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Calls growing for Congress to investigate Fort Hood gunman By JoAnne Allen (Front Row Washington) Submitted at 11/10/2009 9:58:19 PM
Amid the growing calls for congressional investigations into the Fort Hood rampage, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton is advocating a different approach — wait and see how investigations by the Army and the FBI progress. “It is important that we get to the bottom of this incident, but we must be careful to proceed in a deliberate, studied manner that will not interfere with the ongoing criminal investigation by the FBI and the Army’s criminal investigative service, Skelton, a Missouri Democrat, said on Tuesday. “Right now, we need to avoid jumping to any conclusions and give the Army and the FBI a chance to do their jobs.”
Calls for lawmakers to find answers came almost immediately after 13 people were killed in a shooting rampage at the Army post last week. The alleged shooter, an American-born Muslim Army psychiatrist, is said to have been in contact with an Islamist sympathetic to al Qaeda. Another call came on Tuesday, this one from Rep. Howard McKeon, the senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. The California representative requested a thorough congressional investigation conducted in a way that would not compromise the FBI and Army probes. U.S. government officials have declined to speculate about a possible motive and the suspect isn’t talking. “We owe it to the men and
women in uniform, and their families, to better understand how and why the tragic incident took place; whether this was a terrorist incident; and whether there was sufficient actionable information available to Army and government authorities to
have prevented this tragedy,” McKeon said in a statement. Senate Homeland Security Chairman Joe Lieberman says his panel will open an investigation next week. “The committee will be conducting an investigation into
Look! A Modern Warfare 2 aimbot and wall hack By Matt Burns (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:20:44 AM
So sad. Hours after Modern Feel free to vent about Infinity Warfare 2 was released, an Ward in comments below. I aimbot and wall hack surface. won’t stop you.
what Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s motives were, whether the government missed warning signs that should have led to expulsion, and what lessons we can learn to prevent such future attacks,” Lieberman, a Connecticut independent said in a statement on Monday announcing the probe. The House Intelligence Committee, led by Texas Democrat Silvestre Reyes, said it plans to question national intelligence director Dennis Blair — possibly as soon as next week. Photo credit:Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi (U.S. soldiers hug in front of fallen soldier memorials; soldiers pay their respects at Fort Hood memorial for shooting victims; )/ HO Old (Lieberman) Click here for more Reuters politcical coverage
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Those left behind: The legacy of Arlington’s Section 60 By Larry Downing (Front Row Washington) Submitted at 11/11/2009 6:50:37 AM
Larry Downing is a Reuters senior staff photographer assigned to the White House. He shares that duty with three other staff photographers. He has lived in Washington since 1977 and has been assigned to cover the White House, since 1978. President Barack Obama is the sixth president Larry has photographed. “People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” George Orwell Veteran’s Day is a time to remember “All gave some....Some gave all.” Before reaching the new gravestones in Arlington National Cemetery’s ‘Section 60’ it’s easy to recognize why a simple, quilted, patch of green grass and white stones buried alongside the quiet banks of the Potomac River troubles the heart. Names etched into fresh marble tell the sad tale of early death...Travis L. Youngblood.... Justin Ray Davis....Andy D. Anderson....Thomas J. Barbieri Jr..... Kenneth E. Zeigler II....James R. McIlvaine .... America’s varsity players benched early in the game. ‘Section 60’ is America’s promise to honor its warriors for first serving, and then dying, in the strange dusts on foreign soil. Its 22211 zip code is the final
address for roughly ten-percent of America’s dead from combat action in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 570 service members from “Operation Enduring Freedom” and “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” are “interred, inurned or memorialized with honor inside the cemetery.” Spend time in the section and you can’t help but breathe the restless cloud of uneasiness that hangs over the calm symmetry of the graves. Your eyes lie; you actually “see” the pieces of shattered hearts and lost ambitions scattered across the manicured grounds. You “feel” why this is America’s field of broken dreams. Fathers, mothers, widows and
children are all lost as they chase the ghost of vanished love inside the shadows of a sinister fog. Watch an abandoned friend or family member alone in anguish softly whispering to the dead and you’ll realize the devil deals mean cards. Cards that have forced a grieving mother to stare at the letters of her baby’s name chiseled onto a gravestone not long after those same letters were neatly printed on a new birth certificate. No woman deserves to lose her child in war and then tragically continue her life driving a car with the unwanted license plate reading “Gold Star Family.” No wife should ask God “why” the only man who ever promised to protect her is gone.
Black, white, brown, or yellow skins are equal. There is no racial prejudice after death. Republicans and Democrats agree...In silence. Gays are finally treated with respect. No one asks...no one tells... Passages recited from the Koran are as beautiful as those recited from the Bible. The impact of two distant wars became personal once the “knocks on the door” delivered the horrifying news and haunted a house forever. Prayers that the Pentagon “got it wrong” vanished when asked if they wanted an ‘Arlington’ funeral. ‘Arlington’ is an idyllic hillside cemetery and is easily seen while driving on the Arlington And no child should ever cry out M e m o r i a l B r i d g e t o w a r d s to mommy “where’s my daddy?” Virginia. It’s the last stop straight An ‘Arlington’ funeral means a ahead. father will never experience the It’s also the last stop for those joy of giving his daughter’s hand sons and daughters who were away in marriage. killed after announcing to their Television got it right when they family they wanted to be “Army called ‘Section 60’ “the saddest S t r o n g ” o r p a r t o f “ T h e acre in America.” Few...The Proud” and then Robert E. Drawl Jr...... Kevin D. fearlessly joined the deadliest Grieco.... Charles E. Wyckoff... profession. Michael Ross Stahlman.... They volunteered; even while Death is the greatest equalizer; never reading the frightening only after a funeral does the draft notice of their father’s phrase: “...all men are created generation. One sent on behalf of equal” written in the nation’s the President of the United States ‘Declaration of Independence’ d u r i n g t h e V i e t n a m W a r take life. beginning with the terrifying, Generals lie buried the same “Greeting....You are hereby depth underground as the men ordered for induction into the and women they commanded in THOSE page 3 life.
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Armed Forces of the United States....” Both the draft and that war ended in the 1970’s. The names of 58,261 brave Americans are etched into the “wall” inside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the other end of that same bridge. About the time energetic eighteen year-old college freshmen are searching for an “awesome” campus tailgate party, America’s young soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen are finishing their individual combat specialty schools and boarding the express bus to the front lines. Thoughts of joining sororities and fraternities are long gone. Learning the dangers of the “kill radius” of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and recognizing the “signs and symptoms of hypovolemic shock” are more important. A severed femoral artery is quick to kill in the field. Today’s military volunteer swears to an oath to do “whatever it takes” to hold the protective umbrella over the nation during the storms in violent times. Doubts of joining the military were erased after witnessing an attack on their nation September 11, 2001. Things became clear for them in the dawn’s morning light. ‘Section 60’ is one of approximately 70 sections inside the 624 fenced acres of ‘Arlington’ where more than 320,000 heros are honored. The first military burial took place in
1864 during the American Civil War when the cemetery opened. The U.S. Army’s 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) maintains a sentry inside the cemetery on duty every second of every day. The ceremonial guards from each branch of service provide military honors during the somber burial of one of their own. Temporary paper markers are placed in the dirt above the grave after a funeral while waiting for the permanent marble stones. Ryan Patrick Baumann....Eric W. Hall....Colby J. Umbrell....James C. Edge.... A triangular folded American flag is all that remains to hold for the devastated family members during a funeral in ‘Section 60.’ “Gold Star” mother Lyvonne Lightfoot hugs the flag that draped her 20 year-old son’s casket on August 4, 2009. Anthony M. Lightfoot died in Afghanistan, July 2009, while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Rebecca Baldeosingh holds the flag from her husband’s casket at his funeral on August 4, 2009, after he was killed last June in Iraq. The Iraq war made Laura Youngblood an early widow in 2005 while pregnant with her second child. Husband Travis Youngblood was a U.S. Navy medic who died from wounds suffered from an IED during combat operations with the U.S. Marines in Hit, Iraq.
She visited her husband in May 2009 during the Memorial Day weekend. After touching his gravestone, she stood up, gently kissed the top of the marble and said, “See you tomorrow, honey.” And then left.... “Gold Star” mother Patty Davis thought she was an “Army of One” when raising her only child, Justin, alone for eighteen years before turning him over to the U.S. Army. He had just graduated from high school weeks earlier and he had no fear of serving in wartime. Justin was spirited and was strong. “A million dollar smile,” Mrs. Davis proudly boasts. Proof is seen in a large photograph moments after entering her home in Maryland. “He wanted to be in Kung Fu movies...the next Jet Li.” And he loved the idea of joining the Army so much that the night before he reported for his first day of duty he made his mother stay up with him and watch two war movies, “Saving Private Ryan,” and “Black Hawk Down.” Hours later they drove to the U.S. Army recruiting office. Mrs. Davis was now alone for the first time in nearly two decades. “I drove a few blocks down the street, stopped, and just cried....” One year later she cried again...only harder. Justin was finally coming home from the war and “did she want him buried at Arlington?” The entire time he was gone she thought “Afghanistan was a safer
war,” she said. For two months after his funeral Mrs. Davis slept inside his bed; “I still go and sit on his bed for comfort.” Justin’s room is exactly as it was the day he joined the army in 2005. The four cardboard boxes containing his belongings from Afghanistan are still unopened on the floor of his room. Justin’s first pair of baby’s shoes hangs from the door knob to the room. Mrs. Davis drives to ‘Section 60’ after church every Sunday, “rain or shine,” to honor him. “If I don’t, who will?” “This is our Vietnam Memorial,” she said. She then explained, “The burden of two wars falls on a select few....Most Americans are not asked to sacrifice. Our leaders should find every means possible to not go to war...” Justin died shortly after turning 19 years-old. “He would have been a great father.....now I’ll miss that,” said Mrs. Davis. Mrs. Davis and “Gold Star” mother Xiomara Mena (Anderson) are best friends now after meeting in ‘Section 60.’ Their boys are buried within steps of each other. Mrs. Anderson is also a “Blue Star” mother; she has two other children serving in combat overseas. Mrs. Anderson patiently uses her household scissors to trim the grass around the gravestone of her son, Andy D. Anderson, who died in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in June 2006.
“Arlington takes good care of my son...” she said, “but I like to keep him neat.” Mrs. Anderson’s motherly instinct is still alive after three years since Andy’s funeral. Watching her carefully clip the grass around her son’s grave seems as natural as watching a loving mother making up her son’s bed in the morning. “Gold Star” mother Vicki Zeigler deserves her own medal for the unwavering devotion to her son, Kenneth E. Zeigler II; driving EVERY weekend to visit ‘Arlington’ from Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. Kenneth died while serving with the U.S. Army in Baghdad, Iraq, in May 2005. Mrs. Zeigler arrives early and unfolds a beach chair before spending the entire day serenely staring at the name of her baby boy while recalling the day he was born after “6 hours of hard labor” in 1983. Kenneth loved “God, mom, family, ‘Metallica’ and the New York Yankees...and in that order,” says Mrs. Zeigler. “He was a momma’s boy until the end,” she proudly said. As he was lying on the ground and fighting for his life while wounded his sergeant leaned down and whispered “we’ll take care of mom,” she explained. Kenneth then relaxed and slipped away after knowing his mom was in strong hands. Mrs. Zeigler drives in a car devoted to the memory of her THOSE page 4
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hero. All three women expressed concerns for American’s who have loved ones in harm’s way and may be forced in the future to sit in the “green chairs” for family members during an ‘Arlington’ funeral. Theodore Uland Church....Garrett T. Lawton....Darryl Demetrial Booker.... Deforest Lee Talbert... Photojournalists assigned to military funerals are tough and rarely flinch. Cameras make great walls to hide behind when emotions become powerful. Tears have always dripped down from behind mine during an “Arlington’ funeral. Watching a sobbing widow hug a cold casket for the last time is unnerving. Rebecca Baldeosingh and her daughters attended the funeral of her husband and their father, Juan C. Baldeosingh, who was killed last June in Iraq. He was buried in Section 60 with honor on August 4, 2009. The most horrifying funeral I’ve attended was by accident at the end of the first Persian Gulf War in 1991 along the Iraq-Kuwait border. It still haunts me today. Photojournalist Mike Nelson and I stumbled upon an eerie scene in the desert that belonged in “The Twilight Zone.” Over 100 Iraqi soldiers were fleeing north from Kuwait at the end of the war when allied warplanes launched rockets stopping the head of the snaking convoy.
The attacking aircraft then dropped exploding gas bombs high over the remaining vehicles in the convoy. The explosion created huge clouds of fire above the troops and burned all the breathable oxygen without scorching anyone below. In short, the explosion sucked the air out of the lungs of every man. Each corpse looked alive as we approached and they were still holding their rifles while seated inside their vehicles. The memory of that sharp, biting, warm stench of death remains with my lungs today. The British army arrived and carved a mass grave using bulldozers. Soldiers respectfully dragged the scores of dead bodies across the warm sands to their final grave before prayers were offered over the fallen. Nearly 19 years have passed since that day and Iraqi mothers are still wondering where their sons are buried. The Americans stationed inside the secure air base in Da Nang during the Vietnam War were easy targets for the Viet Cong who were hiding in the surrounding mountains east of the base. The VC used seven-foot long, deadly 122mm Russianmade rockets launched inaccurately from bamboo bipods to terrorize the troops below. Chalk was used to tally “the count” on a wall inside the perimeter and over 650 rockets were launched from those mountains between September
1972 and September 1973. A lethal game of Russian roulette played against the grim reaper during the year of living dangerously. “If you heard a rocket explode or heard the siren, you had one goal...grab your helmet, flak jacket and haul ass to the nearest sandbag bunker scattered around our compound,” said a friend of mine, a U.S. Air Force security policeman who survived that year. During one night’s rocket attack that same airman raced into the thick, wet muck in the “binjo ditch” that was used to drain latrine water away from the barracks. Both of his feet slide in different directions when they hit the sewage and then stopped abruptly. His forward motion continued and both ankles were brutally twisted as he fell hard. The memories of the “pop and a blinding pain” around his ankles are linked with the intense fear of dying during that rocket attack. The injuries were so severe that at “20 years old, I would never be able to run, jump or even walk normally for the rest of my life,” he writes in an email. “They would’ve healed if they both broke,” said the doctors. September 1973 arrived and he hobbled aboard the “freedom bird” leaving Da Nang. Vietnam and the war were now in his rear view mirror...or so he thought. In the years before he arrived “in country” the air base had supported “Operation Ranch Hand;” an Air Force program
involving the spraying of millions of gallons of a harsh herbicide “Agent Orange” over the jungles of Southeast Asia. The deadly chemical was used to kill the thick vegetation hiding the enemy. “Agent Orange” was sprayed over the rivers, fields, and jungles of Vietnam altering the normal life cycle of all living plants, animals and humans on the ground. Air Force Security Policemen patrolled the areas on the base where splashed “Agent Orange” had dripped onto the ground leaving a contaminated residue. My friend spent a year kicking up and inhaling that dust. 36 years have passed since he left Vietnam and he will never be able to enjoy the simple, pleasurable, act of walking a dog. The permanent damage to his ankles combined with the exposure to “Agent Orange” leaves him 100% disabled. His days begin, then end, sitting in a motorized wheelchair. It’s a painful “hell;” his crippling souvenir for bravely volunteering for a year in Vietnam. “There were dark, dark periods of unmentionable anger, fear, even desperation a time or two,” he said. He admits he is now “a controlled drug addict” relying on powerful prescription drugs to ease the sharp pain he wakes up to each morning. He was my hero when we were Air Force Security Policemen stationed together on an island in the Mediterranean and he is my super-hero today. (I’ve omitted
his name at his request). Jeremy A. Chandler....Deveran L. Owen....Adam Leigh Cann.... Steven R. Koch.... Combat veterans find the search for “closure” a lonely battle after losing a friend in war. Veterans’ motorcycle club “Patriots Pride” rode from Charleston, West Virginia, to visit the grave of soldier DeForest Lee Talbert who is buried at ‘Arlington.’ Each rider served in combat with Talbert before he died in July 2004. Talbot’s son, Deontae James Hamlet, stands proudly with the men who knew his father. Susan Blankenship traveled to ‘Arlington’ to “rub” the gravestone of Steven A. Davis for her son who served with Davis in Iraq. Mrs. Blankenship’s son could not make the trip to ‘Arlington’ but he wanted the rubbing for “closure.” Davis died in 2007. “Gold Star” mother Carolann Barbieri sits alone as she writes a private letter to her son on July 4, 2009. Barbieri died in 2006 while in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Visitors to ‘Section 60’ leave small stones or personalized mementos on top of a grave to honor those buried below. Some are unique but most follow the simple Jewish tradition of leaving a single pebble per visit on the gravestone of a loved one. Veteran’s Day is celebrated on November 11th in the United THOSE page 7
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Republican senators call for ending era of ‘permanent politicians’ By Thomas Ferraro (Front Row Washington)
amendment want to change the Constitution. To become law, the proposed Submitted at 11/10/2009 3:03:07 PM amendment would have to clear a Don’t expect the U.S. Congress high bar in what has become an — packed with old men and increasingly divided Congress. A women who have been in office two-thirds majority vote would for decades — to embrace a be needed by both the House and proposal to term limit Senate, and then the measure themselves. would have to be approved by Republican senators Jim three-fourths of the 50 states. DeMint, Tom Coburn, Kay Interestingly enough, DeMint Bailey Hutchison and Sam and Coburn, who often complain Brownback offered such a about the old ways of Congress, measure on Tuesday, saying it are in their first terms. would be good to get fresh blood Hutchison and Brownback are in about the next generation than tinker with the U.S. Constitution. their fourth and third terms, on Capitol Hill. They also argue that Americans respectively, and they don’t plan “Americans know real change in their next election.” Washington will never happen The four Republican senators should be free to vote for whom to run for re-election. They until we end the era of permanent p r o p o s e d a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l they want. would like to remain on the amendment that would limit Calls for congressional term public payroll, however. They politicians,” DeMint said. “ O v e r t h e l a s t 2 0 y e a r s , m e m b e r s o f t h e H o u s e o f limits have a history. intend to run for governor of Washington politicians have been Representatives to three, two- Republicans won control of the their states. re-elected about 90 percent of the year terms — and members of House and Senate for the first Click here for more Reuters time because the system is the Senate to two, six-year terms. t i m e i n 4 0 y e a r s i n 1 9 9 4 , political coverage promising congressional term Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed h e a v i l y t i l t e d i n f a v o r o f Easier said than done. Previous efforts, dating back to limits. But once in power they (DeMint speaks alongside other incumbents.” Coburn says the best way to the birth of the nation, have come failed to deliver. lawmakers in February) ensure a government of the up short and this one will likely A subsequent Supreme Court ruling struck down congressional people “is to replace the career fail as well. politicians in Washington with Those in power like to remain in term limits as unconstitutional. citizen legislators who care more power, and they don’t like to So backers of the proposed
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Surfing the Road On an iPhone-Controlled Oldsmobile [IPhone] By Jesus Diaz (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:20:00 AM
Remember that smart German iPhone-controlled car that used cameras, GPS, and lasers to perfectly run through the streets of Berlin? Well, screw German efficient engineering. That's not how we do things in America. Here we modify battered, crappy cars—like this 1988 Oldsmobile Delta—in just four weeks using "a few motors, potentiometers, a Compact RIO embedded controller, and LabVIEW," which get connected to the iPhone using Wi-Fi. And then we strip out the doors for fun. And we ride it on top of its roof. Hopefully to an In-n-Out drivein. Would you like to do it yourself? Your lucky day, Mad Max. Here's a video tutorial: And if that wasn't enough, you can also drive it using a modded Power Wheels truck. America, I salute you. [ Engineer Awesome via LikeCool]
Correction | Michael Tomasky By Michael Tomasky (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:34:02 AM
My friend Sarah Posner, who
does an excellent job on the religion beat for The American Prospect and other publications, tells me that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops does have a legal lobbying arm.
It has a government relations department that is allowed to lobby, as long as it doesn't exceed a certain percentage of time and money. I regret the error.
• United States Michael Tomasky guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our
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The First Draft: should Obama embrace new structural reforms? By David Morgan (Front Row Washington) Submitted at 11/11/2009 6:40:37 AM
Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs are two guys who think President Barack Obama better embrace new structural reforms if he wants a growing economy that isn’t hard-wired to go bust. Dodd, a Democrat fighting for his political life at home, proposed sweeping regulatory legislation this week that would curb the Federal Reserve’s bank oversight powers, strengthen consumer protection and keep a sharp eye out for systemic problems like housing or stock market bubbles. The 1,136-page measure reflects Obama’s policies in some ways — for example, it supports the White House call for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency — but it also charts new regulatory waters. “What we have (now) is a hodgepodge that has grown over the last 80 years, some of it
dating to the 19th century and early 20th century regulatory structures,” Dodd told MSNBC. “These agencies basically have provided a forum for financial institutions that look for a weak charter, in a sense. They shop around and get it. So we need to eliminate or change that fundamentally.” “I think you’re really on the right
track,” Sachs told Dodd in the same broadcast. But Sachs, who became famous for his economic work in the developing world, thinks Obama should adopt much broader structural change and says current White House policy is akin to using a morning-after drink as a hangover remedy. “The Obama administration’s
stimulus policies are not well targeted. The Republican alternatives are even worse. Both sides are missing the key fact: the U.S. economy needs structural change,” Sachs writes in an op-ed column in today’s Financial Times. Sachs, who now focuses on sustainable development as director of Columbia’s Earth Institute, says the president is bent on restoring American consumer spending. Instead, he says, the United States needs dollar depreciation, greater support for exports, a massive expansion in education spending and a robust conversion to a low-carbon economy. “Move now, Mr. President,” Sachs says in the FT, “or we will spend our time digging out of the next consumer bust and buying our technology from China.” Click here for more Reuters political coverage Photo Credits: Reuters/Jim Young (Dodd); Reuters/Reuters Photographer (Sachs)
OutRun Cabinet Modded Into Most Dangerous Car Ever [Bad Ideas] By Adam Frucci (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:33:59 AM
This seems dangerous: a crazy person is taking an old OutRun cabinet and turning it into an actual working car that renders on screen what's actually in front of you. A project of Garnet Hertz of the Pasadena Art Center College of Design, this is a classic OutRun arcade cabinet that's been placed on an EVT America Electric Trike with electric motors that can go up to a whopping 20MPH. Check out the below video to see a bit more about how this thing will work. [ ConceptLab via Jalopnik]
Carbon Fiber Ribbon of Light [Art] By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo)
"The complexity of curves and required thinness could not be Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:00:00 AM duplicated in any other material I would have assumed this lamp while still maintaining its ability was aluminum, had designer to support itself completely..." Marcus Tremonto not explained: Usually when I picture carbon
slate-colored slab that's delicately thin but mostly flat—or I picture the Ossur cheetah legs that are curved but only for industrial fiber, I imagine that monotonous, utility. I'd never imagined carbon fiber
as a ribbon of light.[ Contemporist via cribcandy]
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Clinton hopes for success where his effort failed By Donna Smith (Front Row Washington) Submitted at 11/10/2009 2:00:24 PM
Former President Bill Clinton is clearly hoping that Congress succeeds this time around where his administration failed 15 years ago. And perfection is not required — just get healthcare reform done. That was Clinton’s message to Senate Democrats who are now behind the steering wheel in trying to move legislation forward. Clinton’s own effort to overhaul the healthcare system in 1994 fizzled long before reaching this far — the House of Representatives approved its version of a bill last weekend. Clinton told Democratic senators at their weekly lunch that healthcare reform was an economic imperative and they should not let this latest opportunity slip away. “It is not important to be perfect here, it is important to get it passed,” Clinton told reporters after the meeting. ”The worst thing to do is nothing — that was my message today.” President Barack Obama wants
healthcare legislation passed by the end of this year. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is hoping the Senate can do that, but time is running short as he awaits an official cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. Reid faces a tough task of stitching together one bill from separate bills passed by two Senate committees that will garner the 60 votes needed to move it in the 100-member chamber. Senators said the pep talk by Clinton helped. “People trust him,” said Senate
Video: Obama's Eulogy at Fort Hood (Little Green Footballs)
[Video]
Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, who is playing a major role in writing the Senate bill. “He has excellent political and policy judgments and he believes it is far better to pass healthcare legislation than not.” “He’s the former president of the United States he’s got a lot of sway, he’s a big man.” Baucus said. For more Reuters political coverage click here Photo credit: Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus (Former President Clinton and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in August 2009)
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States. It’s a national day of honor recognizing veterans for “throwing their hat in the ring” to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. Look for a veteran in November and buy him a cup of coffee, or a sandwich, and give thanks for their service. Travel to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. and volunteer to help the “wounded warriors” who are fighting for their dignity with less than whole bodies. U.S. Army Sgt. Joey Bozik (L) talks to Vietnam veteran Army Col. Oliver Mahatha Sr. (R) in the physical therapy room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2005. Bozik lost two legs and one arm from an explosion in Iraq.
Wounded Army Sgt. John Daniel Shannon wears the Purple Heart with pride on his eye patch while testifying before Congress in 2007. Or, walk the extra mile to ‘Section 60’ inside ‘Arlington’ and place a small pebble on the grave of an American hero....It’s their day. U.S. Marine SSgt. William C. Rapier, of Quantico, Virginia, shows his son around Arlington National Cemetery in 2006. Greg Lamonte Sutton.... Jamie D. Wilson.... Charles E. Wyckoff... Philip Andrew Johnson Jr.....
Samsung Dumping Symbian [Cellphones] By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:32:53 AM
So this is why Samsung announced bada. That new OS will replace Symbian starting in 2010, according to Samsung's senior VP, Don Joo Lee. (No worries, Samsung will continue to sell Windows Mobile and
Android handsets.) But as for Symbian, the OS will certainly take a hit without a piece of Samsung's 200 million or so phones shipping yearly (a figure based upon their expected 2009 numbers). Ouch. [ DigiTimes via techblips UberGizmo]
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FBI latest computer overhaul has more glitches
1989 and all that | Andrew Brown
By James Vicini (Front Row Washington)
By Andrew Brown (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)
Submitted at 11/10/2009 11:07:36 AM
Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:38:05 AM
The FBI’s trouble-plagued, longrunning effort to put in place a new computer system has hit a few more glitches. An audit report Tuesday by the Justice Department’s inspector general said the latest phase of the project for a fully electronic case management system will take three months longer than last expected and will cost $155 million — $18 million more than what had been budgeted. It identified several new areas of concern with the overall progress of the so-called Sentinel project and with implementation of the project’s second phase. There have been problems with the FBI’s computer systems dating back more than a decade and the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks led FBI Director Robert Mueller to try to accelerate efforts for a massive upgrade. In 2006, the FBI awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to develop the system in four phases. The FBI came up with the project after problems caused it to scrap an earlier system.
The FBI’s estimate of Sentinel’s overall cost has not increased from about $450 million since the last inspector general audit nearly a year ago. But the overall project completion date has been pushed back to September of 2010, three months later than what the FBI previously estimated and nine months later than what was originally planned, according to the audit. The audit also said FBI employees have expressed concerns about the system’s current operation, complaining
about its slow response time to requests for information. An upgrade of the FBI’s aging computer network, planned to be done by December, should make the system faster. The FBI said in a statement that it “appreciates the inspector general’s review of the FBI’s Sentinel Program progress and recognition of the FBI’s efforts to resolve concerns identified in previous Sentinel audits.” Click here for more Reuters political coverage. - Photo credit: Reuters/Nir Elias
Anniversary fatigue may be widespread, but there's much food for thought in 1989 A little more than 20 years ago I met the bravest and most inspiring Christians of my career: thin, middle-aged, rather drab women a church in East Berlin. Each one of them was about half the size of the lounging Stasi thugs on the porch, who wore, instead of the black jackboots you might expect, shiny white trainers. The women inside were on hungerstrike, like their sisters in Leipzig. Their cause seemed utterly hopeless, yet within a week the wall had come down. I often wonder what they made of it all, because they were not only Christians, but socialists. What they wanted was not capitalism, and certainly not the leering vulgarity of West Berlin, but a purified more human form Andrew Brown of socialism. Of course they and guardian.co.uk© Guardian News their fine sentiments were tossed & Media Limited 2009 | Use of aside like bladderwrack when the this content is subject to our tide of history changed. But still Terms & Conditions| More Feeds their memory haunts me. It was
Smartphone users, keep complaining By Jessica Dolcourt (Webware.com)
Want great software for your mobile phone? Keep up the complaints. That was the
message at a Tuesday session aimed at developers at the BlackBerry Developer
they who had the courage and self-discipline to act and to bring in a society where neither was valued as they valued it. The fall of the wall was not just a great liberation. This week, we've chosen as our question "Was 1989 a good year for humanity?" At first we feared there'd be no one to answer in the negative; in fact, today, Hugh O'Shaughnessy does just that. On Monday, Charlotte Methuen, a theology student in West Germany at the time, remembers what it was like to hear a young woman in her train compartment exclaim "Ich bin so froh! Ich bin so froh!" on learning that she had permission to stay in the Federal Republic. Later in the week we'll have Ulrich Duchrow of Heidelberg University, and marxist historian Peter Thompson. • Religion • Germany • Berlin Wall
Conference in San Francisco. Originally posted at Crave
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Latest book on Obama’s reading list: Disney to report earnings Thursday: Should Life of Pi investors be excited? By Caren Bohan (Front Row Washington)
By Steven Mallas (BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 11/10/2009 1:00:54 PM
Presidential reading lists have a tendency to set Washington abuzz. Last month, when the Wall Street Journal reported that President Barack Obama was reading Gordon Goldstein’s “Lessons in Disaster,” pundits wondered if the book about the mistakes of the Vietnam War might hold clues to the president’s thinking on his Afghanistan strategy. Yesterday, during a Reuters interview, when Obama asked what I was reading with my 12year-old son (”Great Expectations”), he revealed that he was reading the best-selling fantasy-adventure book “Life of Pi.” His 11-year-old daughter, Malia, is reading it on her own and Obama, who read the Harry Potter series to her when she was younger, finds it compelling too.
Submitted at 11/11/2009 9:00:00 AM
“It’s a wonderful book,” Obama said of the prize-winning novel by Yann Martel about an Indian boy cast adrift in a lifeboat with a tiger, a hyena, a zebra and an orangutan. “There are whole…chapters that really have to do with talking about Hinduism and Christianity and comparing it … there’s a lot of philosophical stuff in there,” Obama said. “But for some reason she’s hanging in there.”
