclusively and allied forces do in [World Submitted at 1/25/2010 5:09:48 PM

War II] to avoid these tragedies?

Little or nothing,” he said.

Pieronek stressed that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians did not compare to “the shame of the concentration camps and the aberrations of Nazism,” but was still a cause for concern ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which occurs on January 27.

“The Holocaust as such is a Jewish invention … a day of remembrance must also be set for the many victims of Communism, persecuted Catholics and Christians and so on,” he told the Web site.

Tragedy, he stressed, must not be turned into propaganda.

'Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood' New Season Details Revealed (ETonline - Breaking News)

offer an even closer look into the lives of the celebrity couple, including a family cross-country Tori Spelling and husband Dean road trip.

McDermott are back for a fifth Tori's mom told the Associated season of their reality show, Press in December that she and following reports that Tori and Tori are back in touch and that her mom Candy Spelling have she's spent time with Tori's two reconciled. kids, even visiting toddler Stella In the new season of "Tori & for the first time.

Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood," the Oxygen channel promises to Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:23:00 AM

John Travolta Lands in Haiti with Relief Supplies (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 1/26/2010 7:17:00 AM

JDContextMenu Enhances Windows' Right Click Menu [Downloads]

By Jason Fitzpatrick (Lifehacker) Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:30:00 AM

Windows: JDContextMenu is a small application that adds a variety of useful shortcuts to the right-click context menu in Windows.

None of the shortcuts are things you couldn't do within Windows

with a few extra clicks or with a small 3rd-party app, but JDContextMenu bundles them together into a small menu with one-click ease. You can copy the full filename to the clipboard, alter the time and date stamp of a file, run an MD5 checksum to verify file integrity, and create number of numbered folders in a new folders—the new folder tool series. allows you to create a variable Have a favorite shell extension

31

Making good on his promise, John Travolta personally flew a Boeing 707 to Haiti with relief supplies.

The actor and his wife, Kelly of your own? If you've got the Preston, flew to Haiti with six perfect tweak for your Windows tons of ready-to-eat military context menus, we want to hear rations and medical supplies, the about it in the comments. Associated Press reports. Fuel JDContextMenu is freeware, for the trip was provided by Windows only. JDContext[via Qantas airlines.

Freeware Genius] "We have the ability to actually help make a difference in the situation in Haiti and I just can't see not using this plane to help," he told reporters on the ground.

32

Tech Tips/

E-reader News Edition

Gadget and Gear Deals of the Day [Dealhacker]

By Jason Fitzpatrick (Lifehacker)

Free Shipping(Regular Price: $44 - use this form).

Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:30:00 AM

Today is a special deal-grabbing kind of day, a Woot! Off is in progress and we've got a pile of bargains to share with you like discounted laptops, cameras, and free music and iPhone apps.

Woot! Off in Progress!

Computer Gear!

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• 23" Lenovo IdeaCentre 2.7GHz Desktop PC for $699 with free shipping(Regular Price: $800 - use coupon code: USP0121B500).

• 18.4" Toshiba Satellite P500ST6822 Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz Laptop for $636.75 with free shipping(Regular Price: $849).

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• 16.4" Sony VAIO FW Laptop for $659.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $900 use coupon code

FW590CTO100).

• 16" Toshiba Satellite A505 Core i3 Laptop for $679.99 plus $14.99 shipping(Regular Price: $798).

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• 15.6" Acer Aspire 5517 Laptop for $419.97 plus $6.94 shipping(Regular Price: $500).

• 15" Dell Studio Laptop with 2.2GHz Processor for $749 with free shipping(Regular Price: $1092).

• 14" HP Pavilion dv4 Intel Core i5 2.26GHz Laptop for $649.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $809 - use this form).

• 14" Sony VAIO Laptop with Intel Core i5 Processor for $899.99(Regular Price: $1050).

• 13.4" Dell Adamo Laptop for $899 with free shipping(Regular Price: $1,499 - use coupon code MSStore2-PC-40%).

• 12" HP Pavilion dv2 Laptop for $487.49 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $599).

• 10" ASUS Eee PC Seashell Atom 1.6GHz Netbook for $300

with free shipping(Regular Price: $360).

• Apple Magic Mouse for $59.49(Regular Price: $66.94).

• 2TB Fantom Gforce External USB 2.0/eSATA HDD for $ 1 3 9 . 9 9 + F r e e Shipping(Regular Price: $159.99 - use this form).

• Cavalry CAXB Series 2TB External HDD for $159.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $189.99).

• Seagate 1TB External HDD for $89.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $99.99 use coupon code EMCYZNN22).

• 500GB Western Digital My Passport HDD for $80 with free shipping(Regular Price: $139).

• Kodak EasyShare ESP 7 All-in -One Printer for $159.84 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $199.99).

• H&R Block At Home 2009 Deluxe Federal + State + eFile Tax Software for $25 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $44).

• ASUS WL-520GU 802.11b/g Wireless G Router for $29.99 +

Home Entertainment Gear!

• 47" LG 47LH30 1080p LCD HDTV for $696 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $788) • 19" Samsung LN19B360 720p LCD HDTV for $171 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $202) • 55" Samsung UN55B8000 1080p LED HDTV for $2,408.49 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $2799.99).

• 42" Panasonic VIERA 1080p Plasma TV for $750.12 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $875 use coupon code BONUSBUY).

• Sony HTSS360 5.1 channel Home Theater System for $ 2 5 2 . 9 4 + F r e e Shipping(Regular Price: $285).

• 26" Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-L26X1 720p LCD HDTV for $299.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $346.97).

• 42" LG 42LH55 1080p LCD HDTV for $815.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $1049.98).

• 42" Vizio VT420M 1080p, 120Hz LCD HDTV for $699 with free shipping(Regular Price: $850).

• 40" Samsung LN40B530 1080p LCD HDTV for $664 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $704).

• 58" Samsung PN58B550 1080p 600Hz Plasma TV, plus GADGET page 34

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33

Browser Speed Tests: Firefox 3.6, Chrome 4, Opera 10.5, and Extensions [Performance Tests]

By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:30:00 AM

Firefox 3.6 is out, Chrome's stable version got a big upgrade, and Opera 10.5 is inching toward release. It's a great time for us to break out the timer, process manager, and code tracker for some up-to-date browser speed tests.

This go-round, we did things just slightly different from our last batch of browser tests.

We're still timing the human experience of clicking to start a browser and waiting for it to reach a (locally saved) home page, both "cold" (right after boot-up) and "warm" (after running at least once already), and having it load nine tabs at once, using a millisecond, keyboard-activated timer app from Rob Keir. To test JavaScript speeds and, new to these tests, DOM and CSS querying, we're using Mozilla's Dromaeo online suite, which loads offline and implements both Apple's SunSpider and Google's V8 tests, along with others. To measure memory use, we're using Windows 7's process manager, except in the case of Chrome, which has its own system. The tests are, as ever, performed on my trusty ThinkPad T61p, running a 2.0 GHz Intel Centrino Duo processor and sporting 2 GB of

RAM, and currently running Windows 7.

What's new this go-round is, as mentioned, the inclusion of Dromaeo's DOM/CSS tests, as the use of jQuery and other JavaScript-based code will be increasingly important as HTML5 starts changing the web game. We also ran a little side test involving extensions, as many readers (and, truth be told, editors here) have noted that Firefox runs tight on memory when it's brand new, but it's long -term extension use that seems to slow things down. So we loaded up Firefox 3.6, and both the "stable" and "development" versions of Chrome, with extensions found on both browsers:

• Xmarks bookmark sync • AdBlock(known as AdBlock Plus on Firefox) • CoolIris photo viewer • Gmail-based mail checkers: Gmail checker for Firefox, Google Mail Checker for Chrome • LastPass password manager

On to the tests!

Click any of the images below for a clearer and wider look at the results. Boot-up and warm loading; Winner: Opera!

Opera 10.01 and 10.5 Beta are so close together in cold and warm starts, you could write off the difference to the speed of your testing editor's finger on the Are these extensions exactly the timer button. Close behind is same between Firefox and C h r o m e ' s s t a b l e a n d Chrome? Not really. Are they development versions, similarly generally providing the same close in standing. Firefox 3.6 functionality? We hope so. was surprisingly just a tad slower Either way, we wanted to see than 3.5 in starting up, at least what a fan of these five fairly from first boot-up, and Safari p o p u l a r e x t e n s i o n s w o u l d remains a fairly slow starter. experience, in terms of memory Tab Loading; Winner: Chrome use, across all three browsers (Stable)! (for Windows) that have a robust We were more than a little extension platform. surprised at this result, so we

triple-checked that we'd cleaned out Chrome's cache, cookies, and browsing data to ensure it wasn't getting a head start on loading each browser's home page, plus Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Hulu, and the Google home page. But the numbers bore out the new Chrome release's prowess on the "Open all in bookmarks" function, which bodes well for its individual tab loading: JavaScript; Winner: Opera 10.5 Beta! (Somehow) Browser developers have told us before that JavaScript engine coders can, intentionally or subconsciously, write their frameworks "to the test," giving them an artificial advantage when placed against the competition in certain tests. And pure runs per second is, as Mozilla's Mike Beltzner put it, like a horsepower rating on a car—it doesn't tell the whole story of its performance.

Still, to look at Opera 10.5 in the Dromaeo aggregate results, you'd think that either Opera has developers who have learned not to sleep, or that something funny is going on. Still, we have to call them the winner, with Chrome's development channel, stable release, and Safari 4 picking up the remaining winner's circle slots.

DOM/CSS; Winner: Chrome BROWSER page 35

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GADGET continued from page 32

free Wall Mount for $1,588.18 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $1716 - use coupon code LOYALTY10) • Onkyo HT-S5200 7.1-Channel Home Entertainment System with iPod Dock for $394.65 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $500 - use coupon code BONUSBUY) • LG BD270 Blu-ray Disc Player for $99.99 + Free Shipping(Regular Price: $120).

• Logitech Harmony 700 Universal Remote for $115.99 with free shipping(Regular Price: $129.99 - use this form)

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• Shure SE310 Sound Isolating • Apple iPod Shuffle 2GB Earphone for $151 with free (newest 4th Generation) for $49 shipping(Regular Price: $250). + Free Shipping(Regular Price: • Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video $55) Camera for $79.99 + Free • Creative Zen MX 8 GB Video S h i p p i n g ( R e g u l a r P r i c e : MP3 Player for $59.99 + Free $ 1 1 3 . 9 5 ) .

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'Wanted' Actor James McAvoy Baby News (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 1/26/2010 7:29:00 AM

Actor James McAvoy is going to be a daddy!

Known for his roles in 'Wanted' and 'Atonement,' the 30-year-old actor is expecting his first child with wife Anne-Marie Duff, 39, People.com reports.

"We are happy to confirm that James McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff are expecting their first child," McAvoy's rep told the Thanks D e a l z o n , publication. "We have no further TechDealDigger, Slickdeals, comment or information at this F a t w a l l e t , T e c h B a r g a i n s , time."

CheapStingyBargains, CheapCollegeGamers, and GamerHotline!

News from Oprah and Martha

By Brad Trechak (TV Squad)

have more money than all of you combined and will use it to conquer the world ... MWA HA We have two pieces of news HA". from the talk show world today. In other news, Martha Stewart is First, Oprah Winfrey's upcoming following in the steps of Oprah OWN network now has a tagline. and leaving daytime syndication The tagline is "it's your life ... for a cable deal. Her new show is own it". This tagline is probably slated to run on the Hallmark better than the proposed one "I Channel and the network will Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:00:00 PM

also run Martha-owned programming after her own

show. This can be taken as a sign of the diminishing power of network television as well as the increasing power of Martha Stewart.

The question we must really ask is: if Martha and Oprah combined into one entity that consumed all of daytime television, what would that entity

be called? Marah? Optha? The All-Consuming Beast?

Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

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BROWSER continued from page 33

(Dev)!

Google's browser mostly walks away with this one. Safari puts in a strong showing, and Firefox pushes past Opera.

Memory use, no extensions; Winner: Firefox 3.6!

For all the emphasis Firefox put on its themes, security, and plugin management for the 3.6 release, they could have mentioned that it's even more efficient with memory, at least soon after start-up, than the already impressive 3.5 releases.

Opera 10.01 and Safari 4 aren't far behind, Opera 10.5 shows a pretty hefty jump in tab holding, and if you're using Chrome with multiple tabs, you'd better have a pretty modern system.

Memory use with extensions; Winner: Firefox 3.6!

You know what we learned about Chrome in these tests?

That there's a price to pay for its walled garden model of security.

It seems like each extension is individually contained in a tablike shell, meaning that if your

extension crashes, it won't bring down your whole browser. Even if it does, your tab contents and writing are preserved. That said, to have those extensions loaded, with or without tabs open, makes pretty big difference in memory use. Extensions make a different in Firefox, too, but much more incrementally: The scores As we first implemented in our last tests, we took the numeric score placement of each browser in each category and ranked them from 7, as best in category, to 1, as worst. We totaled those numbers up, and present them here as a total out of 35. If a browser had a 35, it would be best in every category: startup, page loading, code handling, and memory use. We didn't include the extension memory test, because it's not a fair fight between all the browsers.

Scores(out of 35 possible) • Google Chrome 4.0.302.3 (dev): 25 • Google Chrome 4.0.249.78

(stable): 24 • Firefox 3.6: 20 • Firefox 3.5.4: 21 • Opera 10.5 Beta: 25 • Opera 10.01: 15 • Safari 4.0.4: 19 What did we learn? If you're using Opera 10.01, you have almost no reason not to upgrade.

If you're using Chrome, the Stable channel is pretty much a wash with the development version, barring any new features that make their way first to the dev channel (which, granted, some certainly will). Firefox 3.6 seems more of an upgrade in features than core components, and Safari, well, doesn't it have a really neat launch page?

Like our results? Totally disagree? We want to hear about it in the comments.

[Sponsored] NEC Ads by Pheedo

By Christopher Botta (FanHouse Main) Submitted at 1/26/2010 5:00:00 AM

Filed under: Penguins When Marc-Andre Fleury could no longer take his roommate's loud snoring on Sunday night at their Manhattan hotel, the Penguins

goalie delicately flung a bottle of water at his tormentor.

Share How You Wave and Help Write the Book! [Google Wave]

By Gina Trapani (Lifehacker) Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:00:00 AM

Google Wave may be in inviteonly preview and still lack important features, but early adopters ARE using it—and we want to hear about it. We want to hear about how you're using it.

Tell us about how you use Wave on a day-to-day basis, and your use case just might get included in The Complete Guide to Google Wave, the first book about Wave.

My co-author Adam and I are updating the book to replace theoretical, potential uses for Wave with real-world case studies of actual humans putting Google Wave to good use. We need your help. If you're waving regularly, please tell us about it, and we may include your story in the book.

Here's how to submit your Wave use case: wave me at "He woke up, took a drink and ginatrapani@googlewave.com, everything was fine after that," with the title "My Wave Use said Fleury, his team's starting Case", and describe how you're g o a l t e n d e r o n M o n d a y a t using Google Wave right now to Madison Square Garden. "I've get things done with your group. had worse roommates."

The more specific you can get F l e u r y ' s r o o m m a t e t h i s about your Wave process, what weekend? His father, Andre. benefits and drawbacks it has, and what gadgets and robots you

For Penguins, a Pair of Fathers' Days, a Pair of Wins

35

use, the better. Include a clear screenshot of an example wave.

(Don't worry, we can blur out any sensitive information in the screenshots if we choose to publish it in the book.) By waving me your use case, you'll be giving us permission to publish it in The Complete Guide to Google Wave, which is licensed under Creative Commons—so be sure to let us know how you'd like to be identified in the book.

Adam and I both thank you in advance for your help. Can't wait to hear how you wave.

[Sponsored] NEC Ads by Pheedo

36

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State of the Union 2.0: The Illusion of Democracy?

No. 4 Cuse rallies for Boeheim's 819th victory

By Mike Melanson (ReadWriteWeb)

By Associated Press (ESPN.com)

The whole thing starts on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET, when the State of the Union address Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:05:00 AM broadcast begins, during which Both YouTube and the White Y o u T u b e w i l l o p e n u p a House announced today that this "Moderator series" for users to year's State of the Union address submit questions by either video w i l l b e b r o a d c a s t o n t h e or text, although, as it says, it YouTube channel Citizentube, as prefers video. Users will then be well as streamed live and given a few additional days to broadcast to your iPhone. In submit questions and vote on a d d i t i o n t o t h e s e I n t e r n e t which questions they want to see broadcasts, both announced that the president answer. YouTube the average Joe or Jane Citizen makes sure to note in its blog would get a chance to ask the that all submissions are held to president some questions this the guidelines under its Terms of time around, by way of a contest Service. on Google Moderator.

The president will answer the Sounds like a great day for top-voted questions in a live Internet democracy, right? We broadcast on a yet-unannounced wonder if crowdsourcing is the date. That isn't to say that the way to get the hard-hitting, White House press team won't be journalistic questions delivered c l o s e l y m o n i t o r i n g t h o s e to the president's doorstep or if it questions over the days leading will turn into yet another Internet up to the live broadcast and meme. And even if the right carefully preparing answers. So questions get asked, will the while it sounds like a great idea, format result in just another we would warn against getting rehearsed, prepackaged answer? too excited that Joe and Jane Sponsor Citizen are finally going to have

given the ability to ask President Obama some questions, NORML stormed the polls and put marijuana legalization at the front and center of the debate.

Even then, however, Obama their day in the press box. managed to just laugh off the I n t e r n e t V o t i n g a n d t h e question before moving on.

Digg/Reddit/4chan Effect Using In the end, we're glad to see the Google Moderator, users will be Internet being used to create able to vote up and down dialogue between the president questions, meaning that some of and the public, but it isn't as if the most controversial questions the State of the Union was hard may be buried, while the most to miss. Every major television average and mundane, and network will be carrying the therefore most agreeable, may speech. The YouTube blog rise to the top. Then again, we compares the opportunity for can only wonder about the so- citizens to ask questions to called 4chan or Reddit effect, Calvin Coolidge making history where a group decides to use its with the first publicly broadcast numbers to drastically alter a State of the Union. For our poll. When social sites like these money, we'd much rather see the manage to rally the troops, the P r o p 8 t r i a l i n C a l i f o r n i a effect can be pretty substantial, broadcast live on YouTube, as like when Reddit, Digg and Fark we were promised before the m a n a g e d t o r i c k r o l l S h e a Supreme Court stepped in a Stadium. There are numerous blocked an earlier decision to examples, with some being show the trial. Discuss funnier than others.

