Scientists: Obama's election may reduce terrorism - USA Today

AFP

Scientists: Obama's election may reduce terrorism USA Today Will Barack Obama's election make terrorists less eager to strike? A data analysis released Thursday suggests it could make a difference. In the Science magazine study, researchers Alan Krueger of Princeton and Jitka Maleèková of the Economics ... Survey: Policy decisions sway terroristsPhiladelphia Inquirer Public opinion a good predictor of terror attacks: studyAFP Terror strike? Blame public mood across borderCalcutta Telegraph Science Daily (press release) -Science Magazine (subscription) -Financial Times all 36 news articles »

Nissan Gives Electric Cars Blade Runner Audio Effect

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Amazon widens private labels with electronics gear

Source: Gizmodo | 19 Sep 2009 | 2:00 pm

Once Again, Facebook Owns ‘Talk Like A Pirate Day’ On The Web

Last year, Facebook rolled out a new “pirate” language on Talk Like A Pirate Day, it was quite funny. Naturally, it’s back again this year, and it’s maybe even more awesome.

Most impressive is Facebook’s attention to detail (even the email and new desktop notifications are translated). Quite a bit has changed on Facebook over the past year, but it looks like they’ve been able covert all of it successfully over to pirate tongue. Oddly, the only thing that doesn’t look great in pirate-speak is the status update button, which is borked with code in place of the “o” in “to”.

Last year, FriendFeed also participated in Talk Like A Pirate Day, but so far, nothing this year from them. Of course, they now work for Facebook, so perhaps they contributed there. Also, it appears that Google has yet to do anything on their homepage to mark the occasion, which is odd, since this type of day seems right up their alley. But Google Pirate is still alive and well from last year.

Below find some screenshots of Facebook’s Pirate version. To use Facebook’s Pirate language yourself, click on the language link in the lower right hand corner of the main page (you can also change it in the settings section).

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

DoJ Recommends NY Court Reject Google Book Deal

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

More Evidence That Apple Really Did Reject Google Voice

At this point there shouldn’t be any doubt in anyone’s mind that Apple’s response to the FCC over its ban of Google Voice was rife with half-truths and some complete falsehoods. One claim that’s entered the limelight again is Apple’s statement that it hadn’t actually rejected Google Voice, but that it was still “pondering” it. Yesterday Google released its full, unedited response to the FCC inquiry, and the newly revealed content directly contradicts Apple’s statement multiple times, explicitly stating that the application was rejected.

Apple struck back with a statement that it didn’t agree with Google and that “Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application and we continue to discuss it with Google”. We’ve heard that Google actually has a screenshot displaying its rejection notice, but we may not even need that to show (once again) that Apple isn’t being honest.

In its letter to the FCC Apple says that “contrary to published reports, Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application, and continues to study it”. It then goes on to describe its issues with Google Voice, which include fears of confusing users and replacing the iPhone’s core functionality (for a moment let’s ignore the fact that Apple’s description is totally disingenuous). Apple closes out this description with “The following applications also fall into this category”, and then lists the three third party Google Voice apps that were yanked from the App Store.

Presumably the applications in “this category” are all being pondered over too, and have not been rejected, right? But that’s simply not the case. Riverturn Inc, the developer behind the VoiceCentral application that was listed in Apple’s FCC response, has sent us a screenshot of its ‘rejection’ status that is quite clear.

Of course, this is all semantic hairsplitting — a neverending “pondering” status is exactly the same thing as a rejection — and Apple isn’t fooling anyone with it.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Weekend Update 9.19.09- The Real World—Silicon Valley Edition. [Digital Daily]

Geekfighting may never become its own UFC event, but following tech news this week seemed, in places, like a view to a big, well-funded cage match. Things got so rowdy that Kara Swisher could hear them all the way across “The Pond.”

Before heading off on her tour of Euro-boomtown this week, Kara set off for Carlsbad, Calif. to visit with Warren Buffet and the ladies of Fortune. Après Buffet, readers were treated to an exclusive interview, Kara-style, with Loïc Le Meur; Seesmic founder and namesake of the web’s cutest logo. Kara wasn’t just visiting Europe for some cute overload though. She wired back a report on the Oxford Social Media Convention, where she spoke on social media’s effect on business. Kara rounded out her week with rowdiness and the legal tantrums of Skype founders Zennström and Friis.

