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Pelican 0450Before I decided to purchase this Pelican case, I did check out some other options. One that I considered was the Stanley FatMax 4-in-1 Mobile Work Station, but it isn’t waterproof and...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 1:00 pm Agilysys Declares Quarterly Cash DividendCLEVELAND, July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading provider of innovative IT solutions, today announced its quarterly cash dividend on common...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:55 pm Apple tablet rumor gets screen size, price, and release date
Look, we already know a lot about the so-called Apple Tablet. We know the project is real and a lot of man power has been dedicated to the project. A China Times article might have answered a few of our questions though. That is, if the translated article can be trusted. The Chinese trade publication is stating that Apple is working on a large screen touchscreen device; we knew that. What we didn’t know was when this device was coming out, but the Chinese supply chain companies are stating October. That’s also when the unibody Macbooks where introduced last year, btw. The article also states that the screen size would be 9.7-inches. We were thinking it was going to come in around 7-9-inches anyway. But is $800, the rumored price, set at the right spot? It kind of depends what type of OS this thing is running. If it turns out to be a large screen iPod touch like we originally reported with the same feature set but simply a larger screen, $800 might be a little high. But Apple gives the 9.7-inch tablet the full power of OS X and not limits the capability at all, $800 might be a bargain. The CrunchPad has refueled the tablet fire. Consumers want this form factor. That is, as long as the OS can handle the web and the price is right.
Source: CrunchGear | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:50 pm iB3 Networks, Inc. Receives Contract Exceeding Six Figures From Private Equity Investment FirmCANAL WINCHESTER, Ohio, July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- iB3 Networks, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: IBNW) and its wholly owned subsidiary iBeam Solutions, a Microsoft Gold...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:46 pm The Time Has Come To Regulate Search Engine Marketing And SEOThe following post was written by a well known executive at one of the largest sites on the Internet. The author has requested to remain anonymous - not for dramatic effect, but because of the backlash he would receive from the SEO industry and possibly Google itself. He also doesn’t want his company associated with the post. He is starting a discussion on the need for government regulation of the organic and paid search policies of Google, which maintains a commanding lead in search market share today. Or at least transparency in how search results are determined. There is clearly growing frustration on the constantly changing “border policies” that are created and enforced by Google and other search engines. It is a fascinating read. Imagine, if you will, that the entire Internet is contained within a single continent. That continent is filled with countries, states and cities. Each jurisdiction is autonomous, relying on visitors to cross on to their turf to engage in commerce. Now, imagine if the only way to get into this continent involved just two methods: SEO and SEM. Let’s further imagine that the borders to this continent were controlled by a single company. Let’s also hold that the rules for search engine optimization listings and search engine marketing were not only defined but were completely controlled at the whim of this single company. Of course, we all realize that word-of-mouth marketing and viral marketing also contribute to traffic to individual websites. That said, the primary methodology for all users to reach any individual website destination is still search, of either paid or organic listings. Or suppose the paradigm is the streets of Los Angeles. Let’s imagine that in order to enter the city you had to pass through a single gate. And once you entered that gate, the streets you were or were not allowed to go down — and thus the businesses you were or were not allowed to visit — could be randomly blocked from your access. Blocked to a point where you might not even know they exist; whatever streets were available for you to traverse were in essence the only streets you knew where business could be transacted. Whatever the scenario, it’s unsettlingly close to the situation that prevails today in search. It’s now conventional wisdom that search engine optimization, representing the organic result sets on any search query, is more voodoo than science. Through an uncontrolled set of factors search engines determine which listings appear at the top and bottom of any individual query. In addition, consumer behavior dictates the top three results on any search page are all that matter. If you happen to own an online business, unless you exist within those top three, the amount of individual traffic you will obtain from organic listings is very, very low. As the proprietor of that business you may hire search engine optimization companies to assist in increasing your rankings on organic results, with or without success. And at any one time, the controller of these borders (that is, the search engine itself) can change and manipulate those rules – and that can substantially decrease or destroy all organic traffic coming to your website, without notice and without your knowledge. Search engine marketing now faces a similar challenge. Although anyone can open an account to buy paid search listings, the rules on each account are arbitrary. Accounts can be shut down at any time, without notice to the website owner. In other words, if you haven’t successfully obtained enough traffic to your site from organic listings and you decide to rely on paid search, you still face a situation where regardless of how much you bid per click you may or may not show up at the top of the paid results. That’s because paid results that are displayed on any query are not only determined based on the price the buyer is willing to pay. Unlike other auctions that are completely priced-based, these results are determined and sequenced not only on price but also on quality of advertising and click-through volume. For example, if company A was willing to pay $1 per click on a certain term and company B was willing to pay 10 cents but company B’s ad generated ten times as many clicks as company A’s, the yield to the search engine would be identical between the two. The second factor is that the search engine can, at any time, determine that either company A or company B may or may not buy traffic within its index. And without notifying the company and with no path toward recourse and statement, the search engine can disable the paid search account from either business. Returning to the continent metaphor, this ends up looking quite a bit like free trade. Various businesses (call them sellers), operating within this continent, wish to conduct business with the rest of the world (that is, the population of buyers). The border — which in this case is the search engine — thus has complete control of who can transact and how often. And at its discretion, the search engine can decide to increase, decrease or completely disable access between buyers and sellers. Because search is the dominant methodology for consumers to find what they are looking for, whether a product or a service, the unilateral control that search engines wield enables them to control billions upon billions of dollars of consumer spend every year. It also gives them the ability to completely determine which companies become more successful — or less so. The situation we face today is unique. Due to Google’s dominance — and the fact that it controls such an enormous amount of consumer behavior through paid and organic search listings – the company in essence governs commerce on the web. And any company that falls out of favor with Google, whether for reasons of bad practice or simple disagreement, can find itself at risk of going out of business. This system also benefits the few in a host of other ways. Because the rules of organic and paid search change frequently – and remain undefined — agencies and other traffic brokers can win big; through their experience, they’re capable of reverse-engineering these rules. This means that, as this market matures, individual businesses have a diminishing chance to actually compete and gain search market share. That, in turn, puts them in a position of not only needing to hire an agency in order to find any traffic, but also making it more expensive overall to build businesses on the web. I’ve worked with many businesses who feel they are playing in Google’s world — behaviors from product decisions to marketing strategies rely completely on appeasing these undocumented and often mystical Google desires. I’ve seen companies choose to not work with Google’s competitors for fear that by building those relationships, they’re damaging the ability to be indexed properly on Google and are anxious that result sets will be compromised. Many likewise believe that by having a monetization relationship through Google, they will somehow achieve higher quality listings through organic search. I’ve also witnessed companies who, in addition to using Google for monetization, have preferred relationships with purchasing traffic through Google Adwords. By supporting this dual relationship, they appear to want to live by two sets of rules – those that exist within the Adwords marketplace and those that apply to the Adsense product. And because they’re walking on both sides of the (Google) street, they feel they have a strategic advantage — as though the Adwords product will enable them to acquire traffic at both a lower cost and with a looser rule set than their competitors. Here’s where the parallel to free trade breaks down. There are no perfect paradigms looking at free trade and import/export laws that exactly define or address this challenge. Neither would a secret relationship between the government and the search engines solve the problem. The only real solution is disclosure. Transparency. Those traffic generators that use rule-based algorithms to determine result sets must publicly disclose their methodologies. That is the means by which all businesses can compete freely in the organic and paid search marketplaces. If we lived in a world where Google didn’t hold sway over such a significant portion of consumer behavior, this kind of regulation wouldn’t be necessary. The market would be self-correcting, and we could trust the individual decisions of a healthy and competitive search industry. Regrettably, due to search dominance, the industry can’t be left to its own devices. Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
Source: TechCrunch | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:45 pm Web site recreates Apollo 11 mission in real time (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:43 pm LeCroy Introduces AudioBus Trigger, Decode and Graph Test Solutions for I2S, LJ, RJ, and TDM Audio Bus StandardsThe Only Trigger Decode and Graph Solution for Serial Audio to Display Converted Digital Audio Channel Data as an Analog Wave Form CHESTNUT RIDGE, N.Y., July 10...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:40 pm Bleum Names Patrick Rao as Quality Assurance DirectorSHANGHAI, July 13 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Bleum, Inc., one of China's leading outsourcing providers to American and European companies, has named Patrick Rao as QualitySource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:37 pm LG's App Store Debuts on July 14 - Techtree.com
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:36 pm McCann Global Announces Expansion of Venture Capital and Private Equity Background Investigative ServicesHOUSTON, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- With the specter of investor fraud still impacting our financial markets, McCann Global announces the addition of principals experienced in...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:35 pm Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting - DailyTech
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:34 pm Google's CEO Talks About Chrome Netbooks, Apple Board Seat - DailyTech
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:34 pm 85% of US Organizations Hit by One or More Data Breaches Within the Last Twelve MonthsLatest Research from The Ponemon Institute Shows Data Protection is Part of Overall Enterprise Risk Management Strategy MENLO PARK, Calif., July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- PGP...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:33 pm Stap Man StaplerBy Andrew Liszewski At what point does ‘inspired by’ become ‘blatantly ripped off’? Because there’s really no denying where the design for this Stap Man stapler came from...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:32 pm FujiFilm's 3D point and shoot coming in 2010
Named the FinePix Real3D, it simply takes two photos simultanously, which can then be presented together using either a special 3D picture frame, or prints that use an overlay acting as a 3D lens. More details at Time. [Via Gizmodo]
Source: Gizmodo | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:30 pm Wegener Corporation Reports Results for Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2009DULUTH, Ga., July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wegener Corporation (Nasdaq: WGNR), a leading provider of products for television, audio and data distribution networks worldwide,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:30 pm Crossbeam Strengthens Its Presence in Australia, New Zealand and Asia With Partner Support From Red EducationLeading IT Specialist to Support Growing Demand for the X-Series Security Platform with High-Level Crossbeam Certified Specialist Training BOXBOROUGH, Mass., July 13...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:30 pm Siri: Virtual Personal Assistant Prepares For DebutSiri has been getting a lot of hype over the past year. It's an as yet unreleased product that aims to be a "Virtual Personal Assistant" (VPA). At the recent SemTech conference in San...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:30 pm Double Fusion Expands into iPhone Mobile Gaming with Nissan's cube(R) Party RoundupSAN FRANCISCO, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Double Fusion, the leading in-game advertising company and gaming audience network, today announced its role in the development of Nissan...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:30 pm Harris Stratex Networks Commissions State-of-the-Art Network Operations Center in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park RegionCompany bolsters commitment to managed network services offering with center that centrally monitors, manages and controls telecommunications networks RESEARCH TRIANGLE...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:30 pm Black and White Clock
Kibardin Design's Black and White clock has four OLED digits equipped with light sensors, ensuring an appropriate color is always used. Kibardin is looking for a manufacturer. [via Oh Gizmo] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:29 pm Microsoft Plans Free Version Of Office 2010 - InformationWeek
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:25 pm MySpace Outsources International Advertising Operations To Fox International Channels
According to new MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta, this is the first result of its international operational review, which comes a few weeks after the company gutted much of its operations abroad. Van Natta asserts that the new partnership will allow MySpace to further slash operational costs and effectively leverage FIC’s local knowledge and relationships. Fox International Channels, obviously also owned by News Corp, operates 170 linear and non-linear television services, their websites and an international online advertising business in a number of Latin-American, Asian and European countries. Starting today, FIC will start managing marketing and advertising sales for MySpace in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Poland, Mexico, and Turkey, effectively keeping the troubled social networking company’s local operations and advertising efforts in these countries from shutting down altogether. In my opinion, this is a necessary and logical move by Van Natta. We’ve earlier noted that MySpace laid off most of its staff in countries where it isn’t competing well against Facebook, and to me it makes sense to cut your losses when you’re in apparent trouble. By effectively outsourcing the management of local advertising and marketing to another unit within MySpace’s parent company, the synergy can be mutually beneficial plus it allows the company to refocus most of its attention to the countries where it is still holding strong without suddenly losing whatever revenue came out of the countries cited above. If it’ll be enough to keep the ship from sinking remains to be seen. Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Source: TechCrunch | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm iPod Nano emerges victorious from laundry
The iPod sat for almost a week on a warm and breezy window sill until the last remains of water had disappeared from behind its single gleaming eye. Yesterday, after a final few hours sat on my MacBook's power brick (the only substance in my home as hot as the surface of the Sun) the patient was hooked up to the EEG (Mac) via USB. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Wired.com Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm Ript Boy-Bra Sculpts Slobs Into Supermen
The Ript Fusion is a “Revolutionary Torso-Enhancing Undershirt”. You, though, fat slob that you are, may call it a fake six-pack, or a man-girdle. The idea is simple: instead of losing weight or geting off your butt to exercise, you buy a $60 undershirt that both squeezes in the floppier, flabbier parts of your upper body and at the same fakes sculpted abs and pert pectorals with a spandex and polyester “body panel”. Think of it as a padded boy-bra mixed with a tubular support bandage. I need one. My six-pack was replaced by a fleshy party-keg a long time ago, and my chest, far from being the taut, flat pair of plates I used to sport, is now just wobbly and floppy enough to suggest the excess of rich, soft French cheeses that I gobbled down to gain such a fine physique. In short, I am the target customer. But I won’t be buying one, and not only because I’d rather spend my $60 on beer than on body-sculpting underwear. No, I’m just too honest, and I would fear the embarrassment of getting my date home and then pulling the shirt off my “toned” body, only to see her face transforming from tantalized anticipation to revolted disappointment as my sausage-like trunk burst from its hi-tech casing. Product page [Ript Fusion via Uncrate]
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:23 pm SnakeSource: Boing Boing Gadgets | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:22 pm Apollo 11 Mission Recreated: Realtime - Techtree.com
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:05 pm European Publishers Band Together To Underscore Lack Of Understanding Search Engines, The Web
That’s the title of a press release distributed late last week by the European Publishers Councel (EPC), which you can find here. Pretty heavy stuff, right? They don’t ask, they demand. They’re not looking for more effective application of the current IP rights protection, they want an entirely new one. And once they’ve secured that, the future of journalism will be safeguarded (hold the applause). The rest of the news release contains more gems, like this quote from Gavin O’Reilly, Group Chief Executive Officer, Independent News & Media, President of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and Chairman of ACAP (Automated Content Access Protocol):
Whether you agree with the man or not, read Danny Sullivan’s many excellent blog posts on this topic to get some perspective. My personal favorite is this one: “Google’s Love For Newspapers & How Little They Appreciate It”. There’s no better response to O’Reilly’s assertions. So what exactly prompted the EPC to push out the press release, once again underscoring their desperation in finding a viable business model now that media usage and content generation has fragmented to a point where the world of information consumption is simply not what it used to be anymore, whether publishers like it or not? Turns out the Council has started petitioning Europe’s media commissioner Viviane Reding against unpaid use of their members’ content by aggregators and search engines. Their intentions are neatly outlined in this Hamburg Declaration (PDF), which is rapidly garnering loads of signatures from publishers around the world, including Mathias Döpfner (Axel Springer AG, Germany), James Murdoch (News Corp, Europe and Asia), The Rt. Hon. The Viscount Rothermere, (Daily Mail and General Trust, UK), Ian Smith (Reed Elsevier, UK), Hannu Syrjanen (Sanoma, Finland), Robert Thomson (Dow Jones, Wall Street Journal, US) and many more. An excerpt from the declaration:
Translation: we still want all the traffic Google is sending our way for free so we can generate enough page views to keep our advertisers happy and revenues up (barely), but we also want to be able to charge people for reading our content and punish those who spread this information to even more people. Surely, that will safeguard journalism. Miss Reding, you can safely ignore this declaration, no matter how many dinosaurs link their name to it. And feel free to quote me on that anywhere on the Web. Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.
