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For Craigslist, time to act like an adult - Nashua Telegraph
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 17 May 2009 | 11:24 am Wolfram|Alpha goes live 11:30AM, Sunday 17th May 2009 - PC Pro
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 17 May 2009 | 10:47 am Spacewalkers Make Tricky Repairs to Hubble Camera - Space.com
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 17 May 2009 | 10:38 am Astronauts trying to bring device back from deadAstronauts are attempting their second in-orbit repair of a dead science instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope in as many days. Astronauts Mike Massimino and Mike Good on Sunday...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 May 2009 | 9:36 am Future of news and businessJohn Naughton's talking sense about economics, news and the Web today in the Observer: Things have got so bad that Rupert Murdoch has tasked a team with finding a way of charging for News Corp content...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 May 2009 | 9:31 am Future of news and businessJohn Naughton's talking sense about economics, news and the Web today in the Observer:Things have got so bad that Rupert Murdoch has tasked a team with finding a way of charging for News Corp content. This is the "make the bastards pay" school of thought. Another group of fantasists speculate about ways of extorting money from Google, which they portray as a parasitic feeder on their hallowed produce. And recently a few desperadoes have made the pilgrimage to Capitol Hill seeking legislative assistance and/or federal bailouts for newspapersVolume and diversity: the future's bright for news online
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 17 May 2009 | 9:31 am UPDATE 3-Group lines up Iraq Kurdistan gas for Europe* Development of Iraq Kurdistan gas fields to cost $8 blnSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 May 2009 | 9:22 am UK Researches Future 10Gbps Broadband TechnologyMJackson writes "The UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB), an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) established by the UK Government in 2007 and sponsored by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), has invested 1 Million GBP into over a dozen research projects for the development of ULTRA Fast up to 10Gbps broadband technologies. The ultimate aim, the development of pan-European Ultra Fast Broadband, could give EU companies a massive competitive advantage on a global scale."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 17 May 2009 | 9:01 am CORRECTED - CORRECTED-FACTBOX-Nabucco pipeline project facts(Corrects feet to metres in paragraph 5; clarifies in 1st paragraph that half the project output could supply Nabucco pipeline)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 May 2009 | 8:51 am Windows 7, Microsoft's antidote to pesky Vista - Louisville Courier-Journal
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 17 May 2009 | 8:37 am Elbit Systems U.S. Subsidiary and General Dynamics Form Joint Venture to Provide Tactical UAVs to U.S. MarketHAIFA, Israel, May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT) announced today that its subsidiary, Elbit Systems of America, LLC and General Dynamics ArmamentSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 May 2009 | 8:05 am Astronauts to make fourth walk to repair HubbleUS astronauts will undertake a fourth in a series of five daily spacewalks intended to equip the 19-year-old Hubble Space Telescope for at least another five years of valuable scientific...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 May 2009 | 7:09 am How kids use the net now, from danah boydTeen net-researcher danah boyd (@zephoria) has been taking parental questions about teens' use of the net on Twitter and here are her responses:@mirroredpool: What borders to teens place of social networking sites and education? How would they react to using an SNS to do class work?answers to questions from Twitter on teen practices Source: Boing Boing | 17 May 2009 | 6:42 am How kids use the net now, from danah boydTeen net-researcher danah boyd (@zephoria) has been taking parental questions about teens' use of the net on Twitter and here are her responses: @mirroredpool: What borders to teens place of social networking...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 May 2009 | 6:42 am Ordinal Rants Against Chat Lag And Group Chat (Updated)Steampunk inventor Miss Ordinal Malaprop has an excellent rant against chat lag, the aggravating phenomenon where local chat text displays seconds or even minutes from when it's typed. "[T]o be quite frank...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 May 2009 | 6:37 am High times & hijinks on the High Plains circa 1969Jackie Flaten says Backstory: A North Dakota State University student newspaper editor thought it would be funny to promote Zap, N.D., a teeny tiny town smack dab in the middle of nowhere, as an ideal alternative to the customary spring break site of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. When the AP picked up his article, things got out of hand - high school and college students descended en masse, beer flowed freely and things pretty much went downhill from there. From the Zap Revisited Web site: In the spring of 1969 an estimated 3,000 young people descended on the tiny prairie town of Zap, N.D., for a spring break blow-out. What started as an off-beat idea for a party ended with National Guard troops expelling the revelers from Zap and the nearby towns of Beulah and Hazen, creating a national media sensation.High times & hijinks on the High Plains circa 1969 Source: Boing Boing | 17 May 2009 | 6:13 am High times & hijinks on the High Plains circa 1969Jackie Flaten says Backstory: A North Dakota State University student newspaper editor thought it would be funny to promote Zap, N.D., a teeny tiny town smack dab in the middle of nowhere, as an ideal...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 May 2009 | 6:13 am Cheap Suit Serenaders on Fretboard Journal podcast