Closer to home, Digital Daily covered media battle between Apple and Google that read like a shoving match between the prom king and the captain of the football team. Apple continued to insist that it was still “studying” the proposed Google Voice app for iPhone, while Google insisted that it had already been rejected. It’s tough being the popular kids.

Between the smartphone scuffle, Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein was urging everyone to play nice, even as Palm still may have to fight for survival.

The Silicon Valley malevolence even spread to Gotham early in the week. Media Memo got the back story on how the New York Times was hacked into spreading malware to its web visitors. The explanation: They sold an ad to hackers, who posed as mild-mannered VOIP client Vonage to make the purpose. Meanwhile in a related— or not —story Microsoft is seeking and suing some mystery mal-vertisers who perpetrated a similar scheme with ads sold by the software giant. Whether it is a growing trend or a few over-achieving hackers, it was a tough week in ad land.

Amid all the kneecapping and eye-gouging, all things Mossberg was a helpful calm in the storm. Walt liked the new features in iTunes9, and found it uncluttered, easier to use and more intelligent than its predecessor. Also among the hits were upgraded management and improved content sharing.

Mossberg’s Mailbox was stuffed full of sage advice about online backup as the kids go of to college, compression and the vinyl vs. digital dilemma, and some on-target advice for the family genealogist making the switch from PC to Mac.

The Mossberg Solution delved deeper into e-mail mastery with some unmissable tips and tricks for Microsoft Outlook users. Katie made an industry standard better, and even gave readers a peek into some coming attractions for Outlook 2010.

I’m leading a double life: I primarily use a Mac, but I just bought a Zune HD. (WHAT THE HECK?!)

Get it, folks? (Also, non-shopped photo here, if you care. You probably don’t.)

While waiting for our music ban to kick in (again, you’ll all be receiving letters in the mail shortly detailing when and where you’ll be expected to hand over your music-related goods), I spent Thursday thinking to myself: “You know what I really want for some reason? A Zune HD.” Seeing as though I’m strapped for cash—you saw the lengths I recently went to in order to upgrade my three-year-old iMac—spending $236.79 for the 16GB model was definitely a decision I did not take lightly. (I actually had to calculate when my next student loan payment was due before I committed to buying the device! So if you think, as some of you do for some reason, that we’re “on the take‚” I can only reply: lol.) The thing is, I primarily use a Mac, and last I checked, the Zune software—which is great, by the way, and makes iTunes look like an old dog—only works in Windows. What to do? Sure, I have Windows all set up on a separate partition, but I really only boot into it when I want to play, say, Half-Life or Deus Ex for a little bit. That is, I had no intention of switching over to Windows full-time just to be able to use a Zune HD.

All that said, I’m happy (I guess) to report that using a Zune HD even though Mac OS X is my primary operating system really isn’t that difficult. Yes, I do need to boot into Windows to use the Zune software, but with a little forethought I can keep those boots to a minimum. The result is that I continue to use my beloved Mac OS X for my everyday computing, but now own and can use effectively what could be the best looking portable media player on the market today.

BORING!

So what’s my secret? I use iTunes. Yes, yes, like Chris Jericho insists, I’m a total hypocrite. Not two paragraphs ago I slagged off iTunes, but the fact is that it’s the easiest way to organize music on a Mac. (I understand that Windows users tend to hate iTunes, but I’ve never used iTunes for Windows for more than two seconds, so I can’t speak to that.) The simplest way to put it is: I let iTunes organize all my music on the Mac partition, and then tell the Zune software to look at “/Users/nicholas/Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Media‚” for all its music needs. There’s a setting somewhere in the Zune software, something like, “Where is your music stored?” So I point it to that folder inside the Mac partition (I guess Windows 7 can read HFS+ partitions now), and then the Zune software adds it to its music index. It’s important to keep in mind that the Zune software never copies the music from my Mac folder to Windows, but rather builds an index that it uses to organize your music.

LESS BORING!

“Bottom line it for me, Deleon.” (Also, it’s “Deleon,” not “DeLeon,” as Newser wrote the other day. I also don’t write for “TechGear,” and yet somehow people accuse us of being sloppy!) OK, boss: I use iTunes within Mac as I normally do, and then simply tell the Zune software to look at the resulting, totally organized iTunes folder. That’s it.