Source: TechCrunch | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:02 pm European Publishers Band Together To Underscore Lack Of Understanding Search Engines, The WebInternational publishers demand new intellectual property rights protection to safeguard the future of journalism. That's the title of a press release distributed late last week by the European Publishers...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:02 pm “Bowlingual”: Portable dog language translator (video)
Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy claims it has developed a device that can translate what a dog “says” into human language and emoticons in real time. And the so-called “Bowlingual” [JP ] isn’t being marketed as a (pure) gag product. Jointly developed with an acoustics research laboratory and a veterinarian, the Bowlingual works wirelessly (your dog must wear a wireless mic around the neck). Let the device catch noises made by your dog (transmission range: 10m) and it will analyze the “animal language” with a special algorithm before telling you on the LCD screen what was being “said”.
The Bowlingual displays text (in Japanese) and a range of graphics to show what your dog feels, in real-time (there is also speech output). There are around 200 text blocks and icons that illustrate a total of six moods: frustration, joy, sadness etc. Data can be saved for later analysis. And Takara Tomy even threw in a answering machine function that makes it possible to monitor your dog’s feelings when you’re away. The Bowlingual will hit Japanese stores on August 23 with a $220 price tag. It’s Japan-only for the time being. Here is the official promo video:
Source: CrunchGear | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:00 pm ISS Launches First Permanent Node of "Interplanetary Internet"schliz writes "Researchers developing the 'Interplanetary Internet' have launched its first permanent node in Space via a payload aboard the International Space Station. The network is based on a new communications protocol called Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN). It will be tested heavily this month, and could give astronauts direct Internet access within a year. The Interplanetary Internet is the brainchild of Vint Cerf ('father of the Internet'), among others. Last year, NASA tested the technology on the Deep Impact spacecraft."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 13 Jul 2009 | 12:00 pm Public safety announcement: When texting and walking be aware of open manholesSection: Communications, Email / IM, Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous
Anyway, the story goes like this. A 15-year old Staten Island girl, Alexa Longueria, fell about 4-5 foot down when she walked into an open manhole cover. The fall caused her to scrape up her back and shoulders, but she was not seriously injured, except maybe a little in terms of her pride. Of course, according to her mother, “the ‘gross’ factor that can’t be ignored,” because it turns out that the manhole cover was removed in order to the Department of Environmental Protection to perform some high-pressure sewer line flushing. According to the reports, the fall even caused her to lose a shoe in the process. It turns out that the manhole cover was not just left widely open, but instead the working crew opened the cover and then went to look for marking cones. Perhaps an error in judgment on their part, but that was time enough for Alexa Longueria to fall in. But that is OK, because in our litigious society, the mother has decided to sue. However, she is not really sure who or what she is going to sue for just yet.
That said, sarcasm aside, the manhole cover should have been closed or properly marked and blocked, but on the other side, gadgets in hand or not, we really should be paying attention to where we are walking. Read [MSNBC] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 13 Jul 2009 | 11:55 am Six in 10 Businesses Suffering from Post-Traumatic Vista Syndrome [Digital Daily] When Windows 7 arrives at market in October, it will be ignored by more businesses than adopted. That’s the conclusion of a new survey conducted by Quest Software’s ScriptLogic unit which polled 1,000 corporations on their plans for Microsoft’s (MSFT) forthcoming OS. While 5.4 percent of respondents said they plan to deploy Windows 7 this calendar year, and 34 percent by the end of 2010. 59.3 percent said they had no plans to deploy it at all. Why the hesitancy? A little gun-shy after that ill-starred Vista deployment? Perhaps. Of those surveyed, 42 percent cited lack of time and resources as their reason for not upgrading. 39 percent said they had concern about the compatibility of Windows 7 with existing applications (click on chart below). Always wise to wait for the release of that first service pack, right? That said, the fact that nearly 40 percent of business DO plan to upgrade by the end of 2010 is noteworthy. That’s a high level of adoption for a new OS, especially in the current economic climate. Source: All Things Digital | 13 Jul 2009 | 11:55 am Fujifilm’s 3D Digicam Almost Ready for Stores
If Fujifilm had any kind of marketing nous, it’d license the design of the classic red plastic Viewmaster 3D viewer and put its new camera’s gubbins inside. Why? Because the camera in question is a 3D shooting, dual-lens camera which, although somewhat cute in a robot-faced kind of way is also rather dull, especially in comparison to he iconic, fire-red toy. But as soft, sappy hippies say about ugly people, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. And Fuji has squeezed some rather interesting features into its pedestrian black box. Although the specs have yet to be finalized, it looks like Fuji will have the first consumer level 3D digicam on the market. It works in the usual way: Two lenses, spaced to the average distance between human eyes, record slightly different, simultaneous views of the same scene. You can do the same by bolting two cameras together. The big problem with 3D has also always been with us. Viewing images requires sending those two images to separate eyes, from where the brain could do its built in magic and combine them into a scene with distance information. Fuji will offer two options. One is a special LCD frame which can display the images. The other is an actual photograph which has a plastic lens on the top layer to direct the correct image part to the correct eye. A gimmick? Hell yes, and an expensive one too. Fujifilm reckons that the 10MP camera will cost the equivalent of around $600, the frame “several hundred dollars” and the photos – well, the photos, Fujifilm boss says Takeshi Higuchi, will need to come in at under $5 each or “it probably won’t sell.” Pushing new tech is a good thing, especially in the world of digital cameras where the basic work of mimicking film is now all but done. But 3D is possibly too niche to support a market, and will remain the preserve of enthusiasts who are happy to roll their own solutions. In fact, the only really successful, mass market 3D product we can think of is the humble Viewmaster. Are you listening, Fujifilm? Expect the first FinePix Real 3D in September. Fujifilm’s New Dimension [Time via Photography Bay] Viewmaster photo: Luke Dorny/Flickr
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 13 Jul 2009 | 11:50 am Storefronts of a fading New YorkSusannah Breslin is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. She is a freelance journalist who blogs at Reverse Cowgirl and is at work on a novel set in the adult movie industry. From Store Front: The Disappearing...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 11:46 am Storefronts of a fading New YorkSusannah Breslin is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. She is a freelance journalist who blogs at Reverse Cowgirl and is at work on a novel set in the adult movie industry. 
From Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York by James and Karla Murray. Selections from the series will be on view at Clic Bookstore & Gallery, July 15 through August 30, 255 Centre Street, New York City.
Source: Gizmodo | 13 Jul 2009 | 11:31 am AMD kicks off the week with five new server chips - Computerworld
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 13 Jul 2009 | 11:12 am Hmm. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all.Susannah Breslin is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. She is a freelance journalist who blogs at Reverse Cowgirl and is at work on a novel set in the adult movie industry. 
UFC fighter Frank Mir exhibits the unfortunate consequences of what happens when you step into the ring with six-foot-three, 265-pound human monster Brock Lesnar after last night's UFC 100 heavyweight bout.