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, General Electric (GE), Walt Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA), CBS Corp 'B' (CBS), News Corp'B' (NWS), Marvel Entertainment (MVL) Disney ( DIS), a media business that competes with Viacom( VIA), CBS( CBS), News Corp.( NWS), and General Electric's ( Without revealing the ending, GE) NBC Universal, will be Obama may be in for a nasty talking up its fourth-quarter surprise… (if you want a hint numbers on Thursday after the bell. Are you a shareholder? If click here.) Click here for more Reuters so, are you excited? Well, don't get too excited, because we might political coverage Photo credit: Reuters/Peter not be getting any growth, even if MacDiarmid (Author Yann the Mouse beats on the bottom Martel after winning Booker line. According to Earnings.com, Prize for Fiction 2002 for “Life the call is for 40 cents per share versus the 43 cents per share of Pi”) made in the comparable period. You know what, though? For the most part, I'm not so concerned with exactly how much Disney makes this quarter. I'm a shareholder, and I want to see
Is Mozilla's contributions program working? By Josh Lowensohn (Webware.com)
A few months ago Mozilla gave add-on developers a tip jar as a way for them to get paid for their
creations. But is anyone making any money off the program? Originally posted at Web
Crawler
management at least come in at the estimate, of course, but I'll be more interested in the conference call. Way more interested this time around, in fact. Continue reading Disney to report earnings Thursday: Should investors be excited? Disney to report earnings Thursday: Should investors be excited? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
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First remembrance service observed without first world war generation By Stephen Bates (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)
abbey's grave of the unknown warrior, the unidentified corpse brought from France in 1920 to stand for all the dead. GoldSubmitted at 11/11/2009 8:44:26 AM braided generals and admirals Country marks 11th hour as mingled with morning-suited Queen attends Westminster veterans, chests full of medals service to commemorate passing from later conflicts, and their of last three survivors left in wives and with young soldiers Britain fresh from Afghanistan and Iraq. In pictures: Remembrance Day Among them stood Lance ceremonies Corporal Johnson Beharry, who A profound silence, to remember won the Victoria Cross in Iraq, once more the dead of Britain's and Trooper Mark Donaldson of wars of the last century, fell the Australian army, whose VC across the country today at 11am, was awarded last year for in annual commemoration of the protecting wounded colleagues moment that the guns of the first from the Taliban. The red of their world war stopped firing 91 years medal ribbons shone vividly in ago. But today's silence was the the autumn light. They were first unobserved by anyone who charged with carrying a huge fought in that great war. wreath of poppies for the Queen To mark the passing of the last to lay on the unknown warrior's three survivors in Britain – Bill grave at the end of the service. Stone, Harry Patch and Henry Above the tomb hung a union Allingham, who last year laid flag, used to cover the bodies of wreaths at the Cenotaph but have the dead and on makeshift altars each since died – the great and on the western front. good, led by the Queen, attended In the choir stalls sat former a commemoration at Westminster prime ministers Lady Thatcher Abbey. Only one British survivor and Sir John Major and behind is thought to be still alive: former them Gordon Brown, glowering, seaman Claude Choules, living in as if acutely conscious that the Australia, aged 108. Allingham m e r e s t t w i t c h w o u l d b e was briefly the oldest person in misinterpreted. Even the abbey the world before he died at the seemed to have got in on the age of 113. protocol of snubbing: the order of The congregation represented service said all should remain "the most illustrious of the land", seated for the prime minister's echoing the inscription on the entrance, whereas they were
instructed to stand when the lord mayor of Westminster walked in. Perhaps in the two minutes' silence the prime minister might have reflected that his predecessor Herbert Asquith could never have written notes to relatives of all the dead of the first world war: on average nearly 600 a day, every day for more than four years, compared with the 232 lost so far in Afghanistan in nearly twice as long. The relatives of those killed in Flanders and France had to await the dreaded telegram and a pro-forma letter from the king. Asquith himself, oppressed by the war and the death of his eldest son on the Somme, would retire to the Athenaeum library in the afternoons for some improving reading, a luxury not available to Brown. In the abbey, Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, spoke of the routine intensity of loss during the first world war and its effect on the national spirit: "An automatic belief in national righteousness, governmental wisdom, the trustworthiness of official communication and popular media alike – all these were shaken, apparently beyond repair. "The generation that has passed walked forward with vision and bravery and held together the bonds of our society, our
continent, our commonwealth through a terrible century. May we learn the lessons they learned; and God save us from learning them in the way they had to." Across the country, work stopped for two minutes in schools, offices and shops. There were acts of remembrance at the armed forces memorial in Staffordshire and in Trafalgar Square. In Helmand too, soldiers at British operational headquarters bowed their heads. After the abbey service, relatives of Stone and Allingham pronounced themselves pleased. Ronald Cator, Allingham's nephew, said: "It was very moving. Henry would have thought it very fitting." Harry Patch might not have agreed. After last year's remembrance service he told reporters: "It's too much fuss about nothing. I did my duty. I was thinking of my three mates that I lost. They were just like me, civilians." • Remembrance Day • First world war • Second world war • Military Stephen Bates guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds
GM chairman claims company can pay back U.S. loans By Zac Bissonnette (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 11/11/2009 11:00:00 AM
Filed under: General Motors (GM) Speaking at Texas Lutheran University, General Motors ( GRM) chairman Edward E. Whitacre Jr. said that the company would be able to pay back all of its government loans-soon! "There is a sense of urgency at G.M. to repay the money we owe as soon as possible," Whitacre said. "Can G.M. pay back its loans? You bet. I can't tell you when but it won't be very long and it's sooner than you think." Continue reading GM chairman claims company can pay back U.S. loans GM chairman claims company can pay back U.S. loans originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Tariq Ramadan in North America | Sheldon Chad By Sheldon Chad (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)
The government alleged that from 1998 to 2002, Ramadan contributed around $1,300 to a Swiss-based charity, the Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:39:17 AM Association de Secours But it's Canada, not the US, that P a l e s t i n i e n , w h i c h t h e U S allowed the controversial thinker claimed was allied with Hamas. in to address the American Ramadan, who is a visiting Academy of Religion fellow at St Antony's College At the weekend, Tariq Ramadan Oxford, said that he had donated addressed the annual meeting of the money a year before the US t h e A m e r i c a n A c a d e m y o f blacklisted the charity, yet the US Religion(AAR) for the first time authorities expected him to have in five years in circumvention of been in full knowledge of its a ban on him entering the US. activities. That exclusion could be lifted "It's just simply remarkable that within weeks. such a distinguished scholar is Ramadan managed to speak to not allowed access to academic the AAR – the largest association communities and conferences of religious scholars in the world like this in the US," says Mark – because it was holding its Juergensmeyer, a University of 100th annual meeting not in the C a l i f o r n i a , S a n t a B a r b a r a US but in Montreal, Canada. He professor and the president of the opened his first speech to the AAR. delegates attending by saying: Since 2006, the AAR has been "I'm very happy to be here. The one of the plaintiffs to a lawsuit last five years I haven't been able filed by the American Civil to be with you at the AAR for Liberties Union against the State some specific reasons." Department and the Department He was referring to the decision o f H o m e l a n d S e c u r i t y t o b y t h e U S i m m i g r a t i o n challenge the visa ban on authorities to withhold him a visa Ramadan. In July of this year the allowing entry into the country. ACLU prevailed against the In July 2004 he had been offered Obama administration in a US a tenured teaching position at the Appeals court decision, sending University of Notre Dame in it back down to the district court. Indiana, but he resigned the "Ultimately, (AAR) have seen position after it became clear that the danger to academic inquiry he was not going to be granted a inside the United States if the visa. government is allowed to exclude
foreign scholars because of their political views or on the basis of protectoral arguments like the government has made in this case," says Jameel Jaffer, Ramadan's ACLU lawyer. The US Justice Department and the ACLU lawyers are now involved in informal discussions on the government possibly using its "discretionary authority." "They are going to consider admitting him or reconsidering his case by the end of the month," says Jaffer. The fact that this year's AAR meeting was in Montreal, outside the US for only the second time in 100 years, was a "happy coincidence" for Ramadan and 4700 largely American character witnesses. "What makes this particularly fitting is that our (AAR) president chose as his theme for this year 'the globalisation of the study of religion'," said Jack Fitzmier, the academy's executive director. "Tariq Ramadan was a perfect fit for that sort of theme." The AAR decided Professor Ramadan would be the only plenary speaker to be alone at the podium, taking full advantage of their unique access to him. "He's an intellectual voice, a western Muslim who is also an academic," said Shafique Virani, professor of Islamic Studies at
the University of Toronto. "My contribution is questioning modernism and ideologies and ... coming with a new narrative," said Ramadan. He argued that reform in Islam was not, for him, "adapting to the world as it is" but making the world "as it should be". Outside the Palais des Congrès, Ramadan's presence in Montreal excited considerable public interest, with about 800 people turning up to hear him speak on the theme of "spiritual quest". But there have also been detractors. Tarek Fatah, of the Toronto-based Muslim Canadian Congress who took out an advert in the French language Le Devoir denouncing him, said: "Tariq Ramadan brands himself as a reformer and the messiah and Martin Luther. [But] he is sent by the pope to act like Martin Luther." • Religion • Islam • Canada • United States Sheldon Chad guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds
Logitech zooms on a $405 million deal for LifeSize By Tom Taulli (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 11/11/2009 11:30:00 AM
Filed under: Competitive strategy, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Technology Back in 1981, Logitech ( LOGI) began selling computer mice. It was excellent timing. Now, the company is the dominant player in the market for peripherals. But to continue the growth, Logitech has been expanding into new categories. One of the biggest is video conferencing. In fact, Logitech has announced that it will pay $405 million for LifeSize Communications, which is a major player in the market. Continue reading Logitech zooms on a $405 million deal for LifeSize Logitech zooms on a $405 million deal for LifeSize originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Enke 'feared losing second daughter' (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:32:36 AM
• Germany goalkeeper took his own life on Tuesday night • Kept depression secret for fear of losing adopted daughter Robert Enke, the Germany goalkeeper who took his own life yesterday, had been hiding his battle against depression, his widow has revealed. The 32-year -old Hannover player was hit by a train at a crossing in Neustadt am Rubenberge and died at the scene. Germany have since called off their friendly with Chile in Cologne on Saturday. Enke's widow Teresa and his psychologist Dr Valentin Markser appeared at a press conference at Hannover's AWDArena today to explain the background to his death.• Police confirm goalkeeper left farewell note • In video: German fans pay respect to Enke • Gallery: Messages and tributes pour in • More news and comment on our European football site
His widow said Enke, who was first treated for depression in 2003 during his time at Barcelona, feared that their adopted baby daughter Leila would be taken away if his illness became public knowledge. They lost their biological daughter Lara in 2006 when she died of a rare heart condition at the age of two. Enke apologised in a suicide note for hiding the condition of his mental state, which, said Markser, was "necessary in order to carry out the suicide plan". Teresa Enke, dressed in black and struggling to hold back tears, said: "It is crazy because now it is coming out anyway. We thought we could do everything and we could do it with love but you can't always do it." She added: "It is the fear of what people will think when you have a child and the father suffers from depression. I always said to him that that is not a problem. "Robert cared for Leila with love - until the end. After Lara's death everything drew us closer together ... I tried to tell him that there is always a solution. I drove to training with him. I wanted to help him to get through it. But he
didn't want to accept help any more." German football federation president Theo Zwanziger, confirming that the Chile game would not take place, said at a separate news conference in Bonn: "German football will use all its capabilities to find an answer to the question of how a young athlete celebrated by so many as an idol could land in such a situation. "We need time to come to terms with everything and not superficially," Zwanziger said. Germany coach Joachim Loew said the team could not simply go back to business as usual. "We lost a friend, we deeply mourn Robert Enke," Loew said. "I feel completely empty. He was a great guy. He had incredible respect for others. We will miss him, as a top-class sportsman and an extraordinary man." Hundreds of Hannover fans paid tribute to Enke at the stadium on Wednesday. Hannover set up a condolence book outside the AWD Arena, and some supporters lit candles and left scarves and shirts in tribute to the goalkeeper. A service was scheduled in the
Google cuts Picasa photo storage prices By Stephen Shankland (Webware.com) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:30:00 AM
The annual cost to store 20GB of photos at Picasa Web Albums now eight times cheaper, making it more interesting as an online
backup option. Originally posted at Deep Tech
evening, to be followed by a silent march to the stadium. Zwanziger, Loew and Ballack planned to attend the service, among others. Chancellor Angela Merkel sent a "very personal" note to Enke's widow to convey her "consternation and compassion," government spokesman Christoph Steegmans said. Thomas Bach, president of the German Olympic committee, called Enke's death "really tragic." "When you see how many blows of destiny he had to overcome in the past years, how he always carried on and stood up, that shows his human qualities. That's why it's that much more tragic that he saw no way out any longer," Bach said. • Hannover • Germany • Bundesliga guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds
Walmart offering $100 gift card with any BlackBerry purchase (but only next week) By Darren Murph (Engadget) Submitted at 11/11/2009 10:42:00 AM
We're onto you, Wally World. Granted, you already confessed that you'd be dishing out a deal a week until sometime in the future, but hey, we'll feign surprise without thinking twice. Next week's bargain is a good one for those in the market for one of RIM's handsets, as Walmart shoppers will be given a $100 gift card (to Walmart, obviously) if they purchase practically any BlackBerry phone on a 2-year contract from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon Wireless. The offer begins at 8AM local time this Saturday and runs through November 20th, and if you're looking to see exactly which handsets are included in the deal, have a look past the break. Continue reading Walmart offering $100 gift card with any BlackBerry purchase (but only next week) Filed under: Cellphones Walmart offering $100 gift card with any BlackBerry purchase (but only next week) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Oxford scholarship in protester's name angers Iran (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)
The college said today that a letter it receieved from the Iranian embassy in London said Agha-Soltan's death had been Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:41:00 AM staged by enemies of the regime. Iranian embassy criticises The letter accused the university Queen's College for naming o f j o i n i n g a " p o l i t i c a l l y philosophy scholarship after motivated" campaign in creating student killed in Tehran protests the scholarship. Iran has criticised an Oxford Queen's replied that donors are University college for setting up allowed to decide what to call a scholarship in the name of a any scholarship they fund. The student killed during protests in name of the donor of this Tehran over the presidential scholarship has not been made election. public. Queen's College announced the Professor Paul Madden, provost graduate scholarship in memory of college, said: "The college is of Neda Agha-Soltan who died in keen to support graduate students June at the age of 27. and this scholarship will help H e r f i n a l m o m e n t s w e r e Iranian students to study at captured on a mobile phone and Oxford, regardless of their broadcast round the world, financial background. making her a symbol of Iranian " D o n o r s m a k e t h e i r o w n resistance. decisions, within reason, on how A donor contacted Queen's to name scholarships that they College after her death, to set up fund. the scholarship in philosophy, the "In this case, the donor who was subject she had been studying, instrumental in establishing the for Iranian students. The first scholarship is a British citizen recipient is now studying at a n d i s w e l l k n o w n t o t h e Queen's. college."
The first holder of the scholarship, Arianne Shahvisi, is studying for a master's degree in the philosophy of physics. In a statement on the college's website, she said: "It is a great honour to be the first student to receive the scholarship in the memory of Neda Agha-Soltan, which is particularly meaningful to me, being a young woman of Iranian descent also studying philosophy. "In accepting the scholarship, I extend my sincere condolences to the Agha-Soltan family, and hope that in succeeding in my studies at Oxford, I can do justice to the name of their brave and gifted daughter." • University of Oxford • International education news • Higher education • Students • Iran guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds
Tesla Roadster sets a record -- travels 313 miles on a single charge By Connie Madon (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 11/11/2009 10:30:00 AM
Filed under: Products and services, Launches, Competitive strategy, Entrepreneurs, Technology Here's a stunning accomplishment. The Tesla Roadster set a record by traveling 313 miles on one electric charge. The new record was set at the 2009 Global Green Challenge in Australia. The competition was over an 1,800 mile course. The Tesla Roadster reportedly had three miles worth of charge to spare. This was well above the average 244 miles per charge it mentions in its specs. The winning driver was Simon Hackett, managing director of Australian national broadcasting company. He owns the only Tesla Roadster in Australia and
now holds the world's record, having beaten the previous record of 241 miles set in April at Rallye Monte Carlo of Energies Alternatives. Continue reading Tesla Roadster sets a record -- travels 313 miles on a single charge Tesla Roadster sets a record -travels 313 miles on a single charge originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
Family Guy’s “Something Something Something Dark Side” trailer By Matt Burns (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:00:54 AM
Everyone agrees that the first
Family Guy Star Wars parody, Blue Harvest, was TV at its finest, right? It was such a big hit that Fox is going to release the
second one on DVD on December 22 before airing it on TV with the hope fans will actually spend money and buy
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the damn thing. If the trailer is maybe even me. any indication of the episode’s awesomeness, some people might actually do just that. Who knows,
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It's Catholic day, I guess | Michael Tomasky By Michael Tomasky (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)
healthcare reform legislation. "Although I wouldn't chose those particular words, when someone rejects the teachings of the Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:41:01 AM Church, especially on a grave I went to the Corner looking for matter, a life-and-death issue like representative attacks on Obama abortion, it certainly does for failing to call Hasan a d i m i n i s h t h e i r e c c l e s i a l terrorist yesterday, but instead I c o m m u n i o n , " t h e b i s h o p tripped across one poster declared. crowing over a rather harsh "Your rejection of the Church's public rebuke from a Rhode teaching on abortion falls into a I s l a n d b i s h o p t o P a t r i c k different category [than recurrant Kennedy, congressman, son of common sins] — it's a deliberate Ted, abortion rights supporter. and obstinate act of the will, a Kennedy has said somewhere conscious decision that you've that disagreeing with the church reaffirmed on many occasions. "on some issues" didn't make him "Sorry, you can't chalk it up to any less of a Catholic. The 'an imperfect humanity.' Your bishop rejoined: position is unacceptable to the "Well, in fact, Congressman, in a Church and scandalous to many way it does," the bishop said in a of our members. It absolutely letter issued just two days after diminishes your communion with Kennedy was among a group of the church ... your description of m i n o r i t y l a w m a k e r s w h o your relationship with the Church attempted to block tough new is now a matter of public record restrictions on abortion that were and it needs to be challenged. added Saturday to the House's I invite you, as your bishop and
brother in Christ, to enter into a sincere process of discernment, conversion and repentance. It's not too late to repair your relationship with the church, redeem your public image and emerge as an authentic 'profile in courage,' especially by defending the sanctity of human life for all people, including unborn children." Fair enough. That's the bishop's right. But is he, is the church, really prepared to come down like this on roughly 40% of the flock? • US Congress • US healthcare • Catholicism • United States Michael Tomasky guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds
Tyson Foods downgraded by JPMorgan By Mark Fightmaster (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 11/11/2009 10:00:00 AM
Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Tyson Foods'A' (TSN) Bright and early on this fine Wednesday morning, JPMorgan downgraded Tyson Foods ( TSN) to Neutral from Overweight. The brokerage gave four reasons for the downgrade: valuation, recent rises in corn and hog prices, a looming supply increase from competitor Sanderson Farms ( SAFM), and uncertainty from Pilgrim's Pride. All of these reasons are perfectly valid for the downgrade, but I want to focus on the valuation aspect of the downgrade. Technically, TSN faces overhead resistance in the $14 region, which is significant as the shares
are currently ascending through the upper $12 region. The $14 level spurned the shares earlier this year, sending them into a steady decline back to support at the $11 region. Continue reading Tyson Foods downgraded by JPMorgan Tyson Foods downgraded by JPMorgan originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
SmartPill evaluates, evacuates your GI tract By Joseph L. Flatley (Engadget)
drugs-- and now you can add the "evaluation of constipation" to the list! SmartPill is designed to Submitted at 11/11/2009 11:04:00 AM cruise the GI tract, where it We've seen a number of medical measures temperature and pH, manufacturers with a common p r o v i d e s t e m p o r a l - s p a c i a l goal: getting you to swallow analysis, and differentiates microprocessor-filled horse pills between normal and abnormal for things like cauterizing small, transit times -- you know, "the transmitted to a receiver for later internal wounds and dispensing usual." The data from the pill is analysis by your doctor. As for
what happens to the pill itself, we'll let you use your imagination. This one should be available for shipment in January 2010. PR after the break. And please: keep the comments classy. [Via MedGadget] Continue reading SmartPill evaluates, evacuates your GI tract
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets SmartPill evaluates, evacuates your GI tract originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Cramer on BloggingStocks: China's industrial focus helps lots of U.S. names
Tell-tale stat: Broadest U.S. unemployment rate hit 17.5% in October
By Jim Cramer (BloggingStocks)
By Joseph Lazzaro (BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 11/11/2009 9:30:00 AM
Filed under: China, Market matters, Caterpillar (CAT), Schlumberger Limited (SLB), Bank of America (BAC), U.S. Steel (X), Nucor Corp (NUE), Toll Brothers (TOL), BHP Billiton Ltd ADR (BHP), Freep't McMoRan Copper (FCX), Wells Fargo (WFC), Stocks to Buy, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI), Cramer on BloggingStocks From TheStreet.com Network • UPS Sees Improved Holiday Demand • Bank of America's Lewis Stays Positive TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says at least one country is getting it right when it comes to economic stimulus. How in the heck can you get
16% industrial growth and lowerthan-expected consumer price inflation? How is that possible? Yet that's what we saw from China last night, and that's a tonic to pretty much everyone who is waiting for our own stimulus to kick in. And we need it. On Monday, Fluor ( FLR) (
Cramer's Take), the giant construction company, when asked if it could quantify the value of stimulus dollars currently in backlog, said "Really, the only stimulus funding we have seen directly has been the award that we got at Savannah River for some nuclear soil remediation. And, it was, I would say, we're less than $0.5 billion." Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: China's industrial focus helps lots of U.S. names Cramer on BloggingStocks: China's industrial focus helps lots of U.S. names originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:30:00 AM
Filed under: Forecasts, Bad news, Employees, Economic data We can now say that the current recession has sunk to a level even worse than the horrible early 1980s recession, as measured by one indicator: The broadest measure of U.S. unemployment - which includes unemployed and underemployed Americans, as well as discouraged workers -rose to 17.5% in October, according to data compiled by the U.S. Labor Department. The previous high was 17.1% in December 1982, The New York Times reported. The index, statistically known as "U-6," totaled 17.0% in September and 16.8% in August; that's up from 12.0% a year ago,
in October 2008. Continue reading Tell-tale stat: Broadest U.S. unemployment rate hit 17.5% in October Tell-tale stat: Broadest U.S. unemployment rate hit 17.5% in October originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
Kohjinsha PA series gets unboxed, looks kind of hardcore By Darren Murph (Engadget)
and while we were able to spend a few brief moments with it at CEATEC, the crew over at It's sort of difficult for us to say Pocketables was able to snag a what exactly the Kohjinsha PA shipping unit to unbox. They is. Part UMPC, part MID and begin by noting that this thing is part tablet PC, this mishmash has far from stylish, and while the t h e r e ' s s o m e t h i n g s u b t l y captivated us for quite some time, hinge is almost laughably large, satisfying about just how chunky Submitted at 11/11/2009 10:23:00 AM
it looks. Hit the read link to see if you agree -- it's cool if you don't, you're only hurting feelings. Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs Kohjinsha PA series gets unboxed, looks kind of hardcore originally appeared on Engadget
on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Staples Black Friday ad By Doug Aamoth (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/11/2009 6:29:24 AM
Staples’ Black Friday ad has finally made its way to the outside world. Stores open at 6AM on Black Friday, which almost seems late considering a bunch of other retailers will be opening two hours earlier. Hooray for (sort of) sleeping in! Here’s a list of the electronics items being offered. Doorbusters are marked with an asterisk and will be available from 6AM to 10AM on Black Friday: Blank Media Sony CD-R Media 100/Pack – $16.98 Sony CD-R Media 50/Pack – $9.98 Staples CD/DVD Jewel Cases 50/Pack – $4.99 Staples CD-R 100/Pack – $4.98 * Cell Phones Motorola H710 Bluetooth Headset – $39.99 Computer Accessories Altec Lansing VS2621 PC Speakers– $19.99 Any Business Case, Sleeve, or Backpack– 40% Off APC 450VA Battery Backup – $19.99 Belkin 6-Outlet Surge Protector w/Left Extension Cord Combo– $5.99 HP Wireless Mouse (Black) – $9.99 Logitech C600 Webcam – $39.99 – $29.99 Logitech Illuminated Keyboard Logitech V450 Wireless Laser
Notebook Mouse – $14.99 Microsoft 4000 Wireless Laser
Keyboard/Mouse Set – $29.99 * Microsoft VX-3000 Webcam –
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$9.99 Targus 208-CD/DVD Album – $9.98 Targus Notebook Fan – $9.99 Computers Dell Desktop PC w/AMD Athlon X2 215 Processor, 4GB RAM, 640GB Hard Drive, 20inch LCD Monitor– $499.98 Dell Studio 15.6 Laptop w/Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 Processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive– $599.98 HP 15.6 Laptop w/Intel Celeron Processor 900, 3GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 – $299.98 * HP 15.6 Laptop w/Intel Pentium Processor T4300, 4GB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 – $399.98 * HP 17.3 Laptop w/Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 Processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive – $599.98 Sony 15.5 Laptop w/Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 Processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive – $649.98 Digital Cameras Canon PowerShot A1100 12.1 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/4x Optical Zoom, 2.5 LCD (Silver)– $129.99 * Flip Ultra Camcorder w/2 LCD – $129.99 Free Canon Photo Printer With Purchase Of Any Digital Camera (After Rebate) – $0.00 * Kodak 10.0 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/Memory Card And Bag – $79.99 * Kodak EasyShare M340 10.2 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/3x Optical Zoom, 2.7 LCD –
$109.99 * Nikon Coolpix L100 10.0 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/15x Optical Zoom, 3 LCD (Black) – $199.99 * Nikon Coolpix L20 10.0 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/3x Optical Zoom, 3 LCD – $99.99 * Nikon Coolpix S570 12.0 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/5x Optical Zoom, 2.7 LCD – $149.99 * Nikon D3000 10.0 MegaPixel Digital Camera – $499.99 * Olympus Stylus FE4000 12.1 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/4x Optical Zoom – $99.99 * Sony Cyber-Shot W220 12.1 MegaPixel Digital Camera w/4x Optical Zoom – $129.99 * Digital Media Cards SanDisk 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo – $12.99 * SanDisk 4GB SDHC Memory Card – $9.99 * SanDisk 4GB Ultra II CF Card – $12.99 * SanDisk 4GB Ultra SDHC Card – $12.99 * SanDisk 8GB Memory Stick PRO Duo – $24.99 * SanDisk 8GB microSD Memory Card – $14.99 * SanDisk 8GB Netbook SDHC Memory Card – $14.99 * SanDisk 8GB SDHC Memory Card – $14.99 * SanDisk 8GB Ultra II CF Card – $24.99 * DVD Players Coby 7 Portable DVD Player– $49.99 Electronics 4-Device Universal Remote – Free After Rebate
AT&T DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone With Digital Answering System– $49.99 * Coby 7 Portable Digital TV – $99.99 HP 10 Digital Picture Frame 512MB Memory – $139.99 HP 8 Digital Picture Frame 512MB Memory – $109.99 Maxell Noise-Canceling Headphones – $20.00 Memorex iPod Clock Radio – $25.00 Midland LXT360VP3 2-Way Radios – $24.99 Motorola H390 Bluetooth Headset – $9.99 * Omnitech 12 Digital Picture Frame – $69.99 * Omnitech Bluetooth Speakerphone – $20.00 Omnitech Digital Photo Ornament – $10.00 Omnitech Mini-Speaker – $9.99 Panasonic DECT 6.0 Expandable Cordless Phone w/Digital Answering Machine – $49.99 Sharp Handheld Calculator – Free After Rebate Skull Candy Ink’d Earbuds – $9.99 Sony Reader Pocket Edition And Cover With Light Combo – $214.98 Sony Reader Pocket Edition Cover With Light – $54.99 Sony Reader Pocket Edition With 5 Display – $199.99 Sony Reader Touch Edition And Cover With Light Combo – $319.98 Sony Reader Touch Edition Cover With Light – $59.99 Sony Reader Touch Edition
With 6 Screen – $299.99 Sungale 7 Digital Picture Frame – $29.99 * Uniden DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone w/Digital Answering Machine – $59.99 GPS Navigation Systems Garmin Nuvi 255W Portable GPS– $119.99 * Magellan RoadMate 1700 Portable GPS– $199.99 TomTom Go 830 Portable GPS – $169.99 TomTom XL 330 Portable GPS– $99.99 * TomTom XXL 530S GPS– $149.99 Hard Drives Seagate 1.5TB External Hard Drive – $139.99 Seagate 1TB External Desktop Hard Drive – $69.99 * Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB Portable Hard Drive – $69.99 * Memory PNY 1GB DDR PC3200 Desktop Memory – $49.99 PNY 2GB DDR PC5300 Desktop Memory Kit – $49.99 Monitors Acer 23 Widescreen LCD Monitor– $139.98 eMachines 21.5 Widescreen LCD Monitor – $89.98 * Samsung 23 TV/Monitor Combo – $249.98 MP3 Players Coby 2GB MP3 Player – $14.99 Trio V418 4GB MP3 Player – $29.99 Networking Linksys Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router– $89.99 Netgear WNR1000 RangeMax
150 Wireless Router– $34.99 Portable USB Storage HP 16GB USB Flash Drive – $29.99 * HP 4GB USB Flash Drive – $7.99 * HP 8GB Portable Flash Drive – $12.99 * PNY 4GB USB Flash Drive – $11.99 Printers Brother HL2170W Laser Printer– $89.98 Brother HL3040CN Color Laser Printer– $179.98 Brother MFC-295CN All-in-One Printer– $59.98 Brother MFC-7340 Laser MultiFunction Printer– $99.98 Caanon imageCLASS MF4350d Laser Multifunction Printer– $149.99 Canon Pixma MP560 Wireless Photo All-in-One Printer– $99.98 Canon Pixma MP640 Wireless Photo All-in-One Printer– $49.98 Epson Stylus 1400 Wide-Format Photo Printer– $89.98 Epson Stylus NX415 All-in-One Printer– $49.98 Free HP Inkjet Printer w/Purchase of Any PC or Laptop (After Rebate) – $0.00 HP Color LaserJet CP1518ni Printer– $199.98 HP Deskjet F4280 All-in-0ne Printer– $39.99 * HP LaserJet P1005 Printer– $49.98 HP LaserJet P1006 Printer– $89.98 HP OfficeJet 6000 Wireless Inkjet Printer– $59.98 STAPLES page 19
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Target Black Friday ad By Doug Aamoth (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:51:00 AM
Well, well, well. If it isn’t Target’s Black Friday ad? Let’s see what’s inside, shall we? Oh my, hello there 32-inch HDTV for $246. How do you do? Stores open at 5AM on Black Friday. Doorbusters are marked with an asterisk and are good “while supplies last,” according to the circular. Digital Cameras Kodak ZD15 Digital Camera – $129.00 Nikon CoolPix S203 Digital Camera – $88.00 Polaroid V130 2 Color LCD Camcorder – $39.00 Digital Media Cards Lexar Media 4GB microSDHC Card With 50 Free Song Downloads – $10.00 * Lexar Media 4GB SDHC Card With 50 Free Song Downloads – $10.00 * DVD Players Memorex Compact DVD Player With Progressive Scan – $19.99 RCA 7 Inch Dual Screen Portable DVD Player With Car Adapter – $88.00 RCA 7 Inch Portable DVD Player – $47.00 Sony Blu-Ray Player With Free $20 Gift Card – $149.99 Electronics Casio Keyboard With Stand And Song Book – $49.99 Digital Decor Color LCD Key Chain Holds 48 Pictures – $10.00 *
First Act Electronic Drum Set – $35.00 GE 6 Foot HDMI Cable – $9.99 * Memorex Home Audio System For iPod – $49.99
GPS Systems Garmin Nuvi 1350T GPS System – $179.00 TomTom XL340S GPS With Case – $97.00 Hard Drives
Western Digital Elements 1TB Desktop Hard Drive – $59.98 Western Digital Elements 500GB Portable Hard Drive – $59.98 Miscellaneous
$10 Gift Card With Any $100 In Store Purchase – $0.00 * 3-Slot Charging Station – $14.99 MP3 Players TARGET page 19
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$15 Gift Card With Any Apple 8GB iPod Nano Purchase – $0.00 $30 Gift Card With Any Apple 32GB iPod Touch Purchase – $0.00 Apple 32GB iPod Touch With Free $30 Gift Card – $295.00 Apple 8GB iPod Nano With Free $15 Gift Card – $145.00 Photos Digital Decor 7 Inch Digital Photo Frame – $29.00 Portable USB Storage Lexar Media 4GB Twist And Turn USB Drive With 50 Free Song Downloads – $10.00 * Televisions Apex 40 Full HD LCD TV – $449.00 * Haier 7 Inch Portable Digital TV – $79.99 Westinghouse 32 LCD HDTV – $246.00 Video Games $10 Gift Card With Select Video Game Purchases – $0.00 $20 Gift Card With Any DSi System Purchase – $0.00 * $50 Gift Card With Any Call Of Duty Super Elite XBOX 360 System Bundle – $0.00 $50 Gift Card With Any XBOX
360 120GB Elite Game System Bundle Purchase – $0.00 Animal Crossing Wii Video Game – $27.00 Assassins Creed II PS3 Video Game With $10 Gift Card – $59.99 Assassins Creed II XBOX 360 Video Game With $10 Gift Card – $59.99 Batman PS3 Video Game – $37.00 Batman XBOX 360 Video Game – $37.00 Call Of Duty Modern Warfare PS3 Video Game With $10 Gift Card – $59.99 Call Of Duty Modern Warfare XBOX 360 Video Game With $10 Gift Card – $59.99 Call Of Duty Super Elite XBOX 360 System Bundle With $50 Gift Card – $399.99 Call Of Duty Wii Video Game – $27.00 Cooking Mama DSi Video Game – $17.00 DSi Game System With Free $20 Gift Card – $169.99 * Guitar Hero 5 Wii Video Game – $37.00 Halo 3 ODST XBOX 360 Video
Game – $37.00 Hannah Montana DSi Video Game – $17.00 iCarly DSi Video Game – $17.00 Littlest Pet Shop DSi Video Game – $17.00 Need For Speed Nitro Wii Video Game – $27.00 Personal Trainer Cooking Game For DSi Video Game – $7.00 PS3 Black DualShock Controller – $39.00 * Rock Band PS3 Video Game – $7.00 Shaun White PS3 Video Game – $7.00 Shaun White XBOX 360 Video Game – $7.00 Shift PS3 Video Game – $37.00 Shift XBOX 360 Video Game – $37.00 Sim Animals Wii Video Game – $27.00 Star Wars Clone Wars PS3 Video Game – $37.00 Star Wars Clone Wars XBOX 360 Video Game – $37.00 Super Squad DSi Video Game – $17.00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Wii Video Game – $27.00
Lexmark E260dn Laser Printer– $124.98 Software Adobe Photoshop Elements– $49.99 Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 – $69.99 Norton 360 With PC Purchase Or Staples Rewards Members – $9.99 *
Norton AntiVirus 2010 – $9.99 Peachtree Pro Accounting 2010 (After Rebate) – $0.00 Staples Black Friday Ad[BlackFriday.info] More Black Friday deals…
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HP OfficeJet J4680 All-In-One Printer– $64.98 HP OfficeJet Pro 8500 All-InOne Printer– $149.98 HP Photosmart C6380 All-inOne Printer– $79.98 * HP Photosmart Plus All-In-One Printer – $74.98 HP Photosmart Premium All-InOne Printer – $99.98
Ultimate Alliance 2 PS3 Video Game – $37.00 Ultimate Alliance 2 Wii Video Game – $37.00 Ultimate Alliance 2 XBOX 360 Video Game – $37.00 Video Rocker Extreme 2 Chair – $29.98 Wii Mario And Sonic Olympics Video Game With $10 Gift Card – $59.99 Wii Music Wii Video Game – $27.00 Wii Nerf Video Game With $10 Gift Card – $59.99 Wii Play Remote Bundle – $39.00 * Wii Sports Resort Video Game With $10 Gift Card – $59.99 XBOX 360 120GB Elite Game System Bundle With $50 Gift Card – $299.99 XBOX 360 Black Controller – $39.00 * Target Black Friday Ad[BlackFriday.info] More Black Friday deals…
Target's Black Friday Ad Is Yet Another Black Friday Letdown [Black Friday] By Mark Wilson (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:10:30 AM
Maybe it's good there are so few decent Black Friday sales going on since no one has money to spend anyway. Or maybe not. Either way, Target's Black Friday ad has leaked. And while you could do worst than a $450 40inch Apex LCD, you probably could do a lot better, too. (OK, fine, the $250 32-inch Westinghouse is a tad more tempting, as is a $50 gift card with the purchase of an Xbox 360 Elite.) [ BlackFriday]
Google launches Maps tool for finding flu vaccine By Don Reisinger (Webware.com) Submitted at 11/10/2009 11:27:32 AM
Search giant partners with the
U.S. government and state and local health agencies to give users the ability to search for and find vaccine available in their area.
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Wait, Microsoft’s Project Natal will be $80? That can’t be right
Ask TUAW: Autotagging music, iPhone VoIP apps, replacing a hard drive and more
By Matt Burns (CrunchGear)
By Mat Lu (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))
Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:30:36 AM
Submitted at 11/11/2009 9:00:00 AM
There is a rumor swirling around the tubes this morning that Microsoft’s motion controller Project Natal will be $80 when it comes out next November. First off, there is no way that the Wiikiller be $80 based on precedents set by the current crop of Xbox add-ons. But more importantly, if the controller system is only $80, it will suck. Project Natal won E3 this past year. It came out of nowhere and surprised everyone. What was most shocking is how far along the system was developed. It looked almost ready for prime time, but yet the release date is seemingly far away. That’s fine but as time passes, the Wii gets a bit more stale and expectations rise. The system has so much potential. Think about how it could change sports games, FPS, and general puzzle games. Suddenly you’re actually in the game as never before. It’s almost like Nintendo opened the door for next-gen gaming, but Microsoft could bust down the damn wall with Natal. But not if the system is only
Filed under: Features, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAW Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about VOIP apps on the iPhone, auto-tagging music, Boot Camp, replacing a hard drive and more. As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave between $50-$80 and 14 games At $80, I expect Project Natal to games, you can bet that, they are your questions for next week in are included like the rumor states. be like the PowerPad: a fine simple Wii Sport-ish games, the comments section at the end That’s right at the impulse accessory with a few good which were cool about 3 years of this post. When asking a buy price point - which is what games, but not a must-have add- ago. question, please include which MS is reportedly targeting – but on. Now if the system were, say, Let’s hope that Microsoft machine you're using and what also where all the novelty add- $150 or more, I would have more believes enough in the system to version of Mac OS X is installed ons live. That price range shows faith in the system. The higher price it above the impulse buy on it(we'll assume you're running that Microsoft wants to sell a price shows that Microsoft stands price point. Let’s hope that the Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if crapton of Natals to the Wii behind the years of research and system lives up to its potential you don't specify). And now, on crowd, but also doesn’t view the development and believes that and not forced into parlor tricks to the questions. controller as a game changer. the system is a worthy add-on to but rather utilized for serious Continue reading Ask TUAW: It might have some sweet games the Xbox 360. gaming too. Auto-tagging music, iPhone that will give the Wii a run for At that price point Microsoft Also, don’t forget the prices of VoIP apps, replacing a hard drive it’s money, but unless Microsoft would have no chance in hell t h e X b o x 3 6 0 ’ s c u r r e n t and more is taking a huge loss on each selling it unless there was at least accessories. It costs $100 for a TUAW Ask TUAW: AutoNatal sold, it’s probably nothing one killer, mainstream game. The wireless adapter, $50 for a tagging music, iPhone VoIP special. I’m not saying that an add-on would need the support of wireless controller, and $160 for apps, replacing a hard drive and item has to expensive to be 3 r d p a r t y c o m p a n i e s a n d a 120GB hard drive. I’m just more originally appeared on The successful, but an $80 price tag developers to get going, which saying, $80 doesn’t fit the U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g on a controller that supposed to would result in a wider variety of pattern. (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 “next-gen” doesn’t exactly games. If the rumor is right, and 09:00:00 EST. Please see our scream a premium product. the system is bundled with terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Amazing 400ft Tall Spherical "Cloud" Structure Proposed for London Skyline [Architecture] By Danny Allen (Gizmodo)
London's Mayor, and has been called "a sculptural spectacle, and a celebration of technology" by A n i n t e r n a t i o n a l t e a m o f the senior curator of architects and designers has architecture and design at the created this stunning center-piece Museum of Modern Art in New for London's 2012 summer York. Olympics village. Dubbed The The designers intend to build By Paul Miller (Engadget) USD), while others say as low as which we expect will be a decent Cloud, three 400ft towers would The Cloud using micro-donations £30, about $50 USD. Apparently ways down the road if they can't be joined by giant plastic spheres from millions of people. One of Submitted at 11/11/2009 9:21:00 AM Microsoft is aiming for "impulse even confirm a silly WiFi adapter that serve as both observation the architects, who's from MIT, A supposed leak from closed- buy" territory, and it makes sense for the holidays without months decks and projection screens. told the BBC: "We can build our door Microsoft meetings in the to subsidize the unit and make of hand-wringing. The giant bubbles would be Cloud with £5m or £50m. The UK has made its way to MCV, that money back in games sales, [Via Gizmodo] structural, decorative, and be flexibility of the structural system who has all sorts of new details like a regular console launch Filed under: Gaming used to project weather info, will allow us to tune the size of on Project Natal's launch next (which Microsoft sort of sees it Project Natal launching in spectator numbers, and race the Cloud to the level of funding year. Rumor is that the device as, in many ways). There are November 2010, priced for results. They'd be constructed that is reached." will be released worldwide in supposed to be 14 games readied ' i m p u l s e b u y ' ? o r i g i n a l l y from of a type of plastic called I hope they get all the cash they November 2010 (we've heard for launch, but no specifics on appeared on Engadget on Wed, Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene need, because that design is "late next year" before), with 5 which developers that've signed 11 Nov 2009 09:21:00 EST. (ETFE), the same stuff used to straight out of my Sci Fi dreams. million camera units ready for up for Natal work will be among Please see our terms for use of build the Beijing Aquatic Centre. [ The Cloud via BBC] Thanks day one, included in solo and those on launch day. It all sounds feeds. Read| Permalink| Email The Cloud has been shortlisted Tom! console-bundled SKUs. Word about right, though we of course this| Comments in the competition set-up by varies on the price, with some w o n ' t k n o w f o r s u r e u n t i l saying "under £50" (about $84 Microsoft goes into tell-all mode, Submitted at 11/11/2009 6:50:00 AM
Project Natal launching in November 2010, priced for 'impulse buy'?