What does this accomplish? For one, I can live in Mac completely as I normally do, making zero concessions or compromises, then boot into Windows occasionally to sync my music to the Zune HD. I don’t have two separate music libraries or anything, but rather the master Mac iTunes library, then the Zune software builds an index and syncs the music to the Zune HD based on said library. Is it an elegant solution? Maybe not, but it definitely works and is dead simple. What would be simpler? A Mac version of the Zune software, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.

Now, all of the above makes several assumptions. The biggest one, of course, is that you have access to Windows (maybe even Windows 7, I’m not sure about Vista or XP’s ability to read an HFS+ partition so according to that guy down there, we can thank Snow Leopard’s drivers for Windows’ ability to read HFS+ partitions, so presumably any Windows version that works with Bootcamp will be able to read your Mac partition). Those of you with a <.edu> e-mail address can buy Windows 7 for only $30, so if the Zune HD even remotely interests you I’d say to seriously consider buying it. The second assumption is that, Windows in hand, you’re comfortable with installing it on your Mac and setting up Bootcamp. My guess, though, is that if you’re reading us here at CrunchGear you’re probably advanced enough to figure that out. If dual booting isn’t your thing, and don’t mind spending more money, you could simply install Windows using VM Ware or Parallels and have a Windows virtual machine at the ready for whenever you’re looking to sync your music. In my experience, after the initial Big Sync at the beginning, I rarely have to go back into the Zune software to sync; I’m not adding new albums every 30 minutes.

In any event, I hope this has shown to you that it’s not so difficult to live in a predominately Mac world, and still be able to use the Zune HD. Now I’m off to play World of Warcraft till I pass out. Thank you for your time.

Source: Gizmodo | 19 Sep 2009 | 12:59 pm

U.S. CTO Aneesh Chopra Visits Silicon Valley To Talk Tech And Innovation With The Woz

Today, Aneesh Chopra, US Chief Technology Officer and Associate Director for Technology for the White House, spoke at a forum held by TiE, an entrepreneurship organization based in Silicon Valley. Chopra was joined by a panel of Silicon Valley execs and VCs, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Chopra made his debut to Silicon Valley a few weeks ago at the Churchill Club, addressing the future of innovation and Federal investments in technology.

Chopra outlined the Federal government’s technology agenda, calling attention to the challenges the government faces. He says that in terms of innovation, the U.S. has a lot of room for improvement. The government recently did a survey of where countries rank as innovators over the past decade. The U.S. ranked dead last in the rate at which innovation sped up over the past ten years, according to Chopra’s data. In the area of e-government options, the U.S. ranked last as well.

The role of the US CTO is to invest in innovation, including smart and secure infrastructure (i.e. cybersecurity, broadband access), and increase R&D collaboration by focusing on university and entrepreneurship for new product developments. The Federal government spends $150 billion on research dollars in universities—Chopra wants to make sure these investments are efficient. Chopra says that post-doctoral fellows are particularly useful to helping with innovation and suggests that businesses begin fellowship opportunities for innovation. He is also promoting innovation around other priorities in the government’s agenda, such as health care, education and the smart grid.

Heath care IT is an issue that’ particularly high on the agenda, with Chopra working to implement regulatory framework, open data standards, and an ecosystem for continued product innovation in the space. The smart grid is also a concern for the US CTO, and is helping accelerate energy efficiency initiatives and ensure that cybersecurity is at a high level.

And one of Chopra’s primary roles is to develop an open government initiative, which will implement government platforms that will be transparent and collaborative (i.e. Data.gov). For example, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service launched a new customer service that lets applicants get updates on the status of applications online and via e-mail and text messages.

Steve Wozniak thinks that its important to harvest intelligence; he suggests that the government should do this via games. The Woz also highlighted the importance of cyber security and technology in education, concluding that “education is being shafted.”

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

TechCrunch50 Conference 2009: September 14-15, 2009, San Francisco

Source: Gizmodo | 19 Sep 2009 | 12:30 pm

California Publishes Television Efficiency Standards For 2011

eldavojohn writes "It's been nine months since California announced their intentions to create new standards on energy-consuming televisions in their state, but yesterday the California Energy Commission finally released the first draft of the regulations. (More information straight from the horse's mouth.) If you live in another state, you may be unfamiliar with California's history of mandating power usage among anything from dishwashers to washing machines to other household appliances. This has also led to California pushing to ban incandescent light bulbs. From their FAQ on TV Efficiency Standards: 'The proposed standards have no effect on existing televisions. If approved, they would only apply to TVs sold in California after January 1, 2011. The first standard (Tier 1) would take effect January 1, 2011, and reduce energy consumption by average of 33 percent. The second measure (Tier 2) would take effect in 2013 and, in conjunction with Tier 1, reduce energy consumption by an average of 49 percent.' The Draft from December 2008 is available on their site (PDF, with a shorter 'Just the Facts' flier for those of you without two hours to burn). There's no indication whether that's what they're going with, or if it's been updated since then."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Gizmodo | 19 Sep 2009 | 11:45 am