"Lesnar, St-Pierre claim victories at UFC 100." (Image credit: John Locher/Associated Press.) Source: Boing Boing | 13 Jul 2009 | 11:08 am Hmm. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all.Susannah Breslin is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. She is a freelance journalist who blogs at Reverse Cowgirl and is at work on a novel set in the adult movie industry. UFC fighter Frank Mir exhibits...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 11:08 am OLED Digital Clock is Nothing But Numbers
You know those analog clocks which are nothing but a pair of hands on a spindle, distilling the function of the timekeeper down to its bare, concentrated essentials? The Black & White Clock is like that, only it’s digital. The clock consists of numbers only: no case, no background, no nothing. Four OLED shapes mimic the classic seven-bar design of the digital readout and internal light detectors tell the numbers whether it is light or dark. The digits then become either black or white depending on the ambience. The clock is beyond prototype stage and the clockmaker, Vadim Kibardin, is looking for a manufacturer. Even though it is technically still a concept design, though, there is one problem we see: It runs on Li-ion batteries, which means recharging, although the mention of “accumulators” on the spec sheet gives hope that stray photons might be pressed into charging service. We guess there’s a reason clocks have cases after all. Still, good luck to Kibardin on finding a fabricator. Product page [Kibardin Design via Core77]
Source: Gizmodo | 13 Jul 2009 | 10:49 am EU antitrust regulators charge LCD panel makers (AP)AP - European Union antitrust regulators have charged Royal Philips Electronics NV and LG Display with fixing the price of liquid crystal display monitors, Philips said Monday.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Jul 2009 | 10:40 am ID Chips Raise Concerns Over Identity TheftWith only a Matrics antenna and a Motorola reader purchased on eBay for $190, Chris Paget drove around San Francisco with the goal of locating the identity cards of strangers, wirelessly.According to an Associated Press report, it only took him 20 minutes to achieve his goal.He was able to download the serial numbers of two pedestrians' electronic U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Jul 2009 | 10:40 am Nixie Tubes Are Caffeine-Laced Pixy StixBy Chris Scott Barr Remember Pixy Stix? Man, just one of the jumbo stix was enough to keep me bouncing off the walls for a while. As an adult, sugar just doesn’t have quite the same kick that it...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 10:39 am Black & White ClockBy Chris Scott Barr It seems like everyone and their brother has designed a clock of some sort. I can’t go more than a couple of days without seeing a new one popping up somewhere, so I usually try...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 13 Jul 2009 | 10:31 am Core77 Dutch Master: Hot Wheels in NYC
If you were in the SoHo district of NYC on Saturday, you may have wandered into the Apple Store. If you did, you would have been greeted with this beautiful bike, the Dutch Master, a limited edition of cruisers hand built in in Bushwick, Brooklyn, which was enjoying its launch event. This project was put together by the design lovers at the Core77 blog. Parts from around the US were sourced and sent over to the Bushwick Bike Shop. These were then bolted on to the classic Worksman Newsboy frame, a bike made in Queens, New York for over 110 years. A Worksman bike is the bike Jimmy Olsen would have ridden before he landed his job at the Daily Planet. As if the gallery of close-up pop-shots weren’t exciting enough, the design details and specs are enough to send you into a frothing frenzy. There’s a Brooks Saddle (a Lady Approved® brand, incidentally), Sturmey Archer hubs, Schwalbe Fat Frank balloon tires, and pedals and stem by Brooklyn Machine Works. The whole thing is a curious mix of BMX parts, classic components and modern tech. Somehow, this odd combo seems very appropriated for a New York bike. The price is similarly New Yorkian, at $1560.00 plus shipping, but considering the parts and work that have gone into the making of the bike (check the site for a video of the wheels being built) the cost seems pretty reasonable. Especially as the only way you’ll ever need to replace this machine is if you forget to lock it properly. Only 25 are being made, so if you want one, hurry up. Product page [Core77]
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 13 Jul 2009 | 10:15 am QOTD [Digital Daily]
Source: All Things Digital | 13 Jul 2009 | 10:13 am Dragon Quest Hits Japan, Sells 2.3M in Two Days (PC World)PC World - Dragon Quest IX, one of the most anticipated video games ever to hit Japan, went on sale on Saturday morning and sold an impressive 2.3 million copies over the weekend, according to Enterbrain.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Jul 2009 | 10:10 am The Complete Guide To Microsoft’s Office 2010
The web has been abuzz the past few weeks with chatter about Microsoft’s announcement today at its Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans about the new version of Microsoft’s Office 2010. There’s even a mini-movie about its debut. Facing potential challenges from the browser from Google’s Apps product and its new Chrome OS, Microsoft has been touting its three screens strategy, which is the ability for products to synchronize across the phone, browser, and desktop, for some time now. With the release of Office 2010, SharePoint Server 2010 and Visio 2010, we finally see implementation Microsoft’s Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie’s mantra. We had the opportunity to see an in-depth demo of the new suite of products from Microsoft’s Group Product Manager for Office 2010, Chris Bryant. Here’s a complete breakdown of all the functionality that has been added, including screenshots: The Move To The Browser Most certainly a direct challenge to Google Apps, Microsoft is rolling out lightweight, FREE, Web browser versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. All based in the cloud, the web-based versions of these products have less features than their desktop cousins but still let users that users basic tools to edit and change documents. PowerPoint 2010 PowerPoint has been upgraded not only with a new browser version, but also a slew of bells and whistles to the desktop version. Users now have the capability of editing video and images within PowerPoint with a basic video editing tool (not so different from the capabilities of iMovie) and a image editing tool, which is like a basic, simple version of Adobe Photoshop. Microsoft has also added the ability for users to launch a Web-ex-like live sharing feature with other users. So if you create a slideshow in PowerPoint, you can share it with other people in real-time (which can be run on top of Sharepoint). Here’s what the video editing tools look like in PowerPoint:  To share a deck with other users, you send an email to individuals with a link. Once they click the link, they will see the slideshow within the browser. This feature can also be used on a mobile phone’s browser. You can also create a slideshow in the desktop version and then publish it to the web version to access it via the browser. The browser version of PowerPoint doesn’t include the video editing features, but most of the functionality of 2008 is included in the browser version. Excel 2010 Excel spreadsheets can now run in the browser, and similar to PowerPoint, spreadsheets can be published to the browser via the desktop version. The browser version of Excel has limited features, but offers more in-depth functionality than Google Spreadsheets. Microsoft has added a particularly innovative feature called Sparklines, which gives a visual snapshot image of a data trend over time within a cell. You can also share Excel via the browser with other users and set special permissions on who can access the document. Here’s what the web version of Excel looks like: Word 2010 Bryant says that the number one piece of feedback from users producing documents on Microsoft Word is that they want to preserve the look and feel of a document created in the desktop version in the browser. Microsoft calls this “document fidelity” and created the browser version of MS Word accordingly. In the browser, documents retain the same look and feel as in the desktop. The browser version still has the “ribbon user interface,” where you can change fonts, size, formatting, styles etc. An image of the web version of Word:  Microsoft has also updated the desktop version to have collaborative features so that multiple users can be editing a document at once. This collaboration is not available in the web, unfortunately. Microsoft says that users don’t want this feature but this might be a move to protect the Office revenue model. When two people are editing at the same document (in the desktop version) at the same time, Word will notify each user when there are changes that need to be synced with their document. The copy/paste function of the desktop version has also received an upgrade, where you can see see a live preview for the paste function. The paste function also has an advanced option to create and insert screenshots. To make moving around a long document easier, Word now has a navigation visual pane and section header breakdown which makes it easy to jump from different sections of a document.  Outlook 2010 Outlook 2010 now has a ribbon user interface, like Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The UI of email conversations has been upgraded to look almost like a message tree, allowing users a more visual view of sent and incoming emails. Search functionality has been improved as well, making it much easier to find content. Also, you can preview calendars in emails and choose to ignore selective email conversations.  Sharepoint 2010 Like Outlook, Sharepoint now gets a ribbon UI, making the document hosting product more similar to Microsoft’s flagship products, like Word. You can tag authors of documents now and can share documents and files more easily. Microsoft says that its browser versions have been tested on all major browsers aside from internet Explorer, including Firefox and Safari. Office 2010 is still being tested and reworked to function on Chrome. Microsoft also announced that it is streamlining the number of Office editions from eight to five. Office Web applications will be available in three ways: through Windows Live, where consumers will have access to Office Web applications at no cost; via on-premises versions; and via Microsoft Online Services, where customers will be able to purchase a subscription of MS Office. Microsoft says Office 2010 will be available in the first half of next year. The key part of all of this news is the free, browser-based versions of Microsoft’s most popular Office products. Bryant says that Microsoft expects the browser products to be especially popular amongst student, but I think that the web-based applications will be hugely popular in the enterprise space as well, as long as there are security precautions taken to put documents in a secure part of the cloud. But as more and more businesses are becoming comfortable with trusting cloud environments, Microsoft’s move to the browser could pay off in a big way, especially because it’s so easy to use both the desktop and browser versions of products interchangeably. The more successful Microsoft is in its browser strategy, the more they validate Google’s approach in the space, which will eventually put price pressure on Office. Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Source: TechCrunch | 13 Jul 2009 | 9:50 am Rollip Brings Back Distant Memories Of Discolored Polaroid Photos
Once you have, you can download the photo or share it on your social network of choice or by e-mail. Here’s a picture I took last week at The Europas event in London, featuring TechCrunch’s Sarah Lacy and Paul Carr. Polaroid version, courtesy of Rollip
Original picture
(Thank you, MoMB) Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Source: TechCrunch | 13 Jul 2009 | 9:49 am IPod Nano vs. Washing Machine Update: iPod Wins!
Laydeez and gennelmen! What you are about to see is something you have never known the likes of before, a challenge so extraordinary, nay, so spectacular, that you will go home tonight astonished. Yes, and this is a story of biblical proportions, of heroism, of nothing less, laydeez and gennelmen, than the fight for life itself. Tonight, here on Gadget Lab, we present the David and Goliath of gadget battles, a rumble that makes Krakatoa sound like a Leica’s whispering shutter. Gather round, laydeez and gennelmen, for you are about to witness the iPod Nano (in the pink corner) against the all reigning, all spinning champion, Washing Masheeeeeeeeeen! Dear reader. Last week we told you the tale of the poor pink Nano, which took a cycle through my washing machine and came out dead, like a kitten flopping lifeless from a sodden burlap sack. Non-urgent action was required to save it. My prescription, informed by our sympathetic Gadget Lab readers, was rest, and lots of it, preferably in a warm place. The iPod sat for almost a week on a warm and breezy window sill until the last remains of water had disappeared from behind its single gleaming eye. Yesterday, after a final few hours sat on my MacBook’s power brick (the only substance in my home as hot as the surface of the Sun) the patient was hooked up to the EEG (Mac) via USB. A few tense seconds later and the Apple logo appeared. A cough, a splutter and then iTunes announced that the iPod was alive. Alive I tell you! Finally, the bright backlight blinked into glowing existence. Result? A success. The only oddity? All the curse-words seem to have disappeared from songs and podcasts alike, as if washed away by some divine censor. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Wired.com
Source: Gizmodo | 13 Jul 2009 | 9:35 am Full Tilt Poker Announces FIVEDUBLIN, Ireland, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Five years ago, Full Tilt Poker began with one goal: to provide the best online poker experience in the world.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Jul 2009 | 9:08 am Brides and Grooms Can Automatically Turn Their Photographs Into Beautiful, One-of-a-Kind VideosNEW YORK, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Weddings are a time for memories and creating those memories that will last a lifetime, which many people do through photography and video.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Jul 2009 | 9:07 am Motionsoft(R) Acquires Conexion, Increases Innovative Service OfferingsMotionsoft, a club management solutions provider based in Silver Spring, MD, has acquired Baltimore-based ConexionSource: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Jul 2009 | 9:00 am Shuttleworth's Take On GNOME 3.0, Coordination with Debiansuka writes "In a fresh interview with derStandard.at, Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth talks about GNOME 3.0 — its strengths, but also about what he thinks is missing. He also mentions ongoing talks for a common meta-release-cycle with Debian which could delay the next LTS."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Gizmodo | 13 Jul 2009 | 8:50 am TWS2009 Showcases Ten of Israel’s Most Promising Startups
The event is aimed at showcasing ten promising Israeli startups and to serve as a networking platform for the individuals and companies leading Israel’s startup scene. All ten companies were chosen by a world-class panel of judges, ranging from über-Angel investor Ron Conway, to legendary ICQ founder and current founder and CTO of Dotomi, Yair Goldfinger. Below are the official company descriptions for the ten startups chosen by the judges to present their products on stage in front of over 700 private and institutional investors, executives and entrepreneurs:
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Source: TechCrunch | 13 Jul 2009 | 8:33 am Six in 10 companies plan to skip Windows 7: survey (Reuters)Reuters - Six in 10 companies in a survey plan to skip the purchase of Microsoft Corp's Windows 7 computer operating system, many of them to pinch pennies and others over concern about compatibility with their existing applications.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Jul 2009 | 8:22 am Kazakh leader signs law curbing Internet: activists (Reuters)Reuters - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has signed into law new controls on the Internet that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has called repressive, local activists said Monday.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Jul 2009 | 8:21 am South Korea's spy agency lowers cyberattack alert (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Jul 2009 | 8:05 am @BBVBOX: recent guest-tweeted web video picks (boingboingvideo.com)(Ed. Note: We recently gave the Boing Boing Video website a makeover that includes a new, guest-curated microblog: the "BBVBOX." Here, folks whose taste in web video we admire tweet the latest clips they find. I'll be posting periodic roundups here on the motherBoing.)
More @BBVBOX: boingboingvideo.com Source: Boing Boing | 13 Jul 2009 | 8:03 am Retailers Can Use Voucher Codes to Help Them Survive the RecessionLEEDS, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Companies with vouchers and discounts on voucher code sites such as VoucherSeeker.co.uk are more equipped to deal with the recession. "Discount vouchers and voucher codes are an effective marketing tool, and are quickly becoming a staple diet of shoppers," states Ed Hall, Director at VoucherSeeker.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Jul 2009 | 8:00 am FootSmart Increased Shopping Cart Conversions by 3% With Autonomy OptimostCAMBRIDGE, England and SAN FRANCISCO, California, July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autonomy Corporation plc (LSE: AU.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Jul 2009 | 8:00 am AMD Kicks off the Week With Five New Server Chips (PC World)PC World - Advanced Micro Devices added five more chips to its line of Six-Core Opteron processors on Monday, offering a boost in performance with lower power consumption that current models.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Jul 2009 | 7:40 am Competition: Write gadget fiction, win swagSend us your work of flash fiction. The theme for your piece is gadgets, and you can interpret that as widely as you please. Entries will be published, and the winners picked, in two weeks. Post entries directly in the comments, or email them to Rob at boingboing dot net. 