The last time the public was

Submitted at 1/25/2010 8:16:45 PM

Fast Facts • After allowing the first 14 points, Syracuse finished the game outscoring Georgetown by 31 to improve its record to 5-0 vs. ranked teams this season.

• The Orange have won 20-plus games for the 13th consecutive season, which is tied with Duke for the second-longest active streak in Division I. • The Orange have won 10 of their last 13 games overall and six straight at home vs.

Georgetown.

• Austin Freeman finished with a game-high 23 points in the loss for Georgetown.

-- ESPN Stats & Information Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Review: Life Unexpected - House Inspected

By Hemal Jhaveri (TV Squad) Submitted at 1/26/2010 11:38:00 AM

(S01E02) - Oh, Cate. Had I known you were capable of pulling a lowly, John Edwardsesqe move, I may not have been so ready in praise of you last

week. Seriously, the one thing I can not overlook in this episode if how quick Cate was to deny her daughter's existence on her radio show. The same radio show that Cate knows Lux listens to religiously.

Happily enough, everyone else

was around to pick up the slack as Lux decides if she really can

trust her new parents, and if they, Reality-Free in turn, can earn legal foster Permalink| Email this| | parent status.

Comments Get ready to have your heart strings pulled, hard.

Continue reading Review: Life Unexpected - House Inspected Filed under: Episode Reviews,

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37

List of Legal Resources For Startups and Entrepreneurs

Sources: Ben Sheets agrees with Oakland Athletics

By Chris Cameron (ReadWriteWeb)

By ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com)

come back to, so if you have some suggestions of resources not yet on the list, please let us Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:10:00 AM know in the comments and we L a t e l y o n t h e s t a r t u p will do our best to update. blogosphere there has been a lot Blogs of talk about lawyers and how The Startup Lawyer they relate to startups and Startup Company Lawyer entrepreneurs. A few weeks ago, Global Startup Blog Scott Edward Walker, a guest Venture Law Lines author on Venture Hacks, posted Freeland Benevich PLLC h i s T o p 1 0 r e a s o n s w h y Mendelson's Musings entrepreneurs hate lawyers, Startup Company Blog w h i c h p r o m p t e d v e n t u r e William Carleton, Counselor @ capitalist Mark Suster to write Law How to Work with Lawyers at a BigStartups.com Startup.

Spam Notes Regardless of whether lawyers Emerging Enterprise Center are something entrepreneurs Blog should loathe or love, it seems as BizzBangBuzz though a curation of legal Online Legal Tools resources for startups was in Legal River order. The following is a list (in Legal Zoom no particular order or rank) of Nolo blogs, articles, websites, VC tips Term Sheet Generator and other online resources for NVCA Model Legal Documents entrepreneurs and startups.

Recent Articles Sponsor AllBusiness.com - Start-Up The goal is to create an organic Legal and Licensing To-Do List resource startups can continue to for Small Business

(Sixteen) Lies of Lawyers Mark Suster - How to Work with Lawyers at a Startup Don Rainey - Son, you're going to get your butt kicked Law Firms & Lawyers Walker Corporate Law George Grellas & Associates Entrepreneur.com - Answers to Morgan Lewis Dorsey & Whiteney LLP Your Startup Legal Questions Jeremy Freeland - Early Stage Fenwick & West Tech Companies -- When Should Silicon Legal Goodwin Proctor You Involve a Lawyer?

Venture Hacks - Bram Cohen: Other "Lawyers can't tell you you can't Startup Law 101 Great Web Startup Lawyers do something" Venture Hacks - Top 10 reasons 25 Startup Law Resource From ReadWriteWeb why entrepreneurs hate lawyers VentureBeat - Ask the Attorney: Stock Options 101: Negotiating W h a t i s s u e s d o I n e e d t o Ownership consider when forming a start- Why No One Will Sign Your NDA up?

Harvard Business School - Top Ryan Roberts' 25 Startup Law Ten Legal Mistake Made By Resources was a key jumping-off point for a good portion of the Entrepreneurs links found in this list, so thanks Tips From VCs Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson - Ryan!

Photo by Flickr user Term Sheet Series Wrap Up w alknboston. Discuss Guy Kawasaki - The Top Ten

Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:34:44 AM

Sheets The Oakland Athletics have agreed to terms with free-agent pitcher Ben Sheets on a one-year deal in the range of $8 million, baseball sources tell ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

Sheets missed all of 2009 recovering from a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow.

Sheets made four All-Star teams with the Milwaukee Brewers.

His best season came in 2004, when he posted a 12-14 record with a 2.70 ERA and 264 strikeouts in 237 innings.

He has a career record of 86-83.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Tyler Myers a Prize for Buffalo

By Susan Slusser (FanHouse Main) Submitted at 1/26/2010 5:00:00 AM

Filed under: Sabres, FanHouse Exclusive Henrik Tallinder plays alongside rookie defenseman

Tyler Myers, so he might be biased when it comes to the Calder Trophy for this season.

His guy, Tallinder said, is worthy.

"He's up there, from my point of view," Tallinder told FanHouse before a recent game in San Jose.

And even from his perspective, the veteran Swede has to look up to Myers, who is 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds. Myers is also 19 years old. He'll turn 20 next week.

"It's amazing that he's doing

what he's doing at his age," Tallnder said. "The composure he has with the puck, it's unbelievable. The way he moves and skates for a tall kid ... he has it all already."

38

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HipLogic Brings Real-Time Apps to Windows Mobile and Symbian Phones

By Sarah Perez (ReadWriteWeb)

6.5 platforms and Symbian S60 3rd and 5th editions, the software that powers a large number of Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:13:46 AM Nokia handsets.

HipLogic is a new real-time, Once installed, HipLogic users web-based platform intended as can access the included free an alternative user interface for applications like Facebook, some mobile phones. Launching Twitter, CBS News and Sports, t o d a y , t h i s f r e e d o w n l o a d Entertainment Tonight, Disney, currently delivers applications and WeatherBug as well as other like Facebook, news, and Twitter various apps for monitoring to both Windows Mobile and news, finance information, and Symbian devices with plans to RSS feeds. As expected, the offer an Android version of their F a c e b o o k a n d T w i t t e r software sometime in the future. applications allow for status Although both Microsoft and updates, however they don't Nokia have their own mobile appear to be as robust as the application stores, Hiplogic applications found in either the claims to provide a better, "more Windows Mobile or Nokia Ovi iPhone-like" experience than stores. Take the Facebook what's currently available. application, for example. The Sponsor Windows Mobile version Mobile phone owners can integrates with the phone's download the HipLogic software camera for uploading of photos from the company's website or and videos. Nokia's app does the by visiting the mobile site from same. HipLogic's version, on the their phone's web browser, other hand, appears much more m.hiplogic.com. The software basic. works on Windows Mobile 6.0- HipLogic, Before & After

Nokia and Windows Mobile allow background applications, too - it's somewhat confusing as to what problem HipLogic is trying to solve here. While it's true that HipLogic's software is designed to provide real-time notifications, those notifications will only appear when the alternative HipLogic UI is running.

On the plus side, however, HipLogic does provide one single access point for all your In addition to the included a p p s . W h e n y o u l a u n c h applications, there's also a H i p L o g i c , y o u c a n g e t t o HipLogic app store where even e v e r y t h i n g t h a t ' s b e e n more applications are found, downloaded and when it's both free and paid. The software closed, you return to your also works as an alternative web phone's regular UI. And if the browser of sorts as users can pull software, a JavaScript virtual up a search box with a click and m a c h i n e p l a t f o r m , c a n b e perform Google searches without installed on more low-end ever having to launch the phone's "feature phones" in the future, it browser. Another App Store? could indeed bring an iPhoneG i v e n t h a t s o m e o f t h e like app store to those who platforms HipLogic aims to wouldn't otherwise have access support already offer their own to mobile applications. application stores - and both Discuss

Alex Ovechkin's Best Season Yet

By Adam Gretz (FanHouse Main) Submitted at 1/26/2010 4:40:00 AM

Filed under: Capitals It's not a surprise to see Alex Ovechkin's name at the top of the NHL's scoring list (entering play on Tuesday, he trails Henrik Sedin by six points for the league lead) given that he's finished in the top three in three of his first four seasons in the NHL. It could be a surprise, however, to see him up there this season, when he's played in 10 fewer games than the other top scorers in the league.

Tyra Banks' First-Ever Plus-Sized Teen Model Competition (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:47:00 AM

Teens between the ages of 13 and 19 come on down! Tyra Banks is holding the first plussize teen model competition.

"I've always felt it was my mission to expand the narrow

perceptions of beauty; through 'America's Next Top Model,' 'True Beauty' and 'The Tyra Show,' I challenge industry and universal standards by featuring and celebrating non-traditional beauty, and stressing that true beauty is both INSIDE & OUT," Tyra said on her show today

when she announced the contest.

"Today, I'm announcing my FIRST EVER plus-size teen model competition, which I'm calling the 'Fiercely Real Teen Model Search'; plus-size tends to have a negative connotation and I want young girls to realize that what's considered plus-size is the

average American woman. That woman is healthy, fit and beautiful. Adolescence is such an impressionable time in a young woman's life, and I hope this contest helps teen girls discover their own beauty from the inside out."

In addition to the age

requirements, the model wannabes have to wear between a size 12-20 and be between 5feet 9-inches tall and 6-feet 1inch.

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Opera: Facebook Rules the Mobile Web

By Frederic Lardinois (ReadWriteWeb)

-21% With regards to social networks in the U.S., Opera registered a Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:07:14 AM 194% year-over-year growth for Opera just released its latest Facebook.

State of the Mobile Web report. 46.3 million people use Opera MySpace, which hasn't gotten a In this report, Opera focused on Mini every month and these lot of good press lately, managed analyzing the behavior of users users access close to 20 billion to grow 25% in the U.S., while of Opera Mini, the company's pages. the number of users who went to m o b i l e w e b b r o w s e r . It's important to note that some Twitter.com on their OperaWorldwide, Facebook is the of this data is skewed towards enabled mobile phones declined leading social network among the countries and regions where by 21%. Globally, however, Opera Mini users and the social Opera is highly popular. These Twitter grew 2,859%. network saw its traffic from include Russia, Southeast Asia Considering that some of these Opera Mini users increase by and Great Britain. This explains users probably opted to use a 619%. Twitter's global growth the large number of Russian dedicated Twitter client instead rate was close to 2,900%. In the social networks like vKontakte of a mobile browser, these U.S., however, Opera Mini's and spaces.ru in Opera's global numbers by themselves aren't too users are not very interested in top 10. If anything, however, this alarming for Twitter. It could using Twitter. Traffic to Twitter strong bias towards Russian sites also be that very few of the most from Opera Mini users declined makes Facebook's growth rate active Twitter users are also 21% over the course of the last even more impressive.

Opera Mini users. In the context Opera Mini in the U.S. year. of some of the other numbers In the U.S., the most popular around Twitter we have covered Sponsor Opera collects its data from site among Opera users is in the last few weeks, though, users of its Opera Mini browser. Google, followed by Facebook this decline lends more credence As every request is routed and Yahoo. Also in the top 10 to the theory that Twitter isn't through Opera's servers, which a r e W i k i p e d i a , M y S p a c e , attracting a lot of new users in then compress the sites to speed O p e r a ' s o w n h o m e p a g e , the U.S. anymore. Discuss up delivery, Opera is able to YouTube, CNN, ESPN and collect very accurate statistics AccuWeather. Twitter.com's about its user base. In total, over Growth Rate in the U.S. in 2009:

G’day Mates!

By Kay Kremerskothen (Flickr Blog) Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:52:21 AM

• About Flickr Flickr is a revolution in photo

storage, sharing and organization, making photo management an easy, natural and collaborative process. Get comments, notes, and tags on your photos, post to any blog,

39

No Access for the Axis: SourceForge Bows to Government Demands

By Mike Melanson (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:26:00 AM

SourceForge, one of the the primary distribution hubs of the open source software movement, has shut its doors to visitors from a number of countries, saying that it is working to be in compliance with existing U.S. laws. In a blog post yesterday, the site responded to rumors around the Twittersphere that various users from outside the U.S. were now unable to access the site.

The open source movement has always been community based, working outside of standard boundaries and borders, and some see this as going against those basic tenets.

Sponsor Here is the reasoning for the move in SourceForge's own words: Since 2003, the SourceForge.net Terms and Conditions of Use have prohibited certain persons from receiving services pursuant to U.S. laws, including, without share and more! limitations, the Denied Persons Five Filters featured article: List and the Entity List, and Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: other lists issued by the U.S. PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, D e p a r t m e n t o f C o m m e r c e , Term Extraction.

Bureau of Industry and Security.

The specific list of sanctions that affect our users concern the transfer and export of certain technology to foreign persons and governments on the sanctions list.

The site began using automatic IP blocking last week and users from a number of countries, including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria, are now unable to access the site.

While some are calling foul and declaring the premature death of the open source movement, we have to assume that the technologically savvy users accessing the site would know how to get around a simple IPbased filter. Whether using a tool like Tor or a proxy service like HotSpot Shield, it can't be all that difficult to access the site.

The SourceForge blog post reminds that "in addition to participating in the open source community, we also live in the real world, and are governed by the laws of the country in which we are located." Discuss

40

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Did Apple’s Latest Keyboard Update Make Things Worse?

By Liam Cassidy (TheAppleBlog) Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:19:35 AM

Barely a week into the New Year I wrote an article entitled Magic Mouse Drains Keyboard Batteries. The clue is in the title.

According to reports on the Apple Support forum, people were discovering that their diminutive Apple wireless keyboards were suddenly chewing through battery life faster than a first generation iPod in 2010. The Magic Mouse was blamed, and naturally, we wailed and gnashed our teeth.

Well, last night, Apple released version 1.1 of the Aluminum Keyboard Firmware via Software Update. And as a man almost ready to buy Energizer shares ( anything to try to win back the cost of paying for highperformance batteries every week) its description sounded very promising.

“This firmware update improves battery performance of the 2007 aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard when used in combination with other bluetooth devices (eg. Magic Mouse, some bluetooth headsets) and addresses an issue with the 2007 aluminum Apple Keyboard and the 2007 aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard where a key may repeat unexpectedly while typing. The update also addresses other issues.”

Promises Promises; the Aluminum Keyboard Firmware

Update I can’t say I’ve ever experienced the “key repeat” problem but I most certainly have watched in dismay as my keyboard greedily depleted — in record time — every expensive battery I put in the thing. (Remember that scene

in My Stepmother is an Alien when Celeste sucks the flashlight batteries dry? Exactly the same.)

Coincidence?

Not unexpectedly, the update required a restart — but that was a trifling inconvenience in return for longer battery life! In fact, it

was only a few days ago I put in a fresh set of expensive Lithium batteries and I wasn’t eager to have to buy more any day soon. Imagine my surprise when the following message poppedup.

Shocking! Annoying, too. Prior

to the update I could coax 9-14 days out of my batteries. The current batteries have been in for only three days and I’m being told they’re on the way out?

Surely that’s no coincidence.

So what’s happening here? Bad batteries? Or could it be that Apple’s update has made things worse? Mixed Results I headed back to the Apple Support pages to see what was being said. The experience of other Magic Mouse / Wireless Keyboard owners is so far somewhat mixed. Here’s what Creator2456 reports: Did the firmware update […] The keyboard also REFUSES to stay powered on after the update. Already tried several batteries so it is not a power problem. The LED will light when I press the power button and then turn off within 5 seconds without pairing or anything.

Conversely, here’s a more ebullient comment from Xorgoo: It works ! My alu keyboard (3 batteries) is reborn! 1% lost during the night, compare to 10% before.

And then there’s this warning from Freekarrot: This update won’t work on recent 2-cell AWKs, which are heavily affected by the bug as well. Letting out an update just for one of the affected devices is ridiculous. It means they know DID page 43

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41

7 for 7: Last Chance Expectations and Predictions for the Apple Tablet

By Patrick Hunt (TheAppleBlog)

you’ll be blown away.

• Macbook: Record sales in the quarter, strong growth in Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:45:01 AM consumer/retail and education, This is the seventh and last in a outpacing the competition. New series of 7 posts in the 7 days models with faster processors, prior to Apple’s January 27 more memory, more storage, and media event in which I explore more multi-touch. Available various possibilities for an Apple immediately.

Tablet and other potential • iPhone/iPod touch: Crazy announcements. growth domestically and Well, here we are. One more internationally. Far exceeding day until Apple holds its Latest our wildest expectations. Totally Creation event, when all the reinvented the smartphone rumor and speculation about an market. Massive market share Apple Tablet will be subject to and growing. New hardware scrutiny. I won’t be left out. models in June. iPhone: better O v e r t h e l a s t s e v e n d a y s camera, more storage, support (including today), I’ve tried to for Verizon, same pricing. iPod give some thoughtful analysis Touch: camera, video, more about what to expect from Apple storage, same pricing. at tomorrow’s announcement, so • App Store: Billions and you’ll soon know how successful billions served. Here are some I was. Instead of recapping the great examples (show a few previous six days, which you can including games and apps with a c c e s s h e r e , I ’ m t a k i n g a hardware additions like Square). different approach with my final R e a l l y t e r r i f i c d e v e l o p e r predictions. community. We’ve let you If I were to put myself in down. Here’s how we’re going Steve’s shoes and outline a to do it better. More explicit keynote for this event, I think it guidelines about what we’ll would look something like this. approve and what we won’t.

• Mobile: Today we’re here to Decreasing lead times to get apps talk about our mobile products, launched. Better communication and we’ve got an amazing new with reviewers via new web tool product to share with you. I think including chat.

• iPhone OS: Announcing new version. Better overall performance (speed + battery life), new navigation options (integrated homescreen, landscape view of icons, easier way to jump between apps), multitasking, streamlined settings management. Free upgrade for iPhone, $15 for iPod Touch. Available to developers today, consumers in June.