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Blockbuster kiosks to offer movies on SD cards, you some candy as you checkout By Darren Murph (Engadget) Submitted at 11/11/2009 9:44:00 AM
Blockbuster's been trying all sorts of, um, innovative things to get more foot traffic in its stores, but thanks to a dastardly invention known only as " Netflix," that very task has proven exceptionally difficult. Now, it seems the flagging movie rental company is giving one more far-flung idea a whirl: movies on SD cards. Around six Blockbuster and Hollywood Video stores will soon begin t h e f l i p - f l o p p i n g A t o m offering titles on SD cards, compatibility in earlier 10.6.2 though the included DRM only builds, points to the breakage as allows customers 30 days from an intentional choice, not just the purchase date to view it, and some incidental bug. Update: once it's fired up, you've just 48 Actually, there's an interesting h o u r s b e f o r e i t v a n i s h e s case to be made the 10.6.2 killed completely. Each rental will cost Atom in all builds of the update. $1.99, and while we definitely Interesting.—Thanks, Eduardo! s e e t h e b e n e f i t o f r e n t i n g Even better, for anyone who something that you don't have to dove straight into the 10.6.2 return, we're still skeptical that update only to find themselves folks will be more willing to very suddenly without a working make even one trek for a card netbook, there's a quick fix: when Netflix brings it all to one's Downgrade your kernel! Using mailbox (and PC, etc.) for just the same instruction set you can $8.99 per month. do a partial (excluding the [Via FastCompany] kernel) upgrade to 10.6.2, but you're probably just best off waiting until everything is patched up right and proper. [ Meklort, MyDellMini]
Netbook Hackintosh 10.6.2 Fix Coming In "A Few Weeks," Fallen Netbooks Can Be Revived Now [Hackintosh] By John Herrman (Gizmodo) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:06:14 AM
When Apple killed Atom processor support in the Snow Leopard 10.6.2 update, it was one of the first times they'd actively tried to stop hobbyist hackintoshing. It was also sort of a dick move! Luckily, it's not going to stick. The(main) man behind the NetbookInstaller software, which takes care of enough of the under -the-hood tweaks to make netbook hackintoshing approachable, heard the plaintive cries of his flock, and handed down a decree from on high: The kernel will be fixed. It'll just take a few weeks. This certainty, combined with
Google Cuts Prices of Cloud Storage, Increases Cap to 16 Terabytes By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!) Submitted at 11/11/2009 1:40:48 AM
Prices? What prices? Doesn’t Google give out everything for free, one may ask? Relax. We’re talking about extra storage; for example if free storage that comes with Picasa Web Albums or Gmail isn’t enough for you, you can purchase extra storage space for a price. Today, Google is dramatically slashing that price. You can now buy 20 GB for $5 a year, which is pretty darned cheap compared to the old price: 10 GB for 20 Filed under: Home bucks per year. Entertainment, Portable Video Furthermore, Google has Blockbuster kiosks to offer increased the amount of storage movies on SD cards, you some you can purchase. If you have a candy as you checkout originally lot (we really mean a lot) of appeared on Engadget on Wed, family photos, you can store 11 Nov 2009 09:44:00 EST. them all at Google’s servers in Please see our terms for use of the clouds, as the cap is now 16 feeds. Read| Permalink| Email terabytes. this| Comments Extra storage will act as an overflow for the free storage, meaning it only starts being used when you reach the limit of free storage. If you already have an extra storage plan, it will be automatically upgraded. Tags: cloud, Google, storage
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Samsung SyncMaster P2770HD has built-in TV tuner, sex appeal By Vladislav Savov (Engadget) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:58:00 AM
Remember the Samsung P2370HD monitor? Well, this is it at 27 inches. How's that for concision? Oh, you want more -well, Samsung must've expected you to, because it's also added a TV tuner and a HDMI input to its latest Full HD display, to go along with a 5ms response time and a 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. There's also a pair of 3 watt stereo speakers that can simulate 5.1 channel sound -- good for
emergencies or if you just can't stand speakers cluttering up your desktop. Filling out the goodie bag are Picture In Picture and Picture By Picture modes, which should make good use of the
extra real estate on the screen by combining, for example, your desktop with a TV source. The price is set at 549,000 Won (or about $473) for Korea, though global availability looks
Concept Enterprises reveals first Mobile DTV car tuner By Darren Murph (Engadget) Submitted at 11/11/2009 11:26:00 AM
The Advanced Television System Committee just approved the Mobile DTV standard last month, and already Concept Enterprises is dishing out what looks to be the planet's first incar tuner to support that very format. 'Course, only time will tell if this thing will actually be loved in the market; we've already seen AT&T halt its CruiseCast installations after only a few months of being
ignored. At any rate, the minuscule box is engineered to work with any after-market / OEM monitor with conventional RCA outputs, and it only requires a 1-inch roof-mount antenna base along with a 6-inch antenna wire.
There's no word on when the $499 box is expected to hit the market, but until your DMA becomes one of the markets where testing is going on, you're probably better off just not thinking about it. Concept Enterprises reveals first Mobile DTV car tuner originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
imminent so don't rush to import it just yet. Read- Samsung Korea press release Read- Product page Filed under: Displays Samsung SyncMaster P2770HD has built-in TV tuner, sex appeal originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Two new remote Webcams: Mole and Vue By Rafe Needleman (Webware.com) Submitted at 11/10/2009 3:56:00 PM
One is small and simple but fails as a security camera; the other is big and ugly but does it all. Originally posted at Rafe's Radar
MPAA Gets Town To Turn Off Free Muni-WiFi Over Single Unauthorized Movie Download By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)
town over a single individual's usage, the MPAA couldn't resist the opportunity to complain Dan alerts us to the news that the about the evils of movie piracy free muni-WiFi system used again. The MPAA doesn't seem around the Coshocton’s County concerned at all about the Courthouse in Northern Ohio collateral damage, and just thinks was shut down over a complaint that it's a good opportunity to by the MPAA over a single push ahead with its misguided unauthorized movie download. complaint against file sharing. Amazingly, rather than admit that Permalink| Comments| Email perhaps that was going a bit too This Story far in punishing everyone in that Submitted at 11/11/2009 4:13:36 AM
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Disney Princess Web Cam By John Biggs (CrunchGear)
high school at a special vampire school in England. I KNOW! And there won’t be ANY sex in First, I doubt this is an officially it. l i c e n s e d D i s n e y p r o d u c t . From the product page. Something tells me Brando Disney Princess USB Web Cam doesn’t have that kind of pull. is not only a Mirror, but also a Second, this thing is $52. I’m web camera. Now, you can pretty sure you can buy a cheap always look beautiful when you webcam and put a mirror next to are videoconferencing with your it for the same price. Third, friend. The mirror contains 7 wouldn’t this look great next to LED lights surrounding. When it my Beanie Babies? Like totally! I gets the connection, the LED could put Weenie and Tiny on lights and sound will be turned both side of it, like protective on. It can also be used as a spy lions! OMG are you doing web cam since it looks like a NaNoWriMo? I am totally doing f u n n y g a d g e t m o r e t h a n a it and I’m doing a vampire story w e b c a m . but about kid vampires who go to Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:30:47 AM
Sanyo rolls out “eneloop Stick Booster” for charging mobile devices By Serkan Toto (CrunchGear) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:00:46 AM
I know this thing looks like a …curling iron, but it’s not. The so-called Stick Booster[press release in English] is Sanyo’s newest addition to it’s evergrowing series of green,“eneloop”-branded products. You can use it to battery-charge your mobile devices.
The stick can house two AAsized batteries and is being marketed as a “handy power source” for gaming handhelds, portable media players and cell phones in particular. It has a USB port, a charge output time of 90 minutes and can also be used for the iPhone as Sanyo itself emphasizes. Sized at 18 (diameter) x 148 (length) mm and sporting an aluminum body, the stick weigs 76g (including the
batteries). The batteries (that come packaged with the stick) can be recharged about 1,500 times. The device will hit Japanese stores at the beginning of next month and hasn’t been announced for international markets yet, but you can already pre-order it over Geek Stuff 4 U for$34.72 plus shipping.
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Google cuts Picasa photo storage prices (CNET News.com)
option to pay for extra storage in 2007, it cost $20 a year for 6GB. The move is the latest to indicate Google has cut the price to store that Picasa, although not a highphotos at its Picasa Web Albums priority Google project like site by a factor of eight. Chrome or search, does have a The photo-sharing site offers pulse. Last year, it added face 1GB of photo and video storage recognition to the Web site and for free, but now going beyond followed suit this year with the that limit costs less. The options f r e e P i c a s a p h o t o e d i t i n g now range from $5 a year for software the company offers. 20GB to $4,096 a year for a And in March, Google started whopping 16 terabytes. adding advertisements to the " T o d a y w e ' r e d r a m a t i c a l l y Picasa site. lowering our prices to make extra Picasa is gradually getting more storage even more affordable. sophisticated, but as far as I can You can now buy 20GB for only tell it has yet to dethrone Yahoo's $5 a year--that's twice as much Flickr as a preferred hub of at the storage for a quarter of the old center of a lot of photography price, and enough space for more activity on the Web. Picasa is than 10,000 full resolution fine for sharing snapshots with pictures taken with a five the family, but it's not really the megapixel camera. Since most place to join groups, chat on people have less than 10GB of forums, and discover what the photos, chances are you can now photography world is up to. save all your memories online for Picasa's more modest scope isn't a year for the cost of a triple a problem--plenty of people just mocha," programmer Elvin Lee want to share some photos, after said in a blog post Tuesday. all, and Google generally tries to A lot of us have well over 5 offer services with broad rather megapixels per shot to contend than specific appeal--but Flickr with, but it's still interesting. has more vitality in this more When Google introduced the social era of photography--at Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:30:00 AM
least among its "pro" subscribers who pays $25 a year. Another interesting comparison is Facebook, with an extraordinary 2 billion photos uploads each month and a wellused system to identify who's in a photo that Flickr only just began offering. While Facebook has a strong social angle, though, it cuts down photos to a lower resolution and really is more a place for sharing snapshots than for digging into the world of photography. Picasa's price cut raises an interesting prospect for photography enthusiasts, though. If it's going to set its prices to try to match some portion of the dropping prices of hard drives-not just this week, but regularly-it'll gradually become a more appealing place to back up photos in the cloud. Of course, like Flickr, it's chiefly for JPEG files, not the larger and more awkward raw files serious photographers often use. But even a JPEG backup is useful, especially with synchronization tools built into the Picasa software.
Paying Google $256 per year for 1TB of Picasa storage space is getting in the vicinity of the $100 price or so a 1TB external hard drive costs. Of course you only have to pay once for the hard drive, and even a slow USB hard drive is faster to access than photos on the Net, but Google's price includes backup and some assurance that you'll still have your photos if someone steals your laptop or your hard drive fails. Plus, of course, you get to share your photos. A big gap here is support for raw files, something that SmugMug offers in its Amazon Web Services-based SmugVault. But that costs 22 cents per gigabyte per month, a price that rapidly gets steep when you consider how fast a modern SLR can fill up a 4GB flash memory card. SmugMug, a subscription-only site, caters to the serious set, though. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
Why Should You Have To Pay A Fee To Paint A Picture Of A Building? By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 11/10/2009 11:40:00 PM
This one's a bit old, but I'm cleaning out some older posts I
wanted to write up. Sent in by johnjac, apparently the University of Texas charges a local painter a fee for selling paintings of its main building, the
Texas Tower. While the Freakonomics post delves into whether this should be a flat fee or a percentage, shouldn't the actual question be why should
the painter have to pay a fee at all? Permalink| Comments| Email This Story
Convicted German Murderer Wants His Conviction Erased From Wikipedia By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:45:00 AM
EFF has the bizarre story of a convicted murderer in Germany who is demanding that Wikipedia censor all mentions of the guy's name. Apparently, he (and his lawyers) are using a part of German law that allows for the protection of "names and likenesses of private persons from unwanted publicity." However, as the EFF points out, he's not a private person. He became a very public person when he was tried and convicted (along with his half-brother) for killing Bavarian actor Walter Sedlmayr. Apparently, his lawyers are going after multiple service providers, trying to get the guy's name taken off the internet. The EFF points out that the press has published the two convicted murderers' names for Sedlmayr's death: Wolfgang Werle and his half-brother Manfred Lauber, and that this appears to be nothing more than an attempt to censor history across multiple borders. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story
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N.J. utility ups solar loans to $248 million (CNET News.com) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:20:25 AM
New Jersey regulators on Tuesday approved a proposal from utility Public Service Electric and Gas to expand its solar loan program by $143 million and 51 megawatts. The program expansion means a total of $248 million in loans, translating into an estimated 81 megawatts worth of solar systems available to interested homeowners, businesses, and municipalities across the state. Public Service Electric and Gas already has a program to install 200,000 solar panels from Petra Solar on N.J. utility poles and street lamps.(Credit: Petra Solar) Since Public Service Electric and Gas' (PSE&G's) first loan program for installing photovoltaic panels was approved in April 2008, about $105 million in loans, totaling 30 megawatts worth of solar systems, have been applied for by its customers, according to company statistics. While its seen as an expansion, the next round of funding is technically a completely new program approved by the N.J. Board of Public Utilities (BUP) with specific regulations. The Solar Loan II Program will run on a first-come, first-served basis for the next two years, or until 51 megawatts in solar
systems have been installed. The loans should cover half the cost of a solar system installation, according to BUP estimates. They will be offered as 10-year loans for residential homeowners, and 15-year loans for commercial or municipal customers, which can be repaid in cash or via earned Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC). One SREC is earned for every megawatt hour of solar energy created, according to PSE&G. The BUP also set preliminary monetary rates for SREC credits. "Initially, the SREC floor price for residential systems is $450; for nonresidential systems up to 150 kw the price is $410; and for systems larger than 150 kw up to 500 kw it is $380. The floor prices offered for SRECs for new loan applications will be reduced
projects in the 550-megawatt range underway, New Jersey is a leading state for solar installations, as well as cleantech projects in general. The greater New York metropolitan area, which includes a large portion of N.J., was recently ranked No. 3 in the country for most clean-tech job activity in the U.S. by a recent report, with the solar sector leading the clean-tech job market overall. It was only lagging behind the greater metropolitan areas of San Francisco and Los Angeles in California, by about 3 to 6 percent every 6 respectively. New Jersey was months," according to a also ranked 7th by another recent statement from the BUP. report listing U.S. states doing For the other half of installation the most to wean its residents off costs, the BUP is recommending foreign oil. solar system owners apply for In addition to its solar loan New Jersey Clean Energy program, PSE&G was approved Program rebates and federal tax in July for a partnership with credits. Petra Solar to install over "There's no question that 200,000 photovoltaic panels on providing a source of stable, N.J. utility poles and street lights secure capital--especially in our to tie into the state's electrical tough economy--has helped boost grid. It was also approved to the number of solar energy install 5 megawatts worth of systems in New Jersey," Ralph solar equipment in New Jersey LaRossa, president and COO of urban enterprise zones, and an PSE&G, said in a statement. another 10 megawatts to be "We're pleased to do our part to installed on the properties of make New Jersey a leader in interested third parties. solar energy installations, second This content has passed through only to California," he said. fivefilters.org. LaRossa is justified in his assertion. While it can't compare to California, which has huge
Modern Warfare Game Modder DMCA's Infinity Ward By Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 11/11/2009 2:13:47 AM
Reader Cameron Boykin alerts us to the news that a game modder appears to have filed a DMCA claim against Infinity Ward for its video of a certain part of Modern Warfare 2, claiming that the element in the game was influenced by a mod he had created. While this may seem amusing to the folks who are pissed off at Infinity Ward for various consumer-unfriendly positions, it still appears to be an abuse of the DMCA. It doesn't sound like Infinity Ward flat out took this guy's code or anything - and having similar gameplay elements is unlikely to be copyright infringement at all. While it may have just been a joke or a "protest" sort of move, filing a bogus DMCA takedown is bad news no matter how you look at it, and can get the filer into a lot of legal hot water pretty quickly. Permalink| Comments| Email This Story
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Former RIAA chief tries to save Qtrax image (CNET News.com) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:06:00 AM
Qtrax missed another deadline. The would-be ad-supported music service once again failed to meet a self-imposed launch date. The company had said barely two weeks ago that it would roll out in Australia and New Zealand on Nov. 5. For most start-up services, launch delays are embarrassing but not unexpected. For Qtrax, this is only the latest installment in a year-long run of embarrassing misfires, lawsuits, unpaid bills and broken promises. A copy of the most recent judgment against Qtrax, which was accused of defaulting on a debt.(Credit: Greg Sandoval/CNET Networks ) Within the halls of the top recording companies, Qtrax's setbacks have begun to take a heavy toll on the company's already battered reputation. To make matters worse, the adsupported model has already lost a lot of credibility in the music industry after the collapse of Ruckus and SpiralFrog. In addition, several of the other top competitors in the sector, including Spotify, iMeem and iLike have begun gravitating
towards other revenue sources. "Qtrax is an absolute disaster," said one music industry executive who asked to remain anonymous. "It's an embarrassment." What's noteworthy about the most recent Qtrax setback is that typically Allan Klepfisz, the company's founder, will do damage control with the media. This time, however, a musicsector heavyweight is out in front. "It's a difficult environment to get capital in this industry," Jay Berman, a Qtrax adviser and former chairman of the Recording Industry Association of America told the Financial Times this week. Referring to Qtrax's claim that the company hopes to raise $50 million and is attempting to do a deal with Baidu, one of China's top search engines, Berman said: "Is it
ambitious? Yes, it is. Is it doable? Yes." Neither Klepfisz nor Berman were available for comment. Berman was once the recording industry's top lobbyist and according to my music source he used his clout to help Qtrax secure licensing deals with the top labels. A year ago, New York -based Qtrax announced that Berman, who has offered consulting services to several digital music companies including Project Playlist, was added to the Qtrax advisory board. "Every time something happens with Qtrax, Jay has to get on the phone and calm everybody (at the labels) down," said the music exec. But the source said that Qtrax, at this point anyways, is in no danger of losing its access to the
labels' music. He said they have paid and the labels will most certainly accept Qtrax's money. "Why wouldn't they?" he asked. "But they haven't exactly created a lot of good will in the business or enthusiasm for their product. "Qtrax hasn't instilled a sense of confidence that they can actually make something of what they have," the exec continued. "The only reason the (recording) companies have given content to them is because of Jay. If Jay didn't get on the phone, Qtrax wouldn't have its deals." What the exec is referring to specifically are things like Qtrax's history of failing to pay vendors. Oracle filed suit against the company earlier this year and several companies have won judgments in New York courts against Qtrax. The latest came two weeks ago when Monarch Capital Fund won an award of $133,000 against the company. According to court documents, Qtrax agreed in March to pay off a $200,000 debt in installments. Monarch told the court that after paying $70,000, Qtrax stopped making payments in May. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
Jon Stewart Busts Fox News (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:52:14 AM
Jon Stewart catches Fox News
and Sean Hannity red-handed in their coverage of Michele Bachmann’s “house call” rally, slipping in footage from the
September 12th tea party in Protest Footage.[Video] Washington DC to make Bachmann’s rally look bigger: Sean Hannity Uses Glenn Beck’s
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Anita Dunn to Step Down (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 11/10/2009 9:50:43 AM
White House Communications Director Anita Dunn, who’s been leading the Obama administration’s charge against Fox News (and was promptly smeared as a commie sympathizer by Glenn Beck), will be stepping down at the end of the month. This move has nothing to do with the Fox News issues, however — she was planning to leave from the beginning. White House communications director Anita Dunn will step down from her post at the end of the month and Dan Pfeiffer, her deputy, will take over, according to sources familiar with the move. Dunn, a longtime Democratic media consultant, took over the job on an interim basis earlier this year when Ellen Moran abruptly left the post to take a job at the Commerce Department. Dunn will return to Squier Knapp Dunn, the consulting firm where she is a partner, but will remain as a consultant to the White House on the communications and strategic matters.
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Cloud to suck money out of market, report says (CNET News.com) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:20:00 AM
A recent survey suggests that CIOs are loosening the purse strings on IT spending. IT vendors may want to hold off their celebrations, though, because much of the spending appears to be headed for deflationary forces like cloud computing, virtualization, and their kissing cousin, open source. An economic rebound never looked so dire. That's unless you're an IT buyer, of course, suggests a new report from Goldman Sachs. In this week's report, titled "A Paradigm Shift for IT: The Cloud," Goldman Sachs said it expects that pent-up IT dollars will flow in the short term to building out next-generation data centers (e.g., cloud computing). But in the long term, less money is expected to find its way into fewer wallets: After the initial build-out, Cloud Computing could drive some headwinds for the IT industry, as a result of two factors. First, we see virtualization as a deflationary technology. Second, we see IT spending consolidating in the hands of fewer buyers--the Cloud providers, hosting vendors, and large enterprises.
These factors will likely dampen IT spending growth due to greater utilization and buyer pricing power. Even short-term build-outs may prove disappointing, however, as Goldman Sachs expects large enterprises to grow existing virtualization and automation technology adoption in the rollout of private clouds, shifting slowly to an embrace of public clouds over time. The chart below gives some idea as to when cloud computing will hit its stride: Who wins in this scenario? According to the report, Red Hat stands to benefit from the cloudcomputing craze. ("Red Hat is well positioned for the emerging Cloud Computing ecosystem, largely due to its open source background and current ubiquitous deployments in data centers, including enterprises, as well as in Cloud providers such as Amazon," the report states.) But the real beneficiaries will be...the same old crew. "[K]ey suppliers for internal Clouds are likely to be those that have the most complete portfolio of hardware, software, and services," including IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems, EMC, and Oracle.
New boss...same as the old boss. The other beneficiaries are the start-ups that provide critical components of cloud computing, with an emphasis on management tools. Here we may see opensource companies benefit, including Reductive Labs(Puppet project), Cloudera, and the two rising private cloud companies, VMOps and Eucalyptus, among others. While open source doesn't factor heavily into this particular Goldman Sachs analysis, the firm has before called out open source's role in wringing more value out of fewer IT dollars. Open source is a primary driver of the global reset in IT spending expectations. With less money flowing into the pockets of fewer vendors, we can expect to see both increased consolidation and fierce competition for the IT spending that remains. Those vendors that can help CIOs do more with less stand to benefit from this shift to low-cost, high-value computing. And those that can't? Well, let's just say they may pine for the good old days of the global recession. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
Good News/Bad News In Brazil: Effort To Legalize Mashups... But Google Liable For User Actions By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)
On to the good news. Carl alerts us to the news that Brazil is considering a new copyright law These two submissions came in that would legalize mashups and one after the other, both having private copies. It would also to do with Brazil, so I decided to allow the reproduction of out of just mix them together into a print works. Of course, this is single post. Of course, it's a bit just the proposed bill, and you of a good news/bad news sorta can expect that the entertainment thing. Let's start with the "bad industry is about to send in the news." Reader Stuart Waterman lobbyist army to fix things up alerts us to the news that Google, quickly. On the whole, though, owner of Orkut (the social Brazil has been quite good about n e t w o r k t h a t i s a m a z i n g l y recognizing the downsides to popular in Brazil for reasons still overaggressive copyright law. In unclear) has been ordered to pay fact, Gilberto Gil, a grammyF o r m u l a 1 r a c e r R u b e n s award winning musician and Barrichello $500,000 because Brazil's former minister of there were fake profiles of him culture, released his music under on Orkut. If this were the US, a Creative Commons license, and the case would have been tossed has regularly spoken out against out on Section 230 grounds abuses of intellectual property (noting that the service provider law. And, of course, we've seen is not liable for the actions of stories about how forms of users -- even though the users Brazilian music have thrived by may be liable). But the Brazilian taking advantage of the easy court apparently said that Google promotion and distribution is, in fact, liable because it allowed by file sharing. It would manages the site. If you're a be nice if the country's laws were service provider in Brazil, you updated to reflect that. just got a reason to lock down Now, if only they could also any sort of user-generated change the laws to stop blaming offering. Of course, this has service providers for the actions happened before to some extent. of users, then Brazil would get it Remember that a Brazilian court all right this time. once tried to get YouTube shut Permalink| Comments| Email down entirely due to an uploaded This Story video that someone didn't like. Submitted at 11/11/2009 6:14:25 AM
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Graphite Offers Simple Weight Loss More Independent Film Makers Embrace News Of and Exercise Monitoring Tools By Christina Warren (Mashable!)
track dietary changes, Graphite is a great option. Do you track your diet and Submitted at 11/10/2009 7:50:35 PM energy regimes? What tools do This post is part of Mashable’s you use? Let us know in the Spark of Genius series, which comments. Spark of Genius highlights a unique feature of Series Sponsored by Microsoft startups. If you would like to BizSpark have your startup considered for BizSpark is a startup program inclusion, please see the details aren’t lots of options or buttons; that gives you three-year access here. The series is made possible you just have access to you t o t h e l a t e s t M i c r o s o f t by Microsoft BizSpark. information and your dietary development tools, as well as Name: Graphite goals. You can enter in what you connecting you to a nationwide Quick Pitch: Graphite is an easy- eat and Graphite’s library of food n e t w o r k o f i n v e s t o r s a n d to-use web-based application that sources will pull up results in real incubators. There are no upfront allows individuals to calculate time that you can add to keep costs, so if your business is calorie intake and expenditures. track of your calorie counts. privately owned, less than three Genius Idea: Keeping track of Likewise, you can add in your years old, and generates less than what you eat and how many exercise regimes to track the U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, calories you burn is the key to calories you are burning. you can sign up today. losing or maintaining weight. Graphite comes with tools that Entrepreneurs can take G r a p h i t e t a k e s a f a s t , n o - tell you what your daily caloric advantage of the Azure Services nonsense approach to logging baseline is for maintaining your platform for their website hosting and graphing your caloric and current weight. You can then set and storage needs. Microsoft exercise information. goals for how much weight you recently announced the“new Graphite is a caloric tracking want to lose and see your caloric CloudApp()” contest– use the tool that makes it extremely easy numbers change accordingly. Azure Services Platform for to record and keep track of what You have access to graphs that hosting your .NET or PHP app, you are eating, how many chart your weight, exercise and and you could be the lucky calories you are burning (based caloric intake over time and you winner of a USD 5000* ( please on your daily activities) and what can see how you are progressing see website for official rules and your different caloric and fitness towards your goals. guidelines).” Reviews: PHP goals need to be in order to You can sign up for a 30-day Tags: diet tools, graphite, health, achieve a certain weight. free trial of Graphite but after weight loss What we like about Graphite is that, the service is $5 a month or that the interface is very, very $50 a year to use. For users who clean and easy to use. There want an easy, cruft-free way to
Their Film Being Pirated By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)
This all started as a result of the completely underground buzz Submitted at 11/10/2009 7:36:00 PM that you've each helped us create. Alan Gerow was the first of a We've had no distributor, no real few folks to send in the news that advertising and yet the word of some independent filmmakers mouth that you've generated has not only discovered that their made the film blow up as soon as film, Ink, had ended up being it became available worldwide. widely available via Bittorrent, So many of you came to see the but that they were quite happy movie multiple times, bringing about the exposure. Alan sends friends and family and many of o v e r t h e e m a i l t h a t t h e you have bought the DVD and filmmakers sent out: Dear Fans Blu-ray from us. All of this built and Friends, up and built up and suddenly it Over the weekend something exploded. pretty extraordinary happened. We don't know exactly where Ink got ripped off. Someone bit this will all lead, but the exposure torrented the movie (we knew is unquestionably a positive this would happen) and they thing. posted it on every pirate site out Ink hits Netflix, Blockbuster, there. What we didn't expect was i T u n e s a n d m a n y m o r e that within 24 hours Ink would tomorrow! Remember to get your blow up. Ink became the number signed copies, t-shirts and posters 1 most downloaded movie on at the Ink Store. several sites having been Thank you so much for the downloaded somewhere between constant love and support. 150,000 to 200,000 times as far Jamin and Kiowa as we can tell. Knowing there's Double Edge Films" Again, absolutely nothing we can do we've seen this with other films about it, we've embraced the as well, but it's always nice to see piracy and are just happy Ink is filmmakers who realize it doesn't getting unprecedented exposure. make sense to freak out, but to As a result, Ink is now ranked look for ways to take advantage #16 on IMDb's movie meter and o f t h i s a s a p r o m o t i o n a l is currently one of the top 20 o p p o r t u n i t y . most popular movies in the Permalink| Comments| Email world. This Story
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Students pitch green businesses for greenbacks (CNET News.com) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:51:00 AM
If you wanted to start a business and help save the world, what would you do? The Ignite Clean Energy(ICE) competition on Wednesday, announced the winners of a business plan competition that offers a peek into how university students are approaching environmental problems through business. There is a wide range of technologies being pursued-everything from ocean power to providing off-grid power systems to developing countries. A conceptual design of a microbial fuel cell where microorganisms reacting with organic material create a chemical reaction that induces an electrical current.(Credit: IntAct Labs) The awards were decided on Tuesday afternoon after student teams pitched their business plans to a panel of judges at the Massachusetts State House. Winners are eligible for cash and in-kind services, ranging from $50,000 to $12,500 in total with
a sizable portion coming in the form of legal advice. The first-place winner for this year's competition was IntAct Labs, which is working on a range of bio-energy technologies. The company is developing microbial fuel cells that make electricity from wastewater, sensors made of proteins, and photoactive proteins that could
act as solar cells. New Jersey-based InnoSepra won second place for a technology it says reduces the cost of separating carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants. It is using a "microporous" material for capturing CO2 and demonstrated its feasiblity at bench scale, according to the company.
Third place went to EGGEnergy, which has a business mission of bringing affordable electricity to people in poor countries. Its team last summer traveled to Tanzania to test out how its battery and electric light combination work as an alternative to kerosene lighting. Among the "people's choice" awards in the competition were Velkless, which is developing flywheels for energy storage, and HydroCoal, which is working on a coal gasification process to make a substitute for natural gas. For business plan summaries of all the participants, see here. The Ignite Clean Energy competition is one of many cropping up around the country to fund entrepreneurs working in green technology. The event at the Massachusetts State House is part of a "clean energy week," which also includes a showcase of ongoing energy research on Wednesday and the Fifth Annual Clean Energy Conference starting on Thursday. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
DC Sniper Executed (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 11/10/2009 6:40:25 PM
The DC sniper was executed tonight. Jarratt, VIRGINIA (Reuters) John Allen Muhammad was executed on Tuesday for
masterminding and carrying out with his teenage accomplice the 2002 sniper shootings that killed 10 people and terrified the Washington, D.C. region a year after the September 11 and the deadly anthrax attacks. The 48-year-old Muhammad
was put to death by lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia, said Virginia Department of Corrections spokesman Larry Traylor. “Death was pronounced at 9:11 pm. There were no
complications. Mr. Muhammad was asked if he wished to make a last statement. He did not acknowledge us or make any statement whatsoever,� Traylor told reporters.
You Pay to Play With This Super Smart, Hot, Bright Samsung TV By Chuck Cage (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 11/10/2009 5:00:00 PM
Samsung's 46-inch 7000 television sets the bar for slim and bright, plus it draws less power because the usual fluorescent backlight has been subbed out for LEDs along the panel's edges. Almost as nice: Yahoo Widgets deliver sports scores, photos, and more.
Verizon Turns a 3G Cellular Signal Into Wi-Fi By Steven Leckart (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 11/10/2009 5:00:00 PM
The tiny MiFi 2000 Portable Hot Spot sucks up 3G signals and creates a wireless bubble for up to five devices (yes, five!). Uploading and downloading like a champ, it makes multitasking look easy.
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Google Latitude Now Tracks Location History, Alerts You to Nearby Friends
Apple's 13-Inch Pro Now Every Bit as Impressive as Its Big Bros
By Ben Parr (Mashable!)
By Christopher Null (Wired Top Stories)
inroads, we believe that it needs an iPhone app. There is a Submitted at 11/10/2009 5:07:04 PM complete difference to the user One of the hottest trends right when they download an app now is the rise of location-based versus opening it up in the services(LBS), which helps mobile web. It could even friends network and find each automatically send your location other based on their location. utilizing the same method that Foursquare and Loopt are prime Loopt is testing. Google could examples of these growing turn into an even stronger networks. competitor in the LBS space. Google has its own LBS service Whether Apple would cave into as well: Google Latitude. Today, Google pressure is, of course, the search giant announced some another matter. They’ve told major additions to Latitude that Google that they didn’t want a bring it in line with its fast-rising Latitude app, and the search giant competitors. Primarily, Google The other feature is Google again. Google Needs to Push complied. Things have changed Latitude has added location Location Alerts, which sends you Apple for a Latitude App though, especially in the history and location-based alerts. notifications when your friends Both features are good additions relationship between the two Location history is fairly are nearby via email or SMS. To to Latitude, but we can’t help but companies. Thus we wonder if straightforward: Google will make sure you don’t get a text feel that Google’s coming short Google should now try to force store all of your past locations every time you go to work and i n t h e L B S s p a c e . W h i l e Apple’s hand, especially in light and will use that information to see your Google Latitude-using Latitude has an Android app, it of the Google Voice debacle. create visual histories of your co-workers, Latitude utilizes your d o e s n ’ t h a v e a n i P h o n e Reviews: Android, Foursquare, trips and adventures via Google location history to eliminate equivalent, just a mobile site. Google, Google Maps Maps. If you take a bike ride notifications when you’re in a This leaves Latitude without the Tags: Google, lbs, Location across Indiana for example, you location you regularly visit. It ability to send push notifications, Google Latitude, location-based can track the route you took even incorporates time, so if a major reason why Foursquare service along with the times in which you’re at work but at 3 AM, has been a red-hot product. you’ll get notifications once For Latitude to make deeper you arrived.