First prize: HP MediaSmart Server LX195
HP's LX195 home server has Microsoft Windows HS, a 1.6 GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive and 4 USB ports. It's just 8"x4" in size, and is priced at $400. 
Second Prize: Mind Twist
Imagination Entertainment's Mind Twist is a competitive board game that looks like Sentinel and involves luck, bluff and strategy. 
Third Prize: Tetris CubeAlso from Imagination Entertainment. This is similar to a Soma cube, but bigger and harder: try and arrange the blocks to form a perfect cube, or whatever else pleases you. Thank you to HP and Imagination Entertainment for the awesome prizes. Now, send in some awe-inspiring fiction. Beat this. Note: By posting your work or sending it in to us, you release it under a Creative Commons license unless you specify otherwise. Google’s Microsoft Moment [Voices]By Anil Dash, VP, Six Apart I’m not sure Google’s (GOOG) new Chrome OS announcement is that big a deal, or that the eventual product that gets released will actually have that much impact, but it’s a useful milestone in marking Google’s evolution towards becoming an older company with a distinctly different culture than they used to have. This is, for lack of a better term, Google’s “Microsoft Moment”. (MSFT) Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 13 Jul 2009 | 7:05 am SST Announces Release Date of Its Second Quarter 2009 Financial ResultsSUNNYVALE, Calif., July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SST (Silicon Storage Technology, Inc.) (Nasdaq: SSTI), a leader in flash memory technology, will announce second quarter 2009 financial results on Tuesday, July 28, 2009.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Jul 2009 | 7:05 am Death by Cliff Plunge, With a Push From Twitter [Voices]By Monica Corcoran, Contributing Editor, The New York Times Viruses may spread quickly on the Internet, but hoaxes can be pretty contagious, too. In the same week that Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died, the Web became a hotbed of made-up death reports about various celebrities. Jeff Goldblum was the first to go. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 13 Jul 2009 | 7:04 am Dear New York Times: Please Charge Me More Than $5 For Your Web Site. [Voices]By Joshua Benton, Director, Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University We all know that The New York Times (NYT) and other papers have been thinking hard about finding ways to charge readers for the news on their web sites, and there’s evidence that the decision-making process is moving along. Bloomberg has reported that a survey of print subscribers included this sentence: The New York Times website, nytimes.com, is considering charging a monthly fee of $5.00 to access its content, including all its articles, blogs and multimedia. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 13 Jul 2009 | 7:03 am Note by ‘Teenage Scribbler’ Causes Sensation [Voices]By Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, Staff Writer, Financial Times A research note written by a 15-year-old, who was not born when former UK chancellor Nigel Lawson dismissed London analysts as “teenage scribblers”, has become the talk of middle-aged media executives and investors. Morgan Stanley’s European media analysts asked Matthew Robson, one of the bank’s interns from a London school, to describe his friends’ media habits. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 13 Jul 2009 | 7:02 am Click by Click, Reviewers Gain Clout [Voices]By Mike Musgrove, Technology Columnist, The Washington Post If you value your spare time, don’t start posting comments and reviews on Amazon (AMZN), Mark Espinosa suggests. It can be a hard habit to break. Given his rank as the online retailer’s No. 1 reviewer, he would certainly know. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 13 Jul 2009 | 7:01 am CrunchGear Week in Review: Death Skull Edition
Thriller Skull Phone could have just been named ‘Skull Phone’
Source: CrunchGear | 13 Jul 2009 | 7:00 am No Distance is Too Far: Top Manager at RapidShare Personally Presents 50,000 Euro Prize in IndiaCHAM, Switzerland, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Cross reference: Picture is distributed via EPA (European Pressphoto Agency) and can be downloaded free of charge at: http://www.presseportal.de/pm/64910?keygroup=bild RapidShare AG, one of the most popular 1-click hosts, held a 50,000 Euro prize draw for its premium and collector's users on its webpage in May this year.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Jul 2009 | 7:00 am Misys Voted Best Technology Provider for its Trade Services SolutionsLONDON, July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Misys plc (LSE: MSY), the global application software and services company, today announces that it has been voted Best Technology Provider in the annual awards organised by the international publication, Trade & Forfaiting Review, beating all the other vendors in the trade finance market. Misys was awarded the accolade based entirely on the votes of professionals in the trade finance industry.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Jul 2009 | 7:00 am GSMA Unveils Stellar Speaker Line Up for 2009 Mobile Asia CongressLONDON, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The GSMA today announced that the CEOs of some of the world's largest and most influential mobile operators, including Bharti Airtel, China Mobile, China Unicom, CSL, NTT DOCOMO, SoftBank Mobile, Telenor and Zain will deliver keynotes at the 2009 Mobile Asia Congress to be held 18-19 November 2009 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 13 Jul 2009 | 7:00 am TeachStreet Launches Payments Platform For Teachers
TeachStreet, a Yelp-like service for real world classes (cooking, dog obedience, music lessons, ballroom dance, foreign language, golf, yoga, etc.), is launching a marketplace feature for teachers to be able to coordinate payments from students. TeachStreet, which serves seven metropolitan areas in the U.S. including New York City, Silicon Valley/San Francisco and Seattle, allows instructors to upload information about classes. Users can look for available classes, and read and write reviews on the course and the instructor. Currently, the site includes a selection of more than 135,000 classes and teachers, across more than 700 subjects and categories. TeachStreet payments enables credit card payments for a portion of teachers/classes, letting teachers who are unfamiliar with e-commerce be able to elicit sales leads from the web. TeachStreet’s founder, Amazon and JibJab Alum Dave Schappell, tells us that the site is powered by PayPal Website Payments Pro to make it easy for both students and teachers to use the system. TeachStreet charges students a 5% for booking and charges teachers a 4.9% processing fee. Teachers pay an additional 2.5% first-time-student payment fee to TeachStreet. While adding a listing and profile on TeachStreet is free, teachers only pay out to the site when a sale takes place. TeachStreet plans to also let teachers also opt out of the fee-model and pay monthly fee but the pricing has not been determined. TeachStreet doesn’t just simplify e-commerce for teachers. The site is also letting teachers use a call-tracking service (powered by Twilio), which gives teachers an 1-800 (or local) number that allows any messages to be forwarded to email and lets teachers keep their numbers private. TeachStreet also provides teachers with data and analytics, including number of visits and views, number of sales leads from e-mail messages, phone calls and site-visits, and competitive information on other teachers and classes in their categories and geographical areas. There’s no doubt that TeachStreet’s new features are going to be particularly useful to teachers who want to implement e-commerce to get sales leads, but don’t want to pay to power the site themselves or simply don’t know how to navigate the process. It’s seems like a win-win for teachers, especially considering that TeachStreet’s fees are fairly low. TeachStreet has had a bittersweet year so far. The startup had a small round of layoffs in the spring, but rebounded with a $1.2 million extended Series A funding round in May from Madrona Venture Group and Bezos Expeditions. Competitors include School Of Everything and Libersy.  Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Source: TechCrunch | 13 Jul 2009 | 6:23 am IPhone Closer to China Launch With Network Tests - PC World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 13 Jul 2009 | 6:12 am IPhone Closer to China Launch With Network Tests (PC World)PC World - Apple has applied for a Chinese network access license for the iPhone, an important step that could lead the phone to a China launch by early next year, analysts said Monday.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 13 Jul 2009 | 6:10 am Aldrin returns to KSC 40 years laterFormer astronaut Buzz Aldrin will travel to Florida's Kennedy Space Center to talk about his trip to the moon 40 years ago this month, NASA announced. The space center is planning an anniversary celebration Thursday featuring Aldrin and seven other Apollo astronauts, to commemorate the anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, The Dallas Morning News reported. Aldrin, 79, will tell his story of the flight and sign copies of his new book, Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home From the Moon, which recounts the trip to the moon and the troubles in his personal life that followed.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 13 Jul 2009 | 6:01 am Traditional News Media Lead Blogs By 2.5 HoursPeace Corps Online writes "The NY Times reports that researchers at Cornell studying the news cycle by looking for repeated phrases and tracking some 90 million articles and blog posts which appeared from August through October 2008 on 1.6 million mainstream media sites and blogs. have discovered that for the most part, traditional news outlets lead and the blogs follow, typically by 2.5 hours. The researchers studied frequently repeated short phrases, the equivalent of 'genetic signatures' for ideas. The biggest text-snippet surge found in the study — 'lipstick on a pig' originated in Barack Obama's colorful put-down of the claim by Senator John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin that they were the genuine voices for change in the campaign. The researchers' paper, 'Meme-tracking and the Dynamics of the News Cycle,' (PDF) shows that although most news flowed from the traditional media to the blogs, 3.5 percent of story lines originated in the blogs and later made their way to traditional media."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 13 Jul 2009 | 5:43 am Survey: Many businesses plan to skip Windows 7 - CNET News
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 13 Jul 2009 | 5:06 am Photos From 2009 Techcrunch Crunchup and August Capital Party
Thanks again to all of you who came out to our Real Time Stream CrunchUp and August Capital Summer Party. We broke 600 attendees to the Real Time Stream CrunchUp, double our initial expectations, and we hosted lots more of you at the August Capital outing. We had an amazing group of CrunchUp speakers to talk about new trends, boundaries and your passions. And we fit in 22 new product highlights from start-ups and big internet companies alike. It was a blast, and we’ve got the photos to prove it. Photos by Marc Salsberry
Click through on any thumbnail to view a photo at full size
Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.
Source: TechCrunch | 13 Jul 2009 | 4:40 am 7 Reasons Nokia Phones Get No Love in U.S.
Nokia is the worldwide king of cellphones. But don’t tell that to U.S. customers. Nokia’s market share in the United States is on the decline, down to 8 percent last year, from 15 percent two years ago. “Nokia missed a number of handset trends in the last few years — thin phones, clamshells, touchscreen devices, applications,” says Ross Rubin, an analyst with the NPD Group. “They have been pretty much out of everything.” And that’s odd, given Nokia’s global dominance. Apple’s iPhone may get talked about more and Research In Motion’s BlackBerry devices may be must-have executive jewelry, but four in 10 cellphones sold worldwide last year were made by Nokia. Nokia sold 97 million phones in the first quarter of the year, nearly twice that of its closest competitor, Samsung. But American customers are not finding much to love about Nokia. It isn’t that Nokia is uninterested in getting its phones into the hands of more American consumers. The company has repeatedly said North America is a significant market. And analysts agree that Nokia cannot afford to stay out of this market. “The danger is not so much that they will miss out on unit sales in the U.S. and get hurt,” says Michael Mace, who has worked at Palm and Apple and now runs his own strategy consulting firm, Rubicon Consulting. “The danger is if innovations start to happen here first.” And Nokia is already seeing it happen. Apple’s App Store has changed how consumers view their phones and has given Apple a huge presence among independent developers of software for mobile phones. Americans are also more willing to buy more expensive smartphones that hold the promise of greater profits for the handset makers, while cheaper feature phones dominate the market worldwide, says Mace. “Nokia has a huge unit share but look at their share of profitability,” he says. “Those two curves are running in opposite directions for them.” Nokia declined to comment for this story citing the ‘quiet period’ the company has to observe ahead of its earnings report July 17. But we polled four analysts and two industry experts to understand why Nokia phones get so little love in the U.S. Here’s what they told us is troubling Nokia. A weak brand That’s in contrast to how the company’s products are perceived in some of the biggest cellphone markets: India, China and Europe. Nokia phones there have a cachet that is unimaginable for most U.S. consumers. “In many countries if you have a Nokia phone it says something good about you,” says Mace. “It says you are sophisticated, stylish and successful.” Not so in the U.S., where the company’s phones rank much lower in terms of their aspirational value. “Using a Nokia phone here mostly means I am offbeat and not always in a good way,” Mace says. In case of cellphones, a significant chunk of marketing support also stems from telecom carriers who take on the responsibility of promoting the handsets. Without major carrier support, Nokia has been at a disadvantage. Lack of focus on CDMA handsets “Nokia just doesn’t make good CDMA phones, so that right away cut their addressable market in half,” says Dean Bubley, principal analyst with research firm Disruptive Analysis. Glance through the Verizon website for phones offered in San Francisco and you can see just four Nokia phones available compared to 17 different models of Samsung and eight models of the BlackBerry. Nokia has said it is focusing on getting more CDMA phones but some of the company’s latest devices, such as the Nokia E71, phone remain stubbornly GSM-only. Poor execution Nokia also botched the introduction of its Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phones. Nokia offered the 5800 phones for $400 as an unlocked and unsubsidized device in the U.S. through the company’s stores. But within hours of the launch, buyers reported crippling connectivity problems with the device. The complaints forced Nokia to pull the U.S. version of the phone off its shelves and try to find a quick fix. The two incidents haven’t helped bolster Nokia’s image as a company whose phones should be on everyone’s must-have list. Lack of carrier relationships “It’s a phone that most consumers will never see,” says Michael Gartenberg, technology strategist at analytics firm Interpret. “It’s also a device that has gotten okay to mediocre reviews and that’s not of interest to consumers in the age of the iPhone and Palm Pre.” The prices aren’t out of whack with what similar unsubsidized handsets from other carriers would cost. But try telling that to the average consumer. Most customers would rather pay $100-$200 for a phone and sign up for a two-year contract. But without being able to strike those deals with U.S. carriers, Nokia has been forced to offer its phones at full price to consumers. Carriers view Nokia as a company that puts its own brand ahead of its telecom partners, says Bubley. “Nokia puts a lot more stock in its own branding and marketing worldwide than other handset makers,” he says. “In North America their unwillingness to play a secondary role to carriers has hurt them.” Unusual design Since Motorola introduced the RAZR, Americans have like their phones to be anorexically thin. Most handset makers were quick to catch on to this trend — except Nokia, which was the last phone company to do a really thin phone. “Nokia doesn’t like to do flip phones because European customers don’t want it,” says Rubin. “And they haven’t embraced the touchscreen trend either completely.” Symbian But Symbian is now seen by industry experts as a bloated OS that offers little flexibility and is just not ready the social networking generation. “Nokia does beautiful, detail-oriented hardware but they don’t nearly have the same design skills around software,” says Mace. “Their software is too buggy, too hard too use and too awkward.” An insignifcant app store It isn’t for want of trying. Nokia relaunched its Ovi app store in May and said it can accessed by about 50 million Nokia device owners worldwid. The Ovi store had about 20,000 titles at launch, including both free and paid apps. But here’s the catch for U.S. users: Alhough U.S. consumers can access and purchase content from the Ovi store those purchases will require a separate credit card transaction. AT&T has said it will offer carrier billing so purchases from the store become a part of the monthly service bills later this year. But there’s still no confirmation on when that will be available. Meanwhile, compare the 20,000 or so apps in the Ovi store to the 55,000 or more apps on Apple’s apps store. Photo: (bok_bok/Flickr)
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 13 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am 7 Reasons Nokia Phones Get No Love in U.S.Nokia's market share in the U.S. is on the decline for the last two years. Analysts say a combination of factors such as poor execution, design, lack of variety in CDMA handsets and the clunky Symbian OS may be to blame.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 13 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am July 13, 1937: Gibson Plugs In the Electric GuitarHere's an idea: Let's not use the electricity just to amplify the sound, but to make it in the first place!