• MobileMe: Over x millions of users. Great way to keep devices in sync, especially contacts and calendars. Innovative features

like Find My iPhone. Expanding MobileMe to “your iLife in the cloud.” Store music, movies and photos by syncing with iTunes and iPhoto. Backup that can be accessed and streamed from anywhere. Now includes feature set of iWork.com, with browserbased editing of all file types.

Available immediately.

• iTunes, iPhone, Apple TV, MobileMe: Great ecosystem for accessing digital content.

Complete rethinking of how they all work together. Easier sharing and seamless movement among

devices. Software updates will being appearing soon.

• Our Latest Creation: iPad tablet computer. 10 multi-touch display, very thin, just one button. Feels great in your hand, believe me. Beautiful, isn’t it?

Incredible way to enjoy digital content: movies, music and photos, but also ebooks and digital periodicals. Solutions for all sectors of publishing (show examples: NYTimes, People, Newsweek, textbook). Frontfacing webcam for iChat video conferencing. Combo docking station + keyboard. New OS X based user interface. Apple Developer Tools (Xcode, etc.) + new emulator. Support for all existing apps, plus updated app spec to optimize for tablet.

Available in March in two models: Wi-Fi only for $899, 3G data with 2-year contract with AT&T or Verizon.

If this prediction is even remotely close, Apple will have hit a home run. How will I do?

Check back after the event for my 7 for 7 recap and scorecard to see how I did. In the meantime, here is the full complement of 7 for 7 posts.

42

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The Coronation of Steve Jobs, King of Content

By Darrell Etherington (TheAppleBlog)

pricing splits for digital music distribution is well known. It is widely accepted that record Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:20:00 AM companies begrudgingly Tomorrow’s event will be a big acquiesce to Apple’s demands, day for Apple, and a big day for although occasionally they those of us who make our living demand a concession, like the following the company’s every iTunes price policy change that move and picking up the bread accompanied the move to DRMcrumbs it drops along the way. free music files.

At the very least, it seems certain Even now, Apple is reportedly that they will unveil some kind trying to use the same strongof game-changing tablet-type arm tactics on providers of device, be it a MacBook Slate or television video content who a large-format iPod touch, or hawk their wares in the iTunes something altogether new. store. MacRumors reports that The format the new hardware the Mac-maker is urging TV takes will actually be only the networks to lower the persuperficial impact of tomorrow’s episode price of content from announcement, though. What $1.99 to $1, as part of its selling will really amaze, and what will strategy for the tablet. matter far more for the future of If the tablet proves to be even A p p l e a n d t h e p e r s o n a l half the multimedia wunderkind electronics industry, will be the it is being hailed as, other media content deals that are announced providers can expect the same alongside the launch of the new kind of pressure brought to bear. device. If the deals go anywhere T h e b o o k , m a g a z i n e a n d near as predicted, Steve Jobs newspaper industry in particular could be crowned the new king stands the least chance of of all media. resisting Apple’s power grab, A l r i g h t , s o m a y b e I ’ m since at this point it’s already overstating things a bit, but not looking for a life raft to save it by much. The story of how from a daunting future steeped in Apple’s iTunes affected the decline. Some rumors are now music industry, and gave the circulating that the tablet will company an amazing degree of ship with a built-in Barnes & control in setting policy and Noble bookstore, but whatever

Selling through Apple also takes a lot of the backshop issues out of the hands of providers. They no longer have to worry about setting up advertising, controlling access, preventing piracy and security exploits, etc.

And the revenue picture becomes much more clear, with a per unit price that stockholders and stakeholders alike can easily understand. Taking the long view, siding with Apple makes sense, even if the upfront price is quite steep in terms of power dynamics.

So will Steve Jobs inherit a kingdom tomorrow? Not quite yet, I think. More like he’ll take control of quite a few lucrative fiefdoms, but it’ll take a little longer to unite the entire media nation and declare himself monarch. Make no mistake, though, this is what the tablet the outcome, you can bet Apple invariably like things that are will accomplish in the long run. will have significant support free, and the Internet makes free It’s the inherited legacy of the from magazine and newspaper easy. The only thing people like iPod and iPhone, in fact, and this providers looking for a lucrative more than free is easy, and is simply the next building block. alternative to print.

Apple’s distribution method Fancy gadgets are lovely, but Where Apple has the advantage, m a k e s t h i n g s v e r y e a s y , what draws customers to those even if it is seen as an unsavory especially if the iTunes store is shiny screens is the content that source of salvation by those married to an extremely light and they’re displaying; control the wary of what its done for the thin portable device with a c o n t e n t , a n d y o u c o n t r o l music industry, is that it isn’t the decent size screen and a range of c o n s u m e r s p e n d i n g .

I n t e r n e t . P e o p l e a l m o s t connectivity options.

First-hand reports of treating patients in Haiti (Holy Kaw!) Submitted at 1/26/2010 7:43:44 AM

If you want to read a first-hand

report about treating patients in Haiti, check out the blog of Dr. Paul Auerbach. Paul was an advisor for Garage Technology

Ventures. He is a professor of He is currently working in an surgery in the Division of emergency facility in Haiti.

Emergency Medicine at Stanford 20+ ways to help Haiti.

University School of Medicine. (Via Healthline)

Photo credit: Wikipedia Permalink| Leave a comment »

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Google Voice Arrives on the iPhone, via the Web

By Darrell Etherington (TheAppleBlog) Submitted at 1/26/2010 7:26:32 AM

Apple can ban all the apps they want, but that apparently won’t stop Google from giving iPhone customers access to Google Voice. As of this morning, iPhone owners can now point mobile Safari at a Google Voice website to gain access to a much more full-featured version of the telephone replacement service.

A mobile browser-based version of Google Voice already existed, but the new one is much more properly a web app than before, and is aimed squarely at providing a better Voice experience to users of Apple’s iPhone. Apple has staunchly refused to allow Google Voice dedicated apps into the App Store, despite earlier claims that Google’s own app had not been rejected, but was merely undergoing review.

That was in July. At this point, it’s fairly obvious that Apple doesn’t want the service on its device, and it’s looking more and more like AT&T isn’t even behind that particular decision, at least not completely. Apple and Google have been in the process of parting ways for quite some

43

DID continued from page 40

what the problem is and how it is solved, but they either don’t know or refuse to acknowledge that ALL AWKs are affected! transcriptions of the calls.

There are a few things that the Conspiracy theories aside, I app cannot do, despite using the really don’t know what to make fancy magic of HTML5 for of this sort of incompatibility. greater degrees of interactivity. It (I’m not sure what else to call it can’t pull from your iPhone’s — ‘Not Playing Nicely Together contact list, as the original -ness” doesn’t sound very smart; dedicated app could, but instead perhaps “malfunction” is better?) it provides contact management I understand Apple doesn’t through a Google Voice address develop its own Bluetooth book that is cloud-based and can drivers (that responsibility is left be accessed from whatever t o B r o a d c o m m , t h e t i m e n o w , a s c o m p e t i t i o n platform you happen to be using. manufacturers of all Bluetooth between the two industry leaders To access the new Google Voice radios in Apple’s machines) but web app, point your browser to even so, for their own equipment grows.

S h o r t o f r e d u c i n g t h e http://m.google.com/voice. Due to behave in such a flaky, capabilities of the iPhone’s to Google Voice not yet being unreliable manner really isn’t the m o b i l e S a f a r i b r o w s e r , o r available in Canada, I haven’t ‘Apple Way’ to which I have actively blocking web-based been able to run this new web become accustomed. It’s all content on the device, there’s app through its paces yet, so supposed to ‘Just Work’, right? little Apple can do to stop iPhone chime in and let us know how it Think about it; if Microsoft users from being able to access performs. Those of you who are w e r e t o b u i l d a b l u e t o o t h the new app. The app now shows using Voice might already be k e y b o a r d a n d m o u s e t h a t , transcribed calls in your inbox, depending on VoiceCentral’s individually, worked just fine and allows you to play them browser based solution for the but, together, played very silly back. You can dial using a iPhone. If so, let us know how games with battery-life, we would be so quick to tut-tut and virtual keypad, and make either the two services compare. shake our heads. We would Related GigaOM Pro Research: voice calls or send SMS that way. Google routes the call • Report: Google’s Mobile chuckle, too, adding ever-sosmugly (in the manner many through your iPhone’s number Strategy Mac-heads are wont to do when • What Does the Future Hold first as a local connection, and commenting on Windows-PCpeople receiving the call will see For Browsers? your Google Voice number on • Will Killer Apps Affect Which based problems) “Well, what do their call display. Finally, you’ll Handsets Consumers Buy? receive notifications of new voicemail via SMS, including

you expect from Microsoft?”

Just prior to the Firmware update, the now-very-happy Xorgoo complained; More Than 100 days, more than 300 posts, and… nothing.

Apple, you have to do something.

And you should at least give us some news.

Do you think time will cure the trouble ? It won’t…

Well, Apple has done something. We now we have an update, but judging from my own initial experience and fresh comments on the Apple support pages, problems remain. Of course, one is a poor sample — my batteries may have already been too far-gone to benefit from the updated firmware. Maybe.

So now it’s over to you. Have you tried updating your firmware? Has it made any sort of difference? Share your findings with me in the comments below. And please… no comments about how we should ditch our Apple keyboards. I don’t care how shiny your Logitech is.

44

Tech Blog/ Entertainment/ Popular News/

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Random NY notes (Scripting News) Submitted at 1/26/2010 7:20:25 AM

I'm in NYC looking for an apartment again.

Did a Rebooting The News with Jay last night. It was done in a studio at NYU, which has advantages (you can hear us well) but also disadvantatges. I hear the podcast ends at exactly 45 minutes, cutting me off in the middle of a sentence. That really sucks because the last few sentences were the best. (Just kidding, but we seriously have to get this under control, we run a loose ship and intend to keep it that way.) It's been worse, once I lost an entire podcast due to a technical mistake. So shit happens. It'll be interesting to do it next week when I'm back in Calif.

There's a certain amount of giddy in the media about the expected tablet announcement from Apple tomorrow. There's this idea that Steve will save the free and professional press, because he values a free and

professional press. Uncle Rex Hammock spills cold water on the idea. Remember what Doc Searls said about software developers when Steve returned to Apple in 1997. Can you imagine how the free and professional press feels when Uncle Steve and his minions fail to approve their writing because it isn't sufficiently flattering to Apple? Somehow this is a loop back to the lesson of this week's RBTN. Perhaps it's better to accept low fidelity in return for the ability to finish a sentence -the way you want to finish it. Or at least let the mistakes you

make be your own.

Meantime, Uncle Barack Obama is making those of us who supported him really sorry for having done so. Freeze budgets?

Robert Reich says that could be bad for the economy. Paul Krugman isn't so reserved. Brad DeLong says his middle name should be "Herbert Hoover." My guess is that it's a lie, he doesn't plan to freeze the budget, any more than Uncle George W Bush meant to get us out of Iraq. He just wants to take the high ground from the Repooobs next election cycle, to deprive them of what he feels might be a very potent soundbite. Either way, pity us. I can't imagine we'd ever elect a president that we'd have higher hopes for than Obama. If he betrays us, well, who won't?

People ask what I think of Google's new synthetic feeds.

Great idea, I'll subscribe in my own aggregator. Oh you say I have to use Google Reader? Not my cup of tea.

Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:10:11 AM

LineHag buzzed up: Obama says bin Laden tape shows

weakness (Reuters) 14 seconds ago 2010-0126T10:41:03-08:00 Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools:

By Hamilton Nolan (Gawker) Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:13:54 PM

The plaintiffs smell blood now.

The New York Post—already the subject of multiple lawsuits c l a i m i n g r a c i s t discrimination—is now being sued for sexism and ageism.

Also, one Post editor allegedly has his own "harem" of hot sexxxy underlings.

It should be noted that the allegations in all these suits should be taken with a grain of salt; even the fact that the New York Post has a demonstrably evil editorial slant does not totally counteract the natural human tendency to smell money in the air.

That said! In this latest suit, veteran NYP photographer Mary McLoughlin alleges that she was pushed out of a job after she became sick and injured. She says that the Post suffers from a pervasive atmosphere of sexism and ageism. After decades of loyal service, she says, the paper started placing unreasonable demands on her—sending her after impossible stories and PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, chastising her for failure, cutting Term Extraction. her out of her normal duties—in

NASA ends effort to free rover from Martian sand (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

New York Post Sued For Sexism: Hot 'Harem' Allegations Abound [Lawsuits]

order to ultimately force her out of her job for good. She tosses in several fun allegations of old white male sexism, like this "Hot jockey" incident: Best of all is the section of McLoughlin's complaint that goes on at length about an alleged "harem" of sexy young women that the boss maintained.

Very amusing!

He of course was the captain of the ship! Only an allegation, folks. We've emailed the NYP's PR firm for a response. In the meantime, if you have any inside knowledge of these allegations, email us.

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45

What's On Tonight: American Idol, Better Off Ted, NCIS: Los Angeles

By Bob Sassone (TV Squad)

Chopped at 10.

• Also at 10: Syfy has a new ECW.

Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:13:00 PM

• TBS has a marathon of The Office all night.

• At 8, ABC has a new Scrubs, followed by a new Better Off Ted. • CBS has a new NCIS at 8, then a new NCIS: Los Angeles.

• NBC has a new, two-hour Biggest Loser at 8, followed by a new Jay Leno Show.

• FOX has new episodes of American Idol and Human Target.

• At 9, ESPN2 has more coverage of The Australian Open.

• Discovery has a new Dirty

Jobs at 9.

• A&E has a new Psychic Kids at 9, then new episodes of Paranormal State and Paranormal Cops.

• History Channel has a new How The Earth Was Made at 9,

followed by a new Life After People.

• There's a new Last Restaurant Standing on BBC America at 9.

• At 10, USA has a new White Collar.

• Food Network has a new

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

Continue reading What's On Tonight: American Idol, Better Off Ted, NCIS: Los Angeles Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

Washington Wizards guard Javaris Crittenton pleads guilty to 1 misdemeanor gun count

By ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com) Submitted at 1/25/2010 1:07:53 PM

WASHINGTON -- Washington Wizards guard Javaris Crittenton has been sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge stemming from a dispute with teammate Gilbert Arenas.

Senior Judge Bruce Beaudin

ordered Crittenton to do outreach work with young people after accepting his plea Monday to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm.

Prosecutors agreed to drop a second misdemeanor charge of attempted carrying a pistol without a license.

Crittenton apologized for what he called an "embarrassment" and said the incident was out of character. His lawyer says the 22

-year-old brought the gun to D.C. because he feared Arenas would carry out threats he had made.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league had no comment at this time.

Arenas pleaded guilty on Jan. 15 to a felony gun charge connected to a locker-room argument that is believed to have involved Crittenton.

Arenas, who is under an

indefinite NBA suspension, will learn the ultimate length of the ban by the end of next week, sources told ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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God of War Collection to release separately in Europe [update]

By Justin McElroy (Joystiq) Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:00:00 PM

Since it hasn't been released there, we had assumed that the only shot our friends in the UK[ Update: We've been told by SCEE that this is coming to all of Europe!] would have at the God of War Collection would be contained inside the monstrous " Ultimate Trilogy Edition."

However, VG247 has relayed a quote from Sony, stating that "there are plans to release the GOW Collection separately" after all.

It's uncertain just when those plans will come to fruition, but it counts as good news for people who don't want to lay out the cash for the limited edition box set ... or those who would prefer not to have a screaming visage of demonic horror on their mantles.

God of War Collection to release separately in Europe [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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46

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Sexy Cowboy Editor Out at Harper's [Magazines]

By Hamilton Nolan (Gawker) Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:35:11 PM

Sexy cowboy Roger Hodge, editor of Harper's for the past four years, is leaving the magazine (for unexplained reasons). His replacement is Ellen Rosenbush, who's been managing editor there for more than 20 years. The full press release, below.

HARPER'S MAGAZINE NAMES ELLEN ROSENBUSH ACTING EDITOR; ROGER HODGE STEPS DOWN New York, N.Y., January 26, 2010-John R. MacArthur, president and publisher of Harper's Magazine, today announced that Ellen Rosenbush would become acting editor of the 160-year-old monthly. Roger D. Hodge is stepping down from his position as editor to pursue other endeavors. The changes are effective February 1.

"One of the most talented magazine editors in New York, Ellen has a wealth of experience and has worked with everyone from Tom Wolfe to Richard Rodriguez to Joyce Carol Oates; she will continue to draw the highest-profile writers in the

country and uphold the quality of the journalism in the magazine," MacArthur said. "We are deeply grateful for Roger's stewardship over the past four years. He brought many welcome innovations to the magazine and website that helped expand the reach of Harper's growing audience."

Rosenbush has been managing editor of Harper's since 1989.

Previously she was managing editor at Connoisseur magazine from 1985 to 1988. From 1982 to 1984, she was copy chief at GEO Magazine, and in the midSeventies, Rosenbush was the copy chief at New Times Magazine. She graduated from Hood College.

Hodge was named editor in 2006. Previously, he served as deputy editor from 2004 until

2006. He joined the magazine's acclaimed Readings section in 1997 and edited the section from 1999 to 2003. Hodge was first hired in 1996 as an intern. He graduated from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and received a master's degree in philosophy from The New School of Social Research.

Founded in 1850, Harper's Magazine (www.harpers.org) is the oldest general-interest monthly in America. The magazine explores the issues that drive the national conversation through such celebrated features as Readings, the Annotation, Findings, and the iconic Index.

Harper's Magazine has received eighteen National Magazine Awards. The magazine is owned and published by the Harper's Magazine Foundation. Monthly previews of the magazine are available for reporters who write about Harper's Magazine: http://www.harpers.org/PR/highl ights/ [Pic via]

Street Chic: New York

By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 1/26/2010 4:00:00 AM

Polka dots and a punch of blue

add personality to winter layers.

Photo: Anne Ziegler Think you are Street Chic? Email us your photo and you could appear in ELLE.com's

Follow ELLE on Twitter.

Become our Facebook fan!

Street Chic Daily.

Fame Monsters Turn Out for Lady Gaga’s Radio City Show

By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 1/25/2010 4:30:59 PM

We’ve spent plenty of time admiring Lady Gaga’s outré fashion choices, but the Fame Monster diva’s fans deserve a nod as well. Our “paparazzi” caught concertgoers strutting their style outside Radio City Music Hall last night at the final installment of Gaga’s sold-out string of gigs. Tell us, which is your favorite look?