Nov. 11, 1936: Einstein Gets Ice Cold By Alexis Madrigal (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 11/10/2009 9:00:00 PM
Some say the world will end in
Fall Gear 2009: Wired Rates the Year's Best Tech
fire; some say in ice ... chests. By Product Reviews Team Two pioneering physicists delve (Wired Top Stories) from the highly theoretical down Submitted at 11/10/2009 5:00:00 PM to the mundane world of This year, we look for gadgets refrigerators.
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Submitted at 11/10/2009 3:00:00 PM
Apple's 13-Inch MacBook Pro may be the smallest of the bunch, but that only makes its sturdy construction and dazzling performance that much more impressive.
Alt Text: Clever Murdoch Turns News Into Hip Underground Club By Lore Sjöberg (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 11/10/2009 4:15:00 PM
The wily News Corp. chief cooks up a plan to make money on the internet by keeping that horrible Google at bay. Genius alert!
Geeky Podcasting Mike Avidly Absorbs Audio By Mario Aguilar (Wired Top Stories)
that attempt to raise the bar. Submitted at 11/10/2009 3:00:00 PM Some succeed, some fall flat on The Yeti is a big but very their LCDs. Here are the most adaptable USB microphone that innovative products, tested and combines features of many rated, of 2009. different mikes, making it a great general-purpose recording tool.
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YouTube Bets on Skippable Pre-Roll NEW: TweetDeck for Ads iPhone Adds Facebook, Landscape, and Video By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)
Submitted at 11/11/2009 6:58:33 AM
When it comes to YouTube ads, you can’t say that Google isn’t trying. You’ve got overlay ads, post-roll ads, huge banners, and yes, you’ve got pre-roll ads, which didn’t work out very well because the users were unwilling to watch a pre-roll video before a video that’s also very short – in some cases, even shorter than the actual ad they were forced to see. Now, Google has decided that it’s time to try out pre-roll ads in skippable form once again. Put all these ads in one video, and you get a mess. Fortunately, these new skippable pre-roll ads will be just another experiment, visible on videos from content providers who opted in for the test. But what is it that Google is testing? From the users’ perspective, this isn’t new; in
form of engagement.” According to him, the length of the pre-roll can be much shorter on YouTube than on TV. “On television you might need 30 seconds to make sure people know the Web site and phone number, and tell them the offer three times. Online, you can run a much shorter industry fact, pre-roll advertisements are ad, and use the companion ad prevalent on many other video space for the call to action.” sites, such as Hulu. Google, Will all this experimenting be however, aims to develop a new enough to bring significant ad advertising model based on the revenue to YouTube? It’s tough user’s behavior. When Google to say, as the users of the site first started testing pre-roll ads, h a v e s o f a r r e a c t e d v e r y abandonment rates were as high negatively to any form of as 70%. But it worked much advertising. On the other hand, better when users were watching you can’t say Google isn’t longer (15 – 20 minute long) methodical about YouTube ads: clips, with completion rates being they’re trying out every avenue, up to 85%. hoping one day they’ll strike the Furthermore, simply clicking p e r f e c t b a l a n c e b e t w e e n that “No, thank you” link counts a n n o y i n g a n d e n g a g i n g . for something. Phil Farhi, R e v i e w s : G o o g l e , H u l u , product manager at Google’s Y o u T u b e YouTube says: “we see the Tags: ads, youtube ability to skip ads as another
On the Set with Tom Cruise & Cameron Diaz (ETonline - Breaking News)
'Knight & Day' -- and we have a sneak peek at their sit-down! After letting loose in last year's Tonight, only ET's Mary Hart is 'Tropic Thunder,' Tom shows off with Tom Cruise and Cameron more of his comedic chops in Diaz on the top-secret Boston set 'Knight & Day,' and Cameron of their new action-comedy, reports, "He's so funny!" Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:05:00 AM
As for the overall feel of the film, she clarifies, "It's not like a wacky comedy; the situations are kind of absurd."
By Ben Parr (Mashable!) Submitted at 11/10/2009 7:53:38 PM
Back in June, popular Twitter desktop app TweetDeck made a splash when it launched its iPhone app. It was significant, as it was the first Twitter iPhone app to integrate with a desktop version and it provided a very real challenger to the Tweetie iPhone app. Since then, there have not been major updates to the app, while Tweetie got a whole new version. Now TweetDeck is fighting back with its first major update (v. 1.1.1), one that includes full integration with Facebook. This Update is Chock Full of New Features Let’s start with the biggest addition to TweetDeck for iPhone: Facebook integration. Just like the desktop app, you can create Facebook columns, read status updates, write on walls, add comments, and update your Facebook status. By all accounts, it is a major addition that seamlessly integrates Twitter and Facebook into one iPhone app. That’s not the only new thing about this app, though. It also boasts integration with 12seconds.tv. For those with the
iPhone 3Gs, you can now record and send out 12 second videos through your Twitter and Facebook accounts. The ability to see trending topics has also been added, as well as Bit.ly support and the ability to save drafts. Finally, for those who really hate typing on the shortened iPhone keyboard, TweetDeck now includes landscape support. Yes, thee have a been a ton of additions, and they’re all very nice. When Tweetie 2 launched, it took a giant leap ahead of TweetDeck for iPhone in terms of features and support. That is no longer the case. In fact, TweetDeck’s Facebook integration is a major differentiation point from the Tweetie 2 app. The debate over which Twitter iPhone app is best has been reopened. If you want to learn more about TweetDeck for iPhone’s new features, the company has included a useful demo video, embedded below: Reviews: Facebook, TweetDeck, Twitter, tweetie Tags: iphone, trending, tweetdeck, twitter
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Hey! Lego my Apple!! By Michael Jones (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))
and interesting. Plus, it looks like they've just recently started up, as their Etsy store opened in October, and some of their Submitted at 11/11/2009 10:00:00 AM designs haven't shown up on the Filed under: Mods, Macbook store yet, so I hope this means we Pro, MacBook No, I'm not will be seeing more from them in talking about any of these Lego the near future. Mac mods, A relatively new All in all, these stickers would startup called MacSlaps brings us make a great stocking stuffer for some personalization goodness in your favorite Mac geek. Not to the form of custom vinyl stickers sheet of vinyl, ranging from mention, if you're picking up a for your MacBook and MacBook about 4 to 8 inches, so most of new MacBook for the Holidays, Pro. them will even fit on the 13-inch they are a great way to add a Using stickers (or even laser MacBook. I know they say these personal touch, especially with engraving) to customize your are custom made for MacBooks, the custom design offer. MacBook is nothing new, but but I'm tempted to order one and [via iPhoneSavior] what I think sets MacSlaps apart try it on the back of my 24-inch TUAW Hey! Lego my Apple!! from some of the others I have a l u m i n u m i M a c , s i n c e I ' m originally appeared on The seen is the designs are simple and guessing the effect would be U n o f f i c i a l A p p l e W e b l o g creative. In addition to the Lego about the same. They also offer (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 design pictured here, their site custom designs, so if you've got a 10:00:00 EST. Please see our showcases a few other interesting crazy idea in mind, they can terms for use of feeds. d e s i g n s , s u c h a s M a r i o , probably help you get it onto Read| Permalink| Email this| PacMacMan, and my favorite, your Mac. Comments Tic-Mac-Toe. Although the selection is pretty The stickers come on a square sparse, their designs are original
DC Sniper to Die Tonight (Little Green Footballs)
Gov. Kaine Denies Clemency. Paul LaRuffa wants to know justice will be carried out tonight D C s n i p e r J o h n A l l e n at 9 p.m. in the “Death Chamber” Muhammad is scheduled to die at the Greensville Correctional by lethal injection tonight at 9 pm Center in Jarratt, Va. – he just in Virginia. ABC News’ Russell doesn’t want to see it. Goldman interviewed one of LaRuffa, who, by most accounts, Muhammad’s (and teenage was the first victim of the D.C. accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo’s) snipers, who carried out a weeksvictims, Paul LaRuffa, who long rampage of terror and amazingly survived five gunshots m u r d e r i n a n d a r o u n d at close range: Survivor of Washington, D.C., in 2002, says Beltway Sniper Wants Justice, the first question he was asked Submitted at 11/10/2009 11:28:27 AM
after John Allen Muhammadwas sentenced to death in 2003, was whether he planned to attend his assailant’s execution. “I’ve given every day of the past seven years to thinking about what he did to me. I don’t need to give up another day for him. It’s enough to know justice is being done,” he said of his decision not to attend Tuesday’s planned execution of Muhammad.
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EA to lay off 1500 workers, close some facilities By Casey Johnston (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 11/10/2009 5:00:00 PM
Filed under: Gaming, Software Large-scale layoffs have been hitting everywhere in the past year, and Electronic Arts is now no different: according to Gamasutra, the game publisher announced today that it will lay off 1,500 workers by April 2010, after posting a year-to-year decrease in revenue and a net loss of $391 million. About 1,300 of the freshly unemployed individuals will result from the full closure of some of EA's facilities. This will cost EA money at the outset, but they estimate that by dropping the facilities they stand to save about $100 million annually. According to EA CEO John Riccitello, the cuts are happening in "targeted areas," so the company can focus up on its bigger, more lucrative games. EA has kept up well with the iPhone platform and has released some of its most popular titles to the App Store, such as The Sims 3, Rock Band, and Spore. Consumers still pay a premium price for them, however. For example, Rock Band costs $9.99
and comes with only 20 songs, and charges 50 cents for each additional song. Still, Rock Band ended up selling well, so maybe we'll be seeing more of EA in the App Store in the coming fiscal quarters. EA also announced today its acquisition of Playfish, whose primary business is Facebook games, for $300 million. Hopefully out of the layoff ashes rises some brutally addictive social-based game for the iPhone. TUAW EA to lay off 1500 workers, close some facilities originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
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PR Response Via Adwords? By Mike Masnick (Techdirt)
keywords in running his ads. I could see how that might intimidate the journalists (if I vaguely recall a similar story a they're particularly thin-skinned) couple years ago, though now I but it's not really clear how that can't find it, but the Nieman actually helps get the "other side" Journalism Lab has an article out. about how PR folks are starting What was potentially more to use targeted Google AdWords interesting is that the NY Times buys to respond to negative press (unlike many other newspaper coverage. It doesn't seem like websites) actually linked to the this sort of thing would really be Council's website within the all that effective, but the article story, and the Council changed discusses a PR guy who bought the page that clickers ended up up AdWords on a variety of on to a rebuttal to the NY Times related keywords for the New story, whereas before it had just Z e a l a n d S e a f o o d I n d u s t r y been a page about the type of fish Council, after the NY Times in question. That seems like a came out with a negative story smart move by the Fish Council, about overfishing. Of course, it though it makes you realize why looks like the guy also went over some publications might be the line, claiming in one ad that skeptical about linking out, the NY Times "apologizes for e s p e c i a l l y w h e n w h o e v e r story," when the truth is that it operates the site being linked to just apologized for its use of a has the opportunity to change the photograph it didn't have the site. rights to -- not the story itself. Permalink| Comments| Email Amusingly, the guy also buys the This Story reporters' own names as Submitted at 11/10/2009 9:30:00 PM
Paul Kent gives TUAW the latest news about Macworld 2010 By Steven Sande (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))
Jobs as the "star," it just wouldn't be the same. My reason for going to Macworld has always been the same; to see great new software Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:00:00 AM or hardware made to work with Filed under: Macworld, Odds Apple products, meet with and ends, TUAW Interview As a manufacturers and developers, Mac-head who has attended the and to enjoy the camaraderie of Macworld Expo and Conference the large group of buddies I've on and off since the late 1980s, I made at Macworld Expo in the met the announcement last past. December that Apple would no So, when I saw that registration longer attend the event with a for Macworld 2010 had opened, I b i g , j a w - b r e a k i n g y a w n . immediately jumped on the Personally, I never attended website and signed up. To me, Macworld for the Apple display, it's a no-brainer to attend the which was overcrowded and original and only US conference staffed by Apple employees who that is all about Apple. Macworld usually knew less about the new Expo has been around for 25 products than I did. The keynotes years, and all indications are that were usually a highlight, but hard it will continue for as long as the to get into, and without Steve Macintosh and other Apple
platforms exist. Yesterday, I talked with Paul Kent, General Manager, Macworld 2010 and Vice President of IDG World Expo, about Macworld 2010 and how preparations are coming along for the show. Continue reading Paul Kent gives TUAW the latest news about Macworld 2010 TUAW Paul Kent gives TUAW the latest news about Macworld 2010 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
Cute Pet Pics: Celebs and Their Precious Pups! (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 11/11/2009 3:00:00 AM
Feast your peepers on your fave stars and their adorable fourlegged companions! Take a bite
out of ET's puptastic gallery! Keep clicking to see dozens of furry friends!
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Found Footage: TweetDeck for iPhone gets a major makeover By Steven Sande (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))
squirt of goodness, with these new features added to the mix: • Video tweeting via integration with 12seconds(record video and Submitted at 11/11/2009 11:00:00 AM send to Twitter or Facebook Filed under: Freeware, Found using 12seconds platform) Footage, iPhone, App Store, iPod • Facebook integration (updates, touch FB columns, wall posts, etc.) The press release I received • Landscape composing (for tonight said it all: " TweetDeck those with stumbly thumbs) for iPhone-- now with added • Trending Topics to see what's awesome." I use TweetDeck on happening RIGHT NOW my Macs, but had used another • Save Draft for later competing app for tweeting from • Bit.ly support my iPhone. After this update, • And some additional goodies... which is the first major upgrade to this free Twitter client, I may As with the Mac and Windows have to reconsider! versions, the TweetDeck for The features in TweetDeck 1.1.1 iPhone user interface makes great [ iTunes Link] have been given a use of columns, each of which
can show a different feed, direct messages, or mentions for multiple accounts. Be sure to watch the video above, and if you're still looking for an iPhone Twitter client, give this fun freebie a try. TUAW Found Footage: TweetDeck for iPhone gets a major makeover originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
Aaron Carter Sheds Tears Following ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Elimination (ETonline - Breaking News)
even wrote a song in dedication to his pro. Aaron said it is hard to comprehend that their journey V i s i b l y u p s e t a b o u t h i s has ended because they are going elimination from "Dancing with from "work, work, work to an the Stars," Aaron Carter let the abrupt ending." w a t e r w o r k s f l o w a s h e Kelly Osbourne came over to reminisced about his experience console the distraught Aaron, on the show. embracing him in a hug. Now it Grateful for the guidance and is time for Kelly to jet set to New friendship of partner Karina York to get a hug of her own Smirnoff, the pop star said, from mum Sharon Osbourne. She "Hopefully this isn’t the end of can't wait to have lunch with her u s d o i n g d a n c e r o u t i n e s "and give her a great big hug together." He asked Karina to because I need one." continue partnering him and he Submitted at 11/11/2009 4:20:00 AM
Nokia’s Vision of the Future: Lots of Gadgets With Virtual Keyboards [Video] By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)
You can see the video below, courtesy of Slashgear, but here’s a short rundown: first, we see a Submitted at 11/11/2009 5:55:34 AM bunch of keyboardless gadgets When a tech giant gives you that reminds us of the iPhone. their vision of the future, you Then, we see various services on expect to be impressed. However, one such gadgets: location-based the video Nokia had shown at services, web browsing, stock their The Way We Live Next 3.0 information, GPS, augmented event, which is supposed to reality… showcase the company’s plans Now, forgive us for ruining the for tech-imbued living in 2015, party, but all of this is already doesn’t bring many things we available on iPhone, Android, don’t already have. Symbian, and other mobile
devices of today. Sans a projection keyboard presented in the other part of the video, there’s nothing new here, and even that keyboard isn’t
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something to be terribly excited about. Yes, there’s also a dualscreen laptop/netbook thingy there, but we’ve seen a fair share of those already. Still, it’s a nice video, if only for the sleek visuals and the warm, comfortable feeling that we’re already living in the future. Reviews: Android Tags: future, Nokia
Popular SC first lady endorses governor candidate (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:15:15 AM
1WhoCares buzzed up: Could FBI Have Stopped Nidal Hasan, Fort Hood Shooter? 3 seconds ago 2009-1111T08:56:24-08:00 This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
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Tech/ Entertainment/ Popular News/ Twitter Trend/
C64 emulator back on the App Store
Adobe layoffs strike home, 680 to lose jobs
By Mike Schramm (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))
By Megan Lavey (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))
Submitted at 11/10/2009 10:30:00 PM
Filed under: Gaming, Apple, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch The C64 emulator that was pulled from the App Store by Apple for leaving a BASIC interpreter intact has now returned, though we presume it's minus the Apple-offending code. But while it will no longer run your own code, it will run some old-school C64 games, including eight for free with the app, and more coming with in-app purchases. It's got everything you'd expect from an emulator, including original sound and graphics, an auto-save, and the option to play in fullscreen portrait or landscape. In fact, the only thing it doesn't have is an interpreter, but of course you know why that is by now: Apple doesn't want anyone running code on their devices that they haven't approved through the App Store. The app sells for $4.99 right now, and
they expect to release the in-app purchases sometime this December, with no price announced yet. TUAW C64 emulator back on the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
Adobe will total between $65 and $71 million, the TechCrunch article says. The layoffs come just after Submitted at 11/10/2009 11:30:00 PM Adobe announced that Flash F i l e d u n d e r : S o f t w a r e Professional CS5 will be able to TechCrunch, among other news turn Flash projects into iPhone outlets, reports that Adobe is apps. The company has also cutting 680 employees as part of recently released a version of its a restructuring plan. This is Photoshop.com Mobile app for r o u g h l y 9 p e r c e n t o f t h e the iPhone [ iTunes link]. company's workforce. The news TUAW Adobe layoffs strike comes on the heels of Electronic home, 680 to lose jobs originally Arts' decision to layoff 1,500 appeared on The Unofficial workers and a reduction of 600 Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, from Adobe back in December. 10 Nov 2009 23:30:00 EST. Adobe had purchased Omniture Please see our terms for use of in September and reduced its feeds. workforce by 9 percent at that Read| Permalink| Email this| time. Comments The cost of restructuring for
Crews search next door to Ohio home with 11 bodies (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:10:33 AM
Abd buzzed up: Large Hadron Collider: Damaged by a TimeTraveling Bird? 6 seconds ago 2009-1111T08:51:51-08:00 This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
Who is the Highest Earning Man in Primetime? (ETonline - Breaking News)
out "The Apprentice" host Donald Trump who made $50 million, while Cowell's coworker From "American Idol" judge Ryan Seacrest was No. 3 on the Simon Cowell to "Two and a list, grossing $38 million, based Half Men" star Charlie Sheen, on a pre-tax estimate from June ET knows who topped the 1, 2008-June 1, 2009. Forbes.com list of prime time's So how did these men make top earning males. their millions? In addition to Forbes reveals that Cowell is the Cowell's "Idol" duties, he has his By twitter:@mashable Lots of Gadgets With Virtual highest paid man in TV, pulling own record label, which has (TweetMeme) Keyboards [Video] in $75 million in a year. The signed breakout stars Leona h t t p : / / b i t . l y / 2 U 0 v d o Submitted at 11/11/2009 4:55:44 AM 0 c o m m e n t s S o u r c e : controversial "Idol" judge beat L e w i s a n d S u s a n B o y l e . Nokia’s Vision of the Future: m a s h a b l e . c o m
Nokia’s Vision of the Future: Lots of Gadgets With Virtual Keyboards
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Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:11:00 AM
Meanwhile, Trump lends his name and face to a number of products and receives checks for his speeches and books. When he's not hosting "Idol," Seacrest is known for his numerous jobs that include: radio talk show host, celebrity TV host and executive producer of the hit reality show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."
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DiggTV Gathers All Digg Video Shows in One Place
American Family Association Advocates Banning Muslims from Military
By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)
(Little Green Footballs)
Submitted at 11/11/2009 3:11:29 AM
Popular social media destination Digg is no stranger to video production. In fact, they have five different video shows that go out mostly on a weekly basis, best known of which is Diggnation, where Digg founder Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht discuss the most popular stories on Digg. Now, at DiggTV, you can follow all five shows at one place. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but for Digg fans it’s a nice one-stop shop for all their Digg video needs. Besides Diggnation, the shows include the Digg Reel, in which Andrew Bancroft covers top
Submitted at 11/10/2009 12:59:55 PM
Donald Wildmon’s American Family Association has a blog, and on that blog they’re advocating: No More Muslims in the U.S. Military. The author, Bryan Fischer, videos on the web, Diggcetera, AFA’s “Director of Issues which is a mashup of various Analysis,” seems to believe he’s Digg videos, Digg Townhall, in in a religious war between which Kevin Rose and Digg Christianity and Islam. To C E O J a y A d e l s o n a n s w e r Fischer, all Muslims are enemies, q u e s t i o n s f r o m t h e D i g g and that’s how he thinks the community. Finally, perhaps the military should treat them. most interesting show is Digg It it[sic] is time, I suggest, to D i a l o g g , w h i c h f e a t u r e s stop the practice of allowing interviews with stars such as Muslims to serve in the U.S. Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor military. The reason is simple: and Tony Hawk. Reviews: Digg the more devout a Muslim is, the more of a threat he is to national Tags: digg, Digg.tv security. Devout Muslims, who accept the teachings of the Prophet as divinely inspired, believe it is their duty to kill
infidels. Yesterday’s massacre is living proof. And yesterday’s incident is not the first fragging incident involving a Muslim taking out his fellow U.S. soldiers. Of course, most U.S. Muslims don’t shoot up their fellow soldiers. Fine. As soon as Muslims give us a foolproof way to identify their jihadis from their moderates, we’ll go back to allowing them to serve. You tell us who the ones are that we have to worry about, prove you’re right, and Muslims can once again serve. Until that day comes, we simply cannot afford the risk. You invent a jihadidetector that works every time it’s used, and we’ll welcome you back with open arms. This is not Islamophobia, it is Islamo-realism. And don’t give us reassurances about the oaths that Muslim
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soldiers take to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Hasan took that oath, and it proved meaningless. In fact, the more devout a Muslim is, the more likely he is to lie to you through his teeth, since lying to the infidel to advance the cause of Islam is commended, not just permitted, in the Koran. This incredibly stupid article is a grievous insult to the thousands of Muslims who serve with great valor in the US military, side by side with their comrades of different faiths. And it’s a profoundly un-American point of view to promote. Shame on the American Family Association, who make a great show of standing for decency and family values, then turn around and advocate irrational bigotry and collective punishment.
Underground Toys materializes TV sci-fi swag for the holidays By John Scott Lewinski (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/11/2009 10:03:00 AM
Do Daleks wear jingle bells? Probably not. But the creator of Doctor Who's deadliest enemies is in stateside toy stores to celebrate the holiday season with
the human species he's tried to kill off more than once. His arrival is very timely when you consider it's November and time for pundits like me to start sending some gift ideas your way. Since I'm more than comfortable the good folks at Underground shilling for the geek contingent, Toys sent the evil scientist (right)
over for a visit. Though he's a bit of a grump -- the 12" high, radio controlled Davros should keep any Who fan entertained. The only question I have is whether he'll end up in the fans of kids or their sci-fi fan parents. Continue reading Underground Toys materializes TV sci-fi swag
for the holidays Filed under: Doctor Who, Reality-Free, British TV Permalink| Email this| | Comments
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Awesome New Milky Way Image from NASA's Space Telescopes (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 11/10/2009 2:40:38 PM
Phil Plait has a great description of what you see in this stunning new picture of the center of the Milky Way galaxy, a mosaic comprised of images from the Hubble (visible light), Chandra (X-rays), and Spitzer (infrared) space telescopes. There is so much going on in this image it’s hard to know where to start. But first… the Hubble images are in the nearinfrared, with a wavelength a little more than twice what the eye can see (1.87 microns for those playing at home). That’s represented in the image as yellow. Spitzer contributed observations in four infrared
wavelengths (3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 microns), and those are depicted in red. Chandra sees Xrays which are normally written as units of energy, but to remain consistent with the other two images, they were at wavelengths of 0.0005, 0.00025, and 0.00016
microns, and are shown in blue. What does all this mean? Different objects emit light at different characteristic wavelengths. Warm dust, for example, emits strongly in the infrared. Stars and warm gas emit visible and near-infrared light.
Violently heated gas, affected by huge magnetic fields or shocked by colossal collisions glows in Xrays. So this image is a polychromatic view of the crowded downtown region of a bustling city: our galaxy. Here’s the page at HubbleSite, where you can find high resolution images for desktop wallpaper: HubbleSite NewsCenter - NASA’s Great Observatories Celebrate International Year of Astronomy (11/10/2009) - Release Images. And here’s the combined image; hover over it to see a popup showing all three parts.
Ex-Optimal chief faces Madoff charges (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:11:07 AM
The former head of Optimal, the Geneva-based hedge fund investment arm of Spanish bank Santander, has been charged with criminal mismanagement of client funds that were placed with fraudulent US broker Bernard Madoff. Manuel Echeverría was charged as part of a probe by Geneva investigating magistrate Marc Tappolet, according to legal sources and a court document seen by the Financial Times. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
Google Latitude Adds Location History, Alerts [Google Maps] By Adam Pash (Lifehacker) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:35:00 AM
If you've been using Google Latitude to find your nearby friends, you're in luck: Google updated Latitude with location history and alerts for when your friends are nearby. If you don't love your every step tracked—well, it's kind of creepy. Clearly if you're someone concerned about your privacy, a service like Latitude (and its recent updates) may feel a bit
strange. Just keep in mind that the extent to which Latitude tracks you is always in your hands. Moving onto the new features: Location history is pretty straight forward. Enable it in Latitude and the app starts keeping track of where you've been as well as where you are. Location alerts, on the other hand, are a little more interesting. After working on this for a while, we realized it wasn't as straightforward as sending a notification every time Latitude
work. To avoid this, we decided to make Location Alerts smarter by requiring that you also enable Location History. Using your past location history, Location Alerts can recognize your regular, routine locations and not create alerts when you're at places like home or work. Alerts friends were near each other. will only be sent to you and any Imagine that you're Latitude nearby friends when you're either friends with your roommate or co at an unusual place or at a routine -workers. It would get pretty place at an unusual time. annoying to get a text message Neat. Of course, the features are every single time you walked in only as useful as their adoption, the door at home or pulled into and considering iPhone users are
stuck with a kind of lame webapp because Apple worried that Latitude would confuse users, so it probably hasn't been adopted as widely as might be necessary. Then again, if you've got an Android, BlackBerry, Symbian S60, or Windows Mobile phone, you can grab the proper app. Google Latitude, now with Location History & Alerts[Google Mobile Blog] [Sponsored] NEC Ads by Pheedo
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Train Your Mind to Keep Exercising in Winter [Winter] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:00:00 AM
Gina Kolata writes an inspiring piece for the New York Times about the seemingly inevitable slow-down of exercise routines in winter—inevitable, really, only if your mind accepts that rainy, cold, and slushy runs are a bad thing. Photo by auburnxc. Kolata talks to folks who live in places with fairly harsh winters—including Ithaca, N.Y., which I can confirm as the snow pile at the end of Mother Nature's driveway—and asks how they get beyond the cold weather and mental blocks that keep some runners, cyclists, and other outdoor types chained to indoor equipment. It's not having the right winter wear, although that's important. It's figuring out how to reconsider winter and what it means for your fitness. My friend Jen Davis, a physical chemist, uses a term from chemistry: Running on dreary days requires high activation
energy, she says. In chemistry, activation energy is what must be added to start a reaction.\ But those of us who exercise in all sorts of weather will attest that there is a certain thrill that can come from terrible conditions. "It makes us tough," Ms. Davis said. She calls our runs in horrendous conditions "epic runs." And she's right. They are truly memorable, ones we actually recall fondly. There's also a recommendation
to come up with new music playlists and team up with friends to enforce a faltering winter exercise habit. How do you get beyond the imposing winter weather and fight on toward fitness? Share the secret in the comments. Training the Mind to Run Right Through the Winter[NYTimes.com] [Sponsored] NEC Ads by Pheedo
Geithner seeks to reassure on dollar (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 11/11/2009 5:41:56 AM
Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, on Wednesday reiterated his belief in the
importance of a strong dollar, strong dollar,” Mr Geithner told ahead of the arrival in Asia of US the Japanese press in Tokyo. President Barack Obama. This content has passed through “I believe deeply that it’s very fivefilters.org. important to the United States, to the economic health of the United States, that we maintain a
Get Extra Gmail and Picasa Storage Real Cheap [Online Storage] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker)
suggests, it might a preemptive step toward making the expected, Submitted at 11/11/2009 6:00:00 AM anticipated "GDrive" storage Need some extra space for your space a real thing. gigantic Gmail habit, or to stash If you've already bought extra m o r e p i c s i n P i c a s a W e b Google apps space, your account Albums? Google took a knife to should see an automatic space its extra storage prices, offering, boost for the remainer of your for example, 80 GB for $20 per year's purchase to match the new year. prices. Does this kind of cheap At the bottom end, 20 GB goes space make you consider moving for $5 per year, or a bit over 41 your pictures to Picasa, or cents per month. Want to get investing a bit more in Google as crazy with it? A terabyte runs a storage platform? More extra $512 per year, and 16 terabytes storage for less[Official Gmail tops the list at $4,096. The extra Blog] space is officially shared between [Sponsored] NEC Gmail and Picasa Web albums, Ads by Pheedo but, as Google Operating System
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Tech Tips/ Tech News/
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Find Your Whole Social Graph on Facebook at Once With FBFriendFinder By Jolie O'Dell (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 11/10/2009 4:15:45 PM
We've just found a new application for finding your Twitter followers, LinkedIn connections, and other friends from around the web on Facebook - all at once and all quite simply. This tool is called FBFriendFinder. It comes from the Dutch web dev shop Open & Sociaal, and it works like a charm by using OAuth, Facebook Connect, and contact export functions to gather enough data By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) recommend backing up your G1 does—in short, web-attached, to organize a user's social graph. highly enough before you launch turn-by-turn, voice-recognizing T h e m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g p a r t , Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:35:00 AM however, isn't the technology but on this endeavor. driving directions: Google's awe-inducing, turn-by- Having said that, I've managed Got Navigation working on your the business model. You have to t u r n M a p s N a v i g a t i o n i s to get Navigation on my G1, own G1 (or, even better, other read it to believe it. exclusive to Verizon's Droid f o l l o w i n g t h e s t e p - b y - s t e p Android phone)? Tell us what Sponsor phone—unless you're willing to instructions at the second link, you like, or any quirks you First, FBFriendFinder makes the hack around with your G1. With with the Android developer's e n c o u n t e r , in t h e friend-finding part of the process either some command-line-fu or SDK installed and using adb -- c o m m e n t s . [ T h i n k T a n k ] as user-friendly as possible, a two-part Windows application, help to figure out what I was M o d i f y i n g G 1 t o e n a b l e eliminating clicks and needless y o u c a n p u t G o o g l e M a p s doing. Gizmodo recommends a Navigation[XDA-Developers navigation whenever possible: FBFriendFinder has take the Navigation on a rooted G1. batch file that does the dirty-but- Forum via Gizmodo] much maligned approach of By "rooted," we mean a G1 q u a s i - l e g a l w o r k f o r y o u , Original step-by-step terminal actually requiring users to pay for running the latest Cyanogen including installation of the instructions[XDA-Developers the service. Users are charged custom ROM(and here's the wiki Maps/Navigation app from Forum] around one American penny per guide to installing it). Installing Android 2.0 (which I grabbed [Sponsored] NEC friend found, give or take. The this hack, like rooting your from this thread, registration Ads by Pheedo phone, totally voids your support required). options from T-Mobile or other Here's a little video reminder of p r o v i d e r , a n d w e c a n ' t what Google Maps Navigation
Get Google Maps Navigation on Your G1 [Android]
site integrates with PayPal, so the process is quick and painless. After we paid our fee, we were able to scroll through a slideshow of our social graph (albeit with a lot of same-name duplicate accounts) to find and add those friends to our Facebook network. This process was a tiny bit buggy and required some back-andforth navigation (it seems our friends at The Next Web had the same problem), but overall, the experience was well worth the five bucks it took to find these friends without having to manually hunt them down ourselves or rely on Facebook suggestions. Also, we appreciate the app's acknowledgement of our "crazy lifestyle." And now, we're off to ditch these pajama pants we've been sporting since the weekend and just go bananas. It's our crazy lifestyle calling to us - the crazy lifestyle we never knew we had. A sincere congratulations to the FBFriendFinder dude for creating a handy and monetizable application. Discuss
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X3Studios Makes Abstract Wallpaper Creation Easy [Wallpaper] By Jason Fitzpatrick (Lifehacker) Submitted at 11/11/2009 6:30:00 AM
If you're a fan of the abstract and grungy vector-based wallpapers floating around X3Studios is free tool for creating abstract wallpaper without needing a copy of Illustrator and a pile of stock images. X3Studio sets up a palette, element selection guide, and workspace right in your browser. You can select from background textures, dozens of abstract and grunge elements, and text you want to add to your background. The sliders on the right hand side of the screen help you adjust the
color, saturation, and brightness of the elements you have selected and all elements are easily rotated and transformed in size. Many of the navigation techniques like shifting elements forward and backward and
navigating around the image using the navigator pane will be familiar to users of more formal image editing software like Photoshop and GIMP—the interface is just radically simplified. You can download
your wallpaper in sizes ranging from 1024x768 up to 1600x1200. If you're not inclined to make your own but like the style, you can browse the gallery of work saved by other visitors. You'll find over 800 wallpapers in the visitor gallery all available for download. The wallpaper creation tool at X3Studios is free and requires no registration for use. Have another favorite online tool for generating cool wallpaper? Let's hear about it in the comments. X3Studios[via MakeUseOf] [Sponsored] NEC Ads by Pheedo
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US stocks drive to 2009 high as gold hits fresh peak (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:41:01 AM
US stocks drive to 2009 high as gold hits fresh peak By Jamie Chisholm, Global Markets Commentator Published: November 11 2009 07:09 | Last updated: November 11 2009 16:41 This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
Emulate Windows 7's Aero Snap Sizing in Linux [Linux] By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker) Submitted at 11/11/2009 5:30:00 AM
Windows 7's Aero Snap is a pretty neat feature, allowing for easy side-by-side window sizing of any application. You can get a similar effect in Linux by tweaking your Compiz configuration settings. Getting a half-size, Aero-Snaplike window when dragged to the edge of a window is easier than it might seem—assuming you've
got the right commands to enter into the CompizConfig-SettingsManager app, like the OMG! UBUNTU! blog has. Make a quick installation of Compiz's settings manager, if you haven't already, and enter the commands and variables recommended at the link. Now when you drag a window to the screen edge, you'll get a half-size window to stack up. Two caveats apply to this trick, though. One is that you seem to
lose the ability to drag windows horizontally into your next workspace. The other is that, depending on how you set it up, a
ze's page :: zefrank.com: wait for the awesome! By twitter:@zefrank (TweetMeme)
http://bit.ly/1ul2t2 :: the sweetest move i have seen in forever
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dual monitor setup might not give properly sized windows. I can live with the first issue, as I only use one workspace, but my
TwinView setup doesn't quite fly with this trick. That said, it's a great option for laptops or singlemonitor setups—and if you know of a fix for those with extended desktops, by all means, tell us about it. Get Aero Snap in Ubuntu[OMG! UBUNTU!] [Sponsored] NEC Ads by Pheedo
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Raindrop's Universal Inbox Looks Awesome in Concept Designs [Inboxes]
Palo Alto Networks: Twitter Usage Soars in the Enterprise
By Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker)
By Alex Williams (ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:00:00 AM
Mozilla's Raindrop project showed us its one-inbox-to-rulethem-all mission, but a Mozilla designer now shows us how Raindrop might actually pull that off on mobile phones. The designs are impressive, combining email, Twitter, Facebook, and other conversations into one organized stream. Andy Chung has made his initial designs for RainDrop's mobile implementation available as a Flickr set, and they show a really, really simplified way of looking at what's coming in. Twitter replies, emails, Facebook comments—they're all just
Submitted at 11/10/2009 11:57:08 PM
The news from Palo Alto Networks reinforces what we should probably expect will be the norm for the foreseeable future. According to the company's Application Usage and Risk Report, social technologies and collaborative applications are moving deep into different-colored messages, and t e l l u s w h a t y o u t h i n k o f the enterprise with Twitter seeing the reply button always does the Raindrop in the comments. a 250 percent increase in use same thing. Additional functions T h i n k i n g M o b i l e [ R a i n d r o p since Spring of last year. look like they're available when Design Development Page via In face of a report like this, it triggered, but we're just excited TechCrunch] makes sense that Enterprise 2.0 (plainly) about how universally [Sponsored] NEC technologies would be a fit for simple Raindrop looks like on Ads by Pheedo companies. Employees any phone. understand how social Check out the pics and pitch, and technologies function. Collaborative applications make sense for getting the work done. Sponsor Here are some more results from the Palo Alto study: • Sharepoint adoption increased meant for her marriage. "I think therapist that it is still cheating 48 percent compared to last year. women are beautiful, I’ve had a even if it’s with girls, so there is • Google Docs showed up in 82% of the organizations, lot of fun with women, and I’m a rule there." not ashamed of it. The problem is When asked if Fergie and Josh compared to 33% a year ago. that I also love a well-endowed have ever made a sex tape, the Bandwidth increased 290 percent man," she told the publication. singer responded, "No, that’s not since spring of this year. "But just because I enjoy women happening. We’re too smart for doesn’t mean I’m allowed to that. We’ve done some filming have affairs in my relationship. I but with no tape in the camera." learned through talking with my
Fergie Speaks Candidly About Cheating (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:12:00 AM
Pop star Fergie talks about what she considers cheating, Prior to reports that her husband Josh Duhamel had an affair with an Atlanta stripper, the singer opened up to The Advocate about her bisexuality and what that
• Facebook increased 59 percent when measured by the frequency in which it was detected on corporate networks. Organizations saw big bumps in bandwidth consumption, increasing 294 percent to 6.3 gigabytes per organization. The study comes in the wake of a number of announcements, most notably from Cisco, which seems to have an understanding of the social network dynamics at play in the enterprise. At a press conference on Monday, John Chambers outlined a number of initiatives. Notable were his insights into how collaboration is the best way to quickly invent new products and enter new markets. He said this is especially true with younger workers entering the workforce. Young people are familiar with social networking and increasingly see it is the best way to foster collaboration. Discuss
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Top Internet Trends of 2000-2009: Online Music By Richard MacManus (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 11/11/2009 1:22:08 AM
It's November 2009 and we're nearing the end of a decade. It's been a tumultuous time of change for many industries, much of it driven by the Internet. With that in mind, over the coming weeks ReadWriteWeb will look back on the defining Web trends of the past 10 years. From the dot com boom, to the nuclear winter after, to the passion and enthusiasm of the pre-Web 2.0 innovations (such as RSS and podcasting), to the highs and hype of Web 2.0, to the current era of the real-time Web, to the near future of the Internet of Things. We'll explore all of this and more. We're starting with online music. No industry, except arguably the newspaper one, has been rocked (pardon the pun) more by the Internet than the music industry. Sponsor Napster & Kazaa: Online File Sharing The online music decade started with Napster, a music file sharing service created by Shawn Fanning that operated between June 1999 and July 2001. Napster enabled people to freely share MP3 files over the Internet; however it quickly ran into major legal trouble. Napster was the
subject of lawsuits in 2000 by touchy metal band Metallica and others. It was eventually shut down by court order, after several major record labels went after the service. After Napster's demise, a P2P application called Kazaa became the most popular service for music file sharing. But it too eventually succumbed to record industry attacks. Curiously, both Napster and Kazaa were recently reincarnated as law-abiding services. After years of re-launch attempts, Napster was acquired by Best Buy in September 2008 and was born again in May 2009. Meanwhile Kazaa turned into a legit music subscription service in July this year. iTunes / iPod: Digital Music Goes Commercial While Napster and Kazaa tried to skirt around the commercial imperatives of music, like paying artists, Apple took on the record industry in an entirely legal way. In January 2001, Apple launched a digital music player for music called iTunes. Then in April 2003, the iTunes Store was launched. It offered the ability to buy songs for 99 cents each, which had a major impact on the music industry. Soon after Napster's demise in 2001, Apple launched what was to become a revolutionary device
crowd of users who were interested in following pop culture, and, in particular, the upand-coming artists they discovered while browsing through the network. Only eight months after its launch, MySpace began to experience exponential in the music industry. The iPod growth, as its users created was launched in October 2001 profiles and friended others who and it became the most popular would then, in turn, invite more portable music player since the users to join the social network. Thanks to the " network effect," Sony Walkman in the 1980s. Fast forward to 2009 and iTunes MySpace soon became the place continues to evolve. In January to be online. Everyone was Apple announced that iTunes there." w o u l d g o D R M - f r e e . I n However by 2008, MySpace had September 2009 Apple launched ceded the social networking version 9 of iTunes, which crown to Facebook. In 2009, i n c l u d e d a G e n i u s - l i k e MySpace is once again trying to recommendation feature for apps reclaim its heritage as a music and 'iTunes LPs' - a feature that service. In October MySpace brings liner notes and artwork to launched"Artist Dashboards" and integrated its music video vault digital albums. MySpace: Music & Social with recent acquisition iLike. Pandora & last.fm: Online Music Networking MySpace was launched in Discovery Online music services have August 2003 and soon became a popular hangout for local bands, flourished in the 'web 2.0' era, e s p e c i a l l y i n d i e r o c k e r s . when the ability to find new MySpace provided a way for music and share it with others via those bands to promote their the Web became increasingly music and reach a wide network sophisticated. Two services in particular stand through social networking. As ReadWriteWeb's Sarah Perez out. One is Pandora, a free online wrote last month, it was a music discovery service. Pandora virtuous circle for MySpace. The w a s f o u n d e d i n 2 0 0 0 a n d bands' presence on MySpace continues to grow, despite "began to attract a young, hip various legal issues over the
years. As ReadWriteWeb's Frederic Lardinois noted earlier this year, Pandora derives its revenue from targeted audio advertising in its music streams and affiliate sales through Amazon's MP3 store and iTunes. Last.fm is another online music discovery service. It was founded in 2002 and was sold to CBS in 2007. It continues to innovate in 2009, for example in May this year last.fm announced combo stations, allowing a user to create a station with up to three artists or tags. Conclusion This post and series was inspired by one of my favorite blogs and podcasts, NPR's All Songs Considered. They're currently looking back at the decade in music and much of the discussion is about how the Internet helped define it. And it's true, when you think of music at the end of 2009 you think of iTunes, Pandora and last.fm - MySpace even. The record industry is still coming to terms with these and other changes. Tell us your online music memories of the past 10 years. What's been your favorite online music product or service during that time? Discuss
Remembrance Day By Kay Kremerskothen (Flickr Blog)
• About Flickr making photo management an and tags on your photos, post to Flickr is a revolution in photo easy, natural and collaborative any blog, share and more! storage, sharing and organization, process. Get comments, notes, This content has passed through
fivefilters.org.