Source: Wired Top Stories | 13 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am Ridiculous Life Lessons From New Girl GamesForget about the on-screen violence of first-person shooters: Upcoming videogames for tween girls send some pretty strange messages indeed.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 13 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am Scott Brown on the Outsourcing of SnarkNewspapers are dying, print media is on the brink, blah blah blah—but hey, I'm still here. My checks continue to clear. My futon has yet to be repossessed. I can only assume this is because I'm a "voice," a columnist, a pundit, a culture guy. Sass, attitude, and pop savvy are the only attributes still of value in the fact-lite Western news cycle, right? And you can't fake that kind of fakery: It's osmotic. You have to be socialized in it, steeped like Rappaccini's daughter. All that kitsch, all that corn, all those Voltron episodes and 90210 cliff-hangers and late nights listening to Dinosaur Jr. blaring from an open hatchback under the Arby's sign—that kind of stuff can't be taught, can't be synthesized or manufactured. It can be given away for free, of course, which means that eventually I'm screwed. But I retain one point of pride: Voice can't be outsourced. The New York Times may be digging for spare change in between its Renzo Piano-designed couch cushions, but it won't—it can't—save money by hiring some cut-rate Mumbai Dowd. And mark my words: Wired will never have itself a Bollyscott Brown. Or will it? Turns out that multiple South Asian firms (a panicky Google search turned up Outsource2India and Hi-Tech Export in short order) supply "creative writing" on contract, along with other "linguistic services that will shine through with panache and are laden with impeccable articulation." One company even touts script-writing services (heads up, Tarantino!). Just give them a description of your idea and "objectives" and they'll do the rest. And if they can write American movies, hell, they can write American columns. So what if the Bangalore creatives never watched Tranzor Z or air-drummed to Rush? They've got YouTube. And iTunes. And whatever Pirate Bay is calling itself this week. They've already downloaded me. I'm just the box it came in—a husk. A husk that smells vaguely of Drakkar Noir and mid-'90s Hootie clones. Let's face it: In a world of totally deregulated, 100 percent transmissible culture, I'm about as competitive as a 3.5-inch floppy. So what does the future hold for those of us whose only discernible skill is total recall of Total Recall? What do we do when the world is flooded with unemployed pop-culture mavens and the hard work of comparing and contrasting old Michael Biehn movies and generating Kardashian-based puns is done in subcontinental "snark centers"—or worse, performed by computers with access to the cultural mass-mind? (Computers, it turns out, also ♥ previous decades—there's a huge Tron nostalgia thing among netbooks.) The way I see it, we have three options: violent resistance (how's James Wolcott with a sniper rifle?); nonviolent resistance (does Harry Knowles "march"?); or, my favorite, surrender. The conditions: We pop-vultures will offer the Global Cultureplex our remaining barbs, cheap shots, time-distorted mixtapes, mental recaps of old Quantum Leap episodes, informed apprehensions about Ghostbusters III—basically, anything you're not already harvesting off Shaq's Twitter feed. And in return, the lords of culture will promise to hook us up to the Matrix. Not the old, dumb one full of unnecessary kung fu and jumbled Bullet-Time Buddho-Christianity, but a better, cooler version where we, the ancien régime, get to do what we've always wanted: live inside our memories. Our instincts are not innovative or creative, after all, but reflective. By all means, leech out precious sense memories of my mouth after Pop Rocks and Coke, of performing the Humpty Dance solo for the first (but hardly last) time—just let me dwell in these moments forever. It seems like a fair deal. And if you don't take it ... well, Global Cultureplex, I can't say what will happen. Maybe you'll wake up with a Baldwin head in your bed. Or, perhaps, simply find yourself grasping for a go-to Godfather reference that just... won't... come. Email scott_brown@wired.com.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 13 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am Origin of Species: How a T. Rex Femur Sparked a Scientific SmackdownSixty-eight million years ago, on a soggy marsh in what is now a desolate stretch of eastern Montana, a Tyrannosaurus rex died. In 2000 a team of paleontologist led by famed dinosaur hunter Jack Horner found it. These are scientific facts, as solid as the chunk of fossilized femur from that same T. rex that Horner gave to North Carolina State University paleontologist Mary Schweitzer in 2003. It was labeled sample MOR 1125. 
Several facts concerning MOR 1125 are also beyond dispute: First, that a technician in Schweitzer's lab put a piece of the bone in a demineralizing bath to study its components but left it in longer than necessary; when she returned, all that remained was a pliable, fibrous substance. That Schweitzer, intrigued by this result, ground up and prepared another piece of the bone and sent it to John Asara, a mass spectrometry expert at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. That Asara treated the brown powder with an enzyme and injected it into a mass spectrometer the size of a washing machine, hoping to detect and sequence any T. rex proteins that had miraculously survived inside the bone. And finally, that the device purred and buzzed for an hour before spitting out data describing the molecular contents of the sample. It was at this moment—when a fragment of 68 million-year-old dinosaur was rendered as strings of letters decipherable only by the most labyrinthine mathematical algorithms—that empirical certainty crumbled. What followed was a complex, contentious, and peculiarly modern scientific argument, one more about software and statistics than bones and pickaxes. That argument began in earnest in April 2007, when Asara, Schweitzer, and several colleagues announced in the journal Science that the mass spectrometer had indeed uncovered seven preserved fragments of protein in MOR 1125. Five of those fragments closely matched sequences of collagen—the most common protein found in bones—from birds, specifically chickens. 
The discovery generated international headlines—"Study: Tyrannosaurus Rex Basically a Big Chicken" — as the first molecular confirmation of the long-theorized relationship between dinosaurs and birds. It was also the first-ever evidence that protein could survive even a million years, much less 68 million. The New York Times reported that the finding "opens the door for the first time to the exploration of molecular-level relationships of ancient, extinct animals." Some news outlets couldn't resist drawing parallels to a certain popular fictional tale. The research, suggested the UK Guardian, "also hints at the tantalizing prospect that scientists may one day be able to emulate Jurassic Park by cloning a dinosaur." Before long, however, a distinctly human subplot emerged. Within 16 months, three separate rebuttals appeared, two in Science itself. Many researchers were skeptical of the quality of Asara's data and doubted that collagen could survive so long, even partially intact. "You're talking about something a hundred times older than anything ever sequenced," says Steven Salzberg, director of the Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at the University of Maryland. "If you have extraordinary results, they require extraordinary evidence." Asara and Schweitzer were forced to parry and retreat, admitting that statistical evidence for one of the protein fragments was too weak for them to claim they'd even found it. The pair's fiercest critic, a UC San Diego computational biologist named Pavel Pevzner, also questioned the other six fragments, demanding that Asara release all of his underlying data. In a caustic 2008 Science critique, he compared Asara to a boy who watches a monkey bang away randomly on a typewriter, sees it produce seven words, and "writes a paper called 'My Monkey Can Spell!'" Asara's findings, Pevzner told The Washington Post, were "a joke" that would make "serious evolutionary biologists laugh." Then things got contentious. 
In many ways, the ongoing case of MOR 1125 exemplifies what can happen when the scientific process—a meticulous consensus built on a foundation of small findings, published in rigorously peer-reviewed journals—is interrupted by a headline-grabbing discovery. As one study catapults into the public sphere, careers and even entire scientific disciplines can come to hinge on its validity. This, then, is a story about what happens when the headlines fade and researchers are left to confirm or debunk the discovery of the week. The battle over those T. rex proteins has spilled out into blogs and conferences, generating a cloud of public accusations—some more founded in science than others. It has also highlighted a real and growing tug-of-war between computational and traditional biological research, with debates that increasingly play out in databases and mathematical formulas. When findings are anchored to digital evidence instead of microscope slides, replicating another biologist's work starts to resemble recalculating a physicist's model. And without the public release of all experimental data, the peer reviews of even the leading scientific journals are rendered meaningless. As the modern discipline of bioinformatics comes crashing into analog fields like paleontology, researchers are just beginning to grapple with questions that the dinosaur controversy inadvertently unearthed. And in the case of the disputed T. rex proteins, the answers may not be as they first appeared. How a lab found chicken in a T. rex Mass spectrometry has been used for decades to determine the molecular makeup of unidentified compounds. In recent years, mass spec machines have proliferated across scientific fields. Here's how a sample from a 68 million-year-old T. rex femur found in 2000 was analyzed to reveal the discovery of a lifetime. 
Pavel Pevzner couldn't care less about dinosaurs. What's important in this T. rex business, he tells me one day in his office at UCSD's Center for Algorithmic and Systems Biology, is the thorny mathematical puzzle that arises in the search for proteins. "Biology itself," he says matter-of-factly, "is now a computational science." Pevzner, a 50-something Russian native whose Strangelovian accent morphs his ths into zs, is tall and rugged, with a perpetual 5 o'clock shadow. He is known as one of the top thinkers in the world of bioinformatics, a man with unquestioned computational chops who views himself as a guardian of statistical rigor. "Pavel is a smart guy, but he kind of has ... a style," one colleague told me. "He likes to stir the pot." A photo on the university's Web site shows Pevzner in full-on Western gear, complete with 10-gallon hat, a beer in one hand and a rifle in the other. On this afternoon he is sporting a more typical academic costume of jeans and a blazer. But he seems to be feeling no less the sheriff. "In some areas absolutely fundamental to biology—for example, the sequencing of DNA—there are practically no biologists working in this," he says, only computational scientists. Pevzner specializes in developing algorithms to decode the proteins found in mass spectrometry research. The T. rex issue came to him when Science asked him to peer-review Asara's paper for publication. Even at first glance, he says, "it was clear that this paper was computationally illiterate." 