—Erin Clements Photos: Marcy Swingle Follow ELLE on Twitter.

Become our Facebook fan!

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47

Gay Actor in Gay Play Forgets If He's in the Closet or Not [Closet Cases]

By Brian Moylan (Gawker) Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:30:15 PM

Ben Whishaw is currently costarring with Hugh Dancy in The Pride off-Broadway. He's so proud he essentially came out to Out magazine. Then why is he in New York magazine talking about being straight?

As both Out EIC Aaron Hicklin and Michael Musto pointed out, it's quite a discrepancy between the two reports. While the actor, who played one of the Bob Dylans in I Am Not There and starred as John Keats in the highly-regarded movie Bright Star earlier this year, doesn't exactly say, "Hey everyone, I am a giant homosexual," he makes it pretty easy to read between the lines. Like every gay actor trying to stay in the professional closet, he goes for the whole "I don't like labels" ploy, but inadvertently puts a label on himself while talking about his gay role in The Pride and another gay role he just finished in a London production subtly titled Cock.

It's intriguing to me that these

parts come along. Of course the choices you make express something about you to the world, and of course the work I do is all about me, but rather than me standing up and making statements about myself and things, I'd prefer to let the work do the speaking.

And The Pride is not some sweet little Brokeback-style love

Claire Danes is as straight as the lines on mirrored coffee table), the first question isn't even about their sexual oritentaion, but a bold supposition that they are both in fact straight, "You're both straight. Did you have any hesitations about taking explicit gay roles?" Actually, you can only read that question in the print edition, since the first sentence has been edited out online (see evidence below).

God, trying to figure out whether Whishaw is gay or not is like trying to play peekaboo while high on poppers. To recap, Whishaw, who doesn't like to be labeled, tells Out that the gay roles he has been playing are really all about him. Then New York assumes that he's straight. affair. It's full of cheating He doesn't correct them (that we husbands, bondage, simulated know of) but someone corrected rape, Nazi fetishism, and the them after it ran in the magazine torture of sexual orientation. so that future generations of Well, since the work is all about internet readers won't think he's confused gay men, does that straight. God, why doesn't a guy mean Whishaw is one too? It have to do to definitively declare would seem so, thanks to New his queerness these days? Get up Y o r k m a g a z i n e . I n M i k e on stage and rape another man in Vilensky's Q&A with Whishaw front of an audience? Oh wait, and costar Dancy (who as Mr. never mind...

Banana Republic’s New BarefootLike Flip-Flops

By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 1/26/2010 7:02:01 AM

With technology usually reserved for bras and mattresses, the masterminds at Banana Republic have created a barefoot -like flip-flop for summer made with memory foam. The $39 sandal, which comes in ten colors and two styles, evokes the feeling of sinking your toes into freshly cut grass—there’s a little give and just the right amount of bounce.

—Violet Moon Gayn or Follow ELLE on Twitter.

Become our Facebook fan!

48

Sports/

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Snow: Vancouver’s Last Piece of the Puzzle (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix)

Vancouver next month for the Winter Olympics will be in Alpine skiing and Absence of buzz over the snowboarding,” Barry Svrluga Winter Olympics has been writes in the Washington Post. deafening — in the U.S., at least. While the U.S. will likely Although it’s likely that c o n t i n u e t o d o m i n a t e audiences will tune in once those snowboarding, as it has since the lugers and speed skaters start sport entered the Olympics in doing their thing, at this point it Nagano in 1998, Vonn looks like appears even Mother Nature can the closest thing to a sure thing b e c o u n t e d a m o n g t h e among the skiers. In a firstuninterested. Reuters Lindsey person piece in the Denver Post, Vonn will have the pleasure of Vonn claims to be “in the zone” skiing on snow at Whistler in as the Games approach.

February.

Many expect an excellent With no snow on the mountains Olympics showing from Vonn, slated for freestyle skiing and though. After Bode Miller snowboard competitions and bombed out at the 2006 Winter none expected before the games Games and disappeared from begin on Feb. 12, Vancouver’s sight for awhile afterwards, no Olympic organizing committee is one knows what to expect from planning to truck in snow for the the American skier. But Miller competitions. There’s a sort of won his first downhill race of the bleak comedy to it. The absence season earlier in January, and is of powder on the hill closest to showing signs of regaining the Vancouver could steal attention form that made him a medal from one of the best collections favorite four years ago. In the of American skiing and B o s t o n G l o b e , T o n y snowboarding talent in recent Chamberlain catches up with memory, including Shaun White, Miller on the comeback trail.* * Lindsey Vonn and the * rejuvenated Bode Miller. (As Sunday’s NFL conference alpine skiers, Vonn and Miller championships got a pretty have the luxury of actual snow t h o r o u g h g o i n g - o v e r i n expected to be fully present and Monday’s Fix, and ordinarily accounted for in Whistler.) we’d leave it there. But with all “Given the state of American our focusing on the victors, one women’s figure skating, and the of the most memorable plays in strong competition the U.S. either game wound up being left men’s hockey team will face — out. It’s not one that Minnesota among other factors — it’s quite Vikings fans want to remember, possible that the marquee squads necessarily, but it’s a good bet the United States will send to that Brett Favre’s confusing rollSubmitted at 1/26/2010 8:14:30 AM

living saint as football has — is generally beyond the pale.

Hearing ESPN commentator Tom Jackson’s on-air apologetics for the play — “That’s the thing about Brett Favre. He’s not afraid to throw an interception,” Jackson said. right, throw-left interception at “That’s one of the things I most the end of regulation — a typical admire about him” — pushed the bit of gun-slinging from the buttons of NBC Sports blogger occasionally too-creative future Craig Calcaterra.

Hall of Famer — will remain in “I thought that was some of the their memories for some time. best suck-up-inspired denial of Monday morning quarterbacking reality from a commentator I’ve isn’t really a good look, but it’s heard in ages, so I quickly worth asking: What the heck tweeted the following for laughs: ‘That’s the thing about Bill happened there?

In Sports Illustrated, Joe Buckner. He’s not afraid to muff Posnanski wonders why Favre a grounder. That’s one of the chanced the turnover instead of things I most admire about him,’ picking up a few yards on the ” Calcaterra blogs. “Worried that ground and giving his team a people may not get the joke, I shot at a potential game-winning applied a #FavreRulesForAll tag field goal. “Here is one of the on it. I giggled to myself for t o u g h e s t p l a y e r s i n N F L approximately four seconds, shut history,” Posnanski writes. “Here my computer down and went to is a man who, unquestionably, sleep.” Calcaterra awoke to plays football with joy and discover that he had started a full fervor. Here is Brett Favre who -fledged Twitter meme.* * * American soccer standout had brought the Vikings back IN THIS VERY GAME. So: What Charlie Davies was lucky to be makes Brett Favre NOT run? I alive after a scary one-car crash suppose there could be a pretty back in October that left him interesting novel written about with multiple broken bones and that. But I don’t think anyone internal injuries. While fans hoped that he’d return to the would want to read it.”

Vikings radio announcer Paul pitch eventually, it seemed clear Allen’s disgusted call of the pick then that Davies would not be has already become an Internet rejoining the U.S. team for the classic. But for others in the 2010 World Cup. That is notably football commentariat, criticizing less clear today, as Davies Favre — who is as close to a continues a stunning comeback that could put him on the field

when play starts in South Africa.

At ESPN’s Soccernet, Ives Galarcep describes Davies’s astonishing improvement. “As amazing as his recovery has been up to this point, there is still much work to be done,” Galarcep writes. “He still has to get through one more surgery before a return to the practice field. Even then, the playing field will provide the real measure of just how realistic a full recovery in time for the World Cup will be. As far-fetched as that comeback may still sound, it is hard to bet against Davies considering how far he has already come.”* * * The Tampa Bay Lightnings owners are reportedly estranged, the franchise is reportedly in default on its debt to former ownership, and according to Sports Business Daily the franchise only made payroll due to infusions of cash from the NHL and television rights holder Sun Sports on separate occasions in the last year. So, no, things aren’t going that well for the Lightning. But the show must go on. In the St. Petersburg Times, Damian Cristodero describes the plight of the Lightning’s players, who have no choice but to keep battling for a playoff spot while their organization teeters.

It’s a big comedown for the team that won the Stanley Cup (under different ownership) in SNOW: page 51

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49

Marin Cilic survives five-setter vs. Andy Roddick, advances to Australian Open semifinals

By ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com) Submitted at 1/26/2010 6:49:22 AM

Rafa Retires, Murray Advances Rafa Retires, Murray Advances VIDEO PLAYLIST • Rafa Retires, Murray Advances Rafa Retires, Murray Advances • Cilic Tops Roddick In Five Sets Cilic Tops Roddick In Five Sets • What Does the Future Hold for Rafa? What Does the Future Hold for Rafa?

MELBOURNE, Australia -Defending Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal and American No. 7 seed Andy Roddick made painful exits from the tournament in Tuesday's quarterfinals.

Nadal was forced to retire with an injured knee during his match with No. 5 Andy Murray, while Roddick, playing with an injured shoulder for five sets, lost to Marin Cilic.

Murray was leading No. 2ranked Nadal 6-3, 7-6 (2), 3-0 when the Spaniard said he could not continue. Murray is the first

British man in 25 years to reach the semifinals in Australia.

Nadal, who struggled with knee tendinitis and was unable to defend his Wimbledon title last season after beating Roger Federer in the Australian Open final, received on-court treatment from a trainer for a right knee ailment after losing the second set.

Three games later, the Spaniard decided he couldn't continue.

Nadal said he didn't want to risk more damage by playing and potentially having to spend long periods off the tour with knee tendinitis.

"Similar thing that I had last year," Nadal said of the pain. "It was impossible to win the match."

"I didn't know when he hurt his knee, when he started feeling it, but from my side, I played very well," said Murray, who is hoping to end a seven-decade British drought at the majors. "I deserved to be up when the match stopped."

The 22-year-old Scot can hardly wait to play his semifinal against Cilic.

"I lost to him at the U.S. Open in

straight sets, so I'm looking for a little revenge," Murray said. "If I play like I did tonight, I have got a good chance. Obviously, nerves are going to be there with an opportunity to make a final of a Slam."

Murray's only Grand Slam final appearance ended in a loss to Federer at the 2008 U.S. Open.

Complete results Need the scores from any match played in today's Australian Open? Results Nadal predicted the Scottish player will end his Grand Slam title drought by winning the Open.

"There's a very good chance for him. First thing, he's playing very well," Nadal said. "Second thing, he's already in the semifinals. He's only two matches away."

The 21-year-old Cilic, who ousted U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round, became the first Croatian man to reach an Australian Open semifinal with his 7-6 (4), 6-3, 36, 2-6, 6-3 win.

Roddick hurt his shoulder late in his five-set fourth-round win over former Australian Open

runner-up Fernando Gonzalez and said that, during the first set against Cilic, it was painful to serve and hit high forehands.

Roddick said he had numbness in the fingers on his right hand and pain stemming from the shoulder and only played on after the trainer told him there wasn't a high risk of permanent damage.

"From that stage, it was pretty much just go," Roddick said.

Roddick said he didn't practice on Monday after feeling a twinge in his shoulder during Sunday's fourth-round match against Gonzalez.

"The trainer said it was stemming from the neck down," Roddick said. "By the end of the first set, I was pretty numb in the bottom two fingers. I could still hit it pretty hard; I was just having trouble controlling it."

Cilic earned the pivotal service break at the start of the fifth set and held off Roddick, who has not come back from two sets down in a major since his semifinal win over David Nalbandian at the 2003 U.S. Open.

His exit at Melbourne continues

a record drought for American men at the majors, extending beyond six years since Roddick's last title at the '03 U.S. Open.

It also continued a sequence for Roddick, who has made the Australian Open semifinals each odd-numbered year since 2003, but never made the final.

Cilic said he had momentum from three five-set matches in Melbourne and knew he could lift in the fifth.

"It wasn't easy, but I've got experience during the week here," Cilic said. "I had a few extra gears."

Still in the equation at Melbourne Park is three-time champion Federer, who plays Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Novak Djokovic, the 2008 champion, takes on the same year's runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the other quarterfinal.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

MediaDailyNews: MTV Won't Pay 'Jersey Shore' Demands (MediaPost | Media News) Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:37:48 AM

MTV bosses refuse to be strong-

armed by the "Jersey Shore" cast, who are demanding $10,000 an episode, reports the New York Post. Sources say

MTV reps have been touring Jersey Shore bars for new stars for the next season. If the cast doesn't lower its demands, they

will be replaced.

Term Extraction.

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The Count: Auction Off NFL Overtime Possession (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix)

seems particularly unfair when the team that calls out “heads” or “tails” correctly takes the ball A team goes 12-4 in the NFL and scores to end the suddenregular season, forces overtime, death extra period and sink its loses the coin flip and loses the opponent. And this has been game in OT without ever getting happening more than before, an offensive possession — t h a n k s t o t h e g e n e r a l l y sparking controversy and a increasing accuracy of field-goal discussion of rule changes. It kickers from long range — 21 of happened to the Minnesota 61 on kicks of 50 yards or more Vikings on Sunday night in the in 1989, 42 of 87 in 1999 and 55 NFC championship game against of 104 this season— and the the New Orleans Saints, and it NFL’s decision to move kickoff h a p p e n e d l a s t y e a r t o t h e tees back to the 30-yard-line in I n d i a n a p o l i s C o l t s , N e w 1994. Both those changes Orleans’s opponent in the Super diminished the number of yards Bowl. Last January the Colts lost teams need to gain to set up a to the Chargers in the wild-card potential game-winning kick, round, 23-17, after San Diego m a k i n g t h e O T r u l e m o r e won the toss and brought the ball problematic than when it was i n f o r a g a m e - w i n n i n g instituted for the playoffs in the touchdown. Associated Press 1950s, and for the regular season The Saints marched down the in the mid-1970s. field to set up this winning field The results lately have been goal without the Vikings getting striking. In 2008, Brian Burke the ball in OT. noted that receiving teams in OT In both cases, the dispute had won 60% of the time since centered on determining initial 2000, about half of those times overtime possession by coin flip. on their first possession. After That’s always arbitrary, but the Vikings-Saints game, Burke Submitted at 1/25/2010 1:23:26 PM

wrote that the receiving teams’ winning percentage remained roughly the same since 2000, and that the proportion that won on their first possession had risen.

Nearly half of overtime games over the last two seasons have ended with the receiving team scoring on its first possession.

Because no team can credibly claim to have mastered the art of calling out the right side of the coin, this inequity has cut both ways for most teams. The Saints, for instance, lost to the Bears last year in much the same way they beat the Vikings — and that loss helped sink New Orleans’s playoff hopes. The Colts, meanwhile, perhaps had that Chargers loss coming to them after beating San Diego in

similar fashion four years earlier.

But just the year before, the Colts lost such a game against Carolina, which prompted me to solicit several alternatives to the coin-flip system from various economists and football men.

After all, perhaps in the long run teams’ coin-flip luck evens out, but it would still be a very good thing to make the outcome of individual games more fair.

My favorite idea for a new OT system is that of an auction, in which each team bids for starting field position. The team that is willing to start with worse field position would be awarded the ball. Its opponent can’t complain because it doesn’t deem such a field position advantageous. Last year Slate’s Tim Harford reviewed the history of such a proposal, and suggested a fun scenario in which the referee would act as auctioneer. That’s better than a coin flip from both an entertainment and a fairness perspective.

Mapping global shipping routes (Holy Kaw!) Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:37:52 AM

Scientists armed with a year’s worth of GPS tracked travel itineraries from 16,693 cargo ships have created the first comprehensive map of global shipping routes. The tracking project revealed cargo ship hot spots like the busiest port in the world, the Panama Canal. The research will appear in a forthcoming issue of Journal of the Royal Society: Interface. (via Wired) All the best Wired stories.

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Saints Ignore Their True Hero: Joe Horn

By Terence Moore (FanHouse Main) Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:42:00 AM

Filed under: Saints, Super Bowl When the New Orleans Saints began their march to the Super

Bowl this season, the hidden but visible man who helped make all of this possible sat just shy of Pluto on the 600 level of the Louisiana Superdome.

It was disgusting. I mean, McAllister, the Saints' all-time nothing against Deuce

leading rusher who was asked by franchise officials to lead the team onto the field for its home playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals, but he is no Joe Horn.

Nobody is. Not in the annals of New Orleans history, where

Horn ranks with Bourbon Street, Louis Armstrong and Mardi Gras.

Even so, the Saints are treating Horn like spoiled gumbo.

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2004, but the Lightning’s struggles aren’t necessarily a stunner, Erik Erlendsson argues in the Tampa Tribune. “After a year in which money was thrown around by ownership as if it had been handed a new credit card with no interest and no payments until 2012, it’s no surprise they have come to a point where the ability to keep the team moving forward is in question,” Erlendsson writes.* * * At the age of 25, Dale BeggSmith has already experienced stunning success in two wildly different careers. By the time the Canadian-born mogul skier — who competes for Australia, the nation to which he moved at age 15 — won Olympic gold in 2006, he had already made millions as an Internet advertising entrepreneur. It would be an overstatement, though, to say that the young

man from Vancouver has “enjoyed” that success. Instead of being lauded for his accomplishment in his two fields of endeavor, Begg-Smith has become something of a villain in two countries.

“As the Canadian media took shots at Mr. Begg-Smith for having left the country, much of the Australian media were just noticing his existence,” the Journal’s Kevin Helliker writes.

“Instead of embracing him, the Australian media discovered that some self-appointed Internet police were accusing Mr. BeggSmith and one of his companies, AdsCPM.com, of peddling invasive software. ‘Spam Man Wins Gold,’ read one Australian headline.”* * * Dayton Webber lives with his family in Charles County, Va., and is, like many 11-year-olds, ardent in his love of sports. What

sets Webber apart is that his arms and legs were amputated when he was an infant, in response to a life-threatening bacterial infection. Despite these limitations, the Washington Post’s Ruben Castaneda reports, Webber doesn’t just play sports, he competes — in wrestling, football, skateboarding and a host of other pursuits. It’s an inspiring story, obviously, but Castandeda’s piece is nicely grounded by Webber’s smilingly defiant, no-big-deal toughness.