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Google Gives You More Storage for Less, but Still No GDrive By Sarah Perez (ReadWriteWeb)
storage solution? Sponsor Ties to Google Chrome OS? Submitted at 11/11/2009 5:59:18 AM Over on The Next Web, blogger Google just announced Alex Wilhelm thinks the dramatically reduced prices for increased storage space hints at their online storage options via a Google's future plans with their post on the company's Official upcoming netbook operating Google Blog. The new rates give system, Google Chrome OS. We you 20 GB for $5 per year, or, as have to admit, the same thought Google puts it "twice as much occurred to us as well. After all, storage for a quarter of the old netbooks don't typically have the price." The new options also let same hard disk space as their you expand your storage all the larger, less totable counterparts. way up to 16 TB if need be. As However, that's not always the always, these extra storage case these days given the new options are available once you middle-of-the-road offerings like reach the limit of your free the HP Mini 311, for example, storage. which falls somewhere between However, the system still only an ultra-portable netbook and full works with Gmail and the photo- -sized notebook with its 350 GB sharing service Picasa. There's no hard drive option. mention of it expanding to But Alex has a point: by encompass other Google services providing this type of cloud like Google Docs, for example. storage solution, netbooks can And there's definitely no mention remain basic machines which are of the seemingly mythical smaller and cost less. That would GDrive, the long-rumored online pave the way for the Google storage system supposedly under Chrome OS line of netbooks to development which would allow be even more affordable devices for the upload of any file type for than what's on the market today safe storage in the cloud. We're since they wouldn't need to come b e g i n n i n g t o w o n d e r : w i l l equipped with large hard drives. Google ever offer us a real cloud Obviously, an OS-integrated
solution for any of this yet. And many are beginning to wonder if they ever will. In the tech community, there have been rumors about an allencompassing online storage cloud storage system of this service called GDrive for years nature would be a natural fit for on end now, and yet, nothing has Google's cloud operating system ever come of it. According to designed specifically for speculation (and wishful netbooks. And yet, it still seems thinking), the supposed system to be an incomplete offering at would allow for the upload of all this time. But Still So Limited! types of files and would tie As much as we want to believe together all of Google's services. that the new changes are a sign of In our imaginations, we envision Google's plans for Chrome OS, a dashboard that links us to our it's just as possible that they're online Google Docs, our photos, nothing more than the great our Gmail, our Google Sites, and discounts they appear to be. our multimedia content. The There's nothing all that new GDrive of our dreams would be being introduced here - just better accessible from any computer, keeping in sync all our user data, rates and more available space. Sadly, the core storage offering preferences, and settings. You itself is unchanged. It's still very can see a hint of how this sync limited, only encompassing could work with the way the Gmail and Picasa photos. What Google Chrome web browser about the rest of our files - like stores your favorites. Your the ones stored in Google Docs? b o o k m a r k e d s i t e s a r e n o w What about our music and movie available in the browser no collections? What about the matter what PC you use while a hundred or so of home videos we backup copy sits in Google Docs. can't bear to delete from our hard GDrive should do the same, but drives? Google has no centralized not just for web browser favorites - for everything. That would be
Courteney Cox Heats Up TV Guide's 'Hot List' (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:59:00 AM
ET has the latest... Winter is fast approaching, but TV Guide Magazine heated
things up at their "Hot List" party. "Cougar Town"'s Courteney Cox, named "Hot Mama," graces the cover of this special issue of the magazine. She told ET of her
pictorial, "I like it. I think it's great‌I haven't seen the actual one, but I saw a Xerox of it and it looked good." Co-star Ian Gomez commented, "Finally, someone's realized that
she's hot. Not as hot as my wife of course, but hot none the less." He scored brownie points with wife, actress Nia Vardalos, who was by his side.
the final step for making a cloud OS a reality. It's almost strange at this point that Google hasn't released something of the sort yet. In fact, they've let Microsoft beat them to the punch in this instance courtesy of Microsoft's SkyDrive service which launched back in early 2008. SkyDrive offers a free 25 GB of online storage for your files and also serves as the central repository for Windows Live Photos as well as the documents created via the new Office Web Applications service, Microsoft's challenge to Google Docs. But where's Google's answer to this? When will it come? Will it ever? Perhaps the company is waiting for the release of Google Chrome OS to dazzle us with some sort of revamped interface for a gamechanging cloud computing operating system. Or perhaps the company is just doing what it does best: offering solutions that are simply good enough. What do you think? Will Google ever offer us a real cloud storage system or is this all we'll ever get? Discuss
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Good Bloggers Make Good Neighbors, New Survey Shows By Jolie O'Dell (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 11/11/2009 12:01:26 AM
Back in the day, it was assumed that heavy Internet geeks were a bunch of basement-dwelling, trenchcoat-wearing, socially maladjusted introverts. However, a new study from the Pew Internet Project shows that geeks, including IM users and bloggers, are more likely to help neighbors, get out of the house, volunteer, and behave as upstanding members of their IRL communities. Sponsor One of the most interesting findings of the study completely neutralizes the stereotype of the antisocial tech geek. "Mobile phone use, internet use, frequency of use, or participating in social networking services, blogging, photo sharing, or instant messaging, was found to have no relationship with the likelihood of face-to-face contact with neighbors." That is, Internet geeks are as likely to know and speak to their neighbors as are
non-geeks. Factors such as age, marital/cohabitation status, and gender have a much greater impact on local social activity, actually. And although the study found that Internet users were less likely to rely on neighbors for help, its finding also tell us that frequent or dedicated Internet users are a mighty friendly and helpful bunch when it comes to giving support to neighbors. Bloggers are almost 80 percent more likely to do small favors for their neighbors than other groups, and they're 84 percent more likely to help a neighbor care for a family member, e.g., offer babysitting help. And while Internet users, including photosharing folks and IM fans, are more likely across the board to help and hang out with people in their neighborhood, the study also showed that Internet users are almost 50 less likely to lend neighbors money. Insert a pun about teaching a man to phish here. Folks who use sites such as BuildingBulletins or
NeighborGoods to connect with people who live near them are also more likely to engage with their community, especially in terms of actively discussing community issues, listening to a neighbor's problems, or helping a neighbor with chores or errands. Bloggers and mobile phone users are also 72 percent more likely to belong to a local group or organization such as a charitable organization, a youth sports league, or a religious group. For example, an average single, white person with no children has a 40 percent chance of belonging to at least one local voluntary group. However, that chance increases to 54 percent if that person users a mobile device
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Celine Dion's Husband Says Fertility Treatment was Unsuccessful (ETonline - Breaking News)
and 72 percent if that person is also a blogger and frequent Internet user. Another fascinating set of findings completely negate the stereotypical image of Internet geeks as agoraphobic recluses. Internet and mobile users are far more likely than non-users to hit up coffee shops, parks, and restaurants in their communities. Internet users in general are around 50 percent more likely to find themselves in public places than non-users, and bloggers specifically are 60 percent more likely than non-bloggers to spend time in a public park. The study concludes, "As with other local community activities, the relationship between Internet use and participation in public and semi-public spaces is likely a combination of self-selection and an outcome of internet use... The Internet may also enable visits to public spaces through opportunities to coordinate rendezvous and search for new places to visit." Discuss
Submitted at 11/11/2009 6:37:00 AM
sports, and it's a good time to remember an athlete who had a career unlike any other. Jeremy Bloom Retires originally appeared on Fanhouse Backporch
on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments
Celine Dion is said to be "shocked" that her IVF procedure was unsuccessful, but her husband reveals they plan to try again. In an interview with Canadian paper Journal de Montreal[via People.com] Celine's 67-year-old husband RenĂŠ AngĂŠlil explained that they believed a previous implantation had worked, but sadly did not. "We are living the reality of the majority of couples who have to use [IVF]. The process can be long and arduous," he said. "But today, we are full of confidence. Celine is more determined than ever." In August, Celine's doctor announced she was pregnant with an embryo that was kept frozen for eight years in liquid nitrogen.
Jeremy Bloom Retires By Michael David Smith (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/11/2009 9:00:00 AM
by Michael David Smith
Filed under: Skiing Jeremy Bloom had the athletic talent to be both a professional downhill skier and a Division I punt returner, and he had the
wherewithal to stand up to the NCAA when it prevented him from doing both simultaneously. This week Bloom announced that he's retiring from competitive
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Mobile Application to Diagnose Disease by Hearing you Cough By Sarah Perez (ReadWriteWeb)
tuned-in doctor - or in this case, a mobile app - can listen to the entire structure of a cough from Submitted at 11/11/2009 5:31:21 AM the initial intake of air to the final Feeling a bit under the weather? 100-150 milliseconds of a cough Soon you'll be able to cough into that contains the distinctive "wet" your mobile phone for an instant or "dry" and "productive" or diagnosis. A research firm called "unproductive" sounds that help STAR Analytical Services is to classify the cough's working to develop software that seriousness, explains an article can analyze the sound of a cough on Discovery News. Even the a n d i d e n t i f y i t a s e i t h e r n a t i o n s . D e s p i t e t h e p o o r loudness of a cough is taken into associated with a common cold, economic conditions of these account - healthy people have the flu, or something worse - like under-developed countries, there coughs that are 2% louder than a pneumonia or another serious are a plethora of mobile phones sick person's. respiratory disease. Just as w h i c h a r e b e i n g u s e d f o r At the moment, the software doctors have been doing for everything from early warning exists as a computer application years, the software will "listen" systems to mobile payments to but the scientists plan to have it to the wetness or dryness of a health alerts. An mobile app that re-written, when complete, as an cough and determine whether all diagnoses disease would fit right application for mobile phones. you need is a lozenge or if you in. There's no word on when the need to come in for a doctor's The way the diagnostic software mobile application will be visit instead. works is by comparing the released, but the scientists will Sponsor sounds of the mobile user's cough need to collect around 1000 Turn Your Head...Towards Your t o a d a t a b a s e o f c o u g h s c o u g h s a m p l e s b e f o r e t h e Mobile Phone associated with all the different database is ready. If they're able The American and Australian types of respiratory diseases. to then design a successful scientists at STAR have received There would also be multiple analytical tool for mobile phones, a $100,000 grant from the Gates coughs per disease stored in the the impacts to people's health Foundation to develop the cough- database to take into account would be far-reaching - and not a n a l y z i n g s o f t w a r e f o r variations by age, gender, weight, just in developing countries, but developing countries where and other factors. everywhere in the world. Discuss access to health care is more While to our untrained ears, limited than in first world many coughs sound just alike, a
Etelos Adopts OpenID For Business Applications Sold Through Its Marketplaces By Alex Williams (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 11/11/2009 6:00:00 AM
Etelos is adopting OpenID and Single Sign On(SSO) for its partners that sell business applications. The service will provide a single point of user authentication for business applications distributed through Etelos marketplaces. OpenID will primarily serve small business customers who use business applications from Etelos partners. OpenID will provide small businesses with an identity solution that gives them easier access to the applications they use. Etelos develops and operates private-labeled marketplaces for Web-based business applications such as Eventbrite and Box.net. Sponsor Subscribers access what Etelos calls a User Management Interface (UMI). This console manages all of the application users for a small business subscriber. Using this system, they can access their application through a single sign on. They can link to their Web apps
BBC NEWS | England | Trains 'too costly' for rail firm By twitter:@newsintheuk (TweetMeme)
Network Rail transports 200 staff by coach from Reading to Coventry for a conference as rail
tickets cost too much. 0 comments Source: news.bbc.co.uk
through a "single-user portal." OpenD is a decentralized standard for managing user names and passwords for singlelogon access to web-based applications and social sites. It is supported by a number of companies including Google, IBM and Yahoo! OpenID has taken some time to establish itself but it did get a boost this summer when Google Apps adopted it. The adoption meant millions of schools, businesses and other organizations could use their Apps accounts as an OpenID. OpenID should see see continued growth, especially as enterprise applications proliferate. OpenID and SSO's give providers like Etelos a way for its customers to offer a simple identity solution that simplifies the process for managing applications. Discuss
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Apple’s Atomic War By Mark Crump (TheAppleBlog)
undertaking this task knew of the risks. So, there was little harm done. Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:19:32 AM I’d like to take a look at some of With the release of 10.6.2, Apple the armchair theories I’ve seen, killed unsupported support for and offer my own armchair the Atom processor — the analysis of them. Apple wasn’t processor used in low-cost happy with the (alleged) piracy netbooks. Certain models of The piracy angle has two fronts: netbooks could run OS X quite your interpretation of the EULA, easily, and people used them to and how many copies of OS X make the Little Netbook Apple running on hackintoshes were Refuses to Make. While it’s a purchased. stretch to say Apple has killed the In terms of the EULA, while I hackintosh market, it’s certainly know Apple strongly disagrees proving it isn’t going to sit with this, my personal take is as around and ignore it. long as I’ve bought a legal The reaction has been interesting license of OS X (and if it’s an a n d v a r i e s f r o m c a s u a l upgrade license like Snow indifference, to the defense of Leopard, I have the requisite Apple’s action, to thinking Apple Leopard copy), if I want to install cancelled Christmas. While I’ve it on a piece of non-Apple gear as been a vocal supporter of Apple’s long as I don’t waste Apple’s or right to continue to club Palm mine time with supporting it, I’m over the Pre syncing fiasco, I in the clear. Now, this is not legal imagine it’ll sound hypocritical advice in any way, and all the when I say I’m disappointed in usual disclaimers. It may be a Apple over this move. tenuous stretch, but in this case I Up until now, Apple’s stance don’t consider a person creating with the hackintosh community such a hackintosh a “pirate.” has largely been don’t ask, don’t The second front, though, has no tell. The people who bought a defense. If you’re creating a netbook and, hopefully, bought a hackintosh and download a copy of OS X to install it, were torrent or borrow a buddy’s disc, aware of the risks of doing so. and don’t own a corresponding Getting it to run might involve license, you’re a pirate. Where waving a dead chicken at the things get gray is if you’re screen, or it could be completely downloading a hacked OS X painless. However, the person distro, but have a legal license,
are you a pirate? I have no data on how many hackintoshes were running pirated OS X installs, and I don’t have any corresponding data on how many Snow Leopard installs are legal. That said, since Apple offers no copy protection, I’m going to say that piracy wasn’t a motivator. Apple didn’t like seeing netbooks with Apple stickers on them In the somewhat wonky world of Apple’s Land of Preventing User Confusion, I can actually see this one being a reason for doing this. Now, I go to a fairly technical university and the overall number of netbooks I’ve seen is small, and zero of them have been running OS X (unscientific poll taken while trying to find tables at the canteen and library). I’ve never actually seen a hackbook,
much less one with an Apple sticker slapped on it. But there are enough pictures on Flickr of people doing this, so I can see Apple getting irate and going, “OK, enough already.” Who knows, maybe people were walking into Apple stores looking for “that cute little Apple laptop I saw the nice guy at the airport using.” Apple doesn’t have products running the Atom chipset I’ll buy this one. While having support for the chipset doesn’t hurt anything, it’s unnecessary code. Maybe Apple was thinking of using the chipset and decided against it. Maybe knowing support for that chipset was keeping Jobs up at night. If Apple does end up using the chipset, it’s easy enough to reenable the code in the future. Which is about as close as I’ll get to mentioning the oft-rumored, n e v e r - p r o m i s e d Tablaslabawhatevah. Some have opined that by doing this code cleanup Apple didn’t know it was breaking Atom support. I don’t agree. While it’s possible there’s nothing evil about its intent, I think it was intentional. The Pystar lawsuit forced its hands Now we’re getting somewhere. Up until recently, creating a hackintosh was very much a do-it -yourself affair. You had to get
the-accidental-hero.html: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance By twitter:@kimsteadman1 (TweetMeme)
An accident waiting to happen! http://bit.ly/2Zb43A
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the hardware and do the grunt work to get the OS on it. Granted, while it’s gotten a lot easier over the years and many sites have complete walkthroughs, it’s still an undertaking. Pystar, though, upped the ante. It recently released the Rebel EFI tool which, allegedly, will allow you to install OS X on darn near anything. It’s not a stretch to assume it’s going to sell a netbook running OS X. Given the lawsuit, I believe Apple did this to both be able to demonstrate to a court it has taken measures to prevent OS X from running on un-supported hardware, as well as eliminate a future product line from Psystar. Like I said, I’m a little disappointed in Apple. But I can understand why it would cut the code for an unused chip. I’ve given some thought to getting a netbook and hackintoshing it, but after I got my new MacBook Pro a month or so ago, that desire faded away. I’m much happier using Apple-built hardware. I have a Dell Ultraportable laptop for work, and the small trackpad on that drives me nuts…I don’t want to think of one smaller. What about you? What do you think of Apple’s decision?
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MacBook vs. MacBook Pro: Which Should You Buy?
Eyes-on: Modern Warfare 2 night vision goggles
By Charles Moore (TheAppleBlog)
By Justin McElroy (Joystiq)
20 percent higher price. 20 Percent Higher Price — 20 Percent More Value? Submitted at 11/10/2009 9:26:26 AM Personally, I think these factors AppleGazette’s Kevin Whipps do add up to 20 percent more real addresses the quandary over how value and then some, although to choose between a MacBook Kevin has a point about the two and a MacBook Pro, noting that machines being pretty much it used to be that if you wanted a clones when it comes to core 13-inch Mac laptop (excluding computing power. For example, the MacBook Air), the only it now appears that even Apple’s o p t i o n w a s t h e o r i g i n a l nominal 4GB maximum RAM MacBook. Now with a 13-inch upgrade spec for the MacBook is aluminum MacBook Pro on the completely arbitrary. OWC is market, the decision has become offering 8GB memory upgrade more complex. kits for the plastic unibody Kevin allows that the 13 MacBook. MacBook Pro doesn’t give you a The MacBook comes with a lot more value for your dollar, 250GB hard drive, which is more comparatively. I beg to differ, but than respectable for standard there’s a large element of equipment, especially since the s u b j e c t i v i t y i n a n y s u c h 13 MacBook Pro’s base $1,199 judgment, with many variables model comes with a more modest such as how much you value 1 6 0 G B d r i v e . W i t h t h e FireWire support (some of us a MacBook, 320GB and 500GB lot), how important a SD Card drives are BTO options, but that slot is to your needs, and whether bumps the price to MacBook Pro the premium look, fit, finish, and levels. The Case for the 15 durability of the Pro’s aluminum MacBook Pro unibody construction justifies the Kevin actually includes the 15
integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics chipset (which MacBook Pro in his comparison, should be more than adequate if noting that at 5.5 pounds, the you’re not into high-end graphics unibody 15-incher is not a whole or video, or serious gaming) that lot heavier than the 13 MacBook annexes up to 256MB of your and MacBook Pro units at 4.7lb. system RAM for video support. and 4.5lb. respectively, and A No-Brainer offers much more expansive Personally, while I find the new screen real estate at its 1440 x polycarbonate unibody MacBook 900 resolution. Being a former very attractive — a quantum 17 PowerBook user who recently improvement over the old, iBook switched from the big, old -esque MacBook form factor — ‘Book’s 1440 x 900 display to an my recommendation remains if aluminum unibody MacBook’s you can somehow scratch up the more cramped 1280 x 800 13.3 extra $200, the base 2.26GB screen, I have to agree, and the MacBook Pro 13 represents the latest $1,699 entry-level 15 Pro is zenith of value and power for the money that Apple has ever especially price-enticing. However, note well that if you offered in a portable computer, need the heavy-duty graphics and if you’re willing to go with support provided by the discrete an Apple Certified Refurbished NVIDIA 9600M GT GPU with unit, the Apple Store currently 256MB of dedicated VRAM, has them available for the same you’re still going to have to pony $999 price as the new plastic up $1,999 for the middle-model M a c B o o k , w i t h t h e s a m e 2.66GHz 15 Pro. The $1,699 unit w a r r a n t y a n d A p p l e C a r e is essentially identical in power e l i g i b i l i t y . to the high-end $1,499 13 For me, it’s a no-brainer. MacBook Pro, and has only the
Submitted at 11/11/2009 10:20:00 AM
There might be a game buried deep in the Modern Warfare 2: Prestige Edition box that showed up on our doorstep yesterday, but if so, we're not aware of it. See, we've been a little too busy harnessing the miracle of modern technology so we can see in the dark. We've opened our eyes in the blackness and seen the greentinted future, and now we want to share our vision with you. (And yes, we'll be giving the whole thing away soon.) Eyes-on: Modern Warfare 2 night vision goggles originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
Review: Sons of Anarchy - Balm By Jane Boursaw (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/11/2009 4:21:00 AM
(S02E10) I'm filling in for Danny, who experienced a DVR malfunction, so be gentle with me, as I've been a bit here and there with Sons of Anarchy this
season. Last winter, I raced through season one for Jane After Dark, and fell in love with the gritty characters and edgy storyline. But to tell you the truth, I had trouble watching it after Gemma's rape this season. It was really disturbing, and I
wasn't sure I wanted all of that in
my head all the time. But the fact is that Sons of Anarchy is a great show and -like many other FX shows -unlike most of what you see on TV these days. So I'm happy to have this chance to get caught up a little bit with season two.
Continue reading Review: Sons of Anarchy - Balm Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Sons of Anarchy Permalink| Email this| | Comments
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Apple Surpasses Nokia as Most Profitable Cell Phone Maker By Darrell Etherington (TheAppleBlog)
Nokia is in the midst of a legal battle with Apple over what it sees as blatant copyright Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:59:22 AM violation. Charles recently wrote Despite controlling a much about the conflict over smaller share of the market, intellectual property between the Apple is now much more two firms. Nokia alleges that the profitable than Nokia, overtaking iPhone infringes on not one, not the handset maker as the most two, but 10 patents it holds lucrative company in the business regarding wireless tech and of selling cell phones. Apple also standards. The timing of the suit, overtook Samsung during the last which comes shortly following a financial quarter, so it actually significant drop in market share jumped from third to first place for Symbian OS, seems quite overall among global cell phone suspect. companies. The future for Apple looks Research firm Strategy Analytics bright indeed, so long as it can ( via Reuters) points out that and one that will likely only continue taking in the same while Apple is now the most grow as Apple continues to end incredibly high profit margins on profitable company in the cell exclusivity deals around the the iPhone. Part of its continued phone industry, both Nokia and world, opening up iPhone sales ability to do so is probably due to Samsung both still beat the to more and more potential the fact that the 3GS iPhone Cupertino company in terms of subscribers. revision actually seemed to sheer size. That’s especially good Of course, there isn’t a direct require very little change on the news for Apple, which makes relationship between Apple’s production side, which would go much more on a per-unit basis gain and the slides Nokia and a l o n g w a y t o k e e p i n g than any other mobile phone Samsung are experiencing. Other manufacturing costs down. A maker. It makes approximately factors are at work, including the significant update will require $320 pure profit on each iPhone growing popularity of Google’s more time to become profitable, sold, according to Strategy Android platform, which is being but Apple’s continued success Analytics. adopted by more cell phone with the device means that the Estimated profits for Apple makers and network providers. turnaround time required for that during the third financial quarter The arrival of the Palm Pre to happen will be remarkably of this year are around $1.6 probably also had a negative short. billion, compared with $1.1 impact on the handset sales of the billion for Nokia during the same two industry leaders. period. It’s a commanding lead,
VESA Issues Mini DisplayPort Standard By Darrell Etherington (TheAppleBlog) Submitted at 11/10/2009 10:44:51 AM
Earlier this year (right at the beginning, in fact), we brought news that the Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA) might potentially make the Mini DisplayPort standard, meaning that manufacturers outside of Apple can now use it in their products without Apple’s approval, including rival computer makers, among others. The Mini DisplayPort (mDP) standard is described as a smaller form factor of the DisplayPort connector itself. The smaller connector is aimed at devices like thin portable computes and addin cards that need to support multiple display interfaces. Hopefully, display and display accessory makers will adopt the standard, reducing the need to purchase expensive Applebranded adapters. The new mDP is for Version 1, Revision 1a of the standard,
though DisplayPort 1.2 including mDP is in the works, which will double the available bandwidth of the cable tech to 21.6 Gb/second. That would mean that multi-monitor support via a single cable would be feasible, as well as higher resolutions and improved color depth and refresh rates. 3-D displays necessary for demanding graphical applications could also be supported with the new version of the standard. As a result of this new standard creation by VESA, we could see a flood of mDP-toting computing devices, or we could see very little change at all. As with FireWire, many computer makers might opt to skip mDP or DP in favor of more established technologies like DVI and VGA, since they are more widely available and don’t necessitate a change to manufacturing processes. The one thing mDP has going for it is its size, and makers of MacBook Air competitors will probably be the first to bite, if anyone does.