Following his reasoning requires some understanding of how Asara's protein-detection experiments work. Proteins are chains of amino acids, common molecules known by single-letter names—P for proline, G for glycine, and so on. Schweitzer's biochemical tests on MOR 1125 had hinted that the sample contained amino acids. Asara, then, needed to do three things: detect chains of those amino acids, demonstrate that they were fragments of real proteins, and show that those fragments were organic remnants of the dinosaur itself. An organism's proteome is the complete set of the proteins it contains. Think of it as a dictionary, a collection of words (proteins) made up of letters (amino acids). Now imagine finding a 68 million-year-old bag that appears to contain thousands of letters strung together in chains of varying lengths. That's MOR 1125. The purpose of mass spectrometry is to spell out those letter strings in order to compare fragments of words against the organism's protein dictionary. To do that, the letter chains are first split into shorter segments called peptides, which are analyzed to determine their mass. The peptides are then sorted by weight and fragmented to reveal their constituent amino acid sequences, each of which is given a mathematical description called a spectrum. Software-based algorithms then determine the letter sequences of the peptides. There are several respected algorithms available to do this—including Pevzner's—and they can produce somewhat different results. 
Once all the letters are identified and placed in sequence, the strings are compared against the dictionaries of different species. Because no T. rex proteins had ever been sequenced, Asara had to look for the closest matches in databases of modern animals. Asara's original paper asserted that the algorithm had identified seven peptides in MOR 1125. The spectra of five of those peptides aligned most closely with chicken collagen, followed by the collagen of frogs and newts. The implication—that T. rex was a closer relative of birds than of modern reptiles or amphibians—was just what paleontologists would have predicted. When the paper landed in Pevzner's inbox, however, it contained the supporting spectra for only those seven peptides. Missing were the tens of thousands of "junk" spectra—strings of letters that Asara's machine had sequenced but couldn't match to anything in the database. Without them, it was impossible to know whether the peptides found in the T. rex sample matched chicken peptides out of mere chance. Asara's findings, Pevzner thus asserted, could be nothing more than statistical artifacts—random jumbles of letters that just happened to match words in the dictionary. Pevzner strongly advised Science to reject the T. rex findings. But other reviewers—who remain anonymous—disagreed, and the paper was published. As the headlines rolled out, Pevzner expanded on his criticisms in an article of his own. Science rejected it. Over the next year, however, other papers critical of Asara's and Schweitzer's work did appear. Sensing an opening, Pevzner resubmitted his own paper to Science, which published it in August 2008. The article lambasted Asara for failing to compute statistical significance values and again demanded that he release the junk spectra. "It is now the turn of the mass spectrometry community," Pevzner concluded, "to question whether the monkey can actually spell." Meanwhile, the critics carried their attacks into blog postings and comment sections, and then into the press. In some articles, Asara's findings were mentioned alongside an infamous 1994 paper that claimed to have recovered dinosaur DNA, a result later debunked as lab contamination by, among others, Schweitzer. Asara's work—and the entire discovery—appeared increasingly beleaguered. "I knew the reception that this stuff was going to get," Schweitzer says. "I think it's been kind of hard on him." 
When Asara refused to release the spectra, he planted himself firmly on one side of a battle over transparency. Scientific journals, as a rule, require that published experimental findings include enough information to allow other researchers to reproduce the results. Traditionally, though, other details can be kept tucked away in lab notebooks, to be mined for further publishable nuggets. When an experiment relies entirely on statistical data, however, reproducing it in full requires the equivalent of everything in the lab notebook. The oldest branch of bioinformatics, genomics, settled the issue of data disclosure years ago, and today DNA sequencing data is generally released in full when—and sometimes even before—a paper is published. The newer field of proteomics is still a kind of scientific Wild West, but open data advocates argue that publishing the underlying data is just as crucial. In practice, that ideal runs into the realities of the scientific job market. Researchers depend largely on publication to maintain their funding and academic standing. Releasing mass spec data before scouring it for every potential discovery, Asara complained, would have let others scoop up publishable findings. To which open-data advocates had a simple answer: tough luck. Much of the research is publicly funded, and the only reason to sit on data is a selfish one. 
The T. rex femur above may contain proteins that prove a long-suspected evolutionary link. Photo: Christopher Griffith In the fall of 2008, Asara relented. "I have learned from this process that transparency is always the best policy," he conceded in an online back-and-forth with Pevzner. With that, he posted all 48,216 spectra without restrictions in an online database. "We have nothing to hide," he told me at the time. Within two weeks, a pair of scientists on the opposite coast turned Asara's own data against him. Martin McIntosh, a proteomics expert at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and computational biologist Matthew Fitzgibbon downloaded the spectra. When they ran their own set of algorithms, they turned up an unexpected twist: an eighth peptide, one that hadn't appeared in any of Asara's papers. And it yielded a match—not to collagen, but to a hemoglobin peptide found in ostriches. 
That finding rang a bell. The pair remembered that Asara's lab had once done a project involving ostrich proteins, giving them an alternate story that could explain Asara's findings: After completing his previous work, they suggested, Asara hadn't managed to scrub all the ostrich molecules out of his equipment. When he then sequenced the T. rex sample, he had used some test tube or dropper or machine contaminated with an infinitesimal amount of ostrich protein. Of course the peptides Asara found matched up well with chicken—because they were from another bird. McIntosh was careful to remain circumspect about the discovery, which, he told me in November, he had submitted for publication: "It just means that there is another parsimonious explanation"—a scientific term for the simplest explanation for a given set of facts. "The positive note is, we couldn't have done this without the data provided by Asara." But he suggested that Asara, in private conversations, was hurting his case by questioning his critics' motives. "We are not trying to get famous on this," McIntosh said. "You know that expression 'dramatic claims require dramatic evidence'?" I did. "With a lot of things in science, there is not necessarily anything objective that tells you this is the right answer." It was, he said, more like convincing a jury beyond a reasonable doubt—and here was a piece of evidence casting serious doubt. 
On a balmy February afternoon, Pavel Pevzner steps onto a ballroom stage at the San Diego Westin before an audience of fellow scientists at the annual conference of the US Human Proteome Organization. For two years now, he and other critics have been chipping away at the T. rex protein discovery. Two researchers even published a paper asserting that the proteins were actually from a bacterial biofilm. Schweitzer countered that charge convincingly, but it still added to the thick cloud of doubt surrounding the research. In that context, Pevzner's topic—"Mass Spectrometry of T. rex: Treasure Trove of Ancient Proteins or Contamination/Statistical Artifacts?"—has the feel of a final demolition. Pevzner made it clear to me, two weeks prior to taking the stage, that he still thought of Asara's work as "speculative science." The two researchers, in fact, have been circling each other all day, like kids on a junior high playground. "We're not exactly on a friendly basis," Asara tells me that morning. "But if I see him, I'll say hi, of course." He professes no intention of attending Pevzner's talk or any need to defend himself against whatever computational grenades the Russian is preparing to lob. "The last thing I need is to listen to someone who clearly has a biased view of the data," he had emailed a few weeks earlier. "I'd like to see him, but I haven't," Pevzner tells me shortly before his talk. It's a strange comment, considering that I just saw him an hour earlier outside a room where Asara was manning a poster presentation of his research. Then, as Pevzner steps up to the stage, Asara slips in and takes a seat. The T. rex controversy, Pevzner begins, offers "an excuse to discuss the arguably more important topic of statistical significance." He recaps the arguments of his Science article, taking apart the statistical significance of several of Asara's peptides on a giant screen. Asara's original paper, he emphasizes, had contained "no statistical analysis." 
A few seats over from me, Asara listens quizzically, one leg propped casually over the other. But at the end of his outstretched arm, a finger nervously taps out a beat on a chair between us. Two of the peptide identifications, Pevzner says, do look "reasonable," perhaps implying that "there are indeed T. rex collagen peptides in this sample." But then he pulls his trump card: McIntosh and Fitzgibbon's hemoglobin finding, the results of which have not been published but which McIntosh sent to Pevzner. The work yields an alternate hypothesis, Pevzner announces: ostrich contamination—perhaps suggesting that Asara's paper "ought to be withdrawn." Biology is squishy, Pevzner knows, but numbers are firm, and he believes he's got the computational goods. The hemoglobin can only be from T. rex if you combine the astronomically unlikely possibility that T. rex collagen survived for 68 million years with the equally unlikely survival of hemoglobin. Which raises the question, Pevzner says, of whether "T. rex did indeed taste like chicken. Or maybe like beef?" The crowd chuckles. Asara smiles tightly. Pevzner concludes that there is a simple choice: "We should either side with Asara et al., and join their claim that they found ostrich hemoglobin peptide from T. rex that was well preserved over 68 million years," he says, "or we should side with Martin's group, who claim it is contamination. Let's take a poll: Who thinks that the hemoglobin is actually T. rex hemoglobin? " Not a single hand goes up. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Carl Sagan popularized that mantra, and it has served scientific skeptics, and science itself, well. The discovery of 68 million-year-old collagen and hemoglobin fragments in a dinosaur bone is clearly an extraordinary claim. Which leaves us with this question: Who gets to decide what constitutes extraordinary evidence? Over lunch one day at the conference, I finally sit down with Asara after months of trying to arrange an interview. At 36, he is stocky and pale, with black hair combed straight back into a pile atop his head. Over email he had often sounded besieged and irritated—"if you read our responses, the answer should be quite clear," he curtly replied to my first inquiry about the controversy. In person, however, he is different: open rather than defensive, cheerfully optimistic instead of brusque. Most of his research—on how cancer cells signal each other—is far removed from dinosaurs, he says. But he concedes that the T. rex finding "makes me a name that people recognize." And the evidence he proceeds to lay out for the discovery casts an entirely new light on MOR 1125. 
First, he points out that he had used several standard mathematical techniques to reinforce the identification of the collagen peptides in his original paper. Still, Pevzner's original complaint, he says, "made us realize we should be more careful" with computational results. So he asked the author of a different algorithm—one favored for its conservative approach to matching peptides—to rerun the data independently. The results matched the original collagen spectra exactly. Indeed, in granting the statistical significance of even two peptides, Pevzner was abandoning his original contention—that the proteins were mere statistical artifacts. After all, both criticisms can't be true: If you say the peptides result from contamination, you can't also argue that they're mere ghosts in the numbers. "I think we can reject the army of monkeys scenario," agrees Marshall Bern, a computer scientist at PARC, who like Pevzner writes mass spectrometry algorithms and who ran Asara's fully released data through his own algorithm. Pevzner, when I call him later, concedes as much. "After the spectra were released, it became clear that at least two are reasonable quality spectra," he says. "The new argument came in, and this is contamination." So sample MOR 1125 unequivocally contains some proteins. But are they from a T. rex or from an ostrich? For starters, Asara says, the hemoglobin peptide matches more than 30 birds, which suggests that McIntosh picked ostrich because he knew of Asara's previous work with that species. 
What's more, Asara conducted his ostrich and T. rex experiments a year and a half apart, separated by roughly 1,500 mass spectrometry runs. According to Asara, none of those spectra, nor samples of the soil surrounding the fossils, nor his daily control runs—in which he sequences known solutions to check for contaminants—turned up any ostrich hemoglobin. Also, the ostrich that Asara had sequenced hadn't even produced the particular hemoglobin sequence McIntosh matched. And Science had actually rejected McIntosh's ostrich paper after receiving Asara's response. Schweitzer, meanwhile, had published several articles reporting evidence of collagen in MOR 1125 obtained using traditional biological techniques. That work had been done in her own lab, on samples never sent to Asara. The pair also collaborated on an identical study of several-hundred-thousand-year-old mastodon proteins—without contamination or criticism. When I ask McIntosh after the conference how he explains away this evidence, he says, "It's routine that you run a bunch of samples and only one of them is contaminated." The burden of proof lies with Asara, he contends. McIntosh maintains, too, that a certain chemical modification on the hemoglobin makes it more likely to be contamination (to which, of course, Asara offers a rebuttal). Over lunch, Asara asserts that between his work and Schweitzer's, they have answered the critics. "This is biology we're doing here; it's not just computational analysis," he concludes, between bites of a BLT. "This is a story about protein preservation. When you look at all the validations we did, how can we make the story more convincing?" Well, there is one way. In early May, a new paper by Asara and Schweitzer—together with more than a dozen coauthors—appeared in Science. In it, the team has replicated their protein experiments on MOR 2598, a bone fragment from an 80 million-year-old hadrosaur, an entirely different species, dug up in a different part of Montana in 2007. This time, they have used even more rigorous controls, handling the fossils with sterile instruments from the beginning of the excavation. They have replicated both Schweitzer's biochemical results (which show evidence of degraded cells and blood vessels) and Asara's mass spec data (which reveal eight collagen peptides) in independent labs. Asara himself used a mass spec machine with much higher resolution and adhered to Pevzner's demands for rigorous statistical analysis. Once again, the ancient protein fragments have lined up with bird collagen. But they lined up most closely with something else: the T. rex peptides reported two years ago by Asara.