Found a good column from the world of sports? Don’t keep it to yourself — write to us at dailyfix@wsj.com and we’ll consider your find for inclusion in the Daily Fix. You can email David at droth11@gmail.com.

Time Now for Warriors To Retire Nelson

By Tim Povtak (FanHouse Main) Submitted at 1/26/2010 3:12:00 AM

Filed under: Warriors The amazingly-loyal fans of the Golden State Warriors deserve better than this. It's just too painful to watch anymore.

Sadly, it's time to pull the plug now on coach Don Nelson.

Nelson, 69, is just 11 victories away from becoming the winningest coach in NBA history - he has 1,322 -- but at this rate, the woeful Warriors might take another two years to get him there.

There is no reason to wait, no reason to torture the Bay area faithful any longer. They won 29 games last season. They will be lucky to win 20 this season.

They are a team wrecked by injuries, and left vulnerable by the way he helped construct them.

As he slowly marches toward (Financial Times - US s y s t e m r e v e r t b a c k t o t h e banks, and the proposed“Volcker that record - it's as slow as beach homepage) “business as usual” attitude that rule” limiting the size and erosion - it's hard to imagine any less anticipation for what should applied before the crisis. activities of US banks.

Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:18:07 AM On the eve of the World Five Filters featured article: be one of the league's all-time The world’s big banks on Economic Forum in Davos, Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: Tuesday warned that unless senior bankers deplored the PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, countries adopted a co-ordinated f r a g m e n t a t i o n o f g l o b a l Term Extraction. approach to banking reforms, regulatory initiatives that have their ability to lend would be seen bonus taxes introduced in damaged and the financial the UK and France, a US levy on

Big banks call for greater financial coordination

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great achievements. Losing has killed off the joy. His journey is hardly being noticed. At this rate, Lenny Wilkens with 1,332 coaching wins might be safe for some time.

Nelson has won game consistently over his 31-year career as an innovator -- the Warriors might even win Tuesday night against equally dreadful Sacramento - but he hasn't won much lately. And he is not going to win many in the future.

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- How you can ask Obama questions (and get answers) (Holy Kaw!) Submitted at 1/26/2010 6:31:00 AM

This Wednesday, U.S. president Barack Obama will deliver his State of the Union speech—but this time you can follow it on the White House’s live webstream as well as their iPhone app.

While this in itself is exciting, what’s more important is the follow-up to Obama’s speech, where viewers will be able to submit questions (and vote on user’s questions) over at the CitizenTube channel on YouTube. According to CitizenTube:

By Ben Gilbert (Joystiq) resident claims that "an invoice Facebook page(it's a brave new Aside from his current lawsuit, “This year’s State of the Union he received early this month world, folks) calls the suit a Mr. Lassoff previously sued Submitted at 1/26/2010 11:30:00 AM speech will also make history. It from Microsoft included charges "class action on behalf of several G o o g l e , Y a h o o , a n d I A C will be the first time that citizens [ Image credit: bloomsberries] f o r p u r c h a s e s h e c o u l d n ' t million US customers exposed to Interactive in 2006 -- all three will have the opportunity to ask I n a l a w s u i t f i l e d b y c o m p l e t e d u e t o a b a l k y Microsoft Point fraud." Citing suits were eventually dropped. follow-up questions during the Philadelphia-area lawyer Samuel download system," according to "fraud, breach of contract, [Thanks, Zo] speech — and to hear the Lassoff, Microsoft is being sued an InformationWeek.com report. negligence, unjust enrichment, Class-action suit charges president’s response to those for allegedly taking money from Furthermore, he contends that and unfair business practices," Microsoft with fraud originally questions.” consumers for Microsoft Points t h i s w a s n o a c c i d e n t o n Lassoff seeks a "full refund to all appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 (Via Mashable) that were erroneously used M i c r o s o f t ' s p a r t .

US consumers of all Microsoft Jan 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please Stay on top of social media. during "incomplete and/or partial When we called Mr. Lassoff's Points fraudulently charged to see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink| Leave a comment » downloads of digital goods and law office for comment, we were consumers for incomplete or Read| Permalink| Email this| services and refused refund of met with a disconnected number partial downloads of purchased Comments s a m e . " T h e H o r s h a m , P a . message. However, the lawsuit's digital goods and services."

Class-action suit charges Microsoft with fraud

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Geithner braced for questions on AIG bail-out (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:32:25 AM

The New York Federal Reserve and Tim Geithner, its former president and current Treasury secretary, will come under increased pressure on Wednesday on Capitol Hill, following the release of more emails relating to the bail-out of AIG. Mr Geithner and Thomas Baxter, general counsel of the New York Fed, will be crossexamined by members of the

By David Hinkle (Joystiq) reticle not in the center of the By Griffin McElroy (Joystiq) Check out GamerBytes' full list House oversight committee screen, but there's also a HUD Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:30:00 PM of sales data for more interesting armed with thousands of pages Submitted at 1/26/2010 1:00:00 PM item scrubbed out. Whatever tidbits about the platform's sales. o f e - m a i l t r a f f i c b e t w e e n Click image to Spartan-size could it be?

When we wrote initially about For instance, it might interest officials from the regional We hope you wanted to see a We know the internet has had James Silva's twin-stick Xbox y o u t o k n o w t h a t R u m b l e branch of the central bank. bunch of screens from Halo: way more experience than us in Live Indie Game, I MAED A Massage was the 6th-highest Five Filters featured article: R e a c h t o d a y . B u n g i e h a s putting Halo stuff under the G A M 3 W 1 T H Z 0 M B 1 E S selling XBL Indie Game of Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: uploaded a ton of new images, microscope, so we leave the 1NIT!!!1, the words "smash hit" 2009. Oh, sorry, did we say PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, showing off environments and guesstimating up to you. Best didn't exactly come to mind. "interest?" We meant "horrify." Term Extraction. g a m e p l a y , a s w e l l a s a n one wins our undying love and H o w e v e r , a c c o r d i n g t o Xbox Live Indie Games 2009 extensive collection of concept admiration forever!

GamerBytes' breakdown of the sales compiled, Z0MB1ES on art(all compiled in the gallery Gallery: Halo: Reach Indie Games platform's sales top originally appeared on below). You'll also find some [Thanks, Omer] over the past year, that's exactly Joystiq on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 character bios on Bungie's site, if Bungie releases Halo: Reach what it was -- it outsold every 13:30:00 EST. Please see our you plan on getting to know your screens, concept art and bios other game on the service, terms for use of feeds. squad of Spartans a little better. originally appeared on Joystiq on moving 160,000 units at $1 a Read| Permalink| Email this| The images are generally full of Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST. pop, which brought in $112,000 Comments the things you'd expect at this Please see our terms for use of i n p r o f i t f o r i t s h u m b l e point: Spartans; Covenant; and feeds. developer, Ska Studios. general Halo-y goodness, but Read| Permalink| Email this| one image in particular is very Comments curious to us. Not only is the

Bungie releases Halo: Reach screens, concept art and bios

Xbox Live Indie Games 2009 sales compiled, Z0MB1ES on top

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iPhone port of Plants vs.

Zombies delayed, coming mid-February

By Griffin McElroy (Joystiq)

- however, the use of asterisks in the message above makes us Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:30:00 PM certain that PopCap is telling the If you prefer your zombie- truth this time. See, asterisks are slaying iPhone Apps to be a bit like little truth symbols. Check more botanical in nature, you're this out: "Man, Beaches is my going to have to hold out for a *favorite* movie of all time." little longer than you may have Totally, totally true. anticipated. A recent PopCap [Via ShackNews] Tweet explained that the initial iPhone port of Plants vs. "late January" launch window of Zombies delayed, coming midPlants vs. Zombies for the February originally appeared on iPhone is no longer accurate. Joystiq on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 "The game has been further 12:30:00 EST. Please see our delayed, but we are *confident* terms for use of feeds. it will launch in mid Feb," Read| Permalink| Email this| PopCap explained.

Comments This isn't great news for fans of the pseudo-tower defense game -

SAG Awards: Top Ten Style Stars

By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 1/25/2010 11:52:34 AM

In past years, style at the SAG Awards has run the gamut from original (Angelina Jolie wearing her flowing BCBG silk dress backwards last year) to bold (Kate Hudson in bohemian Balmain in 2008). At this year’s show there were some chic surprises (Meryl Streep in

Balenciaga) and hot-off-therunway looks (Kate Hudson in Emilio Pucci, Anna Paquin in Alexander McQueen, and Nicole Kidman in Oscar de la Renta) that worked just as well on the red carpet. Here, the dresses that made my top ten list.

Tell me, which were your favorite looks of the evening? —Violet Moon Gayn or Top row (left to right): Kate Hudson in Emilio Pucci, Marion

Cotillard in Elie Saab Haute Couture, Jennifer Carpenter in Paule Ka, Anna Paquin in Alexander McQueen, Meryl Streep in Balenciaga, and Nicole Kidman in Oscar de la Renta Bottom row (left to right): Diane Kruger in Jason Wu, Carey Mulligan in Lanvin, Tina Fey in Salvatore Ferragamo, and Sandra Bullock in Alexander McQueen Follow ELLE on Twitter.

Become our Facebook fan!

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Jennifer Hudson, The SAG Awards, Tracy Morgan: A Weekend to Remember

By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 1/25/2010 12:15:30 PM

Most Monday mornings I have very little to contribute when asked how my weekend went. I know most inquirers are just being polite and don’t give a flip, and among those who actually do want to know, they change their minds about halfway through me telling them that I sat in my tiny apartment, On Demanded a straight-to-DVD Steven Seagal movie (don’t trust the lone review on Rotten Tomatoes, Pistol Whipped was brilliant), overshared to my parents about my love life for two plus hours, and scraped away half a can of whipped white frosting with a tiny fork.

So usually I just pass that baton back to them.

This weekend, however, was rich with happenings—at least in the pop cultural sense. Here, I’ve rounded up my Top 5, ranging from a powerful musical tribute to Tracy Morgan’s not naked torso to the loss of a classic film star.

Enjoy.

Jennifer Hudson’s Does a Beatles Song Good—Really, Really Good Friday night was all about the Hope for Haiti Now telethon. All the musical performances are

worth a $.99 iTune purchase, but Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of The Beatles’ classic was, in my opinion, the evening’s emotional high point. Girl can sing.

Jean Simmons (1929-2010) Also on Friday, only a week shy of her 81st birthday, British screen legend Jean Simmons lost her battle with lung cancer. An award winning actress (that’s her holding her first Golden Globe for her performance in 1955’s Guys and Dolls) perhaps most well-known for her role as the

seen…watch this again. You’ll come around quick.

Tracy Morgan honored for the clothes he wore, not for those he shed It’s a weird, weird weekend when Tracy Morgan gets a fashion nod. Regularly singled out for being the original ‘The Situation’, Morgan’s fondness for public shirt-lifting has spanned years, television genres, and levels of meta, as both he and his character on 30 Rock have regularly demonstrated. But last night, in one of the few reviews of theirs I didn’t tilt my head at, the E! Fashion Police panel of Giuliana, Khloe, Jay and Joan honored Morgan and his Joseph Abboud tux with its ‘best dressed male’ award. I’m sure Jenna was thrilled for him.

Snack Game Changer: Coconut M&Ms stunning slave girl in Spartacus, A few years ago, even after her the gamine Ms. Simmons was noteworthy performance in Holy Jesus Mother of Mary, not only an accomplished actress Crash, you couldn’t pay me to have you tried these? They’re who has the very cool distinction see a Sandra Bullock movie. But n e w a n d t h e y a r e b e y o n d of having portrayed both Estella I gotta say, loving everything beyond. Smack yourself out of (in 1946) and Miss Havisham (in about The Blind Side aside, after the depression brought on by the 1989) during her 55 year career, her best actress acceptance end of pumpkin season and get but was also, as I found out only speech at Saturday night’s SAG yourself a bag of these brand weeks before her passing, my Awards, I have done a full 180 new, limited edition Coconut d a d ’ s l o n g e s t r u n n i n g on this woman. She is humble, M&Ms. Lunch is done!

Hollywood crush. If you haven’t she is hilarious, she wore —Johanna Cox Photos: Getty Images, watched one of her films, add McQueen like a goddess, and if remedying that to your list of her relationship with Jesse James WireImage and Mars, Inc. 2010 resolutions. isn’t the most inspiring, smileAll Hail, McQueen Sandra inducing thing you’ve ever

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Fla. woman fights ruling that kept her in hospital (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

worries it could prevent women from seeking prenatal care.

State Attorney Willie Meggs T A L L A H A S S E E , F l a . – stands by his decision to seek the Samantha Burton wanted to court order after being contacted leave the hospital. Her doctor by the hospital. "This is good strongly disagreed, enough to go people trying to do things in a to court to keep her there. right fashion to save lives," he She smoked cigarettes during said, "whether some people want the first six months of her them saved or not." pregnancy and was admitted on a Burton is in her late 20s, has false alarm of premature labor. two young daughters and a Her doctor argued she was common-law husband and holds risking a miscarriage if she didn't down a blue-collar job, said her quit smoking immediately and lawyer, David Abrams. She stay on bed rest in the hospital, didn't want an abortion, had and a judge agreed. obtained prenatal care and Three days after the judge voluntarily went to the hospital ordered her not to leave the after experiencing symptoms hospital, Burton delivered a she'd been told to look out for, he stillborn fetus by cesarean said. section.

But she didn't like the care she And six months after the r e c e i v e d a t T a l l a h a s s e e pregnancy ended, the dispute Memorial Hospital. She said her over the legal move to keep her doctor, Jana Bures-Foresthoefel, in the hospital continues, raising was brusque and overbearing. questions about where a mother's Her lawyer said bed rest for right to decide her own medical d i f f i c u l t p r e g n a n c i e s i s a treatment ends and where the controversial issue because it can priority of protecting a fetus cause some complications like begins. blood clots. Abrams said "The entire experience was smoking by itself doesn't cause horrible and I am still very upset miscarriages. about it," Burton said through The mother said she wanted the her lawyer. "I hope nobody else option to seek care at another has to go through what I went hospital or to go home so she through." could care for her two daughters.

Burton, who declined to be "I was desperately hoping to interviewed, is appealing the receive the care I needed to save judge's order. She isn't asking for my baby," Burton wrote in her money but hopes to keep her statement. "However, after a few case from setting a precedent for days there, I did not feel I was legal control over women with receiving the care I needed, and problem pregnancies. She also instead of being allowed to leave Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:43:59 AM

or go to another hospital, I found myself being ordered by a judge to stay at Tallahassee Memorial and submit to all medical care from its hospital staff, whether I agreed or not."

The doctor and hospital officials declined to comment, referring calls to the state prosecutor.

American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Diana Kasdan said if the ruling stands it could lead to the state virtually taking over the lives of pregnant women, including telling them what they should or should not eat and drink and what medications they must take.

"It would be a horrible precedent," Kasdan said.

The state disputes that scenario, arguing Burton's case is rare — the only one out of 30,000 births in the Tallahassee area over the last 10 years.

Abrams said Burton's condition didn't merit such extreme action.

Her symptoms were not that unusual, she wasn't in active labor and the state failed to show why bed rest at Tallahassee Memorial would have been any better than at another hospital or home, he said.

The judge ruled the best interests of the fetus overrode Burton's privacy rights, but Abrams disputes that. He notes the Florida Constitution, unlike its federal counterpart, has an explicit and strong privacy right, which the state Supreme Court has said guarantees a competent person the right to "choose or

refuse medical treatment."

"If you apply the best interest of the child standard, the woman becomes nothing more than a fetal incubator owned by the state of Florida," Abrams said.

Circuit Judge John Cooper held an emergency hearing by telephone and ruled after taking testimony from Burton and Bures-Foresthoefel, but without obtaining a second medical opinion. The doctor said Burton's membranes had ruptured, that she was having early contractions and the fetus was in a breech position.

Judicial rules bar Cooper from commenting on pending cases beyond what is said in the court record.

Meggs, the prosecutor, said there was no time to get a second opinion because the situation was so dire: Burton was threatening to leave the hospital and her doctor believed that would have endangered the fetus.

"Sometimes there is not time for two doctors," Meggs said. "It's not time for a committee."

A three-judge panel of Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal heard oral argument earlier this month but has not indicated when it will rule.

There have been a few other cases nationwide that involve similar efforts by courts to intervene in pregnancies: • In 1987, a Washington, D.C., judge ordered a woman who was dying of cancer to have a Csection, which she had refused,

to save her fetus. The baby died within two hours of delivery and the mother died two days later.

An appeals court later ruled the judge should not have ordered the C-section.

• In 2003, prosecutors in Salt Lake City charged an acknowledged cocaine addict who had a history of mental health problems with murder when she refused to have a Csection for two weeks before finally agreeing to the procedure.

One of her twins died in the womb during the delay. Through a plea deal, the charge was later reduced to child endangerment.

• In 2004, a hospital in WilkesBarre, Pa., obtained a court order to force a woman to have a Csection because her seventh baby was oversized, but the order was too late. The mother, whose first six children each weighed nearly 12 pounds at birth, went to another hospital and delivered an 11-pound, 9-ounce girl naturally.

• Also in 2004, a judge in Rochester, N.Y., ordered a homeless woman not to get pregnant again without court approval after she lost custody of several neglected children.

Dr. Michael Grodin, a physician and professor of health law, bioethics and human rights at Boston University, said doctors should never resort to court orders.

"People have the absolute right FLA. page 57

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Report: Nancy Kerrigan's Brother 'Apathetic' After Dad Dies (FOXNews.com) Submitted at 1/26/2010 7:16:26 AM

The brother of former Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was "apathetic," saying he didn't have anyone to call for his one call from jail, according to a police report, the Boston Herald reported.

Mark Kerrigan said "ya, whatever," when asked by police if he understood his rights, the Herald reported.

Kerrigan was arrested and charged with assault in connection with the death of his and Nancy's father, who was found unresponsive inside the family's home on Sunday.

Emergency crews were sent to Kerrigan's childhood home in Stoneham, Mass., at approximately 1:45 a.m. Sunday after receiving reports of an unresponsive man at the scene.

