Let me start this post by saying that I don't think Microsoft will achieve its goal of obtaining some sort of balance and scale in the search market with an acquisition of Yahoo! If you look... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 11:42 am
(Reuters) - Napster Inc, one of the largest digital music retailers, said it will partner with Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson and Chilean telecommunications company Entel PCS to... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 11:23 am
It had been rumored for months that Yahoo! was going to get out of the subscription music business. Yesterday, they announced that they were shutting down Yahoo! Unlimited and turning over the subscriber... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 11:06 am
An anonymous reader writes "A New York Times article spells out what most of us probably already knew: real innovation takes lots of time and hard work to come to fruition. The article looks at the origins of new ideas, and attempts to dispel the myth that 'Eureka' moments create change. Comments author Scott Berkun, 'To focus on the magic moments is to miss the point. The goal isn't the magic moment: it's the end result of a useful innovation. Everything results from accretion. I didn't invent the English language. I have to use a language that someone else created in order to talk to you. So the process by which something is created is always incremental. It always involves using stuff that other people have made.'"
Ziggy Quirk in Second Life (courtesy her SL Universe archive) "I'm the human behind Ziggy Quirk..." So begins a unique video that represents just the boldest assertion from a loose affiliation of content... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 10:45 am
Yahoo would consider an alliance with Google as one way of avoiding a takeover by Microsoft, it was reported in the US last night. By Jemima Kiss Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 10:30 am
DHAKA (Reuters) - Bird flu has spread to two more districts in Bangladesh, taking the number of affected districts to 36, a livestock official said on Monday, as the government pledged to... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 10:16 am
Analysts believe more than 1 million devices may have been sold and unlocked, accounting for as much as one-quarter of the company's total iPhone sales to date -- a number one analyst called "astounding."... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 10:15 am
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A 29-year old Indonesian woman has died of bird flu, bringing the death toll from the virus in the Southeast Asian country to 103, the health ministry said on Monday. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 10:10 am
By Evan Ackerman It’s a fact: give me a piece of paper, and I will lose it. Paper is such an impractical medium nowadays, but that doesn’t stop people from printing stuff out, giving it to... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:59 am
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's Ericsson said on Monday it was working with Lenovo, the world's No. 3 PC maker, to provide mobile broadband modules based on high speed packet access (HSPA)... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:43 am
By Andrew Liszewski As digital photo frames become larger, at what point do you draw the line between a dedicated photo viewer and an LCD TV/monitor? I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure there’s... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:41 am
By Andrew Liszewski If you’re an idiot-savant (or autistic-savant these days) with a flair for cooking you’ll love this measuring cup from Fred & Friends. The Equal Measure not only includes... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:41 am
Last Thursday the Barack Obama (who we have endorsed as the Democratic candidate for president) campaign announced a record-setting month in terms of donations - $32 million in January alone. That’s... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:29 am
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Monday inaugurated Iran's first space centre from where the Islamic republic intends to launch research satellites into space for the first time, state media... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:17 am
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese surgeon more used to operating on humans has given a rare tiger cub back its sight by removing cataracts caused by inbreeding, state media said on Monday. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:01 am
By Darst, Paul Two weeks after Dow Chemical Co. announced that 150 jobs would leave South Charleston, a Japanese plastics manufacturer announced it would build a new plant in Belle. Tokyo-based Kureha Corp. announced Dec. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous Former Colorado Springs City Manager Lorne Kramer will receive the Citizens Project's Divine Award during the organization's fourth annual celebration from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 at The Warehouse, 25 W. Cimarron St. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Nabillah Abdul Talib; Rushdi Saldi GUNA, of Seremban, complains about sewage overflowing in his house and Indah Water Konsortium's response. "I informed them of the overflowing sewage. I asked them to inspect the septic tank, but they said it was not their job. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Zulita Mustafa LABUAN, where business and leisure meets, is building its name as an off-shore financial centre, tourism and education gateway for Sabah and Sarawak. The island is also known as a tourist destination for those from Brunei and scuba divers. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous The State Water Contractors, an association of 27 public water agencies in the Bay Area, Central and Southern California, reacted last week to the largest court-ordered water supply reduction in California history, citing statewide impacts to farms, businesses and people. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By La Crosse Tribune, Wis. Feb. 4--Midwest Magic, Holmen High School's all-girls ensemble, tied Sauk-Prairie High School's YTBN for the Class A title Saturday at a show choir competition in New London, Wis. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Hamisah Hamid; Kamarul Yunus MALAYSIAN Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB), an engineering, construction and property group, is bidding for more jobs in the lucrative river and beach rehabilitation sector. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Anonymous A coastal restoration volunteer project has recruited more volunteers and completed more projects than planned. The America's Wetland Conservation Corps was launched in February. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Beccy Tanner, The Wichita Eagle, Kan. Feb. 4--After a sell-out Christmas season at Old Cowtown Museum, the Diamond W Wranglers are negotiating with city officials for construction of a new performing space there. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By La Crosse Tribune, Wis. Feb. 4--At least there's no chance of steam. Water -- in pretty much every form -- could fall from the sky today, resulting in winter weather advisories for much of the region. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Volkert, Lora Beginning salary: $61,000. Sounds appealing, right? That's the average beginning pay for software engineers and developers in the Boise area, according to Amit Jain, professor of computer science at Boise State University. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Marks, Joseph BISMARCK - North Dakota University System Chancellor Bill Goetz will visit the elected leaders of the state's two Sioux tribes during the month of January for one-on-one conversations about the future of UND's Fighting Sioux nickname and logo. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Suzieana Uda Nagu JUST three years ago, a personal computer (PC) accessing the Internet stays safe for four hours before it becomes susceptible to attacks from cyber criminals. These days, an unprotected PC has only 20 minutes. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Joan Burnie Q THIS is very difficult to describe and I don't know if there is anything really wrong with me. I am 15 and most people think I have a great life. I have a load of friends, a girlfriend and I do well at school. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Volkert, Lora More than two years after breaking ground, the Nampa Gateway Center is building for its second tenant. Sports Authority would join J.C. Penney, which opened in August 2007 in the 104-acre shopping center at the intersection of Garrity Boulevard and Interstate 84. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Kathy A. Goolsby, The Dallas Morning News Feb. 4--EULESS -- Three years after its founding, St. Abanoub Coptic Orthodox Church received the blessing of the church's patriarch on Sunday. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
THE funny-sounding name may have you emitting peal after peal of laughter, but the Wi-Wi concept - a combination of WiMax and Wi-Fi technologies developed by Mimos Berhad's head of wireless communications cluster Dr Mazlan Abbas, is touted to be the next best thing in network technologies. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Rachel Helyer As 2007 signed off, all eyes were on the global economy as it teetered towards a possible downturn, triggered by fears over the crisis-ridden US mortgage market and rising oil prices. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
By Crompton, Kim The city of Spokane has shelved plans to enlarge greatly a broadband wireless-communication network that covers a roughly 100- block area of downtown. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
With insurers starting to cover them, virtual office visits for minor ailments, follow-ups gain popularity. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
The software giant is no longer seen as the devil. Still, its primary competitor -- Google -- urges caution, saying the proposed $44.6-billion takeover poses 'troubling questions.' ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
It was supposed to lower bills in California, but millions of customers -- especially the poor and elderly -- are seeing their rates hiked. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
Photographer and blogger Raul Gutierrezsays, "Square America has posted an online show titled African-American Portraits & Snapshots, a collection of 160 photographs taken between 1900 to 1975 (several home movies are also included)."
Link (be patient, the site is designed simply and not optimized well, and takes a while to load).
Below, one of the "beautifully abstract" home movies included in Square America's online gallery -- which may end up being a book someday. I sure hope so.
Photographer and blogger Raul Gutierrez says , " Square America has posted an online show titled African-American Portraits & Snapshots, a collection of 160 photographs taken between 1900... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 7:30 am
Some Flickr users are staging online protests over the prospect of Microsoft taking over Yahoo (Flickr is among a number of Web 2.0 services owned by Yahoo). Snip: As soon as the news hit the wires... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 7:29 am
Some Flickr users are staging online protests over the prospect of Microsoft taking over Yahoo (Flickr is among a number of Web 2.0 services owned by Yahoo). Snip:
As soon as the news hit the wires that Microsoft
is proposing a $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo, Flickr users began posting
anti-Microsoft images, satirical "Flickr Live" logos and announcing they
will abandon Flickr if it falls into Microsoft hands, fearing such a move
would mark the beginning of the end.
“Well then, I’m outta here!” announced one Flickr user who goes by the name Judland. While Microsoft has established its dominance on the desktop, its web properties lag behind those of Yahoo and others.