McIntosh declares himself swayed, though still circumspect. "It's a nice bit of work," he tells me. "I think they've been doing a good job of shutting the door. Whether the door is truly locked or not, I don't know." Some other explanation could potentially win out over time. But the hemoglobin-based ostrich contamination hypothesis, he says, "doesn't really bear on what they're trying to prove here." Pevzner, characteristically, is still playing the sheriff. "I'm glad that Asara called the previous criticism appropriate," he says. "I had a commentary that their analysis was unprofessional; they agreed with this. I had a commentary that this work couldn't be evaluated unless they release the data; they agreed with that." He maintains that Asara and his colleagues have erected a "wall of silence" around the issue of McIntosh's hemoglobin peptide discovery, which goes unmentioned in the new paper. "This is much bigger news than the collagen," he says. And the researchers are keeping it quiet, he adds, precisely because it is so extraordinary as to cast doubt on their conclusions. It's a bold claim, but one that McIntosh himself swats down. Since the hemoglobin finding was not published, he points out, it essentially remains a scientific rumor—not a solid theory that demands addressing. Now, to be convincing, Asara's critics are the ones who need evidence to back their alternate hypotheses. "It's up to them to demonstrate it," McIntosh says. Asara and Schweitzer, in other words, have done just what the critics asked. They've built a rigorous scientific case for the survival of 68 million-year-old proteins from a beast that animates children's imaginations. If it continues to hold up, it is research worthy of its international fanfare. The slow, grinding process of science, freed from the headlines, is working just as it's supposed to.
The one lesson that all sides of the debate now agree on is that the new age of computational biology must be one of data transparency. Such disputes can only be resolved—and the scientific method can only survive the digital age—if scientists dump their digital notebooks online for anyone to try to replicate. And in that sense, Pevzner has been right from the beginning. Indeed, when Science published the new paper in early May—the one that Asara knew would silence many of his critics—he made a special arrangement to release the entire data set online the same day. Extraordinary claims, as they say, require extraordinary evidence. Contributing editor Evan Ratliff (www.atavist.net) wrote about Barack Obama's technology strategy in issue 17.02.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 13 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am 7 Reasons Nokia Phones Get No Love in U.S.Nokia's market share in the U.S. is on the decline for the last two years. Analysts say a combination of factors such as poor execution, design, lack of variety in CDMA handsets and the clunky Symbian OS may be to blame.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 13 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am Living on the Edge With Three Summer SlicersSometimes you've just got to pack a little steel. Sure, it's more likely you'll use these knives for opening boxes, slicing cheese at picnics or whittling sticks around the campfire, but it's nice to know you've got a blade in your pocket just in case things go south, isn't it?
Source: Wired Top Stories | 13 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am Hidden Gems From the Flickr CommonsFlickr Commons is a trove of great images. Here is a tiny sampling for you to enjoy.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 13 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am Living on the Edge With Three Summer SlicersSometimes you've just got to pack a little steel. Sure, it's more likely you'll use these knives for opening boxes, slicing cheese at picnics or whittling sticks around the campfire, but it's nice to know you've got a blade in your pocket just in case things go south, isn't it?
Source: Gizmodo | 13 Jul 2009 | 3:13 am LG launches app store, initial focus on Asia
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 BBC News | Shuttle Again Delayed Washington Post CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Thunderstorms have forced NASA to delay Sunday evening's launch of space shuttle Endeavour. The launch team came within minutes of sending Endeavour and seven astronauts to the international space station. ... Shuttle Endeavour grounded by stormy weather Bad weather delays space shuttle launch Today's shuttle launch begins to look iffy |
Indie music discovery service OurStage decided to fill me in on how well they’re doing as a startup in the difficult online music business, and I was quite amazed to see how much they’ve progressed over the years. On a financial level, the company has fantastic prospects; they expect to hit profitability sometime next year if all goes well. That should sound like music to the ears of their investors: OurStage raised a healthy $17 million in Series A when they started out in 2007 and went on to raise an additional $3 million in Series B earlier this year.
OurStage says it intends to double the amount of financing for the Series B round, which would bring the total investment put into the company to $23 million by the end of 2009.
Since launching publicly back in April 2007 the company has been steadily attracting users to join its service, which enables people to discover new independent artists, rank and share music with others and communicate directly with upcoming singer/songwriters and bands. Thanks to viral growth in combination with dozens of partnerships with music festivals, radio networks and media companies like AOL/WinAmp, OurStage is currently nearing 1 million registered users. The company has also managed to sway 95,000 artists into joining the platform, and in combination with the strong user base they currently receive about 3 million unique visitors on the site every month.
So how do they monetize the service? By focusing on three good old revenue streams that seem to work well for them: sponsoring, advertising and data services. The latter I think is interesting: OurStage is beta testing a service called TRAViS (shorts for Track Validation Services) that is currently being trialled by divisions of four major record labels and will be publicly launched in Q4 2009, and expects to add some more services targeted at industry professionals soon.
Somehow OurStage has also found a way to get close to running a cash-flow positive business with classic advertising (powered by ad platforms like MTV Tribe, AOL’s Platform A and IndieClick) and sponsorships from major corporations like MTV2, JetBlue, Radio One as well as notable artists like Bow Wow, Busta Rhymes and John Legend. According to the company, ad revenues alone have grown tenfold year-over-year compared to the same period in 2008.
Not enough to impress you? Maybe the startup’s board of directors will convince you the company is onto something great here: it includes a former CMO of Yahoo!, David Moore (founder and Chairman of 24/7 RealMedia), the founder and CTO of Maven Networks, the former Chairman and CEO of Interpublic and since last month, former Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Don Ienner.
Refreshing to hear this type of update from an Internet startup these days.
Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Layton, Utah is about to get the “first interactive electronic public playground west of the Mississippi.”
The $500,000 project will feature three acres of land, tennis and basketball courts, and electronic “versions of capture the flag and tug of war” along with “a rocking balance piece in which children attempt to get an electronic dot inside a circle.”
The park is an attempt to get children outdoors to play, with the interactive “ICON” pieces, being purchased from a company called Kompan in Denmark.
There are apparently two similar parks already in existence; one in Philadelphia and one in New York City. The ICON pieces are interchangeable, allowing for easy upgrading and replacement in the future.
Layton park with plug-ins [Standard.net via Boston.com]
The study, published today in the journal NeuroReport, measured how long college students could keep their hands immersed in cold water. During the chilly exercise, they could repeat an expletive of their choice or chant a neutral word. When swearing, the 67 student volunteers reported less pain and on average endured about 40 seconds longer.Why the #$%! Do We Swear? For Pain Relief (via /.)Although cursing is notoriously decried in the public debate, researchers are now beginning to question the idea that the phenomenon is all bad. "Swearing is such a common response to pain that there has to be an underlying reason why we do it," says psychologist Richard Stephens of Keele University in England, who led the study. And indeed, the findings point to one possible benefit: "I would advise people, if they hurt themselves, to swear," he adds.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Here's a superior group of young Indian gamers recreating Super Mario onstage for an installment of the reality TV show "India's Got Talent."
India's got talent- Mario game
(Thanks, Kvaid!)
Source: Boing Boing | 12 Jul 2009 | 9:58 pm
Only marginally less hilarious than the man who ran into a tree while Twittering comes this story of a Staten Island teen who fell into a manhole while texting. Her story isn’t quite as funny because she’s suing the Department of Environmental Protection for leaving the manhole uncovered and unattended.
While it may seem overly litigious to sue for something that could have easily been avoided by, you know, paying attention, doctors at Staten Island University Hospital did express some concern that the teen, Alexa Longueira, may have damaged her spine during the five-foot fall. Also, she lost one of her shoes.
Thankfully, the sewer was empty at the time Longueira fell in although she said “it was putrid” and let’s not forget that she lost her shoe, which now carries little to no resale value.
Staten Island girl falls down uncovered manhole [silive.com via Neatorama]
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
If you’re still looking for that extra push to get in shape for the summer time, there’s a pretty reasonably-priced exercise bike for $599 with free shipping, today only — down from $999 regularly.
Amazon has the AFG 4.0 AH Hybrid Exercise Bike, kind of like a recumbent bike but still set up vertically like a standard exercise bike. There are 20 resistance levels and 10 built-in programs, plus two available custom program slots. You even get a heart rate monitor with chest strap, too.
Of course, being that it’s summer you could probably just drop $600 on a nice bike and ride it outside. But then you have to wave at people and wear a helmet and all that extra work.
AFG 4.0 AH Hybrid Exercise Bike [Amazon]
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
While not every comic is suitable to be read in mobile form (full-page art is hard to appreciate on a sub-3″ screen), it is nice having a few comics around for subway or bus reading. I recently downloaded a huge pack of Four Color Comics, the original home of later hits like Dick Tracy and Donald Duck, and they are perfect for carrying around with you. Droid Comic Viewer reads .zip, .rar, .cbr and .cbz as well as plain image formats, so pretty much any digital comic backup will work. The app will go on any current Android platform as far as I can tell.
There are also a number of public domain or free-download comics available through Robot Comics as well, and they’re formatted for the reader already, so why not give it a shot?
Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
Articles like this make me glad I lead a relatively boring life and rarely type anything interesting enough to steal (or even read?) into my computer.
Hackers will demonstrate a couple new methods of data theft at Black Hat USA 2009 in Vegas later this month. Both methods involve reading which individual keyboard keys are struck from afar. One method reads the impulses through electrical outlets and the other uses a laser shined on a flat surface of the computer to detect the minute wobble generated when each key is struck.
Apparently each individual key on your keyboard creates a distinct electrical impulse and hackers have figured out how to filter those into translatable letter and number combinations. What’s more, each brand and style of keyboard creates impulses distinct from surrounding keyboards, so it’s possible to single out a particular keyboard in, say, a crowded coffee shop.
According to the article:
In the power-line exploit, the attacker grabs the keyboard signals that are generated by hitting keys. Because the data wire within the keyboard cable is unshielded, the signals leak into the ground wire in the cable, and from there into the ground wire of the electrical system feeding the computer. Bit streams generated by the keyboards that indicate what keys have been struck create voltage fluctuations in the grounds, they say…
…This method would not work if the computer were unplugged from the wall, such as a laptop running on its battery. The second attack can prove effective in this case, Bianco’s and Barisani’s paper says.
Attackers point a cheap laser, slightly better than what is used in laser pointers, at a shiny part of a laptop or even an object on the table with the laptop. A receiver is aligned to capture the reflected light beam and the modulations that are caused by the vibrations resulting from striking the keys.
How to use electrical outlets and cheap lasers to steal data [Network World]
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
This is a wacky little project. Basically you train a webcam to follow a spot on a piece of paper. Then you set “hotspots” on the image and assign commands to each hotspot. When you aim at the spot you basically “press” a button.
Why would this be useful? You could potentially create a presentation system with this or help a handicapped person type with it. It’s also really cool. The whole project includes source code for Linux.
Laserspotcam is a software I wrote to control xmms using a laser pointer by pointing defined areas on a wall.
The software monitors the wall for the presence of a small spot using a webcam. When the spot appears somewhere, if it is inside a defined hotspot, the appropriate command is executed.
FROM APPLETELL - Category: News Developer: Alex Sydell Minimum Requirements: iPhone OS 3.0 Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch File Size: 0.7MB Price: $1.99 Availability: Now Version Reviewed: 1.0 Social News is an application focused on brining your RSS feeds to your iPhone and making it easy to keep track of those stories you… MORE »
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Read more of this story at Slashdot.
AP - Ryan Tracy thought he'd entered the Dark Ages when he graduated college and arrived in the working world.
Section: Computers, Laptops, Networking, Security, Wireless
Ah, summer. Time to relax, go visit friends, vacation. No worries, right? Well, there may be a small one if you like to use public Wi-Fi on your travels.
The latest trend for the in hacker is what has become known as “vacation hacking.” It works by the hacker setting up fake Wi-Fi hot spots where they can lure in unsuspecting travelers. Some favorite locations are airports and hotels. Vacationers think everything is safe, especially if it is set up to somehow include the name of the place they are currently in while trying to connect. Little do they realize that instead, they are logging on to phony networks, and handing over all the information on their laptops.