Police later identified the man as Kerrigan's 70-year-old father, Daniel, and labeled the death suspicious.

Click here to read more from MyFoxBoston.com.

At his arraignment on Monday, the son, Mark Kerrigan, repeatedly rubbed the knuckles of his handcuffed hands and pleaded not guilty to assaulting 70-year-old Daniel Kerrigan at

the family's home in the Boston suburb of Stoneham, where he had been living with his parents.

The 45-year-old put his head in his hands and wept but did not speak at his arraignment.

Nancy Kerrigan, a two-time Olympic medal winner, arrived at the family home Monday afternoon and left a couple of hours later without saying anything to reporters waiting outside.

Family members said the death of Daniel Kerrigan, who rushed to the sobbing Nancy and carried her into a locker room after the 1994 attack on her, was unrelated to the argument with his son early Sunday. Daniel Kerrigan's wife, Brenda Kerrigan, told the Boston Herald newspaper her husband died of a heart attack and there was nothing suspicious about the death.

Mark Kerrigan, who has a history of domestic violence arrests and was sued by his parents to recover money they spent for taking care of his home while he was in jail, was being held on $10,000 bail. He was released from jail in 2007, according to his lawyer, but it wasn't immediately clear why he was serving time or for how long he served.

The death of Daniel Kerrigan comes as the national spotlight again turns to one of the most popular sports in the upcoming Olympic Games, just weeks away. The intensity of competition among skaters was never more apparent than in 1994, when an assailant clubbed Nancy Kerrigan on her right knee during practice at the U.S. Championships.

An investigation later revealed rival Tonya Harding had knowledge of the planning of the attack, and U.S. Figure Skating banned her for life.

Daniel Kerrigan, a welder, and his wife nurtured the love of skating in their daughter, who was a self-described tomboy with two hockey-playing big brothers. He drove a Zamboni ice-cleaning machine at the local rink in exchange for practice ice time, and he and his wife took out a second mortgage on their home to help pay for Nancy's skating lessons.

The family, which pleaded for privacy Monday, said in a brief statement that Daniel Kerrigan was a "wonderful husband" and "a caring and loving father," but it made no mention of the charge against Mark Kerrigan.

Daniel Kerrigan was found on the floor of his home,

FLA. continued from page 56

to refuse treatment ...," Grodin said. "It's unconscionable. ... It's an affront to women."

Five Filters featured article: Term Extraction.

Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS,

unconscious, by officers responding to an emergency call at 1:30 a.m. Sunday. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, and results of an autopsy were pending.

Police said Mark Kerrigan appeared intoxicated when he was found on a couch in the basement of the home and was "belligerent and combative" but coherent when questioned.

"He stated that he wanted to use the phone and his father would not let him," the arresting officer wrote in a report. "He said he struggled with his father and put his hands around his father's neck and his father fell to the floor."

The officers said they saw blood near where Daniel Kerrigan had been treated by emergency workers and signs of a struggle, including three pictures that had apparently been knocked off a wall and a broken piece of the telephone.

Possible further charges against Mark Kerrigan would be based "in large measure" on results of the autopsy, Middlesex District Attorney Gerald Leone said. A final opinion from the state medical examiner was expected within two weeks, Leone said.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Keeley cited Mark

Kerrigan's long criminal record in arguing for bail.

Defense attorney Denise Moore argued he should be released without bail, citing strong ties to the area and time he served overseas in the Army.

"He is extremely distraught over the death of his father and denies any responsibility," Moore said in court.

She said her client was on medication for post-traumatic stress syndrome and was seeing a psychiatrist.

Nancy Kerrigan, who took the bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, silver at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, and gold at the 1993 U.S. Championships, married her manager, Jerry Solomon, in 1995. They live in Lynnfield and have three children together.

A funeral Mass for Kerrigan's father was scheduled for Thursday.

Click here to read more from the Boston Herald.

The Associated Press and Boston Herald contributed to this report.

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Dad's Mass. death puts Kerrigan in spotlight again (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:32:37 AM

WOBURN, Mass. – Nancy Kerrigan's low-key family, which struggled with the attention brought on after an attack at a skating competition nearly derailed her Olympic dreams, has again been thrust into the spotlight with the death of her father after what authorities said was a violent struggle with his troubled son.

At his arraignment on Monday, the son, Mark Kerrigan, repeatedly rubbed the knuckles of his handcuffed hands and pleaded not guilty to assaulting 70-year-old Daniel Kerrigan at the family's home in the Boston suburb of Stoneham, where he had been living with his parents.

The 45-year-old put his head in his hands and wept but did not speak at his arraignment.

A spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said Tuesday that Mark Kerrigan has been sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for a psychological evaluation.

Nancy Kerrigan, a two-time Olympic medal winner, arrived at the family home Monday afternoon and left a couple of

hours later without saying anything to reporters waiting outside.

Family members said the death of Daniel Kerrigan, who rushed to the sobbing Nancy and carried her into a locker room after the 1994 attack on her, was unrelated to the argument with his son early Sunday. Daniel Kerrigan's wife, Brenda Kerrigan, told the Boston Herald newspaper her husband died of a heart attack and there was nothing suspicious about the death.

Mark Kerrigan, who has a history of domestic violence arrests and was sued by his parents to recover money they spent for taking care of his home while he was in jail, was being held on $10,000 bail. He was released from jail in 2007, according to his lawyer, but it wasn't immediately clear why he was serving time or for how long he served.

The death of Daniel Kerrigan comes as the national spotlight again turns to one of the most popular sports in the upcoming Olympic Games, just weeks away. The intensity of competition among skaters was never more apparent than in

1994, when an assailant clubbed Nancy Kerrigan on her right knee during practice at the U.S. Championships.

An investigation later revealed rival Tonya Harding had knowledge of the planning of the attack, and U.S. Figure Skating banned her for life.

Daniel Kerrigan, a welder, and his wife nurtured the love of skating in their daughter, who was a self-described tomboy with two hockey-playing big brothers. He drove a Zamboni ice-cleaning machine at the local rink in exchange for practice ice time, and he and his wife took out a second mortgage on their home to help pay for Nancy's skating lessons.

The family, which pleaded for privacy Monday, said in a brief statement that Daniel Kerrigan was a "wonderful husband" and "a caring and loving father," but it made no mention of the charge against Mark Kerrigan.

Daniel Kerrigan was found on the floor of his home, unconscious, by officers responding to an emergency call at 1:30 a.m. Sunday. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, and results of an autopsy were pending.

Police said Mark Kerrigan appeared intoxicated when he was found on a couch in the basement of the home and was "belligerent and combative" but coherent when questioned.

"He stated that he wanted to use the phone and his father would not let him," the arresting officer wrote in a report. "He said he struggled with his father and put his hands around his father's neck and his father fell to the floor."

The officers said they saw blood near where Daniel Kerrigan had been treated by emergency workers and signs of a struggle, including three pictures that had apparently been knocked off a wall and a broken piece of the telephone.

Possible further charges against Mark Kerrigan would be based "in large measure" on results of the autopsy, Leone said. A final opinion from the state medical examiner was expected within two weeks, Leone said.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Keeley cited Mark Kerrigan's long criminal record in arguing for bail.

Defense attorney Denise Moore argued he should be released without bail, citing strong ties to

the area and time he served overseas in the Army.

"He is extremely distraught over the death of his father and denies any responsibility," Moore said in court.

She said her client was on medication for post-traumatic stress syndrome and was seeing a psychiatrist.

Nancy Kerrigan, who took the bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, silver at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, and gold at the 1993 U.S. Championships, married her manager, Jerry Solomon, in 1995. They live in Lynnfield and have three children together.

A funeral Mass for Kerrigan's father was scheduled for Thursday. ___ Associated Press writers Bob Salsberg and Steve LeBlanc in Boston and Eric Tucker in Providence, R.I., contributed to this report.

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Weapons, Map of Military Base Seized After Man's Arrest

MediaDailyNews: Obama Recognizes TrendyMinds Agency In Union Address

(FOXNews.com)

(MediaPost | Media News)

Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:41:36 AM

Authorities in central New Jersey seized a cache of weapons and ammunition including rifles, a grenade launcher and a night vision scope from the motel room of a Virginia man arrested early Monday by officers responding to a report of a suspicious person, MyFoxDC.com reported.

Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest said Lloyd R. Woodson, 43, of Reston, Va., also had maps of a U.S. military facility and a town in another state.

Forrest said Woodson was wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a semiautomatic Bushmaster rifle concealed under his green, military-style jacket when officers encountered him at a Quick Chek store in Branchburg shortly before 4 a.m.

Monday.

As officers started to question him, Woodson fled on foot toward a nearby trailer park,

Forrest said. Officers found him hiding in some bushes and tackled him when he tried to run away again. The officers used pepper spray to subdue him.

Forrest said the .223-caliber assault rifle that Woodson was carrying had a defaced serial number and had been altered to fire .50-caliber ammunition.

Detectives later searched the room where Woodson had been staying at the Red Mill Inn in Branchburg. Forrest said they seized another Bushmaster .308caliber semiautomatic rifle with a defaced serial number, a 37 mm Cobray grenade launcher, a second bulletproof vest, a Russian-made night vision scope, a police scanner, a map of a U.S. military installation and a map of an out-of-state civilian community, a Middle Eastern red and white colored traditional headdress and hundreds of rounds of .50-caliber and .308caliber ammunition.

Woodson is being held at the Somerset County Jail on numerous charges, including

unlawful possession of weapons, possession of prohibited weapons, obstruction of justice and resisting arrest.

Bail has not yet been set.

Woodson was tentatively scheduled for an initial court appearance at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Spokesman Jack Bennett said the prosecutor's office did not know whether Woodson had retained a lawyer.

Forrest said investigators from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have joined the investigation.

The FBI issued a statement: "Presently, there does not appear to be a link to terrorism; Woodson does not appear to have a link to any known terrorist groups, nor a specific terrorist plot. However, the matter is still under investigation and these should only be considered preliminary findings.

It is possible that Mr. Woodson could face federal gun charges, but that has yet to be determined.

At this time, the matter is being

worked as a state case out of the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office."

Authorities in New Jersey say Woodson's last known address is on Generation Drive in Reston.

On Monday night, Fox 5 went to that neighborhood, but residents we spoke with did not recognize Woodson's photograph.

Woodson was being held at the Somerset County Jail on charges including unlawful possession of weapons.

The prosecutor's office did not know whether Woodson had a lawyer.

Police ask anyone with information to contact Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-8477.

Click here for more from MyFoxDC.com.

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China tightening fears boost havens (Financial Times - US homepage)

prompting a switch out of riskier assets and into perceived havens.

The application of a previously Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:40:23 AM announced directive for banks to 16:35 GMT. Another twist of raise their reserve requirements C h i n a ’ s m o n e t a r y g a r r o t t e aggravated fears that more tortured traders on Tuesday, restrictions were to come and

reignited concerns that Beijing Five Filters featured article: risked choking growth in the Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: global economic workhorse. This PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, sent global stock benchmarks to Term Extraction. five-week lows and hurt commodities while boosting bonds, the yen and the dollar.

Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:12:46 AM

Trevor Yager, founder of ad and public relations agency TrendyMinds, has been invited to President Obama's State of Union address Jan. 27. The agency, which has experienced record growth, will be highlighted for their achievements as a small business and their mission of giving back to the community. In 2009, the 15-year-old agency grew by more than 200%, doubled the number of employees, gained 15 new accounts and underwent a renovation to accommodate the massive growth. In 2010, the agency will give away $150,000 of in-kind work to 12 nonprofits.

The business is also a model of achievement by minority groups and a National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce-certified gay-owned business.

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(BBC News | Americas | World Edition)

Okla. Dad Pleads for Safe Return of 7 -Year-Old Daughter

Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:47:39 AM

(FOXNews.com)

Haiti in urgent appeal for tents Haitian President Rene Preval has made an urgent appeal for more tents to house up to a million people left homeless by the quake two weeks ago.

Mr Preval said 200,000 tents were needed before the expected start of the rainy season in May. His call came as donor nations and international organisations met in the Canadian city of Montreal to assess the aid effort and plan the next steps.

Delegates at the meeting agreed Haiti would need long-term outside help.

"It was not an exaggeration to say that at least 10 years of hard work awaits the world in Haiti," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the Montreal meeting.

Haiti's government could lead efforts to rebuild the country in the wake of the devastating 12 January earthquake, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said.

But Mr Bellerive said "massive support" from the international community was needed.

The delegates agreed to hold an international donors' conference at the UN headquarters in New York in March.

It is believed the 7.0-magnitude quake killed as many as 200,000 people. An estimated 1.5 million people have been left homeless.

Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:57:49 AM

Shelter On Monday, President Preval issued a statement from Port-auPrince, calling for the urgent airlift of 200,000 more tents and 26 million ready-to-eat meals before the rainy season begins in May. Mr Preval, who lost his house in the quake, is planning to move into a tent on the lawn of the destroyed National Palace in the centre of the capital.

The Haitian government is planning to relocate some 400,000 people, currently in makeshift camps across the capital, to temporary tent villages outside the city.

"We have to evacuate the streets and relocate the people," Reuters

quoted Communications Minister Marie Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue as saying.

"We hope we will be able to start at the end of the week."

However, aid workers warn if the camps are too big they could pose security problems, including robberies, rapes and gang activities.

Oxfam was pressing for the camps to be smaller, spokeswoman Caroline Gluck told the BBC. Aid agencies are still struggling to supply food and water to survivors, while thousands of Haitians who suffered serious injuries remain in need of urgent medical attention.

"The relief effort is getting into

gear," John Holmes, the UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, told the BBC. "But we've still got an awful long way to go to reach all those we need to with food and water.

"On the medical side, we're getting there, and we now face a big challenge over shelter and camps and getting people into tents and off the streets."

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OKLAHOMA CITY The father of a missing 7-year-old girl whose mother was found slain called for the girl's safe return, and authorities asked law enforcement agencies in several western states to be on the lookout for the girl and her mother's estranged husband.

A teary-eyed J.J. Johnson said at a news conference Monday that his daughter, Aja Daniell Johnson, needed to take her medication, and he made a public plea to the man believed to have taken the girl to give her back.

"Please Lester, if you're listening, anybody who knows where she is, please take her to a safe spot," Johnson said, referring to Lester Hobbs, the estranged husband of Aja's mother, Tonya Hobbs. "I'll see that she's picked up with no questions asked.

"She's only been seven years old for 20 days."

Tonya Hobbs was found slain in her motor home in Geronimo on Sunday and authorities want to question Lester Hobbs, who served prison time for assault and battery with a deadly weapon and other charges.

Oklahoma authorities issued an OKLA. page 62

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Okla. man pleads for return of missing daughter, 7 (AP)

Obama to call for spending freeze

(Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

(BBC News | Americas | World Edition)

question Lester Hobbs, who served prison time for assault and battery with a deadly OKLAHOMA CITY – The weapon and other charges. father of a missing 7-year-old Oklahoma authorities issued an girl whose mother was found Amber Alert on Monday and slain called for the girl's safe asked law enforcement agencies return, and authorities asked law to be on the lookout in Texas, enforcement agencies in several California and Oregon, where western states to be on the Lester Hobbs has relatives. lookout for the girl and her "Time is of the essence right mother's estranged husband. now. We've got to get these A teary-eyed J.J. Johnson said at people located. We don't know a news conference Monday that who killed Tonya Hobbs, but we h i s d a u g h t e r , A j a D a n i e l l certainly believe Mr. Hobbs has Johnson, needed to take her knowledge of that," Oklahoma medication, and he made a State Bureau of Investigation public plea to the man believed spokeswoman Jessica Brown to have taken the girl to give her said. back.

"This is certainly a dangerous " P l e a s e L e s t e r , i f y o u ' r e situation for that 7-year-old girl," listening, anybody who knows she said. where she is, please take her to a The state medical examiner's s a f e s p o t , " J o h n s o n s a i d , office will determine Hobbs' referring to Lester Hobbs, the cause of death, but Brown said it estranged husband of Aja's was obvious to investigators the mother, Tonya Hobbs. "I'll see woman was slain. She declined that she's picked up with no to release further details about questions asked. the slaying.

"She's only been seven years old Lester Hobbs has a long for 20 days." criminal record, including a 1983 Tonya Hobbs was found slain in conviction for burglary and her motor home in Geronimo on convictions for driving under the Sunday and authorities want to influence, eluding police, driving Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:33:33 AM

with a revoked license and resisting arrest. He served a 20month prison sentence that ended in January 2005 for assault and battery with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence.

Lester Hobbs and Aja were last seen Saturday evening after the girl and her mother were visiting Hobbs at his sister's trailer home in Geronimo, which is about 100 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Tonya Hobbs' motor home was on the same property as the trailer home, Brown said.

Lester Hobbs was last seen driving a 1992 Toyota Paseo with the Oklahoma license plate number 577-BPW. The car has no hubcaps has plastic covering the rear passenger window. He has several tattoos, including the letters "LOVE" stitched on his left fingers and "ROSE" on his right fingers.

Aja Johnson is 4 feet tall and weighs about 65 pounds. She has brown, shoulder length hair and brown eyes, officials said.

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Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:42:38 AM

US President Barack Obama is to announce a three-year partial spending freeze aimed at reducing the country's $1.4tn (ÂŁ860bn) budget deficit.

His first State of the Union address, on Wednesday, will reveal the details.

Officials have told US media that defence, some healthcare programmes and the massive economic stimulus package will be unaffected.

Critics said the planned savings, expected to cut no more than $15bn off next year's budget, were insufficient.

But officials said the plan would result in savings of about $250bn during the next 10 years.

The spending freeze covers many domestic programmes and departments to which Congress allocates budgets each year, including agriculture, transportation and education and national parks.

Security and defence spending, foreign aid, social security and spending on healthcare for the poor and retired would be exempt.

Mr Obama is facing mounting criticism for the amount of government spending and

61

growing budget deficits.

The 2009 fiscal year saw a record $1.4tn shortfall. The 2010 deficit is expected to reach $1.35tn, according to US Congress estimates.

The freeze could make the president rein in his ambitious reform agenda, especially with regards to education and the environment.

But one administration official said it was like a family in tough times deciding on its budget.

"That's the decision-making process the president and the economic team went through," Associated Press quoted the unnamed official as saying.

"It's the very same process American families have gone through for the past several years."