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Orange Launch Day iPhone Sales Set Leno show makes "radical" format change; looks more a Record By Darrell Etherington (TheAppleBlog) Submitted at 11/10/2009 10:08:18 AM
Today is the day the iPhone stopped being an exclusive in the UK. Officially, as of 7 a.m., the device went on sale at Orange retailers across the UK, and the carrier is already claiming that the iPhone has gone over exceedingly well with consumers, despite already having been available to O2 customers since its initial launch. By the end of business today, the newest UK iPhone carrier on the block will have sold well more than 30,000 iPhones, according to gadget web site T3. Not bad for what’s technically a relaunch of an already available device. Compare that with Motorola’s claim of 100,000 Droid units moved in three days in the U.S. Properly framed and in context, the iPhone figures Orange is claiming are much more impressive, and show that hype aside, any competitor still has a long way to go to contend with Apple. Orange also claims that the impressive sales numbers
the Vodafone network is the fastest using the iPhone: “We’ve been out and about testing our network across the UK. Whilst our guys were watching the latest YouTube clips on the iPhone they found that Vodafone delivered the fastest download time for a 10minute video.” Vodafone provided not a single scrap of statistical evidence to represent a new record for first back up its claim, which is only day handset device sales in the fair since Orange didn’t provide UK, at least regarding published any to support its claim regarding results. The launch sales of the sales numbers, either. device have also helped Orange’s Orange recently came under own Wednesdays app climb to scrutiny for its reported 750MB the top of the Entertainment cap on data usage under its category charts, and achieve the “ U n l i m i t e d ” p l a n , a n d f o r No. 2 ranking overall in the free imposing bizarre restrictions on how network data may be used, section of the App Store. Vodafone, which has yet to restrictions that seemed, if taken launch the iPhone, but intends to at face value, to basically prohibit in early 2010, didn’t want to just 90 percent of iPhone usage. sit back and let Orange have its Obviously, the company isn’t day in the sun uncontested. The actually preventing its iPhone UK cell service provider is customers from doing things like hoping to convince some would- using IM applications, and since be iPhone buyers to step back no one’s had a chance to hit that and wait until its own launch, by 750MB limit as of yet, things reporting that in tests (which I’m appear to be going more than sure were completely unbiased), smoothly for the big launch.
like old Tonight Show By Joel Keller (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/11/2009 10:42:00 AM
If you were one of the dozens of people who were watching The Jay Leno show on Monday, you might have been wondering why the "Headlines" segment came right after Jay's monologue instead of right before the local news. Were you stumbling upon a rerun of the old Tonight Show that was airing by mistake? Nope. It seems that, because of the low-and-sinking ratings Leno has been getting at ten, the producers have decided to"shake up" the format ... to make it look like the old Tonight Show. Of course, changing a pretty moribund format back to a format that's even older isn't exactly a radical shift. But the producers are likely betting that returning to the successful Tonight formula is the way to go. Here's the problem: people don't have the same ingrained expectations of a 10 PM talk show that they have of an 11:30 show. Instead of tuning into Leno as a reliable way to get them to sleep late at night, they're now
MediaDailyNews: Comcast Ups Joy To SVP, Strategy (MediaPost | Media News) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:15:07 AM
Comcast Corp. has promoted
Aljit Joy to senior vice president of strategy and communications product development. Joy is responsible for leading strategy
and technology planning, as well as product development for Comcast's broadband Internet and phone services. Joy joined
the company in 2005. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
tuning to him because nothing's on and their DVRs are empty. There are no expectations on their part. Continue reading Leno show makes "radical" format change; looks more like old Tonight Show Filed under: Talk Show, RealityFree, Jay Leno Permalink| Email this| | Comments
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Opening Weekend: iPhone vs. Pre vs. Droid By Charles Jade (TheAppleBlog) Submitted at 11/10/2009 11:01:11 AM
After heavy promotion, including a little negative advertising, Verizon launched the Droid over the weekend, and two days later the first sales estimates are in: 100,000. Speaking with Bloomberg, Analyst Mark McKechnie of Broadpoint AmTech thinks that’s pretty good. Noting that Verizon had 200,000 Droids on the shelves for launch, he said most stores sold at least half their inventory. “I see the first few days as encouraging,” McKechnie said. “There seems to be pretty good demand — they’ve taken the right steps and picked a good partner with Google on the Android side.” While that may be true,
comparing the Droid to the iPhone and the Palm Pre during their launch weekends paints a different picture…or chart. According to Apple, both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS sold more than a million units during their first weekend. Some might argue that’s an unfair comparison, in that both iPhones
were available in multiple countries. Both also benefited from the App Store, though that was far more of an advantage for the 3GS. When the iPhone 3G went on sale, there were only 500 apps available, compared to more than 10,000 for the Droid now. Still, a more fair comparison might be found with the original
Apple’s 270,000 iPhones, except for one thing. That number does not include Sunday sales, which fell on July 1 and were part of a new quarter. It’s very possible Apple sold as many as 400,000 iPhones during that first weekend of lines around the block. Of course, lines aren’t everything. As Verizon spokesperson David Samberg said to CNET regarding Friday’s Droid launch, “long lines forming outside are flashy,” but the goal is a “a steady stream of people” over days and weeks. iPhone, as it too was sold in the Perhaps the Droid would be U . S . o n a s i n g l e n e t w o r k . better compared to Palm’s However, it should also be smartphone, which is estimated pointed out that Verizon has to have sold around 50,000 units more customers than AT&T, and during its launch weekend. that the original iPhone was not a It’s looks like Verizon may have 3G device, and that the 8GB a “Pre killer” in the Droid. model cost $599. Nonetheless, Verizon’s 100,000 Droids looks pretty good next to
Sesame Street 40th: Five greatest animated shorts By Danny Gallagher (TV Squad)
children all over the world. It's a show that has shaped a generation into curious and Submitted at 11/11/2009 11:00:00 AM innovative people. It's a show This week marks the 40th that could kick the ass of any anniversary of Sesame Street, the other children's show on the greatest and most celebrated kids' planet if the two were in some show in the history of the known sort of a weird battle to the death, universe. provided that no weapons were Its cast of colorful character and involved and Justice League innovative use of the medium doesn't count as a kids' show. have made it more than just To celebrate this momentous day characters from the show's 40 entertainment for the young ones. i n t e l e v i s i o n h i s t o r y , I ' m years into four special lists for It's a children's show that has compiling the most interesting their anniversary week (Why educated the growing minds of m o m e n t s , m e m o r i e s a n d
four? Because 40 would break the last ounce of my spirit), starting now with the show's best short cartoons. Continue reading Sesame Street 40th: Five greatest animated shorts Filed under: Animation, Children, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments
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Twitter for Content (Scripting News)
creneaux exist, like laptop computers and desktop computers -- we all know the Ries & Trout wrote a series of difference. Some creneaux don't books about Positioning. exist, though marketers would I love these books and have have you believe they do. "The written about them many times. leading realtor west of the They explain markets in terms of Mississippi and east of the metaphors that help you visualize Rockies." Yeah yeah yeah. :-) that markets work differently What about ladders and from the ways we were raised to creneaux in markets that are think they did. Markets are not developing right now. Yammer about features, or about what you proved that there is a segment remember, they're about the map you could think of as Twitter in people's minds, and about the Behind the Firewall or Twitter impressions products leave, not for Workgroups. The product and the details. company are doing well, because In Marketing Warfare, they that is a real segment and they depict the marketplace as a are the top guy on the ladder. b a t t l e f i e l d , a n d u s e d t h e Some products are new but so p r i n c i p l e s o u t l i n e d b y t h e useful that they pretty much form P r u s s i a n g e n e r a l C a r l v o n the whole market. Dropbox is an Clauswitz in his writing about example. That means one of two war. Minds are where the war is things may happen: They may fought. add a feature or find a new way Then they depict the market as a to explain it that puts it either collection of ladders. On each into a new segment of an existing ladder there's a number one, two market or on the ladder in an and three in any market. Every existing market. Ries & Trout marketer thinks his or her believe they would do better if product is unique and stands they did one of those. Either be alone, but what's important is second guy on the ladder in a what the prospect thinks. In colas booming market, or split off a there's Coke, Pepsi and everyone piece of a market and own it. else. Poor 7Up wasn't even on the Standing alone isn't such a hot ladder, so they invented a new deal for the first guys in a market. one called Uncola. It worked (but Just ask Cromemco, Altair and it usually doesn't). Radio Shack about their leading A creneau is one of these new p o s i t i o n s i n t h e p e r s o n a l ways of explaining something so computer market in the 1970s. that it stands separately in the So what about Droid. It does so mind of the prospect. Some much, it's really hard to figure Submitted at 11/10/2009 1:08:23 PM
sure are there, but with no products in them, yet. Communicating Cameras. Oh boy what a great market that's going to be when someone goes after it seriously. No one has, yet. The iPhone is a dress rehearsal for the real product whose communication ability will be as seamless as the Amazon Kindle. The tech industry hardly notices that Amazon has solved a hard problem, in typical Amazon fashion, completely. The Kindle isn't glitzy like the iPhone or Droid, but it works so well you could say It Just Works. A high compliment. Others: Checkbox News and Social Cameras. Another creneau that I've been yammering about for years, which I called Payloads for Twitter, I'm now conceiving in a different way -- I'm giving up on Twitter doing this -- and instead hoping that Dropbox may get there first. They have already done an RSS feed for changes to dropboxes. And they have a out what creneau it might be public folder in every dropbox. If occupying, so I think it's on the they do a minor cleanup of their iPhone ladder, maybe #2 or #3. RSS and support a realtime P r o b a b l y # 2 . C a l l i t t h e protocol such as rssCloud or Cellphone as Style Statement PubSubHubBub, they will be market. The other one is probably squarely in what I think of as a t h e P a l m P r e . M i c r o s o f t , new creneau with enormous Blackberry and Nokia are on the potential -- Twitter for Content. old ladder, the one that the PS: This piece ran earlier today on my Unberkeley blog. There iPhone refused to get on. Then there are creneaux that I'm are some comments there you may want to read.
Smallville: Maybe the Wonder Twins episode won't be so bad By Mike Moody (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/11/2009 9:04:00 AM
So that silly pair of purple-clad superheroes, The Wonder Twins, are coming to Smallville this Friday. I can think of worse things that could happen to the show: Kristin Kreuk could return (shudder), for example, or Clark's bare chest could start to sparkle in the sunlight, ala Edward Cullen. Now that would be truly terrible. But Zan and Jayna nerding up the joint? Sounds like fun to me. Being a fan of the veteran superhero series, I'm not embarrassed to say that I'm looking forward to seeing the live -action Twins bump fists this Friday. (I wouldn't even mind a cameo from everybody's favorite blue monkey, Gleek, but sadly I don't think that's in the cards.) Continue reading Smallville: Maybe the Wonder Twins episode won't be so bad Filed under: Smallville, Video, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments
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Discovery Health Delivers ‘Shock and Awww’ With An AllNew “Baby Week” By Bill Gorman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:47:35 AM
via press release: Discovery Health Delivers ‘Shock and Awww’ With An All -New BABY WEEK, Starting November 30 - Three All-New Specials, a Brand-New Series and Two Network Premieres Headline the Network’s Signature Programming Event SILVER SPRING, Md., Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ — Beginning Monday, November 30, Discovery Health’s BABY WEEK will introduce some of the most jaw-dropping, improbable and inspiring stories ever told on television. From expectant mothers’ indomitable will to survive, to unconventional families’ historic births, to highrisk pregnancies that defy all the odds–this edition of BABY WEEK features actual events that will astonish viewers and create lasting buzz. ( P h o t o : http://www.newscom.com/cgibin/prnh/20081114/NEF006LOG O) Behind every baby is an unbelievable story–and this edition of BABY WEEK showcases more of the shocking, heartwarming and downright bewildering tales that viewers have come to love on Discovery
Health. The special programming begins each night at 8 PM (ET/PT) from Monday, November 30, through Friday, December 4. Featured BABY WEEK world premieres include: -SHE SURVIVED THAT...PREGNANT?! -TRANSGENDERED AND PREGNANT -I'M PREGNANT AND... -DWARF ADOPTION STORY BABY WEEK kicks off with the premiere of SHE SURVIVED THAT…PREGNANT?!, an incredible hour-long special recounting the stories of pregnant women who survived deadly accidents and encounters that could have killed them–and their unborn children. The incredible pregnant women include a woman whose parachute failed to open, causing her to land facefirst on the ground; a woman who was first chased by a bear–and then after she managed to escape, was hit by a car; a woman who fell over a balcony and was impaled by a microphone stand; and a woman who was shot in the uterus, with her unborn baby suffering a bullet wound as well. BABY WEEK will also feature the following all-new premiere programs: -TRANSGENDERED AND PREGNANT NEW SPECIAL! Premieres Tuesday, December 1, at 8 PM (ET/PT)
This hour-long special tells the amazing story of a transgendered couple–the wife, a male-tofemale and the husband, a female -to-male transgender–expecting a baby under the most unusual of circumstances. In spite of ongoing hormone treatments, the male-to-female transgender wife managed to impregnate the husband, a female-to-male transgender–and Discovery Health’s cameras capture the couple throughout the pregnancy leading up to the birth of their first child.-- I'M PREGNANT AND... NEW SERIES! Premieres Tuesday, December 1, at 9:30 PM (ET/PT) This brand-new series follows the stories of women facing serious issues–emotional, physical, mental or circumstantial–as they navigate their nine-month journey through pregnancy. Topics explored throughout the six-part series include:-- I'M PREGNANT AND I'M ADDICTED -- I'M PREGNANT AND I HAVE AN EATING DISORDER -- I'M PREGNANT AND OVER 55 - DWARF ADOPTION STORY NEW SPECIAL! Premieres Thursday, December 3, at 8 PM (ET/PT) This hour-long special follows the daily lives of David and Tina King, a dwarf couple who hope to adopt their second child–a 2year-old dwarf from Albania.
DWARF ADOPTION STORY follows the King family on the journey of a lifetime to adopt the baby of their dreams. In addition, Discovery Health will offer the following network premiere baby-themed programming during BABY WEEK:-- LITTLE PARENTS, FIRST BABY Network Premiere! Wednesday, December 2, at 8 PM (ET/PT) Dwarf couple Becky and Craig Hennon welcomed their first child earlier this year–now, Discovery Health’s cameras revisit the family to see how they are faring, and find out if they have learned whether their baby boy will also be a dwarf.-EXPECTING 15 BABIES Network Premiere! Friday, December 4, at 8 PM (ET/PT) Three families experience the dangerous business of giving birth to and raising multiples, including the first Hispanic sextuplets in the United States, an expecting mother of quadruplets and a family with 22-month-old quintuplets! Online at DiscoveryHealth.com, visitors will have access to vital information on pregnancy, babies and the postpartum period through an array of resources, including relevant articles, tip sheets and expert-driven guides. In addition, visitors can discuss pregnancy and parenting in community support forums. The
refreshed site will also feature interactive quizzes, fun games and exclusive video content. Production Credits: SHE SURVIVED THAT…PREGNANT?! is produced for Discovery Health by Mike Mathis Productions. For Discovery Health, Alon Orstein is executive producer and for Mike Mathis Productions, Mike Mathis is executive producer. TRANSGENDERED AND PREGNANT is produced for Discovery Health by Mike Mathis Productions. For Discovery Health, Alon Orstein is executive producer and for Mike Mathis Productions, Mike Mathis is executive producer. DWARF ADOPTION STORY is produced for Discovery Health by Figure 8 Films. For Discovery Health, Alon Orstein is executive producer and for Figure 8 Films, Bill Hayes is executive producer. I’M PREGNANT AND… is produced for Discovery Health by Sirens Media. For Discovery Health, Alon Orstein is executive producer and for Sirens Media, Valerie Haselton is executive producer. LITTLE PARENTS, FIRST BABY is produced for Discovery Health by Figure 8 Films. For Discovery Health, Alon Orstein is executive producer and for Figure 8 Films, Bill Hayes is executive producer. DISCOVERY page 56
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TV Ratings Tuesday: V Drops 29% To A 3.7 Rating By Bill Gorman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:26:22 AM
ABC’s V dropped 29% To A 3.7 adults 18-49 rating on Tuesday night. I’m checking, but that may be the largest % drop from a premiere to a second episode this fall. As it has been this fall, CBS stayed atop the average ratings on Tuesday night with an overall 3.5 adults 18-49 rating, stretching its lead over ABC by a tenth of a point from last week as its shows held mostly steady. NCIS was down 2% to a 4.2 adults 18-49 rating. NCIS:LA was up 3% to a 3.7 rating and The Good Wife was flat, tieing its lowest series rating. Even as V was sinking, buoyed by a Susan Boyle guest visit, Dancing With The Stars was up 10% from last week to a 3.4 rating. And an In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts special tallied a 2.4 rating, 26% better than last week’s results for the forgotten. Winning the 9pm hour, NBC’s Biggest Loser was up 6% overall from last week to a 3.7 rating. And Tuesday’s continue to be The Jay Leno Show’s best night as it tallied a 1.9 rating, down 5% from last week. For the CW, 90210 matched its season high for adults 18-49 with a 1.2 rating and had a 2.5 rating for women 18-34. The good news ends there however, as Melrose Place dropped back to a
0.7 rating for adults 18-49 (vs. .8 last week) and a 1.1 rating for women 18-34 vs. 1.4 last week. Next week Heather Locklear joins the sinking ship that is Melrose Place. Good luck with that. In Late-Night Local People Meters Tuesday night: • Conan O’Brien (1.0/4 in 18-49 in local people meters) defeated CBS’s Late Show(0.9/4) in Nielsen’s 24 local markets with People Meters. • At 12:35 a.m., Jimmy Fallon
(0.6/3 in 18-49 in local people meters) topped CBS’s Late Late Show(0.5/3). You can see TV ratings from other recent Overnight ratings reports here. Definitions: *Fast Affiliate Ratings: These first national ratings, including demographics, are available at approximately 11 AM (ET) the day after telecast, and are released to subscribing customers
daily. These data, from the National People Meter sample, are strictly time-period information, based on the normal broadcast network feed, and include all programming on the affiliated stations, sometimes including network programming, sometimes not. The figures may include stations that did not air the entire network feed, as well as local news breaks or cutaways for local coverage or other programming. Fast Affiliate ratings are not as useful for live
programs and are likely to differ significantly from the final results, because the data reflect normal broadcast feed patterns. For example, with a World Series game, Fast Affiliate Ratings would include whatever aired from 8-11PM on affiliates in the Pacific Time Zone, following the live football game, but not game coverage that begins at 5PM PT. The same would be true of Presidential debates as well as RATINGS page 55
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Syndicated Ratings Top 25: Oprah still the number one talker by a wide margin By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 11/10/2009 6:58:14 PM
Below is the table of top 25 syndicated shows for the week ending November 1, 2009. For context and additional numbers, check out Broadcasting & Cable’s write-up on the week. Please note that the syndicated weekly results are delayed versus normal reporting. While we get the broadcast and cable ratings for the prior Monday-Sunday period every Tuesday, there is an extra week of lag time with the syndicated ratings and these numbers are not for last week, but for the week before last. So while Friday Night Smackdown! is now counted as a syndicated show and we are seeing the numbers again, they are delayed. The numbers below are for Friday October 30, not November 6. Legend of the Seeker fans, the viewer numbers for the season two premiere over the weekend of Nov 7-8 will be available in next week’s report. If I see any number’s before then, I will post them. Top 25 Syndicated Shows for the week ending November 1, 2009: Please note that the #s for
Monday Night Football are the total number both for the ESPN airings and the local markets where the games are syndicated to one of the local affiliates (a rule to ensure the markets playing the game can watch them, even if they don’t have ESPN). As a result Monday Night Football will be at the top of the syndicated lists until football season is over. It’s sort of bogus, but since I can’t break the syndicated portion out, I’m just reporting it as Nielsen does, but you can figure most of the viewing is actually directly on ESPN. For syndicated shows which air
on multiple days, the viewership shown is the average of all telecasts. BUENA VISTA items are syndicated packages of old Disney movies. For more information click here. DAD = Disney ABC Domestic Television, SPT= Sony Pictures Television, 2/T=Twentieth Television, ESP = ESPN, CTD = CBS Television Distribution. Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
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RATINGS continued from page 54
live award shows and breaking news reports. Rating: Estimated percentage of the universe of TV households (or other specified group) tuned to a program in the average minute. Ratings are expressed as a percent. Share (of Audience): The percent of households (or persons) using television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area at a specific time. (See also, Rating, which represents tuning or viewing as a percent of the entire population being measured.) Time Shifted Viewing– Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data – Live, Live+Same Day(Live+SD) and Live+7 Day. Time shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes
place with DVRs which are currently in approximately 24.4% of all U.S. TV households. Live+Same Day(Live+SD) include viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3:00AM local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live+7 Day ratings include incremental viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast. For more information see Numbers 101. Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
Goldman chief defends employees’ pay (Financial Times - US homepage)
on Tuesday to an audience of banking analysts at a conference sponsored by Bank of America. Submitted at 11/10/2009 1:52:33 PM His comments came as public G o l d m a n S a c h s p a y s i t s debate continues over Goldman’s employees more than other power and bonuses, prompting financial groups because its the comedy programme Saturday employees are more productive, Night Live to ask the bank: “Can d e c l a r e d L l o y d B l a n k f e i n , you not read how mad people are Goldman chief executive, at an at you?”. industry conference on Tuesday. This content has passed through Mr Blankfein offered a wide- fivefilters.org. ranging defence of his company
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DISCOVERY continued from page 53
EXPECTING 15 BABIES is produced for Discovery Health by Figure 8 Films. For Discovery Health, Jon Sechrist is executive producer and for Figure 8 Films, Bill Hayes is executive producer. About Discovery Health: Discovery Health Media includes the Discovery Health and FitTV television networks and online assets including www.discoveryhealth.com, as well as its Continuing Medical Education (CME) business and Discovery’s first stand-alone VOD service, Discovery Health On-Call. Discovery Health Media is part of Discovery Communications ( NASDAQ:DISAD) ( NASDAQ:DISBD) ( NASDAQ:DISCK) , the world’s number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in
over 170 countries. Discovery empowers people to explore their world and satisfy their curiosity through 100-plus worldwide networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Planet Green, Investigation Discovery and HD Theater, as well as leading consumer and educational products and services, and a diversified portfolio of digital media services including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications. com. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
Review: So You Think You Can Dance - Top 16 Perform By Michael Pascua (TV Squad) Submitted at 11/11/2009 2:27:00 AM
How will V do for its second episode? By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 11/10/2009 4:23:37 PM
My predictions last week stunk and I was off by like 60% with adults 18-49. Somebody stole my psychic fortune teller hat and replaced it with a dud! (Financial Times - US for longer than expected. In its premiere V had a 5.2 rating homepage) The central expectation in its with adults 18-49 and averaged quarterly inflation forecast, Submitted at 11/11/2009 3:50:05 AM 14.3 million viewers in the final published on Wednesday, is for a numbers. T h e B a n k o f E n g l a n d o n growth level of 2 per cent next So what do I think will happen Wednesday forecast a sharply year and 4 per cent in 2011, tonight? Well, after my poor improving outlook for growth, much higher than the consensus showing last week, first we’ll indicating that it expects a V- among private sector economists. have a guest prediction chime in shaped recovery, even as its This content has passed through via“Travis Yanan’s” Twitter p r o j e c t i o n s s u g g e s t e d t h a t fivefilters.org. account: interest rates would remain lower My guess range is 4.3-4.7 but that’s really based on absolutely nothing more than a semistandard 15% drop & margin of
Bank of England forecasts growth uplift
error After last week I am tempted to go the reverse direction and declare that fabulous word of mouth will drive the ratings even higher. But, based on all the production hiatuses and changes to showrunners I’m kind of worried that the second episode might be complete crap and that viewers will flee after 10 minutes. But maybe that doesn’t happen until the third or fourth episode. Or maybe it doesn’t happen at all. I’ll go just a little higher than the top of Travis’ range and predict a 4.8 adults 18-49 rating and 12.5 million viewers. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
(S06E13) So You Think You Can Dance finally lets America vote. Sadly, I only liked four of the eight dances this week and I wouldn't mind if any of them were eliminated. One thing I did like was the introductory sequence, they finally figured out a way to make the stage a little less huge. The choreographers are doing better to let the dances fill the huge stage. With only eight performances, the show felt like the critiques were longer than the actual dancing. If they inserted one large group dance, the show could have cut off some of Mary's more annoying comments. Continue reading Review: So You Think You Can Dance - Top 16 Perform Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, So You Think You Can Dance Permalink| Email this| | Comments
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Smallville is getting Foxy with Pam Grier
Brady Quinn of Cleveland Browns gets second shot, will start at quarterback Monday
By Brad Trechak (TV Squad)
By Associated Press (ESPN.com)
Submitted at 11/11/2009 11:27:00 AM
Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:22:14 AM
Pam Grier, famous for her appearances in '70s blaxploitation flicks like Foxy Brown and later for her appearances in Quentin Tarantino movies, will be stopping over in Smallville. She'll be playing the character of Amanda Waller for the upcoming two-part episode with the Justice Society of America. Amanda Waller was created in the comics and has appeared on television already in the animated Justice League series. She was ... how shall I say ... bigger than Ms. Grier. To play the character as she was created, Grier would either have to gain a lot of weight or don a fat suit. Actually, the creators will probably just leave her as she is.
Smallville is something of its own universe (as proven by the appearance of the Wonder Twins). Her appearance is slated for the episodes written by comics writer (and writer of the previous Smallville episode "Legion") Geoff Johns, so I'm already convinced it will be a good episode. Pam Grier is just icing on the cake. Filed under: Smallville, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments
Reuters: Zucker to lead new Comcast-NBCU venture By Robert Seidman (TVbytheNumbers) Submitted at 11/10/2009 5:42:18 PM
I was so waist deep in the weekly ratings I’m just getting around to seeing this and it looks to be a couple of hours old already. Reuters is reporting that General Electric and Comcast have agreed to have NBCU Chairman Jeff Zucker lead the proposed joint venture between Comcast and NBCU without any clauses
for him to exit after a specified amount of time (it’s not planned as a temporary move). While the two companies have hashed out a lot of details they are still negotiating on the structure of the board of directors. Once GE and Comcast hash everything out, in addition to needing Vivendi’s approval, the deal will need to clear regulatory hurdles. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
Victor Zambrano's mother rescued in Venezuela By Associated Press (ESPN.com) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:14:18 AM
CARACAS, Venezuela -Venezuela's justice minister says the mother of former major league pitcher Victor Zambrano
has been rescued. Tareck El Aissami says federal police rescued an unharmed Elizabeth Mendez Zambrano on Tuesday in the central state of Aragua. He says three people have been detained. Elizabeth Mendez Zambrano
was abducted Sunday at her son's farm. Police said seven armed men kidnapped her because they didn't find large amounts of cash or jewelry. Zambrano's mother was kidnapped nine days after his cousin, Richard Mendez
Zambrano, was kidnapped and later killed. It's unclear whether the incidents were related. Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
BEREA, Ohio -- Brady Quinn is getting his second chance at starting. AFC North blog ESPN.com's James Walker writes about all things AFC North in his division blog. • Blog network: NFL Nation Quinn, benched just 10 quarters into the season for Derek Anderson, will start Monday night's game against the Baltimore Ravens. Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini has decided to go back to Quinn after Anderson went 1-4 as a starter and posted the NFL's lowest quarterback rating. Mangini would like to stick with Quinn for the remainder of the season. Quinn was replaced in the second half of the Browns' 34-3 loss to the Ravens on Sept. 27. He went 6 of 8 for 34 yards with one interception before being pulled for Anderson. Mangini has been impressed with Quinn's work ethic since being demoted. Quinn is 1-5 in six career starts. Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
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Leukemia Forges New Bond Between Kareem, Fans (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix)
others in his personal fight.” MSNBC’s Mike Celizic is heartened by how fans are It’s impossible to forget Kareem rooting for Abdul-Jabbar. “We Abdul-Jabbar and his stellar 20- c a r e a b o u t t h i s m a n w h o year NBA career, which included performed with such greatness six championships, five with the for so many years and has lived Los Angeles Lakers. The 7-foot- with such dignity,” Celizic 2 center, the NBA’s all-time writes. “We dont want anyone to leading scorer, dazzled with his get cancer, and we particularly legendary skyhook during the dont want our heroes to get it.” Showtime Era in L.A., exuding “The same Abdul-Jabbar who c o n f i d e n c e i n h i s o w n was never close to the most understated way. Abdul-Jabbar popular of Lakers on his own was the antithesis of today’s team despite his unmatched chest-pounding showboats. Getty success, not in the way Magic Images Six-time NBA MVP Johnson, Michael Cooper, Kurt Kareem Abdul-Jabbar appears on Rambis and James Worthy A B C ’ s “ G o o d M o r n i n g connected with fans, will be America” to discuss his leukemia embraced now as if he was one diagnosis. of them all along, NBA.com’s Now the intensely private Abdul Scott Howard-Cooper writes.* * -Jabbar is back in the spotlight * after revealing that he’s been For all the second-guessing battling a rare form of leukemia sports columnists do, rarely do since December. He describes his they second-guess themselves. prognosis as good. The Chicago Tribune’s Rick “The message, like the man who Morrissey is different. At the delivered it, was delivered with a 2007 draft he predicted that q u i e t d i g n i t y , ” R a m o n a center Joakim Noah would not Shelburne writes in the Los become a force for the Chicago Angeles Daily News. “He was Bulls. Now in his third season, diagnosed with chronic myeloid Noah is averaging 11.4 points l e u k e m i a l a s t D e c e m b e r , and 12.4 rebounds per game. And meaning it has taken Abdul- now, Morrissey has called Jabbar almost a year to feel himself out. In the original comfortable sharing his situation column, Morrissey promised to with the world. A year to come to eat his words if Noah proved him grips with the fear, a year to find wrong. On Monday, Morrissey the brave face he’d need to stare ate his words — literally.* * * cancer in the face and involve It’s impossible to have missed Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:41:19 AM
pull Lambert out of the game, not only did Vela endorse Lamberts behavior, but she failed to perform her duties as a coach,” Avilucea writes. “And then, at the conclusion of the game she had the gall to say: ‘We showed a lot of character out there.’ If this E l i z a b e t h L a m b e r t ’ s passes for character at UNM, unsportsmanlike play during the thats completely laughable, and University of New Mexico’s Vela should be relieved of her soccer game against BYU last duties as head coach.” Thursday. The punching, kicking In a more positive light, the and ponytail-pulling has earned Washington Post’s Camille her an indefinite suspension. She Powell writes about Maryland’s rebuilding efforts as the season has apologized for her actions. In the Miami Herald, Linda begins for women’s basketball R o b e r t s o n l a m e n t s t h a t coach Brenda Frese, the last frequently women’s sports gets remaining link to the Terrapins’ noticed only for the wrong national championship in 2006.* reasons. “Skin sells. Quarreling * * sells. Unladylike conduct sells. NFL players seem to get bigger Any double standard will do,” every year, so it’s surprising that Robertson writes. “That’s why in 2009 some of the biggest the greatest hits include Brandi contributions come from smaller Chastain ripping off her jersey to p l a y e r s , i n c l u d i n g l e a g u e reveal a sports bra! Or cigarette- touchdown leader Maurice Jonessmoking Tonya Harding and her D r e w o f J a c k s o n v i l l e a n d knee-whacking associates vs. the Tennessee’s Chris Johnson, the damsel Nancy Kerrigan. Or the league’s leading rusher. Most of W N B A b r a w l b e t w e e n t h e the shorter players making a big Detroit Shock and Los Angeles impact are on offense, but some Sparks. Or Serena Williams’ defensive standouts aren’t your profane threat of a line judge u s u a l 3 0 0 - p o u n d , 6 - f o o t - 5 with a tennis ball. Or beach behemoths, Sam Farmer writes in the Los Angeles Times. volleyball, anytime.” The Daily Lobo’s Isaac Avilucea At Sports Illustrated, Jim Trotter faults coach Kit Vela for the predicts how the second half of embarrassment Lambert and her the NFL season will play out.* * teammates have brought on the * soccer program. “By refusing to The baseball season ended only
a week ago with the Yankees’ 27th championship, but the beauty of the game means that while spring training is still months away, it’s never too early to salivate over a free agent or two that might give your team hope, at least temporarily. At Sports Illustrated, Ben Reiter ranks the top 50 free agents. At Yahoo Sports, Tim Brown looks at the options available for the Toronto Blue Jays before pitcher Roy Halladay becomes a free agent after next season.* * * The soccer world is mourning the death of German goalkeeper Robert Enke, who died on Tuesday in an apparent suicide. In the New York Times, Rob Hughes writes of the uncertainty surrounding Enke’s private life but also his athletic career. At Deutsche Welle, Stefan Nestler finds that the sports world isn’t always kind to athletes with the quiet demeanor that Enke displayed. – Tip of the Fix cap to reader John Falck. Found a good column from the world of sports? Don’t keep it to yourself — write to us at mailto:dailyfix@wsj.com and we’ll consider your find for inclusion in the Daily Fix. You can email Garey at ris84rap@gmail.com.
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Mark McGwire: St. Louis Cardinals The Count: Handicapping the NBA MVP Race working on how they will reAfter Seven Games introduce new hitting coach By ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:23:26 AM
The St. Louis Cardinals are still figuring out how hitting coach Mark McGwire will eventually meet with the media and whether he will end his long silence on questions about his alleged connection to performanceenhancing drugs. General manager John Mozeliak said the team is still in the planning stages of working out how it will formally re-introduce McGwire to Cardinals fans and the media. McGwire did not attend a news conference to announce his hiring late last month. “ It's not something we're ignoring or hoping will go away.”-Cardinals GM John Mozeliak "There is going to be a wide range of what people are hoping to hear. For me personally, we're not there yet as far as what it's going to look like," Mozeliak told reporters. "Hopefully in the next week or so we can work through that." McGwire has remained out of the public eye since a 2005 congressional hearing on
steroids, at which he famously refused to answer questions about steroid use, saying he wasn't there to talk about the past. Former Oakland Athletics teammate Jose Canseco claimed McGwire had used steroids in his book "Juiced," and former federal investigators who led the Operation Equine probe have said they had information linking McGwire to steroids. The Cardinals know the issue is there and that it won't disappear on its own, Mozeliak said, according to the report. "Clearly my energy is focused on players and looking at how to improve our 2010 team. Understanding that, the McGwire situation has to be recognized," Mozeliak said. "I don't have a timetable yet on when we're going to do things or how we're going to do them. But it's not something we're ignoring or hoping will go away." The Cardinals hired McGwire as hitting coach last month, as manager Tony La Russa finally convinced the ex-slugger to end his self-imposed exile from organized baseball. While McGwire had privately worked with major-league hitters including Matt Holliday during the offseason, he had declined
previous invites from La Russa to attend spring training as a hitting instructor. Mozeliak said he has not approached McGwire about a media appearance, but hopes to do so with cooperation from La Russa. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, there is some desire within the organization that McGwire make himself available before the holidays to try and put the issue to rest. A number of commentators, noting how stars including Alex Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte met with the media after their connections to performanceenhancing drugs became public, have suggested that McGwire would be welcomed back -- and make major strides in restoring his image -- if he followed a similar path of public acknowledgement and apology. "I think it does matter" that McGwire make himself available, Mozeliak said. "I just don't want to paint myself in the corner today on this topic. There are still some things I'm trying to learn and to understand." This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
(WSJ.com: The Daily Fix) Submitted at 11/10/2009 3:06:16 PM
The NBA season isn’t even onetenth over. But for the hoops analysts at Basketball Reference, it’s not too early to start handicapping the league MVP race. Getty Images Andrew Bynum, who just turned 22, is a leading NBA MVP candidate according to a new analysis. Past award voting was studied by Justin Kubatko, creator of Basketball Reference, to determine which factors are most important for winning the honor. “In the end, four factors proved to be much more important than anything else: team wins, points per game, rebounds per game, and assists per game,” Kubatko writes. He constructed a model using those four factors to predict the order of finish. Applied to past years, his model correctly predicted the winner two-thirds of the time, and 93% of the time its predicted winner finished in the top three. Models based on past data tend to look better when applied to historical results than when turned loose to predict the future. Plus, there’s that whole less-than10%-of-the-season thing. Still, it’s fun to check the current leaderboard, topped by Kobe Bryant and with his Lakers
teammate, Andrew Bynum, ranked fourth. Last year’s winner, LeBron James, is nowhere to be seen, largely because his Cleveland Cavaliers are a mere 4-3. As Basketball Reference commenters point out, team record has a very large influence on the model. Nine of the top 10 candidates play for the five teams in the league with the best records, including Dwyane Wade of the surprising Miami Heat. (Let’s see if the Heat and Wade still rank so high after they get into tougher stretches of their schedule that don’t feature the Knicks, Pacers and Wizards every other game.) The 10th contender, Carmelo Anthony, plays for a team tied for the sixth -best record. He’s also not looking so valuable by other measures, though Kubatko points out that the model predicts who will win, rather than advocating for who should win.
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Jamie McCourt views herself as owner of Los Angeles Dodgers, denies cheating on Frank McCourt
Source: No team claimed former Kansas City Chief Larry Johnson
By ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com)
By ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com)
investment-wise from every single demographic in L.A. When you have partners and you Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:32:04 AM have equity, you have an Jamie McCourt, mired in highly opportunity and the wherewithal public divorce proceedings that to have an expanded budget for also potentially involves the player compensation." future of the Dodgers, told the Jamie McCourt was Dodgers L o s A n g e l e s T i m e s s h e vice chairman before being "absolutely" views herself as the named team president in 2005. In team's owner. March 2009, Frank McCourt McCourt, 55, was fired last promoted his wife to CEO, citing month by Dodgers owner and Jamie McCourt's "outstanding estranged husband, Frank, who job of building a first-class claims she was having an affair b u s i n e s s o p e r a t i o n " i n with her bodyguard-driver and a n n o u n c i n g t h e m o v e . was doing a poor job in her role "When I became CEO, Frank as chief executive. used to say, 'Go be the face of the Last week, Jamie McCourt lost Dodgers, go be the external her bid to be reinstated as the brand [in the community],' " she team's CEO during a court told the Times. hearing. Frank McCourt, in court filings, McCourt, who also is a lawyer, says his wife of nearly 30 years told the Times she has a plan to cheated on him with Jeff Fuller, purchase the Dodgers outright, her bodyguard and driver who though part of the issue is the also had the title of director of validity of the 2004 marital protocol before he was fired in a g r e e m e n t i n w h i c h F r a n k early October. McCourt is listed as the team's In her first public response to the sole owner. accusation of adultery, Jamie "My dream would be to have a McCourt told the Times: "I have coalition of people," Jamie never been with another man McCourt told the Times. "People until the marriage broke up. Ever. w h o w a n t t o b e i n v o l v e d Ever.