Roland Piquepaille writes "Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a computer algorithm based on a mathematical model of the social interactions of swarms which was first described in 1995. Now, researchers in the UK and Jordan have carried this swarm approach to photography to 'intelligently boost contrast and detail in an image without distorting the underlying features.' This looks like a clever concept even if I haven't seen any results. The researchers have developed an iterative process where a swarm of images are created by a computer. These images are 'graded relative to each other, the fittest end up at the front of the swarm until a single individual that is the most effectively enhanced.'"
Sounds like an awesome band name, but chocolate biodiesel is in fact what this vehicle ran on, in a 4-week trek from the UK to Timbuktu. A group known as BioTruck modded this 1989 Ford Iveco Cargo to run entirely by biodiesel made from chocolate -- specifically, discarded "waste chocolate" (*snort*) from a manufacturer. Link(via Cat Laine's Twitter stream)
The Chinese government's censorship of a wide array of non-political websites has generated a popular backlash, according to this NYT item:
For a vast majority of Internet users, censorship still does not appear to be much of a factor. The most popular Web applications here are games and messaging services, and the most visited Internet sites focus on everyday subjects like entertainment news and sports. Many, in fact, seem only vaguely aware that China’s Internet universe is carefully pruned, and even among those who know, a majority hardly seems to care.
But growing numbers of others are becoming increasingly resentful of restrictions on a wide range of Web sites, including Flickr, YouTube, Wikipedia, MySpace (sometimes), Blogspot and many other sites that the public sees as sources of harmless diversion or information. The mounting resentment has inspired a wave of increasingly determined social resistance of a kind that is uncommon in China.
This resistance is taking many forms, from lawsuits by Internet users against government-owned service providers, claiming that the blocking of sites is illegal, to a growing network of software writers who develop code aimed at overcoming the restrictions. An Internet-based word-of-mouth campaign has taken shape, in which bloggers and Web page owners post articles to spread awareness of the Great Firewall, or share links to programs that will help evade it.
Think that red roses are predictable? In Japan, gift-givers soon will also have the option of blue roses. The Japanese company that created the world's first genetically... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 6:50 am
LONDON, February 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Brownbook ( href="http://www.brownbook.net">http://www.brownbook.net ) launches its UK service today - a free and open ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 6:21 am
WETHERSFIELD, Conn., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualtech Systems, Inc. (QSI), a recognized leader in advanced diagnostics and system health management software solutions,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 6:15 am
An anonymous reader writes "Another undersea cable was taken offline on Friday, this one connecting Qatar and UAE. 'The [outage] caused major problems for internet users in Qatar over the weekend, but Qtel's loss of capacity has been kept below 40% thanks to what the telecom said was a large number of alternative routes for transmission. It is not yet clear how badly telecom and internet services have been affected in the UAE.' In related news it's been confirmed that the two cables near Egypt were not cut by ship anchors." Update: 02/04 07:13 GMT by Z : A commenter notes that despite the language in the article indicated a break or malfunction, the cable wasn't cut. It was taken offline due to power issues.
Yahoo Inc. will cease operating its online music subscription service and switch its customers to RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody music service as part of a new deal between the companies that calls for Yahoo... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 5:25 am
Fancy a sleek made-in-North Korea SUV? How about a pair of boxing gloves from the famously pugnacious communist country? Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 5:19 am
Coop has been photographing his huge collection of Japanese toy monsters. The Flickr set is a joy to behold.
The Bandai Ultra Kaiju served as a gateway drug, leading me into a full-on Japanese toy addiction that I wrestled with for years. Although I found far more rare and priceless treasures before I managed to shake the addiction, (or replace it with other obsessions, you be the judge) these humble sofubi are still among my favorites.
anastasd writes "Reuters is reporting that Yahoo might consider a business alliance with Google as a way to top a $44.6 billion takeover proposal by Microsoft. 'Yahoo management is considering revisiting talks it held with Google several months ago on an alliance as an alternative to Microsoft's bid, that source said. At $31 a share, Yahoo believes the bid undervalues the company, two sources said. A second source close to Yahoo said it had received a procession of preliminary contacts by media, technology, telephone and financial companies. But the source said they were unaware whether any alternative bid was in the offing.'"
In Google's first public reaction to Microsoft's unsolicited bid for Yahoo, it says the merger could pose a threat to the internet, and could stifle openness, innovation and protection of privacy online.