Republicans say the cuts are insufficient.

"Given Washington Democrats' unprecedented spending binge, this is like announcing you're going on a diet after winning a pie-eating contest," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner.

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Cops Need Help Finding Suspect in Playboy Model's Murder (FOXNews.com)

was found burned beyond recognition in a Miami Dumpster. Due to a lack of detail Police have completed their in the man's description, a sketch interviews with each employee has not yet been made. working at the Miami nightclub Video surveillance captured where Playboy model Paula Sladewski leaving the Miami Sladewski was last seen before club at 7:21 a.m. on Jan. 3. — her murder. approximately 14 hours before Sladewski, a former Playboy her body was found. Sladewski model, was last seen partying is seen in the video being with her boyfriend, Kevin Klym, escorted out of the club by two at Club Space nightclub. bouncers.

Klym, 34, has since become a Sladewski's body was found 10 target of suspicion — partly to 12 miles away from the because an ex-boyfriend claimed nightclub in a residential area, Sladewski had been sending him Cuevas told Fox News. text messages during the time Investigators are looking for a she was dating Klym saying he "black male" who eyewitnesses was "trying to kill" her. say walked away from the front SLIDESHOW: Playboy model of the club with Sladewski, murder investigation.

Cuevas told FoxNews.com. He Police don't have any new leads said the man was not in the club. and have not received any tips, Police are waiting for the state Lt. Neal Cuevas of the North crime lab's report to identify Miami Police Department told what substance was used to Fox News. ignite the flame in the Dumpster.

They are hoping to get a Sladewski's body was so composite sketch of the man severely burned that the medical witnesses said walked away from examiner's office was unable to the nightclub with Sladewski on determine the exact cause of Jan. 3, the same day her body d e a t h , C u e v a s t o l d Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:46:18 AM

FoxNews.com.

Klym, who has returned to his home in California, remains a person of interest in the case since he was the last known person to be seen with her, Cuevas said. He does not expect Klym to be a person of interest for much longer.

A crew from America's Most Wanted was in Miami on Monday to tape a segment for its series. Police hope the show will help draw attention to the case and inspire people with any information to contact them.

The North Miami Police Department asks anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

Click here for video of the family's comments about Sladewski at MyFoxDetroit.com.

FoxNews.com's Ali Reed contributed to this report.

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OKLA. continued from page 60

Amber Alert on Monday and asked law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout in Texas, California and Oregon, where Lester Hobbs has relatives.

"Time is of the essence right now. We've got to get these people located. We don't know who killed Tonya Hobbs, but we certainly believe Mr. Hobbs has knowledge of that," Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said.

"This is certainly a dangerous situation for that 7-year-old girl," she said.

The state medical examiner's office will determine Hobbs' cause of death, but Brown said it was obvious to investigators the woman was slain. She declined to release further details about the slaying.

Lester Hobbs has a long criminal record, including a 1983 conviction for burglary and convictions for driving under the influence, eluding police, driving with a revoked license and resisting arrest. He served a 20month prison sentence that ended in January 2005 for assault and

battery with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence.

Lester Hobbs and Aja were last seen Saturday evening after the girl and her mother were visiting Hobbs at his sister's trailer home in Geronimo, which is about 100 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Tonya Hobbs' motor home was on the same property as the trailer home, Brown said.

Lester Hobbs was last seen driving a 1992 Toyota Paseo with the Oklahoma license plate number 577-BPW. The car has no hubcaps has plastic covering the rear passenger window. He has several tattoos, including the letters "LOVE" stitched on his left fingers and "ROSE" on his right fingers.

Aja Johnson is 4 feet tall and weighs about 65 pounds. She has brown, shoulder length hair and brown eyes, officials said.

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Obama says Bin Laden 'weakened' (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 1/26/2010 7:18:30 AM

US President Barack Obama says the latest audio tape said to be from Osama Bin Laden is an indication of how "weakened" al -Qaeda has become.

In the message, the speaker praises the attempted bombing of a transatlantic US airliner over Detroit on 25 December.

Mr Obama told ABC's Good Morning America the failed attack had not necessarily been directed by Bin Laden.

And he said security measures introduced since the 11 September 2001 attacks had made the US "much safer".

The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says despite the fears generated by the Christmas Day attempted bombing, the US administration is at pains to play down any suggestion al-Qaeda is a growing threat.

The voice recording - which said it was from "Osama to Obama" - claimed al-Qaeda was behind the plot, and warned of

further attacks.

Broadcast on al-Jazeera TV on Sunday, it said a Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is charged with attempting to blow up the airliner, was a "hero".

But in the interview which aired on ABC on Tuesday, Mr Obama said: "Al-Qaeda itself is greatly weakened from where it was back in 2000.

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The authenticity of the audio tape has not been verified.

Courtesy al-Jazeera "Bin Laden sending out a tape trying to take credit for a Nigerian student who engaged in a failed bombing attempt is an indication of how weakened he is, because this is not something necessarily directed by him."

On Monday, the US state department's co-ordinator for counter-terrorism said the "Bin Laden" audio tape was an

attempt to bask in "reflected glory" of the plot.

The Yemen-based regional wing of al-Qaeda has said it was behind the attempted attack.

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US deficit 'set to hit $1.35tn' (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:08:15 AM

The US budget deficit is expected to reach $1.35 trillion (£837bn) in 2010, according to US Congress estimates.

In 2009, the US deficit hit a record $1.4tn - equal to 9.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) and the highest since the end of World War II. President Obama will make his first State of the Union address on Wednesday and will submit his budget plan on 1 February.

He is expected to announce a three-year partial spending

freeze.

The savings - expected to be about $15bn off next year's budget and to amount to $250bn during the next 10 years - are aimed at reducing the country's massive deficit.

Shrinking deficit The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said the large deficits in 2009 and 2010 reflected: • an imbalance between revenues and spending that predated the recession • sharply lower revenues and higher spending in the recession • the costs of various federal policies implemented in response

to the global downturn.

However, the CBO's forecast was a downwards revision to its previous estimate of $1.38tn.

It expects deficits to shrink over the coming years as economic recovery gets underway, with the deficit falling to $475bn in 2014.

But it says the deficit will then start to rise again, reaching $687bn in 2020.

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- Your brain is on autopilot more than you think (Holy Kaw!)

constantly. And we’re not just talking about breathing here, Submitted at 1/26/2010 3:54:00 AM either.

When people think of The autopilot mode can their“unconscious” brain, sometimes be dangerous. normally sleeping or autonomic Although it can be useful when functions come to mind. But as attention is divided, it can also science writer Shankar cause people to make Vedantam writes in The Hidden unsupported judgments about Brain, our brains actually switch p e o p l e a n d s i t u a t i o n s . answer to solving bigotry and between conscious decision- Understanding the autopilot racial bias. The NPR article has making and “autopilot” almost mode of our brains may be the the full story on what autopilot

mode means for our brains, how we can control our brains better, and an excerpt from Vedantam’s new book on the role of the hidden brain during disasters.

(Via NPR) Learn more about psychology.

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MediaDailyNews: Verizon's FiOS Ups Base in 4Q (MediaPost | Media News)

New York area.

The FiOS growth rate did slow somewhat in the OctoberVerizon continued on a pace to December period, where the soon surpass Cablevision in the 153,000 net ads were down from ranks of TV service distributors. the 181,000 experienced in the The company increased its 2009 third quarter. customer base for its FiOS Verizon said about 25% of service in the fourth quarter to eligible FiOS customers (a total raise its subscribers to 2.9 of 11.7 million) are subscribing million, just below Cablevision, to the heavily advertised service. which is the country's fifth FiOS also has a companion largest cable operator.

Internet service, with 3.4 million The 153,000 net new customers customers at the end of 2009 -helped give Verizon a nearly 38% higher than at the same 5 0 % j u m p i n F i O S T V point a year ago. s u b s c r i b e r s f o r 2 0 0 9 , t h e Five Filters featured article: company said Tuesday.

Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: Cablevision is listed as serving PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, (Holy Kaw!) while moderately more positive, 3.1 million homes, according to Term Extraction. does not suggest any significant a cable trade group. The two Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:26:00 AM pickup in activity in the coming compete for customers in the According to a recent survey, months,” Lynn Franco, director American confidence in the of The Conference Board’s economy has improved again in Consumer Research Center, said January for the third consecutive in a statement. month, as consumers begin to But it’s a good start. feel slightly better about business Read on to learn more about the announcing his entry to the conditions and the job market. consumer confidence boost and (The Economist: Daily columns) world of Twitter. He has also T h e C o n f e r e n c e B o a r d ’ s why it’s important. just launched a blog, called the Consumer Confidence Index (Via NPR) Submitted at 1/26/2010 4:32:21 AM Gates Notes, and has been at the increased to nearly sixty—the Get all the latest news on one Business.view Bill Gates Sundance film festival, talking highest in more than a year—but convenient page. worries about falling aid and about his appearance in the latest still relatively gloomy. It was Photo credit: Fotolia poor teaching film by the director of Al Gore’s down to just under fifty four in Permalink| Leave a comment » Jan 26th 2010 | From The “An Inconvenient Truth.” Called December.

Economist online “Waiting for Superman”, this “Consumers’ short-term outlook, “HELLO world,” tweeted Bill tackles a topic close to Mr Gates on January 19th, Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:26:26 AM

U.S. consumer confidence is the highest its been in over a year

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BUSINESS.VIEW: continued from page 65

among the global great and good at the World Economic Forum in Davos. And for any of his fans still thirsting for more of the wisdom of St Bill, on January 25th he published the second of what he says will be annual letters on philanthropy.

Because Mr Gates was inspired by the annual letters to shareholders of his old friend and partner in mega-giving, Warren Buffett, it is easy to be disappointed by the relative lack of zing in his writing. It is not just that, as he promised, he would differ from the Sage of Omaha by not quoting Mae West—or any other witty commentator. Mr Buffett is a master of the carefully chosen overstatement. Derivative securities he doesn’t like become “financial weapons of mass destruction”. When rival BUSINESS.VIEW: page 66

Business.view: The second epistle of St Bill Gates’s heart, education reform in America—but, mercifully, it is not believed to feature the Microsoft founder-turnedphilanthropist wearing a cape and red underpants.

Mr Gates will also be making various appearances this week, BUSINESS.VIEW: page 65

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investors make losses in a tough market, he points out that “it is only when the tide goes out that you learn who’s been swimming naked.”

By contrast, Mr Gates seems determined to understate, taking the controversial edge off his observations with language chosen so carefully that it must have been through an army of PR people. “It’s been an incredible year,” Mr Gates tells us. “I love my new job and feel lucky to get to focus my time on these problems.”

Even so, there is plenty of meat in this year’s letter, especially for those willing to read between the lines. Mr Gates makes a powerful case for innovation as the solution to the biggest problems in health, poverty, hunger and education. Without it, look forward ten years and the prospect would be “quite bleak”.

He also explains how he believes philanthropy can play a unique role, by investing in innovations that would otherwise not be funded—a lesson that other philanthropists and charitable foundations would do well to learn. Specifically, society invests too little in innovation that would mostly benefit poor people, and when there “isn’t an agreed upon measure of excellence to tell the market how to pick the best ideas.”

When it comes to choosing

projects—the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is pursuing innovation in 30 areas—two criteria are especially important.

The innovation, if successful, must cost far less to use and maintain than the benefit it delivers, so it should be capable of attracting alternative sources of funding once Mr Gates stops financing it. And there need to be talented partners working on the innovation, ready to commit themselves to a long-term relationship with the foundation that could last from five to 15 years or more.

The foundation also has a portfolio of projects with different levels of riskiness, which Mr Gates helpfully illustrates in his letter. In global health, for example, he regards investing in distributing vaccines for pneumonia and rotavirus to 135m children a year as low-risk, inventing a pill or gel to reduce the risk of getting HIV as medium-risk and inventing a highly effective malaria vaccine as high-risk.

As he points out, this approach is already bearing fruit. The GAVI Alliance to promote vaccination, which got going ten years ago with donations from Mr Gates, has inoculated more than 192m children against hepatitis B and over 41m against a particularly nasty type of flu known as HIB. It is now being expanded to combat rotavirus

and pneumococcus, in the hope of saving over 700,000 lives a year, aided by a new funding technique supported by Mr Gates calls “ advance market commitments”. This guarantees a pot of $1.5 billion to drug firms if they develop suitable vaccines.

Efforts to reduce deaths from malaria are also starting to deliver impressive results.

Disappointingly, Mr Gates’s letter is largely empty of attempts to address the political context of his work. Thus, while praising innovation, he does not confront those critics who accuse him of caring too much about intellectual-property rights. He praises genetic modification of seed, which he hopes will save many lives by producing drought -resistant crops, yet merely notes that this approach is “still controversial for some people”, when in private he would surely use choicer words to describe anti-GM Luddites.

On education, he describes his attempt to develop a system for measuring teachers’ effectiveness and for helping them improve as a “high-risk” investment—without pointing out that the main risk factor is probably the ferocious opposition of America’s teachers’ unions. They have been complaining loudly that Mr Gates is now so influential in Washington that he has become America’s de facto education

secretary.

There is one exception to Mr Gates’s “no politics” rule. He is extremely worried that the economic crisis will lead governments to break their promises to increase international aid. He also fears that aid budgets will be shifted to favour climate-change initiatives at the expense of public health.

He points out that if just $1 billion were shifted from, say, vaccines to climate change, 700,000 more children might die from preventable diseases.

In June he met Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister of Italy, to protest against his halving of the country’s aid budget, “making them uniquely stingy among European donors,” as he put it in his epistle. So far, this pressure has not changed Mr Berlusconi’s mind. Perhaps, if he wants his letters, blog posts and tweets to have more influence, Mr Gates should take the gloves off and start talking as tough as his old pal Mr Buffett. Readers' comments The Economist welcomes your views.

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The British economy: Stuck in the mud (The Economist: News analysis) Submitted at 1/26/2010 12:18:13 AM

The British economy The British economy is struggling to get out of the mire Jan 26th 2010 | From The Economist online BRITAIN’S long-awaited exit from recession has moved from thwarted prediction to firm fact.

But the welcome news came with a painful sting. The economy barely crawled forward, expanding by just 0.1% between the third and the fourth quarters of 2009, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday January 26th.

This was much feebler than the median forecast among City economists for an increase of 0.4%.

The recession lasted a year and a half and was both the longest and deepest since the mid-1940s (when national output fell in the aftermath of the second world war). Indeed the slump of 4.8% in GDP last year was the steepest since 1931, when national output fell by 5.1%.

Britain’s recession was the longest among the G7 economies, which typically had downturns lasting a year, although Italy’s lasted for five BRITISH page 67

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quarters. It was not the most severe, measured from the prerecession peak to the trough.

That unfortunate accolade went to Japan (8.6%) followed by Germany (6.7%) and then Italy (6.5%). Their earlier recovery meant, however, that Britain’s 6.0% fall in output between early 2008 and the third quarter of 2009 was surpassed only by Japan (7.7%)(see daily chart).

All these figures will be revised in due course. Usually this is a routine matter but in the run-up to a general election, which must be held by June 3rd at the latest, but is widely expected to be on May 6th, any changes will be politically potent. In Britain, the ONS has already moderated its initial estimate of a fall in GDP of 0.4% in the third quarter of 2009, to 0.2%. Gordon Brown, the prime minister, will be hoping that the meagre increase in national output for the fourth quarter may be pushed up when the official number-crunchers, armed with more information, revisit the figures on February 26th and March 30th. Business surveys have suggested a more robust upturn and the labour market has been more resilient

than expected.

But there is a potential pitfall for Mr Brown. The ONS will unveil its initial estimate of GDP in the first quarter on April 23rd. If this were to show a return to recession the news would torpedo Labour’s already slender hopes of averting a Conservative victory. Such a relapse could happen because the main rate of VAT, a consumption tax charged on most goods and services, went up to 17.5% on January 1st, following 13 months when it had been lowered to 15% in order to combat the recession. Since consumers brought purchases forward in late 2009 to dodge the impending increase they are likely to cut back now, hindering a further expansion in national output.

Looking longer ahead, the outlook is for a pretty modest recovery this year. GDP will increase by 1.4% in 2010 according to the average of 28 independent forecasts in early January assembled by the Treasury (which itself predicted 1.25% in December). Much of the recovery will come from a turnaround in the stockbuilding cycle, as inventories are run

down far less than before.

Ensuring that this fragile upturn is sustained will require some skill from policymakers. The recovery has been helped by an extraordinary stimulus, both fiscal and monetary. The budget deficit has burgeoned to a postwar record, the base rate is at a 300-year low and the policy of “quantitative easing” has been vigorously pursued. As Britain belatedly leaves recession behind, so the Treasury and the Bank of England will want to execute their own “exit strategies”. Co-ordination will be vital. The tougher the fiscal tightening, the easier monetary policy can remain. But none of these crucial decisions will be made until Britain has a new government after the general election. Readers' comments The Economist welcomes your views.

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Video: Boeing's TruckMounted Laser Neatly Picks Off 50 IEDs in a Row

By Jeremy Hsu (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)

off different artillery munitions, bomblets and mortar rounds.

This latest video clip shows Laser Avenger focusing its hot stare on two different IEDs from Submitted at 1/26/2010 7:52:32 AM far-off and destroying them -- a Boeing's laser weapons have huge advantage for soldiers who already shown the power to blast can detonate potential threats aerial drones from the sky, but from the safety of their armored may find even more immediate v e h i c l e s . L a s e r A v e n g e r use in detonating roadside combines a directed energy bombs, which are a top killer of weapon with a 25-millimeter soldiers deployed in Iraq and machine gun, and represents just Afghanistan. A newly unveiled one of the truck-borne lasers that video shows the company's truck Boeing hopes to field.

- m o u n t e d L a s e r A v e n g e r Boeing has also experimented destroying two improvised with airborne lasers that can take explosive devices (IEDs) during out ground vehicles and even a series of 50 test firings that knock out missiles in flight. We took place at Redstone Arsenal might have to start making in Huntsville, Alabama last flowcharts to keep all the laserSeptember, according to OptoIQ. weapon family trees straight.