A recent investigation by Fox News showed that a wireless security company called AirTight Networks, based out of the Silicon Valley, sent in a crew of their own hackers to see what was up with all of this. These guys are known as “white hat” hackers, the good guys. They try to shut down the “black hat” hackers to see what they do and how they do it in order to stop it.
What they found was rather disturbing. After checking out the Wi-Fi networks at 27 airports (20 in the US, five in Asia, and two in Europe), they found insecure networks all over the place being used to run things like baggage claim and the ticketing system. On top of that, a huge percent (77%) of the Internet connections being made were actually peer-to-peer networks.
At every single location, they found fake Wi-Fi hot spots that were set up by hackers on a mission—phishing for the clueless vacationers’ information successfully.
“More and more people are traveling with Wi-Fi devices like smartphones and laptops,” says Marian Merritt, Internet safety advocate at the computer-security giant Symantec. “Airports and airlines and hotels are responding. They’re setting up free Wi-Fi networks to lure in customers. Now they’re luring in hackers as well.”
Most of the people didn’t seem to either realize or care if the Wi-Fi they were using was secure or not. The just would sit down, open up their laptop and look for a connection, and get down to business. And, they did all kinds of business on insecure connections. Not just checking email, but banking, paying credit card bills, buying stocks—all the sorts of things a person shouldn’t be doing on public Wi-Fi.
“Much of the time, people just log in to the first robust network they see,” says AirTight spokeswoman Della Lowe. “When we did our airport study, we found only 3 percent of the people were using secure networks.”
And even those “secure” networks may not be too safe according to their study because 80% of the private Wi-Fi networks that they surveyed were secured by Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol (which was cracked 8 years ago).
As a result of the study, some companies are starting to beef up security. American Airlines made changes, as did JetBlue, where they found the insecure baggage claim machines at JFK.
“Phishing is a risk that exists anywhere there are wireless services available, which is pretty much everywhere these days,” says JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin. “At our Terminal 5 at JFK, where we offer free Wi-Fi, we have measures in place to minimize risks for our customers,” he said. “We’d prefer not to go into detail about the specifics of those measures, because the details could be used by clever hackers against the defenses.”
Anyone knows, and the security experts agree, you want to stay on the offensive when it comes to this area. Some advice from Symantec comes in five simple steps. While it may seem like common sense to some, it still bears repeating.
1. Pay attention to your surroundings. Just because you are on vacation does not mean you’re not in public. Don’t look at important documents when sitting in a waiting area for a plane or a train — wait until you’re alone and in private for that.
2. Beware of “Evil Twins.” Some Wi-Fi networks look legitimate but are actually dummy networks created by criminals. Even if they contain the name of your airport, airline, or hotel, they will directly link your computer to the hacker’s. If you always use the official access keys provided by the establishment, then you should be safe.
3. Always assume Wi-Fi connections are being eavesdropped on. Never enter sensitive data—Social Security numbers, bank account information, etc.—when browsing the Web via a Wi-Fi network.
4. Set all Bluetooth devices to “hidden,” not to “discoverable.” Better yet, if you don’t use Bluetooth, just shut off the function altogether.
5. Keep your security software current and active. Mobile PCs are just as vulnerable to viruses, worms and Trojan horses as are desktops, so make sure you have the latest protection installed.
Bottom line, just because you are on vacation, don’t assume the “black hats” are as well.
Read: [foxnews]
Full Story » | Written by Jodie Andrefski for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Section:
No need to scour the interwebs for hot gaming news, Gamertell‘s already done that for you! Here’s a look at this week’s top stories…
Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Facebook says it will fight a lawsuit filed against it by Power.com. The lawsuit, filed in response to Facebook’s lawsuit against it last year, is an attempt to compel the social networking giant to drop the charges and restore access to Power.com users.
“Today’s lawsuit seeks to put a stop to Facebook’s attempts — in violation of California’s unfair competition laws and federal antitrust laws — to block Power.com from helping users access their own data,” Power.com said in a statement.
Facebook has tried to work with Power.com and has requested that they install Facebook Connect, the company’s application that allows users to log into third party websites using their Facebook account. Power.com did say they would look at the app but there has been no word back from them yet.
Read [WSJ]
Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
BGR has some news on the new BlackBerry Storm AKA the 9550. The new phone will have a non-clicky screen and include Wi-Fi this time, making one of BlackBerry’s worst phones a bit more bearable. Some specs:
▪ CDMA 1xRTT/EVDO Rev. A
▪ Quad-band GSM/EDGE
▪ Single-band UMTS/HSDPA (2100MHz only)
▪ Wi-Fi b,g
▪ 3.2 megapixel camera
▪ 360×480 resolution capacitive screen
▪ OS 5.0
There is also talk of a 3G Storm for AT&T and Rogers.
Look familiar? Yep. The Chinese have knocked off the Kindle, creating a device that looks just like the Kindle 2 and will be on sale in Japan for $210. The device will have a built-in cellular modem with SIM card.
The company, Peking University Founder, released no further specs nor did it explain what the hell its name means.
We’re used to seeing Google vets leave for Facebook. Now they’re headed to Twitter.
The buzzy microblogging service has just grabbed its highest-profile Google (GOOG) exec to date: Alexander Macgillivray, a deputy general counsel at the search firm, is coming aboard as Twitter’s top lawyer.
Macgillivray is best known as the lead Google attorney on high-profile intellectual property cases like its fights with book publishers, the Associated Press and Viacom. Twitter has yet to find itself mired in that sort of thing, but give it time.
Macgillivray is just the latest Googler to land at Twitter. Earlier this year, the startup nabbed Doug Bowman, the search giant’s lead designer, to join the ranks of several other Googleplex veterans, including, of course, co-founders Ev Williams and Biz Stone.
There are a whole lot of reasons to leave a big company for a scrappy startup, but just to spell out one obvious one: If you’re into risk, there is a whole lot more upside at Twitter these days.
The company’s last funding round pegged its value at $240 million, and if ends up being acquired in the next few years, that number could be much higher. But Google shares stalled long before last fall’s stock market collapse (click chart to enlarge):
[Image credit: Doc Searls]
Section:
We may not cover Apple 24x7… but we know someone who does! Here’s a few of this week’s hottest from Appletell to get you started…
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Section: Business News, Web, Websites
After declaring bankruptcy, the new General Motors Corporation is looking for ways to rebuild their company. A new program being launched by GM is a sales agenda that will include making the entire GM fleet available for purchase online through eBay. GM had previously sold certified pre-owned cars through the auction site, but this new incentive would include new vehicles as well.
It is not legal for GM to sell their cars directly to consumers, so GM dealerships would actually be the ones creating the listings. The dealerships would be able to use the auction style listing in order to allow users to place a bid on a vehicle. They would also be able to opt to post a buy it now option. No word yet on how these prices will be determined by the car dealership. The winning bidder would have to go to the GM dealership that hosted the auction in order to complete the sale.
The final details have not been ironed out between GM and eBay, but it looks at those the sales program would start in California before going national. GM executives hope that using eBay will appeal to users that prefer to research and buy online.
Read: [CNN]
Full Story » | Written by Heather Wood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
As the spouse of a former competitive Quake champ, I laughed pretty goddamned hard at this video about life with "First Person Shooter Disease."
Living with First-Person Shooter Disease
(via Scalzi)
Source: Boing Boing | 12 Jul 2009 | 12:27 pm
 CIOL | Should Antitrust Laws Be Amended to Consider Google's Use of Free? eWeek The Google and free issue is really heating up. Friday I posted what I thought was a pretty innocuous analysis for eWEEK.com about what Google is doing to its brand with its free Web services and what the coming of Chrome OS will mean. ... Report: Search Ad Spending Stabilizes While Bing Gains On Google ... Bing, Vimeo, Goop, Flickr, Ning, Orkut and Yahoo! Microsoft's Bing a good alternative to Google |
Want to keep your wallet? Carry a baby picture (via Derren Brown)The baby photograph wallets had the highest return rate, with 88 per cent of the 40 being sent back. Next came the puppy, the family and the elderly couple, with 53 per cent, 48 and 28 respectively. At 20 per cent and 15, the charity card and control wallets had the lowest return rates.
Overall, 42 per cent of the wallets were posted back -- more than the team had anticipated. "We were amazed by the high percentage of wallets that came back," said Dr Wiseman.
Scientists have also found evidence for a baby instinct in brain scanning experiments. A recent study at the University of Oxford examined how people responded when they were shown photographs of baby or adult faces.
(Image: 6. Wallet, a Creative Commons Attribution licensed photo from Saad.Akhtar's Flickr stream)
Source: Boing Boing | 12 Jul 2009 | 12:25 pm
This guy literally wrote the talking-points memo that the anti-universal-health-care crowd uses. He had a conversion experience and has now come clean. Remarkable.
Wendell Potter on Bill Moyers (Thanks, Ross!)BILL MOYERS: Was [Michael Moore's SICKO] true? Did you think it contained a great truth?
WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely did.
BILL MOYERS: What was it?
WENDELL POTTER: That we shouldn't fear government involvement in our health care system. That there is an appropriate role for government, and it's been proven in the countries that were in that movie.
You know, we have more people who are uninsured in this country than the entire population of Canada. And that if you include the people who are underinsured, more people than in the United Kingdom. We have huge numbers of people who are also just a lay-off away from joining the ranks of the uninsured, or being purged by their insurance company, and winding up there.
And another thing is that the advocates of reform or the opponents of reform are those who are saying that we need to be careful about what we do here, because we don't want the government to take away your choice of a health plan. It's more likely that your employer and your insurer is going to switch you from a plan that you're in now to one that you don't want. You might be in the plan you like now.
But chances are, pretty soon, you're going to be enrolled in one of these high deductible plans in which you're going to find that much more of the cost is being shifted to you than you ever imagined...
WENDELL POTTER: And [Wall Street thinks] that this company has not done a good job of managing medical expenses. It has not denied enough claims. It has not kicked enough people off the rolls. And that's what-- that is what happens, what these companies do, to make sure that they satisfy Wall Street's expectations with the medical loss ratio.
Ed Felten nailed it: this is like a law that lets publishers take away all reading material from you and everyone who lives in your house if you're accused (without evidence) of infringing on three books.
Not content to let the idea die, President Nicolas Sarkozy's administration reworked the law in hopes of making it amenable to the Council--instead of HADOPI deciding on its own to cut off users on the third strike, it will now report offenders to the courts. A judge can then choose to ban the user from the Internet, fine him or her €300,000 (according to the AFP), or hand over a two-year prison sentence.French "3 strikes" law returns, now with judicial oversight! (Thanks, Jeremie!)Those who are merely providing an Internet connection to dirty pirates can be fined €1,500 and/or receive a month-long temp ban from the online world. (A group of French hackers has already begun to work on software that cracks the passwords on locked WiFi networks so that there's an element of plausible deniability when law enforcement tries to go after home network owners.)
Attention Philanthropy 2009 (Thanks, Alex!)
We've just released our 2009 "Attention Philanthropy" grants, our effort to shine a light on awesome work that's undeservedly obscure. 100 nominators from around the world helped us find amazing projects in fields as diverse as human rights, urban planning, citizen media and renewable energy. There's a day's worth of interesting reading just going down the whole list, but even a quick visit will probably turn you on to some cool things you didn't know existed.Attention philanthropy is a gift of notice. In a noisy world, deluged in advertising, overrun with PR flacks and crowded with the superficial, one of the biggest barriers to success for a small, good idea or noble enterprise can simply be getting noticed in the first place.
Here's your chance to do a simple, good thing. If the work you find on these pages inspires you, learn more. Visit their websites, contribute to their projects and, above all, help us spread the word far and wide.
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International publishers demand new intellectual property rights protection to safeguard the future of journalism. 
What better way than to start your Monday than by reading a story about a girl who fell into an open manhole cover because she was walking and texting and obviously not paying attention to where she was going? If nothing else, it will make you feel just a little bit better about the bad weekend that you may have had because you can now rejoice in the fact that at least you did not fall into an open manhole in New York City.
Unless you’re the nostalgic type (I know I am), this won’t interest you much. 
This morning is the kickoff of 
After being scarce for the first couple of weeks following the new iPhone 3.0 software rolling out, apps with Push Notifications are now rolling out at a healthy clip. And that’s great, because the feature is really useful. To a point.
But better would be some sort of way to break up these messages when you still have the phone locked. I’m thinking first of all maybe breaking up Push Notifications, text messages and calls by colors, and displaying them in a list on the screen. Then then having some way to further break down Push Notifications on that screen, maybe placing the app icon next to each and saying something like (4) new Foursquare messages, like Apple currently does for text messages.