"I've been in this business 30 years, either practicing law or doing something else in a man's world. If I had known that somebody would say to me, 'Go do what you want because they're going to make something up at the end anyway,' I would have had a lot of fun for 30 years. I never even had a date until I was separated -- besides my husband." Frank McCourt, asked by the Times for comment, responded through a team spokesman: "He will respectfully decline comment." The McCourts have four sons, the youngest 19 and the oldest 28. "To read everything that's been said is devastating, and my kids are pretty upset about it," she said, the Times reported. "I want my kids to look back and say she took the high road. It's hard, but that's what I'm going to try and do." Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
slur on his Twitter account and questioning the competence of head coach Todd Haley. Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:28:06 AM The 29-year-old was also fined Where Will Larry Johnson for his actions. Last week, an Land? Where Will Larry Johnson online fan petition was started Land? asking the Chiefs not to let No team claimed running back Johnson become the team's allLarry Johnson off waivers, a time leading rusher -- a record league source told ESPN NFL he's just 75 yards shy of. Insider Adam Schefter, which Behind a poor offensive line this means Johnson now is free to year, Johnson has averaged a sign with any team and the paltry 2.7 yards for the Chiefs (1Kansas City Chiefs must pay him 7) and appeared not to have the the balance of the $2.1 million quickness and punishing power left on his contract this season. that enabled him to rush for more Mike and Mike in the Morning than 1,700 yards in Pro Bowl ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris seasons in 2005 and '06. Mortensen gives the latest update Johnson winds up his Chiefs on former Chiefs running back career with 5,996 yards rushing Larry Johnson. Plus, Mortensen and 55 touchdowns. He also talks about the coaches on the hot caught 151 passes for 1,369 seat in Cleveland, Washington yards and six TDs. and Green Bay. Adam Schefter is ESPN's NFL More Podcasts Âť Insider. Information from The The Chiefs released Johnson on Associated Press was used in this Monday, the day he was due report. back from his second suspension This content has passed through in the past 12 months. Johnson fivefilters.org. was suspended for posting a gay
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As Raider Nation Turns: 'Big' John McCarthy Talks EA Sports MMA Game, Latest on Cable UFC Relationship, More
By Chris Burke (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/11/2009 1:00:00 AM
by Chris Burke Filed under: Raiders As the NFL continues its investigation into Tom Cable's past and his incident with former Oakland assistant Randy Hanson, the situation in Oakland has become tenuous at best. It might get messier still. Yahoo's Jason Cole, citing a source familiar with the case, reported that the Raiders plan to cooperate with the NFL's investigation of Cable because "Oakland owner Al Davis is hoping to gather enough information to fire Cable with cause at the end of the season so that Davis doesn't have to pay Cable." Cable, who went 4-8 as Oakland's interim head coach last season, was officially named head coach in the offseason and given a two-year contract with two additional option years.
By Ariel Helwani (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:00:00 AM
Blackistone: Suspending Cable Good for Everyone, Including Him As Raider Nation Turns: Latest on Cable originally appeared on Fanhouse NFL Blog on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments
by Ariel Helwani Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, Strikeforce, MMA Video Games, FanHouse Exclusive Last week, EA Sports announced that legendary MMA referee,"Big" John McCarthy, would be featured in their upcoming EA MMA video, which is slated to hit stores in 2010. FanHouse attended the press conference in Hoffman Estates, Ill., to announce McCarthy's involvement in the game (as well as Muhammed Lawal, Jake Shields and Brett Rogers) and details about the game itself. Below is a video interview with McCarthy talking about being a part of EA MMA, his relationship with UFC president
By Adam Gretz (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:00:00 AM
Dana White, and the current state of refereeing and judging in the sport. 'Big' John McCarthy Talks EA Sports MMA Game, UFC Relationship, More originally appeared on Fanhouse MMA Blog on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments
Shaq Simply Can't Handle Howard By Tim Povtak (FanHouse) Submitted at 11/11/2009 6:00:00 AM
by Tim Povtak Filed under: Cavaliers, Magic It's hard not to like Shaquille O'Neal, the most compelling NBA player of his era and arguably the best center in
history. His love of the spotlight, his often-outrageous, sometimesegotistical, always-entertaining behavior made him a must-see attraction since he entered the league with Orlando a long, long time ago. It's why there will be some destroyed on his former home sadness in seeing him get court Wednesday night by
Plus/Minus: Boyes, Perron Have Breakout Game; Crosby Still Slumping
Dwight Howard. Shaq Simply Can't Handle Howard originally appeared on Fanhouse NBA Blog on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments
by Adam Gretz Filed under: Blues, Penguins We're trying something different to replace the old Newsmakers in the NHL posts. Hopefully you'll like it. Each weekday we'll take a look at one positive performance from the previous night (a plus), and one negative performance from the previous night (a minus). It's the plus/minus.Tell us what you think at nhlfanhouse@gmail.com. More Coverage: Tuesday's NHL Scoreboard Plus/Minus: Boyes, Perron Have Breakout Game; Crosby Still Slumping originally appeared on Fanhouse NHL Blog on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments
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UFC 105: Brandon Vera Amidst the Trade Rumors, Martin Biron Preparing for 'Capable, Smiles and Stops Pucks Dangerous' Randy Couture By Michael David Smith (FanHouse)
By Christopher Botta (FanHouse)
Submitted at 11/11/2009 4:55:00 AM Submitted at 11/11/2009 10:00:00 AM
by Christopher Botta Filed under: Islanders, NHL Rumors As if being a goalie in the National Hockey League is not difficult enough. As if 6-3 power forwards standing in front of you on power plays is not enough of a distraction. From now until the day he is dealt -- and he almost definitely will before the March 3 deadline -- Martin Biron is going to hear his name in trade rumors. This is what happens when you're on a one-year contract at a very reasonable $1.4 million. This is what happens when your team has an established No. 1 goalie ( Dwayne Roloson) under contract through 2010-2011 and their best
by Michael David Smith Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive Brandon Vera has been a Randy Couture fan for years. Now he's getting ready to fight him in the Octagon. netminder ( Rick DiPietro) in the Vera, who will take on Couture fold for another eleven years. in the main event at UFC 105 on This is also what happens when Saturday on Spike TV, said in an you're low-maintenance, talented, interview with FanHouse that he accomplished and respected. remembers watching Couture Amidst the Trade Rumors, fighting in the UFC in 1997 -Martin Biron Smiles and Stops l o n g b e f o r e V e r a h i m s e l f Pucks originally appeared on considered becoming an MMA Fanhouse NHL Blog on Wed, 11 fighter. Vera said he views the 46 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please -year-old Couture as one of the see our terms for use of feeds. toughest opponents he'll ever Permalink| Email this| Linking face, but he also said he's ready Blogs| Comments to take the fight to his legendary opponent. The full interview is below. UFC 105: Brandon Vera Preparing for 'Capable,
Dangerous' Randy Couture originally appeared on Fanhouse MMA Blog on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Linking Blogs| Comments
MediaDailyNews: QuickPlay Distributes TV Over Mobile Wi-Fi (MediaPost | Media News) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:30:01 AM
Digital Element, a IP Intelligence solutions company, announced that QuickPlay Media, a mobile video business, is leveraging the company's geolocation technology to provide secure distribution of TV episodes over mobile Wi-Fi connections for QuickPlay's PrimeTime2Go™ service. Kavi Maharajh, chief architect, QuickPlay Media, stated: "The service helps us allow or deny access to PrimeTime2Go content based on a mobile handset's physical location, ensuring full compliance with regional coding restrictions." Per Nielsen, mobile video has increased 70% in the last year. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
Moonwork Presents Jim Gaffigan By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)
crude jokes. Not my idea of a night out. So it was with slight hesitation that I attended a Submitted at 11/10/2009 11:43:27 AM Moonwork performance this past Say the words “comedy club” weekend. Twenty dollars at the and I shudder at the thought of a door gets you admission and all dark, smoky room and a sleazy, the booze you care to drink while intoxicated man telling rude, watching the two-hour line-up of
the comedians were great and — J a n n a J o h n s o n , B e a u t y there was a special guest Assistant performance by Jim Gaffigan, Follow ELLE on Twitter. w h o t o o k t h e s t a g e a n d Become our Facebook fan! hilariously mused about Subway (yes, the home of the $5 foot five comedians (added bonus: it long). Check out upcoming-show benefits charity). To our surprise, info at moonwork.org.
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iPhone It In: Canabalt By Ben Gilbert (Joystiq)
the device: the gameplay comes in short, addictive bursts, it loads up quickly, and it employs the Canabalt is a 2D side-scroller touchscreen in an intuitive way. where you control a gentleman Though a vast wealth of quick continuously running across and addictive games now reside rooftops and cranes, gradually on my phone, I find myself building up speed while avoiding constantly returning to Canabalt's various objects which will either rooftops and blaring techno slow down or kill him. Rather music whenever I have a spare t h a n " s c o r e " o r " p o i n t s , " moment. developer Semi Secret Software Gallery: Canabalt (iPhone) measures your success by the Continue reading iPhone It In: distance you manage to cross, Canabalt e v e n a l l o w i n g f o r i n s t a n t iPhone It In: Canabalt originally bragging via Twitter in-game. It's appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 11 a s i m p l e p r e m i s e w i t h a Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please surprising amount of depth. see our terms for use of feeds. And it's exactly the kind of game Permalink| Email this| I want to pick up and play on my C o m m e n t s iPhone. Canabalt is perfect for Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:00:00 AM
Ghosts 'n Goblins now punishing iPhone players By JC Fletcher (Joystiq)
nightmarish in difficulty even with real d-pads and buttons, and porting that experience directly to Capcom has released a new the iPhone could only lead to Ghosts 'n Goblins game to, of all tears. The lifebar from the PSP places, the iPhone. Ghosts 'n game will help, but even so we Goblins: Gold Knights features expect Arthur to spend most of polygonal graphics like the PSP's the game in his boxers, as usual. Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins, and, One aspect that is definitely for the first time, two playable tuned to the iPhone: paid DLC. characters: Arthur and new hero For 99 cents a pop, you can L a n c e l o t , w h o e a c h h a v e power up Arthur or Lancelot, get different weapons and lifebars. unlimited lives or unlimited We're going to assume that the access to magic, or even reduce difficulty of the series is tuned the strength of enemies and for iPhone play: Ghosts 'n eliminate magicians from the G o b l i n s g a m e s t e n d t o b e game. Submitted at 11/11/2009 11:50:00 AM
If you're feeling brave enough to take on the armies of Satan with just a touchscreen, Capcom is offering the game for $2.99 -- a discount of $2 -- until November 23. Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights ($2.99): Gallery: Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights (iPhone) Ghosts 'n Goblins now punishing iPhone players originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Rumor: EA cuts targeting Maxis, Pandemic, C&C staff By Justin McElroy (Joystiq) Submitted at 11/11/2009 9:10:00 AM
Rumor: Project Natal launch details leaked By JC Fletcher (Joystiq) Submitted at 11/11/2009 9:40:00 AM
MCV reports that Microsoft has been showing Project Natal off to UK publishers this week, and filling them in on the launch plan. According to the site's unnamed sources, Microsoft plans to release the peripheral in November 2010, at a sub-ÂŁ50 ($84) price point that could go as low as ÂŁ30 ($50) when sold by itself. That price happens to match the price predicted by Michael Pachter last month. MCV's sources say that Microsoft will have 5 million cameras ready for launch, with a " great launch line-up" of 14
games. While a November launch of a major video game item seems plausible even in a year overloaded with spring releases, this information remains unverified and, therefore, suspect. And we're tempted to say that the price is too good to be true. If it does turn out to be $50, our expression of delight may be the first thing the fancy camera sees. Rumor: Project Natal launch details leaked originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
MAG Beta now preorder exclusive, servers running 24/7 By Griffin McElroy (Joystiq) Submitted at 11/11/2009 11:20:00 AM
The MAG beta program is getting one final, well-timed push before Zipper Interactive gears up to launch the impossibly oversized shooter. The game has officially moved onto Beta Phase 4-- a shift which not only makes 6,000 changes within the game (including modifications to the skill tree and an increased level cap), but also makes the beta exclusively available to those who've pre-ordered the online FPS at GameStop. Yes, if you've been playing the beta using one of the other
promotional access codes, you'll be shut out of the proceedings. However, as a side bonus, Zipper is now keeping the game's servers open all day, every day. That's right, you no longer need to sacrifice your nightly Murder, She Wrote viewings to adhere to the beta's odd schedule. Thanks, Zipper! MAG Beta now pre-order exclusive, servers running 24/7 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
We already knew the announced cuts coming to EA's workforce (totaling some 1,500 jobs lost) would be deep but, if a recent Kotaku report is to be believed, we're starting to get an idea of just where the gashes will come. For starters, the site says it's been told by unnamed sources that almost every member of the Command and Conquer 4 team would be let go after the game's completion, which is the very last Halo Wars feature we wanted to see copied in C&C. More cuts are rumored to be hitting Pandemic (the house behind Mercenaries and The Saboteur) and Maxis. We'll keep reaching out to EA to get the official story. In the meantime, our thoughts are with those affected. Rumor: EA cuts targeting Maxis, Pandemic, C&C staff originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
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The Big Pink is My New Therapy By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)
to British duo Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell for creating so cohesive an album and sound that Submitted at 11/10/2009 11:25:03 AM I was able to fully get lost in it, Why I thought a Sunday night momentarily forgetting that not would be appropriate for a half an hour prior I’d seen a viewing of the mind-liquifyingly deformed satanic old lady horrifying House of the Devil, I bleeding from her eyes. have no idea, especially Beyond the unstoppably catchy considering I hate scary movies. “Dominoes” is a collection of Alas, I found myself hunkered songs that reminds me of Animal down in the Angelika Theater Collective—distorted noise, mentally preparing for what was music playing on top. On Sunday s y n t h e t i c r i f f s , d o c t o r e d sure to be almost two hours of night, one of those featured v o i c e s — o n l y b e t t e r , m o r e sheer terror. And it was, OK? I bands was The Big Pink. The focused with the right kind of cowered. I covered my eyes. I playlist had to loop through a i n t e n t i o n o f h e a v y b e a t s , jumped. I shrieked. I nearly wept. couple of times before I started to consistent tempos, and hooks I But I don’t want to talk about it, take notice of their single, can actually get behind. “Crystal alright? Because if I talk about it “Dominoes,” that was playing V i s i o n s ” s t a r t s t h i n g s o f f I...look, I’M NOT GOING TO amid other tracks. I jotted down beautifully and “Velvet” kicks in their name in my moleskin and, mid-album just when you need it. By Griffin McElroy (Joystiq) short ad when you start these free TALK ABOUT IT! But, what I am going to talk later that night, looking for Two days later and I’ve still got games up. So what? It's Submitted at 11/11/2009 10:50:00 AM Audiosurf on a mobile device, about is The Big Pink. What I something— anything—to ease ABHOL on repeat, definitely for Okay, so the Zune HD didn't get and it lets you make rollercoaster love about the Angelika Theater my mind after what I’d just the sound…but also just to off to the greatest start as a tracks out of your own songs. If is their dedication not only to watched, I downloaded their maybe get me back to that place portable gaming platform, but we had to watch The Adventures little-engine-that-could movies, debut album, A Brief History of before I’d seen House of the we're willing to let bygones be of Pluto Nash start-to-finish but also indie music that deserves Love, which dropped back in Devil. bygones should the device's most every time we loaded the game, to be heard. Before previews start September. I owe my post- — Seth Plattner, Assistant Editor they’re always running those fun House of the Devil-sanity in part Follow ELLE on Twitter. recent patch be as amazing as it we'd still be thrilled. Become our Facebook fan! sounds on paper. A recent press Audiosurf, PGR and other trivia/factoid reels with featured release has announced that games added to Zune HD with firmware update 4.3 adds six free latest update originally appeared games to the Zune Marketplace: on Joystiq on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 PGR: Ferrari Edition, Lucky 10:50:00 EST. Please see our Lane Bowling, Vans Sk8: Pool terms for use of feeds. gelado do revólver 38 do bandido entrou no seu prédio, no número Service, Piano, Checkers and Read| Permalink| Email this| By twitter:@revista_M (TweetMeme) entre a penúltima e a última 3422 da Avenida Nossa Senhora Audiosurf: Tilt. Comments costela.– Abre a porta e entra de Copacabana. No elevador, The press release does explain Submitted at 11/11/2009 3:28:54 AM sorrindo, como se fôssemos suas pernas... that, yes, you'll have to watch a @Jureminha89Por @amatos30– amigos – disse o bandido, bem 0 comments Source: Não se mexe.Eram 4 da tarde v e s t i d o e s e m a s p e c t o w w w . m c o r p o r a t i o n . c o m . b r quando Jurema sentiu o cano ameaçador.Obediente, Jurema
Audiosurf, PGR and other games added to Zune HD with latest update
M… » Blog Archive » Movimento Twitterário #8
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Eye-Popping Fall Trend: Indigo Shadow By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)
the lid. Or you can opt for just a flash of color by doing a wet blue dot on the inner corner of the eye. Wearing indigo is hot for fall, You can also blend indigo eye but relegating this it-color to shadow with a brown one and do clothes or heels alone would be a small tick at the outer edges nearsighted—because the hue is with blue eye liner.” particularly hot when worn on Click here for more ideas on e y e l i d s ! J u s t s e e T a n y a how to wear the indigo trend D z i a h i l e v a a n d R i h a n n a ’ s —Emily Hebert peepers for proof: “It’s all about Photo: Dziahileva: Imaxtree; having fun and playing with your Rihanna: Getty Images makeup,” says makeup maestro Follow ELLE on Twitter Pat McGrath of the look. “You can do a classic smoky eye and add a little indigo at the center of Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:31:02 AM
Mobile Application to Diagnose Disease by Hearing you Cough By twitter:@webnews20 (TweetMeme) Submitted at 11/11/2009 4:41:18 AM
Feeling a bit under the weather? Soon you'll be able to cough into your mobile phone for an instant diagnosis. A research firm called STAR Analytical Services is working to develop software that
Rellik's Chic Collaboration with Theory
can analyze the sound of a cough and identify it as either associated with a common cold, the flu, or something worse - like By ELLE.com (ELLE News pneumonia or another serious Blog) respiratory disease. Just as Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:32:47 AM doctors have been... 0 c o m m e n t s S o u r c e : Famed London vintage shop w w w . r e a d w r i t e w e b . c o m Rellik has paired up with Theory for spring, bringing brightness and bling to the beloved basics brand. It's an unexpected, yet completely organic collaboration
that amps the Theory shopping experience with shiny baubles to offset the brand's pared-down style. Each accessory, from bangles to brooches, has been hand-picked by the people at Rellik to add a perfect complement to the collection, so you leave the store with a completely accessorized
look. But vintage accessories sound expensive, right? Wrong. The two companies have worked to keep the prices of the accessories down and most start at about 20 pounds. —Rebecca Suhrawardi Austin Follow ELLE on Twitter. Become our Facebook fan!
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Matthew Williamson's Convertible Jacket
Street Chic: Milan
By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)
Submitted at 11/11/2009 4:00:00 AM
Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:22:48 AM
Last week, we reported that Matthew Williamson would be creating a line of menswear and making his collection available on a new e-commerce site. We should also mention just how
clever some of the spring items will be. Take for instance this jacket, which comes in a couple of dusky hues including an everso-pale shade of lilac and features a leather that is like butter to the touch. You get two for the price of one with this piece, as the sleeves unbutton to convert the jacket to a vest. Now
this is the definition of recessionchic. Any time you can take an article of clothing and get double the fun out of it, isn't it always a great deal? —Rebecca Suhrawardi Austin Follow ELLE on Twitter. Become our Facebook fan!
By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)
A fur collar and silk bow add an elegant edge to a wool coat. Photo: Stylesight
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Think you are Street Chic? Email us your photo and you could appear in ELLE.com's Street Chic Daily. Follow ELLE on Twitter. Become our Facebook fan!
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Veterans Day: Pause to Remember at the 11th Hour (FOXNews.com)
essentially ignoring millions of soldiers who served in peacetime or fought in World War II, Korea For 90 years, the 11th hour of and other engagements. the 11th day of the 11th month So in 1954 Congress extended has been a remembrance of those the holiday to honor all vets, who served America in time of giving it the name Veterans Day, war. which it has kept for 55 years. But the Nov. 11 Veterans Day Today, according to the U.S. commemoration began as a day Census Bureau, there are some t o c e l e b r a t e p e a c e — t h e 23.2 million veterans in the silencing of the guns of World United States. That includes 2.6 War I, "The Great War," which million who served during World claimed the lives of more than 15 War II, 2.8 million who served in million soldiers and civilians. the Korean War, 7.8 million in On that day in 1918, at the 11th the Vietnam War, 5.2 million in h o u r , G e r m a n y s i g n e d a n the Gulf War and about 1.7 armistice with the Allied Powers million who have served in Iraq — including the U.S., France, and Afghanistan. Britain, Japan and Italy — ending Nearly 120,000 are still stationed major hostilities in a war that in Iraq, and about 68,000 will be nearly wiped out a generation of deployed in Afghanistan by the men. end of the year, according to the A full peace was concluded the Census. next year in France at the Palace Just one American veteran who of Versailles, and the first served in World War I is still Armistice Day was proclaimed a l i v e : 1 0 8 - y e a r - o l d F r a n k and celebrated by President Buckles, who drove ambulances W o o d r o w W i l s o n o n t h e in England and France after anniversary of the ceasefire: Nov. enlisting at the age of 16. 11, 1919. Buckles also fought in World It was fully established by War II and was taken prisoner by Congress as a legal holiday in the Japanese. 1938. This content has passed through But Armistice Day honored fivefilters.org. veterans of only World War I, Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:29:01 AM
Rory Beca Plays Personal Stylist By ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)
chic new blog which offers inspirational photos, music, and styling options. Choose from Submitted at 11/11/2009 5:29:00 AM various scenarios, including Dressing for parties, gallery travel and music, and then shop openings, and jaunts to the out the head-to-toe look (styles farmer’s market just got a whole are exclusive to Rorybeca.com). l o t e a s i e r . D e s i g n e r R o r y For travel, Edelman suggests a Edelman, of the line Rory Beca, Grecian-style maxidress—just has launched Shop Lifestyle, a the thing for my upcoming
Mexico getaway (I’ll wear it on the plane, out to dinner, and over a bikini). —Violet Moon Gaynor A chic travel look and inspiration shots from Rorybeca.com Follow ELLE on Twitter.
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Silent DC sniper mastermind Muhammad executed (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:55:47 AM
JARRATT, Va. – Sniper John Allen Muhammad refused to utter any last words as he was executed, taking to the grave answers about why and how he plotted the killings of 10 people that terrorized the Washington, D.C., area for three weeks in October 2002. The 48-year-old died by injection at 9:11 p.m. Tuesday as relatives of the victims watched from behind glass, separated from the rest of the 27 witnesses at Greensville Correctional Center, south of Richmond. Muhammad was executed for killing Dean Harold Meyers, who was shot in the head at a Manassas gas station during the spree across Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. He never testified or explained why he masterminded the shootings with the help of a teenage accomplice. That left questions unanswered about why he methodically hunted people going about their daily chores, why he chose his victims, including a middle schooler on his way to class, and how many victims there were. Muhammad stepped into
Virginia's death chamber and within seconds was lying on a gurney, tapping his left foot, his arms spread wide with a needle dug into each. "Mr. Muhammad, do you have any last words?" the warden asked. Muhammad, looking calm and stoic, said nothing. Meyers' brother, Bob Meyers, said watching the execution was sobering and "surreal." He said other witnesses expressed a range of feelings, including some who were overcome with emotion. "I would have liked him at some point in the process to take responsibility, to show remorse," Meyers said. "We didn't get any of that tonight." After the first of the three-drug lethal cocktail was administered, Muhammad blinked repeatedly and took about seven deep breaths. Within a minute, he was motionless. Nelson Rivera, whose wife, Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, was gunned down as she vacuumed her van at a Maryland gas station, said that when he watched Muhammad's chest moving for the last time, he was glad. "I feel better. I think I can breathe better," he said. "I'm glad he's gone because he's not going to hurt anyone else."
J. Wyndal Gordon, one of Muhammad's attorneys, described his client in his final hours as fearless and still insisting he was innocent. "He will die with dignity — dignity to the point of defiance," Gordon said before going inside to watch the execution. The terror ended on Oct. 24, 2002, when police captured Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo while they slept at a Maryland rest stop in a car they had outfitted for a shooter to perch in its trunk without being detected. Malvo, who was 17 when carrying out the attacks, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing Linda Franklin, a 47-year-old FBI analyst who was shot as she and her husband loaded supplies at a Home Depot in Falls Church, Va. The men also were suspected of fatal shootings in other states, including Louisiana, Alabama and Arizona. The U.S. Supreme Court turned down Muhammad's final appeal Monday, and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine denied clemency Tuesday. Muhammad's attorneys had asked Kaine to commute his sentence to life in prison because they said Muhammad was
severely mentally ill. "I think crimes that are this horrible, you just can't understand them, you can't explain them," said Kaine, a Democrat known for carefully considering death penalty cases. A small group of death penalty opponents gathered on a grassy area near the prison and had a sign reading, "We remember the victims, but not with more killing." Muhammad was born John Allen Williams and changed his name after converting to Islam. He had been in and out of the military since he graduated from high school in Louisiana and entered the National Guard. He joined the Army in 1985. He did not take special sniper training but earned an expert rating in the M-16 rifle — the military cousin of the .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle used in the D.C.-area shootings. The motive for the attacks remains murky. Malvo said Muhammad wanted to extort $10 million from the government to set up a camp in Canada where homeless children would be trained as terrorists. Muhammad's ex-wife said she believes they were a smoke screen for his plan to kill her and
regain custody of their three children. Sonia Hollingsworth-Wills, the mother of Conrad Johnson, the last man slain that October, sat in the back seat of a car outside the prison before the execution, which she chose not to witness. But she said she wanted to be there and was counting the minutes until Muhammad's death. "It was the most horrifying day of my life," she said. "I'll never get complete closure but at least I can put this behind me." Cheryll Witz, who's father, Jerry Taylor, was fatally shot on a Tucson, Ariz., golf course in March 2002, said she was unhappy that Muhammad didn't say anything before he died. But she said his execution begins a new chapter in her life. "I've waited seven long years for this," she said. "My life is totally beginning now. I have all my closure, and my justice and my peace." ___ Associated Press writers Steve Szkotak in Jarratt and Bob Lewis in Richmond contributed to this report. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
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Jerry Brown again? Some Calif. Dems express unease (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 11/11/2009 2:01:28 AM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Jerry Brown hasn't formally announced for his old job, but the signs show he once again has his eye on the California governor's chair. The current attorney general has emerged as the Democrat's presumed candidate in 2010 with just seven months to go to the primary. The 72-year-old politician finds himself in that position after the field of contenders exited in the face of a stealth fundraising campaign and his near universal name recognition. It's not the spot in which the majority party in a state as diverse as California had expected to be in, just a year after a grassroots groundswell helped give Barack Obama the biggest margin of victory in a California presidential election since at least World War II. The seeming inevitability of Brown's candidacy has left some Democrats nervous about what his campaign might produce. He is famously independent, often unpredictable and his views are not as well known as his name to many of today's voters. He has
also mostly stayed out of the debate about the state's massive fiscal crisis. "There's a whole generation who have no idea who he is, and there's a lot of activists who have no clue on how he'd balance the budget because he hasn't articulated it," said Steve Maviglio, a Sacramento-based Democratic consultant. "That's why there's a level of nervousness about Jerry Brown being our only choice." The Democratic Party and California's electorate have grown increasingly diverse in the years since Brown last served as governor 26 years ago. The party's legislative caucus is relatively young and is dominated by Hispanics, blacks and Asians. During his tenure from 19751983, and some of his ideas were considered wacky enough to earn him the nickname "Governor Moonbeam." He was also known for dating starlets and singers. But some Brown initiatives had lasting effects, including his opening of government to women and minorities and deals with public employee unions. The famously combative Brown also sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976,
1980 and 1992. Another unknown is how Brown would fare against a deeppocketed Republican such as Meg Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay, who is a fresh face on the political scene and is aggressively targeting women voters. The Democrats' unexpected position heading into the 2010 governor's race prompted a lament from former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, who wrote in his weekly newspaper column that some Democrats are asking: "Can't we find someone with a newer paint job?" Brown is likely to claim that what's old is new again, invoking ideas that he first championed as governor, including environmental protection, highspeed rail and fixing California's schools, all of which are once again on California's agenda. Brown's seven-to-one fundraising advantage and 20point lead in public opinion polls forced San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom out of the race last month. Newsom, 42, who was best known for approving same-sex marriages in his famously liberal hometown, was the favorite among younger Democrats.
Another concern is that Brown has not officially announced his candidacy and has not detailed his views on critical topics, although he has signaled he will oppose tax increases. Steven Glazer, a political adviser to Brown, said Brown will have time for politics later. "I'm very confident he will make a decision to run, but he's focused on doing his job as attorney general right now," Glazer said. In a statement released by Glazer, Brown seemed to indicate that releasing detailed proposals about how to allocate California's dwindling resources, as some Republicans have done, does not demonstrate how the candidates would solve the budget crisis. "The first step in (the budget) process is forming a working consensus among key Democratic and Republican leaders. Unless that is achieved, protracted stalemate will continue to be the order of the day," Brown said. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is the only Democrat thought to have enough name recognition and financing to challenge Brown. Feinstein, 76, toyed with the idea this week in an interview with The Associated Press, saying she
is waiting to see what proposals the candidates offer to address California's ongoing budget shortfalls before she decides whether to run. Without Brown in the race, 2010 might have been a dramatic year with a diverse field of Democratic candidates a generation or more younger than he is, including Newsom, Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Santa Ana and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Brown's expected run scared off many of the would -be challengers early. The worries about Brown as a candidate, given his famously erratic personality and propensity for outlandish statements, have mostly been muted so far because Democrats covet the governor's office after six years under Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. If Brown emerges as the nominee, Democratic strategists will rally around him, banking on his proven ability to win statewide races. "Overriding all of (it) is a real thirst among Dems to win back the (governor's office), almost at any cost," Maviglio said. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
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Navajo Code Talkers to Walk in NYC Veterans Day Parade (FOXNews.com) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:31:58 AM
NEW YORK The famed Navajo Code Talkers, the elite Marine unit whose unbreakable code stymied the Japanese in World War II, fear their legacy will die with them. Only about 50 of the 400 Code Talkers are believed to be still alive, most living in the Navajo Nation reservation that spans Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Many are frail or ill, with little time left to tell the world about their wartime contribution. But on Wednesday, 13 of the Code Talkers are coming to New York City to participate for the first time in the nation's largest Veterans Day parade. The young Navajo Marines, using secret Navajo languageencrypted military terms, helped the U.S. prevail at Iwo Jima and other World War II Pacific battles, serving in every Marine assault in the South Pacific between 1942-1945. Military commanders said the code, transmitted verbally by radio, helped save countless American lives and bring a speedier end to the war in the Pacific theater. They were sworn to secrecy
about their code, so complex that even other Navajo Marines couldn't decipher it. Used to transmit secret tactical messages via radio or telephone, the code remained unbroken and classified for decades because of its potential postwar use. "We were never told that our code was never decoded" or given identities of the original 29 Navajos who created it, said Keith Little, 85, who joined the Marines at 17 and remembers crouching in a bomb crater amid heavy fire on Iwo Jima. "It was all covered by secrecy. We were constantly told not to talk about it," said Little. The Code Talkers felt compelled to honor their secrecy orders, even after the code was declassified in 1968. Little plans to go to New York with the other Code Talkers, many of whom were young farmers and sheepherders and had never been away from home before the war. "The code did a lot of damage to the enemy," said Samuel Tom Holiday, 85, of Kayenta, Ariz., who also is joining the parade. He was a 20-year-old Code Talker when he and two other Marines went behind enemy lines
on Iwo Jima to locate a Japanese artillery unit advancing on American forces. Once the unit was located, Holiday transmitted a coded message to Marine artillery, which fired a big shell at the Japanese. After the Marine rifleman proclaimed it "right on target," Holiday messaged "Right on Target" to a Najavo Code Talker in Marine artillery. Though the Code Talkers transmitted information on tactics and troop movements, orders and other vital battlefield communications, they did not know at the time how those messages figured in the greater battle strategy. Today "there's a certain elation about" knowing how much their work affected the outcome of the war, said Little, who runs a family ranch in Crystal, N.M., on the Navajo Nation. Before the code, the Japanese intercepted and sabotaged U.S. military communications at an alarming rate because they had expert English translators. American forces then devised ever more complicated codes, but that increased the time — sometimes hours — for sending and decoding them.
The code, based on the ancient Navajo language, changed that. In the first 48 hours of the battle of Iwo Jima, six Code Talkers worked nonstop, transmitting and receiving more than 800 messages about troop movement and enemy fire — none deciphered by the Japanese. What confounded the enemy most was that Code Talkers could use distinctly different words for exactly the same message. Recognition from the U.S. government and awareness of the Code Talkers — even within the Navajo community — has been slow to come. It wasn't until 2000 that the Congressional Gold Medal was bestowed on the survivors of the original 29 Code Talkers and silver medals on the rest. At least five of the Code Talkers died just this year, creating an urgency for the Navajo Code Talkers Foundation to create a museum in their honor in New Mexico, near the Navajo capital of Window Rock, Ariz. It is slated to open sometime in 2012. Yvonne Murphy, a foundation board member and daughter of Code Talker Raymond R. Smith Sr., who died seven years ago,
did not hear of the Code Talkers until she was 16. "I saw this outfit lying on the bed ... a Marine gold-colored shirt," she said, the uniform of the Code Talkers, laid out with some Navajo jewelry. But it wasn't until she was in her 30s, "that I was able to grasp the whole concept," added Murphy, 45. The Code Talkers coming to New York this week hope to highlight their efforts and funding needs for the museum, slated to open sometime in 2012. On Tuesday, they will visit ground zero and the World War II aircraft carrier the USS Intrepid, where they will give a proclamation on behalf of the Navajo Nation to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "A lot more Marines would be dead right now," if not for the Code Talkers, said parade chairman Patrick Gualtieri. "Our language was used to help win the war," said Holiday. "After we're all gone, there will be no one to tell the story." This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
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D.C. Sniper Muhammad Executed in Virginia (FOXNews.com) Submitted at 11/11/2009 4:36:48 AM
JARRATT, Va. John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind behind the sniper attacks that left 10 dead, was executed as relatives of the victims watched, reliving the killing spree that terrorized the Washington, D.C., area for three weeks in October 2002. The 48-year-old Muhammad looked calm and stoic, but was twitching and blinking, tapping his left foot as the injections began and refusing to utter any final words. Victims' families sat behind glass while watching, separated from the rest of the 27 witnesses, who were quiet, looking straight forward, intent on what was happening. "He died very peacefully, much more than most of his victims," said Prince William County prosecutor Paul Ebert, who witnessed Muhammad die by injection at 9:11 p.m. Tuesday at Greensville Correctional Center, south of Richmond. Muhammad was executed for killing Dean Harold Meyers, who was shot in the head at a Manassas gas station during the
three-week spree across Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The shootings terrorized the Washington region, as victim after victim was shot down while doing everyday chores: shopping, pumping gas, mowing the lawn. One child was shot while walking into his middle school. People stayed indoors. Those who had to go outside weaved as they walked or bobbed their heads to make themselves a less easy target. The terror ended on Oct. 24, 2002, when police captured Muhammad and his teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, while they slept at a Maryland rest stop in a car they had outfitted for a shooter to perch in its trunk without being detected. Malvo, who was 17 when carrying out the attacks, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing Linda Franklin, a 47-year-old FBI analyst who was shot as she and her husband loaded supplies at a Home Depot in Falls Church, Virginia. The men also were suspected of fatal shootings in other states, including Louisiana, Alabama and Arizona.