This week's episode of Fretboard Journal's BlogTalkRadio show (a talk radio show for music and guitar geeks) has two of the Cheap Suit Serenaders This week's episode features two multi-instrumentalists from the acclaimed Cheap Suit Serenders, Al Dodge and Robert Armstrong. We hear about working with R. Crumb, the early days of the Cheap Suit Serenaders, just how they got started playing old-time music and their instrument collections.Fretboard Journal Talk Radio: The Cheap Suit Serenaders
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 17 May 2009 | 6:03 am Cheap Suit Serenaders on Fretboard Journal podcastThis week's episode of Fretboard Journal's BlogTalkRadio show (a talk radio show for music and guitar geeks) has two of the Cheap Suit Serenaders . This week's episode features two multi-instrumentalists...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 May 2009 | 6:03 am Graph of how #topics get played out on TwitterFrom The Guardian's Meg Pickard, a graph that "compares 'people talking about #topic' and 'people talking about talking about #topic'. Outside of Twitter, this applies to pretty much any popular newsworthy...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 May 2009 | 6:02 am Graph of how #topics get played out on Twitter From The Guardian's Meg Pickard, a graph that "compares 'people talking about #topic' and 'people talking about talking about #topic'. Outside of Twitter, this applies to pretty much any popular newsworthy topic...the news quickly moves from 'we're telling you about Topic X' to media coverage of the media coverage of Topic X. See: Twitter's own coverage in the media currently." (Pithy description from Kottke)
Twitter trending topics HOWTO find great deals on codeshare flightsA Consumerist reader points out that you can save $300 on a $800 Virgin Atlantic fare from the US to the UK by booking it as a Continental codeshare. Consumerist explains how to search for deals like this:So how do you find codeshares? First, find your desired flight number and punch it into a flight tracking service like Flight Stats. Look for a section breaking out specific codeshares and the flight numbers associated with the other airlines. Then, go to each airline listed and search for the codeshared flight number to compare the price. Once you've found the lowest fare, book it and start packing!Use Codeshares To Find Cheap Summer Flights Abroad Source: Boing Boing | 17 May 2009 | 5:57 am HOWTO find great deals on codeshare flightsA Consumerist reader points out that you can save $300 on a $800 Virgin Atlantic fare from the US to the UK by booking it as a Continental codeshare. Consumerist explains how to search for deals like this:...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 May 2009 | 5:57 am HOWTO be a good sports-parentMike Dunford, a swim meet deck official, has some great advice for parents:A personal best is always a major victory:There's more, click through.
An Open Letter For the Parents of Swimmers HOWTO be a good sports-parentMike Dunford, a swim meet deck official, has some great advice for parents: A personal best is always a major victory: It doesn't matter if they finish first, third, ninth, thirty-eigth, or dead last...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 May 2009 | 5:55 am Radiation-Resistant Plants Could Be Used In SpaceHugh Pickens writes "New Scientist reports that two decades after the world's largest nuclear disaster, life around Chernobyl continues to adapt, with Chernobyl soya containing significantly different amounts of several dozen proteins, including one protein involved in defending cells from heavy metal and radiation damage. 'One protein is known to actually protect human blood from radiation,' says Martin Hajduch of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. In a study to determine how plants might have adapted to the meltdown, Hajduch's team compared soya grown in radioactive plots near Chernobyl with plants grown about 100 km away in uncontaminated soil. Results from the study suggest that adaptation toward heavy metal stress, protection against radiation damage, and mobilization of seed storage proteins are involved in the plant adaptation mechanism to radioactivity in the Chernobyl region (abstract). Determining how plants coped with life after Chernobyl could help scientists engineer radiation-resistant plants. While few farmers are eager to cultivate radioactive plots on Earth, future interplanetary travelers may one day need to grow crops to withstand space radiation."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 17 May 2009 | 5:50 am 18 Underwater Fashion Photography Shoots - From Aquatic Fairytales to Submerged High Heels (CLUSTER)(TrendHunter.com) Underwater fashion photography is quickly rising to become one of the most popular ways to capture fashion and beauty. Creative style showcases range from magazine editorials that show...