The full tests involved setting [via OptoIQ]

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TV Board: TV Buyers Beware: A Rumination (MediaPost | Media News) Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:30:42 AM

Back in July, I had written a TV Board entitled "All Along The Watchtower: An Ode To Agency Researchers." The piece was prompted by Steve Sternberg's forced exit from his decaded home at McCann and Magna. He was one of the many prominent, agency researchers - David Ernst, Bruce Gorelich, Tony Jarvis, David Marans, Susan Nathan, Stacey Lynn Schulman, and Jon Swallen to name a few who in recent years had become a statistic, as opposed to a calculation in the evolution of the advertising agency business.

When I began as a national TV buyer in 1975 there was nothing more important than the TV program share meetings prior to the TV upfront led by the research department. Days were spent: screening network pilots, vivisecting star power and ensembles, scrutinizing show genres and movie packages (made for TV, mini-seriesed and theatricals), tracking audience flow, discussing foundation time periods, swinging in program hammocks, tabulating homes using television, calculating

program shares by network and across time periods, investigating lead-ins/lead-outs and competitive posturing, and evaluating spin-off potential as well as program franchise extensions. None would have been possible without the guidance and wizardry of the agency researching soothsayer.

Of course, those were the days of average broadcast network primetime 30 shares, with household rating of 17.5, media departments of full service agencies garnering commissions of 15%, and compliance with the unwritten rule that TV upfront negotiations concluded by late May's Memorial Day so that media buying personnel could have a restful summer.

Those go-went years have spawned broadcast network rating plummets, cable network program share maturation, and the routinely occurring program births, deaths and resurrections with marginal audience engagement - compared to the good ole days. In my estimation, the emphasis an agency once placed on individual program performance prognostication has paled. Instead, focus has shifted to all sorts of mixing and

matching disparate rating information (traditional and evolving), audience profiling, engagement, behavior, interactivity, socializing, datamining, mapping and motility tracking, and crossplatforming media melding. In recent years agencies have been subscribing less to the various and sundry data sources available. After all, with commissions in the traditional realm less than 3% and the online sector steadily sinking from heights of 15+% in their heyday, how could they afford to. Whereas content providers, platforms, and data aggregators have and will most likely continue to assume the additional responsibility and cost of generating and supplying multisource data to agencies.

Major media conglomerates, such as NBCU/Comcast, Disney, News Corp. and MTV Networks, will attempt to sell their universe of platforms as delivering a unique audience with distinctive characteristics emphasizing the promise to build and fortify symbiotic brand relationships theirs and the advertiser's.

So, as the agency researchers continue to migrate, exiled or by

choice, from their agency environs to the realms of content providers, data aggregators and televisual platforms (linear TV, on demand, broadband, mobile), it occurred to me that the role of the TV buyer will be significantly modified. Research data utilized to access program and platform value propositions will be delivered to TV buying agencies in tandem with inventory proposals which will no longer be evaluated by traditional TV buying methodology: cost per thousands, viewing data, some demographics, added valuables, program mix, relationships, and a hand shake. Instead a new generation of TV buyers will sprout that possess a unique blend of electronic mastery, business acumen and the ability to wade through reams of data sources to choose the best possible, efficient scenarios that are available within a dynamic negotiating process.

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Tablet for e-readers could upend the market (The Nashua Telegraph) (Yahoo! News Search Results for e-readers) Submitted at 1/26/2010 4:14:06 AM

SEATTLE – The company whose CEO proclaimed in 2008 that people don’t read anymore may now be poised to sweep in and school the electronic book reader market.

That company is Apple Inc., and its CEO, Steve Jobs, was predicting Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle would never take off. But if Apple’s talks with publishers are any indication, its “latest creation,” set to be unveiled Wednesday, could upend the fledgling e-reader industry in much the same way its iPod redefined digital music.

E-readers had been around since the beginning of the last decade, but in 2007, the Kindle advanced the concept by enabling books to be downloaded wirelessly rather than having to be plugged into a computer. Amazon has tried to push the device further into the mainstream by selling it for $259, down from the debut price of $399.

Analysts say the Kindle is the top-selling e-book reader, though Amazon won’t say how many it has sold.

Electronic books make up an estimated 3 percent to 5 percent of all book sales, but publishers and authors worry about TABLET page 69

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Amazon’s growing clout. The company has been selling electronic versions of top hardcover titles for $9.99, and publishers fear that consumers who get used to such low prices will demand to pay less for paper books, too.

Enter Apple. The company won’t comment on what it plans to unveil Wednesday in San Francisco, but it appears likely to be a tablet – a one-piece computer with a big touch screen, probably larger than an iPhone but smaller than a laptop.

While most attention has been paid to the device’s possibilities as a Web-surfing and videowatching machine, a multipurpose tablet from Apple also could be the publishing industry’s welcome challenger to the Kindle.

Amazon currently sells e-books for people to read on the iPhone and iPod Touch, which is essentially an iPhone without the phone. People with Kindles can download a free program to the iPhone that enables them to read

an e-book, put it down and resume it at the same page on either device.

But given the success of the iPod/iTunes model, in which Apple sells songs and videos for people to stash on their Applemade devices, if Apple sees its new device as part e-book reader, it will almost certainly want to sell e-books itself. And an Apple bookstore may be in the works. Several publishers tell The Associated Press that they have met with Apple, though they declined to be named or detail the talks.

As a counterweight to Amazon’s Kindle store, publishers have rallied around a publishing system from Adobe Systems Inc. that allows them to sell books themselves for several compatible devices, such as Sony Corp.’s e-readers. If Apple creates its own online bookstore, that would be a third major contender in e-book publishing, possibly frustrating consumers who want to move books between devices.

In what seems like a defensive move, Amazon recently said it will let outside companies develop programs for the Kindle, much like Apple has done on the iPhone. Amazon declined to comment on the prospects for Apple’s tablet.

If Apple does for e-books what it did for digital music and smart phones, dedicated e-reader makers could be in trouble.

Apple didn’t invent the MP3 player, but it redefined it when the iPod launched in 2001, and now Apple claims to have threefourths of the market. With the iPhone, Apple turned e-mail phones from corporate devices into lust-worthy consumer gadgets to be used for navigation, social networking and just about every other online task. Huge sales of the iPhone helped Apple increase its net income 50 percent in the last quarter, the company said Monday.

Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey believes most of the profits in electronic books

could come from “converged devices” such as tablets that do many things – such as show video – rather from Kindles and other single-purpose readers.

“Those devices are going to provide an experience that is hard for a standalone reader to ever match,” he said.

But much will depend on the price. Analysts estimate a tablet could cost $500 to more than $1,000, and that may or may not include having to pay for monthly data access. And many bookworms may still want a device that doesn’t try to do too much. They might prefer “e-ink” screens, despite their lack of color, no backlighting and the “flash” of the screen every time a page is turned.

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Your guide to taking the tablets - and Gallup Economic the e-readers and the slates (Guardian Weekly: Self-Reported Unlimited) Spending Declines (Yahoo! News Search Results for e-readers) Submitted at 1/25/2010 7:33:13 PM

2010 is indeed the year of ereaders, tablets and media slates.

Amazon has the Kindle. Barnes & Noble has the Nook. Sony has its own e-readers, and the massive Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas might as well have been called TabletCon. Overshadowing all of this is Apple's "latest creation", also rumoured to be a media tablet.

I'm here to make sure you, as a budding novelist or publishing house, have the tools for those tablets. If you're already confused about the options out there, MobileRead.com has a comparison chart listing many of the e-readers available. It compares the features of these devices as well as the content formats they support.

MobileRead focuses on ereaders, which feels oh so 2009.

2010 is much more about media,

slates which boast colour touch screens, unlike the monochrome e-ink screens of devices such as Amazon's Kindle. These media slates also can play full-colour video and several of them can even run high-definition video.

PC Magazine did a great overview of some of the state-ofthe-art media slates released at CES. These devices can store 140 hours of music or 16 hours of HD video and run for days without recharging.

Sensing that the market is getting crowded, Amazon has made changes to its revenuesharing options for Kindle so that publishers and authors can keep more money, and it has launched its system for selfpublishers globally and also introduced a development kit for "active content". What will you have to do to create content for these platforms? In terms of text, they support a wide range of formats. Adobe, the creator of the Portable Document Format

(PDF), is supported by many of these devices but so are common standards such as TXT and RDF text files and HTML, the format used to create web pages. The newest version of HTML makes it much easier to embed audio and video, again using common formats such as MP3 for audio and MP4 for video.

For many self-publishers, it will be as simple as uploading your next novel from a word processing application. For larger publishers, tablets promise the ability to create and sell rich content at a premium price.

Publishers are hoping that this will be not just internet content on the go, but also a premium model that will allow them to easily expand their digital businesses.

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(All Gallup Headlines) Submitted at 1/25/2010 8:00:00 PM

PRINCETON, NJ -- As the Dow Jones average plunged more than 400 points last week, consumers pulled back, with self -reported spending falling 24% from the prior week and 27% from the same week a year ago.

This breaks the positive early January trend that saw spending running slightly higher than last year's comparables. At the same time, economic confidence was about the same as the prior week and Gallup's Job Creation Index showed that hiring remained the slight spending gains essentially unchanged.

What Happened (Week Ending recorded earlier this month, relative to last year's Jan. 24) comparables. While this could be a one-week event related to the • plunge in the stock market or • something else, it merits careful • monitoring in the days ahead.

Regardless, right now consumers What to Watch For Gallup's economic data provide don't seem to be in the mood to little positive news as the spend more than last year's president prepares for his State reduced -- new normal -- levels. of the Union address and the Similarly, there is not a lot to FOMC meets this week. Last celebrate on the jobs front. week's self-reported consumer Improvements have taken place spending results are somewhat as fewer companies seem to be troubling. A modest decline was letting people go, but hiring is no to be expected because last week better than it was at this time last was a non-paycheck week, but GALLUP page 71 the extent of the drop fully offset

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year. Last Thursday's jobless claims report showed a sharp upward spike, probably owing to holiday distortions of the data.

Regardless, Gallup's data have continually suggested that jobless claims are running higher than previously reported by the government. Gallup's data also imply that the January unemployment rate will exceed December's 10.0%.

Gallup's Economic Confidence Index improved in early January 2010 compared to December but has fallen back to last month's level during recent weeks. Still, the average of Gallup's Index during January suggests that the Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for the month of January is likely to show a slight increase compared to December.

The president and the FOMC can tout the fact that things are much better now than they were during the depths of the financial crisis -- Wall Street has surged and the government on Friday is likely to report a second

consecutive quarter of economic growth. Still, they must also recognize that Americans continue to experience doubledigit unemployment and there are few signs that job-market conditions will improve in the near term. Further, many small businesses that may have been holding on in hope that the economy will improve are likely to be reaching the end of their ability to survive, particularly if consumer spending continues to languish.

As a result, it should not be surprising if the president and Congress become more populist in tone, as is likely to be reflected in the State of the Union address. Nor should the FOMC expect to see the political pressure diminish even if Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is confirmed later this week, as expected. Of course, the danger is that the increasingly populist political climate will not be conducive to what needs to be done to create new private-sector jobs and stimulate consumer

spending in 2010. Right now, consumers and business need Washington to create increased economic certainty as opposed to increased government and regulatory risk.

Review and export the complete daily trends on these measures: Economic Indexes; Consumer Spending; Economic Outlook; Economic Conditions; Job Market Learn more about Gallup's economic measures.

Survey Methods For Gallup Daily tracking, Gallup interviews approximately 1,000 national adults, aged 18 and older, each day. The Gallup consumer perceptions of the economy and consumer spending results are based on random halfsamples of approximately 500 national adults, aged 18 and older, each day. The Gallup job creation and job loss results are based on a random half sample of approximately 500 current full - and part-time employees each day. Results from the week of Jan. 18-24, 2010, are based on

telephone interviews with 3,430 adults for the consumer perceptions and spending questions. For these results, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is Âą3 percentage points. Results for the job creation and job loss questions are based on interviews with 4,036 employees, with a maximum margin of error of Âą3 percentage points.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on land-line telephones and cellular phones.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

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To Solve Cyber Crimes, DARPA Wants a "Cyber Genome Program"

By Clay Dillow (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)

At Cambridge Alien Conference, Scientists Warn Of An Invisible Earth and Hostile ETs

Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:35:44 AM

Digital times mean digital crimes. But catching and convicting criminals, or even nations, that dabble in digital espionage, cyber attacks, and cyber terrorism is no easy task.

Google - and the U.S. State Department - recently pointed the finger at China for a string of sophisticated cyber attacks on U.S. companies, but proving guilt in the matter will be tricky.

Then there are the buckets of data that intelligence agencies pull from captured laptops and hard drives in terror sweeps; we have the files, but it can be difficult to figure out who's aiding America's enemies or what they are up to. Enter DARPA's Cyber Genome Program, aimed at creating a paternity test for digital artifacts.

The DoD's future-tech think tank has issued a call for technologies that will bolster America's digital defenses by collecting, identifying and

By Stuart Fox (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now) Submitted at 1/26/2010 10:30:50 AM

tracing the lineage of software, data and digital files. To wit: The Cyber Genome Program will encompass several program phases and technical areas of interest. Each of the technical areas will develop the cyber equivalent of fingerprints or DNA to facilitate developing the digital equivalent of genotype, as well as observed and inferred phenotype in order to determine the identity, lineage, and provenance of digital artifacts and users.

The ability to look at a file and trace it back to its source would help intelligence and law enforcement not only seek justice when cyber crimes are committed, but intercept threats as they are unfolding in cyberspace.

Of course, there's the dark side to all this. If this kind of digital "genome" is developed, it means the government can trace any document you create straight back to your PC - and you. The law-abiding among us may not

This week, scientists from around the globe converge on Cambridge University in England to discuss mankind's mind, but the privacy protection relationship with intelligent life types will likely have something from beyond the stars. So far, the to say about the government news is not promising. Already, snatching data from the Web and scientists at the conference have tracing it back to the source. If warned that the government has Facebook and "To Catch A no practical plan to handle first P r e d a t o r " h a v e t a u g h t u s contact, aliens may well be as anything, it's that someone is warlike as us, and the switch always watching what we do from analog to digital signals online, but we might have felt a may make the Earth invisible to bit more comfortable when it aliens anyway. wasn't necessarily Big Brother. To start off the proceedings, Frank Drake, the father of SETI, worried that the switch from analog television and radio signals to digital cable and satellite radio would render Earth invisible to aliens looking for other life. Right now, the Earth is surrounded by a 50-light-year CAMBRIDGE page 73

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Apple's Tablet Gamble: Do You Want One?

By John Mahoney (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now) Submitted at 1/26/2010 9:03:17 AM

Tomorrow, we'll be in San Francisco to cover Apple's introduction--should the fevered speculation be accurate--of a new tablet device with a ten-inch touchscreen running some version of the iPhone OS. With it, so the story goes, they are hoping to deliver printed media products digitally in a new way, along with music and videos and apps galore.

For Apple, it is a gamble; tabletsized devices of the sort, other than perhaps Amazon's Kindle (a decidedly different beast), have yet to go mainstream. So the all important question: Do you want one?

Make no mistake, one of Apple's most impressive gifts is its ability to tidily package together needs sitting latently unsatisfied somewhere in our consumer brains, then fulfilling those needs of which we were previously unaware with a

refined gadgets consumers already knew and, in the case of the iPhone, already used every day--a digital music player and a cellphone.

But not even my most gadgetobsessed friends and colleagues are using, or even wanting, any tablet-like gadget currently on the market. Which is perhaps what's most captivating about Apple's plans for what Steve Jobs has said (behind the veil, quoted second- and third-hand, of course) is " the most important thing I've ever done."

Tomorrow, the speculation gadget, most likely wrought in stops, and we'll be there. But sexy sharp-edged aluminum and prior to our coverage tomorrow, obsidian glass.

I'd love to know what you think.

But for each of Apple's primary In the comments, please: Based mainstream successes--the iPod on what we know to this point, and the iPhone--the company would you buy an Apple tablet? was not breaking any moulds.

Check back tomorrow for our For each, Apple significantly live coverage and analysis.

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thick cloud of radiation, starting with Hitler's opening address at the 1936 Olympics, and ending with this morning's broadcast of the Rachael Ray Show. But as more and more people receive their media beamed down to them from digital satellites, not up to them from analog radio towers, that signal slowly fades away, drastically reducing the chance that aliens might detect our tiny blue rock.

But according to Simon Conway Morris, a professor of evolutionary paleobiology at Cambridge University, that might be a good thing. Morris told the conference that emotions are part of the evolution of intelligent thought, so aliens may likely be as greedy, egocentric, and bellicose as humans. Add significantly more advanced technology, and you've got a recipe for Independence Day, not

Avatar.

And regardless of whether the aliens come in peace, or for our tasty, tasty flesh, we won't know what to do. Martin Dominik, an astrophysicist at the University of St Andrews in the UK who organized the conference, told the audience that no government has a plan for dealing with first contact. Dominik then advocated that the United Nations develop the plan, since "it's too important

New Chip Provides Cheap At-Home Sperm Counting

By Stuart Fox (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now) Submitted at 1/26/2010 8:26:18 AM

As if having trouble conceiving a child wasn't painful enough, the current method of male fertility testing adds to that misery with multiple trips to the doctor, awkward moments in sterile rooms, and lengthy waits while lab technicians painstakingly count out individual sperm. A newly developed chip may change that, for any one country." [ The Daily Telegraph, Nature, and provide a fast, at-home method for anyone to test their and The Guardian] sperm count.

Developed by scientists at the University of Twente, Holland, the new chip electrically measures the concentration of sperm in a semen sample against a control liquid filled with polystyrene beads, rather than relying on a human to count each sperm one at a time. And instead of giving an exact sperm count, NEW page 74

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the chip simply tells the user whether they have more or less than the World Health Organization standard of 20 million sperm per milliliter of ejaculate. After three samples taken on different days, the chip will have provided an accurate average sperm count.

The chip is rugged and easy enough for home use, eliminating the need to produce a sample in a sterile, foreign, decidedly unromantic doctor's office. Additionally, by automating and speeding up the whole process, the chip significantly reduces the cost of

the entire process.

Unfortunately, male infertility can result from factors other than a low sperm count, and the chip does not measure other important factors like sperm shape and mobility. But the chip does provide a good, cheap starting point for any man worried about his ability to produce a child.