Facebook Will Shut Down Beacon To Settle Lawsuit

alphadogg writes "Facebook has agreed to shut down its much-maligned Beacon advertising system in order to settle a class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed in August of last year, alleged that Facebook and its Beacon affiliates like Blockbuster and Overstock.com violated a series of laws, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Video Privacy Protection Act, the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act and the California Computer Crime Law. The proposed settlement, announced late on Friday, calls not only for Facebook to discontinue Beacon, but also back the creation of an independent foundation devoted to promoting online privacy, safety and security. The money for the foundation will come from a US$9.5 million settlement fund."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 19 Sep 2009 | 11:22 am

Apple rises in "Best Global Brands" ranking (Macworld.com)

Macworld.com - Apple has risen in rank on Interbrand's 2009 list of Best Global Brands. The company rises four spots to number 20, and is ahead of other electronics companies like Sony and Nintendo.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 19 Sep 2009 | 11:21 am

Microsoft Lawsuit Shows Malicious Advertising a Growing Issue - eWeek

PC World

Microsoft Lawsuit Shows Malicious Advertising a Growing Issue eWeek Microsoft is suing five online entities and the individuals behind them for spreading "malvertising," or online advertising that delivers malware. As demonstrated by a September attack on The New York Times Website, malicious online advertising ... Microsoft's 'Malvertising' Battle: A Tough Fight to WinPC World Microsoft Sues Five Companies Over Malware AdsPC Magazine Microsoft sues over 'malicious' online advertisingThe Associated Press Register -V3.co.uk -CNET News all 298 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 19 Sep 2009 | 11:00 am

Alternate Disc-Tractions: Battlestar Galactica Season 4.5 DVD review

FROM GAMERTELL - The final half season of Battlestar Galactica wraps up all of those mysteries, loose ends, and relationships that have been teased throughout the series.  But does it satisfy?  Read on…
MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Sep 2009 | 10:46 am

Crew For Final Scheduled Space Shuttle Mission Selected

Toren Altair writes "NASA has assigned the crew for the last scheduled space shuttle mission, targeted to launch in September 2010. The flight to the International Space Station will carry a pressurized logistics module to the station. Veteran shuttle commander and retired Air Force Col. Steven W. Lindsey will command the eight-day mission, designated STS-133. Air Force Col. Eric A. Boe will serve as the pilot; it will be his second flight as a shuttle pilot. Mission Specialists are shuttle mission veteran Air Force Col. Benjamin Alvin Drew, Jr., and long-duration spaceflight veterans Michael R. Barratt, Army Col. Timothy L. Kopra and Nicole P. Stott." Reader Al points out other NASA news that the space agency's engineers have been testing a sleek new lunar rover that will be part of their eventual return to the moon. A video of the rover in action has been posted as well.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 19 Sep 2009 | 10:20 am

Low-voltage ASUS UL30A reviewed

Pretty good marks already for the $799 ultraportable ASUS UL30A notebook, as the machine garners a LAPTOP Editors’ Choice award for its ten-hour battery life, nice design, and adequate horsepower.

Other niceties include a sizeable island keyboard, good touchpad, bright 13.3-inch HD screen, and a thickness of less than an inch.

Conversely, the four-pound weight seems a bit on the heavy side, the 0.3-megapixel webcam is an afterthought, and subpar 3D video abilities.

On the whole, though, the long battery life in spite of the relatively powerful dual-core CPU, along with the $799 price tag make the UL30A “a compelling value,” according to LAPTOP.