President Bush has failed to nominate candidates for a congressionally empowered privacy board intended to police anti-terrorism programs. Privacy groups charge that the administration fears the board's independence.
As new digital-distribution plans gain traction, an inevitable fight over publishing royalties breaks out. If songwriters lose, your ears will suffer. Commentary by Eliot Van Buskirk.
A public-health doctor discovers that poor diet, not airborne microbes, is the cause of pellagra, a debilitating and often fatal disease. He's bucking the medical establishment, though, and his findings are not universally accepted.
IT sounds like a recipe from the Internets cookbook for business disasters. Sell bulky commodity items at prices low enough to compete with grocery stores, and ship them for free to consumers. The recipe... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 4 Feb 2008 | 1:36 am
Philip Bailey writes "An article in this month's Discovery Magazine claims that some of the fundamental organic molecules required for the development of life could have spontaneously arisen within ice. Scientist Stanley Miller was responsible for seminal experiments in the 1950s in this area. He used sparks and a mixture of inorganic chemicals to test his theories, but turned to low temperature experiments in later years. He was able to create the constituents of RNA and proteins from a mixture of cyanide, ammonia and ice in trials lasting up to 25 years. A process known as eutectic freezing is thought to be the basis of these results: small pockets of liquid water, in which foreign molecules are concentrated enormously, increases the reaction rates, and more than compensates for temperature-related slowing."
theodp writes "From 1977's lovable Xeroxing Monk to 2007's smug-and-rich SalesGenie pitch man, Valleywag has rounded up videos for its Top 10 most memorable tech-oriented Super Bowl commercials. The commercials are: Apple (1984), Monster (1999), CareerBuilder (2005), GoDaddy (2005), Xerox (1977), E*Trade (1999), Pets.com (2000), Computer.com (2000), SalesGenie.com (2007) and OurBeginning (2000). This year's ads are coming soon." I've always been a fan of the Outpost.com gerbil cannon spot.
Google SVP David Drummond published a post titled "Yahoo! and the future of the Internet" a couple of hours ago on the official Google blog. It's the first official statement I'm aware of on the matter from Google. Snip:
The openness of the Internet is what made Google -- and Yahoo! -- possible. A good idea that users find useful spreads quickly. Businesses can be created around the idea. Users benefit from constant innovation. It's what makes the Internet such an exciting place.
So Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo! raises troubling questions. This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It's about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation.
Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC? While the Internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies -- and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets.
Could the acquisition of Yahoo! allow Microsoft -- despite its legacy of serious legal and regulatory offenses -- to extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the Internet? In addition, Microsoft plus Yahoo! equals an overwhelming share of instant messaging and web email accounts. And between them, the two companies operate the two most heavily trafficked portals on the Internet. Could a combination of the two take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors' email, IM, and web-based services? Policymakers around the world need to ask these questions -- and consumers deserve satisfying answers.
Geoffrey.landis writes "The administration announced plans to withdraw its support from FutureGen. FutureGen was a project to develop a low CO2-emission electrical power plant, supported by an alliance of a dozen or so coal companies and utilities from around the world. The new plant would have captured carbon dioxide produced by combustion and pumped it deep underground, to avoid releasing greenhouse-gas into the atmosphere. It had been intended as a prototype for next generation clean-coal plants worldwide. Originally budgeted at about a billion dollars, the estimated cost had "ballooned" to $1.8 billion, according to U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman."
An anonymous reader points us to a story about how the problems with electronic voting mostly stem from one source: the lack of mandated standardization. The LinuxInsider article goes on to suggest that once the issue of a universal voting platform is solved, the way is paved for open-source software to address concerns over accuracy and transparency. Though the article states that "no open source program for voting machines yet exists," it should be noted that such software was successfully tested earlier this month. Quoting: "People debate the merits of e-voting for a variety of reasons, including suspicion of new technologies and a general distrust of politics, according to Jamie McKown, Wiggins professor of government and polity at the College of the Atlantic. 'Reports on e-voting security often de-contextualize the history of voter fraud in this country, as if boxes were somehow assumed to be better. You constantly hear calls for paper trails, and open and free inspection of voting machine source code. But it's a very thorny issue and one that has a lot of facets,' McKown told LinuxInsider."