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 May 2009 | 4:14 am Backstage Dragtography - Jack Radcliffe Captures the Lily White Troupe of Female Impersonators (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) Jack Radcliffes behind-the-scenes snaps of the Lily White Troupe give a poignant glimpse into the mysterious world of female impersonators. Jack Radcliffes Lily White Troupe portraits...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 17 May 2009 | 3:59 am South Korea tries recharging road to power vehiclesSEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's top technology university has developed a plan to power electric cars through recharging strips embedded in roadways that use a technology to transfer energySource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 May 2009 | 3:51 am Flourishing eagles feast on Maine's rare seabirdsBald eagles, bouncing back after years of decline, are swaggering forth with an appetite for great cormorant chicks that threatens to wipe out that bird population in the United States. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 17 May 2009 | 2:39 am Shuttle and Hubble Passing In Front of the SunGvG was one of several readers to point out this "incredible photo clearly showing the silhouette of Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope as they passed in front of the Sun was taken Wednesday, May 13, 2009, from west of Vero Beach, Florida. The two spaceships were at an altitude of 600 km and they zipped across the sun in only 0.8 seconds." The image is all over the Web now, for good reason.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Gizmodo | 17 May 2009 | 2:00 am Did The UK Press Con A 104-Year-Old Woman Into Joining Twitter For Digg Bait?
The story is about how Ivy Bean uses the hot social network to post mundane updates about her 104-year-old life. But take a look at the picture in the story. On the screen next to Bean, you’ll see her Twitter page with a whopping two updates. These two tweets were sent out at the same time, the day before the story ran in a number of UK publications. In other words, Bean signed up and sent her first two tweets at the time all these guys were writing their stories. Or, to put it more clearly, this whole story was staged. Bean sent out her first tweet at 2:02PM PST (6:02PM local time in the UK) on May 14, it read “I’m enjoying Twitter for the first time and having my photo taken” (the picture used in the articles). The Sun, which also ran the story, has an even better headline. “103-year-old Ivy loves to Twitter” — clearly, she does — I mean, she had been using the service for a whole two seconds before the story was being reported. Worse, The Sun gets poor Bean’s age wrong (they say she’s 103 years old). We get some flack for running a lot of stories about Twitter, but this is just pathetic. Though maybe it shouldn’t be surprising. Twitter is red-hot right now and “world’s oldest Twitterer” is an easy Digg headline. And the Telegraph, which did get the Digg headline, gets nearly 10% of its traffic from Digg, according to Compete. Does anyone know any 105-year-olds? I need to contact them for a story. And I’ll be nice enough to give them a Twitter ID that doesn’t imply they won’t make it to their next birthday. [photo: PA] Information provided by CrunchBase
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Source: Gizmodo | 17 May 2009 | 12:45 am DIY Google Street View Project?Ismenio writes "Does anyone have any ideas for a do-it-yourself Google-Street-View-like project on the cheap? I am planning to visit a few places outside the US that are important to me, and would like to be able to set up a site for friends and family to visit and give them the Street View-like experience so that they could navigate, pan and zoom in the areas I have. Though being able to use GPS coordinates would be great, that's certainly something I can do without. I know I can take pictures and stitch them together to create panoramic views, but I would like to be able to also navigate though some streets. Would it make sense to record it with an HD camera, then batch export frames as pictures? Is there any software in the open source community that I can use?" Ismenio includes links to some related pages: Popular Mechanics' look at the camera tech used for Street View, and a company that claims better panoramic image technology than Google's.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Gizmodo | 16 May 2009 | 11:00 pm The Dangers of Being Really, Really TiredSleepy Dog Millionare writes "Brian Palmer, writing for Slate, asks 'Can you die from lack of sleep?' and shockingly, the answer may very well be Yes, you can. Palmer points to 'ground breaking experiments' in the area of sleep research. It turns out that sleep deprivation can actually be deadly in rats. The obvious conclusion is that it is probably deadly in all mammals. So the next time you think you need to pull multiple all-night hack-a-thons, ask yourself if it's worth risking your life for."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Gizmodo | 16 May 2009 | 10:45 pm Star Trek was screened on the ISS
Lucky cosmonaut and astronauts. Not only do they get the best corner office view ever, but they also have a legit version of Star Trek downloaded. The three men currently on board the International Space Station received a special copy of the film via NASA and settled into a dark node of the station to enjoy the show yesterday.