Source: CrunchGear | 19 Sep 2009 | 10:15 am

Boston Acoustic updates Duo-i iPod/iPhone clock radio (Macworld.com)

Macworld.com - Boston Acoustics has announced the Duo-i Plus AM/FM Stereo Radio with iPhone/iPod Dock, an updated version of the company's Duo-i iPod clock radio.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 19 Sep 2009 | 10:05 am

Skype Founders File Another Suit Against eBay

Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis filed another lawsuit on Friday against eBay's plans to sell the Web-based communications service.Joltid and Joost, two firms owned by Zennstrom and Friis, filed a lawsuit in a Delaware court against former Joost CEO Mike Volpi and Index Ventures,
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 19 Sep 2009 | 9:38 am

A Day in the Park(ing Space) - New York Times

San Francisco Bay Guardian

A Day in the Park(ing Space) New York Times But on Friday, design students and environmental campaigners took to the streets in New York City to remind people that pavement is public, too, with streets and sidewalks constituting 80 percent of the city's public acreage. ... In hundreds of cities, parking spaces become parksThe Associated Press From Parking Space to ParkTonic Reinventing street PARK(ing)San Mateo Daily Journal RocNow -San Francisco Chronicle -San Angelo Standard Times all 407 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 19 Sep 2009 | 9:33 am

States send mixed message on texting and driving (AP)

AP - Fiddling with your iPhone behind the wheel can get you fined across much of the nation. But many states are more than happy to tweet you with up-to-the-minute directions on how to steer clear of a traffic jam.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 19 Sep 2009 | 9:31 am

CrunchDeals: Buy one Blu-ray, get one free at Best Buy

Best Buy has a nice little deal going on with Blu-ray movies right now and you already know what it is if you read the headline. But there is some good news and some bad news with the deal though.

The good news is that the titles involved are quality movies. The bad news is that because they are quality, they all cost $29.99. But remember, you get two for that price. However, you might want to do some Internet price shopping first because I found that Amazon is currently selling Paul Blart: Mall Cop for only $13.49. (It’s a dumb movie, don’t buy it anyway) But I’m sure the deal is worth it for some of the titles.

Source: CrunchGear | 19 Sep 2009 | 9:18 am

T-Moblie becomes first and only US carrier to roll out HSPA+ 3G, reaches speeds of 21 Mbps

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones

On Friday, T-Mobile became the only carrier to have any sort of HSPA+ network in the United States.  The new network allows for data connections of up to 21 Mbps downloading and 5.75 Mbps uploading.  Those are theoretical numbers, which represent the peak, so actual numbers are likely to be much lower than those impressive numbers.

The new HSPA+ network, however, is only available in Philadelphia, and it only broadcasts from 20 cell towers.  Even if it is only 20 towers, that’s 20 more than broadcast HSPA+ in the US before and should hopefully soon increase to more.  However, it’s worth noting that the system is something only T-Mobile is rolling out.  AT&T has said it is sticking to its 7.2 Mbps 3G network until 2011 when the 4G technology LTE becomes commercially available.  T-Mobile also plans on supporting LTE in 2011, though it currently has a much smaller 3G network than AT&T, so it makes sense that they would be interested in putting out any advantage for now as it continues to roll out 3G.

The rolling out HSPA+ appears to be ahead of schedule for T-Mobile, as it only promised service in 2010.  So far there’s no mention of any adapters or cellphones that will support HSPA+, though presumably there will be some soon.  It’s possible that this will help boost T-Mobile, if only in the short term.  With the exception of the HTC Hero, it remains the main U.S. carrier for Android, and a decent Android phone working with the new, faster network might just entice disenfranchised iPhone users.  Of course, it might not mean anything to the average cell phone buyer, but it’s at least a step in the right direction.

Read [Electronista]

Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Sep 2009 | 9:01 am

Photos of mullets, leotards return to haunt online (AP)

AP - Matching mullets, regrettable tattoos, metal mouths and goofy grins.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 19 Sep 2009 | 8:40 am

Hot gaming news for the week of 9-13-2009

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…

• Ten things to do with your Xbox 360 after you get the dreaded Red Ring of Death
• PS3 firmware 3.01 lets you play Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune again
• Japanese Import: Dengeki Girl’s Style, the otome fan’s bi-monthly magazine
• Mad Catz’s Marvel VS Capcom 2 tournament edition arcade fightstick controller
• Opinion: The grammar of Madden game name makes for unnecessary brain pain

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Sep 2009 | 8:02 am

FCC Set To Propose 'Net Neutrality' Rules

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Julius Genachowski is set to propose new "Net neutrality" rules during an speech on Monday at the public policy think tank Brookings Institution, according to a Reuters report on Friday citing sources familiar with the speech.So-called "net neutrality" is the principle that Internet providers should treat all data equally, and not restrict or slow access to certain Web sites.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 19 Sep 2009 | 7:45 am