Nelson Rivera, whose wife, Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, was gunned down as she vacuumed her van at a Maryland gas station, said that when he watched Muhammad's chest moving for the last time, he was glad. "I feel better. I think I can breathe better," he said. "I'm glad he's gone because he's not going to hurt anyone else." Muhammad never testified or explained why he directed the shootings, and his secrets died with him. Meyers' brother, Bob Meyers, said watching the execution was sobering and "surreal." "I would have liked him at some point in the process to take responsibility, to show remorse," Meyers said. "We didn't get any of that tonight." J. Wyndal Gordon, one of Muhammad's attorneys, described his client in his final hours as fearless and still insisting he was innocent. "He will die with dignity — dignity to the point of defiance," Gordon said. The U.S. Supreme Court turned down Muhammad's final appeal Monday, and Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine denied clemency Tuesday.
Muhammad's attorneys had asked Kaine to commute his sentence to life in prison because they said Muhammad had brain damage and neurological problems, as well as psychotic and delusional behavior, exacerbated by the Gulf War Syndrome he suffered as a sergeant in the first Iraq war. "I think crimes that are this horrible, you just can't understand them, you can't explain them," said Kaine, a Democrat known for carefully considering death penalty cases. "They completely dwarf your ability to look into the life of a person who would do something like this and understand why." A small group of death penalty opponents gathered on a grassy area near the prison and had a sign reading, "We remember the victims, but not with more killing." Muhammad was born John Allen Williams and changed his name after converting to Islam. He had been in and out of the military since he graduated from high school in Louisiana and entered the National Guard. He joined the Army in 1985. He did not take special sniper training but earned an expert
rating in the M-16 rifle — the military cousin of the .223caliber Bushmaster rifle used in the D.C. shootings. The motive for the attacks remains murky. Malvo said Muhammad wanted to extort $10 million from the government to set up a camp in Canada where homeless children would be trained as terrorists. Muhammad's ex-wife said she believes the killings were a smoke screen for his plan to kill her and regain custody of their three children. Sonia Hollingsworth-Wills, the mother of Conrad Johnson, the last man slain that October, sat in the back seat of a car outside the prison before the execution, which she chose not to witness. But she said she wanted to be there and was counting the minutes until Muhammad's death. "It was the most horrifying day of my life," she said. "I'll never get complete closure but at least I can put this behind me." This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
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Ft. Hood Suspect Had 'Unexplained Connections' (FOXNews.com)
across the world to kill U.S. troops in Iraq. A military official Tuesday denied knowing Hasan The Army psychiatrist suspected had such contacts. of killing 13 people in a shooting Two government officials, rampage at Fort Hood had "more s p e a k i n g o n c o n d i t i o n o f unexplained connections to anonymity because they were not people being tracked by the FBI" authorized to discuss the case on than just a radical Muslim imam, the record, said the Washingtoni n v e s t i g a t o r s h a v e f o u n d , based joint terrorism task force according to a report. overseen by the FBI was notified The names of the individuals of communications between Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was in Hasan and the imam overseas, contact with was not revealed by and the information was turned the official, but sources in over to a Defense Criminal Congress told ABC News their Investigative Service employee names and locations will likely assigned to the task force. The emerge soon. communications were gathered The mystery over whether the by investigators beginning in m i l i t a r y k n e w H a s a n w a s December 2008 and continuing communicating with radical into early this year. imam Anwar al-Awlaki lapsed That defense investigator wrote into finger-pointing ahead of up an assessment of Hasan after congressional investigations reviewing the communications l o o k i n g i n t o t h e A r m y and the Army major's personnel psychiatrist's contacts with file, according to these officials. extremists. The assessment concluded Hasan Even as President Barack did not merit further investigation Obama remembered those killed — in large part because his at the Texas Army post and communications with the imam condemned what he described as were centered on a research "the twisted logic that led to this paper about the effects of combat tragedy," federal agencies reacted in Iraq and Afghanistan and the to conflicting claims about investigator determined that whether a Defense Department Hasan was in fact working on terrorism investigator looked into such a paper, the officials said. Hasan's contacts months ago with The disclosure came as Awlaki. Awlaki, an imam who questions swirled about whether was released from a Yemeni jail opportunities were missed to last year, has used his personal head off the massacre in which Web site to encourage Muslims 13 died and 29 were wounded Submitted at 11/11/2009 3:09:13 AM
last Thursday — a familiar, early stage in the investigation of headline-grabbing crimes when public officials involved in a case often speak anonymously as they try to shift any blame to rivals in other agencies. The Senate already has launched its own inquiry into the Hasan case. Sens. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, plan to hold a hearing on the shootings next week. The disclosure Tuesday of the defense investigator's role indicated the U.S. military was aware of worrisome behavior by the massacre suspect long before the attack. Following the disclosure, a senior defense official, also demanding anonymity, directly contradicted that notion. The senior defense official said neither the Army nor any other part of the Defense Department knew of Hasan's contacts with any Muslim extremists. But the defense official carefully conceded this view was based upon what the Pentagon knows now. Hours later, the same senior defense official reiterated that the Defense Department was not notified before the Fort Hood massacre of investigations into Hasan, despite the participation of two Defense Department investigators on two joint task
forces run by the FBI that looked at Hasan. This defense official asserted that the task force ground rules barred any members from telling their home agency about task force findings without approval of the other investigators and wasn't aware of whether there was ever any discussion of doing that. FBI officials were not immediately available to comment late Tuesday on what ground rules prevailed in the joint task forces or whether they were applied in this situation or not. One government official, however, pointed out that to complete the assessment the Defense Criminal Investigative Service representative had to access Hasan's Defense Department personnel file and determine what research he was conducting at the time. The FBI has opened its own internal review of how it handled the early information about Hasan. Military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies also are defending themselves against tough questions about what each of them knew about Hasan before he allegedly opened fire in a crowded room at the huge Army post. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
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Salt Lake OKs gay rights laws with Mormon backing (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 11/11/2009 6:32:04 AM
SALT LAKE CITY – The Mormon church for the first time has announced its support of gay rights legislation, an endorsement that helped gain unanimous approval for Salt Lake city laws banning discrimination against gays in housing and employment. The Utah-based church's support ahead of Tuesday night's vote came despite its steadfast opposition to gay marriage, reflected in the high-profile role it played last year in California's Proposition 8 ballot measure that barred such unions. "The church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage," Michael Otterson, the director of public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints said. Passage made Salt Lake City the first Utah community to prohibit bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the two new ordinances, it is illegal to fire someone from their job or evict someone from their residence because they are lesbian, bisexual, gay or transgender. Utah lawmakers tend to quickly fall in line when the influential church makes a rare foray into SALT page 76
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Washington sniper is put to death (BBC News | Americas | World Edition)
Muhammad picked off his targets using a sniper rifle, always with a single round and from a distance. Submitted at 11/10/2009 8:14:30 PM After three weeks, he was The man behind the 2002 sniper arrested at a truck stop, along attacks in and around with Malvo. Washington DC has been Please turn on JavaScript. Media executed after a final appeal was requires JavaScript to play. thrown out. Seven years on, Washington John Allen Muhammad's residents recall sense of fear lawyers say he was mentally ill, while sniper was on the loose but Virginia Governor Tim Kaine Prosecutors say Muhammad rejected a plea for clemency. never showed remorse. On Monday, the US Supreme In addition to the 10 people they Court quashed an appeal for a killed around the Washington stay of execution. area, the pair were suspected of Muhammad, 48, was injected murders in other states, including with a lethal drug for the murder Louisiana, Alabama and Arizona. of Dean Harold Meyers, one of Cheryll Witz was one of several 10 people killed during the victims' relatives who went to attacks. watch Muhammad's execution. Muhammad's accomplice, Lee Malvo said he had shot her Gordon, the state attorney Lawyer Jonathan Sheldon told f a t h e r , J e r r y T a y l o r - a t Boyd Malvo, who was 17 at the Corrections said. time of the shootings, is serving a Muhammad did not speak before a p p o i n t e d t o r e p r e s e n t the BBC's World Today: "A Muhammad's direction - on an it began, and seemed quiet and Muhammad, said that he would psychiatrist examined him and Arizona golf course in March life sentence in jail. die "with his head held high and said he's paranoid and psychotic 2002. The pair killed 10 people during relaxed, Mr Traylor said. "Mr Muhammad was asked if he no remorse, maintaining his and delusional and gave many "He basically watched my dad three weeks of attacks in examples." Maryland, Washington and wished to make a last statement. innocence". breathe his last breath," she told He did not acknowledge us or He was, said his lawyer, "a Mr Sheldon also said brain scans the Associated Press news Virginia. Please turn on JavaScript. Media make any statement whatsoever," martyr for everything that's of Muhammad had revealed agency. he said. wrong with the death penalty". m a l f o r m a t i o n s l i n k e d t o "Why shouldn't I watch his last requires JavaScript to play. Witness describes sniper's final He had, Mr Traylor added, been After the execution, he extended s c h i z o p h r e n i a . breath?" motionless, with his head slightly condolences to the victims' loved T h e s h o o t i n g s l e f t t h e Print Sponsor moments Muhammad was put to death at tilted to the right as the drug was ones, but also to Muhammad's Washington area gripped by fear, This content has passed through relatives. with victims attacked while fivefilters.org. the Greensville Correctional injected. His lawyer said he had eaten "It's just a tragic situation all shopping, outside schools, or just Center in Jarratt, Virginia. sitting and reading. The procedure took five minutes, chicken in red sauce, followed by around." and Muhammad died at 2111 strawberry cakes, for his final Muhammad's legal team says the Mr Meyers was shot at a petrol ex-soldier suffered from Gulf station in Manassas, Virginia. (0211 GMT), Larry Traylor of meal. A skilled marksman, the Virginia Department of Before the execution J Wyndal War Syndrome.
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Major power failures hit Brazil (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 11/11/2009 5:07:12 AM
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. People in Rio de Janeiro used candles in the blackout A power blackout in Brazil left tens of millions of people sitting by candlelight, after plunging its two largest cities into darkness. Underground railways, traffic lights, street lamps, lifts and electric gates in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro were all affected. It was several hours before the problem could be fixed. The authorities believe it could have been caused by a fault at the giant Itaipu hydro-electric dam. The traffic lights were out of order, traffic wardens were trying to maintain the flow of traffic, radio stations were appealing to people to drive carefully. There was chaos in the metro system as well, some reports that people had to walk along the tracks because trains had come to a halt, that bus drivers were being called in to provide an emergency service. The underground railway systems in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo shut down when the power cuts hit soon after 2200 (0000 GMT), leaving many passengers stranded.
Thousands of rail passengers had to walk down underground tracks to reach stations. No traffic lights or street lights were working, causing traffic to stop or slow to a crawl. Extra police were put on the streets to prevent a surge in crime. Electricity supplies in Paraguay, which shares power from Itaipu, were also disrupted for a short while. The power system lost 17,000 megawatts after the massive plant went offline, possibly because of a storm.
The director of the dam said it had lost its entire hydro-electric output. The BBC's correspondent in Sao Paulo, Gary Duffy, says the power cut happened at a time when millions would have been watching the country's popular soap opera on TV. He adds that neighbourhood blackouts are common in the city of 19 million, but the scale of this power cut was remarkable. Major dam The issue of power supplies is politically sensitive in Brazil following severe shortages
unaffected. In all, nine of Brazil's 27 states were affected. The Itaipu dam provides Brazil with 20% of its electricity. In Paraguay, which relies on the Itaipu dam for 90% of its electricity, the entire country was blacked out for 15 minutes. Are you in Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo? Has your routine been affected by the power failure? What is happening in your neighbourhood? Send your pictures to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to+44 7725 100 100. If you have a large file you can upload here. Read the terms and conditions At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any several years ago which caused laws. blackouts in large parts of the Send your comments using the country. post form below. The government will be keen to A selection of your comments establish that this blackout, may be published, displaying which disrupted the lives of your name and location unless millions of Brazilians, was not you state otherwise in the box caused by any failure on its part, below. our correspondent says. The BBC may edit your The latest power failure also comments and not all emails will affected the south-eastern states be published. Your comments of Minas Gerais and Espirito may be published on any BBC Santo, the south-western state of media worldwide. Mato Grosso do Sul, parts of the Print Sponsor central state of Goias, and the This content has passed through federal district of Brasilia, fivefilters.org. although the capital itself was
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Obama in Afghan troop level talks (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:08:04 AM
US President Barack Obama is to discuss US strategy in Afghanistan with his national security team, as speculation mounts over a decision on troop levels. A White House spokesman said Mr Obama was considering four options, but did not elaborate on what they were. He denied reports that the president had already settled on a figure, saying a decision was still weeks away. But British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament that he expected Mr Obama to announce a decision soon. "I have spoken to President Obama and I expect him to announce in a few days what his numbers for Afghanistan will be," Mr Brown told British MPs on Wednesday. 'Not the slightest idea' Wednesday's meeting comes as
an exhaustive review of US strategy in Afghanistan, including troop levels, appears to be drawing to a close. The top US military commander in Afghanistan has asked for at least 40,000 more US troops there. Reports citing anonymous officials have suggested that a figure somewhat below that mark is likely to be chosen. President Obama has now had on his desk the report and recommendations from the Isaf commander he appointed in Kabul, Gen Stanley McChrystal, for almost three months. While British, US and other forces on the ground get on with the task of trying to build a reasonable Afghan security force so that Afghans can ultimately ensure their own security and stability, the fear is that the delay at the White House is helping the Taliban, who - with every Isaf soldier's death - are hitting successfully at the international community's will to continue the
campaign. Speaking on Tuesday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president was yet to decide. "Anybody who tells you the president has made a decision... doesn't have, in all honesty, the slightest idea what they are talking about," he said. Officials have stressed that the review is not just about numbers, but includes decisions on how troops should be deployed. Among the key outstanding issues is said to be how much the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was recently declared the winner of a widely criticised election, can be relied upon. One senior source told the BBC that whichever option was chosen, the focus would be on protection and training rather than going out and seeking to kill the Taliban. Critics have said the decision on Afghanistan is taking too long, while Mr Obama has said he
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does not want to rush a decision that involves putting troops at risk. The BBC's Caroline Wyatt says that there is a growing sense of frustration at the length of time it is taking for the White House to make its decision among military commanders and politicians from other coalition countries. She says that as public support for the campaign wanes in almost every Nato ally, the signal sent out by President Obama's decision will be crucial - and the fear is that the current delay sends out a message to other Nato members, to the Afghan people and to the Taliban and alQaeda that America and its partners may be wavering. Any reinforcement of troops is expected to start next spring. The US currently has some 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, contributing to a coalition force of more than 100,000. Print Sponsor This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
legislative politics. So Tuesday's action could have broad effects in this highly conservative state where more than 80 percent of lawmakers and the governor are church members. "What happened here tonight I do believe is a historic event," said Brandie Balken, director of the gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah. "I think it establishes that we can stand together on common ground that we don't have to agree on everything, but there are lot of things that we can work on and be allies." But the church has pointed out an inherent dispute it has with the gay lifestyle. Mormonism considers traditional marriages central to God's plan. Gays are welcome in church, but must remain celibate to retain church callings and full membership. Its strong support for Proposition 8 in California last year drew a sharp reaction from gay rights SALT page 77
Missing Nato soldier body found (BBC News | Americas | World Edition)
missing on 4 November, are believed to have died recovering supplies dropped by Nato aircraft Submitted at 11/11/2009 12:47:36 AM that had fallen into a river. The body of one of two US Last week, a Taliban spokesman s o l d i e r s b e l i e v e d t o h a v e was reported as saying the bodies drowned while on a mission in had been recovered in Badghis western Afghanistan has been province. found, Nato officials have said. But Nato said its forces were The two soldiers, who went still searching for the other
soldier. "One of the two missing US soldiers was found by a military dive team yesterday in western Afghanistan," Nato said in a statement, adding that Afghan and international forces would continue to look for the other serviceman. The two soldiers, paratroopers
from the 82nd Airborne Division, country are from the United went missing during a mission States and Italy. n e a r t h e b o r d e r w i t h Print Sponsor Turkmenistan. This content has passed through Soldiers from more than 40 fivefilters.org. countries make up Nato's force of nearly 110,000, two-thirds of them from the US. The biggest contingents operating in the west of the
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El Salvador facing food shortage (BBC News | Americas | World Edition)
However, access remains a major challenge as civil defence authorities say 18 bridges and Submitted at 11/10/2009 3:17:26 PM many more roads have been About 10,000 people in El destroyed. Salvador are in need of food aid Heavy machinery has been after devastating floods washed brought in to try to reach villages away crops. which have been cut off for days. Three days of national mourning President Funes has blamed are being held following the p r e v i o u s S a l v a d o r i a n deaths of at least 140 people in governments for failing to put in the floods. place the prevention measures Thousands are living in shelters which could have mitigated the as a result of the disaster and worst effects of the floods. large parts of the country are He is also calling upon the without electricity and clean country's National Assembly to water. release $150m of international The areas around the capital, San aid money immediately. S a l v a d o r , a n d t h e c e n t r a l In the town of Verapaz in San province of San Vicente were hit Vicente, soldiers and civilians hardest. have been searching debris left President Mauricio Funes has by a landslide for dozens of declared a national emergency. missing people. At least 49 of the dead are A torrent of mud and boulders believed to be children. from the Chichontepec volcano The torrential rains washed away hit the town on Sunday, wrecking crops across the region, leaving 300 homes and burying cars. thousands of survivors to face the President Funes visited Verapaz dangerous lack of a stable food and spoke to some of the 800 supply, the UN World Food residents who have been moved Programme says. to emergency shelters. It hopes to deliver 90 tonnes of The BBC's weather centre says aid to the area in the coming the disastrous rains were mainly days. caused by a low pressure system Bridges washed away in the Pacific, which was linked
indirectly to Hurricane Ida. Ida, which passed the country three days ago, was downgraded to a tropical storm as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico on Monday. Are you in El Salvador? Have you been affected by the floods? Send us your stories using the form below. You can also send us your pictures and videos of the flooding to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to+44 7725 100 100. If you have a large file you can upload here. Read the terms and conditions At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Print Sponsor This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
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supporters nationwide, with many protesting outside temples that singled out Mormons as the key culprits in restricting the rights of gay couples. Since then, however, Utah's gay community has sought to engage church leaders in quiet conversations to help foster better understanding, said Valerie Larabee, executive director of the Utah Pride Center. "I thought this conversation would never come to be while I was here in Salt Lake City," said Larabee, adding that the discussions have "shifted her perspective of what's possible" and could foreshadow a different relationship between the two sides. But addressing the council on Tuesday, Otterson said the endorsement is not a shift in the church's position on gay rights and stressed it "remains unequivocally committed to defending the bedrock foundation of marriage between a man and a woman." Church support for the ordinances is due in part to the way the legislation was drafted to protect those rights. Exceptions in the legislation allow churches to maintain, without penalty, religious principles and religionbased codes of conduct or rules. "In drafting these ordinances, the city has granted commonsense rights that should be available to everyone, while safeguarding the
crucial rights of religious organizations," Otterson said Tuesday. Previous Utah legislation that sought statewide protections for the gay community did not contain those exceptions. And although this was the church's first public endorsement of specific legislation, it is not the first time the church has voiced support for some gay rights. In August 2008 the church issued a statement saying it supports gay rights related to hospitalization, medical care, employment, housing or probate as long as they "do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches." Last year, church leaders were silent on a package of gay rights bills known as the Common Ground Initiative, dooming them from the start, despite the bill having the support of the most popular governor in state history, Jon Huntsman. Huntsman resigned this summer to become U.S. ambassador to China. His successor, Gov. Gary Herbert, has repeatedly said it shouldn't be illegal to discriminate against someone for being gay. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
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5 Family Members Charged in Missouri Child Sex Case (FOXNews.com)
Burrell Edward Mohler Jr., 53, both of Independence, Mo., along with 48-year-old Jared Leroy Five men from the same family Mohler of Columbia, Mo. are in custody in a stunning child David A. Mohler, 52, of sex crimes case in Missouri — Lamoni, Iowa, was charged with and cadaver dogs are now being one count of child rape, and used in a hunt for possible bodies Roland Neil Mohler, 47, of Bates of victims, Fox4KC.com reports. City, Mo., is accused of using a Police are searching a patch of child in a sexual performance — l a n d o n a f a r m p r o p e r t y a felony. The relationships of Wednesday near Bates City, Mo., Jared, David and Roland Mohler a day after the men were charged to Burrell Mohler Sr. and Burrell with committing sex crimes Mohler Jr. weren't immediately against children, according to known. Fox4KC.com. The crimes allegedly were Charged with multiple counts of committed from the late 1980s child rape are 77-year-old Burrell until the mid-1990s. Edward Mohler Sr. and his son The elder Burrell Mohler is Submitted at 11/11/2009 8:16:51 AM
accused of drugging and forcibly raping a child under 12 and using a child in a sexual performance. His son is charged with sexual assault of a child under 14 and using a child in a sexual performance. It wasn't clear how many young victims there allegedly were. All five men are being held behind bars without bond. A press conference will be held Wednesday morning to discuss more details of the case. Click for more on this story from Fox4KC.com. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
Research Brief: Global Consumers Support "Good Cause" Companies (MediaPost | Media News) Submitted at 11/11/2009 5:15:08 AM
According to new findings from the 3rd annual Edelman Consumer Study, 57% of consumers globally say a company or brand has earned their business because it has been doing its part to support good causes, with Asian countries coming in highest with China at 85% and India at 84%. 67% globally also say they would switch brands if another brand of similar quality supported a good cause, peaking in Brazil at 83%
MediaDailyNews: Nielsen Sells Trade Titles, 'Hollywood Reporter,' 'Adweek' Group (MediaPost | Media News)
other properties, had purchased the struggling weeklies. When asked for confirmation, James Finkelstein's News Gerry Byrne, who heads the Communications has bought entertainment division of Nielsen several Nielsen trade titles -- The Business Media, gave the Wrap Hollywood Reporter. Billboard, an email "no comment." A d w e e k , M e d i a w e e k a n d Nielsen has been trying to sell Brandweek-- according to a the historic Hollywood Reporter knowledgeable source. for over a year, in addition to its The story, first reported in The other 41 trades, which include Wrap, said that News Editor & Publisher and Communications, which also B a c k s t a g e . owns the Washington, D.C.- All the Nielsen magazines have based trade, The Hill, among suffered in this brutal publishing Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:23:05 AM
climate, enduring big hits in revenue and readership. Hollywood Reporter, like its siblings, tried massive staff cuts. The big studios have also cut back on the lucrative "for your consideration" Oscar campaign, a major revenue generator. Nielsen originally bought the magazines for 13x times earnings. Speculation is that the company sold it for far less. The current industry average is around 7x times -- for media properties.
The Hollywood Reporter once had revenues of $20 million a year. It is well off that sum now - as are most B-to-B enterprises - possibly at $9 million or lower, according to estimates. In the late 1970s, James Finkelstein founded The National Law Journal, an outgrowth of the New York Law Journal, which he sold in 1998 to American Lawyer Media. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
and Italy at 74%. The study also found that 83% of people are willing to change consumption habits if it can help make the world a better place to live, indicating a startling consumer shift and trend away from traditional status markers like big houses and luxury cars and toward identification with social purpose brands. The findings overall show that • More than twice as many people (67%) would rather drive RESEARCH page 78
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a hybrid car than a luxury car (33%), with Japan (89%) and France (84%) preferring hybrid cars most. Globally, the study found that • 70% of people would prefer to live in an eco-friendly house than merely a big house (30%) • 68% also now feel that it's becoming more unacceptable not to make noticeable efforts to show concern for the environment (rising to 82% in China) and live a healthy lifestyle (87% in China) • 69% globally would rather RESEARCH page 79
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have a brand that supports the livelihood of local producers than a designer brand (31%), North American and most European countries in the study, as well as Brazil, overwhelmingly prefer supporting the livelihood of local producers, with each indicating more than 80% preference Causes Global Consumers Personally Care About Cause % Who Care Protecting the environment 91% Improving quality of healthcare 89 Reducing poverty 87 Alleviating hunger and homelessness 86 Equal educational opportunity 86 Promoting societal health and wellness 85 Disaster relief 85 Supporting human and civil rights 83 Building understand and respect for other cultures 81
Supporting labor rights 81 Fighting spread of global disease and pandemics 80 Source: Edelman goodpurpose TM Consumer Study, November 2009 The study results suggest that in both harsh and rebounding economies, brands will continue to benefit from identifying and contributing to a positive social purpose that makes sense for their business, with 64% of people globally saying they would recommend a brand that supports a good cause (up from 52% in 2008, and in the U.S., up 16 points from 47% in 2008 to 63% this year). In addition, 63% of all respondents are looking to brands and companies to make it easier for them to make a difference, with Brazil having the highest expectations at 86%. Mitch Markson, Edelman's chief creative officer, president of its brand consulting group, notes that "...People are demanding social purpose, and brands are recognizing it as an area where they can differentiate themselves ...not only to meet governmental compliance requirements, but also build brand equity... " • Brazil proved to have the
highest expectations on brands with 89% of Brazilians expecting brands today to do something to support a good cause, and 61% are most likely to say they are more involved in good causes this year • More than seven in 10 Consumers in India and China say they would switch brands if a different brand of similar quality supported a good cause • Japan fell short of many of the global results, with the exception of choosing social purpose over social status, overwhelmingly preferring hybrid cars (89%) and ecofriendly houses (87%) • More than three out of four people in the UK, France, Germany and Italy were willing to change their own consumption habits if it can help make tomorrow's world a better place to live • Americans, too, overwhelmingly indicate they are willing to change consumption habits to make the world a better place to live (85%) and are looking to companies and brands to make it easier for them to make a difference (65%) While the global recession has created limitations, with 70% of
consumers saying their ability to give money to community causes has been limited, people are still giving of their time: • 33% have given less financial support due to the current economic downturn (rising to 51% among U.S. respondents) • 31% are more involved in good causes than a year ago • 53% have given more time in support of good causes this year because they have not been able to give as much money • 56% have tried to do more to support good causes in the past year because charities and other nonprofit organizations have suffered in this economic environment While the study reveals that social purpose is becoming increasingly crucial to a brand's success, 66% of people believe that it's no longer enough for corporations to merely give money away, but that they must integrate good causes into their day-to-day business. The report says that the biggest global social changes include: • 83% of respondents are willing to change consumption habits if it can help make the world a better place to live
• 71% of respondents think brands and companies spend too much on advertising and marketing and should put more into good causes - up almost 10%age points • 64% would recommend a brand that supports a good cause - up from 52% last year globally • 59% would help a brand promote its products if there was a good cause behind it - up from 53% last year • 44% are aware of brands that actively support good causes through their products and services - up from 33% Markson concludes that "Companies that become catalysts for social change and respond to rising consumer expectations... will not only survive, but also thrive in ways their competitors will not... " Please visit Edelman here for more information. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
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TV Board: Media Insights QandA With Richard Zackon (MediaPost | Media News)
work in media research, is just how busy everyone is. It is truly remarkable. People have always Richard Zackon is not only an felt that they were busy and accomplished media researcher, researchers work pretty hard. But he is also a lawyer (from his stint the demands placed upon them at Court TV) and a life coach. He and the pace with which they also teaches a class on media at n e e d t o r e s p o n d i s r e a l l y NYU and is a consultant with remarkable. I would say [this Nielsen as part of the CRE. trend] began taking off with the Richards shares his insights introduction of email and has about dramatic changes in the c o n t i n u e d t h r o u g h o n e industry, industry innovations, technological breakthrough after some of his current projects and another. even some life coach advice. CW: Richard, what projects are L i n k s t o a l l e i g h t o f t h e you working on now? individual video clips can be RZ: Other than the course that I f o u n d a t teach at NYU and some http://weislermedia.blogspot.com individual coaching work, the / 2 0 0 9 / 1 1 / q - i n t e r v i e w - w i t h - largest project that I am working richard-zackon.html on is the Council For Research Here is an excerpt from the Excellence (CRE) which is a interview: consortium of Nielsen clients CW: What would you say is the conducting research which most dramatic change in the Nielsen funds. It's kind of a think industry in the past five years? tank. RZ: Two biggest changes: The And two major projects have ever-more-rapid expansion of come out so far (and more on the choice, which has had research way from that work). One is the people scramble to keep up with Video Consumer Mapping Study, the consumer. And the change in which is conducted by Ball State the work world for those who with Sequent Partners to do the Submitted at 11/11/2009 7:30:21 AM
analytical work. That looked at media usage through out the day -- a sixteen hour day and in some cases longer -- by about 370 people in five markets. We looked at them for two days, one in spring and one in the fall, and someone watched them and recorded every media device which they used including television, computer, magazine, newspaper, telephone, etc. So it is a very, very rich database of simultaneous media usage in context. It is really unique in that way. And the second study, which is about to be released, is the study on response bias asking the question, "[For] the people who participate in surveys, in this case Nielsen surveys, is their media usage the same as the people who don't participate in the Nielsen surveys?" CW: So in the observational study, the first study that you described, were there any interesting findings that you could share? RZ: There were interesting findings. Maybe the most
surprising one to me was that the overall usage of television as measured by observation matched within about one or two percentage points [results from] the Nielsen measured people meter device -- at least for in the home. We have other measures for out of home that matched virtually as well. So the fact that through two entirely different methodologies, we pretty much arrived at the same result is pretty remarkable, confirming the validity of the Nielsen methodology and the validity of the observational methodology. That to me was the single biggest surprise.... CW: Thank you so much. How can we contact you? RZ: You can go to my Web site, RichardZackon.com. You can send me an email at RZackon@researchexcellence.co m This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
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Will 2010 Be an Explosive Chapter for EReaders? (InternetNews.com)
E-readers will take off for holiday shoppers in 2010, says Gartner (Digi Times)
(Yahoo! News Search Results for e-readers)
(Yahoo! News Search Results for e-readers)
Submitted at 11/10/2009 3:08:52 PM
While 2009 is clearly a watershed year for e-readers with several product launches, the big wave of popularity for the fledgling market will be Q4 of 2010, according to a recent study. The nascent e-reader market this year saw new devices from Amazon, with the DX and International versions of the Kindle 2, as well as from Sony, with the high-end 3G Daily Reader, along with Barnes & Noble's Nook. But wait, there's more: Spring Design, iRex Technologies, Plastic Logic and Asus have also unveiled details about e-readers coming to market. With so many devices coming out with varying feature sets, digital book format support and price points, consumers will have more choice than ever and that should result in more e-reader sales this holiday season. Still, 2010 is the year that the portable digital reading devices will finally see the beginning of mainstream adoption,
"culminating in e-reader mania for the 2010 holiday season," according to Allen Weiner, research vice president at Gartner. "With the entry of new players, such as Barnes and Noble, into the e-reader market and an increase in models from Amazon and Sony, consumers began to have choices in single-purpose ereading devices in 2009," Weiner said in a statement. "Among the product differentiation points are support for E Ink's electronic paper technology, support for further book formats, and the ability of some devices to allow consumers to purchase content wirelessly and to synchronize content across devices." While dedicated wireless ereaders grab most of the headlines, Weiner said that digital book apps for smartphones, especially the iPhone, are also poised to play a critical role in the digital publishing sector, though that market is still in its infancy. "It is too early in the evolution of the e-reading market to know whether smartphones will become powerful stand-alone
devices for reading books or whether they will complement other devices, such as fixed readers, said Weiner. "Book applications for smartphones have the potential to become a bridge to other devices such as tablet readers and netbooks. Apple, for example, could migrate the more than 500 book applications in the iTunes store to a tablet device and Google, which recently announced a browser-based ereader, could offer applications for Android-based devices of various form factors." Challenges e-readers must overcome to succeed Still, the nascent e-reader market must overcome a few obstacles before it truly reaches mass adoption. The devices themselves need to be sold in more retail channels, from big-box stores to lifestyle boutiques, said Weiner. Currently, most e-readers are available online, in bookstores or at electronics stores. On the publishing side, more best-seller authors need to be lured to the digital format, said Weiner. "For example, there has been news about the success of
Dan Brown's e-book sales of 'The Lost Symbol,' however other noted authors such as John Grisham and J.K. Rowling do not have their works available as ebooks," he said. Weiner's latest research echoes that of other prominent analysts in the sector, which noted that price is a big factor in the future success of e-readers. Right now, $199 is the lowest cost for fullfeatured e-reading devices, but he predicts they'll need to drop to $99 to gain traction in the marketplace. Still, he sees only growth for the market and advises publishers to shore up digital distribution of their content to get a piece of the action. "It's the perfect time for a trial and to establish relationships with others in the value-chain -that is service providers and digital warehouses -- that can be positioned to assist in a rapid deployment if the market takes off earlier than anticipated," he said. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.
Submitted at 11/11/2009 1:25:39 AM
Press release, November 11; Y v o n n e Y u , DIGITIMES [Wednesday 11 November 2009] This year is likely to be remembered as a watershed in the evolution of e-books and ereaders with several milestones and product launches standing out as catalysts for change in the market, according to Gartner. However, while the number of electronic readers sold is likely to increase in 2009, it expects 2010 to be the year when e-book readers really become popular consumer electronic devices, culminating in e-reader "mania" for the 2010 holiday season. "With the entry of new players, such as Barnes and Noble, into the e-reader market and an increase in models from Amazon and Sony, consumers began to have choices in single-purpose ereading devices in 2009," said Allen Weiner, research VP at Gartner. "Among the product differentiation points are support for E Ink's electronic paper technology, support for further book formats, and the ability of some devices to allow consumers to purchase content wirelessly and to synchronize content across E-READERS page 82
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devices." Weiner said that while fixed devices - those built solely for reading, such as Amazon's Kindle and Sony's family of devices - get most of the attention, book applications on smartphones are an important component of publishers' digital strategy. However, Gartner believes that it is too early in the evolution of the e-reading market to know whether smartphones will become powerful standalone devices for reading books or whether they will complement other devices, such as fixed readers. "Book applications for smartphones have the potential to become a bridge to other devices such as tablet readers and netbooks," said Weiner. "Apple, for example, could migrate the more than 500 book applications in the iTunes store to a tablet device and Google, which recently announced a browserbased e-reader, could offer
applications for Android-based devices of various form factors." There are a number of hurdles that need to be overcome before e -readers can become more mainstream, such as e-books needing a wider variety of retail channels, ranging from big box retailers and wireless carrier outlets to lifestyle stores such as Brookstone. More publishers must also be seen buying into ereaders. For example, there has been news about the success of ebook sales of Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol"; however other noted authors such as John Grisham and JK Rowling do not have their works available as ebooks. Gartner said that price will also play a leading role in the future success of e-readers. At the moment it appears that US$199 will be the lowest price for fully featured e-reading devices for the 2009 shopping season, but Gartner analysts said that prices will need to drop closer to US$99
to gain significant consumer traction. Longer-term, Weiner believes that the future is bright for ereaders and advised publishers to be bullish in the digital distribution of e-books, newspapers and magazines. "It's the perfect time for a trial and to establish relationships with others in the value-chain - that is service providers and digital warehouses - that can be positioned to assist in a rapid deployment if the market takes off earlier than anticipated," he said. Categories: Display components Displays Tags: 2010 Amazon e-book ebook reader eReader Gartner Kindle Sony This content has passed through fivefilters.org.