I’m mean, what more can you want out of life: rides on a Space Shuttle whenever, pissing in zero gravity, and a downloaded copy of Star Trek literally out of reach from the MPAA. Life must be good.
Source: Gizmodo | 16 May 2009 | 10:00 pm Astronaut does delicate camera repairA U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 May 2009 | 9:57 pm Gartner Tells Businesses to Forget About VistaBarence writes "IT analyst firm Gartner has told businesses to skip Vista and prepare to roll out Windows 7. Companies have traditionally been advised to wait until the first Service Pack of an operating system arrives before considering migration. However, Gartner is urging organisations that aren't already midway through Vista deployments to give the much-maligned operating system a miss. 'Preparing for Vista will require the same amount of effort as preparing for Windows 7, so at this point, targeting Windows 7 would add less than six months to the schedule and would result in a plan that is more politically palatable, better for users, and results in greater longevity.' Even businesses that are midway through planning a Vista migration are urged to consider scrapping the deployment. 'Consider switching to Windows 7 if it would delay deployment by six months or less.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 16 May 2009 | 9:44 pm Greece starts fuel cleanup of sunken Sea Diamond shipGreece on Saturday began a clean-up operation of the remaining fuel in a cruise ship that sunk near the Aegean island of Santorini in April 2007, according to the merchant navy ministry.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 16 May 2009 | 9:24 pm The Music Store Apple Forgot About
Was I a little overenthusasitc? Probably. But I’ve toyed around with quite a few of the learning programs and videos out there, and the GarageBand lessons have serious potential. And with lessons going for $5 a pop, even if Apple only saw a tiny fraction of the sales it sees on its other stores (as would probably be the case), it could still drive substantial revenue from lesson purchases alone. Perhaps even more important, at least from Apple’s perspective: a robust lesson store would serve as a perfect marketing vehicle for driving more Mac sales. Imagine a commercial with John Mayer or Eric Clapton wailing away on their guitars for thirty seconds. Close with them saying, “You want to play like me? I’ll show you. Only on Mac”. Sure, most people would never actually get around to playing through too many lessons (after all, learning how to play an instrument takes some hard work), but the knowledge that they could work through those lessons would be enough to drive even more computer sales.  Unfortunately, Apple hasn’t really done much with the Lesson Store since its debut in January. At launch, it featured 18 ‘basic lessons’ (nine each for guitar and piano), along with ten ‘artist lessons’ which feature accomplished musicians showing how to play their songs. It was a decent selection to begin with, but it was hardly comprehensive. But it had potential: Apple surely had the clout to attract more major artists, and we were bound to see frequent updates, right? Not quite. Since January there has been exactly one update, which introduced a whopping three new artist lessons, bringing the grand total to 13. Given how varied musical tastes are, I’d be surprised if any one person was interested in more than four of them. So much for that idea. Aside from releasing more artist lessons, Apple would do well to release a tool that let independent artists and teachers build lessons on the GarageBand platform. Apple could take a cut of each lesson sale as it does on the App Store, and users would get a much broader array of material. Now, I’m well aware there are quite a few music lessons stores scattered across the web, including NowPlayIt and iVideoSongs, which offer high quality video lessons, some of which feature the artists themselves. But for every quality site there are countless spammy sites, and it can be hard to tell the good ones from the bad at first glance - not to mention the fact that many fledging musicians don’t know these sites exist in the first place. A unified storefront from Apple, complete with user reviews, could be a boon for teachers and students alike. So come on, Apple. Let the music play.  Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
Source: TechCrunch | 16 May 2009 | 9:17 pm Linux to finally get DisplayLink drivers
Hopefully we’ll see this technology soon on not only Linux computers, but also netbooks, MID, and UMPCs. Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy a larger external display from a small portable device through just USB? I think so, but the new mini HDMI format might not.