Typhoon Choi-Wan Swinging By Japan On Weekend

NASA's AIRS instrument analyzes Choi-Wan's cloudsTyphoon Choi-Wan passed the island of Iwo To stirring up heavy surf, hurricane-force winds and torrential, flooding rains. This weekend, it will continue on its northeasterly track paralleling Japan, while its center remains in the open Western Pacific Ocean.Microwave and infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite during the early morning hours of September 18 revealed extremely high thunderstorms in Typhoon Choi-Wan as it passed the island of Iwo To and was approaching Chichi Jima.NASA satellite imagery showed that the tops of the thunderstorms are so high they reached the tropopause, the level of atmosphere between the troposphere and stratosphere. Those high thunderstorms mean very heavy rainfall for the area underneath. The cloud tops extended to the 200 millibar level in the atmosphere where temperatures are as cold or colder than -63 Fahrenheit. Microwave images are created when data from NASA's Aqua satellite Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) instruments are combined. These microwave images indicate where there is precipitation or ice in the cloud tops and the latest microwave image revealed Choi-Wan had cold, high thunderstorms.On September 18 at 11 a.m. EDT, Choi-Wan was located 120 miles west-northwest of Iwo To, near 25.8 north and 139.4 east. It was moving north-northeast near 13 mph. Choi-Wan's maximum sustained winds were near 126 mph and those winds were still generating huge waves, as high as 41 feet. AIRS Infrared satellite imagery showed that Choi-Wan has maintained a very well-defined eye with a secondary outer eyewall. The infrared imagery also showed the stark temperature contrast between the icy cloud tops in the storm against the warm waters in the Western Pacific Ocean that continue to power the storm.The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JWTC) noted their "environmental analysis indicates Choi-Wan has crested the western edge of the mid-level steering subtropical ridge axis in a corridor of low vertical wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures (well in excess of 28 Celsius or 82 Fahrenheit)."The JWTC said that Choi-Wan may intensify a little over the next day because it's in a favorable environment. After that, the storm will begin weakening and transitioning into an extra-tropical storm.---Image Caption: NASA's Terra satellite flew over Typhoon Choi-wan on Sept. 17 at 9:15 p.m. EDT. Note that the eye is now obscured by cirrus clouds, indicating that the typhoon's strength is waning. Credit: NASA MODIS Rapid Response Team
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 19 Sep 2009 | 7:36 am

Tropical Storm Marty Expected To Weaken

Image Caption: The GOES-11 satellite captured an image of Tropical Storm Marty (center) west of the Baja California peninsula on Sep. 18 at 12:45 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA GOES Project
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 19 Sep 2009 | 7:34 am

Happy 5770!

Jesse Brown, a BoingBoing guest-blogger, is the host of TVO's Search Engine podcast.

Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Let's hope it's a sweet one! No better way to kick it off then with this sweet classic from Moishe Oysher and the Barry Sisters, Halevai.

What a tour de force! Check Oysher's vocal gymnastics as he bounces off of the Barry Sisters' harmonies! He coulda been one hell of a freestyle rapper...

This song makes me happy every time I hear it.


Source: Boing Boing | 19 Sep 2009 | 7:30 am

President Honors Nation's Top Scientists, Innovators

Image Caption: President Barack Obama has named the recipients of the 2008 National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for science and engineering. Credit: NSF
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 19 Sep 2009 | 7:16 am

Kennedy memoir not coming to Kindle anytime soon

Section: Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous

Kindle owners eager to read the much anticipated memoirs of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy will have a long wait.  The publisher of the beloved senator’s memoirs, entitled “True Compass,” issued a statement saying the book’s electronic release was being delayed “indefinitely.”  The head of the publishing house Twelve, Jonathan Karp, explained that the photos and illustrations in the book can’t be reproduced on an e-reader and said it is purely a business decision.

“It (the delay) does not reflect any larger corporate policy,” said Karp, whose imprint is part of the Hachette Book Group. “We publish each book individually and we felt that this particular hardcover edition of `True Compass’ deserves to be the first and pre-eminent format for the book.”