WirePosted writes with an ITWire article about the problems that Apple's AT&T exclusivity deal could pose in the coming years. Initially the company needed AT&T's commitment to the project, to ensure features like visual voicemail would work. With the iPhone a hit even at its current high price that no longer seems to be the case. Can Apple afford to stick to an exclusive carrier in the future? If for no other reason than consumer choice? "iPhones are being sold unlocked in the markets of Asia where you can't get them with a carrier plan, but they're also being bought and unlocked in the US and Europe. The message is that many and probably most iPhone buyers would like to be given a choice of carrier when they buy their iPhone. Some would be prepared to pay more as they do with other smartphones and buy their iPhone unattached to any subsidized carrier contract. The point is many consumers feel no loyalty to carriers and resent being forced to choose one."
p1234 writes "Though no direct evidence for wormholes has been observed, this could be because they are disguised as black holes. Now Alexander Shatskiy of the Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow, Russia, is suggesting a possible way to tell the two kinds of object apart. His idea assumes the existence of a bizarre substance called "phantom matter", which has been proposed to explain how wormholes might stay open. Phantom matter has negative energy and negative mass, so it creates a repulsive effect that prevents the wormhole closing. 'US expert Dr Lawrence Krauss, from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, points out that the idea rests on untested assumptions. He told New Scientist magazine: "It is an interesting attempt to actually think of what a real signature for a wormhole would be, but it is more hypothetical than observational. Without any idea of what phantom matter is and its possible interactions with light, it is not clear one can provide a general argument."'"
Today in my ongoing series of photos from my travels over the years, this stroppy "no playing in the churchyard" sign from Seven Sisters in London.
Link
Lawgeek (who's just quit his job to become a university prof) posts a roundup of students' how-to-cheat YouTube videos. The best one is definitely the guy who scans the label off a Coke bottle, replaces the nutritional information with cheaty stuff, prints it, and glues it around a bottle (presumes that your teacher lets you bring Coke into class -- I suppose this works best in schools where Coke has struck a deal requiring their products to be available at all times and in all places.)
When I was a kid, we were obsessed with figuring out methods for cheating -- far more so than with actual cheating itself. We used binary encoding to sneak in long lists of numbers, stitching them up the outer seams of our jeans or cuffs -- a stitch for 1, no stitch for 0 -- that we could read by fingertip. After we learned the resistor color-coding scheme, we started to shave pencils and then decorate them with colored bands that actually contained the same lists of numbers. We tried -- and failed -- to produce a decent tapping code for interactive cheating, though this is certainly possible. One exciting failure was a light-based semaphore wherein the conspirators would flash reflected discs of light up on the wall over the teacher's head using our watch-faces.
The kids in these videos are awfully sanguine about their teachers' YouTube cluelessness. I'm relatively certain that the adorable little English moppet pictured here has never actually succeeded in using his cheat, as it relies on your teachers allowing you to keep playing cards on your desk during the exam. This is surely a purely theoretical cheat.
Link
The Rogue Columnist blog has a thought-provoking entry on reasons that the newspaper industry is reeling and teetering -- it's not just "the Internet exists," but rather a set of things the industry did wrong, continues to do wrong, and should fix if the newspapers are to emerge from the net with still-beating hearts:
The biggest problem, of course, had nothing to do with the newsrooms. It was the collapse of an unsustainable business model. Simply put, the model involved sending miniskirted saleswomen out to sell ads at confiscatory rates to lecherous old car dealers and appliance-store owners. Protecting these profits, whether from national, local or classified ads, became the central focus of newspaper bosses. These areas were the most vulnerable to new competitors. But the condition of the industry by the 1990s – risk averse, promising unrealistic margins, losing its best talent, ignoring ideas outside its preconceived notions – left it unable to meet these threats.
I am ecstatic to announce a new Happy Mutant on the scene:
PoesyEmmelineFibonacciNautilusTaylorDoctorow. Hatched at home, in a pool, this morning, in London, weighing 9 lbs and 6 oz. All bits correct and accounted for. Already stolen the hearts of all who see her.
Consider me on paternity leave until further notice.
Link
For a vast majority of Internet users, censorship still does not appear to be much of a factor. The most popular Web applications here are games and messaging services, and the most visited Internet sites focus on everyday subjects like entertainment news and sports. Many, in fact, seem only vaguely aware that China’s Internet universe is carefully pruned, and even among those who know, a majority hardly seems to care.