Source: CrunchGear | 16 May 2009 | 9:15 pm Free Apps roundup for May 15th, 2009FROM APPLETELL - More free apps, please! No problem, not at all. Check out this week’s offerings for your iPhone or iPod touch sans money. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 16 May 2009 | 8:43 pm High-Tech Patent Granted to Major League BaseballThe patent for a new technology that prohibits particular fans from having the ability to view local games online has been won by Major League Baseball, and it could potentially pave the way for the U.S. sports league to earn residuals by awarding licenses to media companies, Reuters accounted.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 16 May 2009 | 8:40 pm IBM Patents Changing Color of E-Mail Texttheodp writes "Last week, the USPTO granted IBM a patent for its 'System and method for comprehensive automatic color customization in an email message based on cultural perspective.' So what exactly did the four Big Blue inventors come up with? IBM explains: 'For example, an email created in the US in red font to indicate urgency or emphasis might be mapped to a more appropriate color (e.g., blue or black) for sending to Korea.' IBM took advantage of the USPTO's Accelerated Examination Program to fast-track the patent's approval. BTW, if you missed the 2006 press release, IBM boasted it was 'holding itself to a higher standard than any law requires because it's urgent that patent quality is improved.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 16 May 2009 | 8:39 pm New Search Tool WolframAlpha Getting Good ReviewsWhile Google reigns superior over other Internet search engines like Yahoo or Microsoft, an upcoming new challenger, WolframAlpha, is offering some effective alternatives, the Associated Free Press reported on Friday. Named for its founder, British-born computer scientist and inventor Stephen Wolfram, the new engine is not a traditional Web search engine. In fact, Wolfram, who earned his PhD in theoretical physics from Caltech when he was merely 20 years of age, describes his invention as a "computational knowledge engine."WolframAlpha.com functions by taking a query and processing it through its databases to produce answers. This differs from the way Google processes its queries by comparing them to internal algorithms that then hunt for results on the Web to produce a series of links to relevant websites. "The basic idea of WolframAlpha is very simple," the 49-year-old Wolfram said in an online presentation of his venture, which went live for a test run on Friday.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 16 May 2009 | 8:35 pm Roscosmos says satellite launched SaturdayA Proton-M rocket carrying a ProtoStar-2 telecommunication satellite was launched from the Baikonur space center Saturday, the Russian space agency said. The launch of the Proton-M rocket fitted with a Breeze-M booster and carrying a ProtoStar-2 telecommunication satellite went ahead at the scheduled time, a Roscosmos spokesperson was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying. The Russian news service said the Proton-M rocket launch is the fourth this year carried out by International Launch Services Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 May 2009 | 8:20 pm Baseball-Cubs' offer won't be voted on next week-sourcesCHICAGO, May 16 (Reuters) - Major League Baseball owners will not vote next week on whether to approve the Ricketts family's $900 million bid for the Chicago Cubs as some had hoped, two sources familiar...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 16 May 2009 | 8:19 pm Video: Spock on the origin of the Vulcan saluteI bet that you don’t know where the Vulcan salute came from? I also bet that you don’t know Leonard Nimoy himself that suggested the hand gesture for Star Trek and that it comes from his religious background. Click through to watch a short clip on the subject.
Source: Gizmodo | 16 May 2009 | 7:45 pm Study says beautiful people earn moreGood-looking men and women have a greater confidence that gives them an edge in the job market, a study from the University of Florida showed. We've found that, even accounting for intelligence, a person's feeling of self-worth is enhanced by how attractive they are and this, in turn, results in higher pay, Timothy Judge, the study's lead author, told ScienceDaily in a story published Saturday. Judge and his team compared data from the Harvard Study of Health and Life Quality on 191 men and women between the ages of 25 and 75.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 May 2009 | 7:38 pm Lights, sound push baby salmon past pumpsBiologists say they're using sound, bright lights and bubbles to keep baby salmon from being sucked into pumps on California's San Joaquin River. The pumps divert water from the southern Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta for use on farmland and for drinking water for 25 million Californians, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday. The $1 million project is the latest attempt to save baby salmon en route to the sea and also could aid threatened delta smelt, said Jerry Johns, deputy director of the state Department of Water Resources. The system began operating a month ago when more than 900 tagged juvenile chinook salmon were released about 15 miles from the pumps, Johns said.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 May 2009 | 7:34 pm Sony Pictures CEO Thinks the Net Wasn't Worth Itrossturk writes "Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said, 'I'm a guy who doesn't see anything good having come from the Internet, period.' Why? Because people 'feel entitled' to have what they want when they want it, and if they can't get it for free, 'they'll steal it.' It's become customary to expect a somewhat limited perspective on things from old-world entertainment companies, but his inability to acknowledge that the Internet has changed everything makes me think he's a very confused man. Is this when we all give up hope that companies like Sony Pictures can adapt? Will we look back on this as one of the defining moments when the industrialized entertainment industry lost touch for good?"