Since the Kindle can indeed display photos and illustrations, it’s believed Twelve’s true reason for refusing to release an e-book version of “True Compass” lies in a general fear among publishers that e-book sales take away from more lucrative hard cover sales.  The hardcover version has a retail price of $35 - a Kindle version would be sold for around $9.99.  Despite the explosion in sales of ebooks many traditional publishers still look at them with disdain (evidenced in Karp’s response to the question of whether he was worried about e-book sales: “You don’t expect a first-run movie to be available on cable the first weekend.”) and fear.  Hachette CEO David Young, whose company owns the Twelve imprint, said he is worried about the low cost of e-books and also about the increasing amount of free ebooks available and said he believes all publishers feel the same.

Even though sales of ebook readers like the Kindle are brisk, and ebooks continue to grow in popularity, many best selling authors like J.K. Rowling absolutely refuse to consider publishing their books in electronic form.  Some insist that doing so leaves their copyright open to being infringed or allows readers to edit their work.  Others simply don’t like the medium and believe traditional (known as “dead tree books” or DTBs among ebook fans) books are the only way to go.

It’s no secret the publishing industry is struggling.  Traditional book sales are down and bookstores are feeling the pinch from the online vendors like book giant Amazon. Ebooks are proving themselves to be the wave of the future and it’s up to publishers to either catch it and ride it to new heights or be left behind to drown.  I own a Kindle and I very much want to read Senator Kennedy’s book, but I most likely won’t be buying the traditional version.  Many of my fellow ebook lovers feel the same.  It’s time publishers realize e-books are not second class citizens.  Ereaders and ebooks simply aren’t going away.

Read [Yahoo! News]

Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Sep 2009 | 7:00 am

Google making it possible to print public domain books

Google has been very much about saving out of print books by moving them into a digital format over the last seven years. This has been a part of their Google Book Search project, which involved pulling books out of libraries and scanning them in, and thus preserving them forever. Of course, some people prefer a hard copy, and now that’s going to be a possibility as well, at least at some locations.

Google has teamed up with On Demand Books, makers of the $100,000 Espresso Book Machine, which enables people who own the machine to print books on site, rather then waiting for them to be printed, bound, shipped, and then delivered to book stores. Your average 300 page book with a color cover takes about four minutes, and costs about $3.00 to produce.

This has huge implications, partly to the out of print book industry and partly to the end user. The out of print book industry typically charge extremely high prices for books, which may not really be an option for them anymore. For the end user, it’ll make books that previously were impossible to find accessible, and easy to locate.

Currently, there are a few sites that are up and running. The Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge Massachusetts, the University of Michigan Shapiro library, and the Blackwell Bookshop in London just to name a few. The company hopes to have about 90 machines running world wide in the next year, so keep your eyes open. The books will probably sell for about $8 each, allowing the book seller to make some money after paying for the materials and fees to Google and On Demand.

This is amazing. Imagine being able to go to a major book store and have them print the book you want to order, instead of having to find it on the shelf or order it in. I for one am looking forward to it.

[via CNN Technology] Thanks to Tam for the tip.

Source: CrunchGear | 19 Sep 2009 | 7:00 am

Arctic Ice Caps Shrink To Third Smallest In 30 Years

This summer’s melt of Arctic sea ice might not have been quite as bad as the past two years, but satellite images reveal that it has now had the third biggest melt in 30 years, according to U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 19 Sep 2009 | 6:20 am

BOOM! Top Apple news for the week of 9-13-2009

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…

• Appletell reviews the Gorillapod mobile
• If you simply must have an iPhone keyboard
• Best Buy outs Wacom’s secret Bamboo Touch multitouch tablet
• How-to video: iDevice app management in iTunes 9
• Inside the iTunes LP

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 19 Sep 2009 | 6:15 am

Microsoft Zune HD Features Solid Improvements - PC World

Mashable (blog)

Microsoft Zune HD Features Solid Improvements PC World by PC World Video | 0 Comments Recommends The Zune HD marks a huge improvement from last year's model in speed, usability, and video quality. In addition to an OLED multitouch display, Microsoft's media player also features high-def video playback ... Zune HD review: Music wants you backCNET News Review: Zune HDWashington Post The Macalope Weekly: Money, money, moneyMacworld PC Magazine -CNET News -CNET News all 67 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 19 Sep 2009 | 5:08 am

Microsoft CEO Ballmer's salary up 4 percent in '09 (AP)

AP - Microsoft Corp. raised CEO Steve Ballmer's salary by 4 percent at the start of fiscal 2009, a year in which the software maker's profit declined 17 percent as the economic meltdown decimated personal computer sales.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 19 Sep 2009 | 3:05 am

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