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 16 May 2009 | 7:34 pm Spacewalkers pull off toughest Hubble repairs yetSpacewalking astronauts gave the Hubble Space Telescope a better view of the cosmos by installing a new high-tech instrument Saturday, then pulled off their toughest job yet: fixing a...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 16 May 2009 | 7:25 pm Ancient Navajo Smoke Signals Getting a Second LookArchaeologists are studying how early Navajos used smoke signals to notify others of invaders.The researchers and volunteers have flare guns and will spread across the Four Corners Saturday to test the ancient alarm system.There are 200 pueblitos that the archaeologists think were constructed by Navajos to defend themselves against Spanish explorers and rival tribes."If you hear an enemy approaching, you climb into these things and pull up the ladder, and you can seal yourself in for a while," said Ron Maldonado, program manager of the Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department.The sites are located where New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah meet, and house the remains of what used to be daunting structures constructed from sandstone.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 16 May 2009 | 7:25 pm Not A Typo: Six Apart Opens Up Suite Of Products For Rival WordPress
Anil Dash, chief evangelist for blogging software platform Six Apart, announced today that blogging platform has launched a a plugin that provides WordPress users with access to a suite of Six Apart’s add-on features for blogs. Dash made the announcement at WordPress blogger convention WordCamp Mid-Atlantic. While some of Six Apart’s functionality have been available to WordPress users, this is the first time the site is offering these services as a suite to a rival blogging platform. These features include TypePad AntiSpam, a free open source anti-spam service; TypePad Connect, a commenting profile service; integration with Six Apart Media, the site’s advertising network; and inclusion with blog directory Blogs.com. Dash says that this move represents “baby steps” in Six Apart’s tentative first efforts to provide a suite of features and functionality to WordPress users. This a big deal, considering the long standing rivalry between the two blogging platforms. Last year, the two companies had a heated duel via company blog posts, Twitter and in TechCrunch comments. Perhaps this integration between the Six Apart and WordPress will help settle the peace between the competitors. And perhaps this is a strategic move on Six Apart’s side to integrate with WordPress, a widely popular platform in the blogging world. One thing is for certain— it’s a blessing for many WordPress bloggers, who will now be able to use the plugin to access some of the useful features of SixApart without having to switch platforms. WordPress offers its own free and paid features for bloggers including a stats system and the commenting and spam technology Akismet (which TechCrunch uses). Here’s a video clip of Dash talking about WordPress plug-ins and blogging: Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Source: TechCrunch | 16 May 2009 | 7:24 pm Worst Week: GoogleSection: Business News, Computers, Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Web, Web 2.0, Google
Google News is up. No, it’s not.Google has apologized for the incidents and posted an explanation for them on the official Google blog. Well, Google better get busy writing again because there has already been another outage. Google News suffered server errors again Friday morning for about an hour, so users, like myself, had to go looking for morning news somewhere else. With back to back outages, Google is going to need some serious PR help after this week is over. Any service outages are bad, but when they happen during prime hours of the day, it is even worse. More than just Google properties down.Businesses who rely on Google’s services, in particular, need reliability. If the events of the last two days are the start of a recurring pattern, Google is going to have to work to rebuild the trust of its business users to keep them from jumping ship. Not to mention the rest of us who use the Google suite on a daily basis to manage our personal lives. There’s no denying it - whether business or personal, Google outages can cause havoc. This week’s events are just a reminder that putting all your eggs in one virtual basket can lead to bad things. Read [Boston Globe]
Full Story » | Written by Merlyn Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 16 May 2009 | 7:14 pm Storks' nests in odd placesRJ sez, "Storks will choose the position for their nest for a variety of reasons and if that happens to be atop a man-made object, then so be it. Some are welcomed and encouraged, others not so. Yet their ability to build huge nests in precarious positions never fails to surprise. Here are some examples that may just take your breath away."Avian Architecture: The Precarious Nests of the Stork (Thanks, RJ!)
(Image: Stork's nest II, a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike image from Tillwe's Flickr stream) Wolfram Alpha: A Test Run
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 gizHQ | HP Recalls 70000 Fire-Hazardous Batteries InformationWeek The faulty lithium-ion batteries are used in laptops sold under a variety of brands, including HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario, HP, and HP Compaq. HP laptop batteries recalled for overheating HP Recalls Notebook Batteries After Overheating |
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Last January Apple 
This past Thursday was a traumatic experience for many Google users. For almost an hour, users experienced severe delays, and in some cases a complete lack of access, to several of Google’s apps, such as GMail, Search, and Maps, to name a few. It was preceded by a Google News outage (apparently due to to updating the site to add YouTube video links) that ended up lasting for about 3.5 hours. A search for #googlefail on Twitter reads like an unforgiving play by play of the outages.
Ok, I dig 
